i have practiced shorin ryu and shotokan i will say this i have acheived my black belt when i was nine in shorin ryu i have recently got my black belt in shotokan at the age of thirteen therefore ive got some experience in both of these styles. it depends what you want to do if you are going to compete at national and international level shotokan will destroy kata due to the amazing katas and the complex and spectacular movements like in the kata honsu. Shorin ryu is beatuiful graceful and if practiced under an accomplished instructor is very good for the graceful movements but it cant beat the low stances of shotokan. this depends on the karateka as i apply my shotokan low stances on shorin ryu and often win competitions in kata. for kumite they are both the same and this will depend on your sensei sensei john richards is an amazing teacher who i strongly recommend he got me to come third in the world championships for kumite so overall both styles show grace and style for what they do shorin ryu spends more time on the flexibility and agility part of it . i hope this shows a good overview of both styles:)
