Uma Musume: Pretty Derby

When I look at Uma Musume: Pretty Derby so far, it honestly feels fairly average. It’s neither particularly good nor outright bad — just somewhere in the middle. But let’s break it down a bit. The first thing that stands out is the premise. Instead of making a straightforward anime about horse racing, we get… horse girls racing. I mean, this is Japan after all. It’s a unique and fun concept on paper — and definitely one of the show’s stronger points. However, the execution doesn’t quite live up to that potential. The pacing is quite fast, and the anime throws a large number of technical terms at the viewer — G races, national races, regional races, debut races, the Twinkle Series, and more. The problem is that most of these are barely explained. Because of that, it becomes difficult to properly understand the world, which hurts immersion more than it should. On top of that, the show introduces a large cast very quickly. Without any prior knowledge of the source material, this can feel overwhelming. Most characters are still likeable, but they rarely go beyond surface-level traits. That said, this simplicity does fit the lighthearted and comedic tone the series is going for — so it’s not entirely a flaw, but it also means the show never really stands out through its characters. Unfortunately, the story is where the anime struggles the most. There are noticeable inconsistencies, such as episode 6 introducing an important reveal that is practically ignored in episode 7, as if it never happened. This kind of discontinuity makes the narrative feel unpolished. Episode 13 also feels oddly placed, almost like filler, and even introduces elements that seem to belong after later parts of the franchise, which can be confusing and potentially spoil future developments. Animation-wise, the show is decent overall, but the CGI stands out in a negative way. It’s not bad enough to ruin the experience, but it does take you out of the moment at times. In the end, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby lands right in the middle for me. It has a fun and original premise, a generally likeable cast, and a tone that makes it easy to watch. However, these positives are held back by weak execution — especially in terms of pacing, worldbuilding, and narrative consistency. It’s not bad enough to be frustrating, but also not strong enough to leave a lasting impression. Because of that balance between enjoyable elements and noticeable flaws, a 5/10 feels like the most accurate score. This part of the review is written after watching the entire franchise: season 2 improves significantly — and I really mean that. So if you’re willing to push through the rather average first season, you’ll be rewarded with something much stronger later on.

I've been eagerly waiting to watch Umamusume: Pretty Derby for a pretty long time. Part of the reason is the game it's based on, which has built up such an immense fan base. I never got all that much opportunity to play it myself, but I quickly fell in love with both the characters and especially with the real-life racehorses they're inspired by. That mix of sports anime and horse racing history was too tempting for me to pass over. My own favorites are Gold Ship and Haru Urara, and even though they don't make nearly as many appearances in this first season as the others do, the focus on Special Week and Silence Suzuka was equally charming. Special Week is simply adorable, but honestly, that goes for nearly all of the umas. The series as a whole is really wholesome, and when they do the races, those are really fun and rather suspenseful. I also liked the way they handled Suzuka's storyline with her real-life counterpart, which was respectful without becoming downbeat. The series is about Special Week as she trains at Tracen Academy and strives to become Japan's best horse girl. With so few episodes at only thirteen, the season is mostly her coming-of-age and dealing with Team Spica, but there are nice little moments sprinkled in for others like Tokai Teio, Grass Wonder, and El Condor Pasa. I did wish they'd brought more of the supporting cast into their own moment in the sun, but I see why they kept things focused, given how enormous the cast is. The team chemistry is fun to watch, and the balance of comedy and drama works really well. Gold Ship especially kept me laughing and kind of stole every scene she was in, which helped keep the mood light even during the more serious stretches. On the production side, I’d call the anime solid. The animation is not anything special, but it's good enough to shine during the races and training, and I really enjoyed all of the character designs since each one of them has some sort of charm. The racing scenes are also properly choreographed, with proper utilization of camera work and added songs to make them appear dramatic. The music is also sweet and memorable all the way through, and the sound design delivers the speediness just right. The voice acting itself is also fantastic, with every actress nailing her role and even singing her own songs. I especially loved Gold Ship's performance, although I do have to confess I'm a wee bit biased there, but Special Week and Suzuka's voices also impressed for how well they brought their respective personalities to life. All in all, the first season of Umamusume was a delightful and entertaining watch. I gave it 8/10 since it may not be the most polished sports anime out there, but it did exactly what I required of it with an enjoyable narrative, lovable characters, and a healthy dose of charm that had me smiling all the way through.

