"When a person has extreme social anxiety, they struggle to communicate with others. Bear in mind, they only struggle to form connections. It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to."

I remember when it was announced that Komi Can’t Communicate was finally getting an anime adaptation. At last, we would finally see that manga everyone had been buzzing about for the past five years come to life. I put it on my watchlist immediately.

Coming into this show, I was expecting there to be a lot more drama, especially concerning Komi’s titular social anxiety. Instead, we got over-the-top side characters and a lot of slapstick humour. Now, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy that aspect, because I really did, but I kind of wish the show got a little more down-to-earth, because my favourite moments were those quiet moments between Tadano and Komi. Like I said, though, I had a good time with the comedic aspects of the show, for sure. That being said, I think the idea of everyone at school being completely obsessed with Komi became less and less novel as the show progressed, to the point where they lazily reused an entire story from a handful of episodes prior. The best reprieve from that was when Komi went out with her friends, and we got to see her interactions with everyday people (especially that ramen chef). Also, I hope you like the quote I opened my review with, because you're going to hear it in about 97% of the episodes.

The strongest part of the show, by far, is the relationship between Komi and Tadano, especially their budding romance. Like I said, I wish we got a little more of that, because it feels like we’ve got a really long way to go. Both the OP and ED are solid, and I like how they were incorporated into the final episode (I’m a sucker for the moments when shows use the OP or ED in the world of the show). Even though a lot of the side characters are Komi-obsessed simps, I still like them, especially how some of them have given Komi a chance to develop her character. Plus, Komi herself is excellent; every time her fantastical cat ears pop up in excitement, I can’t help but smile.

The highlight of the season, for me, was the first episode. It masterfully shows off how strong this premise can be, but more importantly, it shows off the characters of Komi and Tadano, and that’s it. The scene where they write on the chalkboard is so powerful, it’s a shame it rarely ever reached those heights again. But overall, it’s a fun time, and I’m willing to stick with it. Mostly for the crumbs of development we’re getting for Komi’s journey to get better at speaking, as well as the awkward will-they-won’t-they between her and the meek Tadano.