Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Horse racing, it’s one of the few sports that openly welcomes gambling in the world. Getting started all the way back in ancient Greece, there have been a number of famous horses over the years that have graced the racetrack and their history and names live on in the minds of those who love the sport. Let’s turn them into animal girls to make money and awaken a fetish in people, enter Uma Musume Pretty Derby. Also known as Horse Girl Pretty Derby, this was a mobile game that came out in Japan only in 2021. In the game you play as a trainer who trains a bunch of horse girls named after famous racehorses to be the best racehorse in Japan. The game was created by Cygames, the same people that gave us Granblue Fantasy and Rage of Bahamut. Originally, it was supposed to be released in 2018 but was delayed until 2021 due to quality issues. In order to build up excitement for the game, an anime based off it was released in 2018 by P.A. Works (Charlotte and Angel Beats). Did the anime work in building up excitement as well as unlock a new fetish for people? You bet your ass it did. Let’s head off to the races and take a look at Uma Musume Pretty Derby.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening is “Make Debut” by the VAs. I really did enjoy this song. I like the beat and melody, all the VAs are in perfect harmony with each other, and I like how it has that pop idol feel to it.
The ending is “Grow Up Shine!” by the VAs. This song is cute, catchy, and energetic but not as energetic as the opening so it works here. Once again the song has that pop idol feel to it matching up with the theme of the anime. While I didn’t care for this ending as much as the opening I will admit it was enjoyable to listen to it from time to time.
Episodes 1-4
The anime begins by talking about horse girls. They’re creatures who were born to run (and apparently sell merchandise and show rule 34 at its finest) and inherit the names of horses from another world whose histories were sometimes tragic or wonderful. We then meet our main character Special Week (oh my God, this is an alternative to MLP: FiM) a country girl who has come to the city after being accepted into the prestigious Tracen Academy an academy; that trains horse girls. She gets off at the wrong station but takes this chance to visit the running track where a race is about to begin where the fan favorite Silent Suzuka is expected to win. While there, Special Week meets a strange man who keeps feeling up her thighs (what the hell is your problem man!? (Corbin): What? Some thighs are so good looking you just gotta feel them. (Nitsuj): So, you’re telling me you would feel up a girl if she had good looking thighs? (Corbin): I sure would. That’s what I did with Seras this morning. (Seras): And he’s got the black eye to prove it). They watch the race (Corbin: And they’re off! It’s Silent Suzuka out in front followed by Fun Night, Good Grind, Freaky Dame, Cosplay Kitty, and Missionary Jane bringing up the rear) where Silent Suzuka wins convincingly (scene here: https://youtu.be/81ubANqOyvY) and gets to be the center at the winner’s stage where she sings and everything (okay, this went from interesting to silly in the span of 10 seconds). Special Week realizes that she missed her curfew at the dorms and rushes off to the academy where she gets locked out (late on your first day). The next day in class she tries to make a good first impression but is so nervous that she trips over herself (well she’s definitely proving how endearing and cute she is). Thankfully, she quickly befriends the girls in her class including an American girl named El Condor Pasa (who surprisingly isn’t a blonde. They’re learning. Scene here: https://youtu.be/qwtWZlfIIkU). They find out that the team Silent Suzuka is on, Rigil, is having tryouts and they all try out for it. Special Week freezes up at the start of the race yet quickly catches up to the others and even uses Suzuka’s running technique to get out in front of the pack. Unfortunately, she loses to El Condor Pasa (who won out of nowhere) but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as she gets abducted by Team Spica (Vodka, Gold Ship, and Daiwa Scarlet) whose leader happens to be that pervert from the track earlier named Trainer and Suzuka just joined their team (scene here: https://youtu.be/B9kizP1f3Ao, she gets to race with her idol. Lucky her). Trainer saw Special’s race earlier and wants to recruit her believing that she really can be the best of Japan. Special Week officially joins Spica and makes her debut on the racetrack one week later (wow, just throwing her into a lake and telling her to swim).
