It’s not often that I willingly decide to take up anime shorts. OVAs aside, I think the only other one I’ve seen was Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken, and that was nearly a year ago. Senyuu became intriguing to me after I found a gif of the male “lead” accidentally throwing a dagger into the skull of a passerby, which I found rather humorous. Much to my surprise, Senyuu is one of the more popular anime shorts as voted on by MyAnimeList’s population, with an average score for both seasons reaching higher than the likes of Midori no Hibi, Nabari no Ou, and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, to name a few. After watching the series in its entirety, I think I can understand why the masses would like this series. But as the story goes, I am not like the masses.
In terms of the style of comedy, its similar to that of Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu. It’s off-the-wall, it’s harsh, and it bends the reality of the world it creates by breaking the fourth wall and making everything less important as it goes on… until a certain point. I wouldn’t necessarily say this anime is “funny,” but it has a lot more going for it humor-wise than most other gag anime. A few of the jokes are clever and made me smirk, while the rest range between not funny and slightly amusing. Had they continued this sort of path all the way to the end, I’d probably be speaking of this series in a better light, but almost like following a guidebook, it decides to take the already absurd story and focuses it in a serious light near the end. This is a gag anime, full of parody and goofy antics and not taking anything seriously. After all that’s been introduced, why try and take it seriously? The characters aren’t serious, the story isn’t serious, nothing really makes any sense, so why try and make any sense of it? It makes the entertainment drag. Though, the series wasn’t really worth the build-up in the first place.
The series is, as I’ve said already, a gag anime. It doesn’t make any sense, the characters are goofy, the plot is goofy. Everything’s a joke. That being said, that’s really all it has going for it. If the comedy doesn’t do it for you, there’s nothing else here for you. No character development, no noticeable sub-plots. It’s a straight line from beginning to end with no sides to indulge in. It’s a series that’ll either work for you or won’t. It really all depends on how tolerant you are.
Lastly, the animation for a short is pretty on-point. For a gag anime, the exaggerated expressions and actions help make the series (the first season specifically) funnier. Designs are weird (they even make fun of it in the anime), and match well with the tone of the series, even if it isn’t always that way. I think animation would be the shining point here, aside from the comedy, but it leaves a lot to be desired by the end.
The series didn’t have a lot of impact on me as a viewer. I like things with a point, even in gag anime. This particular gag anime didn’t provide me with such, so it’s not something I would immediately recommend. But as a time-waster, Senyuu will do wonders, and maybe provide a smile or three throughout the first season. But that’s all I can really say. It’s a good time-waster.
The rating for this title and all others can be found on MyAnimeList.
The Visualist's Veranda 
I love a good time-waster. Sometimes nothing better than some good old-fashioned ridiculousness.