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Mother’s Basement was streaming a watch-along of the first 3 seasons of Gag Manga Biyori (not to be confused with Non Non Biyori) so I thought “hey why not”.
That was some weird shit.
It was like watching Gintama with a sprinkling of Cromartie High. I kinda wish I had some alcohol for that, but hey there’s still seasons 4 & 5.
Just a quick note on this season: Maebashi Witches is better than you probably think it is.
This Season
It’s the third corner and Oguri Cap has moved up the pack, breaking into top 10 on both r/anime and AnimeCorner for the first time this season!
There’s only a few weeks left in this season. However, we all know that:
Past Seasons
Following my rediscovery of Umamusume, I spent last week finishing up the rest of it.
Season 3
Unlike other Umamusume series, Pretty Derby S3 felt more like a sequel - of season 2 - than a standalone show.
It felt like they tried to recreate the magic (and success) of season 2, but IMO they didn’t manage to do it.
To be fair, season 2 set a high bar - we aren’t getting a backstory like Tokai Teio’s (in real life) anytime soon. Still, they could have went in a new direction instead of trying to replicate season 2.
I would have given it an 8 / 10, but had to knock one point off - because of annoyances like overusage of reused animation and failed reuse of past gags - making it a 7 / 10.
P.S. I find it cute (and concerning / weird) that Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond are sleeping with plushies of each other.
Imagine if your best friend / roommate sleeps with a doll of you. Like, WTF!
Also, just how deep in the closet are they!? At this point, just confess and sleep together??!
Season 1
I decided to give Pretty Season 1 another chance while I am still obsessed with Umamusume.
It was better than my initial impressions back when I dropped it.
I suspect that I got turned off by the trainer as well as the idol concerts in episode 1 the last time I watched it.
The thing is, like other Umamusume series, it gets better as we progress through the episodes. The characters get fleshed out and there is in fact some drama.
I liked it more than season 3.
I think it could have been more moving if they include this IRL lore of Special Week’s jockey, perhaps by incorporating it into the trainer’s backstory:
horseracing IRL spoiler
His jockey Yutaka Take had won seven of the Eight Great Classics by 1997, but he couldn’t win the Derby despite racing nine times. Special Week gave him the first Derby.
(secondary) source: a wiki page on Special Week
It felt like they did so with Kitahara Jo of Cinderella Gray though, making him more of a character.
I enjoyed it substantially, so it gets an 8 / 10 from me.
Oath of BNW (OVA)
As with most OVAs, - Oath of BNW / BNW’s Promise is more comedic compared the main series. It got me to laugh a few times.
They tried instilling a bit of drama, but IMO the drama is not very well-developed.
Nevertheless, I am giving it a 9 / 10 just for
OVA spoiler
Final / Overall Thoughts on Umamusume
I can’t believe I got invested in an anime of horse girls racing each other. This is yet another show that proved that I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Besides the drama and touching stories, I enjoyed the cute running (no pun intended) gags: “can’t take another bite” while the horse girls were sleeping, “can’t keep up” when the horse girls were overtaken in a race, special drink, …There are too many to name.
I am looking forward to what’s in store for Umamusume after Cinderella Gray. There’s so much material to work with given how rich the history of horseracing is. There are “older” horses who haven’t receive the limelight (e.g. Vodka, Daiwa Scarlet and Gold Ship from Team Spica), and newer horses IRL (e.g. Almond Eye) who have yet to appear in the anime.
This (me looking forward) would not have been the case if not for the peak that is Cinderella Gray.
The way I see it, it invigorated the franchise by drawing new fans in the way Witch from Mercury did for Gundam.
Imma wrap up my yapping by listing my top-3 favourite horses:
- Double Jet (a.k.a Twin Turbo) - I love Turbo’s running style. Why bother with elaborate tactics as a stayer / betweener / chaser when you are so strong that you are way ahead of the others. Truly the embodiment of “Eclipse first, the rest nowhere”
- Hachimi (a.k.a Tokai Teio) - very basic pick but Teio’s story is just too good
- Oguri Cap - very basic pick but Oguri’s story is simply peak
Honourable mentions:
- Gold Ship is too funny and likeable
- Haru Urara deserves a shoutout for
horseracing lore
never giving up, achieving 113 losses out of 113 races by the end of her career. I don’t see this record broken anytime soon just like Teio’s.
It might be unpopular, but somehow from current season I like the underground healer the most. Somehow it gives me the good/happy vibes that I can watch it over and over again. (Even if some animations are very bad)
