Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray

The worst decision I made this season was trusting the fandom that told me this was a good way to get started in the world of Uma Musume. A small disclaimer because I know this has a lot of fanatic fans, and I don't want to get into trouble with them: I'm not familiar with Pretty Derby anime, gacha, or real-life horse racing. This is my first time trying to enter the world of Uma Musume. Weeks before the premiere, I consulted with fans, and they told me this was a great starting point because it was a prequel. The only thing they got right was that it's a prequel. Because this anime isn't friendly to new viewers. From the start, the anime assumes you already know how this world works, horses and racing. So it skips any explanation and goes straight to the races. So when I watched that, I thought we'd have a spokon of races filled with emotion and intensity. That was my mistake, for having expectations of something that never came. One of the biggest problems I see with Cinderella Gray's script is that, by being tied to predetermined outcomes, it takes away the element of surprise. Now imagine having nearly 10 races in 13 episodes, none of which surprise you because the script itself tells you who's going to win. Cinderella Gray is a true spokon and has a very defined formula, as it strictly follows it. It doesn't seek to innovate or reinvent it; it simply seeks to find a way to tell a story in the simplest way possible. Oguri Cap never has a real rival until the end of the series. You have to endure 11 episodes of Oguri Cap being the best to reach the last two episodes, where she can finally meet someone who will push her to the limits of her physicality. Except, as I said, the narrative of the race already tells you who's going to win because they focus the entire last two episodes on Oguri Cap's rival. As Spokon, there's a lot of room for improvement because the weakest part of the script is not taking advantage of the rivals to make the protagonist shine, and vice versa. With such a large roster of horse girls to choose from and exploit, the cast is quite repetitive. We're going to see the same girls competing against each other more than once. The script lacks space for anything other than racing. I understand that racing is an important part of this world, but as an athlete, Oguri should also have space to let us see her train of thought between races. To see strategies and how she can improve in the next race. Oguri Cap is the typical airheaded protagonist who doesn't think much about what she's doing but has the natural talent to perform well in this world of sprinters. So they rely heavily on Oguri's talent to avoid delving deeper and developing the character in general. There are subplots about historical events that changed the racing world, but they're only touched on superficially because, as I said, the anime expects you to already know all this. It's a lazy script because it requires the viewer to fill in the blanks they left. If the viewer is new, they'll be left staring around, not knowing what the hell is going on. Without a doubt, Cinderella Gray is the worst season to start out in the world of Uma Musume.

