Sorairo Utility

Honestly for a 15 minute special this was really a pleasant surprise and a super fun watch. Most of the time I don't expect much from CGDCT anime since quality is often low, especially when sports are involved, but this special left me wanting so much more and really wishing/hoping that this gets a full anime season.

As someone who golfs fairly frequently, but obviously dealt with the frustrations of being a novice amongst my better peers, this was relatable, fun, and gave me the nostalgic vibes of when I was first starting out. Also, while animation quality is not crazy (as you'd expect from ... a short special), the fact that they still made sure to focus on the differences in the stances depending on the club that you're using was really nice and refreshing to see. In case you didn't notice this because you're unfamiliar with golf, just pay attention to the difference in lean and elbow position when Minami is using the driver vs. when she's putting.

All in all, I thought the premise was fun, the girls were very cute, and I really enjoyed watching it! My only qualm, and the reason I gave it a 7 rather than something higher, is because I'm undeniably bitter that this is only a short rather than a full show...at least for now.

It's just girls enjoying a good bit of golf. That's it.

I don't know why, but for some reason, shorts are frowned upon for reasons I am never too sure of. Maybe because the short was short? I don't know, you tell me. Nonetheless, I would say that this is another example of a good short that manages to bring forward a reasonably enjoyable piece of work regardless of the literal constraints it had on itself.

The girls play golf. They take pictures. They eat. Normal people stuff. It's just fun.

You have Minami with her admiration of the sky. I'd agree, the sky is beautiful.

I don't know ... what is here to suggest that there is nothing to like. I was close to saying how this was lower quality than I expected but that was due to there being no real intensely moving animation. Not everything needs to have that, or so, it depends on the context. Right here, probably not. Easy 8/10 or higher. This lacked an embrace of itself though, so there was no room for it to expand other than the basic albeit well presented story it had, which is why I won't be saying I have a higher score for this.

Still good stuff tho.

What's up with these inflated review scores? It's only half an episode, ofc it could spent a lot of resources to produce better than a lot of other sports anime. Even then, the quality is nothing special.

There's really nothing to write home about since a lot of good competitive/sports anime come in their duration and how immersed you are with it. Being a half episode is no way should be a strength, but a total challenge. And this one absolutely doesn't pass it.

The characters are pretty basic, the plot is incapable of giving anything. Overall, both of them are not a problem per se, but ... again it's a big problem in 15 minutes anime.