In episode 2 we see the week of training Special Week goes through before her debut. There’s really not much to say here as the training is all basic stuff. Her strategy is no strategy. This race for the most part is to help her gain experience and since she has no experience it’d be pointless to have a strategy. It would just complicate things and put more pressure on her (which she doesn’t need). The episode mostly focuses on her personal life where we discover that her first mom died giving birth to her and her second mom (a normal human woman) raised her in the countryside of Hokkaido to be a racehorse where she vowed to be the best in Japan (scene here: https://youtu.be/JTdaxBegH_Y). We also see how a few of the horse girls do their best to look out for Special as she didn’t grow up around other horse girls which is very rare (yeah, you gotta understand she grew up in Hokkaido, the most northern part of Japan. It’s Japan’s coldest region with cold summers and even colder winters. This region isn’t exactly a hospitable climate for horses). The day of Special’s race arrives where thanks to the training from her mom and some encouraging words from Suzuka, Special manages to overcome all obstacles and win her first official race (scene here: https://youtu.be/X7FTORAvtW0. (Corbin): Damn it, she ruined my bet! Shizuku, call Chi-town and tell them the bet’s off. (Shizuku): No can do Corbin. The potatoes are in the pan and the water’s beginning to boil. Boil I tell ya). After the race, Special gets to sing and dance in the Winner’s Concert (still silly) which they didn’t practice one bit.
In episode 3 Team Spica is on a roll. Special wins a second race; Vodka, Gold Ship, and Daiwa Scarlet each win their races as well; and Suzuka continues to blow everyone away with her speed. The only downside to all of this is the winner’s concert. Aside from Suzuka everyone either freezes or messes up entirely when they get to the winner’s concert (it’s a train wreck if I’m being honest). In order to fix this, Trainer has the girls train with Teio a member of the student council who desires to beat the student council president. They go to a karaoke bar where Teio trains them in singing, dancing, and appealing to the crowd. The next day, Special races in another big race in her division where she wins in the final stretch of the race and is now only one step away from becoming a triple crown winner. Teio also joins Spica after seeing Special’s race and seeing how much fun she had in it. After a good celebration and some more training it’s time for the next big race in Special’s division where if she wins this one she’ll be a triple crown winner and with it one step closer to becoming the best horse in Japan (Corbin: And I’ll be $600 richer). The race unfortunately doesn’t go as she planned as she can’t catch up to the leader of the pack and winds up coming in third to the shock of a lot of people (Corbin: Damn it! Now I’m in more debt. They’re gonna break my fingers). After the race it seems like Special is fine but once she goes her own way she goes to the school’s well and shouts out her frustrations into it (and why shouldn’t she? This was supposed to be her time. She worked hard and trained harder than anyone yet despite this she came up short). Trainer is also there and shouts out his frustrations as well as he blames himself for Special’s loss. Trainer’s method of training is to give the girls freedom to decide what they think is best, a good method as it teaches them to think for themselves and not become mindless runners but it’s also his job to train her for the races so that she’s prepared to make those decisions. After shouting out their frustrations at the loss, they focus on what comes next and that’s the Japan Derby (where Special will get her vengeance and show everyone why she will become the best racehorse in Japan).
Nothing much happens in episode 4. Special goes on a diet and everyone helps her out a little such as forcing her to stop eating carrots (Corbin: Urgh, that’s like when you forced me to delete all my porn accounts. (Nitsuj): That wasn’t a diet, that was an intervention). Trainer also sets up for her a mock race against a G-1 horse named Taika Shuttle the fastest horse in the academy when it comes to short distance running (she might also be from Texas). While there’s a good chance Special will lose, Trainer wants her to use this race as a learning exercise and that’s what she does. Special learns that she can avoid wind resistance by racing behind other horses (a trick that race car drivers use as well) and learns how to run up hills faster and easier using the short-stride running technique (a real technique runners use). While Special loses the race she only lost by half a step (and keep in mind she’s racing a veteran horse) and had fun racing.
