LogFAQs > #968533592

98. Umamusume: Pretty Derby
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35249/Uma_Musume__Pretty_Derby
Spring 2018 (13 episodes), Winter 2021 (13 episodes)
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 7.30/10 S1, 8.02/10 S2
Best Character: Gold Ship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6rP_HS0ox4

Premise: Special Week is a horse girl, one of many carrying on the legacy of real racehorses from our world. Shes just begun training at a prestigious academy, and soon she'll make her debut!

The Good: Umamusume is one of those wonderfully zany concepts I always love to see in anime. It's mostly a cute girls sports anime focused on anthropomorphic racehorses, but it also has idol shows after the races seemingly for no other reason than "why not?". It does a good job at all the different aspects, too. The first season mostly follows Special Week and her best friend/rival Silence Shizuku, but there's a large cast of quirky horse girls. My favorite was Gold Ship because she was always doing something hilariously random in the background and had a running gag where she injured her eyes while trying to prank someone. The girls learn special techniques, practice hard, and finally run the races, plus the winners put on an idol show after. It's great. It isn't always lighthearted, either. There are themes about hard work, rivalry, friendship, teamwork... don't let the goofy parts of the premise fool you, this is a legit sports anime. The races also reflect the real world records of the racehorses, and quite a few of them faced horrific injuries.

The Bad: My main problem with Umamusume is the fact that it sticks so closely to the real world records. Real life doesn't always have the most satisfying arcs, after all. I enjoyed the second season a lot. It had deeper themes than the first. However, the two girls it focused on had some pretty repetitive arcs thanks to their real world races. It was also jarring that Special Week just kind of hung around in the background for years without doing anything because the first season covered all of that horse's races. I know reflecting actual racehorses was central to the premise, but I'd have preferred if it veered into fantasy races a bit more. I also didn't like the main trainer dude or his running gag of coming up behind horse girls and feeling their legs.

Overall: Umamusume is a delightful mixture of various elements that come together to create a solid racing anime. I liked all of the quirky horse girls, and both seasons had nice stories and themes. I feel that sticking so closely to real world results was occasionally a detriment, but overall this was a fun anime about running.