Komi, la chica más hermosa de la escuela, padece ansiedad social. Cuando se hace amiga de Tadano, un chico muy observador, su círculo de comunicación empieza a abrirse. Ahora entran en escena nuevos personajes: Yadano, que odia perder; Yamai, que aparenta ser normal, y Nakanaka, que imagina situaciones para sentirse especial. Y, ¿acaso está progresando la relación entre Komi y Tadano?
ODA Tomohito Name (in native language):小田智仁 Associated Names:オダトモヒト
Tomohito Oda won the grand prize for World Worst One in the 70th Shogakukan New Comic Artist Awards in 2012. Oda’s series Digicon, about a tough high school girl who finds herself in control of an alien with plans for world domination, ran from 2014 to 2015.
Well, Komi still cant communicate. Like many comedic manga, the second volume follows the same course as the first. If you found it amusing at the start, you will probably continue to do so. If you didn't care for it, there's really no need to continue.
Personally, I really enjoyed the first volume after it found its voice and I still enjoy it just as much a second time around. The plot, as much as there is one, continues to be a delight with more of the students introduced. Some of the characters are a bit hit or miss (I didn't care much for the girl who hates to loose, but found the borderline psychotic one a nice bit of dark comedy).
As I mentioned before, I love how Komi is presented. It would be so easy to either make her the butt of all jokes or just have her be a flat character as she has such limited dialogue, but the author/artist does a wonderful job of making her expressive and have a real personality.
Honestly, this series is growing on me a lot. I have quite a few other manga/comics on my to-read list, but as soon as I finished the first I went straight to the second. There's just something ridiculously charming about this series. It's not consistently laugh out loud funny, and the plot isn't exactly riveting, but there's so much fun to be had that I could potentially be reviewing volume three by the end of the week as I just want it to keep going.
Favorite chapter this time: the noodle shop shown on the cover. Never thought I'd say that a trip to a restaurant was the most amusing chapter in a manga, but well, here we are.
At times a bit over the top but I'm sure that's due to the cultural differences between Japan and the USA.
I can't get behind Agari thinking she's Komi's dog. Or Yamai being literally obsessed to the point of homocide for Komi. Though, I will admit to being intrigued by the lesbian storyline.
There is so much about this manga that I enjoy and 'aw' over. But it hasn't really gripped me the way I had hoped. So far at least.
i actually find it really cute that Komi's friends try to help her and involve her in other activities that she wouldn't normally do before even though she doesn't talk directly to them 🤍 the illustrations are wonderful
In the second volume of Cute Socially Awkward Girl Who Is Too Scared To Speak But Is Bizarrely Worshipped By Everyone At Her School, Tomohito Oda leans hard on the Mulder and Scully-type relationship of Komi and Tadano. Tadano and Najimi visit Komi’s house (the first time she’s brought friends round!), we meet more kooky fellow classmates, the group goes out for ramen, and they head off on a shopping trip to find Komi a new outfit.
This lo-fi school/teen romance title is growing on me - kore wa totemo kawaii, yo (“this is very cute, you know” - I’ve been studying Japanese this past year)!
The wacky stuff like Yadano trying to beat Komi at the annual school physical or Nakanaka pretending to be a space pirate when she gets an eye infection didn’t do much for me. And the stalker girl Yamai was just bizarre but it threw in an unexpected thriller-type element into a series that is decidedly not that so I appreciated the curveball. I had no idea how Oda was going to resolve what’s actually quite a serious offence, and it was kind of a cop-out actually.
But what I like are the quieter, sweeter moments between Tadano and Komi as they edge ever closer to romance (will they? Won’t they? I’m genuinely not sure - this series might be too innocent to take it there!). Like after the Yamai episode, in the stairwell, Komi telling Tadano that he doesn’t need to be her friend, despite him leaving her obviously being the last thing she wants, or Komi waiting for Tadano to leave the library so they could share an umbrella together on the walk home (Najimi stole Tadano’s umbrella, the scamp).
Or when we see all of Komi’s photos where she’s alone, then Najimi secretly takes a photo of her with the three of them on her phone and sends it to her, and Komi asks her ma for a photo frame for it - dawww! And I like that Komi’s ma is completely unlike her.
The joke-telling episode was funny as was the clothes-shopping competition, though even in these parts I wouldn’t say they were especially gripping to read as very little beyond the situation itself happens. And the bits on Tadano’s past as an edgelord teen and Komi going for a haircut weren’t that great either.
Still, it’s a well-written/drawn and charming comic about shy kids slowly emerging from their shells, helping each other out along the way, and there are a few touching moments in there too. Komi Can’t Communicate, Volume 2 is another decent addition to the series.
Komi is super popular despite her aloof reputation. Only timid Tadano seems to notice that she doesn't talk... ever! When she reaches out to him on the first day of class he quickly realizes it's awkwardness holding her back. Now he'll become her first friend in her quest to make 100 friends.
