2021 winter | Episodes: 13 | Score: 8.1 (26547)
Updated every Tuesdays at 00:00 | Status: Finished Airing
Type: TV
Producers:TOHO animation | Cygames
Streaming: Crunchyroll | Bilibili
Synopsis
Within the horse-racing world, the horse girls of Team Spica have been gaining popularity as they continue to rack up victories. The one receiving the most attention in the group is Toukai Teiou, known for her cheerful personality and exceptional running skills. Teiou aims to become an undefeated Triple Crown horse girl by winning all three G1 races consecutively, a feat that has not been accomplished since the legendary Symbolic Rudolf managed to do so many years ago. On her path to obtaining the Triple Crown, Teiou is met with many challenges, encountering both old and new rivals. Amidst her fierce rivalries, however, Teiou is soon confronted with decisions that will leave a huge impact on her very own racing career. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Voice Actors
Oonishi, Saori
Machico
News
11/06/2022, 07:44 AM
The Uma Musume: Pretty Derby 4th Special Dreamers!! Extra Stage event announced on Sunday that a third anime season for the franchise is in production by Studio Kai,...
![Winter 2021 Simulcast List [Update 2/25]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.myanimelist.net%2Fs%2Fcommon%2Fuploaded_files%2F1609363272-47895aa0b170ca195d8fc2866c828352.jpeg%3Fs%3Dd81cd4017ebaf261526c281af224e273&w=640&q=75)
12/30/2020, 01:22 PM
In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime acquired for simulcast release during the Winter 2021 season. Anime series licensed for home video rel...
12/19/2020, 11:09 AM
The official website for the television anime adaptation of Cygames' Uma Musume: Pretty Derby smartphone game revealed new staff, additional cast, theme songs a...
12/16/2020, 05:47 PM
In this thread you'll find a comprehensive list of Winter 2021 titles with an accompanying promotional video (PV), commercial (CM), or trailer. This post will b...
09/22/2020, 11:05 AM
A second anime season of Cygames' Uma Musume: Pretty Derby smartphone game was announced at the Paka Live TV Vol.1 program on Tuesday. The official website also...
Reviews
Mogekota
If I had to express in three words what I felt after finishing this season, it would be: 🔥Perseverance🔥 ✨Emotional✨ ✊Comeback✊ I really didn't expect this franchise to deliver an incredible animation experience. The previous season was good, but I still felt something was missing... and that's what I found in this sequel. The focus on character development is admirable, with all of them going through some phase of overcoming and competing to qualify for the biggest race in Japan.The dances after the races are still the same, but the highlight is the famous Teio Step! If you watched the first season and aren't sure whether to continue, I say you should consider watching this!
TheScarletCutter
There’s a series that’s pretty funny from the outside but outright personal on the inside and I would personally like to put Uma Musume as a prime example. From the start, the series with season 1 started very promisingly despite what others would say. It’s a reimagination of horse events that happened in Japan (and I would like to remind you that those events are still happening, even to this day) but now, with horse girls with entirely unique personalities and motives to keep the whole thing fresh. It worked out well when it was fully built but even I have to admit that itcan be a bit too silly for its own good. So it didn’t hold my interest in the series that much. That was until the existence of season 2, which heavily changed the series for the very best. While I still think season 1 was solid, it can be pretty lacking when you consider everything about it from a narrative standpoint. Season 2 is where the series peaked and it exactly gave us what we expected from it. If you missed it by now, the series is about horse girls who are both students and idols, all while having their own personalities as well as being based on each historical horse regarding their strengths and weaknesses in racing. Season 1 was about Special Week’s passion. Season 2 was about Tokai Teio’s passion. Despite these kinds of similarities, these two remained different from each other. One is more upbeat with entertainment and the other settles a little more on a serious tone. Despite season 2 coming out after the first, funnily enough, regarding the overall timeline, this one may come first. That is because season 1 is based on the 1998-1999 gen, whereas season 2 is based on the 1991-1993 gen. It’s pretty confusing, I know, but surely, you would get the hang of it if you study more about the events the franchise reimagines thus far. Season 2 is pretty similar to season 1. You got the Tracen Academy, where we see what the characters do outside of racing. You got the occasional comedic moments because the screenwriters thought it would be a nice change of pace. You got the idol moments which, to this day, are still rarely touched. And of course, you have racing, the main nucleus of the series. Now keyword, “pretty similar”. What are the major differences involved? Let’s start with the worldbuilding, which is arguably a little bit downgraded. The worldbuilding in Uma Musume as a whole is very underrated because not only do the settings look clean and nice when considering the combination of narration and atmosphere, but it also connects with the series’ characters well. The overall settings truly show what each character is capable of, not just through racing, but through their unique quirks as well. Season 1 expanded this worldbuilding so greatly. Even if it’s not the most complex kind, it does show that the overall narration of the series is further expanded on its own behalf. Season 2 still excels at it quite well, it’s just that, in comparison, it doesn’t do much. Yes, the worldbuilding may be a bit more accurate regarding the elements of the atmosphere, but it’s just not as great. With that being said, what does season 2 excel at that the predecessor doesn’t do as much? Well… everything. In fact, this sequel further expands the overall potential the previous season gave at first, but doesn’t have much gravitas towards, and truly seeks out what the overall series is about. While it’s nice that season 1 is a bit more chill, just so it can slowly introduce the series’ unique gimmicks nicely, season 2 is more on board with the overall narrative. For starters, the comedy is toned down quite decently. Yes, the humor in the series overall can be nice, but Uma Musume is not like Gintama, Konosuba, or Bocchi the Rock, where the funny is a main aspect. The reason why the series had comedy to begin it was because it needed some sort of fanservice whenever it finds itself with more entertainment value (and no, NOT THE fanservice you would normally think of). While there’s still a handful of comedic moments every now and again, it’s not used as much here as in season 1 and that’s for the better when the series needed more time to expand its main perks. Speaking of main perks, this finally brings us to one of the things season 2 truly excels at in the form of racing. It’s technically the same, the horse girls practice hard as shit before they enter the big race. Even if they lose, they’re only learning much more from here. However, only this direction on the aspect is much more compelling. We can actually see a lot more strategy from this. The strengths and weaknesses of each Uma are shown more when looking at how they attend each race. Season 2 brought more tension to each major racing scenario. This honestly took my main criticisms I had with season 1. While S1 does a nice job handling the racing aspects, it didn’t bring enough variety (by variety, I’m referring to the amount of tension) when it was a little too focused on comedic moments at times. S2 found what was missing in the previous and used it to its own advantage. Strategy isn’t the only thing that makes the racing (and this season as a whole) truly great. We still have yet to address the elephant in the room: the duo between Teio and McQueen as well as their journeys and their legacies. The dynamics between Teio and McQueen are among the best in the series and possibly even the industry. Both of these characters truly aim to be the stars of the Derby they’re involved in. However, McQueen is more dominant than Teio (at least for now). Both have their pride to show that they want to achieve their own goals, but McQueen is a bit more on the serious side while Teio acts a bit more childish. Regardless, even if McQueen is a better racer, she teaches Teio about how to be a more formidable opponent. This is because she learns