Anime | Netflix
Komi Can’t Communicate: The Kids Are Alright
Komi Can’t Communicate is a Netflix Original anime that focuses on teen angst of the present, highlighting current topics modern high schoolers encounter that may have warranted some censoring a decade ago.
Categorized as a slice of life coming-of-age romantic comedy, Komi Can’t Communicate isn’t addressing anything revolutionary, but differs in many ways from the typical high school drama by taking a deep dive into mental health, sexuality, gender, and fitting in.
The story centers Shouko Komi and Hitohito Tadano, two first-year students at Itan Private School. Tadano is an ordinary boy who declares on his first day that he’ll enter high school without making any waves. He’ll remain unseen, stay out of trouble, and utilize his special ability to read the room to do just that. Komi is a shy, quiet girl — the “God” of their class, who suffers from Extreme Social Anxiety Disorder.
With his special talent of reading the atmosphere, Tadano realizes someone like Komi is out of his league, but while observing her behavior in class he deduces that she has trouble communicating verbally. After an intense, extremely awkward interaction, Tadano sparks a written conversation with Komi via chalkboard, where she reveals her dream to overcome her anxiety and make 100 friends. Tadano agrees to assist Komi in achieving her goal before realizing not only does he have no friends, but he’ll also be navigating through and overcoming his own social awkwardness in the process.
Extreme social anxiety, or social phobia, can invoke the fear of being judged or scrutinized by others and cause self-consciousness, embarrassment, and extreme anxiety. Komi has all the behavioral and emotional symptoms of extreme social anxiety, being unable to interact or speak to strangers, but ironically remains and is made to be the center of attention.
Studies show that the added pressures of popularity, social status, and the unofficial caste systems in high school can lead to long-term mental effects, including depression and questioning self-worth in adulthood. In Komi’s case, her classmates use her mental condition as a reflection of themselves.
Despite being the most popular girl in school, Komi’s responses to others are triggered by anxiety and initially incites fear, but her acknowledgment also causes them to question themselves; her classmates experience their self-esteem lowered, they become self-conscious and wonder if something is inherently wrong with them. Or the opposite will occur — Komi’s dismissive responses to those that admire her make them feel special.
Yamai Ren, another popular student, and leader of the girl’s group in their class is proof of this. Possessing an unhealthy obsession with Komi, she kidnaps and threatens to kill Tadano to get closer to her. Because Yamai believes Komi is ignoring her, she feels abduction and murder is the only proper response. Yamai truly believes she’s doing Komi a favor by removing someone like Tadano, as he’s a part of their school’s lower cast system and threatens Komi’s social status.
Unfortunately, her plan is foiled and Komi rejects Yamai’s advances, telling her that she chooses her own friends; proving that even though her goal is to make 100 of them, she desires meaningful friendships. More research shows that while having a large circle of associates can be beneficial in adolescence, the quality of those relationships matters more than the quantity.
In the age of social media where how popular you are is the only thing that matters and the more followers you have the better, followers are just as good as friends. With the help of the internet and social media, GenZ’ers have utilized their large platforms to create extreme breakthroughs, bringing attention to social issues and politics, and leading conversations that were often hushed. Tackling mental health awareness, proper gender representation, and sexuality has helped remove stigmas that were considered taboo in the media we consume.
This is especially true for the characters and narratives introduced in Komi Can’t Communicate. Although slightly inappropriate and a bit jarring, Yamai’s attraction to Komi is surprising and somewhat refreshing to see here in the US, especially on a platform like Netflix. Slick lines and sexual inuendos are weaved into the dialogue and could easily go unnoticed. Osana Najimi, a charismatic, popular student that claims everyone is their childhood friend, identifies as non-binary.
Najimi’s portrayal of gender fluidity is consistent within their moments on-screen: an interchangeable wardrobe, their insistence on using female suffixes while switching back to being referred to as a male, and the writers include a moment where they use the non-gendered changing room at the pool. These little additions to the story may seem like they’re not a big deal or on-brand for the era, but characters like Najimi were altered, or all but scrubbed completely from the narrative of anime not too long ago.
Before its recent re-release, Sailor Moon was heavily censored when its English dub originally ventured west. Queer and homosexual relationships were reduced to “close friendships” or having familial ties. Queer and non-binary characters were actually modified to fit traditional heterosexual and female/male-gendered roles. Zoisite, who is a man, is voiced and portrayed as a woman in the English dub because he’s in a homosexual relationship with Kunzite. The last season featuring The Sailor Star Lights, a group of women posing as men, one of whom falls in love with Usagi, was completely cut.
All of those tweaks and alterations confirm that Najimi’s peers from Sailor Moon, Haruka Tenou, Fisheye, and Seiya Kou were ahead of their time. Because trust — back in my day, Yamai’s visible sexual attraction to Komi would never fly.
And times have changed. Parents, society, and even the media can no longer shelter or pretend teens aren’t engaging, experimenting, or exploring the different ethos of modern culture and society.
Making 100 friends in high school is an amazing feat, but is likely too many friends for someone who is working with a sidekick who’s seen as the “class trash” and can’t even say morning salutations to their classmates. But the diverse characters, exploration into different narratives, and hilarious quick quips and anecdotes in Komi Can’t Communicate give hope that true inclusive conversation and representation are on the rise for societal exposure and acceptance amongst teens in anime.