I recall no one really cared or talk about this anime in the community until the game was release in the US that is right Uma Musume: Pretty Derby anime came out in 2018 it didn't get notice until Umamusume's global English language release on June 26, 2025, on Steam's in many countries this franchise was a part of Cygames, Kakao Games plot to creating a original IP using anime and video games would make money and it did. Story Umamusume: Pretty Derby is set in a fictional universe similar to the real modern world where special females called Umamusume, a female who have Horse Ears that can run fast which I just call them horse girls who are base on actual Race Horses having them run in a actual Race Horse tracks and the winners get to do Idol Performance in the end. Which focus on story the main character Special Week, an Umamusume from the countryside who is determined to fulfill her promise to her mother in becoming the best Umamusume in Japan, all while idolizing Silence Suzuka's style and wanting to reach the same heights as her and their friends with King Halo, El Condor Pasa, Seiun Sky, and Grass Wonder. Animation P.A. Works did a great job this anime making look so wonderfully animated it had some CGI a lot of animation. It stands out very well for their hard work they did with this anime. Music The Utamaro Movement composed the music at Lantis. The opening theme is "Make Debut!", while the ending theme is "Grow-up Shine!" (グロウアップ・シャイン!); both are performed by Team Spica, consisting of Special Week (Azumi Waki), Silence Suzuka (Marika Kōno), Tokai Teio (Machico), Vodka (Ayaka Ōhashi), Daiwa Scarlet (Chisa Kimura), Gold Ship (Hitomi Ueda), and Mejiro McQueen (Saori Ōnishi). Both are amazing songs even the background music was impressive. Overall When I first watch it 2 episodes that where kind of boring at first but after watching the full season it got interesting character development for some but not all. Its a good anime that has great moments that will surprise anyone that makes you think really think of... Horse Pussy.

When this anime first aired, I wasn’t particularly excited—it just didn’t seem like my thing. But after the release of the Uma Musume game, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to give the anime a shot. What I found was a light, casual series focused on racing and friendship rather than deep storytelling or character development. This isn’t a complex anime, and it doesn’t try to be. It’s more of a feel-good, chill watch about horse girls chasing their dreams—nothing groundbreaking, but pleasant in its own way. Visually, the art style isn't anything spectacular, but considering the anime came out around 7 years ago, it holds up decently. There are some rough spots here and there, but nothing that seriously detracts from the experience. Overall, if you got swept up in the hype that the Uma Musume game brought to the franchise, this anime can be an interesting watch. Otherwise, it may come off as fairly average. It's charming in its simplicity, but not much more than that.

Man this is great show. This anime has everything Anime girls and horse racing where you can see them struggling through everything but can go on and on breaking their limits. Story was little predictable because of the events but didn't feel forced. This series might not be for everyone but it is for those who want to watch some pure horse girls racing. Story: Story was okay. you could predict most of the plot and what happens but there are some things that suprises you. 8/10 Animation: Well it wasn't bad or good but while racing it was pretty good. 8/10 Direction: as i saw it was pretty weird directed see for yourself 7/10 voice acting: very good voice acting of all the characters big plus. 10/10 I recommend overall 8/10

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, an anime about horse girls based on real-life horse racing history in Japan. I got on this anime after Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Global Release, which is a pretty good game. That said, I'll try to rate this as fair as I can. The one thing I noticed after watching this was the potential of how rich the story can be. There are so many legendary horses in horse racing history in Japan; every horse has a story, whether it's rivalry, tragedy, etc. That said, the rich characters were also the weakness of this show. There are just so many characters here that, unfortunately, most of their stories need to be sidelined (or just for 1 line). For example, like how Grass Wonder's one-sided rivalry with Special Week comes out of nowhere, or how underutilized the other Spica member is or Biwa Hayahide rivalry with her rival which didnt really explore in the story and only appear 1 time before the final eps. The animation is nothing spectacular, but I'll give them props for having better running animation than Blue Lock. The sound and score are also kind of a mess just a bit, but I'll give them a pass bcs I played the game before watching this. Overall, 7.5 / 10

