Sofuteni Discussion Thread

[Suwako Moriya]

In this anime, cute middle schools play tennis. At least that seems to be the basic idea here.

ANN Entry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=12115)

Official Site (http://www.softenni.com/)


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[Suwako Moriya]

I think I might be leaning towards Kotone based on the initial watch.

Asuna's thought process worries me.

Oh, it figures one of the five wouldn't be in the first episode. The one in question being Elizabeth. Or maybe I just missed her. Well, hopefully it won't take 3/4 of the series to introduce her.

This series loves panties as much as it loves tennis balls.

[kijakusai]

The one in question being Elizabeth. Or maybe I just missed her. Well, hopefully it won't take 3/4 of the series to introduce her.
　
I bought and read the Softenni manga in the original.
Since Elizabeth Warren appeared for the first time in the 9th game, which is included in volume 2, her appearance in the anime, too, may be somewhat late.
　

[EmperorBrandon]

Well, that had a lot more fanservice than I was expecting really, but it's not bad. Seems like a fun bunch of characters even though I'm not too interested in tennis. It's interesting despite the fanservice that the male teacher advisor doesn't really seem to be perverted at this point (other than being imagined as one)


Oh, it figures one of the five wouldn't be in the first episode. The one in question being Elizabeth. Or maybe I just missed her. Well, hopefully it won't take 3/4 of the series to introduce her.

They say there's going to be a new character next episode in the preview and the episode is titled "blond hair" (and Elizabeth looks to have that). Maybe it will be someone else with blond hair, though...

[HitokiriShadow]

Meh.

I don't care about sports, so sports in anime are something of a negative. However, I very much like the idea of anime about girls playing sports, provided they're done right.

But this.... bleh. It's not really about tennis, any more than K-On is about playing music. Playing tennis is just a setting or theme, while the show attempts to be an ecchi comedy. Except its not at all funny. And the show has absolutely no idea how to do ecchi/fanservice. Because pretty much every attempt it made was just awful.

I liked Kotone (she's pretty much the only part of the show I liked, with 90% of the little bit of amusement I got out of the episode came from her; the other 10% came from Kurusu, but Kurusu missed much more than she hit), but with something like 5 billion shows airing this season, she's probably not enough to get me to suffer through another episode.

[ndm]

[quote=HitokiriShadow;1928033]Meh.

I don't care about sports, so sports in anime are something of a negative. However, I very much like the idea of anime about girls playing sports, provided they're done right.

But this.... bleh. It's not really about tennis, any more than K-On is about playing music. Playing tennis is just a setting or theme, while the show attempts to be an ecchi comedy. Except its not at all funny. And the show has absolutely no idea how to do ecchi/fanservice. Because pretty much every attempt it made was just awful.
[quote]

Agreed. I got ten minutes in, realised I wasn't enjoying it and switched over to something else. Will not be watching any more eps.

[Suwako Moriya]

Aside from the issue of her "English", Elizabeth isn't that bad. Well, in the context of this show anyway.

I've come to the conclusion that Asuna needs to have sex badly. Seriously, with her mind set, she might as well be horny.

Kotone remains the primary reason to watch the show. Plus, she feels more like a main character than Asuna does.

The idea of using her leg to swing the racket was amusing. Sure, you can claim it's another excuse for a panty shot, but let's not kid ourselves here. It's not like they needed the idea to show them.

[Fencedude]

Well, that was...ok? Not terrible or anything, just very...ok.

Eh

[bear]

Aside from the issue of her "English", Elizabeth isn't that bad. Well, in the context of this show anyway.


Why can't they find someone who's a native English speaker (who also speaks Japanese) for these roles? I mean, common, they know what a real English accent sounds like. Union rules? ;)

The cow getting out at the end looks like it's going to be a running gag.

[EmperorBrandon]

Elizabeth seems prety cute and amusing so far. Besides the breasts thing that was pointed out in the show :), she also seems to defy the blonde gaijin stereotype by being rather subdued rather than loud and energetic, which is interesting to me.

[Suwako Moriya]

One thing I find interesting in regards to Kotone's reason for joining is this. Now the normal scenario I'm used to is along the lines of

"Wow! You're amazing at X, please join our group that does X. Did I mention that you're amazing at X?"

Yet this time around we have a case of someone joining X in order to try out something that he or in this case she has not actually mastered yet.

I'm sure someone will point out to me that this scenario has already happened a billion times. I already know that because that's true of any scenario you can think of.

That still doesn't change the point of what I'm saying here.

[DenpaWa]

One thing I find interesting in regards to Kotone's reason for joining is this. Now the normal scenario I'm used to is along the lines of

"Wow! You're amazing at X, please join our group that does X. Did I mention that you're amazing at X?"

Yet this time around we have a case of someone joining X in order to try out something that he or in this case she has not actually mastered yet.

I'm sure someone will point out to me that this scenario has already happened a billion times. I already know that because that's true of any scenario you can think of.

That still doesn't change the point of what I'm saying here.