Uma Musume: Cinderella Grey — Finally, something that's off the usual trodden path of the field...that's even better than the mainline series itself? Horse Girls, make them female and give them a demihuman representation, and you have quite the double trouble awaiting you on the racetrack. Since Spring 2018, with the arrival of P.A. Works's adaptation of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, one of a handful of IPs from one of the best modern game companies, CyGames, the series may have started in Japan all those years ago. But with every new iteration of the anime series, which has now brought about a large franchise, fans of Uma Musume are going bonkers left and right, with the latest development being the official English version of the game that has been recently released for smartphones on June 26 of this year (2025) (it's fairly new as of this review) so that international fans are not left out of the Uma Musume craze. Most importantly, in the context of the anime mentioned above, is a manga series that's part of the Uma Musume franchise but one that has its deep roots within the Japanese racehorse history books. This is the spin-off series of Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, which features Oguri Cap and her claim to fame in Japan that's situated between the time of the late Showa era and the early years of the Heisei era, from 1987 through 1990, produced by Junnosuke Ito, illustrated by Taiyo Kuzumi, and written by Masafumi Sugiura, scriptwriter for Season 1 of the mainline series that has been serializing since June 2020. While I'm not going to do an overview about the real horse reference in question (you can read that for yourself on Wikipedia), the criticality of Cinderella Gray is where the series lies in the many veins of the Uma Musume universe. To be specific (as a pseudo-spoiler alert), you will recognize some of the horse girls who appear in this anime as the generation before the mainline series, but if it's in the vein of Oguri Cap, it's pretty much a prequel to the mainline series, being somewhat way back before Uma Musume's Tracen Academy was even a blip in the eyes of others. The story starts off at Kasamatsu Academy with its own home of horse girls, though if they were to compete competitively, it would only be on a regional level as compared to Tracen Academy aiming for the national and international levels. If you need a direct comparison to how Oguri Cap is like in this spin-off series, think of her similarly towards Season 2 of the mainline series where Tokai Teio takes centerstage, and the talented horsegirl that has a goal to make herself big, at least on a national stage. In Cinderella Gray's case, Oguri Cap has only one important mission to do: run as fast as possible and outdo her competitors, even if the country bumpkin herself doesn't see favour with the rest of the Kasamatsu Academy's horse girls. Namely, their version of the BNW girls of Biwa Hayahide, Narita Taishin, and Winning Ticket, through the likes of Norn Ace, Mini the Lady, and Rudy Lemono, alongside her good horsegirl buddy friend Belno Light and the trainer that makes all of her dreams possible: Joe Kitahara. As with every Uma Musume iteration, trying to push your limits towards the likes of national horse girls is a very tall order, but much like Tokai Teio's spirit, Oguri Cap does things the same, keeping her mother's dreams in mind as she makes it out to the local Kasamatsu Academy to refine her steps, one race at a time. And though she comes off as aloof (which gives some comedy space to her character), even under the pressure of the group of bullies who would try and sully her, she only has her ardent supporter of Belno Light help bail her out of trouble and take care of her everyday needs, like a helpless mother figure to her otherwise monotonous horse girl daughter. But still, the heart of Uma Musume is readily there, as Oguri Cap soon proves herself under the training of Joe and amasses local wins enough to make it to the famed Graded races in Japan, eventually meeting with her generation's bigwig rivals of Tamamo Cross, Super Creek, and Inari One (though they too appeared briefly in Season 1 of the mainline series). It's classic Uma Musume through and through. No doubt that with a CyGames IP, both P.A. Works and Studio Kai have experimented much with the mainline series, and they did an admirable job, considering that their animation arm was established but not ready for full-time anime production at the time. And come 5 years later, with PriConne's adaptation being the very first primetime anime production back in Spring 2020, after the mainline series' Road to the Top movie, CyGamesPictures is back with a vengeance, tackling their own IP franchise, and Cinderella Gray defintely benefits from an in-house, home-ground playing field of an immense production and great animation. No doubt that the studio has done well with the underrated hit of Apocalypse Hotel this Spring season as well, so it shouldn't really come as a surprise when the interconnected IP gets pretty much the same treatment as well. Really some great work that continues to seed the great image of CyGames and their animation division. The OST, I think, is top-notch, but given the work records of music composer Kenji Kawai, that's pretty much a given. And while I find that [Alexandros]'s OP here was decent, knowing their track record on Ao Ashi's 1st OP makes me feel that there's something holding the rock band back that feels incomplete. But not a bad effort at all. Even Oguri Cap's VA's ED performance is alright; there's not much to say about that as an above-average song. As the first spin-off in a rather huge franchise, Cinderella Gray just adds another layer to the Uma Musume complexity that's to be expected from the stories of real-life Japanese horses, but given CyGames and its flair that just makes the marriage of history and modernization all that powerful. And yet, this is only the 1st half of the split-cour adaptation, so expect more things to come when the anime comes back in Fall. Uma Musume: Never doubt the competition, because you ARE the competition.

