SENRYU GIRL

This was something I was very disappointed in when I first saw it. Not only is it a "quarter hour" format, which makes each episode shorter than normal, the subtitles seemed to be mismatched with the concept of the 5-7-5 poems. The new version-- which has an American English dubbing option-- works much, much better, and the audio works to match the Japanese structure of five syllables as the first line, seven syllables as the second line, and then a five syllable closing structure.I really do not like the poetry that much, but the story of a group of dysfunctional teens who are totally misunderstood, even when chopped into segments too short to handle the story well, that story is worth watching and listening to when it is in your language.The girl mixes being too cute and too young-- instead of looking like she is fifteen she appears much younger, and has a hang-up where she simply cannot talk like a normal teen, but can communicate via poetry. That is really, really difficult to believe, but her courage in dealing with meeting a boy that she can be with, even if she cannot bring herself to speak the words, but is forced to write them, that courage is the real story.A boy who is known and quickly identified as a troublemaker is, in fact, a budding poet, and by leaning toward each other they support their growth as teens. Okay, it is a shade young for serious romance, but the show manages to show a maturity occuring without dipping too deeply into the "she GIRL, he BOY" aspect of the situation. If it had been half hour format, with more depth to their hormones acknowledged that would have made for a more realistic and solid story-- but it almost seems that was being deliberately avoided in favor of a storyline that barely touched on the fact that he was a taller, stronger male than his classmates, and she was an early developed very attractive female.The back of the case clearly tells you it has American English voice options, so if you see one on sale look at the back and make sure you get a dubbed version, not the the subtitled issue. In the subtitled version it barely was worth a three out of five, as an English dubbed version it makes it to a 4 out of 5 and manages to stay in the G or PG level of rating.Kiddie safe, and worth watching, just short episodes that seem to be aimed at pre-school aged kids, so don't expect things to get serious.

A mean looking, kind hearted boy. A cute, yet quiet girl. What could bring these two together, the enjoyment of poetry. Elji is trying to shake off his delinquent past, but his looks scare people.....save 2. Nenako a girl with a speech impedement (she does speak short words, but anything longer she becomes flustered), and the president of the literature club. But as the two enjoy time together, they gather a group of even more eccentric characters, a girl who speaks with pictures, a self proclaimed witch, the meddling president who is trying to get the two together, and Elji's meddling older sister. Can these two work through the craziness and find a connection?This was an adorable series with short, but memorable episodes. All the characters, even the side ones like Nenako's dad, are enjoyable to watch and have life of their own. Enjoy it, and like many wonder where the heck does she hide all the writing slips (especially during the pool episode).

Echoing other reviewers here, this is a delightful slice-of-life, romantic comedy series of half-length (12 minute) episodes about a girl that "speaks" entirely in senryu and her pursuit of a classmate and fellow senryu fan. (Senryu is like haiku in structure, but different in subject and often tone. Check Wikipedia for more details.)While she rarely actually speaks, what she writes is voiced-over for the audience. I found myself pausing the videos to match what she's saying to what she's written, just so I could learn a few new kanji.For the curious, the writing cards are called tanzaku, available on amazon.co.jp for less than a buck a piece in quantity, but strangely missing from the US store. Search for "pen brush" here to find what she's writing with. Your local art supply store should be able to order both the tanzakus and pen brushes, too.

This product comes on a single Blu Ray disc for all twelve episodes. Both English dubbed and subbed. Keep in mind before you purchase that this is a short anime. The grand total is 180 minutes long.This show has quite the cast of quirky characters to draw you in fast due to the shortened episodes. Centering around a girl who is unable to speak and mean looking yet gentle boy. While the heroine of the story is mute, her placard dialogue is audible to the audience. She is endearingly sweet, one of the few friends the mean looking boy has and is romantically pursuing.Nearly every supporting character is eccentric in fashion or another. They have to be memorable for the short screen time. The show is certainly enjoyable but I wouldn't recommend buying this series at full price. Best to wait until the pricing goes down.