Sorairo Utility – Ep. 1 (First Impressions)

So the usual disclaimer: I have not seen the original Sorairo Utility short film from 2021. I didn’t even know about it until I googled the show after seeing this premiere. Maybe I’ll watch the short film but I’m guessing it’s not required homework and the TV show is an expanded take on it as the first episode more or less acts like it’s introducing the characters for the first time.

Sorairo Utility opens with Minami Aoba (Miyu Takagi), a young girl who has so far spent her high school career playing video games. Now that her favorite gacha has reached EOS and she’s starting to touch grass, Minami becomes concerned that she’ll finish her adolescence as nothing more than a “background character”. Minami decides to find a hobby but every club she tries out at school doesn’t click for her. On her way home, Minami helps an old man heading over to a golf practice range. At the range, Minami befriends one of its part-time employees, Haruka Akane (Yurina Amami), who persuades her to give golf a try.

This is a CGDCT plot through and through so I expect things to be a slow burn. Still, this first episode manages to pique my curiosity. Minami’s talk about wanting to be the main character feels a bit silly, given that she literally is the protagonist of the show, but I get that it comes from her otaku background. Plus, it’s just her way of saying that she doesn’t want to waste her adolescence and she wants to find something she’s particularly good at or want to do. I do like how she isn’t fully sold on golf within the first episode and yet, there’s just something about the sport that draws her in. As for Haruka, she’s an entertaining character whose energy plays well with Minami’s everyman act. Most amusing is how she barely takes her time in showing Minami the ropes. First, she helps Minami get used to swinging a golf club and after just one successful swing, she takes Minami to a golf course the very next day. Also neat is how Haruka doesn’t mince words about how golf can annoy her while still using those caveats to reinforce why she enjoys the sport so much.

I also enjoyed the supporting characters that have been introduced so far. The old guys, including the one Minami helps at the beginning of the episode, are a fun bunch. A bit stereotypical how they keep throwing their backs out while playing golf but I’d lying if I said it didn’t get a chuckle out of me. There’s also Minami’s best friend Izumi Akina (Yumiri Hanamori) who, contrary to appearance, is super into shogi. One of the better jokes in this episode is Izumi’s double standard, how she assumes golf is just for old men when that stigma is arguably also attached to her hobby as well.

While probably not the most exciting premiere I’ve seen so far this season, this one seems to have enough charm and heart that I can get behind so I’ll give this show a couple more episodes. I must admit that my knowledge of golf begins and end with Wii Sports. I can see Sorairo Utility providing some information about the sport. A lot of CGDCT anime tend to do that so that the viewer isn’t entirely lost (albeit with varying degrees of success). Admittedly, a lot of my favorite CGDCT anime involve hobbies that I don’t necessarily partake in so the subject matter probably won’t pose much of an obstacle.

---

Watch Sorairo Utility on HIDIVE