about how the racers deserve to improve, no matter what the scenario may be. While it may look difficult for her to handle Teio due to her childishness, in practice, their relationship with one another actually went well. McQueen shows Teio how winning in a race is not as simple as one would think, even if it isn’t your intention of being a remotely perfect racer, but still shows her the ways of how you can improve in various ways. This relationship is very compelling. McQueen truly cared about Teio despite having the potential will of beating her in a race and Teio wanted to be recognized as a champion by people, especially including one who we will get into in a bit. So even though Teio can be pretty bratty at times, she willingly takes McQueen’s words and advice. Again, the reason why this relationship is truly great is because both of these characters point out their individual characteristics and motives, all while being great friends (or rivals?) with one another in order to keep their journey fresh. Think of this as some sort of parent-to-child relationship with a lot of jewels to analyze or something like that, even though Teio and McQueen aren’t really related to each other. But you wanna know who is and fits the parent-to-child premise with Teio more? Symboli Rudolf. She may not have a lot of screen time but she’s actually an important element for this show so ramble about her. Rudolf is who Teio wanted to be like, even if not necessarily on the same level. Fun fact: In real life, Rudolf is Teio’s father. Although this technically doesn’t translate into the anime well, considering that the vast majority of the cast consists of horse girls, the show uniquely makes it so Rudolf is Teio’s idol and guardian. One may call Rudolf a plot device but I do think she’s a charming character, despite her moments of cracking up dad jokes, because of her influence and she’s one of the reasons why Teio is a deeply nuanced main character. On that specific topic, I want to ramble about why Teio is an incredibly well-crafted protagonist AND character. She acts silly and childish but she stills know how to get her shit together as a racer. Her juxtaposition of having her own vision of fun and finding her ways to mature as both a person and an opponent makes her very relatable AND profoundly believable. What strengthens her characterization and development even more is this. Teio wanted to be seen as a champion or at least a star amongst racers because she wants to show Rudolf how much she respects and carries her legacy. At the end of the day, however, she is flawed at racing. No matter how hard she tries, she potentially gets one-tapped by McQueen. She even gets gosh damn leg problems. All while still having a handful of traits of being a playful and angsty kid. And yet, she wouldn’t give 3 fractured shits. You want to know why? She always pushes forward. She has been taking the words from her trainer, Rudolf, and McQueen and uses them to her own advantage. She’s the lower knight that holds the spirit of a higher paladin, a niche trope that’s so badass yet poetic and Teio’s entire character is narratively and thematically one of the best examples of that. Her determination is very inspirational and brings a lot of impactful foresight. Going back to the duo between Teio and McQueen, the aforementioned aspects like pointing each other out and acknowledging both their journey and legacy are growing stronger than ever as their bonds develop more and more. On top of that, they’re also becoming more personal, even outside of racing. From episodes 9-12, Teio told and showed McQueen that she’s becoming more fragile than ever on a lot of occasions. She may or may not be able to hold her gravitas regarding her motivations much longer because of her issues, which also explains her recent absences. McQueen, however, refuses to let her let go of said gravitas. She’s even aware of what Teio was aiming for in the first place as well as what unique perks she uses when growing stronger in racing. McQueen has the tendency to give Teio all of her strength because, at the end of the day, she now considers her to be a far more important opponent. How thematically noble of her. To give your own friend your own benefits, just to make said friend run on the golden road, is such a good decision. McQueen wasn’t even convinced to be the number 1 despite what her goal initially appears to be like so this decision is truly for the best. And this finally brings us to Miracle Run, without question one of the greatest finales in anime history. This is the terminus where we see Teio overcoming her issues as well as seeking what she aims for. After practicing, failing, learning, and suffering, Teio definitely knew how to get everything she had gathered thus far together. She spends all of her adrenaline to give her full shot in her last race, and what a full shot she has. Her energy is so damn intense that it blew everyone’s expectations, even including McQueen’s. At the end, she finally got what she desperately wanted in her whole life. Teio didn’t just win and she didn’t just achieve her goal. She shows and teaches us what being a strong person means. Teio isn’t just a well-written character and protagonist in so many areas. She gave us some of the most valuable and well-thought-out lessons in an anime. Her flaws and her ability to overcome those flaws greatly reflect Uma Musume’s direction on its philosophies: what it means to be a champion. Overall, being a champion doesn’t just mean you win against contestants and overcome your flaws. It also means you’re showing people who watch you how to build your own strength, although that depends on the scenario. Uma Musume taught everything about this to us so well and that’s all thanks to Teio’s presence. Honestly, with all this character writing rambling we’ve gone through, the main cast might be season 2’s biggest strengths. Teio and McQueen are the reasons why the storytelling and directing are exceptionally good, to begin with. They’re key characters that set everything that reflects on the story and show us the definitive value. They’re potentially legends, like, literally. They’re the types of figures that inspire a lot of racers and their distinct ideologies gave them exquisite reputations. They deserve to earn those with how much they’ve come thus far. Of course, the main cast isn’t the only thing that keeps everything fresh. But first, I have to grudge that the side characters are the weakest parts of this season. While it’s true that they have their unique importances and that they aren’t close to being half-bad, in comparison, they’re usually plot devices to further boost the narrative backgrounds. Luckily, there are exceptions in mind. We already talked about Rudolf, but I think Rice Shower is especially a standout because she’s a relatable character and she’s fun to watch whenever she’s involved in the racing scenarios. Her struggles are also believable, although not as believable as Teio’s or McQueen’s for me. Now then, what about the production value? From my observation, the animation here is heavily upgraded from season 1. S1’s animation is good, but it can be quite stiff at times. But here? There aren’t a lot of issues surrounding the frames. And need I mention the racing scenes, which are metal as hell. The action frames look very clean and they portray the movements on how the characters perform their special moves in each race nigh-perfectly. The character designs, like in season 1, are criminally overlooked. The aesthetics lean towards a great blend of simplicity, style, and how they fit well with each character. Although the designs look a bit nicer here. The music is also underrated. Each track nicely matches with each sequence. Of course, what kind of fool would forget about the voice acting? Most of the voice acting is great. Teio’s voice has kind of gotten a reputation for being quite annoying, but I just disagree. Her energy is just fun to listen to. Uma Musume season 2 is by no means the most groundbreaking thing ever. There are some flaws I want to consider. Aside from the lacking side cast with some exceptions, the idol aspect is still underutilized, which is pretty ironic considering that’s a main theme in the franchise. But I guess it wouldn’t matter all that much in the long run. All in all, this show is just great. There are more good things I can talk about her, but it has a lot of things that made the Uma Musume franchise such a special series, especially regarding storytelling. While the series is not for everybody, to those interested, give it a try. Season 1 is an arguably underrated installment, and I will stand by that, but season 2 is on a different level.
