Komi Can't Communicate - Small Steps Forward

Komi made some big strides in episodes 4 and 5 of Komi Can’t Communicate. For the first time in her life, she got to choose friends and also spend quality time with them.

Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 4 – Komi Chooses Friends

Blissfully unaware of how popular she actually is, Komi continues with her daily routine. She doesn’t notice that she has a potential rival, nor that Ren Yamai is following her every step. Yamai is Komi’s classmate but she is for the lack of a better word a yandere. She focuses all her attention on Tadano and ends up kidnapping him. Najimi figures out something is wrong and manages to save Tadano. Yamai is faced with the prospect of losing Komi, who finally manages to say no to a friendship offer.

Sadly, Komi is too nice, so she ends up befriending Yamai. While it makes sense that she would try and make as many friends as possible, it’s still a little disappointing to see the story pushing her towards those who simply don’t deserve her.

Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5 – Rivals, Blunder Years, and Parents

Makeru Yadano is Komi’s self-proclaimed rival and another friend candidate. She tries to compete with Komi but ends up accepting that Komi is just too perfect to beat.

We also got to hear a bit about Tadano’s past, which was apparently quite cringeworthy. Najimi spared no detail and told Komi everything about Tadano’s attempts at being cool. All this started with Nakanaka Omoharu, a chuunibyou who is “going through a phase”. She attempts to make friends with Komi as well but fails. However, Komi manages to reach out and befriend her, showing us that she is truly getting better at the whole social thing.

But, the highlight of this episode was Komi’s mother. We get to meet her after Najimi basically pushes their way into Komi’s home. Despite her young appearance, it seems like she is quite nice and supportive of her socially-awkward daughter. It’s not clear if Komi is able to talk to her family, but she does manage to ask them for a special gift.

Himiko Agari, who we met in episode 3, also makes an appearance in this episode, and this time we actually got to see a bit of her personality outside of the weird dog situation.

Small Steps and Romance

While it’s pretty obvious that Komi is getting a hold of things and making small steps forward when it comes to making friends, she still seems quite confused when it comes to Tadano. It doesn’t help that is still being dense and that Najimi has to push both of them towards being closer and alone. It will certainly be interesting to see how things develop from this point on, simply because there are 2 directions the story could take. The first one is just continuing what we’ve been getting so far – Komi makes another weird friend, which will soon become a bit boring. The second, however, is a potential romance between Komi and Tadano. It seems like Najimi is wholeheartedly supporting this idea, so it’s definitely something to keep an eye out for.

Episodes 4 and 5 of Komi Can’t Communicate are streaming exclusively on Netflix. The anime is also a part of our weekly polls, where you can vote for it.

All images via Netflix.
©Tomohito Oda, Shogakukan／Itan Private High School