Episodes 5-8
In the first half of episode 5 we see the girls prepare for the Japanese Derby. Special is training to conquer the hill by running up a flight of stairs in under 40 seconds, Seiun Sky (the girl Special lost to) for the first time is taking the race seriously. In the past she didn’t care about winning or losing, she just wanted to race. But now, for the first time ever she wants to win and prove that she’s the next big star in Japan (she wants to become the shuyaku). Another racer to watch out for is El Condor Pasa who joined Rigil and has won 5 races in a row going undefeated and is the favorite (there’s also another racer named King Halo but nobody really cares for her). In the second half we get the race and it’s exciting. King Halo takes the lead with Seiun Sky behind her, Special in the middle of the pack, and El Condor brings up the rear. It soon becomes a game of who’s going to make the first move as King Halo leads the pack for a majority of the race (this move could decide the fate of the race). Seiun Sky finally makes her move and takes the lead leaving King Halo behind and Special follows her (rematch time). With only 400 meters left, we come to the hill where Seiun Sky believes that she’s fine but it’s on the hill that Special puts her training to use, passes and leaves Seuin Sky behind to take the lead. However, her time in front is short lived as El Condor quickly catches up to her and passes her to take the lead. Special pushes past her limits to catch up to El Condor and the race now all comes down to guts (or who wants it more?). It’s a photo finish as Special and El Condor pass the finish line at the exact same time and everyone awaits the results on who won (Corbin: Come on~ Special). The race gets declared dead heat and both Special and El Condor are declared the winners (in other words, it’s a tie. (Corbin): Yes! I finally won! (Nitsuj): Nice, so you out of debt now? (Corbin): Nope, I’m still $56,000 in debt. (Nitsuj): OOO! How could you lose all that money? (Corbin): Hey, I didn’t lose my money. I lost their money. *Corbin points toward the window where a bunch of tengus are perched in a tree* (Tengu mobster): Hey~, we at the Tengu Mafia are reasonable birds. We can hammer out a payment plan *One of the tengus is holding a hammer*).
Not much happens in episode 6. In the first half the group goes to a fall festival where Suzuka talks about how much she’s changed since she met Special and how next year she has plans to go abroad and race (nobody can stop the Suzuka world tour). In the second half we see a few girls prepare for a race including one girl named Grass Wonder who is returning from a 10-month injury and a member of Rigil. Grass is determined to win the race to mark her grand return but Hana the manger of Rigil doesn’t want her to push herself too hard. We get a funny bar scene between her and Trainer where he blows it big time by asking her to pick up his tab (https://youtu.be/m5RtlpXsl8k). The day of the race comes where we see El Condor has also entered the race. The race begins where Suzuka takes a quick lead and stays out in front all throughout the race. El Condor and Grass try to catch up to her but they just can’t reach her and at the end Suzuka wins with El Condor receiving her first loss and Grass receiving a hug from Hana telling her to bounce back from this in the next G-1 race. El Condor also vows to win the next.
Episode 7 goes by very quick. Suzuka tells the rest of Team Spica that she plans on going to America after the Japan Cup which is about a month away and Special wants to enter the race so she can finally race Suzuka. After pleading with Trainer, he gives Special permission to enter the Japan Cup and she couldn’t be happier (that should be an interesting race). But before the Japan Cup, Suzuka enters another race where tragedy strikes. The race starts off well as she goes fast (so fast that nobody can catch up to her at all) but during the middle of the race she begins to slow down because she fractured her foot (scene here: https://youtu.be/gOxvnY5a7XM, oh shit. That’s like the worst possible thing to happen to a horse. Even if she does come back, the chances of her being at 100% are slim. Thank God they’re not following real life. The real Suzuka died from her injury). Truth be told, Suzuka should have died from falling over at top speed but she didn’t thanks to Special who ran onto the track (clothesline the other girls), caught Suzuka, and laid her down gently so she wouldn’t put pressure on her fractured foot which would have made it worse (so basically Special just saved Suzuka’s racing career). She gets taken to a hospital where Special vows to help get her back to 100% and the others cheer her up (even members of Rigil come to see her in the hospital to make sure she’s doing well. This is a fine example of respect and admiration for Suzuka. Despite Suzuka being the one they want to beat, they respect and admire her because of how good she was. She is single handedly driving everyone to push past their limits and make racing something more).
