Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 1

Notes From Your Bookseller

No, Komi can’t, in fact, communicate, but it’s not why everyone thinks. If you need a break from the bloody battles, demons, and superpowers accompanying your angsty high school manga reads, look no further.

The journey to 100 friends begins with a single conversation.

Socially anxious high school student Shoko Komi’s greatest dream is to make some friends, but everyone at school mistakes her crippling social anxiety for cool reserve! With the whole student body keeping their distance and Komi unable to utter a single word, friendship might be forever beyond her reach.

Timid Tadano is a total wallflower, and that’s just the way he likes it. But all that changes when he finds himself alone in a classroom on the first day of high school with the legendary Komi. He quickly realizes she isn’t aloof-she’s just super awkward. Now he’s made it his mission to help her on her quest to make 100 friends!

Editorial Reviews

09/20/2019

Gr 6 Up- This shojo manga centers on the painful world of high school. Komi’s fellow students think that she is an aloof ice queen. In reality, she suffers from intense anxiety. When Tadono discovers Komi’s secret, he pledges to help her make 100 friends. They are helped in their quest by the outgoing Najimi Osana, an intriguing nonbinary character. Though their behavior is outrageous at times, they are popular and never ostracized for their identity. This manga has a few lewd jokes but no sexual situations. The artwork is clear and downright adorable with its portrayals of Komi struggling with her shyness. Like last year’s „Shortcake Cake,“ this is a good conversation starter about the challenges of growing up. Readers will learn about the dangers of making assumptions about people without getting to know them. VERDICT Recommended for libraries serving middle schoolers.-Tammy Ivins, Univ. of North Carolina at Wilmington
– School Library Journal