Bonsai Barber: Surprisingly fun new Wiiware game

I have a pair of scissors and a spray bottle of water, and I'm giving a square-shaped haircut to an anthropomorphic ear of corn named Maizy. I twist my WiiMote to get the perfect angle for trimming the branches from her head, ignoring that in reality corn doesn't have branches, and take small snips, careful to hew as closely to the outline of the style as possible. I'm enjoying this? Really?

I didn't expect to enjoy a game about giving haircuts to vegetables, but I love it. I'm not sure what draws me into Bonsai Barber. The game's mechanics are simple: five characters come to you every day looking for a haircut. They tell you the haircut they'd like, and you do your best to use your scissors, electric shears, comb, and spray bottle to shape their hair into the requested pattern. It isn't difficult, but it also isn't easy. To get a perfect cut, you'll need to wield your tools carefully so that you don't cut away too much or too little. Bonsai Barber isn't a game that rewards twitchy reflexes or mental acumen, but instead encourages taking your time and paying attention to the details.

The game's various characters, not all of whom I've met, are charming but not particularly noteworthy. Still, there's something about them that makes me smile even as they feel like generically cutesy vegetables.

There's a persistence aspect to the game that I haven't fully explored. Apparently, as characters return to you over time, your past cuts will influence the present state of their hair. Characters will also send you messages on your Wii Message Board if they particularly enjoy the cut you gave them or if you miss too many appointments.

I don't think this is the sort of cross-over casual game like Peggle that will appeal to hardcore fans, but it's not one to dismiss out of hand, either. I've been playing it in the middle of the night while trying to get my newborn to sleep, and it's been surprisingly fun. Is anyone else playing this one?