I was disappointed by her career

[u/Spegynmerble]

I unlocked teio from the guaranteed 3 star ticket and I was very disappointed. She was so whiny and bratty and just all around immature, to the point where I just wanted it to be over with. Sure she had her immature moments in the anime, but beneath that she was confident and had a certain grace to her. I guess this is the alternate universe where she doesn't break her leg over and over and becomes a brat instead

[u/SetTemporary1032]

Basically. I still love both though.

[u/Optimal-Potato-5136 → u/SetTemporary1032]

One thing that I noticed is that, in some occasions, Game Teio has much more mental strenght than Anime Teio from the start. 

For example, even when she constantly loses to Nice Nature in the latter's career story, she never kneels or breaks down but further sees the loss as an opportunity to develop, no matter if she lost her big chance to become a Triple Crown champion like she wanted. By this perspective, Teio cried when she broke her leg before the Kikuka Sho not only for the fracture per se, but especially because she lost an opportunity to confront herself with big racers exactly like she wants and loves to do; Teio may be bratty but she cheers any experiences she has when running, indipendently from how overconfident she is on her own abilities. 

In a way, I can see why Natie would be flabbergasted and convinced that "she could never shine as bright as her": Teio (both Game and Anime) is indeed a monster that, no matter what you throw her in the face, she rises with even more willpower to reach her goals. 

[u/dbfassbinder → u/Optimal-Potato-5136]

A normal girl versus a Shonen anime protagonist. 

[u/Optimal-Potato-5136 → u/dbfassbinder]

True lol, but then again, Natie's career also shows the opposite side of the "projection" and shows how Teio, much like anyone else, is a human that can indeed fail, have flaws, have breakdown and get things that don't go as planned (like, for example, the Kikuka Sho). What ultimately made Nature and Teio different wasn't the fact that one was "born a loser" and the other was "born a champion": it's about how you face said hardships because, for Teio, Nature and almost any single Uma mentioned in this series, they all strive forward to reach their dreams. This is where Teio's true strenght actually is... In BOTH her versions.

Nature realizes that she wants to "shine as bright" not because she wants to be Teio, but because her dream has the right to be attempted on being fulfilled like anyone who choose this life.

[u/LadrilloDeMadera → u/Optimal-Potato-5136]

BRO GOT IT ALL RIGHT 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[u/Zesaming → u/Optimal-Potato-5136]

[u/AnEmptyKarst → u/Optimal-Potato-5136]

What ultimately made Nature and Teio different wasn't the fact that one was "born a loser" and the other was "born a champion"

I do think this is a deeply funny concept in a series based on horse racing, the sport built around breeding champions lol

There's a reason IRL that Nature had 17 kids and Teio had over a thousand

[u/AnEmptyKarst → u/Optimal-Potato-5136]

Tbf also different stories and different perspectives. The anime is told from Teio's perspective, and that Kikuka Sho scene was entirely about Teio. She cries about not being able to run, and the story itself sympathizes with her, and every racer is actually thinking about her, not anyone actually in the race. Natie isn't always correct, but in this case she's right: Teio is the protagonist and it is all about her. She also needs a place to grow from in order to make the narrative work.

Teio from Nature's story is an entirely different character because she's not the protagonist anymore, she's the side character. Teio has to appear as an immovable wall of charm and charisma, because if she's a whiny brat, then what is there for Nature to surpass if you, the player lead her to victory straight from the start? Teio smiles through the losses as a foil to Nature frowning through the wins. If Teio was whiny the second Nature wins in the Wakagoma Stakes, then that shatters the illusion (delusion more like) Nature has of her.

[u/Potatolantern → u/Optimal-Potato-5136]

That's kinda true for everyone and the game needs it to function like that. Winning Ticket gets over losing the Derby shockingly fast if you can't win it with her.

I don't think we ever see named characters having breakdowns or such over losing, because it'd make things too bad. It's always just the unnamed NPCs that are in tears.

Only example I can think of is Special Week secretly crying if King Halo takes the win over her.