I’ve been reviewing anime for a good long while now, and there are usually a handful of shows that I end up missing out on each season, either because of time or because something more interesting ended up catching my interest more. This was why I started adding classic/out-of-season shows to my regular Otaku Theater column in the first place: so I could catch up on some of the shows I missed. That list of missed shows is a long one though, and often gets longer as each season passes. I guess we all have some kind of list like that, huh?
Well, this short show from the Spring 2019 season was one. Senryu Girl is an adaptation from the manga of the same time, and is a bit of a no-frills school slice-of-life show, only our main protagonist doesn’t speak, and instead communicates through a classic Japanese form of poetry called senryū.
More on what senryū is later, but in the meantime let’s take a closer look at our adorable little munchkin.
Nanako Yukishiro is seen in her class as the silent beauty. Not quite that girl all the boys want, but someone to be enamored by nonetheless. The show begins as the new school year starts, and she has joined the school Literature club (which surprises none of us). Not a thing to roll your eyes on though; I mean being a part of the Literature club means she’s able to socialize a little more, and work on her senryū.
Somehow, Eiji Busujima, the ex-delinquent of the class, is roped into joining her at the Literature club. His character is a little stereotypical though: a guy with a poor reputation hoping to make things right by getting rid of his past and starting anew. Now being a part of the Literature club is certainly a start for him, but as we watch, it seems that his bad-boy reputation is something he will be never rid of. Nonetheless, the Literature club, and Nanako in particular, overlook that completely, and help him write senryū poems at club meetings, despite him being rather terrible at it. As the show goes on, we meet more people related to the two of them, including club president Amane, Eiji’s childhood friend and tough girl Koto, and Kino, who prefers to communicate using drawings.
I think more people are familiar with haiku poems, and senryū poems are very similar. Both kinds of poetry have very similar rules, in that poems have 17 syllables (or on), and are often written in 3 lines of 5-7-5. One difference between senryū and haiku, however, is that while haiku poems are more about nature and wildlife, senryū poems are more about people and emotions. Also, senryū poems aren’t as serious as haiku poems are, which follow far stricter rules. More on what senryū and haiku are can be found here and here.
What’s interesting in Nanako’s senryū poems is that she chooses to write hers on a vertical board, known as a tanzaku, and often doesn’t separate her senryū into lines or groups or syllables/on. What’s also interesting is how everyone else around her, even strangers and people she meets for the first time, is able to understand everything she ‘says’ (her senryū is voiced by Kana Hanazawa), and doesn’t really question why she uses written poetry to communicate, as opposed to just speaking. I suppose a sweet little show like this wouldn’t be about questioning something like that to begin with, as while the senryū she writes is central to the show, it isn’t something too big that it diminishes Nanako as a character and main protagonist. I mean sure, we see little snippets on, when she was much younger, the boys in her school would pick on her because of it, but it’s something that clearly doesn’t bother her today. In fact, it is her muteness and her unique quirk in her class that has made her the silent beauty others see her as.
Senryu Girl is a short show though; instead of 25-minute episodes, we are treated with 12 episodes that are each around 10-12 minutes long. I’m unfamiliar with the manga, so I can’t really say if this was a good idea or not, however I do know that each story in the manga is written in a yonkoma format, so maybe that could have something to do with it, and why the producers didn’t want to stretch out the show any longer than necessary. It is a show that is not without its faults, though. The animation direction and all of the character designs are pretty no-nonsense and nothing to really criticize or complain about. The one thing that did get to me as I was watching was that there are an unusual amount of silent moments everywhere in the show – moments where nobody communicates or interacts and just remain silent throughout scenes. We can count Nanako’s interactions as ‘voiced communication’ just as the people around her, almost like her muteness and quirky style of communication is just something normal (which isn’t a terrible thing, by no means). It’s something that’s better to see than actually describe, but these gaps between spoken words and sentences in the show can get kind of awkward to watch, and the fact that they are everywhere makes it even more awkward.
Senryu Girl is a very sweet and harmless show, and Nanako becomes a cute and adorable little cinnamon roll that needs to be protected very quickly…almost by the end of the first episode, you have already made up your mind that no harm must come to her. I’m not criticizing its shortness either. When I finished all 12 episodes, I kind of understood why Studio Connect (which is a subsidiary of Silver Link) decided to make it a short show – padding out the story in the original manga into 12 normal-length episodes would make the show lose the charm that it develops. Nanako’s unique way of communication by senryū is the glue that holds this show, but sadly it is the only thing that makes this show stand out. It does pain me a little that I have to critique little things in a no-frills show like this, as like I said, it’s completely harmless. Just…not perfect either.