I'm not a fan of the "cute girls doing cute things" genre. I'm not a fan of "sports" genre. So, you would assume I would not like this show, and I would have thought the same going into it when a friend convinced to give the show a chance. But I was pleasantly surprised that I actually enjoyed this show on a whole. Then when I found out that all of the horse girls, the race results, and their careers were based on actual Japanese race horses and their real racing histories, it just made the show all the cooler and more interesting. Now, if you actually delve into all the individual details, there are some that stick very accurately to their real life counterparts while there are others who's outcomes are changed in the show, for reasons that I won't devulge due to spoiler reasons. But I will say that I understood why they made the changes they did, and it was never done just so that the protagonist could always win. That's actually something I really liked about this show, popular characters, including the MC, lose at various times. And that's realistic for not just horse racing but sports in general. And that's why I tend to not like sports anime. Because the MC, or the MC'S team just always wins, either through the power of friendship or sheer dumb luck does this person or people who've trained for a few weeks manage to somehow beat the perennial regional champions who have been training since birth, because plot armor. But because this show is mostly based on the results of actual careers, we get to see believable ebbs and flows with growth and development over time and encounters with new opponents who are better in higher ranked brackets and what it means to move up in competition and truly face tougher and tougher competition as you progress in your career. Overall, the story and the characters do a great job of showing this and it's paired with well done animation. I can't wait for the second season to finish up in another couple weeks so I can binge it next.

Relatively good and enjoyable experience. The story is lacking in some places and gets a tiny bit boring at parts but it has cute girls doing cute things. And those cute girls happen to be horses. Not really the idol anime I was expecting, in fact, the concerts are the least shown part. Though the music was enjoyable they only had like 3 or 4 songs that weren't racing music. The character design is really good, but some characters I didn't even realize existed until the final episode. But the ones they did show got, ok? character development. Some parts felt less like a sports/idol anime and more of a "look at these 2 cute girls, they're very gay for each other. and ones kinda obsessed. it's not creepy though we promise" I know this was made to be promotional material for their game though so I am excited to play that and see how they expand on the characters that got like no screen time!

Horse Girls + Idols + Track Sports = Uma Musume Uma Musume: Pretty Derby was one of LA's hyped anime of Spring 2018 and by all means Uma Musume easily delivered in LA's hype. so what's Uma Musume about?, well it's essentially an underdo- underhorse story of Special Week voiced by Azumi Waki who wants to be the top horse girl in Japan when she sees Silence Suzuka voiced by Marika Kouno's running style. So Uma Musume does mix genres together but the strongest of them all is the sport aspect or to be specific, it's Japanese horse racing, as the races which Uma Musume does have connotations to real life Japanese horse racing history with a few changes here and there but still. The races themselves are the star of the anime and the biggest focal point of the anime. The "idol" element is just there and doesn't have as much of a focus and is used more of a celebratory of the races. But through and through Uma Musume is a sports-fueled anime about horse girls running for fun, competition or achieving their dreams or all of the above. There are dozens of characters in this anime but the major focal points goes to Special Week and Silence Suzuka the most. Special Week is our narrative focus throughout the entire anime and we see her from an underdog with a few tricks to one of the best horse girls in Japan and we see her trials and tribulations from training to her physical and mental well being but especially when it concerns Silence Suzuka. Silence Suzuka has some character development as well, as she has the "fun aspect" of the races and she also one of the naturally fastest characters in the anime but is kinda an oddball. Now other characters do get their typical stereotypical attributes about them, mainly Special Week's team as well as their Trainer...named Trainer-san voiced by Kouji Okino as well as some of the opposition to Special Week and Silence Suzuka, mainly El Condor Pasa voiced by Minanmi Takahashi and her trainer Hana Toujou voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi. Yes, because of the HUGE cast of characters, be it allies or opponents, many characters who aren't the main characters easily gets shafted in this anime but LA sees this as a given considering the narrative focus and the entire main character status, but still, having the colorful cast of personalities definitely helped liven up the anime throughout the anime with clashes of personalities, comedic skits and interactions and interesting character designs and to that LA's favourites characters outside of Silence Suzuka and Special Week would have been Mejiro McQueen voiced by Saori Oonishi and Gold Ship voiced by Hitomi Ueda with their comedic hijinks. On speaking of which, the animation done by PA. Works is expected from them, from the vibrant and exotic character designs especially the Uma Musume's and the typical beautiful background work. The character designs are something LA would praise PA Works for but also with their work in the races and sure PA Works obviously used speed lines to note how fast the character is going but that coupled with the adrenaline fueled atmosphere definitely helped with the animation and those "moments in the races" were spot on in terms of synergy of animation and music. Nonetheless the animation was expected high quality from PA Works, both in the slice of life and more serious race moments. Voice acting was impressive to say the least even if it has a huge cast, LA knows that alot of voice actors wouldn't be able to flex their chops besides the main characters and those around them, but still with that Azumi Waki was easily LA's favourite voice actor from her honed shouting in the races to Special Week's personality of a ditzy underhorse, Azumi Waki fitted Special Week perfectly. El Condor Pasa's voice actor Minami Takahashi was great as the always genki type but LA was also impressed with Silence Suzuka's voice actor Marika Kouno in seeing a different vocal type from her and finally Megumi Toyoguchi and Kouji Okino had great chemistry together as rival Trainers but also supportive of their respective horse girls in varying degrees of method they did it. Uma Musume gave LA vibes of Keijo!!!!!! in certain ways, not in the fanservice obviously but in the races felt similar to the battles and with that comparison, Uma Musume in the the races really felt like you were watch a horse race with all the fanfare, commentators but just with the added monologues from the characters to add to the tension and hype during the races. Uma Musume is definitely an odd one when looking at it face-value from the typical underdog story and the trials and tribulations an underdog would go through but going into it, you'll feel that rush of adrenaline when the races start and your cheering or wanting Silence Suzuka or Special Week to win or just the tension itself being greatly and effective applied. LA doesn't know how it worked but Uma Musume managed to add elements of anthropomorphic horse girls, idols and horse racing and made it both interesting to see "their world" of horse girls integrated and made it awesome to watch in the process of an underdog story. Uma Musume may be for the most part a great anime but for the Spring 2018 lineup...ehhhh it's in LA's Top 10 animes. Trust LA, that statement is not a dent at Uma Musume as LA really did like Uma Musume but it wasn't LA's favourite anime of the season but it was a solid anime nonetheless.

