Komi Can't Communicate follows the life of a young student named Tadano. Tadano wants to start fresh and reinvent himself but, after choosing a seat next to the school's Madonna, he finds himself scorned by his peers instead. What he quickly discovers, however, is that this seemingly popular bombshell has severe anxiety, leaving her unable to utter even a word.

Komi explains that she has always been afflicted with this problem (referred to in the show as "Comyushou"). She explains that she wants to talk with people but lacks the necessary social skills with which to do so. Tadano sympathizes with Komi and agrees to help her achieve her goal of obtaining 100 friends before they end their school days.

Komi Can't communicate wastes no time diving straight into its central theme and narrative. After a brief comedy respite to open up the show and several jokes scattered throughout the latter half of the episode, we are blessed with perhaps one of the most moving scenes in recent years. Komi can freely express herself through the written word and proceeds to push herself to the limit explaining to Tadano through a blackboard why she cannot speak. Tadano recognizes her effort and begins communicating back with her and what follows is a wonderfully touching montage where the two converse back and forth through writing.

This scene perfectly encapsulates the kind of wild ride we are in for. Sure, there are going to be funny moments and the "Comyushou" will be ridiculed now and again. However, there will also be times where this arguable disease is taken seriously. This is not some kind of fake disease as seen in anime like Rascal Dreams of Bunny Girl Senpai. Social anxiety is a real problem facing the world today and it is nice to see Komi-san being able to poke fun at it while also grounding it in reality.

In the second and third episodes, we finally see the meme-worthy jump of delight after Komi acquires her second friend in Osana Najimi. Just that name alone should tell you how much Komi-san leans into its absurdity but allow us to explain further. In this episode we see Najimi attempting to make friends with Komi but is too frightened by her stare. We see some great jokes from Tadano as he and Najimi bicker over friendship, history, and gender fluidity. Then, as we enter into the third episode, Komi-san really seems to settle into itself as the jokes just keep coming. During both the meeting with Komi's soon-to-be dog Agari and the confusing game Tadano and Komi play with the popular kids, it's hilarious to see just how far people push themselves to not only please Komi but scorn Tadano as well!

Komi-san is a comedy anime through and through and, while it is no stranger to a touching scene now and again, the comedy is here in spades! One of the greatest running gags of the show is the ludicrous reasons people concoct as to why Komi is ignoring them. Be it Najimi's terror of being ignored, Maa-kun's fear that he'll be murdered by Komi with his own house key, or the Chuunibyou-afflicted Standbucks vendor who interprets Komi's silence as her trusting he knows her order, things can get pretty whacky!

We will certainly be staying tuned to see what happens next. Komi-san is yet another hurdle passed in broadening the anime demographic. Having these niche shows adapted from their manga variants into anime, sets a precedent that we as a viewing public want more of this in the future!

As mentioned previously before but we seem to be breaking through every barrier imaginable as Takagi, Uzaki, and Nagatoro have all rightfully received anime adaptations. The future looks bright for the world of slice-of-life romance comedy anime. The only question that remains is… which show is going to be next?