Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu – 10

「体育祭です / ちょっと苦しいような気持ちです / プリントシールです」 (“Taiikusai Desu / Chotto Kurushii Yō na Kimochi Desu / Purinto Shīru Desu”)
“It’s just sports day / It’s just emotional pangs / It’s just photo stickers”

The school sports carnival, emotional jealousy, and posing for photos were the 3 main events of this week’s episode as Komi was pushed to her social limits once again. Whether it was cheering on Tadano with an ever so soft “Gambatte Kudasai” or fighting to stay by Tadano’s side when challenged by a new “lady friend”, it would seem Komi is doing everything she can to be a supportive friend for Tadano, and their wholesome relationship may well be bordering on the side of romance, at least as far as some of the other characters are concerned. Love birds aside, I really enjoy seeing how the different characters in this series tackle the challenges of everyday life that they are faced with, bringing in all their quirks as they fight for who they are. Above all, things really do get heart-warming when they begin to support each other as friends, so it’s no wonder Mrs. “Forever 17” herself was quick to give Komi’s friends her blessing.

Komi’s determination in the relay race

It’s clear that Komi is someone who truly values her friends and those around her, so seeing her develop that “eye of the tiger” after her slip-up in response to the cheers of her friends was a beautiful moment, to say the least. She may struggle with expressing how much she cares about them, but actions certainly speak louder than words when it comes to Komi, and this is certainly a trait passed on to her by her father Mr. Komi himself. Despite the power of non-spoken action, we can also see how summoning one’s voice can be a recipe for essentially changing the world, at least to a smaller scale. This was shown when Komi let out her almost silent cheer for Tadano during the race, to which Tadano quite literally bolted like a strike of lightning. Unfortunately, he only came in 3rd place out of 5 contestants as a result, but let’s be real, he would’ve come last otherwise.

Komi’s battle against jealousy

As all great stoics do, Komi fought against her own jealousy of seeing Tadano with another girl in a rather honorable way, despite her awkward moments. Rather than going down the yandere route and declaring war on Nene Onemine, she simply observed from a distance (though with an overwhelming aura) and just offered to help them out instead of turning it into a toxic competition. By putting the ball in Onemine’s court, Komi had in a way challenged her to reveal what kind of person she is, that is, would she go down the route of “love-rivalry” or acknowledge that Tadano and Komi already have a special bond and leave it at that. Thankfully, she went for the latter and we can now see that Onemine is a decent person, in fact, she may well be one of the most normal students in the school (compared to the vast majority!). What could have turned into a chaotic “love triangle” full of envy and hate turned into a 3-way friendship full of wholesomeness and love, and we have Komi’s pure-hearted actions to thank for that.

The cute moments continue…

It seems there is a bit of a trend in each episode now (usually towards the end) where Komi and Tadano share a rather cute moment together where they attempt to get closer to one another. Last time it was the whole shenanigan with the first-name addressing, and this time it’s exchanging little neko keychains in an act of care for and appreciation for the other’s effort. While Tadano claims to have got the chain on the first go (must’ve been a gacha machine of some sort) we’ll never really know for sure. I personally suspect he emptied out his wallet in numerous attempts to win one, particularly when I analyze his uncalled-for reaction of shyness and embarrassment. Or maybe I’m just being a toxic shipper, who knows!

Let us know what you thought of this week’s episode in the comments below!