Cygames has quietly become an underappreciated powerhouse in the anime, video game, and multimedia zeitgeist. While I couldn't tell you how many intellectual properties they have under their umbrella nor otherwise how wide of a net they cast, I've seen enough of their handiwork to trust their company logo with a good, often great, and sometimes downright exceptional experience: GranBlue Fantasy Relink, Shadowverse, and Princess Connect being some of their finest. And in short, Umamusume Cinderella Gray is another notch on their ever-expanding belt. But, it could have been more. (Edit: I wrote that part about Shadowverse before learning about its monetization changes. Oops.) I started watching this anime as it was airing, partly based on my own confidence in Cygames's handling of their IPs, plus all the incredibly positive reception it had been getting. And its first impressions genuinely meet those expectations. This anime has some solid production value, it's clear that a lot of time and energy was spent into spotlighting the Umamusume brand and making it shine, literally and figuratively. The protagonist they chose to center the story on, Oguri Cap, is cute, quirky, and endearing, a perfectly solid choice as this iteration's gacha waifu heroine. The first episode hooks you with its world and characters and primes you for a rags-to-riches story with a character we all genuinely want to succeed and be happy. And Cinderella Gray wastes no time in telling this story. Oguri Cap goes from race to race, with minimal downtime in between. This... isn't exactly a good thing in this case. The near-episodic formula of Oguri learning about the race and her opponent, only to go on and win said race, simply doesn't have enough meaningful divergence. By the midpoint of the series, the episodes become a muddy slurry analogous to a horse race track on a rainy day. And as this doesn't stop the horses from trudging forward, so too will the anime. It's rushed. It goes by too quickly, and it doesn't feel like Oguri herself has climbed a huge mountain, but instead played through a retro game with fast-forward constantly enabled. Unbeknownst to me when I started this anime, Cinderella Gray is a two-part story, dividing the show at the 2/3s mark. This was not a good decision. This anime desperately needs another element in the background to support and enhance its main character and her struggle, because as it is, it feels like Oguri Cap - and by extension, the anime as a whole - is simply going through the motions. There were so many opportunities to slow down, explore parts of the Umamusume world and characters between major races, to set up and build up to a final climactic race. In some respects, this is what the second part of the story does, and it has a suitably bombastic and powerful payoff, but the overall anime needed more of this, especially during the midsection. I feel like this would be a weird point of comparison in most other animes, but I genuinely believe Cinderella Gray should have leaned more heavily into its gacha origins to have a better impact. These games ride or die on the strengths of their waifus, and how endearing they can be. By putting all of the focus onto Oguri Cap, Cinderella Gray cheapens her victories, because we don't know the full weight of her individual victories and rivalries. New characters are repeatedly introduced as potential rivals only to be curbstomped in a race within 15 minutes, so it just begs the question, why should we care? It's frequently established just how capable Oguri is, but there's only so many times we can see her finish in first before it becomes blasè. Supposedly each new race brings higher stakes and stronger opponents, but with how little Oguri struggles, this doesn't reflect itself to the viewer. Most of these one-off rivals aren't shown to have any real personalities or motivations - we're simply told that they won a race or two before racing Oguri, but we have to take the narrative at face value here because Oguri almost always trounces them. There's very little drama or tension in any of these individual races. This could have be mitigated if Oguri had character development throughout the show - and she does, albeit very subtly, yet it's not enough to completely offset the disappointment. By the end of this anime, I couldn't help but make all the comparisons to another anime based on a Cygames property, and possible candidate for the best anime based on a gacha game: Princess Connect. Princess Connect splits its main character focus between multiple characters, the four members of the Gourmet Guild, but by treating them as a collective it keeps the story focused, as Cinderella Gray does on Oguri, except with added variety because of the guild members' divergent personalities. But then each episode shares its focus with another character or group from the gacha, telling a vignette that lets them shine and gives their relationship to the Gourmet Guild more depth, even if it's fleeting. This comes at the cost of a slow-ish story progression, taking two seasons to tell a fantasy plot that could have fit into one if the focus wasn't on the wide cast of characters, but this plays more to the strengths of the world and characters established by the gacha game, and the overall anime itself is better for it. This distinction ultimately exacerbates Cinderella Gray's biggest flaw: by rushing past the worldbuilding and diverse cast of characters established by the gacha, it leaves behind a hollow plotline that feels like it could have been so much more extravagant and colorful. I say this as someone who had zero experience with either franchise's gacha game before watching their respective anime. Princess Connect showed me everything I needed to feel invested as if I had. Cinderella Gray dashed past all of that in its dogged pursuit of the finish line. Perhaps fitting for an anime themed after horse racing. Much less so for one based off a gacha game. Now, I have a soft spot for animes based on video games, gacha or otherwise, and I'll continue to seek them out despite their less-than-stellar quality. These are shows where I know I'll rate them higher than the average - an average that's admittedly deserved - based purely on my own enjoyment. Umamusume Cinderella Gray shares a lot of faults with all of those adaptations, I'm rating it the same accordingly, yet somehow I'm falling on the opposite side of the MAL score average this time. Don't misconstrue anything I've said here, this show is still good, Oguri Cap herself is good, and if you want a nice fluffy story or are already a part of the Umamusume fanbase, then you will like this show. But it's multiple lengths shy of the Cygames Triple Crown I was hoping to witness.

"You there! What's your name?'' ''Oguri Cap.'' '' ''Cap''... As in ''Peak''...'' Truer words have never been spoken. Uma Musume: CInderella Gray takes the franchise to the next level when it comes to the series. While not as over the top as last years Beginning of a new era, it provides a ton of excitement and enthusiasm leaving you at the edge of your seat during every race, but it also gives us heartwarming and emotional moments and backstories. Cinderella Gray gives us cool cool rivals and shows us all the adorable and quirky sides of Oguri Cap. So come and join our ashen haired Uma musume as she race towards the peak of Japan!

