Komi Can’t Communicate Volume 12 is a romantic comedy-drama manga created by mangaka Tomohito Oda. The manga’s English-language release is published by VIZ Media. The series follows Shoko Komi, a young high school girl with a dream to make 100 friends. While everyone around her recognizes her as a “cool beauty” due to her elegant looks and quiet demeanor, the truth about Komi is that she suffers from a communication disorder. Thankfully with the help of her first friend Tadano, she works to overcome her communication disorder and fears to make more friends.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
Following the previous volume, exam season has crash-landed on the students of Itan High. They try to prepare and avoid getting kicked out of the library for exceeding the legal decibel levels. Komi and the gang are dreaming of the coming summer break. With more friends now than ever before, Komi’s modest vacation to-do list quickly becomes a recipe for delightful summer adventures and fun.
The overall plot of Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol 12 is pretty light and simple. And there’s honestly nothing wrong with that. A constant reason why I keep coming back to this series is because of the cute, light, and wholesome stories about friendship and self-growth. While enjoying the simplicity of the plot right now, I also notice Oda is planting a seed for the drama to come forth later on as the series continues onward.
For example, in this volume, there is a scene where Tadano steps in to help Manbagi, a friend and classmate of Komi’s, from being hit on by a group of boys. To make the boys go away, Tadano lies and says that he is Manbagi’s boyfriend. Afterward, both Tadano and Manbagi clarify that nothing is going on between them to Komi. However, later on, when Manbagi is alone, she blushes and smiles while reflecting on Tadano calling himself her boyfriend. It will be interesting to see if this turns into anything interested to see if this will be an indication for possible drama as the
Additionally, I really liked how the paneling was organized in certain chapters of this volume. There are some moments in the volume where multiple characters are talking at once. To help follow the conversation, the mangaka initials the speech bubble with the first letter of the character that is speaking. I found this to be really helpful to following the conversation, and honestly wished it was something I saw in more manga series.
Lastly, I appreciated how the creator Tomohito Oda, continues to show there are various kinds of communication disorders and social anxiety. Granted, everyone might not have the same communication disorder as the heroine, Komi, and the characters that have issues with communicating show there are different ways that people, regardless of their age, might struggle communicating. For example, we see how one of Komi’s teachers deals with her communication issues and how she starts to overcome them.
Overall, Komi Can’t Communicate Volume 12 is a fun read if you are looking for a light and wholesome plot. Additionally, I appreciate how they organized the panels in this volume to make it easier to follow along with the dialogue when multiple characters talked at once. Lastly, I applaud the mangaka for always showing how social anxiety and communication disorders can look differently for everyone.
Komi Can’t Communicate Volume 12 is available wherever books are sold April 13. 2021.
Komi Can’t Communicate Volume 12
TL;DR
Komi Can’t Communicate Volume 12 is a fun read if you are looking for a light and wholesome plot. Additionally, I appreciate how they organized the panels in this volume to make it easier to follow along with the dialogue when multiple characters talked at once. Lastly, I applaud the mangaka for always showing how social anxiety and communication disorders can look differently for everyone.
