I Want to Talk About Uma Musume

Time flies, and before I knew it, 2022 had already passed. It's been four years since I started learning about things related to the internet.

This year I encountered many big and small yet ordinary things what nonsense

Among them, what left the deepest impression on me was none other than falling into the Uma Musume rabbit hole (Who was it that dragged me into this bottomless pit?

Thinking back carefully, it seems like back then (in June, one of my classmates happened to be playing Uma Musume, and he recommended that I give it a try too. At that time, I said I didn't really want to play yet, because I couldn't understand the Japanese server, the Taiwanese server's progress was slow, so I might as well wait for the Chinese server (that guy was a casual fan who dragged me into the pit and then disappeared, but I'm still persisting (the love of a 100% devoted fan for the stories

Then I fell into the Taiwanese server. Mainly because at that time I happened to have nothing to read, so I reread Isaacma80's "Can a Glass-Legged Uma Musume Become a Trainer Too?". This work was the earliest Uma Musume IP work I came into contact with, and the timing was even long, long before I got into anime and games (Back then I couldn't even tell the difference between the fan-created original uma musume Toho Haishu and Tokai Teio

I was moved by the stories of the uma musume he depicted, so I decided to try it myself. Since my main purpose was to read the uma musume stories, I personally chose the Taiwanese server where I could understand the plot.

Perhaps as they say, the gameplay of Uma Musume is like being in prison, but it truly is an excellent IP To be honest, this was also my first time experiencing a Cygames game

Then I went to Ciweimao and read some free Uma Musume fan fiction. Several works that left a deep impression on me were "Modified Uma Musume Don't Need to Drink Motor Oil", "Can a Trash Uma Musume Run the Arima Kinen?", "Uma Musume Decides to Slack Off in the Next Life", "Uma Musume, Don't Want to Run", "Even After Transforming into an Uma Musume, I Must Strive to Survive", and "The Lazy Daily Life of a Comedy Uma Musume".

I think most Uma Musume fan fiction authors probably started writing because other authors they followed went on hiatus. So you see, what a special group the Uma Musume fans are.

I was no different, of course. On the afternoon of September 18, 2022, Beijing time, I finally couldn't hold back my urge to write about an uma musume myself, and posted my work on Ciweimao and Boluo Bao. (I've since deleted the work and left, but perhaps there will be an opportunity to rewrite this chapter in the future.

Before that, let's simply categorize them using the distinction of "eras."

What exactly counts as the old era?

In this article, I've defined the concept of "old era" based on my own understanding, and roughly divided it into an era represented by specific racehorses.

Specifically, the 15th generation, represented by racehorses such as Kitasan Black, Satono Diamond, and Daiwa Major, serves as the boundary, and everything before this generation can be considered the "old era."

Of course, I personally believe that Japan's modern horse racing industry began in 1983 when a grading system was established for various races. From an industry perspective, everything after that can be considered the "new era."

But this doesn't affect my use of Uma Musume as the primary factor for dividing eras

Other fan fiction writers debate whether the indomitable emperor or the undefeated emperor is more impressive. My take is that dreams are the most important thing, but on the journey to pursue them, setbacks are indispensable. Only by growing through setbacks can miracles be forged.

Therefore, I personally don't really like breaking the emperor's original record of 7 undefeated crowns just to make way for the protagonist.

That Kikka-sho belongs to whoever it belongs to, and I won't give the emperor that one extra classic triple crown. When the emperor should lose to McQueen, he loses to McQueen. When he should make a miraculous comeback, he makes a miraculous comeback.

But regardless, every story that happened in reality deserves to be respected, and every tragedy that happened in reality should be rewritten. Isn't that the meaning of fan fiction?

Fan fiction is born from the lingering regrets about a certain story. It is precisely because of these lingering regrets that so many excellent works have emerged from behind the scenes to the forefront.

Regarding the Shadai encirclement incident, I actually don't have strong feelings about it, and I don't really understand those who condemn it either. I have no way to judge right from wrong. Using every possible method to defeat the year-round unbeaten overlord is in itself a relatively reasonable thing. This is simply competition—a siege by the world against the "overlord." Since T.M. Opera O was able to break through the so-called "encirclement" and further prove his strength, truly becoming the year-round unbeaten "overlord," I believe this was in itself a coronation battle. (Not every competition is perfectly fair either. Take the knight duels of Kazimierz, for example—the starting point of noble children and corporate lackeys is inevitably much higher than that of the poor. (False knights: fighting in the arena. True knights: protecting the people at the grassroots level.))