Yeah, I liked that she's the sort of person who'd rather have a challenge than do something that she knows will have people fawning over her.

She's really kind of stolen the show from Asuna, at least for me. Unless this is going to be like Hyakko, where the first-introduced character was just there to set the stage for the main character.

[Suwako Moriya]

In this episode, the girls practice Tennis in weather that's essentially terrible. Yeah, more or less.

We also get plenty of "Buy the DVD" moments. Stupid censor animals. Heck you get several seconds of blank screen with nothing, but censor animals and some message.

I like how Chitose sets up a chart and has it so the others already lost matches before they did any.

Kurusu seems to enjoy messing with Kotone.

Asuna seems to be dedicated to imagining the teacher and Kotone in situations.

Poor Kurusu, her costumes were rejected. Ok, Elizabeth seemed to be more accepting.

I think even if you sent that Cow into the void of which no one can escape, it would escape. The Cow is a higher being clearly.

And the results of the league match. Kurusu surpasses all. Oh, and now I suppose I should start using Eri for short.

[EmperorBrandon]

We also get plenty of "Buy the DVD" moments. Stupid censor animals. Heck you get several seconds of blank screen with nothing, but censor animals and some message.

I'm used to censor animals at this point, but I think this is my first time coming across "we can't even show you this scene" censorship. I have to wonder what exactly Chitose was doing with that creature... :sweat:

Poor Kurusu, her costumes were rejected. Ok, Elizabeth seemed to be more accepting.

I was thinking they were kind of similar in being the more subdued part of the team, so it was amusing seeing them on the same wavelength there too. :)

[Fencedude]

...I really could have lived without Yahagi Sayuri's attempt at a Gaijin accent.

This show is still frightfully generic.

[Suwako Moriya]

Kurusu continues her teaching and corrupting of Eri.

Complimenting Panties is important.

I like Seriha's design, but I think I'd like it even more if the art and animation was stronger in this series. Ah, well.

[EmperorBrandon]

Complimenting Panties is important.

I liked that. Usually in anime you can always expect an angry and violent reaction to a comment like that. I just knew that wasn't going to be the case for Asuna, though, and she proved me right. Haha...

Nice to see some rivals firmly established here. Quite a few amusing moments throughout this episode.


I like Seriha's design, but I think I'd like it even more if the art and animation was stronger in this series. Ah, well.

She really seems to look a good bit different from everyone else, like she's some sort of alien or demon or something. Amuses me, though, and I think I rather like her personality so far.

[DenpaWa]

Complimenting Panties is important.

I liked that. Usually in anime you can always expect an angry and violent reaction to a comment like that. I just knew that wasn't going to be the case for Asuna, though, and she proved me right. Haha...

She took it in stride since it was all so much tamer than what goes on in her imagination. :sweat:

Nice to see some rivals firmly established here. Quite a few amusing moments throughout this episode.Kotone came across as a jerk to me. The captain of that school's team seems pretty amusing and Asuna's love interest (not that she realizes it!) was endearing in a puppy-dog kind of way.

[Fencedude]

Well, the show has completely abandoned any pretense of making sense.

The EVA parody was fairly amusing.

[Suwako Moriya]

So we end the episode with Seriha and her allies prepared to battle Kotone and her allies.

So that begs the question. Who am I supposed to root for then? One team has Kotone, but the other has Seriha.

Also, it begs the question how much time will be spent on the Seriha team. They could dedicate multiple episodes to it. Or they could rush through all of it in a single episode.

[pianocello]

It's a pity that so few people were watching this. Sure, it was flawed but it was also entertaining.
The animation could have been better. Of the main cast, Chitose and Yayoi are not interesting. There is too much of Kurusu's costumes in the first episodes but thankfully they were reduced. Eli is okay but she doesn't really get to do much. Kotone is great but I could do without her pining for Mishi. Asuna's ecchi fantasies are what makes this great. The show would be better if it was more about Asuna and Kotone becoming a yuri couple.
Still, the show reminds me of Umisho. Does anyone know if the sales are good enough for a 2nd season?

[Fencedude]

Still, the show reminds me of Umisho. Does anyone know if the sales are good enough for a 2nd season?

Totally not like we don't have a thread (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showthread.php?t=104945) devoted to such information.

[EmperorBrandon]

It's a pity that so few people were watching this.

I watched all the way through it and rather enjoyed it. I just haven't been discussing it here (one of the series where I mostly migrated over to Fandom Post in talking about). It's hit or miss with the comedy, but the hits of the series are pretty funny for me, and I like the cast of characters overall.

As far as sales go, It seemingly did so low that there aren't any numbers available.

[Suwako Moriya]

I watched all the way through it and rather enjoyed it. I just haven't been discussing it here (one of the series where I mostly migrated over to Fandom Post in talking about). It's hit or miss with the comedy, but the hits of the series are pretty funny for me, and I like the cast of characters overall.

It's kind of sad, I was hoping to do double duty posting. Post about an episode over there, and then post about it here. Or vice versa. Yet in several cases, I failed to do that.

