Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu. 2nd Season

A very strong second season of Komi cant communicate.

Where the first season wasn't much of a romance and more of a slice of life comedy mix where Komi went through her day to day life trying to make friends, The second season definitely focused more on the dynamic of the relationships between the characters and I was all for it, something about their charming and comedic moments together was so wholesome, Every episode of this season was packed full of amazing and comedic moments that were a blast to watch through, seeing all these likeable characters engage together and seeing such a wholesome dynamic was ... really heart warming to say the least and makes me crave for more.

This anime is a must watch for anybody who enjoys slice of life and or comedy and romance. It is an incredibly strong follow up to an amazing first season and the dynamic of the cast has something for everyone in it. The animation is very good looking and the OST is solid aswell so there really is something for all types of anime watchers out there. But it doesn't feel complete just yet and it opens perfectly for a third season so we will just have to wait and see what happens next.

Overall 9/10 (not 10/10 because it ended too soon)

"Communication is a skill you can learn. It's like riding a bike or typing. If you're willing to work at it, you can quickly improve the quality of every part of your life."

I want to make it clear that this season brought a huge improvement to the show, it stopped being a little comedy without salt and showed moments that were cool to see with significant scenes, which will not happen in the previous season.

-- !!!MAYBE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!! --

Story: No meaningful story progression. The main characters still have their goals of making Shouko have 100 friends. What changes and the events that happen ... during the course of the show, in them there is an advance in Shouko's relationship with Tadano, and in the way she interacts with other classmates.
This jump in progress that occurs from one season to another is one of the qualities that give life to the story told by the show, showing that it is making progress in the world, even if minimal.

Art: Overall there is no change in the art, it has remained the same since the previous show. that's not necessarily a bad thing, the art is good with some very well done scenes, but the problem is that there isn't a change and that's what we want to see something new and interesting.

Soundtrack: There is nothing to talk about here, both in the opening and in the ending there is no change, so if you liked it before, it will stick.

Characters: When it comes to the characters, the protagonists Tadano and Shouko had a minimal improvement in their relationship, there is no progress in behavior between the two. Which is at least stressful for the fan of the show, since we want to see progress in their relationship.
On the other hand, we have the supporting actors, who have improved their presence in the show, ceasing to be just numbers and giving life to the world. A good example of this is the character Katai, who has a problem similar to Shouko's, he brings fun moments to the show. Other characters that bring more life to the work are Ayami and Mikuni, who show a good relationship with Shouko on the school trip.

Conclusion: The show still continues, it has major problems with the lack of progress in the story and characters that do not add anything to the world, this is a characteristic that needs to be changed to capture the lover of the work, without him getting sick of the same things happening again and again.
That doesn't mean he doesn't bring anything new, much of what made me see this work until the end were some characters that "shone" more than Tadano at times. They brought moments that were marked in my memory and that is very good, this show just needs an innovation, stop following the original to the letter and try to take chances.
This work went up a lot in my opinion compared to the previous season. Because of having created memorable characters and incredible moments like episode 9, where Shouko spends the episode with Ayami and Mikuni, on a trip. In this episode there were so many good moments, which showed that Shouko was managing to overcome her fears little by little.

In general, it is not a waste of time to watch this show, if you have watched the previous season, you may improve your conception of the work.


obs: in case of writing problem I'm sorry, I'll try to improve. thanks for reading!!!

I owe you all an apology.

My first review of Komi Can’t Communicate did not do it the justice it deserves. I did not address what was distinctly wrong with Komi.

What’s wrong with Komi-san? Shallow characterization aside, her problem is that she is afflicted by severe social anxiety, and no one takes that seriously. Every episode begins the same; the narrator will cut in to tell us “what a communication disorder is.” Their definition is “Communication disorders cause difficulties in communicating with others.” If that reads like gibberish, it is. They’ve not researched mental disorders for a show that preaches about anxiety and in turn created ... an offensive portrayal of anxiety. Komi’s perspective is reduced to close-ups of her one vacuous expression. Not every anime will have accurate portrayals of mental disorders, but you’d expect effort or believability, at the very least, when it’s the center of the show. The writers pay lip service to mental disorders and then dodge the issue by turning Komi into a gibberish-speaking chibi caricature. The show’s humor more frequently comes at Komi’s expense; everyone misunderstands her. Even cats and children are afraid of her because of her anxious demeanor. Her inability to communicate causes her misfortune, such as dropping a pencil and being unable to ask for help, played for laughs. Similarly, she cannot voice her discomfort a particular creep attempts to force her into sexual situations—I can't emphasize enough how awful this is.

