Winter Anime Poetry Anthology
Just relax and get cozy. Don’t even think about applauding with pretentious finger snaps!
When I was a little kid, I was read poetry. An entire step in my reading education was promptly skipped so that I started off with Robert Frost instead of Robert Munsch. It must have left an impression on me, because I still read poetry books regularly. I’m far from being a master poet (or anything remotely in that realm) but I thought it would be fun to stretch my imagination and do something a little more on the creative writing side of things compared to my usual monthly editorial. I think I’m also doing this in hopes that other people will write animu poems for me to read. o_o Anyways, since the winter anime are all fresh in my mind, I decided to write about a couple of the ones I’m watching. Enjoy some short free verse poems, haiku, and other, potentially made up formats!
Another
Terrible weather.
Inside – stairs slick with her blood,
Outside – the rain pours.
—
The story is branded painfully into each of their minds,
Festering, blistered and raw.
No soft coaxing or pleading can obtain their secrets.
It’s all lost on their lips like wisps of smoke,
Never given a true form.
Like those unspoken words,
She too remains trapped in limbo.
Half dead, half alive,
But not more of one than the other.
Brave 10
He’s got a big sword
and nothing else quite matters
in this bishie-fest.
Guilty Crown
There once was a girl named Inori
The emotionless doll of this story.
She’s in love with a shoe,
But what will he do,
If she dies in a manner most gory?
—
Looming tall is the throne of steel,
As heavy as the pit forming in her gut.
Gravity laughs, merciless,
Ever an enemy to the fallen.
Only after muscles strain like soldiers
Does the queen rise into her throne once more,
Her eyes as steady as time,
Her legs as still as death itself.
Hunter x Hunter
Hello, little boy.
My, how strong you will be when
I rip your heart out.
Mirai Nikki
I will love you forever
With all my heart and skill
Don’t run away. Not now, not ever.
A bond that can’t sever,
An eternally devoted will,
I will love you forever.
Your friends all feign to be clever,
But I am always quicker to kill.
Don’t run away. Not now, not ever.
Just gently push the lever,
Watch them convulse from the pill.
I will love you forever.
A struggle, a battle, yet we endeavor,
Through feeling hurt, lost and ill,
Don’t run away. Not now, not ever.
I will follow you wherever,
Until you understand my love; this thrill.
I will love you forever,
Don’t run away. Not now, not ever.
Shin Prince of Tennis
Breaking all the rules.
Tennis without gravity.
All obey the prince.
Nisemonogatari
The most daring of tongues does dance,
Behind soft, peach veils.
Which is sharper; her wit or those fangs?
Which would I prefer to make me bleed?
—
Little girl panties
Shame overcomes you from within
Pedophilia
Persona 4
Narukami Yu
All the way or Goho-M
Swag levels maxed
—
The power of bonds
Weakens and fades away as
The train rumbles forth
Phi Brain
The puzzle calls out,
Its secrets bare before me.
It is puzzle time!
—
Who needs company?
All I need is this puzzle,
And you to solve it.
Rinne no Lagrange
Turn like the clock
See how the hour hand grows heavy,
Time growing bored with the very concept of itself
A maddening countdown in tedium.
Turn like the wheel of fate
Puppets hung from strings of destiny,
With childish grins painted on their faces.
The red string is but a noose.
Turn like the earth revolving.
Savour the feeling of hurtling through the universe,
Although you can’t quite feel it.
But do it while you can before it’s destroyed.
Turn
Turn
Turn
…Maru.
Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Singing a swan song
Of soul-searing sweetness.
OH GOD, COUGHING BLOOD!!!
—
Resound, sweet voice of mine
Don’t let the echo wane.
Singing so each and every line
Will never be in vain.
