A must-watch for enjoyers of sports anime filled with drama, hype, character development, and emotion. This is enhanced by its gorgeous animation, soundtrack/voice acting, and a solid cast of characters.
(No previous Uma Musume entry/background is needed at all, as this is a prequel spinoff! In fact, I am writing this review with Cinderella Gray as my first exposure to the Uma Musume franchise.)
Story:
The setting is 1987 in Gifu, Japan where our protagonist, Oguri Cap sets foot onto the Kasamatsu Racecourse to begin her path to becoming a legendary racer. Through the story, we see Oguri Cap take on various races, and strive to become the best version of herself. This is a simple story that is easy to follow. It is fleshed out by both the drama and its cast of characters, specifically Oguri, so this story may be hard to enjoy if you are not a fan/actively dislike Oguri.
Character:
Oguri Cap begins as a relatively one-dimensional character who is focused on running because she is just happy whenever she has the opportunity to run. Throughout the story, we see her develop beyond that dimension as she grows to establish her own goals, as well as cherish the relationships around her.
Our cast of supporting characters surrounding Oguri is solid. I particularly like Berno who is Oguri's best supporter - always having her back, and is just an all-around great girl.
Animation:
CygamesPictures has continued to impress me with its gorgeous visuals and fluid animation sequences. To get some insight into the animation, just take a look at the 1:30 opening theme of Cinderella Gray that's available on YouTube. The portrayal of the Kasamatsu area via the beautiful background frames is cool to see.
Sound/Voice Acting:
One of the things to note for people unfamiliar with the Uma Musume franchise is that after a race, the winning Uma Musume has a "winning live" performance where they dance to a song. While this feels more secondary in Cinderella Gray, I have heard that other entries have more of a focus on that.
The soundtrack and voice acting are solid. I would like to give a shoutout to Ise Mariya's Fujimasa March voice acting performance, which I find to be excellent in portraying Oguri's headstrong but passionate rival who struggles with expressing her emotions honestly.