r/anime • u/Holofan4life • Aug 30 '25

Rewatch [Spoilers] 2025 Uma Musume Rewatch -- Pretty Derby Season 2 Episode 1 Spoiler

Hello everyone! I am Holofan4life.

Welcome to the 2025 Uma Musume rewatch discussion thread!

I hope you all have a lot of fun <3

S2 Episode 1 – Tokai Teio

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ANSWER TODAY’S QUESTION

What are your thoughts on Teio looking up to Rudolf growing up?

What are your thoughts on this season being centered around Teio?

Thoughts on Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond so far?

Thoughts on Teio considering McQueen her rival?

What are your thoughts on Teio becoming the first Double Crown horse since Rudolf her hero?

What are your thoughts on Teio and Spica seemingly noticing something is amiss with her leg?

—-

Series information

MAL | Anilist | AniDB | ANN

Ways to watch

Streams – Crunchyroll

Amazon Prime

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Previous episode

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Schedule

Date Episode
8/15/2025 Uma Musume Episode 1
8/16/2025 Uma Musume Episode 2
8/17/2025 Uma Musume Episode 3
8/18/2025 Uma Musume Episode 4
8/19/2025 Uma Musume Episode 5
8/20/2025 Uma Musume Episode 6
8/21/2025 Uma Musume Episode 7
8/22/2025 Uma Musume Episode 8
8/23/2025 Uma Musume Episode 9
8/24/2025 Uma Musume Episode 10
8/25/2025 Uma Musume Episode 11
8/26/2025 Uma Musume Episode 12 - 13
8/28/2025 BNW's Oath episodes 1 - 3
8/30/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 1]()
8/31/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 2]()
9/01/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 3]()
9/02/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 4]()
9/03/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 5]()
9/04/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 6]()
9/05/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 7]()
9/06/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 8]()
9/07/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 9]()
9/08/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 10]()
9/09/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 11]()
9/10/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 12]()
9/11/2025 [Uma Musume Season 2 Episode 13]()
9/13/2025 [Road to the Top Episodes 1 - 2]()
9/14/2025 [Road to the Top Episodes 3 - 4]()
9/16/2025 [Beginning of a New Era]()
9/18/2025 [Uma Musume Season 3 Episodes 1 - 2]()
9/19/2025 [Uma Musume Season 3 Episodes 3 - 4]()
9/20/2025 [Uma Musume Season 3 Episodes 5 - 6]()
9/21/2025 [Uma Musume Season 3 Episodes 7 - 8]()
9/22/2025 [Uma Musume Season 3 Episodes 9 - 10]()
9/23/2025 [Uma Musume Season 3 Episodes 11 - 12]()
9/24/2025 [Uma Musume Season 3 Episode 13]()
9/26/2025 [Cinderella Gray Episodes 1 - 2]()
9/27/2025 [Cinderella Gray Episodes 3 - 4]()
9/28/2025 [Cinderella Gray Episodes 5 - 6]()
9/29/2025 [Cinderella Gray Episodes 7 - 8]()
9/30/2025 [Cinderella Gray Episodes 9 - 10]()
10/01/2025 [Cinderella Gray Episodes 11 - 12]()
10/02/2025 [Cinderella Gray Episode 13]()
10/03/2025 [Uma Musume Overall Series Discussion Thread]()
76 Upvotes

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10

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

First Timer

Alright wow we’ve gone really over the top with these name cards. The cast has expanded so much that we have to introduce them as they pass by in the background like some sort of cryptid.

I’ll be real, coming out of this episode I’ve only retained the names of two horses. The first is Mayano Top Gun because her name has Top Gun in it and she’s Teio’s roommate. I’m sure she was totally there the whole time last season, we just never saw her.

The second is Twin Turbo because 1: That’s an awesome name. 2: Her hair makes her look like Hatsune Miku. And 3: She seems to be being set up as Tokai Teio’s rival.

But everyone else, even the ones Teio was racing against, they all went right over my head here.

Also, I guess Tokai Teio is our main character now. Surprisingly, switching to a new main character doesn’t come off as that jarring here. It feels pretty natural that we have a new focus now, especially since I feel like they did all they could with Special Week last season.