In any case, yeah the show is flawed, but over all pretty nice. As for characters, none can deny the power of Misaki or Shiki. Although I'm partial to Seriha.

As far as sales go, It seemingly did so low that there aren't any numbers available.

Which is sad. I'm not surprised it did poorly. It almost seemed destined to. However to not even have numbers... It's like expecting a person to burn when they touch a hot stove, but instead of that, the person blows up....

Edit: I'm going to set up sub threads for the rest of the episodes and port over some of my thoughts....

[Suwako Moriya]

It is hard to resist the Seriha side of the force.

Leo, I'm not sure what to question more. The fact you're helping the enemy or the way you're doing it. Also, Leona? That's just wrong.

[Suwako Moriya]

Poor Yura, she was given the task of spying on a group of girls that's essentially our leads. Therefore her life is doomed.

Ah, more fanservice. Some of it even avoids censorship. Keyword being some. Oh, and swimsuits. Funny how Eri gets the white one.

Err that Bear is a bit large. Also, is Kurusu even human? She must be some deity that took human form.

Gasp! The Seriha group was defeated by the err wait, I have no idea if this is the final boss or not. I mean they could drag it out for the remaining five episodes or have them defeated by say episode 9 and introduce a third group in episode 10.

At this point, I'm waiting for the series to end with Asuna losing it and trying to have her way with all the girls. Because horny she is.

[Suwako Moriya]

I shall give her the title of "Yura the Yuri!" because I can.

Misaki is awesome! Also, she must wear that cat girl outfit again for the good of mankind.

Oh, and I give permission for the others to strip her again.

[Suwako Moriya]

Misaki's attack that might as well be magic knocks her opponents through walls and makes holes. Doing 9,999 damage to almost everyone!

Wait! There's a problem here. Chitose is strong against special attack of Misaki. Misaki's stamina bar is depleted. Misaki makes fatal error.

Chitose has won and gains 50,000 EXP!

That about describes the epic battle of the century. Ok, maybe not epic, but the fact that Chitose was the one that Misaki lost to is just wow. I would have expected Kurusu due to being all powerful, Kotone due to feeling like the real lead, or Asuna for being the apparent main.

Yet, Chitose wins out. Well, to be fair this is only episode 9 of 12 (or 13). So there's still time for additional matches with whoever and we might see either Asuna or Kotone fight the said final battle. Still even as a joke, for Chitose to win is an interesting choice.

[Suwako Moriya]

It's like they're a Sentai team looking for the "six ranger"! Wait, a minute.

Yayoi. She is tune with the spirit world. She's also possessed sometimes by her deceased sister Uzuki. You can tell when because Uzuki is scary looking.

Uzuki wants to settle the score with someone. So this means it's either someone we already met or a new person that will be introduced soon.

Kotone forgot the "You need to be this good in studies to do club activities" plot

[Suwako Moriya]

We go from a Beach Episode to a Flashback episode focused on Asuna coming into the club. Fun to see how different some people were just a year ago. Plus it confirms the order they joined in. I have to re-watch to be sure though.

As nice as the episode was to have and it will be curious to see how things continue with it, we still have other things to cover. Like for example, finding out who Uzuki's rival is.

Wait, don't tell me some of the stuff in season 1 is set up for season 2. It's almost as if this show has a plot. In all seriousness, it does. I just felt like saying that.

So I did a blind skim of some of the manga and confirmed the following and I'll try to be vague to avoid real spoilers.

First, it looks like we're covering the first three volumes more or less.

Second, volume 4 and 5 make it clear there's a definite need for a second season and they should probably wait until they have material from volume 6.

Yes, I know, I'll soon find out that this sold under 1,000 copies and there's no chance of another season. Yeah, but I prefer to assume the worst case scenario. (Note: Fate hates me as it seems my prediction was not negative enough)

Third, some of the events happen in different orders. Also, you have the classic cases where a character appears early enough to be part of events he or she was not part of originally.

Fourth, there are the obvious minor changes and tweaks. Such as different angles for some scenes. Can I call it camera angles even though, it's a manga we're talking about?

[Suwako Moriya]

(There, we go sub threads for all the episodes even if some of what I say is outdated)

So we conclude the first (and possibly only) season of Softenni by focusing on the relationship between Kotone and Asuna. As a Tennis Pair, people. We've already crushed any hopes of Kotone being into yuri long ago.

Although I am convinced that Asuna has to have interest in girls. Then again given how sex crazed she seems to be.

Nice to see some appearance from other characters in the show.

And we get a preview that's probably not accurate. Figures Eri would be the one to say "Christ" in it.

I'll need to re-watch the episode later to be sure, but for now I'll say the series as a whole worked for me. It had its negatives, but was for the most part enjoyable.

Also, it has Seriha and Misaki! Their screen time was lacking, but their presence just made everything better!

Taishou Baseball Girls worked for me. Softenni worked for me. I have an interest in Ryo-Kyo-Bu! I guess we could throw Saki in there. Perhaps, there might be a pattern...