In episode 8 it’s the beginning of the new year and Suzuka finally gets released from the hospital and will be starting rehab. Team Spica welcomes her back, has a party to celebrate her release and the new year, and does a shrine visit. After this, we get a montage as months fly by and Suzuka’s road to recovery is going well (so much better than the real-life story) but there is a problem and that problem is Special. Special focuses all of her attention on Suzuka and nothing else (I’m not saying she’s a lesbian but at this point what else am I to believe?). Even when she has a race coming up where she and Grass Wonder are considered the favorites to win, she keeps her focus entirely on Suzuka and not on the challenger in front of her (big mistake). It all comes to a head at the derby where Grass manages to beat Special because her focus was entirely on beating her and no one else while Special was only concerned about Suzuka (racing just like any sport is 50% physical and 50% mentality. If you’re not focused mentally then you’re giving your opponent a huge advantage). After her loss, Trainer reminds Special that her goal isn’t just to race Suzuka but to win for her mom and become the number one horse girl in Japan. With summer around the corner, Trainer makes Special vow to win all of her races in the fall.
Episodes 9-12, OVA, and Season 2
In episode 9 we get to see Trainer be a real MVP for the team. Suzuka’s leg has fully healed but her mind hasn’t as she’s afraid to run at full speed because of her accident (she physically healed up but is mentally still damaged). Special is hung up on Suzuka and the rest of Team Spica is kind of scattered all over the place. Thus, a training camp is needed and at this training camp, Trainer puts the group into two teams and has them compete against each other in a triathlon where the winning team will get a voucher for the dessert table at a fancy hotel. It’s here that everyone goes all out where even those who are on the same team try to beat each other. Special and Suzuka lag behind the others but Trainer reminds them what they want to do and what he wants to see, a race between these two going all out against each other. Trainer doesn’t want them to be friends, he wants them to be rivals. Rivals who respect each other and push each other to the next level. After hearing those words, Suzuka and Special finally start pushing each other where they catch up to the others and Suzuka breaks through her mental block and begins running at full speed again (too bad she never learned how to Initial D those turns) and accidently goes off road with the others and crash lands into the ocean where they all share a good laugh with each other (scene here: https://youtu.be/gykjSwHBuds). The triathlon is considered a draw and Trainer treats all of them to the dessert buffet where he says his ultimate dream is to see them all race against each other in one race. That night, Team Spica and Rigil watch El Pasa race in a famous European race against another horse girl named Broye said to be France’s top runner. El Pasa starts off strong and leads for most of the race until the final 100 meters where Broye makes her move, passes El Pasa, and wins the race. Even though El Pasa loss she earned the respect of Broye and still gets cheered by the fans.
Episode 10 focuses on Special. After suffering a big loss in a race, Trainer sends her out to Hokkaido to relax with her mom and no running (sometimes you need to get away from it all in order to win it all). Special returns where her mom makes sure she doesn’t do any running and they talk with the mom telling Special to run to her heart’s content and to stop overdoing things (scene here: https://youtu.be/dV6JWFQ4yOg). The talk works as Special returns and is back to her old clumsy self (that we all know and love). She enters another race where this time she’s racing not only for herself but her mom, her team, Suzuka, but most importantly for her love of the sport. She wins the race setting a new record and everything and prepares for the Japan Cup.