unkun
Absolute master piece, I thought this anime would be trash First, when I started watching this anime, I was thinking it was another waifu, "love these cute girls" anime when my friend reccomended this to me. It was partially true but I felt very passionate about this anime when I started seeing characters with a goal and thier strong desire for winning. (EX:Riceshower) I never thought I would find my self crying over someone's success because I disliked many anime with happy endings. I seen animes that made you cry by death or other sad moments. This anime was different. I hoped for Toukai Teiouto achieve her goals after many injuries she had. Uma Musume made me cry by showing someone succeed. This was new experience. What I also liked about this anime was that the story didn't focus on only the main character and it used several characters that made my eyes red and swollen. This anime would give you another feeling that you probably haven't experienced before. This anime has relatable themes such as hard work, determination, dealing with loss, and the importance of support from friends and get you engaged with the emotion very well. It shares the desire of winning and reaching your goals with viewers very well. If you have a dream, this will be perfect anime that would push you to try it. This gives you energy and motivation because you probably will feel the same way as the characters from the story.
VonDieck
Episode 12 at 10:25 for the meme The concept of having a rival has always been a concept that I have I have been fond of. Overall this season just gives watchers more reason to like Teio, which even I found myself to like her whole lot more. Teio throughout the story i felt was well rounded with the exception of a few portions but the character development that she faces through the hardships of the season makes her a well-rounded character. I would highly recommend people to watch the second season even if they might feel off put by the scores from the first season,absolutely worth the watch in my opinion.
Chrismas95
The first handful of episodes aren’t very good, I think. There were a lot of times where I had thoughts like “I feel like I’m watching a little kids show” or even “Did I really think Season 1 was good?” But after a point, despite its goofy moments, it was tugging at my heartstrings much like Season 1 did. Tokai Teio is an interesting character to highlight this time. In Season 1 she was very one-note, with her adoration of Rudolf being the entirety of her character. So while I wasn’t really excited to have her be the star of a whole season, it was alsonice that she got properly developed. I think Teio’s a weaker main character than Special Week because Teio’s character felt like it was pushed forward by the events around it more than itself. (Essentially, Teio probably could’ve been swapped out for anyone, sans one instance.) But at the same time, I think those events create a more focused and interesting plot thread this time around. How secondary/tertiary characters are handled in this season felt like a double-edged sword. The downside is that 5/7 members of Team Spica get minimal spotlight, but the upside is that other new characters get fleshed out. I had mixed feelings on this. After all, I’ve grown to like Team Spica and want to see more of them. Plus, Teio gets put in a lot of situations where she needs support, but doesn’t get a lot of it from her team like you’d expect. And when the team’s limited appearances do happen, they feel more mandated than natural. However, I do understand that time needed to be spent on the other characters instead to make them work. And I think it’s worth it. We already got a good amount of Spica in Season 1 and there are a lot of horse girls us non-mobile game players want to get to know, so it makes sense to spend time highlighting other characters. And while it’s only a handful of other horse girls that get an actual good amount of character development, I do think they end up more memorable than a lot of Spica did in Season 1. Team Canopus (Twin Turbo, Ikuno Dictus, Nice Nature, and Matikane Tannhauser) have the most focus among side characters considering they appear constantly throughout the season…though they don’t get too much actual depth. I’m most pleased by Rice Shower getting a big, impactful character arc. Bourbon’s character development is also satisfying despite her being given less time. And I was pleasantly surprised how much Mejiro Palmer and Daitaku Helios got highlighted; their gyura shenanigans and racing strategy were a treat. While other horse girls show up, these ones stick out the most besides the main two in Spica. And of course Satano Diamond and Kitasan Black constantly showing up as kids to cheer for their favorite horse girls is adorable. The two no-name NPCs that show up alongside them every time is also funny. My main problems with this anime are the jokes and some of the lessons. Mainly, a lot of the jokes felt too juvenile and/or “cute” to land with me. While jokes like these are common throughout the whole season, the plot picks up in the second half and becomes interesting enough to dilute it. This is why I found the first chunk of episodes hard to sit through. Even after that hump, some running gags overstay their welcome. Granted, not all of the jokes and gags are bad; I laughed a good amount! But the bad ones spoiled the experience enough to be worth highlighting. Likewise, a good chunk of the drama can be heavy-handed. I still think the payoffs are worth it, but some of the mopey scenes and flashbacks should have been cut down to help keep focus. Plus, there are a lot of times where the lessons can get repetitive, especially when the characters themselves repeat them. It feels patronizing at times. Similarly, there’s really only one thing that causes big trouble for the horse girls across the whole season. Even though I don’t mind too much because I think it’s important to highlight that danger to people, your mileage may vary. Despite my annoyances with some of the writing, it became obvious why I liked Season 1 so much when it started happening again and again and again here: I was constantly getting emotional. I was tearing up a lot, and even actually cried during that big part in the Tokai Teio Short Performance. While the writing drops the ball often enough to be problematic, it makes up for it by hitting hard during the big events and meaningful scenes. And thankfully there are a lot of them in the latter half of the episodes, so the experience as a whole left a big impact. Plus, I do like the “rival” theme this season has. While it’s laid on thick sometimes, it’s a nice focus and central theme that allows a lot of duos to shine more than they would have on their own. And who knows, maybe it could be a helpful life lesson, too! I think this anime lives or dies by how likely you are to get emotional. Even if you don’t like to admit that you do cry when watching things, I think you’re likely to get a memorable experience out of this. But if you aren’t, I think you’ll just get annoyed by the asinine comedy and constant sadness.