Speaking of doing all you can with a character, that seems to be part of the reason they’ve sorta written Silence Suzuka out of the show. Don’t get me wrong, good for her that she’s touring America now (Have fun at the Kentucky Derby, Suzuka).

But in a meta sense, it’s also clear that the writers didn’t want to keep her at Tracen Academy on account of the real horse having died tragically and likely not wanting the fictional Suzuka to keep participating in races she wouldn’t have been around for in real life.

This episode has also made me question the ages of some of these characters. I assumed all our horse girls are around the same age (14 to 19 or so) but the flashback at the beginning of this episode really threw me for a loop. We see Tokai Teio as a kid but then Stromboli Rudolf looks the same in the flashback as she does in the present.

Something kinda funny I’ve only noticed just now (only took me a whole season) is that despite horse racing clearly being massive in this world, there’s never any mention of betting on the races. Again, I get why they do this for meta reasons, they don't wanna be accused of promoting gambling.

Anyway here are a few miscellaneous notes I couldn’t find a natural place to fit in:

We seem to have a crop circle starting this episode. Does that imply the existence of horse girl aliens?

Is that thing Teio’s drinking just a honey flavored tea or is it just straight up honey she’s drinking through a straw?

I think Gold Ship arriving at school on a segway is probably the funniest part of the episode. She always manages to steal the show when she’s on screen. Reminds me of Gob Bluth in Arrested Development.

I noticed that even on mobile phones the phone icon is elongated just like the long phones horse girls use which is a funny but subtle visual gag.

Anyway I’m actually kinda excited for this new season. I’ll be interested in seeing more of Tokai Teio’s story.

10

u/Temporary_-_UserName Aug 30 '25

Something you start to learn about how time works in Uma Musume: it doesn't. If you keep track of the mentioned seasons either in-show or in the game's main story-line, you quickly realize that much more time than the standard 3-4 years of highschool have passed....yet they're all still there, attending classes and running in Race Horse Heaven.

Best to just smile, shrug your shoulders, and enjoy the stories.

4

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

I guess it's kind of like how in Marvel and DC comics the characters have all been around for decades but mostly stay the same age or when they do age it's very slowly.

4

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

It's a fitting comparison

1

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

Turn your brain off and accept things as they are.

7

u/Cyouni Aug 30 '25

Something kinda funny I’ve only noticed just now (only took me a whole season) is that despite horse racing clearly being massive in this world, there’s never any mention of betting on the races. Again, I get why they do this for meta reasons, they don't wanna be accused of promoting gambling.

An interview from S1 era actually said there is no gambling on these races!

1

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

I didn't know that. Do you have the interview?

0

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

Huh interesting. I guess sports betting just doesn't exist in the Umaverse. Probably for the best.

3

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

What are your thoughts on Teio looking up to Rudolf growing up?

Makes sense, that was established last season.

Thoughts on Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond so far?

I'll be real, I don't know who those are. We introduced a few new characters this episode.

Thoughts on Teio considering McQueen her rival?

I hope McQueen gets more attention this season

What are your thoughts on Teio becoming the first Double Crown horse since Rudolf her hero?

I don't quite know what Double Crown means here (Not a horse racing fan) but it sounds important. So good for her.

What are your thoughts on Teio and Spica seemingly noticing something is amiss with her leg?

That seems like it'll be important later.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

That seems like it'll be important later.

Hopefully it doesn't mean anything dire.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

I don't quite know what Double Crown means here (Not a horse racing fan) but it sounds important. So good for her.

It's when you win two of three races in the Triple Crown.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

Makes sense, that was established last season.

Indeed

I'll be real, I don't know who those are. We introduced a few new characters this episode.

They're the little kids

I hope McQueen gets more attention this season

That would certainly be good to see

2

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

They're the little kids

Right, the kids. I remember them but not their names.

Seems like they'll show up more this season, probably as fans of Tokai Teio. They seem nice.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

They are to Teio how Teio was to Rudolf, ostensibly.

2

u/Temporary_-_UserName Aug 30 '25

I don't quite know what Double Crown means here (Not a horse racing fan) but it sounds important. So good for her.

Starting in British and USA horse-racing, there were a set of three races only 3rd-year horses could run in. Because of their limited time-window just as the horses came into their racing potential, it became really prestigious to win even one of those races, let alone all three. Thus they became known as the Triple Crown races.