It will be difficult to separate personal feelings from objective observation in this review as much of my enjoyment came from knowing these characters from the game. Objectively, I would describe it as serviceable and enjoyable. A nice balance of cute and dramatic moments. The relationship between various racers whether as friends, rivals, or both was nothing mold-breaking but still satisfying. There was a decent amount of tension during pivotal moments in races and once or twice I was even surprised by the outcome of a race. The characters are the highlight of the show. It would be difficult to properly balance screentime for such a wide cast but it rarely felt poorly handled. It is easy to become invested in and root for these girl's dreams and goals as there's such a variety of personalities. The animation was enjoyable during the races. While there was potentially more they could have done to emphasize the intensity of it, there was still a very competent and appealing style and direction. A simple yet sweet sports anime that utilizes such a unique premise.

(EN-PT) I liked this series way more than I expected lol. I started it kinda worried it would just be some “furry” thing, but the races and the characters keep making you want to watch more and more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not liiike some masterpiece anime or anything, but to me, it’s the kind of anime that executes its premise really well and actually gets you emotional while watching! Several times I caught myself cheering for the horse girls on the team. It’s a really good sports anime. Could it go a bit deeper into some details? Sure. But I think I’d just be acting like an overly analytical buzzkill if I focused too much on that. At the end of the day, the fun you have while watching a series is what matters most. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eu gostei mais dessa obra do que pensei kkkk. Comecei com certo receio de ser um “furry”, mas as corridas e as personagens vão fazendo você querer ver mais e mais. Veja bem, não é noooossa, um anime excepcional, mas, pra mim, é o tipo de anime que executa muito bem sua proposta e traz emoção na hora de assistir! Diversas vezes me peguei torcendo para as meninas-cavalo do time. É um bom anime de esporte. Poderia sim se aprofundar um pouco mais em alguns detalhes? Poderia. Mas acho que eu estaria sendo um chatão analítico levando isso muito em consideração. No final do dia, a diversão assistindo uma obra é o que mais vale.

