Senryu Girl

Not my typical kind of anime, I decided to give Senryuu Shoujo a chance based on an interesting gimmick the show had, the main character only speaks in a type of Haiku poem. It's a slice of life show focused on the relationship between Nanako, a girl whose thoughts become so muddled she can hardly speak and thus communicates in Haiku to force herself to condense her thoughts, and Eiji, a former delinquent who has trouble communicating his intent with others and just looks threatening.

As full-length episodes I don't think the show would work too well, but the twelve minute run time of the episodes keep the premise from dragging on since it is a pretty simple show overall. Each episode is a self-contained story, the focus remains on the lead characters, and only very small amounts of time are dedicated to the side cast. It makes good use of the short episode format to get the most out of what the show is trying to do.

What is going to carry a show like this is how genuine the connection between the characters feel, and how much you like the jokes and characters. As far as jokes go, it's pretty typical rom-com stuff but leans toward the good side of that. There is enough unique flavor to the jokes to keep them from getting stale, and the show does well with all the characters in this club having issues communicating with others and being able to play off each person's flaws.

That leads into how genuine the connections feel, and this is where the show really does stand out. Not only the leading characters, but every character in the literature club have some kind of hangup that keeps them from interacting normally with most people. Despite all the differences between Nanako and Eiji, they are able to connect on a fundamental level like that in a very believable way which makes the bond feel genuine. Too many times you see an 'opposites attract' kind of couple that seems like they were together just for the contrast of the characters without much thought put into why it is they care about each other to begin with. Having that solid basis to build on is necessary.

There isn't really an overarching plot to focus on, as each episode is its own small story. Elements carry over, but it's not creating one arching plot, but just showing moments in the lives of these characters. Taking it like that, there are a lot of cute and fun moments. A great one is every member of the club in on a prank where they are trying to scare Nanako and Eiji, as well as one character who wasn't informed of all the plans they had set up.

There is one thing that kind of kills some of the shows charm, and that is the very premise itself. All of Nanako's dialogue comes in the form of a poem, and something like that does not translate very well. It's very hard to watch the show and get the feeling you are really capturing the whole intent because none of her words read like a poem in translation, it just reads like she's speaking. It's not really the show's fault, and I honestly don't know what you could do to fix an issue like this.

Despite that, this show managed to keep me entertained for its entire run. Some jokes fall flat, and there isn't anything that truly makes it stand out, but all the same, the show is charming and I do find myself rooting for these characters. For what the show is, it's a great watch. If you are a fan of RomComs or a slice of life, give it a watch.