Komi Can't Communicate Season 2

Episode 14

This episode of Komi Can't Communicate was awkward in almost every sense of the word, but I mean that in the best way possible. We get shorter, faster skits here compared to the longer, more drawn-out setups of the previous episodes, with almost all of them revolving around a single joke or punchline and only lasting a few minutes. They work well due to the show's great sense of comedic timing and more often than not, the jokes land in some pretty unexpected ways. I think the most creative was probably the skit where Tadano was overhearing the other guys sharing their dream date scenarios about the other girls in class. I thought I was going to be creeped out, but my train of thought was actually pretty close to Tadano's reactions! And the payoff of him being surprisingly invested in the wholesomeness of their stories to the point where he imagined his own with Komi was the perfect blend of funny and heartwarming.

This episode also had a really big thing for cats. Komi has always had a lot of playful cat imagery associated with her, but that connection is more prominent here than ever before – we even had a whole skit dedicated to her just wanting to get close to cats! While it's kind of funny that most of the cats didn't want anything to do with her, it's also a tinge bittersweet because it's like this girl was getting rejected at every turn. It's OK, Komi, cause it all evens out in the end with you making friends with the big boss cat and Tadano almost saying he loved you!

If you've been reading my reviews up until this point then you probably already know that my least favorite skits were the ones that revolved around Yamai, who I still hate. I was actually genuinely worried when one of the early skits of the episode involved her trying to force a situation where she could look up Komi's skirt. Maybe the joke is supposed to be that she kind of represents the more extreme fans of the show? I don't know, I just didn't find it that funny and honestly, I felt the tone of the skit clashed with most of the show. If you're going to use her at all and you're not really gonna develop her for more than a minute, then at least make the payoffs for the situation that she creates feel rewarding for everybody else. Aside from that, this episode was cute, funny and pretty straightforward. There might not have been any big developments that grabbed me compared to other episodes but even when Komi is coasting, there's still plenty to enjoy.

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Komi Can't Communicate Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.