Got introduced to the franchise thanks to all the memes (Goldship specially) and honestly I don´t regret it at all. You can see this season was produced before the gacha money rolled in since the animation is not really that good in comparison to what i have seen in the other seasons and ovas. The characters are lovely with Silence Susuka, Haru Urara, GoldShip, and much more being really really charming on their own. Although, aside from the main Umas (Susuka and Spe) the others don´t get any space in the spotlight. Special Week as a protagonist gets te job done but isn´t the most memorable Uma in the season. The pacing is also weird, there is no cliffhangers, everything gets resolved in the same chapter it is introduced, and the last chapter straight up spoils the next season with the other character. I guess because when that episode was made they did not plan to do a 2nd season so they made it as an epilogue. But even with all of this I still recommend this anime, it is really charming with adorable and funny moments, good characters and straight up love for the horse racing franchise as a whole. Not everyone will like the anime, not every Uma Musume fan will like this season, but personally for me, I do recommend it.

I'll keep this one shorter, considering I have a tendency to be a bit verbose. Anyway, I was, like many of the western fans, swept by the Umamusume hype train in the last months, and just like most, fell in love with the world of these wonderful horse girls. Rather embarrassingly, I've only caught up with the anime this month, and so far I've been enjoying it a lot. So, first things first, I need to acknowledge the fact this anime is (apparently) an adaptation of the first Umamusume manga rather than the game (which makes sense, considering the actual game would be released quite some time after the first season of the anime). This is actually something quite important to have in mind, since one of the main pet-peeves I've had while watching this anime was the sheer focus on both Special Week and Silence Suzuka's respective races. Back then, I thought the anime was focusing on Spe's races in a bit of a way to reflect the actual gameplay, where you manage a single Umamusume throughout her career (also by the fact she's the protagonist...) and later shifted the focus to Suzuka's career as a way to present a turning point for Spe's character growth (as well as developing Suzuka). Like I said, I found it a very awkward way to adapt the videogame experience, but taking this as a manga plotline, it actually makes a lot more sense. So that's on me for being misinformed. With that in mind, I'll start by the positives: this anime is, sincerely, pretty damn exciting, specially during the race scenes. I've actually managed to find myself cheering for real for both Spe and Suzuka during most of their races. For a sports anime, that's a pretty big deal. The anime is also pretty funny, not really in a typical comedy way, but in a very wholesome fanservicey sort of being able to see team spica banter. I'd also say the endings for both Spe and Suzuka's respective arcs, as well as the trainer's by the very end were very satisfying. I also enjoyed the rivalry between team spica and rigil, and how it reflected the different philosophies between their trainers. Though, it was a bit of a shame both El Condor and Grass Wonder kinda get cast aside later in the anime. About the negatives, I'd say I was quite disappointed with the lack of disclosure of the other spica team members races. I guess they wanted to make them more like supportive characters, but it felt like such a waste nonetheless. I really wanted to some of the other members' highlights, like Vodka and Scarlet having an actual relevant race on screen. It felt a bit neglectful of the rest of spica's members role in the actual racing, overall. I guess the final episode tried to do that, but it just didn't feel the same. It also needs to be addressed that this is infamously the "ugliest" looking Umamusume season so far. Whether it is by time constraints or a lack of budget, the anime does look pretty rough at times. Anyway, I really enjoyed the first season and am looking forward to catching up with the highly praised Cinderella Gray. If you enjoy Umamusume, there's probably no reason you won't really enjoy this season, despite having a bit of a goofier vibe to it.

This was enjoyable and emotional, it has a few shortcomings but overall pretty decent. I personally watched this after playing the game, so getting to know the lore is more interesting for someone like me, but I wouldn't say it adds or takes away anything compared to people who haven't played the game. It's what you would expect from a sports drama really, the story behind the races is what makes the racing itself exciting and it was great, you get invested in so many characters and root for them. Besides the last episode, the way races turned out is far from the dreamy "mc wins everything" scenario and it 100% added to the excitement that you couldn't predict who would win the race. The two issues are the CGI and the pacing. It felt insanely rushed at times with big time skips. It makes sense given it's about horse racing that has a schedule set in stone and it's inevitable to skip between races, but it was just very odd to skip races or rush them, the first season could've easily been 24 episodes or 2 cours. This way it felt like you're missing out on parts. The CGI is very noticable sometimes, it's not used too frequently but it was inconsistent and it popped up at times you wouldn't expect it. Many times it's reasonable and almost blends in in a way that it's not a bother at all, but when it's bad it's really bad. It's a shame, but animation quality only goes up from here.

