Softenni

Also labelled as “Soft Tennis”, this series had totally slipped under my radar, in fact don’t recall even seeing it listed among the shows lined up to air this spring. When comrade solwyvern mentioned “Softenni” and its yuri shenanigans, decided to give it a try.

Based on the ongoing “そふてにっ” manga by Azuchi Ryo, this comedy peppered with ecchi and yuri jokes follows the not so daily adventures of the Hakkou middle school soft tennis club girls and their coach.

Watching without any expectations, “Softenni” did not disappoint, providing some nice laughs and yuri comedy entertainment courtesy of main character Asua, who’s a real hoot.

Alas the series clearly doesn’t reach the level of other excellent comedies like “Nichijou” or “A Channel”. Even with all the yuri and ecchi shenanigans thrown in, it still falls short of being as good as shows like “Maria†Holic: Alive“.

Most of the humor alternates between either using classic comedy situations or far-fetched jokes but their execution and the rather plain visuals prevent “Softenni” from really excelling or standing out in a positive way. Hence, fear this series is ultimately but one of the weaker, forgettable titles with room for much improvement.

Most characters are the standard fare seen in many series, even lead character Asuna isn’t able to be that refreshing, though her combination of looking a bit clueless and being quick to think perverted things but also being quite level-headed is peculiar enough.

Created by Xebec, the anime adaptation of the “そふてにっ” manga doesn’t particularly visually excel and the animation is more often mediocre, with but a few scenes offering good animation.

Nonetheless, will continue to watch this show as two factors personally make it a worthwhile watch for me.

There are firstly of course the yuri and ecchi shenanigans spawned from the mind of Asuna which provide ample entertainment and make the series’ other flaws bearable, but what’s more interesting to me is the voice cast, especially who voices Asuna.

Cute Asuna is voiced by none other than Itou Kanae, who also voices Ohana in “Hanasaku Iroha” and Saten in “To Aru Kagaku No Railgun”. Her work is excellent and a perfect fit for Asuna’s character.

The tennis club’s busty captain Chitose is voiced by Ito Shizuka, who you may recognize as Haruka from “Amagami SS”, Ookami in “Ookami-san To Shichinin No Nakama-tachi” or Kanzaki in “To Aru Majutsu No Index”.

Twin tailed tsundere Kotone is voiced by Kitamura Eri who also did characters like Kureha in “So-Ra-No-Wo-To”, Allean in “Queen’s Blade” or Nao in “Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janai Dakara ne!!“.

While a nice enough comedy so far for me, cannot especially recommend “Softenni” over other current titles unless the few yuri jokes or Itou Kanae’s voice work would also make it a worthwhile watch for you.