Senryuu Shoujo

Spring is usually my favorite season every year. It usually consists of heavy hitters of popular franchises as well as new adaptations that generates a great deal of hype. This year though, we have an unusual amount of short series that runs half the length. Unfortunately, most of these shorts fell flat and limited themselves with low expectations. However, there are two shows this season that managed to break that limit. One of them is this curious little thing called Senryuu Shoujo.

I love the manga. It recently reached its 100th chapter milestone and being a short length show actually helps make the story flow better. ... The story premise itself is simple that stars Yukishiro Nanako as the main female protagonist. An easy trait to notice about Nanako is that she doesn’t communicate verbally with others. Instead, she expresses her language in the form of haikyu, a form of poem.

What it comes down to it, Senryuu Shoujo manages to captivate me with its charming cast of characters. Nanako’s personality is that of a friendly girl who is very open minded and willing to accept anyone as a friend, including ex-delinquent Eiji. Throughout the series, Eiji is portrayed as a misunderstood person by others because of his intimidating appearance. As members of the Literature Club, we get an inside look at their relationship. There’s many running gags between the two but at the end of the day, it’s shown that they greatly care about each other. Or perhaps it’s more than what it seems. Someone as dense as Eiji doesn’t realize Nanako’s feelings for him. As a slice a life comedy, this anime is filled humorous moments. It never ceases opportunities to poke fun of their relationship. At its very best, we can see their true personalities behind their outer shell.

Meanwhile, we do have other characters such as Literature Club president Amane Katagari. A running gag in the show is how she tries to get Eiji and Nanako together for alone time. Similarly, Eiji’s childhood Koto Ootsuki loves to tease the duo whenever she gets the chance. It makes time to always sell humor so the audience remains entertained. This also extends to fortune teller Tao Hankai who is well known for her bizarre personality. I think by the time we are introduced to the majority of the cast, there’s always someone to keep an eye on. The only character I felt underwhelmed would be Kino, another girl who communicates non-verbally. Unlike Nanako, she is too timid and lacks presence. Even when an episode focuses more on her than others, it feels like she’s invisible. I personally think Kino is a poor’s man version of Nanako for being unable to develop character chemistry with the other cast. It’s a shame.

At its core, Senryuu Shoujo is an easy going slice of life anime that relies a lot on its character chemistry than storytelling. It doesn’t and shouldn’t take anyone to think about what this anime means with each episode. Come to think of it, the comedy itself often feels very direct with even more characters getting their own moments of fame. This includes Nanako’s father with his own misunderstood fantasies or Eiji’s denseness. There will definitely be an audience who will find this type of humor to be childish and poorly executed. But hey, that’s the ball in your court.

This is actually Connect’s first TV short if you don’t count their previous net anime projects. The overall colorful visuals delivers a great look to the series’ themes. I was cautiously optimistic at first after seeing the preview videos but as more episodes aired, the show proved itself to be visual fest. Studio Connect managed to capture the school life setting with a feeling of serenity. In the meantime, character designs are carefully made with care to match the look of the manga. The most noticeable characters are Nanako and Eiji for their very contrasting designs but anyone who lay eyes on them the first time should easily see how well they match their personalities. Character expressions is also an important feature that manages to communicate characters’ feelings. And for any fans who wants to be serviced, there’s moments of that too including the unavoidable swimsuit episode. There’s something here for anyone who is a fan of slice of life.

I admit that shorts aren’t really my favorite type of anime. Most often, they suffer from story development based on the amount of content. However, Senryu Shoujo never relies on storytelling to be special. Instead, it has these creative circle of characters that’s here to steal the spotlight. I recommend giving the manga a chance for first time viewers as the anime doesn’t adapt chronically with its flow. But once you start to get into the flow, you’ll want more and more.

What you need to know about this series is:
A rom-com story,
About haiku and school love,
Plus comedy too!

In the season of shorts becoming predominantly variable in time to come, this series is the Cream of the Crop for the season's contending SOTS (Short of the Season). But before that,

What is a haiku?
In what context is it used,
And how is it used?
...
Taking words off fellow reviewer @Krunchyman, haiku is a form of Japanese poetry, characterized by three un-rhymed lines of 5-7-5 syllables. In Japan, they utilize sound units known as “on” or morae, in which when translating into other languages, inconsistencies can lead to a number of problems, leading translators to claim that as a whole, varied words in the sentence of certain syllables in English equate to the duration of 17 Japanese “on.” Nevertheless, the intent is to capture the essence of a moment in time with a short, poetic composition. Thanks for this valuable teaching information and your contribution.

