Strawberry Loft

On your mark, get set, pull gotcha! If you’ve spent any time on the internet recently then you know the hottest gotcha game of the moment Umamusume: Pretty Derby has taken over the internet. 2025 is the year of the horse girls! The more I see about this game the more I think about downloading it. The hype is infectious.

Umamusume is set in a universe where horse racing is popular and the racers on the field are horse girls chasing their dreams one hoof steps at a time. With a roster of 55 main racers plus 6 characters titled academy affiliates there are plenty of racers to add to your roster. The animation for character pulls is very cute, having them running out of the racing gates showing off the star rating for each as they sprint down the track. Once you pick the racer who impresses you the most in try outs it’s time to step into your role of trainer. That’s right, you’re in charge of making sure your horse girl has the stats to make it across the finish line! Each girl can have a career and realistically you can play a career route for each, so don’t be discouraged. If one horse girl can’t cross the finish line, you can always start a new career with a new horse girl.

All the horses in Umamusume are based off real life racehorses with the permission of their jockeys. I think it’s cute the riders got to add their input and, in a way, honor their horses for years to come. Some of the stories are based off real historical moments in horse racing. I think the most popular moment, at least from what I’ve seen, is when Gold Ship jumped on the racing gate to mess with a fellow competitor and then lost a huge race because it seemed like a silly horse thing to do. They remake this scene in the anime and it’s very cute. This is something the writers do very well which is let the horses’ personalities shine. I appreciate the care that goes into making each horse girl unique even with the huge roster. Having their own stories makes them feel less like cookie cutter anime gotcha girls.

Another real racehorse that has been profiting from the popularity of her anime girl counter part is Haru Urara. She’s never won a race but won’t let it get her down and tries her best every time she’s on the track. This can-do spirit has turned the internet into her cheerleaders with trainers lining up to raise her stats and make her a champion! The real-life horse Haru Urara’s losing streak was so famous that people would bet on Haru knowing she would lose and use the track ticket as a good luck charm in their cars to prevent collisions on the road. This became popular because the Japanese word ataranai can mean to lose a bet and to avoid being struck. Kochi Prefecture stamped ataranai onto Haru bet tickets, turning them into real good luck charms. Haru Urara is now living comfortably in retirement and has all the grass she could ever want thanks to her internet fans. The Namabokuso Bank is accepting donations of $40 USD that geos specifically towards 5 kilograms of rye grass per donation. Haru Urara received 2520kg of rye grass through donations that she now happily chomps on and even shares with her friends on the farm.

Umamusume Pretty Derby is horse racing with extra flair, like random special moves the horse girls can decide to use for a power boost mid race keeping the track lively. I was surprised and interested when I learned these girls are racers by day, but idols by night. That’s got to be one hectic schedule to keep. The antics don’t stop at Umamusume Pretty Durby either, these horse girls have a manga, anime series, movies, a stage play, and have an exhibit in the International Museum of the Horse in Kentucky. Imagine knowing nothing about Umamusume and seeing anime cut outs in a horse museum that’s a Smithsonian affiliate. There is a lot to unpack, and I think I’m ready to head to the track and find out more, maybe even catch an after-idol show.

If I had to pick a favorite horse from my limited knowledge I’d pick Haru Urara specifically for her can do attitude. She would keep my spirits up no matter how many races we lost. I would never feel like a bad coach no matter how bad I am at video games!