"SOFTENNI! the ANIMATION" Review: Tennis and the Charm of Youth

SOFTENNI! the ANIMATION - SOFTENNI! the ANIMATION - Comprehensive review and recommendation

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

comics

■ Broadcast period

April 7, 2011 - June 23, 2011

■Broadcasting station

TOKYO MX, AT-X, Chiba TV, TV Aichi, Teletama, Sun TV, Niconico Channel, tvk, ShowTime

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 12

■Original Story

Azuchi Ryo

■ Director

Ryouki Kamitsubo

■ Production

Animation production: XEBEC
Produced by: "Softenni" Production Committee (Geneon Universal, Lantis, Clockworks, XEBEC, AT-X, Studio Mouse)

■ Story

The girls' soft tennis club at Shiratama Junior High School are active today, with the addition of the delusional girl "Harukaze Asuna", the passionate karate girl "Zawana Kotone", the club president and big eater girl "Akiyama Chitose", and the mysterious girl "Fuyukawa Kurusu"! And with the addition of the blonde exchange student girl "Elizabeth", the club is aiming to win the national championship! A youth comedy packed with love, rivals, passion and delusions! It will finally be made into a TV anime in April 2011!

■Cast

・Harukaze Asuna/Ito Kanae・Sawanatsu Kotone/Kitamura Eri・Akiyama Chitose/Ito Shizuka・Fuyukawa Kurusu/Akesaka Satomi・Elizabeth Warren/Yahagi Sayuri・Hiragishi Yayoi, Uzuki/Tomatsu Haruka・Mishimaki Hiroshi/Matsumoto Shinobu・Harukaze Kasuga/Otani Ikue・Shido Misaki/Kotobuki Minako・Hiratsuka Yura/Toyosaki Aki・Kiba Sumino/Inoue Marina・Amemiya Seriha/Kikuchi Kokoro・Mizumori Azusa/Tatsumi Yuiko・Kazamata Ayaka/Ueda Noriko・Nagumo Shiho/Hayami Saori・Tsuchida Sachiko/Akutsu Kana・Tenchi Reo/Sawashiro Miyuki

■ Main staff

・Director: Ryoki Kamitsubo ・Character design: Yuichi Oka ・Scenario: Noboru Kimura, Takamitsu Kono, Yosuke Kuroda ・Sound director: Yoshikazu Iwanami ・Music production: Lantis ・Animation production: XEBEC

■ Main Characters

Harukaze Asuna is a second-year member of the Shiratama Junior High School Soft Tennis Club. She is a bright and positive-minded girl. Her family lives on a farm, and her favorite food is strawberry milk. She says that she wants to become a "female leopard who seduces men" in the future, and she has a habit of indulging in lewd fantasies and going out of control.
A second-year club member who teams up with Asuna in matches. A boyish, passionate girl. She loves "sweat and tears" situations like intensive training. Her father is a strong karateka, and Kotone is also a national-class karateka. She has feelings for her advisor, Mishimaki-sensei.
Chitose Akiyama is the club captain and the only third-year member. Although he is usually a warm and soothing person, he is a big eater and becomes aggressive when it comes to food. He is a theorist and knows a lot about tennis techniques, but in reality he is hopelessly bad at them.
A quiet first-year club member. A genius with superhuman physical abilities. A mysterious rookie whose thoughts are a little unclear. He likes to wear headgear and costumes, and is surprisingly playful and has a penchant for novelty items.
Elizabeth Warren is a second-year student and a member of the club who is studying abroad. Her nickname is Eli. She admired Mishimagi when she was young and aspired to become a tennis player, and even made it to the national tournament in her native England. She still loves Mishimagi, and came to Japan to meet him. She is a beautiful girl with a pure and innocent appearance, but she is a bit of an airhead. Her Japanese is a little clumsy.
・Mishima Motohiro The advisor of the soft tennis club. Nicknamed Missy. He is easygoing and takes a relatively laissez-faire approach to club activities, but this is not because he lacks leadership skills, but because he wants to develop the individuality of his players. He was once a genius player who won the national championship. He likes spicy food.