Palea
What a disappointing sequel. I honestly really loved season 1 of Uma Musume. It was fun, different and enjoyable. This season however, I felt like I was watching the same episode over and over again. The show still looks as impressive as ever, the outfits are amazing, and the music is also great, but everything just feels so repetitive that in the end it just took away my enjoyment of the show on the whole. There are some fun elements however, the races are great, and the relationships between characters is well done. Just don't expect the best storytelling, in my humble opinion.
Darren_
Following a pretty underwhelming season 1, Uma Musume returns with an upgraded version in all aspects. As per Cygames’ tradition, their media-mix projects tend to have a strong anime adaptation, serving as both a good advertisement for their mobile games as well as a decent anime on its own. Shingeki no Bahamut and Priconne are well regarded adaptation only because their threshold of quality is well beyond the simple advertisement. Uma Musume is no exception to the rule. While S1 wasn’t the best looking TV show by any stretch of the imagination, S2 upped the qualityby a large margin. With less than 3 years between the broadcast of the first and second seasons, Kei Oikawa and his staff had time to present the best product possible. Tomo Namiki returns as director of photography and delivered wonderful compositing work both during more mundane tidbits and dramatic moments. His work on some of P.A Works’ projects was already wonderful (Hanasaku Iroha and GLASSLIP for example), but his contribution on S2 was a welcome upgrade from the lackluster visual presentation of S1. The animation was fairly decent with some striking character art in key moments, courtesy of chief animation director Satoru Fujimoto and Yousuke Kabashima who delivered some amazing AD work, with episode 12 being the highlight on that front. Races are more exciting than ever with the blend of 3D and 2D models being utilised a bit better, dynamic camerawork sometimes adapting 1:1 shots from their real-life counterpart (e.g. episode 10’s climax race) and some added effects during high stakes races (e.g. episode 8’s showdown). But those effects could have been more present, when compared to the high-octane, insane races from the spinoff manga Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, S2’s races can feel a bit slow and underwhelming. Now it’s no surprise that Uma Musume takes direct inspiration from real life horse races. As S1 told the tale of Special Week and Silence Suzuka, S2 puts the spotlight on fellow Spica members Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen. While S1 took a classic approach to the sport genre formula, with an up-and-coming prodigy taking a shot at the title of the best horse girl in Japan, S2 is more focused on the hurdles an incredible athlete faces when circumstances outside of his control hinder his achievements. It could be argued that S1 wasn’t all that happy-go-lucky, but the material was certainly less drama heavy. S2, on the other hand, is filled with dramatic moments and themes surrounding sports as a whole. How can we keep on going when it feels like the world doesn’t want you to succeed? How can we deal with the mental image of ourselves we forged for such a long time, only for it to be shattered in no time? What does it mean to shoulder the responsibility of your family’s lineage of champions and the expectations of both your rival and yourself? All those themes that, while Uma Musume doesn’t go as deep as it could on some of them, are still well-presented and deliver some gut-wrenching and exceptional payoffs. This is more prevalent in Tokai Teio’s character as she follows the Homeric hero’s journey, taking us through a rollercoaster of emotions and leaving me with nothing else but respect and admiration at the end of it all. So for those of you who’ve been on the fence at the idea of completely replacing main characters, fear not, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen are an amazing pair of protagonists. Their relationship was beautiful and their rivalry was engaging and uplifting, with some iconic quotes that will forever remain engraved in my mind. But Uma Musume doesn’t hit a home run for all its characters. While some of the side characters get much appreciated focus (mainly Rice Shower and Twin Turbo) , others get sidelined pretty quickly when they could have added more to the narrative, especially characters such as Biwa Hayahide. While this season was heavier in tone and mood, Kei Oikawa does not let up with his quips. While his directorial work is attuned to character drama (e.g. Oregairu) , his comedic sense is also finely polished. While he already showcased his ability to deliver gags with an excellent comedic timing on the anime adaptation of Hinamatsuri, Uma Musume S2 isn’t without its fair share of running gags. What I found most amusing was the subtle visual gags slowly progressing through an episode or spanning several episodes, and the most focused viewer will surely get rewarded with really fun tidbits (e.g. Special Week’s cake melting in the rain). In the end, Uma Musume is an excellent adaptation and a stellar sequel correcting most of season 1’s shortcomings, while providing an engaging and empathetic story about an athlete trying to come to terms with her new reality. While the concept of anthropomorphic horse racing girls may seem bizarre to the non-initiated and while season 1 was mediocre, season 2 stands as one of 2021 Winter anime season’s best offerings and 2021 as a whole.
CureChronos
(Disclaimer: The following review contains spoilers for Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Season 2. I highly recommend watching the anime before reading the specifics here.) "Undefeated", "The GOAT", "Miracle". These words decorated the main characters of Uma Musume Pretty Derby. But to me, they describe how I feel towards this season and the anime in its entirety. Never have I dared to say any story or series is perfect. A story's quality fades in time- How it brought me joy and inspiration, and how it was written- I will gradually see my overvaluation of a series in time, as with many, many others. Yet... I'm now left withthe disappointment of never again seeing a better series, and simultaneously the greatest jubilation of, at least for now, finding "the one". The perfect anime. Let me get the boring things out the way in the review first, before the characters and story. Art and Sound: 10/10 (Both) Every piece of music was a seamless fit for every occasion. Racing music, angst music, relaxed and happy music. They elevated the atmosphere and emotions no matter what the show brought to the table. The voice acting was brilliant on every character, and especially the main character. I've been accustomed to seeing Machico work more on the vocal and singing side of things, but her voice acting was incredible all season. The animation would never top that of the franchise game, but it was still exceptional. The artstyle was splendid and the heat and tense races were captured in spectacular fashion. There was no room for error in the art department. Implications of angst and tragedy incoming always managed to make me panic, and the pain and denial will always be shown crystal clear, breaking me every time. Character: 10/10 God. Where do I even begin here? Season 1 has already done wonders with Team Spica, not to mention Spe-chan. Season 2 goes above and beyond to show the journey of not just our main characters, but also a few others as well. Twin Turbo, Rice Shower, Mejiro Palmer, Nice Nature, Mihono Bourbon, you name it. What the predecessor could not achieve, this installment did, and better than I can ever imagine. Regarding their focus on other horse girls, they didn't just bring them up for show, they actually made efforts to dive deep into their character- Most notably Rice Shower. For a 13-episode anime, this is a gargantuan task with so many development balance issues that I didn't think it would be reasonable to go with it. Yet somehow, it worked. And it added so much to