Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Oshimeter
Synopsis
Picture this: girls with horse ears and tails race at superhuman speeds and then perform idol concerts for their fans afterward. Yeah, the premise sounds completely unhinged, and honestly that's part of the charm. Special Week is a country girl who moves to Tokyo to train at Tracen Academy, where she's immediately starstruck by Silence Suzuka, a gifted racer whose speed and grace are on another level. Special Week joins Team Spica, a scrappy group of horse girls each with their own quirks and ambitions, and starts working her way up through the competitive Twinkle Series races. Here's the thing that makes this more than just a meme show: every character is based on a real Japanese racehorse, and the series actually respects that history. The rivalries, the setbacks, the big wins, a lot of it mirrors what actually happened on the track. P.A. Works brings gorgeous animation to the race sequences, and the 13-episode TV series keeps things tight without dragging. The vibe sits somewhere between the earnest team energy of Love Live and the "girls doing a surprisingly intense competitive thing" feel of Girls und Panzer, with sports drama stakes closer to something like a K-On! if the band had to sprint against each other. If you can get past the absurd concept, and you should, there's a genuinely warm sports anime underneath about friendship, growth, and chasing something bigger than yourself.
Episode Guide
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daiwa scarlet 💖
S1 nice try, ganbatte spe-chan!
Off to the races with this series, the character personalities come in strong, and the races are incredibly fun to watch. Even the comedy, though questionable at first, is the last aspect needed to hook you on this whirlwind of a show about horse girls.
The anime wastes no time; after a brief introduction to the world, it dives right into what racing is all about and what it means in this series. It’s a full-fledged sport anime. A solid base for the Umamusume franchise.
I love seeing all the girls come together to support Special Week. Very wholesome & cute character interactions. Its great to see Special Week regain her confidence after her last race.
A really simple and easy-to-take introduction to one of the biggest franchises of this century. Now it is easy to point out that, with this first season, the company didn't know what kind of direction to give it, and after 3 years, they made this big masterpiece.
Very fun ending to the first season, disappointed that the race ended the way I predicted. To my surprise, I really enjoyed how they ended it. It was Absolute Cinema when they played the OP during the race and Umapyoi Densetsu at the end. It was UMAzing. 7.7/10
A bit disappointing, it all adds up to this finale, felt underwhelming. A bit annoyed that she kept screaming, the animation quality also turned me off slightly. Nonetheless, it was a fun and good episode, the race did give me chills as well. 7.8/10
A solid episode, was really excited for the final race and the return of a legend. I thought the introduction of a new character would overshadowed it, surprisingly blends in well with the show. The final race was good but not the best. 7.8/10
This episode, it’s neither great nor bad. Felt like they pushed the comedy aspect a bit too far in the 1st half. The 2nd half did its job, not much emotional weight into this one. 7.3/10
A very fun and heartwarming episode. They manage to turn a depressing situation into an optimistic positive one that will surely motivate the watchers. Although some parts are a bit cheesy, that’s what anime is all about and I love them for it. 7.8/10
I like the pacing of this episode, others might feel like it’s a bit rushed though. The action scene was mellowed down for this episode, but it fits the entirety of what’s happening at the time. By the end of it, they also give a pretty good life lesson. 7.8/10
Ambiguous way to end off the series, but the emotional tension is there. Overall great series, but the last race definitely leaves me wanting for more
Intense yet funny episode with a crazy amount of payoff right at the end. Really enjoyed this episode fully
Cute and fun episode with a great emotional payoff and comeback at the end. Brings me to happy tears.
Insane and intense comeback for 2 main characters in their own different ways. Really enjoyed it.
Amazing character come backs and insane emotional build up and pay off. Really enjoyed this episode.
Heartbreaking and intense episode. Hard to watch on the heart as we see cheerful characters get thrown into the deep end of the emotional pool.
Hotsprings episode without all the fanservice! Not that I mind other ways. But at the same time major plot twists that completely messes with the whole show trajectory
Really intense episode with all the build up thus far, makes this an amazing series and a great payoff in this episode
Umamusume: Pretty Derby
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