Komi Can't Communicate (Japanese: 古見さんは、コミュ症です。, Hepburn: Komi-san wa, Komyushō desu.) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tomohito Oda. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since May 2016, with its chapters collected in eighteen tankōbon volumes as of September 2020.
Komi Can't Communicate | |
![]() Cover of the first manga volume featuring Komi and Tadano | |
古見さんは、コミュ症です。 (Komi-san wa, Komyushō desu.) | |
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Genre | |
Manga | |
Written by | Tomohito Oda |
Published by | Shogakukan |
English publisher | |
Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics |
Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | May 18, 2016 – present |
Volumes | 19 |
The series has been licensed for English-language release in North America by Viz Media, with the first volume being published in June 2019.
Plot
On her first day attending the elite Itan Private High School, the main setting of the story, Shouko Komi immediately receives an overwhelming surge in popularity due to the unprecedented, stoic beauty and refined elegance her classmates perceive her to possess. However, only Hitohito Tadano, an exceedingly average schoolboy assigned to the seat next to hers, is able to have the opportunity to discover that, behind her bishōjo appearance, Komi has serious issues in communicating with others. Tadano sets out to help Komi on her quest to find 100 friends.[4]
Characters
- Shouko Komi (古見 硝子, Komi Shōko)
- An absolute beauty to anyone, Shouko Komi in reality suffers from extreme social anxiety and communication problems, making her largely unable to talk to others. However, her attractiveness and stoic appearance (which in itself results from her anxiety) is perceived as refined class, making her highly popular while preventing people from actually getting to know her. Komi's first conversation with Tadano is over a blackboard, and she uses a notebook to convey her feelings through writing. Despite this, she is still capable of verbal conversation over a cell phone. Her dream is to overcome her communication problems and make 100 friends.[4]
- Hitohito Tadano (只野 仁人, Tadano Hitohito)
- Sitting next to Komi, Hitohito Tadano is, as he name implies, an "average" schoolboy in every possible way. Discovering Komi's communication problems by inadvertently becoming the last students remaining in the classroom, he befriends Komi and, over a blackboard, promises to help Komi to accomplish her dream of having 100 friends, with him being the first. As the story progresses, Tadano gradually uncovers Komi's issues and gets to know more of her personality, while ultimately being in denial of his slowly-progressing romantic feelings for her. His name is a wordgame of "Tada no Hitohito" (ただの人人, lit. "only a guy")[4]
- Rumiko Manbagi (万場木 留美子, Manbagi Rumiko)
- Rumiko Manbagi is a gyaru who joins Tadano and Komi's class in their second year of high school. She initially presented herself with an excessive amount of make-up, scaring people off and causing her to become increasingly lonely - even suffering ill physical health because of it. Tadano and Komi befriend her and help her overcome her loneliness;from then on, Rumiko considers herself their best friend. She eventually drops the make-up entirely, as well. Similarly to Komi, Rumiko is described as a 'wallflower' by her friends. Her affection towards Tadano also grows to the point where, torn between it and her friendship with Komi, she offers to step aside for Komi's sake;Komi refuses to allow such a course of action, reasoning that she cannot allow her friend to sacrifice her happiness for her own sake.