the theme of the series. Of course, I can't leave this section without talking about Spica, or specifically, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen. These two did what the first protagonist pair didn't, who were also outstanding in their own right. Special Week and Silent Suzuka had such a lovely bond, but Teio and McQueen's bond went so much further than the former did. Their rivalry and friendship merged together perfectly, creating touching moments between them and making both grow as racers. Teio in particular shone this season. From someone who didn't get noticed in S1, to the main character of S2 and a legend. She spun the empty and overused message of "Never giving up" into a story that would truly do it justice. She went through shattered dreams, demoralizing setbacks, and despair nobody can comprehend unless they've experienced it. Yet, the background to her story does not mean her perseverance is out-of-touch. Her will to hold onto hope, her almost accepting the end of everything, her sorrow with every setback, we can all relate to that. I could never say everything I want to say here. Compared to season 1, the characters amazed me more than ever. Story: 10/10 It is so infuriating I can't actually rate this story past the perfect score of 10. Uma Musume Pretty Derby itself has tapped into a theme that is so rare in story-writing: Competition. This season capitalized on the theme massively. While Special Week's story in season 1 showcased an athlete with a big dream and her journey to achieving it, Tokai Teio's story in season 2 focused on everything we don't normally think about athletes. How the most successful and talented fall from grace, through setbacks, through upsets, through their physical limitations. They are hungry for victory, to uphold their dominance, and yet are pelted with moments that drive them into despair. Teio was an example of triumphing against the odds, as well as an example of dealing with your losses. Mejiro McQueen had a golden story to tell as well. Similar to Teio, she was an incredible horse girl, but her story was about finding the motivation to continue racing. When you think you've had it all, you desire competition from someone new, you want to beat them, to challenge yourself. And when she was faced with an incurable disease that would cripple her career, she showed how in pain losing- Not to anyone- can feel. The other horse girls showcased many dimensions of racing. Striving to the max for success (Turbo), confidence in oneself (Palmer), and even the courage to upset the best and build your own legacy (Rice). But all in all, "competition" has been the overarching theme, defying the mentality that being competitive is a bad thing between people. It has always been about making others your motivation, your strength, and your goal to keep moving forward- To run. Enjoyment: 10/10 I was apprehensive going into season 2. Season 1 brought me so much excitement and I showered it with adoration and love, but I feared season 2 would fail to live up to my expectations. I've never been more glad to go into an anime series. Pretty Derby S2 championed all my expectations and made me motivated beyond belief from start to end. Every crushing moment, every exciting race, every wholesome interaction, I felt that. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I was scared to keep watching, because my heart was being hammered again and again with emotion, happy and sad. Even though there are so many moments like this, I will never ever forget what the final episode- the Arima Kinen, did to me. Because no animated media had made me so engaged as that moment. As Tokai Teio made the comeback of the century, charging to the front, surpassing the new generation of racers after a year of absence... After ALL of the things she had been through to cross the finish line in first... I was on the verge of tears. But my heart was DROWNING. Overall: 10/10 I don't care if anyone calls me biased, dumb, dramatic, or whatever for giving Pretty Derby a perfect score on all five fronts and overall. From season 1 to season 2, this was an adventure I will remember forever. To meet all of these amazing characters, to see a mature and bittersweet tale unfold, and all of the little things that made me laugh and cry made me glad to be alive. I cannot wait to get an official translated version of the Pretty Derby game so I can get back into the franchise. For now, though- Spe, Teio, Suzuka, McQueen, and everyone who made this season and the whole series so gosh darn insane and amazing... This was the greatest run ever.
JustAnotherShiro
Don't judge a book by its cover - the anime. If you are here then you have already seen the first season and have some general idea of what to expect, so I won’t waste time writing obvious introductions or descriptions. After watching the 2018 anime I didn’t feel much. Yet another idol-like anime, just this time it’s horse girls and racing. Some events and race results surprised me and felt un-anime-like, but that’s it. Back then I didn’t know the reason behind them is the fact that it's based on real stories. Coming into the second season my expectations were mixed: on one hand MAL score makesone wonder what is this thing hiding. On the other switching protagonists I got used to with some secondary characters felt wrong. It sure took some time to get used to it. But it was worth the try. Maybe they just picked more interesting horses to follow or maybe learned and made better use of their stories. I don’t know, but I do know the 2nd season worked much better. The fact that we get a more general outlook on everything, like fans, rivals and less important horse girls, helps too. So back to where I started: don’t judge a book by it’s cover - don’t worry about absurd premise of horse girls racing, don’t think about it being a mobage adaptation - purely the fact that race results don’t follow shounen logic is already a huge boon that turned this anime into one of the more exciting titles I’ve watched. Obviously that wouldn’t work without right directing and character building, which are much better than you’d expect. On top of that they did a really good job at conveying the feeling of characters, their passion and their worries. This “mobile game promotion material” manages to be incredibly emotional and exciting, while also doing its promotional job quite well. I mean, I ended up checking out the game and read stories of all real horses that we saw in anime… So yeah, if you watched the first season and, like me, didn’t get the hype, I really recommend you keep going and watch the second one. It’s truly a memorable experience.
Electropath
Season 2 of Uma Musume far surpasses season 1 in my eyes. Season 1 following pretty much only Special Week and her overcoming every challenge is what I expect of a sports anime. Season 2 with its multitude of interesting characters put in the spotlight had me hooked from the start and in tears at the end. I didn't know what to expect, perhaps Special Week's road to becoming the best horse girl in the world, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the main character and rival had been changed to Teio and McQueen, a relationship developed in a much more interesting way thanSpecial Week and Silence Suzuka, though after researching the irl racehorses behind the two girls, I respect the decision to have Suzuka be someone Special Week very much looks up to, what with being Special Week's dam irl. I loved the Rice Shower mini arc, and Teio & McQueen's problems they run into throughout the season. S2 feels way more realistic than S1 because of this and I think it made me fall in love with the characters even more, seeing them trying to overcome real struggles. The last episode made me cry and getting that emotional over anime horsegirl racing is something I thought I'd never do, especially since I don't watch any kind of racing or sports irl and have never been into the sports anime genre either. I am so excited for season 3 and if the game gets an English version I'll be on that 24/7 lol. Truly an astounding anime, especially for a gacha game.