I was never really into the Uma Musume universe, even though I’ve always loved sports anime like Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basket, Run with the Wind, and others. So when I started Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, I had mixed feelings and a good dose of skepticism. But oh boy... this show came charging in like a raging beast, demanding my attention, and it got it, instantly. From the very first episode, I was completely hooked. Out of all the anime I’ve watched this season (and I’ve seen almost all of them), nothing has hit me this hard, well, maybe The Apothecary Diaries comes close, but Cinderella Gray still stands on top for me. This show is truly the embodiment of “peak” , peak emotion, peak storytelling, peak characters. I can’t even count how many times I cried, shouted at the screen to support Oguri, felt overwhelming joy when the ashen beast won, and shared her sorrow when she didn’t. Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray didn’t just entertain me, it left a mark on my soul. Thank you, Uma Verse. Thank you, Oguri Cap. And thank you, Cygames, for creating this unforgettable journey. I bow to you all. 10/10 No hesitation.

A standout season not only for the Uma Musume series but for sports anime in general. The story buildup throughout the season is fantastically done. And unlike some of the shorter spinoffs in the series this show gives us time with the characters to get emotionally invested, all while never dragging down the pace too much. Getting to experience the journey was incredible. I particularly liked the more grounded art design. It's still unmistakably Uma Musume, but this time the cartoony vibes have been substituted for something with a bit more specificity, from the stronger sense of place in each location to the more realistic color palette and subtle film effect. It makes the whole thing feel just a bit closer to taking place in the real world, which is a funny direction for this series but it works really well here. Add to that great animation for the races themselves and it's really fun to watch. You could argue that the main character's lack of personability is a slight weakness, but I do enjoy how the show tells the story of someone who's so strong that their goals struggle to keep up with their skill, instead of the other way around like we usually get in sports stories. Despite her rarely saying directly how she feels about it, you can feel the struggles yourself as you're taken through her story. It's an interesting angle to take that sets this season apart from each of the other parts of the overall series. This was one of my top shows for the year and would be a solid recommendation to just about anyone. I'd love to see it get more attention over time.

Anime horse girls racing against each other as if their lives depended on it. What more could you ask for? While the premise is simple, it seems like Cygames has been going hard with the animation, making sure that despite how many UmaMusume is packed together in the middle, you can still clearly see what's going on, and focus on the important moment that heavily impacted the race results. The character designs are amazing, and their faces ranges between "aha so cute" to "are they about to kill each other?". The UmaMusume you see in the class isn't necessarily the same UmaMusume as they run their heart out. It's such a thrill to watch as they run the course, each with their own motivation, building up your anxiety as they approach the finish line Whenever Oguri Cap spurts towards her opponent and that kickass soundtrack kicks in, you know it's gonna be the showdown of the century. This shit is in fact THAT SERIOUS. And I'll be here to witness the continuation when the fall of 2025 hits us.

Cinderella Gray is a really solid entry to the Uma Musume world that is good blend of light hearted jokes and intense racing. Oguri Cap is a lovable protagonist to root for and the side characters have good personalities that was previously a side character in the other animes, mostly as a gag in the background chowing down on ridiculous amounts of food. She continues that character trait but we finally get to see what Oguri Cap's racing is like and it's simply fun. The animations are great, the races are exciting, and the flow of the story is easy to follow. The pacing of the show is definitely a lot smoother than Road to the Top as there is a good amount of time for training and racing that you feel Oguri Cap's growth into the monster of a racing horse she is. Overall it's a thoroughly enjoyable show from start to finish and it's a good entry into the franchise.

Cinderellaman Grey is peak, plain and simple. In the spotlight is Oguri Cap, a lovable dunce from the boonies who is as adorable as she is gluttonous. Past seasons of Uma Musume are a great watch and this series builds on their foundation, however it’s a whole different beast compared to them. There’s more of an edge, more insight into what’s going on behind the scenes, and a more competitive feel to it in general. Part of this added grittiness stems from the fact there is just one MC to focus on- season one had Special Week and Silence Suzuka, season two was Toukai Teiou and Mejiro McQueen, Kitisan Black and Satono Diamond in season three. Oguri Cap stands alone. The animation and color pallet is superb, and the opening and closing songs are as well. The biggest downside to this anime is how much I now feel the need to purchase the Oguri Cap plushie shown for sale a few times.

