If you’re unaware we are currently living in a pandemic. People are as isolated as ever, social skills have never been so dull, and we have never felt so awkward speaking with people in public. Imagine though that this is your life. You’ve never not felt awkward, you’ve never had social skills to begin with, and because of those two things – people assume you’re not interested in speaking with them, thus isolating yourself. That is the life of our female lead – Komi Shouko, who as the title suggests can’t communicate because she has a communication disorder. She wants to have friends and socialize but she can’t because mentally, it’s not there for her.
Now imagine how much fun it would be if you finally made a friend, then two friends, then 5 friends, then you become friends with everyone at the school. You learn the joys of making plans with your friends, you learn that your home is not just a place to live but also a place to host others, and that you can control what you want to do socially in the world. Komi is about that. It’s about our heroine Komi learning about what it means to be a social teenager after never experiencing this in her life. And it also happens to be the most wholesome series that I have ever read. This series will make you “uwu” harder than spending 10 minutes on /r/aww.
And in this time where people are finding it harder to connect with others during the pandemic and everything being online, we need a story like this to remind us of the joys of meeting people in the flesh. I can’t even think of the last time I had a giant belly laugh with my friends. Granted I’ve graduated from school awhile ago and I WFH but still my point remains the same. It’s hard to capitalize on social commitments partly to do with you not being able to meet people but also because we’ve grown complacent in our social duties.
One more point – you know why being a kid is great? Because in those crammed young years, you’re learning about yourself and experiencing so many “firsts” that make every experience you have seem so exciting. As a jaded adult, you deserve to rekindle that flame of excitement through Komi. If you watch Komi Can’t Communicate you will start to relearn the joys of going outside with friends rather than scrolling through TikTok mindlessly for hours in a day. I will be awaiting my thanks in a few weeks.