Yubisoft
If you want : -Great story that is very unexpectedly well written -Solid animation -Phenomenal voice acting -A non cliché pacing of the character development -An anime to just sit back and relax - Characters that are distinct and very very very very well written -You are interested in horse girls I personally like the fact that you don't know or can't predict when one of each horse girl you see will win or lose . Generally in those type of anime you can easily predict but ohh boy I was wrong . And that I believe is the most important reason it made this animeso unique . Then this anime is for you . Although the drama in this season is much more than the first season of this anime and it bothered me sometimes(due to my personal tastes ) but overall I gotta say this anime is EXTREMELY underrated . Please spread the word about this great anime (both season)
Haru_Kobuchizawa
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 2 10/10 You have no idea how much I was looking forward to this second season. I loved the anime before, but after this second season, I loved it even more. The focus is now on two captivating characters, beautiful and sensational. and the story goes perfectly like the flow of a river. and then the suffering and drama begins. this further improves what was already great. I smiled, rejoiced, cheered a lot, including the Rice Shower race was sensational. HORSE POWEEEEEEEER. But what made me cry a lot, was the Twin Turbo race, where she showed Teio, who was totally tornapart, that you can't underestimate anyone, making Teio's faith revive, making it a future miracle for McQueen. Well, I highly recommend watching it, it's my favorite 2021 anime
aawhistler
An accomplished veteran director of the anime industry said in an interview a few years ago, "I really don't like the animes these days and what the anime industry has become." if you're even somewhat familiar with Japanese mannerisms, you'll know the weight behind this, you don't ever publicly talk shit about other anime projects, even if they are just objectively horrible, you appear amicable and supportive no matter what, so for a veteran to say that out loud in an interview, well he must've felt very strongly about it. ...and right now I find that sentiment highly relatable. Due to this franchise's recent overwhelming popularitythanks to its huge success of a gacha game (which is in turn thanks to its ridiculously predatory p2w pvp mode even by gacha game standards but this ain't a game review site so I'll stop now), I finally went and watched the anime. HOW, is something THIS mediocre, or even below mediocre, this FEVERISHLY praised?? My twitter TL, mostly the jp side, is just flooded with uma musume fanboyism these days, and, after seeing the thousandth "yoooo just go watch the anime you'll bawl your eyes out", I did. It's not that I didn't bawl my eyes out during the second season ending, I basically laughed. I mean, that scene with every single human in Japan with tears streaming down their face, *what* was that lmfao, how do you still stay serious after a presentation so awkward (^-^; I'm just surprised they didn't zoom in on a dog watching the race and then the dog started crying this isn't season 2 but the issue carries on in season 2. I also laughed during Special Week and Taiki Shuttle's mock race. You know, when Special Week chan learned Slipstream. Oh. So! Wind resistance does exist in this universe. And you acknowledge it.........so what's with all the hats, and tuxedos, and CAPES. I am definitely not a person who's ever fuzzy about "perfect worldbuilding", and at this point my suspension of belief can be turned up to an unhealthily high level but, uma musume is so record-breakingly lazy about it I just couldn't help but keep noticing. Toresen's lectures really deadass consist of telling them what Junior, Classic and Senior is, that's like if us humans had to take a lecture to learn that middle school comes after elementary school. Rudolph and Marzinsky and other Seniors, what are they even doing all day, yes in reality horses' racing shelf lives are basically really short, like around 3 years, but they still show them training all day every day and then not participating in any races. And these immortals just, didn't age a single second and are still in school between meeting Teio when she was little and welcoming Teio to Toresen and they're still in school eh. Everything is just so......awkward. and this show doesn't really get to use the "oh it's just a cute girl doing cute things show, don't take it so seriously" because, well, the show does take it self *very* seriously. uma musume has way too many dramas and melodramas to qualify for CGDCT. here's an excuse they do get to use though. "We're just following the actual history". Right. But from a storytelling point of view, it's horrible isn't it? it would've been tacky as heck for any writer to use the same exact conflict device twice in a row, uma musume used the "injury" device, like what, 5 times? 6 times? in a row back to back? but okay, they are just following the actual history, forget the genderbending and completely ignored horse heritage (Special Week not related to Marzensky, Tokai Teio not related to Rudolph), but sure, use that "actual history" shield only when it's convenient eh. That's another thing isn't it. Another marketing phrase I've been hearing so much, "see...this is why uma musume is so...wonderful, I mean it's just so...~respectful~, to the source material". Uh, yeah, they genderbent the horses for waifu points, stomped all over the actual horses' heritage because they can't be bothered to come up with a world view that would accommodate their actual parentage. they're definitely doing a third season with this popularity, and it'll likely be Kitasan and Dia. Can't wait to watch the exact same format of half season of "my injury prevented me from racing my rival...I'm so sad" and "I lost, but can't give up! must train hard to race my rival!" and can't wait to watch this exact same thing get praised into high heavens and breaking BD sales record and be crowned as an all time hall of fame anime right next to Fullmetal Alchemist
JiangHaoyi1979
Move aside Special Week and Silent Suzuka, cu'z it's time for Teio Tokai and Mejior McQueen to shine......on the 1st season it was more like a subtle yuri/ rivalry between Special Week and Silent Suzuka, now it was more like sets backs, bad luck and getting back on your feet theme for Teio ToKai and Mejior McQueen's being on top to tumbling down kind of thing..... So, WTF is the fuck? Story-Mediocre 5: However you wanna put it, it was just simply an repeat of the of that winning the ultimate prize thing. set back that happens to Teio and Mejior were just part ofthat "Oh so the drama" thing. Art-Mediocre 5: All that zettai ryoki and not fanservices usual stuff. Sound- Good 7: that was for Teio's song in the last episode. Character- Mediocre 5: We already knew Teio Tokai and Mejior McQueen from the pervious season, right???? So what's there to say, when the bottom line was for her to win that G-1 Arima Kinen race to which she got in in a silver platter when something bad has happened to Mejior McQueen, that has prevented her from continuing. Enjoyment-fair 6: Ok, I would say that this was enjoyable, but given that this was merely a repeat of the first season but with different character, one part of me finds this a chore to watch, but one part of me doesn't. Overall-Mediocre 5: If you're not gonna find this boring then enjoy, if not then drop this........season 3???? The question is , who will it be this time?
