Komi Can't Communicate is a popular shojo-style shonen series taking place at an ordinary high school, Itan Senior High. The students aren't so ordinary, though, and that includes the popular ice queen, Shoko Komi herself. Or rather, Shoko's classmates think she's an aloof ice queen who's above everyone else.
In reality, Shoko Komi is terribly shy and modest, and she has never had a real friend before now. She now has her plain but kind classmate Hitohito Tadano to support her, and Shoko has launched her quest to make 100 friends and reinvent her social life before graduation. Overall, Shoko has a comfortable and happy life, but there are still some harsh realities, or at least some inconveniences, for Shoko Komi to deal with.
10 Shoko Komi Has A Communication Disorder
Many of the worst aspects of Shoko Komi's life can be traced back to her communication disorder, and of course, that communication disorder itself is a major harsh reality that Shoko must contend with. The entire plot of Komi Can't Communicate hinges on this disorder of hers.
Shoko has a lot of trouble speaking to other people even by phone, let alone face to face, and that has negatively impacted her otherwise ordinary life in many ways.
9 Shoko Komi Didn't Have Any Friends Growing Up
This is one of several aspects of Shoko Komi's communication disorder, and for the longest time, no one realized that Shoko had been miserably lonely as a child. As far as Hitohito Tadano can tell, Shoko grew up without any friends at all, while the other boys and girls her age easily formed friendships all around her.
Since Shoko had no friends growing up, she has no experience with the friend-making process, which creates a vicious feedback loop that keeps her social circle sitting at 0. This also means that Shoko has no fond childhood memories of playing with friends, joining sleepover parties, and the like.
8 Shoko Komi Still Has No Friends
Shoko Komi had no friends in her childhood, and now, in high school, she still has zero friends, which is not something she's happy about. Shoko is interested in making her first-ever friends, but early in her high school career, it seemed impossible. Everyone around her had friends already, and they didn't make any time for Shoko.
It's quite normal to have at least a few friends in high school, some of whom might be childhood friends. Shoko can only watch the friends around her hanging out and possibly envy them.
7 Shoko Komi Can't Easily Help Stangers
Over time, Shoko Komi fought back against the harsh realities of her life and built up a social life, which is good. Still, she's only taking baby steps, and her problems aren't going to vanish overnight. That includes Shoko's difficulty with aiding ordinary strangers on the streets.
Komi is naturally a generous and helpful person, but it's not easy for her to express this through her actions and especially through her words. Komi often panics if someone asks her for a little help or if she spots someone who needs assistance, and someone else might end up taking care of things instead.
6 Shoko Komi Can't Easily Place Orders At Restaurants & Other Establishments
Shoko Komi likes to visit restaurants and coffee shops like anyone else, but it's not so easy for her to actually place an order there. Hitohito and the lively Najimi Osana can order just fine, but Komi will end up motioning to the waiter or barista, and her message won't always get through.
Sometimes, the employee might simply guesstimate what Shoko Komi wants, and Komi has to accept whatever the waiter brings her. Other times, Shoko might panic at the local café and retreat without placing an order at all. Getting an afternoon coffee can be a real challenge for some patrons.
5 Shoko Komi Can't Easily Participate In Class
Shoko is a smart girl and a serious student, so her grades are quite good. However, she struggles when her teachers want her to read a passage from the textbook aloud due to her communication disorder. Even if Shoko isn't speaking for herself, she still has trouble getting the words out.
This means Shoko is unlikely to impress her teachers, and they might get a bad impression of Shoko if she keeps failing to answer questions or read a passage from the textbook aloud. At least she can shyly write the answer to a question on the chalkboard, then hurry back to her seat.
4 Shoko Komi Can't Easily Take Part In Performing Arts
Itan Senior high regularly hosts a school-wide culture festival, and that might include some stage performances, such as renditions of Cinderella or Romeo & Juliet, among other favorites. Shoko Komi has the good looks to portray any princess on stage, but speaking her lines is the real challenge.
Shoko is always encouraged to take part in theater, but even if she memorizes her lines, speaking them won't be easy, and the audience will soon get impatient with her, which will only worsen Shoko's anxiety. Then again, Shoko's friends like Hitohito may accommodate Shoko's difficulties and improvise a solution to satisfy the audience.
3 Shoko Thinks Her Mom Is Weird In Front Of Her Friends
Shoko's mother, Shuko Komi, is a lively and cheerful woman who claims to be eternally 17 years old. Aside from their good looks, mother and daughter are rather different, and things get amusingly awkward when Shoko finally starts bringing friends to the Komi household.
Shuko warmly welcomes all guests, and she's delighted that Shoko has made some friends at last. Shuko even does her "I'm 17!" routine to Shoko's friends, complete with a peace sign, and Shoko wordlessly begs her mom to stop being so silly.
2 Yanderes Like Ren Yamai Go Too Far For Shoko Komi's Sake
Even the pleasant world of Komi Can't Communicate has a resident yandere, a character who goes too far to express their possessive and zealous love for someone else. The local yandere is a popular girl named Ren Yamai, who sees Shoko Komi as a princess who must be guarded from the peasant masses.
Ren Yamai thinks she's doing Shoko a favor, but in truth, Ren often makes Shoko uncomfortable, and Shoko doesn't like the idea of anyone else deciding who she should be friends with or not. Ren was forced to accept this reality, and she toned down her yandere antics. But only slightly.
1 Shoko Komi Has Peculiar Rivals Like Yadano Makeru
Despite being a quiet and modest girl, Shoko Komi still has a few rivals, all of whom are one-sided rivals. In most scenes, Shoko must contend with the pink-haired Yadano Makeru, who appeared early in the story and declared herself Shoko's eternal rival. Shoko was bewildered but didn't object.
Now Shoko has to put up with the tireless Makeru pestering her and making a fierce competition out of everything, from sports festival performances to grades at school and even physical measurements, including eyesight. Shoko wasn't ready to get her own Katsuki Bakugo.