Bonus Fanart:
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
omg omg omg these are awesome! Loved the Lagrange one..Turn, Turn, Turn…Maru! Perfect <3 And the Guilty Crown poem buahahaha
Great job OC! Best anime themed poems ever <3
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Thank you! I’m so glad people are actually enjoying them :3
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Ahahaha holy crap you’re fast. These are awesome! Though my favourite has to be the Symphogear oneｓ.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
When I finally sit down to write and I’m in a good mood, I can get a lot done XD If I’m not in the right mood I spend like an hour staring at screencaps and waiting for something to happen.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ and Vocaloid Fangirl with 363 comments
OC these are awesomeeee. xD Enjoyed reading them a lot hurhur. I really like the Mirai Nikki one it has this.. sadistic/subtly violent ring to it
(JUST LIKE YOU DO)and the Guilty Crown one HAHA SHOES.POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I should be worried if I can channel Yuno’s feelings so easily, I would assume…
How did this knife get here? AhahahahaPOWUH: Meta Resident and Yōko Fanboy with 1246 comments
I’ve never seen this done before and OC, don’t be modest, you do have great poetry skills xD There were heaps of different forms of poetry and as much as I like poetry, I would never be able to write one up 😛
Is the Rinne Lagrange one about Madoka doing everything perfect? I didn’t quite understand that ^^;
“singing a swan song… OH GOD, COUGHING BLOOD!!” AHAHAHAHA!!!! I totally didn’t expect a comedic jab at all, great work OC! Love to see more in the future xD
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I looked over it after I wrote the whole thing and started to panic thinking “WHY DID I WRITE ABOUT POETRY WHEN I’M NOT A POET?!?!” but ended up posting it anyways. XD I’m glad I did now. I haven’t seen any other anime poetry posts personally, although I’d love for it to be a thing that other people do <3
The Rinne no Lagrange poem is supposed to be about the legend of the three mechs told at the end of episode 3.Show ▼
I felt like I needed some humour in there so it didn't feel too pretentious haha, thanks so much for the comment Tofu~
POWUH: 700-799 and Horror Expert with 701 comments
omg I love these! I really liked the Guilty Crown poems especially, the second one was my favorite. ^^
I love these lines so much, and the entire poem too!
The Brave 10 haiku and the Symphogear haiku made me laugh so much, you really captured the pain of Tsubasa spewing blood from her face. x3
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Thanks so much, Hawthorne! I liked poking fun at Symphogear for all the blood spewing XD
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 58 comments
OC why are you
so very very awesome
refrigerator
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
A+ poem!
JESUS CHRIST WHY DIDN’T I THINK TO REPLY TO ALL THE COMMENTS IN HAIKU. AGHHHH MISSED OPPORTUNITY.
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Very nice, OC! Your Nisemonogatari poem is my favorite. I also like the Persona and Mirai Nikki ones.
If you do a pt. 2, could you do Penguindrum please?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Thanks! People seem to like it AND it was fun to do so there’s a good chance that I’ll do this again in the future. I’ll be sure to inlude some penguindrum poems for you :3
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Awesome poetry skills, OC. Every one is sweet and to the point. My favorites are Another, Guilty Crown, Mirai Nikki, Nisemonogatari, Phi Brain, Rinne no Lagrange and Senki Zesshou Symphogear.
You captured Yuno’s “devotion” to her lover in Mirai Nikki, Tsubasa’s pain in Symphogear, Another’s creepiness and Inori’s unpredictability in Guilty Crown.
The Nisemonogatari poem was the one that stuck out for me. Obviously the second half is about Koyomi, but who does the first half refer to? Senjougahara or Shinobu? Senjougahara is so dangerous, she might as well have fangs.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I had Shinobu in mind (the bath scene in particular) when writing the first Nisemonogatari poem, but it could easily apply to almost any of the girls as long as you don’t take “fangs” too literally XD Interpret all of the poems however you want! That’s part of what I love about poetry (and I guess art in general)
POWUH: 400-499 with 489 comments
these are getting me into poems. wasn’t really into at all till now
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
REALLY? I hope it works!
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
Pro. That is all. <3
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LOOKING OVER THE POEMS! I’m glad I didn’t scrap this afterall haha
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 116 comments
Someone make a funny poem about Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou please. I’ll try to make a haiku.