halfaspider
I can’t lie, I made the mistake of writing off Uma Musume as a show to be skipped up until just a week ago when I tried starting the first season. At the surface, there are a lot of reasons it seems likely to fail--the biggest being 1) girls with animal ears and tails and 2) game source-material. Empirically, you are probably okay to skip shows with either one of those qualities so you’d think you can skip one with both. Yet you, like previous me, would be making a mistake skipping Uma Musume. This show is not great *in spite* of these qualities, butrather *because of these qualities* and it is made possible by what is clearly a LOT of love and attention from its creators at every level of detail. The thought put into season 2 in particular results in one of those rare gems of a show that has you laughing while you cry and wishing it would never end. I’ll start with the above points that stood out most to me prior to watching the show. It is really easy (and usually fair) to see a show with a bunch of cute girls with animal ears and tails and call it gimmicky. Uma Musume is not a show about girls who just happen to have horse ears and tails, it is a show about horse girls. Why do they all have such crazy names? Because they’re horse girls. Why do they love carrots so much? Because they’re horse girls. Why do they all run in competitions? Because they’re horse girls. Why do they sometimes struggle to get into the starting gate? Because they’re horse girls. Why do they do idol-style dance performances after each race? Probably because they’re horse girls (not 100% sure on that one I’m not a horse expert). But these things along with many others are *built in* to the show in the dialogue, the plot, and the characters themselves. I don’t necessarily recommend looking up the real horses that the girls were named after (it can be pretty depressing), but many of their behaviors and many of the plot points were derived from a horse that really ran the racetrack. Regardless of whether you think that is neat or not, it does serve to give an element of unpredictability to many of the stories and personality to the characters. If somehow all the horse girls in Uma Musume were suddenly not horse girls but regular girls, it would be a fundamentally different and less interesting show. As for the game source material, the problem you expect a show to run into when it is based on a gacha game is almost always going to be lack of substance. And it makes sense; if you go off source material only, you might have nothing more than a few Ultra Rare JPEGs and some voice lines to make up a character. In that sort of situation, it is up to the anime creators to fill in a lot of blanks--especially with two full seasons (so far) of content. On the other hand, you can imagine these circumstances may allow for greater creative freedom than is ordinary if the creators will step up to the plate; and I can only imagine that is exactly what happened. The director, Oikawa Kei, clearly deserves the maddest of props and has made his way straight to my favorites (I’m also a huge fan of Hinamatsuri). Just about every scene was so packed full of layers of entertainment--the main story happening in the foreground while jokes and gags constantly fill the background. Running gags that go on for entire seasons USUALLY get old about half way through, but there are actually just SO many that are placed with such precision I found myself laughing throughout. At the same time, moments that seem like they should have been cheesy were insead incredibly hype or emotional. Even the “trainer” character who is clearly a stand-in for the player character in the game adds to the story and has meaningful interactions that keep him from feeling like a completely flat self-insert character. Uma Musume actually makes it feel that if the team is talented enough to get creative and REALLY make the show their own (plus with the budget of a gacha game backing the project), game-based anime may not just be viable; but preferable to some of the other adaptations we’ve been seeing. There is definitely plenty to say in terms of praise for the show and I think that most everything I’ve mentioned applies to both season 1 and season 2… just not to the same extent. I liked season 1. It was enjoyable for many of the reasons I have written above, but if it were just season 1, I would not have gone to the effort to write a review. But season 2? Season 2 took what was already a pretty good show and upgraded nearly every part of it like I’ve never seen upgraded before. You get upgraded main characters, upgraded side characters, upgraded main stories, upgraded side stories, upgraded rival club, upgraded comedy, upgraded drama, you name it. All somehow while maintaining the show’s identity and feeling. It is clear that an incredible amount of thought and planning was had on what could be improved or fixed up going into the new season. That, along with the *density* of content, really made me feel like the people making this were putting as much effort into it as their characters were putting into winning their races. I absolutely loved Uma Musume and would be ecstatic to hear a third season announcement. I have no doubt they could take even any of the side characters (c’mon Twin Turbo) from either season and, if the same amount of love and attention is given, make something awesome again. My recommendation is that everyone check out the first season. If you for some reason HATE the first season, okay it isn’t for you probably. But if you like it at all, get ready for a treat in season 2 and hopefully season 3 someday.
Ghostspica
"You can win as long as you never give up and your hard work will pay off in the end." - The season 2 of your Horse Girl, Idol, and Waifu- Story : Its the continuation from season 1, i will say the story is better than season 1 because the story building this isnt only about winning the race but the story behind that too. Up and down Teio's got to be the "Best Horse Girl" is really touching and inspirative for me. Main characters and even side characters are get the scene/moment to shine. The ending is better from season 1 coz this is competitionof course there is win and lose not everyone win. Im not regret watching this series to see the grow of the story and character building. (9/10) Character : Like i said before, the main characters (Teio and McQueen) sure to be shine this season but even the side character (Kita, Dia, Rice, Biwa, Nature, Turbo, etc....) get the moment when they shine too. They got nice proportion of development and to push the main characters to shine more. (9/10) Art : As expected from Cygames animes, the quality of art and animation is nice and smooth. The art is beautifully executed to bring the atmosphere into the anime. Enjoyable to watch and maybe you can feel the tension in the anime too. (9/10) Sound : I like the opening and ending songs, the BGM when the races are really fit the exciting situation there. Other BGM like when happy and sad are on point too. I never disappoint with the concert scene, nice animation and songs as always. The commentator of the race give that feeling when im watching racing sports in the TV or even when i came to the spot. Nice, i like it. (9/10) Enjoyment : I really enjoy this season more than season 1. I can really feel Teio's struggles and fight, every episodes are great imo. This anime is one of the best anime i watched this season. (10/10) Final verdict is if you want a DokiDoki sports anime you can try to watch this anime (from season 1 for better understanding the world building in this anime) ,and if you already watch the season 1 (to introduce you the world in this anime) you should watch this! You wont regret it! I will give (9/10).