I'm not going to come out and say this is a masterpiece, but it knows it's lane and it sticks to it throughout. There is nothing extremely groundbreaking here other than the surreal personification of horse racing; it has a simple structure of race, rivalry, train repeat - but what makes it so enjoyable is the interactions between characters, the support that Oguri gets from past rivals, trainers etc. This truly felt like it gave the show soul throughout - you cheer the characters on as though you were there spectating alongside their friends, trainers and family in the show. Additionally, background knowledge from the game Uma Musume: Pretty Derby only serves to ripen these interactions, small references or links are an added treat between the action packed and exciting races - and recognizing each character enhances the experience as admittedly the becoming of many characters besides the main are glossed over quite significantly. Exemplifying the idea that it is exciting and enjoyable over deeply character driven or philosophical. Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray knows it's lane. It's a fast pace competition anime, built on slice of life and character interaction that can make losing a race feel ever more meaningful or likewise winning ever more enjoyable. Horse racing may not be for everyone, but this personification serves as prime example that catering to a modern audience is just as important - as shown in the massive surge in popularity that horse racing in Japan and worldwide as experienced due to this franchise.

Ohw Ohw Ohw, this is a masterpiece. I didn’t think they could make such a good story out of a character who barely appeared and was mostly just comic relief in the main anime — but not only did they pull it off, it might actually be one of the best-developed stories so far. Oguri Cap has become my second favorite Uma, since Teio is still the best for me. They did such an amazing job with this that now I want to see a similar anime about Symboli Rudolf during her racing days — I think that would be really awesome. As for the technical side, I don’t think this anime lacks in anything. The animation is great, the story is well-written, and the soundtrack is fantastic — 10/10. I’m hyped to watch the second part.

An anime where girls become horses? I didn’t expect much going in, but it turned out to be a surprisingly fun ride. The main character, Oguri Cap, has a really likeable personality—it’s easy to root for her throughout. Each episode kept me entertained, and I never found it boring, even though I’m not into sports anime since they often follow the same cliché formula. The animation is solid, and the pacing is great. They managed to fit a lot into just 12 episodes without making it feel rushed or overloaded. Overall, it was a fun and enjoyable watch. If you're looking for something light and fast-paced, I’d definitely recommend giving this a try.

I thought I was gonna hate this. I tried watching the first 3 seasons by P.A. Works but they're very bad. They're not even sports anime, they are boring CGDCT, slice of life with some running segments here and there. But the ones made by Cygames themselves, ho-ly-shit. They are very good. Both the movies and Cinderella Gray are actual sports anime, focused on the characters' struggles and motivations, their running and techniques, their rivalries and achievements, it's great. You probably heard of the amazing animation, and it is top notch in everything Cygames made, but Cinderella Gray's strongest point is its protagonist. Through a sheer miracle, they didn't make the protagonist a drama, self-doubt filled mess. She's focused, motivated and wins races through hard work and skill. As for everyone else, from the trainers to Oguri's friends and rivals, they are all pretty solid and serve a purpose in the story. The story is focused, doesn't waste time, there's a good amount of races throughout, the characters often have to make tough choices and overcome hardships to grow; it's pretty by the book but it does an excellent job at following it. If you're not a fan of sports anime for various reasons but want to see what they could be, you should still watch this. You will not be disappointed and you will gain a new appreciation for the genre. And for horse girls. So go watch Road to the Top, Beginning of a New Era and then Cinderella Gray, in that order. You're welcome.

Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray is, quite simply, a phenomenal roller coaster of racing excitement. This new entry continues to do all the incredible things that you’d expect from this franchise, be it compelling rivalries amongst extreme and captivating personalities, heart pounding races with some of the best pacing and editing in modern TV anime, and deceptively strong sound design that adds extra power to every impact of foot against racetrack. I’m also still amazed that they took a perpetual gag character like Oguri Cap and turned her into such an endearing lead through a combination of raw visual excess and a sympathetic backstory. The wide array of competitors they place her against and how she relates to them, be it the sheer contrast to the straight-laced Fujimasa March or the kindred spirit found in the boisterous and commanding Tamamo Cross, were insanely entertaining, even compared to rivalries of past seasons, and seeing Symboli Rudolf finally play a more direct role in the plot after so many entries of her as a peripheral icon was immensely gratifying. It also has some notable differences that make this entry stand out from the others as well. There’s a much more direct sense of conflict amongst the characters, with the overall tone being the most serious, borderline edgy that we’ve gotten so far, though it still has that trademark silliness that perfectly diffuses the tension when need be, and the color palette and lighting are much starker and more desaturated in order to match this tonal shift without drifting too far into being drab or lifeless. In short, it’s more Uma Musume, which means it’s incredible, and I can’t wait to start on part 2.