The Premise
We jump into Komi Can't Communicate vol 2 by meeting new students with the potential to become Komi's friends. While Tadano, Komi's first friend remains my favorite and melts my heart in subtle interactions between the two, I did enjoy the moments when Komi's little group of friends go out together! The ramen shop was so delightfully funny and cute and sparkly... all the things I love about Komi Can't Communicate vol 2. Komi still has social anxiety and struggles to put words to mouth but she's working on it every day and has a wonderfully funny and delightful environment to do so all mixed with the classic misunderstandings and drama of high school!
The Buzz
New friends... How to introduce even more characters without losing the old ones...?! That is a serious concern of mine going into Komi Can't Communicate vol 2. I was really jazzed to see Osana still pushing Komi's buttons trying to get her out of her comfort zone. AND Agari, the random dog girl, suddenly shows another side of herself at a ramen shop! And one of our new characters goes all out to become Komi's friend much to Tadano's suffering and horror.... Haahahha it was too funny and I just love how the short, numerous chapters allow us to explore all of Komi's new and old friends.
The Feels
It about broke my heart when Komi makes an offer to Tadano because of what happened to him... But Tadano says the most loveliest thing... He decides who is friends are! I just love this sentiment so much. And it really gives her confidence in their friendship too. I can’t help but love when Komi sparkles trying new things and is stunned by common day to day moments... I feel the same way and seeing her like that makes me melt. I also really appreciate that Komi's communication disorder isn't kept a secret. When the moment is right Tadano with her permission shares her struggle. We need more of the Komi Can't Communicate vol 2 kind of sharing!
The Visuals
Komi Can't Communicate vol 2 cements my love of the art style Tomohito Oda uses to tease out the funniest and most heartfelt moments!! The best thing is there are also scary moments that reflect the horror that the teen years can be. And its not just Komi having these moments either!! I loved when Osana is frantic because Tadano isn't in school to translate with Komi... hahaha. And we have another girl who desperately wants to beat Komi and doesn't quite measure up... Then there is the odd girl who no one can relate to but Komi sees through her oddness!! You'll totally be captured by Komi's world...
Komi Can't Communicate vol 2 takes social anxiety and friendship and runs with it!! Shorter chapters and exaggeration art makes finding 100 students to befriend a fun exercise without losing the friends that came before. You'll want to go back to high school reading this series... But don't worry you don't have to! Just read the next volume of Komi Can't Communicate!!
⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ Authenticity ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tension ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Art
Thanks to Edelweiss and VIZ Media for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.
______________________ You can find this manga review and many others on my book blog every Monday @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews at the bottom of the page.
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This second graphic novel was even cuter and funnier than the first one!! Komi is slowly on her way to making 100 friends, albeit in a weird and hilarious way. We meet yet another character who is obsessed with Komi and this time is seriously gets to be too much because of how funny it was. I don’t want to ruin it, but there’s a kidnapping… lol… and yes, it cracks me up!!
This is a very clean series so far, nothing that would make this inappropriate for younger readers. So I highly recommend this series to those who enjoy a funny and outlandish story. The art is great too!!
I often just sort of graze all the overwhelming choices in manga, with the dozens of volumes. Can't do everything. So I sample. And you can do that with manga, you can read a volume in an hour. And so I read and kinda liked the first one, about a cute girl everyone likes but who has social anxiety disorder. But someone in this house has decided to binge read (which is basically just what it means to read a manga series with dozens of volumes, zoom through it), and invited me to return to it. We also have at least one person in this house with social anxiety disorder, so that makes it useful research (it's not me, unless you count my inability to talk to girls for seemingly countless years).
So, I read the first volume in March 2020, and read the second in February 2o21 and I jumped right back into it. Komi and really the whole story are charming, cute, amusing. Komi has a kind of friend, T adano, that is the most notable actual relationship developing. Some possibilities there. But the light-heartedness of it, the heart in it, that's what the attraction is for this one. The plot is thin, but fun. And her quest for 100 friends, which so far is stuck on one.
Komi still can't communicate, but somehow she gets elected as the class goddess. This is another case of lost in translation because she would have been addressed as Komi-sama, a homophone to Kami-sama, or how one would address a deity in Japanese.
That aside, this was a better volume than the first. Komi is getting her quest to 100 friends well under way but the reader will definitely get the hint that one friend is more important than the rest of them. There's nothing like a wholesome series to keep us sane in these trying times.
Still enjoying this series! Komi makes new friends with the help of the old ones. I still think my interest is likely to flag long before her friends list reaches one hundred. I just think that a cast list of that size is untenable since, for the friendships to feel real, we're going to need to get to know every single one of them as a person.
That said, we do get new characters introduced in this volume, and everything seems to be chugging along nicely. I particularly enjoyed the sequence where they all go out for ramen.