KANLen09
It's been almost 3 years ever since CyGames' Uma Musume came out, and while Season 1 back in Spring 2018 only garnered moderate attention, it was enough to make it stand out amongst the other shows that aired in the similar time period. Fast forward the same time to Winter 2021, and it was even a surprise that Uma Musume would get a sequel season with almost everything intact from the story basis to the characters, albeit the only change now is with a new studio. In a nutshell, if you remembered what went through in Season 1 all those years ago, the same plot templatecan be found here: 2 central horsegirl characters, accompanied by their own team with rival teams and horsegirls, and most importantly, staying true to the history of their legacy and remitting the exact same emotions and feelings of the former. This sequel season changes the main roles from Special Week and Silence Suzuka to Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen, and for the most part, the character story established here is indefinitely stronger than just the student-teacher relationship of Spe-chan and Suzuka. For the most part, both Teio and McQueen have been very competitive horsegirls, from Teio bearing the exact same story basis of Season 1 with Tracen Academy's Student Council President Symboli Rudolf and looking up to her as the inspiration of being a horsegirl, to McQueen bearing the prestigous family name to uphold high standards. Friends-cum-rivals, winners or losers, lead or support, do or die, there's traits that will keep all engrossed in the tight loop of experiencing emotions like a true horse race of smiles and cries to the breaking point of bets earned or lost. New to Season 2 are more characters from the game, and adding to what is already an extensive list of the Uma Musume character roster. Included are the horse girls from Team Canopus: Ikuno Dictus, Nice Nature, Twin Turbo and Matikane Tannhauser, and individuals like Mihono Bourbon and the underdog Rice Shower to give some semblance to the "antagonist" story feature that Season 1 lacked with in the rival segments of the show. For the most part, it's as what you'd expect if you've watched Season 1, nothing is new here, and I'm fine with it since the characterization has been carried forward with minimal changes and such. As anyone would've guessed, when a replacement studio comes in, there's bound to be some legitimate worries, but I can safely say that Studio Kai has kept everything that P.A. Works have established (it's still helping in production cooperation). With the improvement in the 3DCG camera work of the horse races to make it look more realistic and appealing, it's largely for the better since P.A. Works didn't really do a great job on the production of the horse races in Season 1 with everything being 2D. Nonetheless, this could've been a double studio cooperation work, but I understand why Studio Kai (which only existed to produce Netflix anime) is chosen as the lead animation production studio. Music is just pretty much the same ear-punching goodness carried forward, and I'm fine with this season cutting out the Winning Stage for the horse girl winners entirely since it only existed to promote the game back when Season 1 aired, otherwise this is no right to exist in this season since the characters play the integral part this time around. All in all, for a pretty competitive season, Season 2 brings a pretty compelling story to say the least, and top it up with some needed improvement in the animation spectrum, you have a sequel that is the same as the last, but leaps and bounds better for a nice touch.
dlxuniuniu
"No matter how many setbacks you suffer, don't let this encourage you and never give up!" - Toukai Teiou & Mejiro McQueen As a professional athlete you get injured very often in your career, it is certainly no different with horses. They run, train and give their best every day as well to outperform the competitors. With the second season of "Uma Musume" our horse girls are ready to give everything again to become the very best and standing on the top! In the first season we experienced the friendship and rivalry between "Special Week" and "Silence Suzuka". It is definitely advisable to watch that first beforemoving on to the second season. However, it is not necessary to understand the relationship between our new main characters "Toukai Teiou" and "Mejiro McQueen". They are horse girls as well and also have the will to win. Everyone knows the feeling of defeats: it's frustrating and bitter. After a bad defeat, we often ask ourselves the question: “Is this the right thing for me? Should I continue at all?” Teiou and McQueen both are already considered to be one of the best horse girls the world has ever known. However, even they can’t keep the 100%-win rate and have to learn accepting defeats. When things don't go well in life, there will certainly be more setbacks. In their case they have to face very bad injuries which almost force them to give up their dream... Teiou is a small-sized horse girl whose passion and enthusiasm for racing is nearly unmatched. She is always up for a challenge and willing to go all out to achieve victory. Although she aims for the best, she prefers to be happy than succeed with stress. She's a member of “Team Spica”, which includes not only our previous main characters “Spe-chan” and Suzuka, but also her best friend and rival McQueen. As one of the Mejiro family's pedigrees, McQueen has a strong sense of pride. She may initially seem as a blunt and cold person, but she actually cares about others and will offer help when needed, especially to Teiou. We experience their everyday horse girl life: how they train and fight to get better. They certainly have a rivalry with each other, but that is exactly what gives them the strength to improve. They support each other in every situation and even if it seems hopeless, Teiou and McQueen believe in miracles together. Their friendship is extraordinary and wonderful. Looking at this makes you really happy. Many supporting characters are already known from the first season, so I would just like to briefly mention three new characters that I think are very touching: Rice Shower, Dia-chan and Kita-chan. I have to admit that I really like Rice Shower. She is not only a shy beauty, but also someone who cares about other people. She wants to bring happiness and joy to her fellow men from the bottom of her heart as it is the meaning of her name "Rice Shower". To achieve this, she is also willing to put her own success in the background. She doesn't want others to be unhappy because of her. Thanks to her friends and also rivals, she finally realized that she had to deal with it. Rice prevented McQueen from winning three consecutive titles in the end and many fans were frustrated but no one could blame her for her that and everyone wants to see her winning even more. Without Kita and Dia, the comeback of our injured Teiou would not have been possible. Both are still young horse girls who respect their role models very much. They symbolize how important the support of fans is, without them no athlete or horse girl can be successful. Every horse girl has an individual competition suit in which they look gorgeous. Their run in them is perfectly animated, it is unbelievable to see how fast they are. Even in their school uniforms, they are very cute. Although we experience with "Studio Kai" a different studio compared to the first season, the quality has certainly not dropped, but rather the opposite. The environment is really beautifully designed. The small details such as "On which ear is the horse girl wearing an accessory?" can also be seen clearly. It's nice to hear that the entire “Team Spica” is participating in the OP again. "Yume wo Kakeru!" strongly reminiscent of the OP "Make Debut!" from the first season. The race can start and after a successful race there is the absolute highlight for the fans, where the three best placed perform a song in an idol way. Well...that was the case before and unfortunately it is missed here sadly. The show after the race was great to watch. Although the ED "Komorebi no Yel", sung by Teio and McQueen is also very enjoyable to listen to and our main characters show their feelings in the lyrics, the variety is missing here. Uma Musume was not only an anime about sports, but also a very musical one. Unfortunately, that part is missing a bit in the second season despite a solo song by Teiou in between and an performance in the last episode which was still great. Nevertheless, outside the anime each horse girl has own character songs from the game. The voices fit their character really well. The background sounds have also been chosen appropriately. “Uma Musume” does not only show a wonderful friendship, but also teaches us a little lesson for life: Never give up! I'm still a fan of Special Week from the first season and I would love if she would have more screen time. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun following the story of Teiou and McQueen. It's also fascinating that all the races are based on real facts. I mentioned the “ear accessory thing” above. You can tell whether the horse was a boy or a girl in real. If our horse girl, like Teio, wears the accessory on her right ear, it was a male racehorse in the history. Vodka, for example, was a female horse. I think it's nice that such small details have been incorporated into the "Uma Musume" series. You can even learn a little bit about horse racing in general. I highly suggest to watch the first season before starting this one if you haven’t done yet. The series is certainly a great watch for every slice of life, comedy or CHorseDCT fan. Enjoy a wonderful story about friendship, competition and also setbacks. In the end, I hope we'll see even more of their success in the future, probably with Kita and Dia-chan even. Or as Special Week would put it: "I'll bring a special dream to all my fans!"
Animanga