In this case, characterization plays the major plotline, of which the main female MC Nanako Yukishiro (voiced by HanaKana) anchors her dialogues which are then written on Tanzaku (yes, those ones used for Japanese festivals), instead of expressing through verbal communication. Together with the Literature Club with 3rd-wheel comedic Prez Amane Katagiri, she develops a crush on the looking-scary ex-delinquent boy by the name of Eiji Busujima (who joins the club before her), and love hijinks ensue. Even down the line as more characters come to fill in their roles in the club:

The shy Kino Yakobe who can only draw to verbalize her facial expressions,
The fearsome and bold Koto Ootsuki, being Eiji's childhood friend and a teaser for the couple, while doting on him a lot,
and the devilish Tao Hanakai who is pretty much reminiscent of the fortune teller look with her magic 8-ball,

There has to be a way to get these affections through...right?

Too many people,
But that's no problem for them,
They are the 3rd-wheel (for Prez Amane who always gets in the way of the duo-couple)!

Honestly, if there is anything going for this, it would be both Eiji and Nanako's interactions (which sometimes are lost in translation if not done right, especially to the Haikus), their subtle feelings for one another, though with Eiji's naiveness, denseness and "incompatibility" with Nanako (in terms of speech and obvious feelings) can sometimes be a chore to watch them get "hooked". Nonetheless, it makes up for a ton lot of sweet, enamoring moments, and I've gotta say, it was 12 whole mins of goodness.

Likewise, both the art/animation and sound departments carry that good "Love is in the Air" feels all around.
Connect, the studio subsidary of Silver Link, actually has a small line of projects under their belt (most of them co-produced together), but nonetheless has some true talents under their belt, as further evidenced by the gorgeous art and buttery-smooth animation. I believe that shorts like this do not have a huge budget to work with, but the production staff working this series pulled it off nonchalantly, and that is a good thing.

The same thing can be said about the short OP and ED. While they sound a tad off from the usual 90 seconds to work with (60 seconds to be exact), it still fits within the confines of the show, and both songs sound melancholic with that sweet fragance of "Ordinary Love". Overall, a great job.

So what do you think?
Is this your SOTS (Short of the Season)?
Whatever it is...

It's a fun watch if you get the whole "haiku" cultured thing. Otherwise, there's not really much substance, and sure as the people say: "Quality over quantity", and if that is the production team's goal, they have succeeded.

For me, it is good, but not to the calibres of greatness.

Senryuu Shoujo is a lovely little show. It has a simple premise: an essentially mute, shy waifu (Nanako) is only able to speak through written poems, and the episodes chronicle her time with her hooliganish friend (Eiji). The show is essentially a gentle, wholesome slice-of-life with some good comedy and some cute romantic undertones.

The art is cute. It is not ultra-detailed, but I found it charming. There is a funny effect where nobody has a complete mouth when their lips are closed, though it didn't bother me. I think it fits with the show. The characters are drawn very nicely in my opinion, and I ... liked the character designs.

The sound is great! I can't stop listening to the OP haha. I also really like the voice acting. Nanako's (internal) voice is very moe <3.

In addition to Nanako and Eiji, there are several great supporting characters. One is a ... well-endowed and... sensual ... oneesan; another is an shy artist who can only communicate through images (similar to Nanako's poetry); there is their club president, who is something like a hopeless romantic; and then there is a kuudere+tsundere fortune teller. Altogether, they aren't really the classic stereotypes or tropes (not that I usually mind that anyway), and their weird quirks offer ample opportunity for comedy.

One thing they didn't really take advantage of enough is the fact that Nanako is mute - one time they made a joke about her interacting silently with her artist friend, but they could have gotten more comedic mileage out of that I think.

Categorically:
- Moe: high due to Nanako <3
- Comedy: good
- Drama: none
- Action: none
- Romance: present (pre-together)
- Harem: none
- Ecchi: very little

Overall, this is a great show for anyone looking for something low-stress, with a kawaii protag and a little bit of a wholesome romantic atmosphere, along with a cute story meandering along. The only downside is that the show is short :( but I recommend this to anyone and I hope there's more. :)