Manga Review: Komi Can’t Communicate

It’s been a long time since I’ve been into reading manga. I’ve mentioned in an article before that these days I’m much more into games than watching anime, the same goes for reading. I’ve always loved reading, but it’s become a lower priority pastime in recent years, when gaming is much more interactive and I’ve gotten a lot more to play. But when I heard we had the chance to check out some VIZ Media new releases, I was happy to volunteer and try out a series I’ve never heard of before.And thus, I picked Komi Can’t Communicate and read through Volume 1.

Komi Can’t Communicate is a fitting title, as it explains this manga perfectly. The story starts out at Itan Private High School, a prestigious prep school where both Tadano and Komi are new high school students. Komi finds herself extremely popular because everyone thinks she’s the prettiest girl in school. But what the rest of the class doesn’t seem to realize, is that Komi has a communication disorder, which the book described as, “A cluster of symptoms that cause people to experience difficulty interacting with others.” Meanwhile Tadano’s goal for the school year is to blend in and seem normal. Apparently he tried too hard to stand out in middle school and it didn’t go well. But unfortunately for him and his yearly goal, he ends up sitting right next to Komi in class. Tadano realizes early on that Komi has issues communicating. Once he realizes this they start talking to each other through writing on the chalkboard, when the rest of class isn’t in the room. Eventually he decides he’s going to help Komi make 100 friends and that’s where the story begins.

So far just based on Volume 1, I could see myself getting into this manga. One thing that I appreciated, was that the panels and speech bubbles weren’t in an awkward order making them easy to follow. The art style is relatively plain, but considering it’s a slice of life story for the most part, it doesn’t need to be super fancy.  I’ve enjoyed the story and characters so far. You can tell that Komi will make all sorts of wacky friends and hilarity will ensue. I look forward to seeing what types of people she makes friends with next. Being far from a people person myself, Komi’s story makes sense to me and I found it a bit relatable. Overall, it looks like it’ll be a fun story to follow and I look forward to seeing where things go. It’s not a crazy fantastical narrative, yet I could see it being an enjoyable and relaxing read. If you’re looking for a new manga to get into and the main plot sounds interesting to you, or you simply enjoy slice of life high school stories, I’d recommend trying it out.

Review Copy Provided by Viz Media