In episode 11 Broye announces that she’s going to enter the Japan Cup which means she’ll be taking on Special and it’s the day after Suzuka’s return race. Throughout the episode we see Special and Suzuka prepare for their races where everyone is cheering for Suzuka but a few are still worried about her. While Suzuka has healed up physically the question is has she healed up mentally (and unfortunately nobody can help her out there. She has to smash through that wall herself)? On the day of Suzuka’s race Special skips out in order to train and prepare for her race while everyone else goes to cheer for Suzuka. The race as you would imagine is emotional not just for Suzuka but for everyone in the stadium (usually when a racehorse gets injured they’re done. Suzuka’s return is nothing short of a miracle and everyone couldn’t be happier to see her back. Hell, even one of the announcers cries for her). Suzuka starts off slow and winds up in the rear of the pack and remains in the rear for a majority of the race until she finally makes her move. She quickly passes everyone to take the lead and wins the race in record time.
In the final episode we get the Japan Cup where everyone has shown up to cheer on Special. Even her mom came all the way from Hokkaido to cheer on her baby girl. The race begins where Special and Broye remain in the back for a majority of the race as Special is waiting to make her move with Broye waiting for it and then hoping to pass her and crush her spirit the same way she defeated El Pasa in their race. As they approach the final turn, Special finally makes her move with Broye right behind her getting ready to pass her except it never comes. Broye can’t catch up to Special (probably because of her cape. I mean who wears a cape in a race, hasn’t she watched The Incredibles? Capes may look cool but they get in the way of everything else). In the end Special wins the race and for the first time ever can be declared the best horse girl in Japan (she has become a shuyaku). We end the episode on Special’s concert, everyone congratulating her, and cutting to sometime later where all of team Spica is participating in a race together fulfilling Trainer’s dream of seeing them all compete against each other in a race one day.
We do get an episode 13 which can be seen as an OVA where we see that all of Team Spica and 9 members of Rigil participate in the Dream Cup race. We see the race but never learn who won in the end which is kind of cop out if you ask me but at the same time it was enjoyable to see Trainer’s dream come true and see all of the horse girls who we spent time with and followed race together and see how far they’ve come.
There was a second season that came out this past winter and was done by a new studio called Studio Kai. Just like the first season, this season was meant to build up excitement for the game and would focus on Teio and McQueen another member of Spica. In this season, Teio goes down with a career threatening injury and with the help of McQueen is able to find the courage to make her way back on the racetrack only for McQueen to also get a career threatening injury and now it falls on Teio to help her. I didn’t really find this season as good as the first season as it really feels that the show is torturing us with these two characters. We want to see them race off against each other, but each time an injury gets in the way and we’re left in pain. Still the season was good as it is inspirational to see these girls fight to continue to do what they love and I have to admit the final race did get me tearing up a little bit.
Final Thoughts
Uma Musume Pretty Derby is a decent anime. It’s got cute girls, a nice story, good animation, funny moments here and there, and gets you invested in the game. I have to admit it was way better than it had any right to be. It could have been content with just being a quick cash grab, but they put a lot of effort and time into making this an enjoyable watch. The whole idol thing is a little silly to me, but the rest of the anime is good for what it is. Special’s story from rookie to shuyaku has you invested in her. You see how hard she works, the mistakes she makes, the lessons she learns along the way, the losses that hurt her, and her moments of triumph. Suzuka’s story tugs at the heartstrings as any athlete who’s been injured knows the pain that she’s going through and to see her grand return is enough to bring a tear to your eye. Like I said before the characters are cute and they each have their own personality and drive to be the best. While some get more screen time than others they’re all there to get you invested in them. I also like how each one has their own character design and personality. The music wasn’t all that memorable, which is odd seeing as how they have this whole idol thing going on so you think they would give us character songs, but no their focus is on the racing where the anime really does shine. There’s psychology to each race and a strategy each girl has going in such as when to hold back until the minute is right to make your move and take the lead or employ this running technique to go faster. Just like in real-life races.
Final Score
The final score for Uma Mususme Pretty Derby is a 6/10. A decent anime that gets the job done in advertising for the game and getting you interested in horse racing and the famous horses the characters were named after. Anything you want to add Corbin?
(Tengu): He’s not here. He’s in an important meeting.
(Corbin): Ahh~!!!! Why would you smash my hand!? That’s not the purpose of a hammer!
(Nitsuj): Okay, nevermind. Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj and . . . be sure to gamble responsibly.