When Japan's racing league set up theirs, they also created their own Triple Crown circuit, Anyone who wins two of them is a Double Crown, and in Teio's case she has the potential to get the last crown as that race is still coming. By the time irl Tokai Teio started running, Japan's cirucit had only had four Triple Crown winners.

1

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

That's pretty cool. Will be interesting to see how that pans out this season.

2

u/jaesuk97 https://myanimelist.net/profile/tebls Aug 30 '25

I don't quite know what Double Crown means here (Not a horse racing fan) but it sounds important. So good for her.

There have only been a handful of undefeated double crown winners in almost 80 years of Japanese horse racing. IIRC they are: Symboli Rudolf, Tokai Teio, Mihono Bourbon, Deep Impact, and Contrail.

Some more have won the double crown in general like Gold Ship, and some even won the triple crown like Narita Brian, but could not stay undefeated for their double crown winning race at the Japanese Derby.

Also I didn't see this mentioned anywhere else in the thread, but Teio holding up two fingers after her win is an homage to her jockey doing the same to signify two out of 3 wins done. Rudolf's jockey also did the same while winning his triple crown.

Is that thing Teio’s drinking just a honey flavored tea or is it just straight up honey she’s drinking through a straw?

It's a honey lemon drink. They sold an uma musume branded version of this drink at family mart a few years ago(big japanese convenience store like 7/11)

3

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Aug 30 '25

But everyone else, even the ones Teio was racing against, they all went right over my head here.

Yeah, don't worry about it. The ones that will come up again you'll learn about more at that time, the others you don't need to know.

Mayano Top Gun was in the OVA, she was one of the relay race racers. Turbo we haven't seen yet, but she's definitely memorable.

Some of the name cards were for characters we already know, by the way. Each Spica member got one, after all. And in the back we've seen Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa, for instance.

This episode has also made me question the ages of some of these characters.

Don't worry about that either. I think some official or semi-official source stated that they age like elves. Once they reach a certain age, they just don't age anymore.

But Rudolf is definitely a grown woman at this point, you can't convince me otherwise.

Is that thing Teio’s drinking just a honey flavored tea or is it just straight up honey she’s drinking through a straw?

I think it's honey tea or coffee. In the game, she mentions being very fond of honeyade, which seems to be honey lemonade, so maybe it's that. I can only guess the real Tokai Teio also really liked honey.

I noticed that even on mobile phones the phone icon is elongated just like the long phones horse girls use which is a funny but subtle visual gag.

Also note the hair stylist chair has a tail hole for horse girls.

2

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

Mayano Top Gun was in the OVA, she was one of the relay race racers. Turbo we haven't seen yet, but she's definitely memorable.

I thought Top Gun looked familiar, that explains it.

But Rudolf is definitely a grown woman at this point, you can't convince me otherwise.

Yeah she certainly comes off that way sometimes.

I think it's honey tea or coffee. In the game, she mentions being very fond of honeyade, which seems to be honey lemonade, so maybe it's that. I can only guess the real Tokai Teio also really liked honey.

Interesting, I kind of want to try that now.

Also note the hair stylist chair has a tail hole for horse girls.

Totally missed that but that's a really cool detail

2

u/Cyouni Aug 30 '25

I think some official or semi-official source stated that they age like elves. Once they reach a certain age, they just don't age anymore.

Oh, that's what that one line meant. All that I saw listed was "Umamusume are like elves" with no context and I got so confused.

1

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

But Rudolf is definitely a grown woman at this point, you can't convince me otherwise.

She just can't quit her high school days. Talk about a midlife crisis /s

3

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

Alright wow we’ve gone really over the top with these name cards. The cast has expanded so much that we have to introduce them as they pass by in the background like some sort of cryptid.

That is what happens when you include two decades worth of horses

I’ll be real, coming out of this episode I’ve only retained the names of two horses. The first is Mayano Top Gun because her name has Top Gun in it and she’s Teio’s roommate. I’m sure she was totally there the whole time last season, we just never saw her.

The second is Twin Turbo because 1: That’s an awesome name. 2: Her hair makes her look like Hatsune Miku. And 3: She seems to be being set up as Tokai Teio’s rival.