Ingles "HORSE GIRLS, BROOO! Hahahaha, fantastic. I started this series because I had already heard about its game and the main show, but I didn’t really see the point. Like I said at the beginning: “horse girls”. But when I realized this story can be enjoyed without needing to know all the previous ones from the main plot, I gave it a chance and… waooow! A pure spokon, full of passion, with very fun and emotional stories. With this series I cleared my doubts, and now I’ll watch the main story because… HORSE GIRLSSS! OGURI CAP, MY QUEEN! 👑" Español "¡CHICAS CABALLO, BROOO! Jajajajaja, fantástico. Comencé esta serie porque ya había escuchado sobre su juego y la serie principal, pero no le veía mucho sentido. Como dije al comienzo: “chicas caballo”. Pero al descubrir que esta historia se puede ver sin necesidad de conocer todas las anteriores de la trama principal, le di una oportunidad y ¡waooo! Un spokon puro, con muchísima pasión e historias muy divertidas y emotivas. Con esta serie salí de dudas y ahora veré la historia principal porque… ¡CHICAAAS CABALLLOOO! ¡OGURI CAP, MY QUEEN! 👑"

Boy oh boy, Uma Musume just keeps delivering. Cinderella Gray is the latest addition to the Uma Musume franchise, and it tackles the world of horse racing in a slightly more action-packed and intense way than we're used to. This time, we get plenty of hype moments and an overall tone that feels more grounded and serious—yet it still fits well within the usually cheerful universe Uma Musume takes place in. To start off: you don’t need any prior knowledge to enjoy this show. You can pretty much jump in blind and still have nearly the same experience as someone who has watched the earlier entries. Sure, a few technical terms might trip you up here and there—the franchise does assume some familiarity with the game—but honestly, that’s true for any Uma Musume show. The story itself is fairly straightforward: we follow our underdog, Oguri Cap, as she climbs her way from the bottom to the top—making new friends, facing fierce rivals, and overcoming all kinds of challenges along the way. It’s nothing revolutionary on paper, sure—but where Cinderella Gray truly shines is in how it brings its characters to life. The chemistry between them, the balance of high-stakes action and genuinely emotional moments, all come together to create a surprisingly compelling and enjoyable experience. I already mentioned Oguri Cap in the story recap, but of course, there are many more characters who appear throughout the series. And let’s be honest: since Uma Musume is based on a gacha game, characters are pretty much the core selling point of the entire franchise. So how did Cinderella Gray handle that? Honestly—I fell in love with most of the girls. Each of them comes with her own story, personality, and ambitions. Watching them chase their dreams is genuinely captivating and adds a lot of emotional weight to the narrative. That said, we have to be realistic: with more than 30 girls appearing in Cinderella Gray, there’s simply no way they can all get meaningful screen time. Some of them barely show up, and a few are just there to fill out the brackets during races. But honestly? I think that’s for the better. I’d rather have a tight focus on a handful of well-developed characters than see the runtime stretched thin trying to give everyone a moment in the spotlight. I’ve praised this show a lot, but there are a few minor things that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. For one, the use of CGI becomes more noticeable towards the end—especially during some of the race scenes. It’s not terrible by any means, but it can be a little distracting once you notice it. Another issue lies in how the show explains the Twinkle Series (the racing system within the Uma Musume universe). There are moments where characters have to choose between different races in their careers, and I found myself wondering: Why choose? Can’t they just run both? If you're unfamiliar with how the Twinkle Series works—as I was—you might feel a bit lost when technical terms or racing structures are thrown around without much explanation. The significance of certain races isn’t always clear either. It's hard to describe without spoiling, but you’ll probably understand what I mean once you watch the show yourself. Let’s end this review with some well-deserved praise. The soundtrack is genuinely solid and does a great job capturing the aesthetic and emotional tone of the show. The animation, too, is above average—fluid, dynamic, and a real treat to watch, which is especially important for a sports-centered story like this. All in all, I can wholeheartedly recommend Uma Musume as a franchise—and Cinderella Gray in particular. Once you connect with its unique charm and emotional appeal, there’s really no escaping it.