“Imouto” (read this as though Tadakuni was reading it)
I shall put them on
My imouto’s pink panties
She punches my face
IMOUTO!!! XD
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
AWESOME! A tale of comedic-tragedy indeed… XD I actually started writing “Ode to a nipple” but decided I didn’t want to be THAT weird. Imouto panties would’ve been a better topic to attempt haha.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 199 comments
This is the best thing that could happen to me at 07.10 in the morning on Saturday. I especially like Nisemono one (first part) and Guilty Crown. They have some hidden depths. The rest is great too, of course.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Why are you up so early on the weekend? Goodness. I’m glad it was a nice wake-up call though :3
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 199 comments
Had to go see exam results
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
OC, this is awesome sauce. <3
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The best kind of sauce.
POWUH: 400-499 with 428 comments
This is some seriously awesome stuff OC! Love the longer poems like Mirai Nikki and Guilty Crown (heh, that little reference at the end…what WOULD he do if Inori died…) but those smaller, shorter ones like Persona, Symphogear and Nisemonogatari (that second haiku, so much rofl!). From one lover of literacy to another, I salute you! 😀
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Thanks! Shu always has the misfortune of being the one who has to watch people die and having to go through changes because of it, so I wondered what type of person he’d become if Inori kicked the bucket.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 192 comments
To be honest, I’m not really fond of poetry. Perhaps I can pin the blame on the crappy poems by unknown authors I was forced to swallow back in school or the sometimes abstract and undefined meaning of a poem.
But Overcooled, thanks for showing me that poems can come from anybody and be about anything. I particularly enjoyed your more comical ones such as Brave 10’s big sword, Inori’s shoe-love and the Goho-M reference.
About the second P4 poem though, were you referring to a particular ending in the game? I had to think for a while before I made sense of it. Anyway, thanks again for the interesting article, I enjoyed it. *snaps fingers*
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It’s quite flattering that I got someone who doesn’t even like poetry all that much to read my post~ Poems don’t have to be obscure and saturated with difficult metaphors for the heck of it…they can be fun :3
I’m glad someone caught that, the P4 poem about the train is a reference to the bad ending! Or even the good ending if you want to be cynical.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 192 comments
I see, thanks for the reply. =)
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
*finger snaps* (I’m in a poetry club at school so I have to.)
Quite a few of these poems have interesting twists at the end, especially the second Nisemonogatari one. And Inori’s shoe love. Just wonderful.
And now, my own poetry…
Guilty Crown
The right to use my friends
As their own weapons
Their own murderers
Is not worth quite that much
When compared with
The dull life I once had
When nothing mattered
When nothing happened
And I could just sit
And watch the cherry blossoms fall
In springtime.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Do you guys actually finger snap as an applause? That’s pretty impressive. I wonder if my university has a poetry club…
I’m so pleased that people are commenting with poems of their own! I like the hard contrast between murdering and relaxing cherry petals *finger snap applause* (Fun fact: I can’t actually snap my fingers…thank goodness for the internet).
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
Prince of tennis poem looks more like a rap 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Now that I look at it again, you’re right. The Persona 4 poem about swag is also looking a lot like a rap song too XD
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Critique with 1024 comments
Someone is going to need a cloth to wipe my brains off the wall, cause my mind was just blown.
OC these are beautiful and hilarious. Love the Brave 10 and Mirai Nikki ones <3 You have real talent
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
OH BOY, I CAN PRACTICE FOR MY NEUROANATOMY EXAM WITH THIS! Into the bucket ye go, brain scraps.
But seriously, thanks for the compliments Hime >w<
POWUH: 400-499 with 406 comments
Mmm, I really like these. My favourites are the Guilty Crown, Mirai Nikki and Brave 10 related ones.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The Brave 10 poem is surprisingly popular haha
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 99 comments
My favorite’s the one about Guilty Crown
The show never fails to let me down
But your great poetry
Truly moves me
To smile in place of the frown!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Renn, that poem is. so. cute.