Despite including a fair bit of drama this season, Komi-san never articulates how its titular character’s disorder affects her mental health and vice versa. Her peers treat her as flawless, and the show intends you to view her as an angel; that’s why no one comments on the expectations for her to be perfect, like a hollow porcelain doll. The emotional turmoil caused by social anxiety in high school is a compelling idea they could’ve covered. Handled properly, it’s ripe with opportunities for cringe comedy; watch “Welcome to the NHK” for a better example. But, they’d instead glorify communication disorders and make stalking jokes. It’s hard not to see Komi’s communication disorder as a gimmick and superficial quirk. It is a blatant means of making her seem like an original, thoughtfully written character through silent gazes drawn with expert attention to detail. Komi’s mother notes her daughter is afflicted with something, yet she never attempts to help her. She could’ve gotten a speech therapist, yet she ignores the problem and says, “girls her age are so weird.” No, it really is your fault. I know what it’s like for people around you not to take mental disorders seriously; it’s maddening, not cute and wholesome.

There are flickers of life in the Komi and Tadano’s relationship, but only despite the various other ensemble pieces. As I mentioned in my review of the first season, there was a creepy aspect to their relationship that is thankfully gone now. The vignettes of saccharine interactions between the couple are pleasant, like Komi dropping her pencil in class and Tadano sparing her the embarrassment of a teacher asking for help by purposefully dropping his. Halfway into the season, a self-contained narrative allowed time for Komi and Tadano to be alone when he falls ill. She takes care of him; though it’s a generic story beat that almost every romance anime utilizes, it’s pleasant. The goal to make 100 friends is practically an afterthought, replaced with a slow-paced cliched romance. In typical anime rom-com fashion, right before the friendship blossoms into romance, a contrived plot device prevents any development. The little progress made through this cour is minimal; however, romance was never the primary purpose. It was always about the side characters just as much as Komi.

Fan-favorite characters return this season, such as stalkers one through five, boob woman, competitive girl, chuunibyo caricature, and perverted males! A new recurring gag about four perverted guys who sit in a circle at school and imagine dating their female classmates. These sequences pop up at random, serving no comedic purpose. They only exist for the viewer to vicariously live through them, adding to the bullshit quota you must endure to reach the comedy. You can skip those scenes and lose nothing.

The rest of the side-cast continues to fight for Komi’s attention: Breathing heavily, exasperated panting, and slobbering at the sight of her. And, of course, Yamai—who exists as a reminder of why I would never recommend Komi-san to any normal person. Even though she’s in every episode, she only gets worse and actually has negative character development. Yamai drools at her desk dreaming of Komi’s panties, leaning into every homophobic stereotype about lesbian women. Suddenly, she briefly realizes Komi is more than an object of her sexual desire. The show’s attempts to make us empathize with Yamai are almost as disturbing as when she snaps pictures of Komi’s panties. Immediately after her epiphany, she says the creepiest line written in the anime. “I’ll finally be inside Komi.” Surely it’s among the worst lines her voice actress spoke (and she says it more than once). It’s a marvel why they chose one of her scenes for the best sakuga cut. Speaking as someone who suffered through two seasons of Yamai, I suggest you skip these parts too.

Komi-san continues to spawn more oddball characters to keep the gimmick of ’a quiet girl in a school full of weirdos’ from growing stale. A narcissistic boy, a push-over, a short-tempered girl, and a tough-as-nails-looking shy guy, to name a few. None of them add a point of empathy or humor that the show hasn’t done before, but a couple were at least better than the horde of weirdos collected from the first season. I didn’t mind Katai, the friendly guy often mistaken for a delinquent, because his recurring joke wasn’t centered around obsessing over Komi; he was simply good pals with Tadano. While her presence is brief, the girl with a short fuse is quite relatable for how easily frustrated she gets by daily misfortunes. Both of these students still idolize Komi, albeit less creepy.

Every issue I had with the first season’s visuals persists in this one, especially the annoying manga text boxes placed right on screen. Artistically, this is a drastic downgrade from the first season. A handful of sakuga cuts pop up once in a while, but it was clear that OLM had to outsource certain parts in the subpar art quality and lack of animation. A few noticeable animation glitches stood out here and there, but if you want a collection of meme-worthy poorly drawn faces, watch the tenth episode. The Valentine’s day episode would’ve been a highlight of the season had it not been for the massive quality drop-off.

As for the soundtrack, it’s recycled. Despite the calming melodies, the repetition lessens its relaxing effect. Although the opening and ending are solid, they don’t compare to the first season’s exquisite themes. From a visual standpoint, it is noticeably worse than the better Spring comedy sequel, Kaguya-sama, which has far more varied and dynamic shots, fluid character animation, and detailed background art.

One addition I appreciated was the post-credits scene at the end of most episodes. It’s a bonus joke that’s easy-going rather than mean-spirited. Still, it boggles my mind how many consider Komi-san the gold standard for comedy anime. Does Komi-san’s second season improve on the first? Well, not really. It’s better in some areas, such as the subtle romantic development, and a downgrade in others, like the worsening side characters and declining production values. If you liked the first season, you’d probably enjoy this one. Everyone else, it’s not worth a second chance.