Oww! Too cute (to me-.-) Argh.... Still....Komi Shouko can't communicate. But she has more than four friends! That's a great news. Well, Komi was very famous in her class and still famous. Moreover, she has got a title Goddess. Yeah! She is that much beautiful, calm and quiet that everyone even the pedestrian admires her(including me:) Aww...Her eyes! Hitohito's hair!
I'm understanding the vibe of this manga a little better than I did with the first volume, and it actually made me chuckle once or twice, so there's some progress. I'm a little wary, either of this being a parade of oddballs who get introduced just to fade into the background (since Komi has a wish to make 100 friends), or that the author will try to foreground all of them occasionally, making the cast go way past my fictional Dunbar number.
Why's Tadano at this school, though? Is he so average it's a kind of superpower? Komi is the linchpin of the series, and her plight makes her a much more interesting central character than he could ever be. It'd be kind of funny if he frequently ends up in bizarre situations like he does with Yamai, or becomes a kind of punching bag. :) (It's a comic, folks. Relax.)
Sometimes the little details make the episode. For example, Komi putting her hair up before she digs in to her big bowl of ramen. As somebody whose hair goes past their shoulders, this is essential if you don't want to dunk it into your food...
With an expanding array of characters, the series seems to have narratively found its footing in this one. Jokes tend to land better, and the seeds for a potential romance between Komi and Tadano are properly planted. It's still charming and cute, just with more direction than before. Better all around, it's another promising entry to one of the few gag mangas that I've managed to progress with.
I am so excited to be writing this post. In my last post (Komi vol. 1) I talked about how this was a Christmas gift from my husband but I really enjoyed it. I picked up the second volume the other night (also a gift) and read through it all in one sitting. I can officially say I am hooked on this series. I just love Komi and her journey to making 100 friends (which I think is a super cute and noble goal) is so fun to read about and follow. This second volume was a bit more of what I expected (Komi making new friends or new steps in friendship and socializing) but also there was a lot of woah, I never saw that coming!
SPOILERS AHEAD
In this volume, we are mostly focused around the national health exam at the school (this exam kind of reminded me of those P.E. tests in middle and high school where they had you run back and forth and jump a distance, I think they were called Pacer Tests where I lived). Makeru Yandano is determined to beat Komi in these tests, now Komi has no idea about this determination or the competition between the two until much later in this volume where things go a little crazy. (I do not want to spoil what exactly happens, but it is wild and I absolutely never would have guessed what happened in a million billion trillion years). Additionally, in this volume, we get to experience Komi learning more about socialization and friendship (which was so stinkin cute)! Komi goes on her first mall outing with friends, first time going out to eat with friends, and even having friends over to her home.
I enjoyed this volume and am definitely going to read the third one (I have also bought the fourth and pre-ordered the others). I like Komi and her goal is so genuine and I just want to read all about it. I feel like when I am having a tough time or week, reading a volume of Komi, just puts me in a much better mood. I am giving this volume five stars and I highly recommend this manga for anyone who may be interested in a slice of life story set in a high school.
I always feel so bad for her whenever she’s ultra nervous to talk. She’s visibly shaking. The poor thing!!
Komi continues on her quest to make a bunch of friends. I’m surprised that we only got introduced to two in this volume. But I suppose that leaves room for Komi to go on a few small adventures.
—— Spoilers
I do not like the new character. I’ve always disliked yanderes, and this was no exception.
The ship (Komi/Tadano) is cute. I’ll root for them more when Komi looks/feels ready for a relationship. I’m just enjoying them now.
Je rejoins tout de suite Tim sur un point : l'épisode dans le restaurant de ramen est particulièrement savoureux ! d'autant plus qu'Agari sort pour un court instant de ses délires, ouf... :) Autres moments forts dans ce volume 2 : les challenges foireux que se donne Yadano Makeru m'ont bien fait rigoler (l'emporter contre Shouko dans... les examens médicaux :D), et bien amusé par la rencontre avec Omoharu Nakanaka, la Peter-Pan grandiloquente de cette histoire ! Enfin, le caractère rentre-dedans de Najimi Osana reste un ressort comique inépuisable ! Et... arrive Ren Yamai la monomaniaque qui jette un grand froid là-dessus. Étonné que l'héroïne finisse par l'accepter parmi son cercle d'amis. Cet épisode glauque permettra peut-être à Shouko de tracer une frontière plus nette entre les gens qu'elle souhaite avoir pour amis et les autres, à long terme ? Mais ç'a d'abord l'air d'être un moteur dramatique qui entretient une certaine tension parmi le groupe d'amis. Comme la future rencontre volcanique entre Omoharu et Ren le prouvera d'ailleurs...
Komi Can’t Communicate Volume 2 is just as cute as Volume 1. Komi, a teenage girl who has an extreme social anxiety disorder, cannot speak that great in public. Her goal for school - make 100 friends. This story is just so wholesome and sweet, and the characters, whilst some are odd and some are weird, they all add to the story and Komi’s friend list. The only somewhat-negative comment I have is about Ren. I just don’t like Ren. That is all. Overall, 5 stars.