Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
derkham
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 pers…
Read at the sourceJayJayLwr
(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.
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Read at the sourceFranqitoH
Well, here we go for the sixty-ninth time:
Characters:
-Main Characters: These original protagonists serve as the foundation for the franchise. That’s about it; I won’t deny that they’re likable characters, but honestly, they don’t really stand out much within this sports anime genre. (5/7)
-Supporting: There are characters I liked, but unfortunately, the friends of the Team Spica protagonists didn’t have much to contribute this season because it’s in the next one where they’ll be fleshed out—or so it seems. (1/3)
Logic:
These are races featuring horse girls; the best one isn’t going to win every time while her opponents give it their all, so within its context, I consider this anime logical and coherent. (10/10)
Entertainment (Personal):
I enjoyed it because I haven’t watched a sport…
Read at the sourceGwyndolyn35
Umamusume is a series that one of my best friends introduced me into after being hounded to play it and watch the anime and watch the movie I caved and I watched the movie and I loved it, I played the game and I love and now that I watched the first season of it? I love it even more, every Uma is adorable and I had a good laughs here and there and I love watching every single moment the anime shows me and I had a huge fun time watching this. I’m a fan and I love it. The beauty of being with friends and enjoying your time with each other, competing with each other and being rivals, this is a sports anime in horse girl form and I’m all for it! One of my favorite animes I watched from a beat friend’s recommendation and I will always thank them for it. It’s beautiful
Read at the sourceSatoruSho
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…
Read at the sourceQdartem39
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 o…
Read at the sourceTiengViet
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 W…
Read at the sourcegriddyweeb
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…
Read at the sourcefh1478
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…
Read at the sourceVinsmokeKurosaki
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!
Read at the sourceZeriiiiii
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…
Read at the sourceGabrielcrazyBR3
========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… o…
Read at the sourceTheSlyRomano
I watched this because I got really into the memes I saw from Instagram reels and TikToks, Also played the game for a bit which is alright in my opinion
Uma Musume only watching this is pretty solid, Nothing amazing but pretty solid, I didn't really care for any of the characters expect for Goldship, Haru (Biased opinion, I love the pink horse) and the trainer was alright
Special Week is kind of a bland main character, So I didn't really care about her development all that much, But I'm going to try the rest of this franchise since I know the movie is really good and worth waiting for
I give this a Rating of 6/10, It's almost a 7 but due to Special Week being kind of bland compared to literally everything else and it bumps it down some, But I did enjoy the plot this had without givin…
Read at the sourceYoaqe
Long overlooked on my watchlist without much interest, the massive hype and scale of this franchise finally sparked my curiosity and pushed me to dive into the first season.
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby takes place in a world like ours, where horse-human hybrids—with ears, tails, and horse-like athletic skills, called "horse girls" (Umamusume)—live with humans and replace real horses in races. A heady mix of fierce rivalries, grueling training, and breathtaking sprints, seasoned with a dash of shonen spirit... or so I thought at first glance: a realm echoing Ao Ashi, where our protagonist leaves the family nest for a elite sports academy boarding school, blending studies and passion in an ideal setting, after being scouted on a whim by a top-tier trainer who spots her immense potential. If th…
Read at the sourcebackind
After watching UmaMusume: pretty derby (and all the seasons/series), i can say that this season works really well on its own. special week is a complete protagonist, with a clear story, real growth, real thoughts, and development that actually makes sense. the way she carries her role and the impact she leaves throughout the season are memorable in a simple but effective way. the memory that stays is the crowd calling her name and the emotion of her victories.
Even though it didn’t end up being my favorite season after watching everything, it still delivers a solid experience and sets up the world of UmaMusume really well. each season shines in a different way, and this one does exactly what it needs to do within the series.
Run, Special Week.
Read at the sourcetheo1763
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 ra…
Read at the sourceNecrozz
Spe-chan, you are the best horse girl in Japan 😭😭😭
I never imagined myself saying this, but the horse girls anime is one of the best ever created. Jesus, the way I was emotional in the last two episodes was no joke I simply loved this anime.
The story is really cool, and with such charismatic characters it’s impossible not to like this masterpiece. Not to mention, knowing that it’s inspired by real horses, even down to their personalities, adds a special charm. The only criticism I have is that I wanted to see a bit more of the other horse girls, like Haru Urara, who was actually one of the reasons I wanted to watch it after finding out she sadly passed away in real life.
There are so many great characters that it’s hard to choose just one favorite, but I’d say mine are Silence Suzuk…
Read at the sourceJTisnotcool
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 stor…
Read at the sourcellHakull
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 c…
Read at the sourceTurtezin
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…
Read at the source
