oprohaska - 2014-03-13 01:19:11

Story: The series follows Shiratama Middle School student Asuna Harukaze and her teammates, who are all members of their school's Soft Tennis club. Their team are intent on winning the soft tennis national championship but must also deal with the trials, twists and turns of their comedic, adventurous school life. (Source: Wikipedia)

My Synopsis: Well... some girls are doing tennis and.... that's all I got.

Pros: Ok so there isn't much of a story here, but its more than made up for by the fact that these characters are all awesome. Not awesome in a cool or heartwarming way, but just the funny kind. These girls all get into some weird adventures while playing tennis (yes they do play it) like going to temples, riding and fighting bears, and even having weird imaginations (we'll... get to that later). Simply put, the show is freaking hilarious.

Speaking of, let us talk about them all shall we? Asuna is the nice optimistic one who loves her friends (not like that) and never gives up. Catch is though that she misled and can easily have weird 'daydreams' which are rather perverted (kind of like me... don't judge O///O). Her partner Kotone is a rather rambunctious tomboy who dreams of going to Wimbledon to perform there (there is no soft tennis for that though, she does not know that) and has a crush on there coach Mishi [played for laughs of course]. Chitose is in charge of the tactics and is the other coach but is dreadful at playing actual soft tennis. She loves food and hunting though which is creepy and funny at the same time. Kurusu is a stoic girl who loves to wear costumes and explosions. comedy writes itself here especially with the others reactions. And finally the other main character is Elizabeth, a British blonde (course) who is quiet and likes Mishi also since they met since childhood and such, much to Kotone's dismay [also played for laughs; it works].

The voices work and fanservice add to the humor (unless another certain anime I previously reviewed). The music sounds energized and upbeat and is catchy as all heck. The running gag with Asuna's cow at the end of every episode is also great since they add in and mix it up a bunch :)

Cons: Story is only decent at best. The art is a bit wonky at first but the animation more than makes up for it. The ending and last few episodes are also pretty weak and it seems to end off on a cliffhanger... at least I think so. I think there's more potential for this but it never came on and it never got another season... which makes me sad :(

Overall: I love this show, its criminally the most underrated show I've ever seen in my life and it really does deserve some more love. If you want an anime with laughs, fanservice, and actual sports, then definitely check this one out! If you don't like those, then don't watch.

Thanks for looking at my fifth review~

lframi - 2013-06-29 02:36:39

Softenni is primarily a slice of life comedy with ecchi. There is soft tennis in it, but that is more a reason to bring the characters together than a genuine focus in the actual series. I should make it clear that this is NOT a show for someone looking for a sports anime. Being slice of life there is little substance in ways of the story. The basic setting is the Soft Tennis Club want to win nationals and then go onto Wimbledon. A rival tennis club is introduced part way through the series as are more girls and so on. The heart of the show are the characters. Each of them manages to bring something different to the court in terms of appeal. Each has their own little gimmick, for instance, Asuna tends to think a lot of things are sexual innuendos (when they are not), to hilarious results. How much you enjoy each gimmick is probably how much you'll like each character. Like any show in the genre, it has to make you laugh. Softenni does not offer as many huge moments some other over the top shows (like say Sora no Otoshimono) offer, but the running gags and overall quality of the humor are a lot higher. Visually, the show is kind of middling. Pretty average detail, etc. However, it's not really a problem. Voice acting is fine. Elizabeth's voice is probably the least bearable, but it's passable due to the characters background. I suggest watching this show if you like to laugh. If you enjoy things like Otoshimono and K On, Softenni is sure to be an ace.