Real races with anthropomorphized versions of the actual horses. This is a prequel to the "Pretty Derby" series, but only in the sense that historically Oguri Cap raced before the horses that appear in Pretty Derby series. Works perfectly fine as an introduction to the series, and based on the few eps I watched of the main series, I'd recommend this one more as a starting point. --- Cinderella Gray follows Oguri Cap's journey from the countryside to the very top of racing, and it is all gas no brakes. You are given race after race, and the intense music followed by the loud thumps on the ground make all of them hit hard and get your adrenaline pumping. After each race, there is a moment of peace too. The trainers give pep talks and come up with strategies for future races, and the characters form bonds and expand on their goals and dreams. --- What prevents me from thoroughly enjoying Cinderella Gray is how I can't relate with the characters. These girls are BORN TO RUN, and that's for the most part their sole motivation in life. They are not humans: their careers only revolve around running, they go to school for running, they dream about running... Really hard to connect with or understand these characters. This issue is also exacerbated by the constraints of real historical events, as while these umamusume are born to run and are seemingly forever young, their real life counterparts' lives probably weren't so simple. So in the show you get to see how much they enjoy running, their future motivations, but eventually some event that occurred in real life will have to be shoehorned in. That is actually criticism for the whole franchise, as it has to live in a box and will never be able to spread its wings. --- Overall it's fun. But basically I didn't connect with the show on a deeper level.

Uma Musume Cinderella Gray, This anime was really surprising for me at the first 3 episodes I thought it was the classic sport anime as to how the anime was being portrayed, I was amazed by how the anime gives the more impact and emotion with the horse racing. The anime is based on the real life horse Oguri Cap in the Japanese Horse racing scene for being a famous underdog, the anime did a lot of justice in interpreting the whole career of the horses. I really love The series and I can't wait to finish the 2nd part, I highly recommend this anime because of how deep the message it brings behind the quirky, funny, and cheerful anime. (After I finished part 2 I will edit this review and make an even better one with a separate review for part 2)

After what I thought would be an short obsession Cinderella Gray made me a long fan of Uma Musume. Most of the problems that I got from Pretty Derby are almost gone here, my only problem is that the show is very fast and I want more of this. This story expands a little bit the world by showing us other races than the mainline, characters that are mean to each other so we could have more intense drama and conflicts, a different animation style that suits Oguri the main character so much while also other characters looking amazing. Soundtrack is amazing specially in the races which are really good and the intensity feels a lot more than in Pretty Derby, Oguri is my second favorite protagonist and she is so fun to watch in every moment, her dynamic with every character is fantastic and the fact that she evaded bullying by being so unaware of the situation is so good. I can't wait for the second season and show us more of this fantastic story and characters.

