Komi Can't Communicate is a fine example of the "slice-of-life" anime genre, meaning it should have a broad appeal among anime fans of all sorts. The star is a shy girl named Shoko Komi, and she has the goal to make 100 friends before graduating from school.

RELATED: Komi Can't Communicate: Shoko Komi's 10 Best Personality Traits, Ranked

Shoko has trouble speaking to others and making friends, hence the series' title, and she has never had a real friend until now. But now, with the help of her kind classmate Hitohito Tadano, Shoko is ready to put herself out there and reinvent her social life.

10 Komi Can't Communicate Is Ultimately A Shonen Series

komi can't communicate

The shonen genre is traditionally intended for young male readers, hence the name, and series such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Yu-Gi-Oh! are all good examples of this genre at its best. Curiously, shonen can also be treated as a broader catch-all genre in today's manga and anime industry.

Komi Can't Communicate is an example of the shonen genre diversifying its portfolio, with no magic, monsters, or punches necessary to tell a fine story. In that sense, boys and girls alike can enjoy Komi Can't Communicate.

9 Shojo Fans Should Like Komi, Too

komi looking serious in Komi Can't Communicate

The shonen and shojo genres have some key differences between them, but male and female readers aren't obliged to remain exclusive to their intended genres of fiction. Boys can read shojo and girls can enjoy shonen just fine, and series like Komi Can't Communicate blur the line a bit.

Komi is ultimately a shonen, but it has plenty of shojo elements to it too, such as having the gorgeous Shoko Komi as its gentle heroine and its emphasis on relationships and emotions rather than action and adventure. There's something here for every manga/anime fan to enjoy.

8 Hitohito Tadano Is Generic On Purpose

Hitohito Tadano surprised face

The co-star of Komi Can't Communicate is the plain-Joe student Hitohito Tadano, and, by design, he is unremarkable and does very little to stand out to viewers or the other characters. But that doesn't mean he is boring or forgettable - being average is his key advantage.

RELATED: Komi & 9 Other Anime Characters Who Just Want to Make Friends

Hitohito acts as a control so he can contrast with all the zany characters around him, and since he's not unusual or eccentric in any sense, it's easy for a shy girl like Shoko Komi to befriend him. If Hitohito were an aggressive tsundere or an arrogant jock, for example, he might never have become Shoko's friend.

7 The Romance Is Present But Minimal

shoko tadano umbrella

It's common for slice-of-life and comedy anime series to have a romantic element to them, and even goofy series like Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro! might do this. To a modest extent, Komi Can't Communicate has amorous undertones, but it pales in comparison to dedicated shojo and josei romances.

Komi does have a central male-female friendship, but the romantic sparks are sporadic and modest, and anime fans looking for a heart-throbbing story of star-crossed lovers might be disappointed. This series isn't exactly Fruits Basket or Maid-Sama!.

6 The Show Demonstrates Healthy Male-Female Friendships

tadano with shoko robes

While there is only a hint of romance between Hitohito Tadano and Shoko Komi, the series makes up for it with a wholesome and charming friendship that sets a new bar for male-female friendships in fiction and real life alike. These two characters are really on the same wavelength.

RELATED: 10 Things Young Justice Fans Should Know About Saturn Girl

Many anime characters might tease and pressure a male-female friendship into something more, but Komi Can't Communicate generally avoids this. Instead, Hitohito and Shoko are allowed to relax and develop their budding relationship at their own pace.

5 Shoko Komi Is Beloved For Her Non-Verbal Expressions

Komi with a note, Komi Can't Communicate

Shoko Komi's voice actress is Aoi Koga, who is noted for voicing Kaguya Shinomiya in Kaguya-Sama: Love is War. Kaguya may have all kinds of things to say to her friends in the student council, but Shoko Komi, as per the series' premise, actually has very little to say.

...out loud, that is. Shoko is a smart and friendly young lady, but she has trouble expressing it verbally, so her character tends to speak with whimpers, gasps, sighs, and other nonverbal expressions in addition to writing down her sentences and presenting them to others. Aoi Koga had to get creative to bring this character to life with so few words to say aloud.

4 Komi Can't Communicate Experiments With Many Tropes

Gorimi shushes someone while holding her fan in Komi Can't Communicate.

The world of anime is known for its countless tropes, conventions, and stereotypes, not to mention clichés, and the series experiments with them in many ways. In some cases, these tropes are handled as fans might expect, such as Himiko Agari being the typical "shy library girl."

RELATED: Fairy Tail: 10 Things You Should Know About the 100 Years Quest

But there is a second library girl, the hulking disciplinarian known as Gorimi. Unlike Himiko, Gorimi will whack students on the head for being noisy in the library and kick them out if they keep making a fuss. This is a library girl like no other in anime.

3 Shoko Komi's Whole Family Is Introduced

shoko komi with dad

Most of Shoko's classmates respectfully know her as "Komi," but this series has four Komis, and some of them are very different from the others. New fans should expect to meet Shoko's entire family before long, and they'll discover what really makes the Komi family tick.

Shoko is quiet, beautiful, and shy, and her father is also rather quiet and serious like his daughter. Shoko also has a younger brother named Shosuke, a handsome boy who is quiet not due to anxiety but a lack of interest in talking. Last up is Shoko's lively mother, Shuko, who claims to be an eternal 17-year-old. Shoko finds that rather weird.

2 Komi Can't Communicate Has Decent LGBT Representation In Najimi Osana

Najimi Osana in Komi Can't Communicate blushing with heart eyes

When it comes to LGBT representation, the anime industry has, at best, a mixed record. Some LGBT characters are treated as cheap and silly gags or stereotypes, but fortunately, more recent series treat this community with more respect, and that includes Komi Can't Communicate.

Najimi Osana is Shoko and Hitohito's genderqueer classmate, and this character is known more for their playful attitude and ultra-extraverted personality than anything. Najimi is queer, but that's not the only thing they are known for, and that's a decent way to handle LGBT characters. Komi's handling of this LGBT character isn't without some minor faults, but it's much better than many cases from older anime series.

1 The Manga Has Lots More Material

Komi checks out her new phone in Komi Can't Communicate.

It's generally understood that most short anime series only have a fraction of the original manga's or light novel's material, and some 12-episode anime series are really more like an extra-long commercial for the original manga. This is also the case for Komi Can't Communicate.

That's not a reason to dismiss the Komi anime, but anime-only fans should know that the original manga will continue the story long after the anime ends, and that's something to look forward to. This is one of the key perks of being a manga fan.

Next: Fruits Basket Another: 10 Things You Should Know About the Fruits Basket Sequel