Senryuu Shoujo vs Komi-san

If you're an avid manga reader but you still find unfamiliarity with the title, then give it a quick Google search. You're bound to recognise either one of those two titles. If not, do not worry, I'll give you a very, very brief prelude.

Senryuu Shoujo (Senryu Girl) is a slice of life, rom-com featuring protagonist Yukishiro Nanako who is an otherwise normal girl except for the fact that she exclusively communicates in senryu (just think of it as haiku). She can speak normally but chooses not to and it's funny how those around her just simply ignore this habit of hers. She is supported by the male protagonist: Busujima Eiji.

Komi-san Komyushou Desu (Komi Can't Communicate) is a slice of life, rom-com featuring protagonist Shouko Komi who is an otherwise normal girl except for the fact that she has crippling social anxiety and thus, does not talk much if at all. She communicates either non-verbally or through writing most of the time. She can't speak normally but she's trying to and those around her simply ignore this problem of hers because she's loved by everyone (unbeknownst to her). She is supported by the male protagonist: Hitohito Tadano.

Both mangas are honestly very similar which is what is why I'm even writing this article. Both female protagonists are incredibly cute, moe and meme-able, both of them have problems (or habits) related to verbal communication, both mangas are highschool rom-coms (with the male leads of course), both feature side characters that join the ever-going comical charade, both involve some sort of subverted harem for the male leads, and both the mangas (jointly) have fans that will kill you if you bad mouth either one.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to you now that both of these mangas are constantly being cited together or placed in a make-believe competition to find out which one is better. This is most definitely a fan-driven scenario but what is the manga community without all the diehard fans.

I honestly enjoy reading both of these mangas, having discovered them at around the same time. They're really good mostly because of each of the two main characters. That being said however, there is a HUGE gap with regards to the quality between the two and I will be addressing it here.

Also, just to make the statement very clear, Kaguya-sama is still better than both of these combined. I've mentioned how that's a God-tier manga for me and that still holds true in spite of the declining quality of some of the other mangas I've been reading.

I honestly believe Senryuu Shoujo is the better of the two. Komi-san's strengths lie in its two protagonists and the ditzy artwork with relation to Komi. I'll even admit to the fact that Komi is far more popular than Nanako. This could be attributed to her moe-ness, stronger character development or seemingly more cutesy artstyle. Even Tadano, though popularly known as a very 'plain' character by the rest of the cast is seemingly more interesting than Eiji. He makes less stupid decisions, he's more appealing to a wider audience, he plays off other characters very well due to his so-called plain personality and he's shown more realistic reactions to the romantic portions in the manga. Eiji basically subverts everything by saying "It ain't cool". Despite their strengths however, Komi-san is let down by it's egregious side characters.

The side characters aren't just uninteresting, a lot of them are plain unlikeable and the scenarios they get mixed up in are boring and uninspired. They're all caricatures of blown up anime tropes and social commentary. Take the 'best friend' of Tadano and the only person who doesn't view Komi through rose coloured lenses. He/She (yes, that's the character's recurring trait) is obnoxious, insanely loud and has a personality of a firetruck. He/She never stops talking, is friends with everyone everywhere because reasons, and just has no substance other than to be a walking plot device. Compare that to the president in Senryuu Shoujo. She has her own defined personality, she plays off the characters in her own unique way, she serves as a central figure that can be used with either main character for varied comic scenarios.

The character problem doesn't just stop there. In Komi-san, you have a psychopathic lesbian, a clean freak, a tsundere gyaru, a timid yet menacing looking 'delinquent', etc. You can basically write the entire cast by going through a list of popular anime tropes. They're honestly all just plain annoying and they serve to ruin the story more than anything. I love Komi and Tadano but, more often than not, any moment between the two gets ruined by these psycho characters that come out of nowhere to do nothing but admire Komi and scold Tadano for who knows what!

In Senryuu Shoujo, you have the artist who speaks via her art, the psychic who is paranoid that her predictions might not come true, the seductive childhood friend that is the most underutilised character (thus subverting the trope), the second love interest, etc. They're all very different from basic tropes and thus, contribute far more meaning to the story. You actually enjoy chapters focused on just the side characters but side character focused chapters in Komi-san makes me want to break my monitor.

Moving on to storytelling, Senryuu Shoujo does it way better because it doesn't feel like a swamp when navigating through it. Each chapter is worth looking forward to even if the focus isn't to advance the plot. Yes, let the entire chapter be about fortune telling girl's adventure to make one of her predictions come true because she's afraid it won't come true and then it somehow comes true because of her interference. That is genuinely a fun read.

For Komi-san on the other hand, I dread the wait for each chapter because I don't know whether or not they'll be touching on side characters again. I hate it when they do that. I don't care about the misadventures of the girl who sweats a lot and her clean freak friend. I'd rather read about Komi's day at the pet cafe for the hundredth time. If not, then the author should just advance the plot because dragging out a manga like this cannot in any way work. Even Kaguya-sama is advancing the plot and that manga CAN afford to produce side story upon side story.

All in all, I have a problem that stems from Komi-san's lack of side character depth. If the author were to write off all the side characters and just give us the main two, nothing would change. The manga would just be far, far better to read but nothing else would change.

So take this however you will. Senryuu Shoujo is a better quality manga but the Komi/Tadano pairing is incredibly powerful and well done. Please don't kill me over this. I'll give you my new Kaguya-sama best girl as a reward:

Also, nothing can compare to Kanojo, Okarishimasu. That manga has some of the worst writing I've ever seen. Holy crap, why am I still reading it. Some solid moments no doubt but man is it trash tier.