"The wind, the sound of racin' feet, even the crowd's cheers... It's all gone quiet. It's like I'm in a world all by myself..." really cool! a lotta' fun, rides an interesting sort of tension as a sports show in the way that the protagonist, Oguri Cap, just kinda' Wins everything in a way that makes me wonder how comparable One Punch Man is to this show. i have a friend that's reading the manga right now that thinks it kinda' makes for a bad sports series cus' of it, and i don't think i can really disagree? usually a Horse Girl is subject to the forces of reality, like counter-strategy, oppositional gumption, or just the standard wear-and-tear of their body struggling to hold itself together in the face of their own raw strength. but in every instance shown here, Oguri Cap seems to just be Built Different, and barrels unflinchingly through every challenge, crashing through every obstacle, consuming all racers in her path with her overwhelmingly monstrous power and changing the question of her opponents from "can they beat her," to "can they survive her?" (the answer is no, i don't know if that's really a spoiler, that's what the shows about.) i assume the thing that becomes compelling about OPM (could be wrong, never seen it lol) and what its left to reckon with is what everyone else does in the wake of the Impossible Guy, the person so strong that they drag everyone else forward with them through the force of their own gravity. what's that All-Star Superman quote? "You have given them an ideal to aspire to, embodied their highest aspirations. They will race, and stumble, and fall and crawl... and curse... and finally... ...They will join you in the sun, Kal-El." its a common idea, you grow stronger through others, and rivalry is a hallmark of any sports property, hell its practically the benchmark philosophy of uma musume: finding a girlfriend who lights that fire inside you and pushes you both towards your being your best selves. but cinderella gray doesn't really do that? it gestures broadly at the idea, it -would- like to, but it honestly moves at far too fast of a pace to settle down like that, and just ends up leaving everyone else behind in the dust. cinderella gray likes to introduce characters, like, -a lot- of characters, and then proceeds to tear through them all like wet paper, like feeding scores of enhancement talent and third-rate jobbers to the up-and-coming superstar face of the wrestling company. its frankly impressive how much scale escalation it can cram into 13 episodes, going from regional races, to national races, to the peak of japan. its reminiscent a bit of the way Pretty Derby season 1 progresses, though i think critically the cast of season 1 stays consistent and gives itself room to breathe. its still a big ensemble for sure, but you're not really leaving and introducing new cliques of people, even as characters sort of fade in and out of focus, it stays centered on this group of friends and rivals as they run and grow together, and maybe most importantly, win and lose against each other in their struggles. that sort of cascading back and forth is the blood-beating heart of a sports story, typically, i feel. cinderella gray establishes quickly, but also wipes the plate clean just as fast, it has way, way too much momentum to slow down; so while i do like all the characters, i'm a bit underwhelmed with the booking they're given. like, i'm way more invested in the Kasamatsu Regionals crew than any of the Tracen Central cast, the rural students have really poppy designs (like Mini the Lady, a horrible little gremlin girl i love) compared to a lot of the tokyo students; even horse girls that have official game designs, come across as a bit interchangeable and nondescript, kindling for Oguri Cap's fire. there's only so many ways you can make a girl with brown hair with a white mark in the middle of it stand out in a crowd. this wouldn't really be an issue if all these casts were allowed to take root, but they really aren't given the time and space, and i start to find it hard to tell them apart in a police lineup. and with even more fucking horse girls on the way as shown in its season 2 trailer as the scale expands once more to an international stage, its honestly coming across as really antsy and restless with itself that it feels the need to go stamp after stamp, enlist more and more challengers. it really stands as a testament to the show's quality then, that it just manages to tank all of that and still be quite good regardless, lol. one can easily read all that above and imagine a gray sludge of a show completely devoid of tension or interest in its races (in fact, i don't have to imagine it, i already watched Pretty Derby season 3!), but cinderella gray it really does just have a fantastic production and direction, cygames by this point has their anime department on lock. all the races are really legible and exciting in spite of their almost forgone conclusions; opting instead to laying a lot of general groundwork for how races work, what the typical strategies and logic of the other racers are, how individual racetracks and race styles work in various scenarios, relevant physics concepts and the like. it does a lot of work to make the races feel more technical than uma musume usually does, just to further punctuate how much of an abnormal talent Oguri Cap is when all of that work and prep gets completely reduced to ash when she takes to the track. this is maybe demonstrated best through its framing of the Japanese Derby race*, a race told entirely from the perspective of all the other racers that allows itself to get lost in their ambitions and strategies before Oguri sweeps in at the last second to leave them in the dust. really hammers home why she becomes known as The Gray Monster (cinderella gray chooses to adorn her with the title "The Beast," instead) during her career. but outside of the actual races, it knows itself well enough to understand that the actual stakes lie in the circumstances surrounding the race, though i think its hit rate kinda' varies. this is why i find the Kasamatsu Regionals stuff way more compelling than the Nationals stuff, the burgeoning question of what to do with this clearly generational talent that's stuck out here in the sticks, and how that effects everyone involved is a way more interesting dilemma than any questions about National Racing Legislature Reform. not just because its Not a story about challenging bureaucracy by running fast (lol), but because it grounds itself in the really warm connections Oguri made with her people in Kasamatsu; ripping her away from all of that to go flourish elsewhere on the widest stage possible, or keeping her here with the folks she cares about, who care about her, but possibly stifling her potential, is a decision that has real emotional weight to it! Jo Kitahara get your fucking degree already you bum! get your shit together!! the subsequent arc of attempting to override the establishment's rules by dealing them such an overwhelming siege campaign of racing that they have no choice but to surrender to her sheer display of will -is- interesting, but only really gestures at the historical weight of Oguri Cap's actual real life horse career, and doesn't have the same sauce or oomph to it as the previous arc; especially when you introduce like, 3 different ensembles of characters to try and hold it down with. the execution's a bit jumbled for me, but it does show that it knows that its heart lies with the things it can't beat simply by racing, at least, and that's what keeps it compelling. it does, to its credit again, remain a fun time regardless. the show consistently has good comedic timing and all the character back-and-forth's and little gags are all real fun. i think Oguri herself works decently well as the sort of aloof pure-hearted stoic that everyone else refracts themselves through like a prism. this is the One Punch Man…