Stick And Carrot Will Make Senpai Racs Umamusume: Pretty Derby Is a comedy where horses keep getting hurt in their eyes and knees, and you're just wondering what these goofy horses are doing. Is mild entertaining and the characters are funny. when you read what the real horses were like, then you can really get an idea of why they choice those personality, It's kind of genuinely done. Slapsticks in its kind of humor with just enough, you know sports like moments like "you mustn't give up" but they isn't anything special to it's. The absurdity of, every male real horse being made into a cute anime girl, is the funniest part of the show and it will never stop being funny. Following the lose horse club and seeing them being victorious, is just that kind of sports story you've seen before, but it's not boring. would recommend.

I think this anime literally cured my boredom and really life changing. It is because the story are really heart touching but sometimes they are many hilarious and funny part. After that, I think some majority didn't know or didn't care about this anime and maybe it depends on someone thought. I started watching this anime like 7 months ago. Furthermore, many Umamusume characters in this series are literally cute and adorable that could cheer me up and regain my mood and mostly all Umamusume characters are inspired from the real life events. Besides, all Umamusume characters are females but mostly are males horses in real life events but there are not many females horses. Anyways, this anime literally "must watch" but if you want to. I hope you all enjoy it this anime!

Uma Musume Pretty Derpy Season 1 is in my opinion without a doubt the weakest entry in the franchise, while not bad, P.A Works (the studio behind this season) fails to create something that really stands out. However, it did have certain aspects where it outshines it's later seasons adapted by Studio KAI and eventually CyGames own animation studio that they created for the specific reason of being able to make the anime in the vision they truly had for it. Comedy: To talk about the positives first, the humor in this season was by far it's best aspect, something that the later seasons feel like they toned down on. With many characters like GoldShip and Special week, the constant jokes and gags made in this seasons were more than entertaining and most of the talked about memes and jokes do come from this season. Animation: The animation was not bad in any shape or form, however it doesn't stand out either, it feels like the animators played it very safe by keeping things grounded, there isn't a lot of creative play with styles or cinematography. There's not a lot to be said rather than really average animation. Characters: While entertaining for the purpose of making you laugh, that's about all they can do. I think they failed to really make any deeper developments. There was an attempt with Special week and Silence Suzuka, yet they're written in a way to where they just come off as flat, one dimensional and predictable. The rivalry between them was pretty standard and not really compelling, mainly due to silence Suzuka having close to no emotional range, falling into the classic archetype of a kuudere, which I personally don't often enjoy. It felt like she would often just stare at a distance and either 1. Smile 2. Look pensive while mumbling "spe-chan..." To call out the main character. We never really got a lot to bite into when it comes to her, and if even just one character is this way then the entire rivarly between both character gets ruined as it requires both to be just as compelling. Music: This part was good, the music is just standard of what you'd expect from uma musume, it is the kind of genre that ends up depending on ones preference/taste in music, you either like it or you don't. In short, uma musume Pretty Derpy Season 1 was just okay, nothing bad but nothing too remarkable or outstanding either