The "overlord" would also face his own curtain call. In that race, the "overlord" handed the future over to the new generation, just as described on Moegirlpedia^I:

The "overlord of the end of the century" faced his own Battle of Gaixia, yielding the racecourse to the new generation of Agnes Digital and Manhattan Cafe.

And just as written in the novel "I Suddenly Recalled My Past Life Memories but I'm Not His Trainer":

"The first to cross the line is—Manhattan Cafe! She raises her arm, celebrating her victory!"

T.M. Opera O slowly came to a stop. She barely had the strength to straighten her back, but still cast her gaze toward the result board.

Fifth place.

This number stripped her of the right to shine brilliantly, not even giving her any chance to sing.

But the first thing that welled up in her heart was relief. She walked up to Manhattan Cafe and extended her hand:

"Congratulations on winning the Arima Kinen. It's your era now."

Manhattan Cafe nodded gratefully and firmly grasped T.M. Opera O's hand: "Thank you, Opera O-senpai."

T.M. Opera O smiled with satisfaction. She shook her cape, and after delivering her congratulatory words, she walked somewhat hurriedly toward the exit.

The era of the overlord came to a close with a hasty, unceremonious final note. The fallen king packed away her past glories and hurried off the stage.

I can't express myself with flowery rhetoric, but I hope the passages I've selected can resonate with readers.

However, compared to the so-called Shadai encirclement, I'm actually more interested in the story between Wada Ryuji, テイエムオペラオー (T.M. Opera O), and ミッキーロケット (Mickey Rocket).

Due to my own writing ability and time constraints, I couldn't write this passage myself, but I'll paste the content from Moegirlpedia^I:

On June 24, 2018, T.M. Opera O's main jockey Wada Ryuji rode the seventh-favorite Mickey Rocket (ミッキーロケット) to a massive upset, winning the Takarazuka Kinen. After riding T.M. Opera O to win the 2001 Spring Tenno Sho, he finally won his eighth GⅠ championship after a gap of seventeen years. As he crossed the finish line, Wada Ryuji couldn't hold back his tears on the racecourse. After the race, Wada said: "Opera O pushed me from behind. For many years I told myself that I must win a GⅠ championship and go see Opera O with my head held high. Now, I can finally go see him with pride."

From 2001 to 2018, a full 17 years. T.M. Opera O stopped, but Wada Ryuji's story didn't end with Opera O's retirement. His story continued. Although Opera O had quietly retreated into the shadows, Wada Ryuji's path remained brilliant. He was still in the light, and he would bring more and better stories for him.

Hahaha! Well then! This brilliant future shall be written by you, Ryuji-kun!

The protagonist of Tokyo Uma Musume is a Legend, Stella Veloce ステラヴェローチェ, also has a real-life counterpart (ステラヴェローチェ | Horse Data - netkeiba.com).

As you can see, the racehorse named Stella Veloce didn't have great racing results. (Not exactly bad—at least he won a G2. In the horse racing world, many horses go their entire lives without winning a graded stakes race. Achieving results like this already surpasses the true "majority" in the real sense. This is the real reality. Stories like "the Cinderella from Kasamatsu" or "rising from local to central racing"—these are heights that the "supporting characters" can never reach. The true "majority" are actually those ordinary racehorses caught up in the current racing system, struggling to survive with limited opportunities, yet never able to make their mark in maiden races.

I don't know when "Tokyo Uma Musume is a Legend" started serialization or when it was completed, but ステラヴェローチェ never raced again after finishing 9th in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) on March 26, 2022. Perhaps what reassures us for now is that ステラヴェローチェ's status is still Active rather than Retired.

(February 2024 update: Stella Veloce ultimately didn't become one of those racehorses whose whereabouts are unknown. On October 21, 2023, Stella Veloce entered the Fuji Stakes (G2), and on November 11, 2023, Stella Veloce entered the Tokyo Chunichi Sports Cup Musashino Stakes (G3). Though the finishing results of both races weren't particularly good.

After that, Stella Veloce also entered the Osaka Castle Stakes (L) and won. This race may not have been high-level, but the long-awaited victory was probably quite a comfort for Stella Veloce and the fans at that point.

(November 2024 update:

Subsequently, Stella Veloce entered five consecutive graded races in the same year of 2024: Osaka Hai (GI), Yasuda Kinen (GI), Sapporo Kinen (GII), Sankei Sho All Comers (GII), and Tenno Sho (Autumn) (GI). After five consecutive graded races, the final outcome awaiting him was retirement.

Beneath the beautiful worldview of Uma Musume, we can also glimpse the true, real, and cruel reality of horse racing.