■Subtitle

Episode 1: Asaren Episode 2: Pakkin Episode 3: Moretsu Episode 4: Odekake Episode 5: Sairai Episode 6: Tsupea Episode 7: Senpuku Episode 8: Teppei Episode 9: Hitomasu Episode 10: Shinkan Episode 11: Trip Episode 12: Return

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・"Forget the rulebook"
・Song／ULTRA-PRISM with Shiratama Junior High School Girls' Soft Tennis Club・ED1
・"Standing on tiptoes"
・Song: Kanae Ito

■Detailed evaluation

Story and Characters

"SOFTENNI! the ANIMATION" is a unique work, even within the coming-of-age comedy genre. The story, woven by the protagonist Harukaze Asuna and other unique characters, provides viewers with laughter and emotion. The unique characteristics of each character, such as Asuna's delusional tendencies, Kotone's passion, Chitose's big eater, Kurusu's mysteriousness, and Elizabeth's airheadedness, enrich the story. The presence of the club advisor, Mr. Mishimagi, is also important, and his teaching philosophy and past experiences have an impact on the club members.

The story revolves around the activities of the soft tennis club, which aims to win the national championship, and depicts the growth, friendship, and romance of the club members. In particular, each episode is packed with highlights, such as how the duo of Asuna and Kotone grows through the matches, and how Chitose brings the club members together as the club captain. In addition, the backstories of each character are also explored in depth, such as Kurusu's mysterious behavior and Elizabeth's feelings for Mishimagi.

Animation and performance

XEBEC, the animation production company, provides visual enjoyment by depicting the characters' movements and expressions in great detail. In particular, the tennis movements in the match scenes and the production that reflects the individuality of the characters are superb. For example, in Asuna's fantasy scene, her imagination is visually expressed, which has the effect of drawing the viewer in. Additionally, the production makes use of each character's unique characteristics in many scenes, such as Kotone's karate scene and Chitose's competitive eating scene.

Director Ryoki Kamitsubo carefully depicts the characters' growth and drama while keeping the tempo of a youth comedy in mind. The subtitles for each episode are also unique, and are designed to attract the viewer's interest. Character designer Yuichi Oka faithfully reproduces the image of the original work while bringing out the unique charm of animation.

Music and voice acting

Lantis, in charge of music production, provided the opening theme "Forget Rurubook" and the ending theme "Tsumasakidachi". The opening theme is an energetic song by ULTRA-PRISM with Shiratama Junior High School Girls' Soft Tennis Club, which has the effect of raising the viewer's excitement. Meanwhile, the ending theme is a ballad featuring Kanae Ito's gentle singing voice, which enhances the moving story. The music in the play was also carefully created to match each scene, playing a role in drawing out the viewer's emotions.

The voice actors are also impressive, and each character's personality is well portrayed. In particular, Ito Kanae, who plays Harukaze Asuna, realistically portrays Asuna's cheerfulness and tendency to fantasize, creating a character that is beloved by viewers. Kitamura Eri, who plays Sawaka Kotone, brings out Kotone's hot-bloodedness and boyish charm, and Ito Shizuka, who plays Akiyama Chitose, skillfully portrays the contrast between Chitose's warm and soothing atmosphere and the gluttonous eating scene. Akesaka Satomi, who plays Fuyukawa Kurusu, skillfully expresses Kurusu's mysterious and playful side, and Yahagi Sayuri, who plays Elizabeth Warren, carefully portrays Eri's airheaded personality and her feelings for Mishimaki. Matsumoto Shinobu, who plays Mishimaki Hiroshi, also does a good job of portraying both the easygoing atmosphere and the strictness of a leader.

Recommended points

"SOFTENNI! the ANIMATION" is not only a comedic coming-of-age story, but is also packed with a variety of elements, including character growth, friendship, and romance. In particular, it is packed with visually and aurally enjoyable elements, such as the charms of the unique characters, the tennis movements in the match scenes, and the music and voice acting. Additionally, the subtitles and story development of each episode are unique, and are designed to draw the viewer's interest.

The points that make me recommend this work are as follows:

• The charm of unique characters
• Tennis movements and performances in match scenes
• Visual and auditory enjoyment through music and voice acting
• Subtitles and story development for each episode
• A sense of tempo and emotion as a youth comedy

Taking these points into consideration, "SOFTENNI! the ANIMATION" is a work that I would especially recommend to those who like youth comedies and sports anime, those who like unique characters, and those who are particular about music and voice acting. Please give it a watch.