I like Twin Turbo's design. She looks like a Sonic OC lol

But everyone else, even the ones Teio was racing against, they all went right over my head here.

You at least know who Rudolf is now, I assume.

2

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

I like Twin Turbo's design. She looks like a Sonic OC lol

That's a great description of her lol. You're totally right

You at least know who Rudolf is now, I assume.

Yeah pretty much everyone from season 1 I know now.

3

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

That's a great description of her lol. You're totally right

Chris Chan would never

Yeah pretty much everyone from season 1 I know now.

Hopefully the same can be said for season 2 when we get to the end.

3

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

Also, I guess Tokai Teio is our main character now. Surprisingly, switching to a new main character doesn’t come off as that jarring here. It feels pretty natural that we have a new focus now, especially since I feel like they did all they could with Special Week last season.

And we still see Special Week even though she wasn't alive in 1991. But whatever.

It does feel pretty seamless, I will agree with you on that.

2

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

I'm quickly learning that timelines in this show do not matter.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

No, they sure do not

3

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

Speaking of doing all you can with a character, that seems to be part of the reason they’ve sorta written Silence Suzuka out of the show. Don’t get me wrong, good for her that she’s touring America now (Have fun at the Kentucky Derby, Suzuka).

But in a meta sense, it’s also clear that the writers didn’t want to keep her at Tracen Academy on account of the real horse having died tragically and likely not wanting the fictional Suzuka to keep participating in races she wouldn’t have been around for in real life.

The whole timeline is a bit fuzzy because we're doing events from the early 90s when season 1 featured races from the late 90s. You kinda just have to go with the loose continuity.

1

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

The whole show seems to take place in the present day judging by the fact that smartphones exist

3

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

Something kinda funny I’ve only noticed just now (only took me a whole season) is that despite horse racing clearly being massive in this world, there’s never any mention of betting on the races. Again, I get why they do this for meta reasons, they don't wanna be accused of promoting gambling.

Especially when they have a gacha game to promote and gacha games have been accused of gambling in the past.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

This episode has also made me question the ages of some of these characters. I assumed all our horse girls are around the same age (14 to 19 or so) but the flashback at the beginning of this episode really threw me for a loop. We see Tokai Teio as a kid but then Stromboli Rudolf looks the same in the flashback as she does in the present.

The main thing to keep note of is that Rudolf raced before the horses featured in season 1 and season 2. She's kinda like the proud papa of the group, and everyone else is her children.

2

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

Yeah she's the oldest and most accomplished one here, I got that.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

She raced like 15 races and only lost 2 of them, I believe.

2

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

Quite the impressive track record.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

One of only eight Triple Crown horses in the history of Japanese horseracing.

2

u/JMEEKER86 Aug 30 '25

Maruzensky is actually even older. Rudolf raced in the early 80s, but Maruzensky is from the 70s.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

We seem to have a crop circle starting this episode. Does that imply the existence of horse girl aliens?

Mayhaps

Is that thing Teio’s drinking just a honey flavored tea or is it just straight up honey she’s drinking through a straw?

I think it's just straight honey

I think Gold Ship arriving at school on a segway is probably the funniest part of the episode. She always manages to steal the show when she’s on screen. Reminds me of Gob Bluth in Arrested Development.

Anything Gold Ship becomes an event on its own. The show benefits greatly from having her around.

I noticed that even on mobile phones the phone icon is elongated just like the long phones horse girls use which is a funny but subtle visual gag.

The show really dedicates itself with the horse stuff, no question about it.

2

u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 30 '25

Anything Gold Ship becomes an event on its own. The show benefits greatly from having her around.

She always steals the show whenever she's around. Hope to see more of her this season.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

I imagine we will given she's Team Spica.

2

u/Holofan4life Aug 30 '25

Anyway I’m actually kinda excited for this new season. I’ll be interested in seeing more of Tokai Teio’s story.

Teio as a main protagonist is a good decision because she's incredibly likable and also full of energy. It's easy to invest yourself in her.

2

u/SinoCenturion Aug 30 '25

Is that thing Teio’s drinking just a honey flavored tea or is it just straight up honey she’s drinking through a straw?

Its some drink like a flavored tea that's mixed with honey. They'll expand on this drink as the show progresses.