- Najimi Osana (長名 なじみ, Osana Najimi)
- A character with an ambiguous gender, Najimi Osana has been friends with Tadano since middle school. Long knowing them as a boy, it is to the latter's surprise that the former now dresses in a girls' uniform, albeit with a boy's tie, as they both advanced to the Itan High School. Najimi's gender is never confirmed, and they are frequently referred to with gendered pronouns, although it is implied that Najimi is genderless. Najimi regularly switches from saying they're a boy or a girl and laughing that anyone ever thought otherwise, though Tadano connects this more with what he describes as pathological dishonesty. They are the "ultimate" childhood friend, as everyone in the school has known them since childhood, due to their family's frequent moving during their childhood. Najimi is depicted as having immense capability in conversing and befriending others as a result of their childhood moving, but was hampered when introduced to Komi by Tadano, as their unsuccessful childhood attempt to befriend Komi left them with psychological trauma. Their name is a wordgame of "Osananajimi" (幼馴染, lit. "childhood friend").[4]
Publication
Komi Can't Communicate is written and illustrated by Tomohito Oda. The series was first published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday as a one-shot chapter on September 16, 2015,[5][6] while the regular series started on May 18, 2016 in the same magazine.[7] Shogakukan has compiled its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on September 16, 2016.[8] As of September 18, 2020, eighteen volumes have been published.[9]
In November 2018, during their panel at Anime NYC, Viz Media announced that they have licensed the manga.[10] The first English-language volume was released on June 11, 2019.[11]
The manga has been licensed in Southest Asia by Shogakukan Asia,[12] in Taiwan by Chingwin Publishing Group,[13] in Indonesia by Elex Media Komputindo,[14] in Germany by Tokyopop,[15] and in Italy by J-Pop.[16]
Volume list
Reception
As of September 2018, the first ten tankōbon volumes had over 2 million copies in circulation.[46]
The series ranked first in a poll conducted by AnimeJapan of "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation".[47]
In a review of the first volume from Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman called the series "a nice little story with humor and a distinct lack of cruelty that doesn't break any new barriers but is definitely fun to read." Faye Hopper considered that it is hard to tell if the humor of the series lies in Komi's "seemingly outlandish, absurd behavior" or if it is a "legitimate depiction of anxiety that we laugh at because we relate." Hopper also called the character of Najimi a "transphobic punchline", criticizing the jokes about their gender fluidity, calling them "extremely tasteless" and that they "undermines the book's message by making light of an already marginalized community." Nevertheless, Hopper stated that the series "succeeds in spite of a potentially noxious premise", pointing out that the other characters are "just as dysfunctional as the eponymous Komi, creating a solid base of compassion and doing a good job not casting her as a weird social outlier."[48]
References
- ^ "VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES NEW PUBLISHING ACQUISITIONS AT ANIME NYC 2018". Viz Media. November 19, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ サンデー発ラブコメ4作品の新刊フェア開催 「おまえら早く付き合っちゃえよ」CM&PV公開. Oricon (in Japanese). June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate Vol. 1". ComiXology. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Oda, Tomohito (2016). 古见さんは、コミュ症です。. Vol. 1. Shougakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-127343-7.
- ^ 週刊少年サンデー:手始めに読み切り5作品 新人・若手の新連載は来月から - MANTANWEB(まんたんウェブ). MANTANWEB(まんたんウェブ) (in Japanese). September 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ サンデーにて新鋭の読み切り連弾企画、第1弾にはコミュ症の美少女が登場 - コミックナタリー. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ 「だがしかし」描き下ろしブロマイドがサンデーに!全サ、コミュ症の新連載も. Natalie (in Japanese). May 18, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- ^ 美少女なのにコミュ症?サンデー発、オダトモヒトが描く学園生活コメディ - コミックナタリー. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ a b 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 18 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (November 17, 2018). "Viz Media Licenses My Hero Academia: Smash!!, Komi Can't Communicate, Beastars Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ a b "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 18, 2020). "Shogakukan Asia Licenses Komi Can't Communicate Manga for Southeast Asia". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- ^ 【新書書單】青文出版社2018年2月預定出書表 - 青文出版-讀享娛樂‧領導流行. Chingwin Publishing Group (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (October 18, 2019). "Elex Media Licenses Tomohito Oda's Komi Can't Communicate Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ "Komi can't communicate" (in German). Tokyopop Germany. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ "J-POP Manga annuncia 11 nuovi manga e novel". J-Pop (in Italian). August 31, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 1 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 2 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 2". Viz Media. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 3 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 3". Viz Media. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 4 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 4". Viz Media. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 5 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 5". Viz Media. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 6 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 6". Viz Media. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 7 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 7". Viz Media. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 8 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 8". Viz Media. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 9 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 9". Viz Media. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 10 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 10". Viz Media. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 11 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 11". Amazon. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 12 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 12". Amazon. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 13 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 14 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 15 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 16 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 17 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 19 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。:「サンデー」の人気マンガが累計200万部突破 LINEスタンプの配信も. Mantan Web (in Japanese). September 12, 2018. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
{{cite web}}
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timestamp mismatch; December 19, 2019 suggested (help) - ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (March 24, 2020). "180,000 Manga Readers Vote for Their Most Wanted Anime Adaptation". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
- ^ "Komi Can't Communicate - The Spring 2019 Manga Guide". Anime News Network. May 29, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
External links
- Official website at Web Sunday (in Japanese)
- Komi Can't Communicate at Anime News Network's encyclopedia