========A REVIEW EM PORTUGUÊS ESTÁ ABAIXO DA REVIEW EM INGLÊS=========== ========THE PORTUGUESE REVIEW IS BELLOW THE ENGLISH REVIEW============= Unlike the other anime entries in the Umamusume franchise, Pretty Derby feels more like a CGDCT anime with sports elements than a sports anime that happens to have cute girls. I’m not sure if that explanation is perfectly clear, but that’s the impression this anime gives compared to the other entries I’ve watched. This isn’t necessarily a negative point—just a different, yet still valid, approach within the Umamusume universe, especially considering that the girls themselves are the core of the franchise. If you go into this anime expecting a deeper focus on the sports aspect (like Cinderella Gray, for example), you might end up disappointed… or maybe not. After all, the sports element is still present and properly handled. That said, if you watch it primarily as a CGDCT anime, I’m confident you’ll have a good time. The production is solid overall. The character art is consistent, and the animation quality is also steady. It’s nothing outstanding, but it’s good and maintains a respectable level of quality, which is what you’d expect from P.A. Works. In my opinion, the biggest issue lies in the direction. It’s not bad, but it does feel somewhat uninspired, and this especially affects the race scenes, possibly due to a lack of creativity. The soundtrack is simple and does its job well. I believe they even reused some OSTs from the game. In short: the anime is fun, the girls are cute and goofy as expected, and it has some nice moments. However, nowadays I wouldn’t recommend it as an entry point for someone who wants to get into the Umamusume franchise without having prior contact with the game—especially with titles like Cinderella Gray and Shin Jidai no Tobira available. =========================== REVIEW EM PORTUGUÊS ===================================== Diferentemente dos outros animes da franquia Umamusume, o Pretty Derby acaba sendo mais um "anime de CGDCT com esportes" do que um "anime de esportes que tem garotas fofas", não sei se isso fez muito sentido, mas é o sentimento que esse anime passa em relação aos outros que vi anteriormente. Isso não é necessariamente um ponto negativo, apenas uma abordagem diferente, mas também válida, dentro do universo de Umamusume, tendo em vista que as garotas são a essência da obra. Se você for assistir esse anime achando que ele vai ser um anime mais aprofundado na parte do esporte em si (como o Cinderella Gray por exemplo), talvez você se decepcione, mas talvez não também, até porque a parte de esporte é sim presente e trabalhada no anime, mas se você for assistir ele com o objetivo de ver um anime de CGDCT tenho certeza que vai se divertir. A produção do anime é sólida. A qualidade dos desenhos é consistente e a animação também, ela não é nada de incrível, mas é boa e possui um grau decente de qualidade, como esperado do estúdio P.A. Works. O maior problema, na minha opinião, é a direção, ela não é ruim, mas é pobre, isso acaba afetando principalmente as corridas por falta de criatividade talvez. A trilha sonora é simples e cumpre o seu papel, acho que eles usaram algumas OSTs do jogo inclusive. Resumindo: O anime é divertido, as garotas são fofas e engraçadinhas como esperado e possui momentos legais, mas hoje em dia não recomendaria como o anime de entrada para alguém que quer começar a acompanhar a franquia Umamusume caso ela nunca tenha tido contado com o jogo antes, ainda mais com títulos como o Cinderella Gray e o Shin Jidai no Tobira disponíveis por aí.

Ingles Continuing with the main story thanks to Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, and although the main focus is on the races and comedy, they don’t leave behind the drama that comes with each of the Uma Musumes. In this season, watching how the girls motivate each other, even as rivals, to keep improving, is something truly heartwarming to see. Something different here is the large number of Umas that appear. Although Special Week and Silent Suzuka are the protagonists and share a lovely and fun chemistry, it’s great to see other teammates shine alongside them, adding freshness and variety to the story. Español Continuando con la historia principal gracias a Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, y aunque el enfoque principal son las carreras y la comedia, no dejan de lado ese drama que acompaña a cada una de las Uma Musumes. En esta temporada, ver cómo las compañeras se motivan entre sí, aun siendo rivales, para superarse constantemente, es algo realmente grato de ver. Algo diferente aquí es la gran cantidad de Umas que aparecen. Aunque Special Week y Silent Suzuka son las protagonistas y tienen una química muy linda y divertida, resulta genial ver a otras compañeras brillar a la par de las protas, aportando frescura y variedad a la historia.

Imagine you tell people about the premise of horse racing becoming anime girls and after the race they do idol concerts. most of the people will tell you that sounds very stupid and then you show them this show, half of those people will look at your weirdly and never talk to you again while the others will ask for more. This first season shows us the basics of how Umamumuse works and it is fine, the next seasons get better and this one is left by being so mediocre at everything. Special Week is such a mediocre protagonist because everyone else is so much interesting than her and I mean literally everyone, the second character the shows puts more screen time is Silence Susuka and I would have love to see more of her and Vodka, Scarlet, Gold ship, Haru, Condor, literally show me more of then than the boring protagonist. The animation is so... special (It's decent at bet), the story while having some good drama it's just two spectrums HAPPY and BIG SAD, sound design and music are good but forgettable, they did dirty the trainer-san, come on why is he pervert?. If you are into Umamumuse like me this is a good start if not then watch season 2 or Cinderella Gray, because those are peak Umamusume.