REVIEW: ‘Komi Can’t Communicate’ Episode 5 — “It’s Just my Summer Uniform. Plus More.”

Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5 is a Japanese Netflix Original anime,  directed by Ayumu Watanabe and animated by Studio OLM. The slice-of-life comedy anime based on the popular manga series written and illustrated by Tomohito Oda. The main recurring voice acting cast for the Komi Can’t Communicate consists of  Aoi Koga (Love is War) as Shouko Komi,  and Gakuto Kajiwara (Fire Force) as Hitohito Tadano, and Rie Murakawa (Re: Zero) as Najimi Osana.

The series follows Shouko Komi, an insanely popular girl, and Hitohito Tadano, an average boy. Upon entering their first year at their prestigious prep school Tadano discovers that Komi suffers from social anxiety and is bad at communicating with others. Behind Komi’s seemingly intense, beautiful, and poised demeanor she is perceived to have by others. In actuality, all she wants is to make genuine friendships. Unfortunately, her social anxiety makes that difficult for her, but with Tadano’s help her dream of making 100 friends by her side she may have a chance to make her dreams come true.

In Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5, It’s Just my Summer Uniform. Plus More, the season has changed and with it so has Komi’s school uniform. As she makes her way to school Komi wonders why everyone starts staring at her when, like the rest of the student body, she switches from her winter to her summer school uniform. During the school fitness test, Komi faces off against her competitive self-proclaimed rival. Later after school, Komi wants to live out another one of her dreams, going to a ramen shop with friends.

This episode brought the series back to its usual light humorous tone. Which was very much appreciated after last week’s slightly darker tone. At its core, Komi Can’t Communicate is a slice-of-life anime series. For those that may not be familiar with the genre, slice of life refers to a show that takes place in an everyday setting, such as a high school, where the focus is on human relationships. Komi Can’t Communicate is a shining example of slice-of-life anime. It explores all of the different aspects of the genre in a light-hearted, wholesome, and occasionally absurdly juxtaposed humorous way.

One of my favorite things about Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5 is that further explored the anime rival archetype in this week’s installment. In last week’s episode, the series lightly touched on the anime rival trope by introducing Yadano Makeru, a competitive girl that likes to compete with Komi. Although Komi is completely unaware that Yadano is competing with her in the first place. For anyone that is a fan of the anime rival trope, they will definitely get a few laughs out of this episode.

As for the animation in this episode, the animators of Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5 continue to not disappoint. The animators of the series have an impressive range when it comes to capturing the carious tones throughout the episode. Whether it is capturing the comedic or deadpan moments to the lighthearted and wholesome scenes the animators of this series do it all flawlessly.

I especially loved the animation the ending theme of Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5. This week’s outro music and ending sequence is very different from the previous episodes’ outro. Instead of the usual sequence, this episode’s outro features another chapter, this time it only features Komi and Tadano. While the outro sequence is brief it still manages to add more depth to Komi and Tadano’s friendship and hints that there might be something a bit more romantic developing between the two of them.

Overall, Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5 is another awesome addition to the series. Once again I can’t recommend this series enough. It is delightful and charming continues to be a shining example of what makes the slice of life genre so great. I continue to love how Komi Can’t Communicate explores various anime archetypes and tropes. Fans of the anime rival character type will definitely get some laughs out of this episode. The animators of the series have an amazing range when it comes to capturing the various moods and tones of the series. Lastly, this episode’s ending sequence was especially heartwarming this week and slightly hints that there could be something more developing between Komi and Tadano’s relationship.

Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 5 is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.