A Kitasan Black offspring, with victories in a maiden race + one G2 in 2021, his results as a newcomer were quite outstanding.

But fate was unkind. After entering his classic year, Equinox was drawn in the far outside gate in two consecutive classic races, putting him in a very disadvantageous position.

In the Satsuki Sho (GI), Equinox started as the third favorite but ultimately couldn't overcome his stablemate Geoglyph, finishing second.

Then in the Tokyo Yushun (GI), he was defeated by Do Deuce, once again finishing second.

However, Equinox's true royal road journey began with the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (GI). In this race, Equinox displayed his astonishing closing speed, chasing at a pace of 32.7 seconds over 600 meters, and overtook パンサラッサ (Panthalassa) just before the finish line, winning his first Grade 1 victory by one horse length.

The rest of the story is well known to everyone, and I need not say more.

Here's the Titan of the World's turf.

He is Equinox!

—— Larry Collmus

What I find regrettable is that Equinox chose to retire after the 2023 Japan Cup (GI), without even participating in that year's Arima Kinen. This is undoubtedly something I find regrettable...

I hope his offspring can also achieve great results on the racecourse.

When it comes to Dearing Tact, the first thing that comes to mind is her voice actress, Hitomiya Hina (||She'll be racing for a lifetime||)

Also, this girl always gives me a feeling of being pitiful...

She entered the Oka Sho (GI) with an undefeated record, but...

Here I'll quote a line from the media:

この2勝だけで桜花賞のゲートにたどり着いたデアリングタクトだが、デビューと前後して世界的に拡大した新型コロナウイルスの影響により、せっかくの舞台は無観客。^II

With just these two victories, Dearing Tact (デアリングタクト) reached the gate of the Oka Sho (桜花賞). However, due to the global spread of COVID-19 (新型コロナウイルス) around the time of her debut, this hard-earned stage was left without spectators.

Indeed, born in 2017, her classic year was 2020 when the pandemic was ravaging the world. If the Uma Musume project were to closely mirror reality, we would perhaps see Dearing Tact waving to an empty spectator stand with tears in her eyes after winning the Oka Sho... She won the race but there was no applause or cheering from the audience...

Speaking of her career, Dearing Tact's entire life seemed to be destined for the undefeated filly triple crown. After achieving this goal, she never won again...

I don't want to say more.

Dearing Tact is currently the first and only character in the Uma Musume project whose real-life counterpart was added while still active.

Her bloodline is also remarkable. Marzensky and Dearing Tact have the longest generational span among blood relatives in the current project. ^III

In this Uma Musume universe built from data and dreams, every name is a dual projection of reality and fantasy.

When we cheer for Kitasan Black's Arc de Triomphe victory in the game, the real-life "Equinox" is writing new legends on European turf. When fan fiction has Liberty Island and T.M. Opera O competing across eras, the real-life Wada Ryuji might be in the stable, stroking a newborn foal's mane.

To be honest, Arknights and Uma Musume still hold a very significant place in my heart. I feel Arknights does a great job with its story presentation, while Uma Musume is absolutely my reflection of a beautiful world.

Now I might additionally add BangDream to the list. The stories it depicts can still make you go Kirakira dokidoki.

Such a beautiful world, such beautiful relationships. The stories of those uma musume and singing girls will continue to bloom here, growing into the most beautiful flower.

Second revision on February 15, 2023

Third revision on February 20, 2023

Fourth revision on February 13, 2024

Revised on November 23, 2024, after learning about Stella Veloce's retirement ceremony

A small addition to the conclusion on February 17, 2025

Some modifications to the evaluation of Stella Veloce's results on March 4, 2025

Content not yet fully filled in, to be supplemented later (thoughts on Liberty Island)

FootnotesH2#

1. Read more: T.M. Opera O (https://zh.moegirl.org.cn/%E5%A5%BD%E6%AD%8C%E5%89%A7) This article is cited from Moegirlpedia (https://zh.moegirl.org.cn), text content uses the "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 China Mainland" license by default.

2. デアリングタクト｜名馬メモリアル｜競馬情報ならJRA-VAN

3. Marzensky → Campaign Girl → Special Week → Cesario → Epiphaneia (エピファネイア) → Dearing Tact, spanning a full six generations. Read more: Dearing Tact (https://zh.moegirl.org.cn/%E8%B0%8B%E5%8B%87%E5%85%BC%E5%A4%87) This article is cited from Moegirlpedia (https://zh.moegirl.org.cn), text content uses the "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 China Mainland" license by default.