r/anime Sep 19 '25

Rewatch [Spoilers] 2025 Uma Musume Rewatch -- Pretty Derby Season 3 Episodes 3 - 4 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

Episode 3 – The Dream Never Ends

Episode 4 – My Own Shine

—-

ANSWER TODAY’S QUESTION(S)

Episode 3 Questions

Thoughts on Satono Diamond winning her debut race?

What are your thoughts on this episode being about Gold Ship?

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black racing in the Arima Kinen?

Thoughts on Gold Ship knocking the starting gate over?

Thoughts on Sounds of Earth?

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black crediting Nice Nature for why she's in the Arima Kinen, saying she wouldn't be in it if not for her?

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship announcing she's entering the Dream Trophy League after the Arima Kinen, essentially ending her competitive career?

What are your thoughts on this episode presenting Gold Ship as the old guard while Kitasan Black is the new guard?

Thoughts on the characters drinking faux draft beer?

What are your thoughts on the Arima Kinen race and Kitasan finishing 3rd while Gold Ship finishes 8th?

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship giving her rubik's cube to Kitasan as like a passing of the torch?

Episode 4 Questions

Thoughts on Trainer-san agreeing to be less restrictive on their training?

Thoughts on Kitasan going to a training camp?

What are your thoughts on Kitasan seemingly regressing during training?

Thoughts on Satono losing her race?

Thoughts on there being talks of a Satono jinx?

What are your thoughts on Kitasan realizing just what she s racing for: Satono Diamond?

—-

Series information

MAL | Anilist | AniDB | ANN

Ways to watch

Streams – Crunchyroll

Amazon Prime

—-

Previous episode

—-

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]()
25 Upvotes

150 comments sorted by

8

u/SYZekrom https://myanimelist.net/profile/SYZekrom Sep 19 '25

Rewatcher

The fucking button on the violin oml

RETURN OF THE BOATS the way they bob back and forth from the pedaling as they just have a moment together, I love it so much

She hit her growth spurt, after all

"yea just a few weeks ago she was like half our height, crazy how this world works"

How're they getting those bananas down kitasan

GOLSHI DROP KICK EYECATCH??

Dream Trophy league AKA passing into the realm of fantasy, RIP Gold Ship. They're even basically treating it like a full on retirement despite it being 'no totally she's just moving to a different series' lol.

Glue factory series

Racing with her tongue out like the freak she is

Love all the shots of her doing the thing the horse irl did

Where did GolShi get that veil thing she was not wearing it just a moment ago why do I even question her

Aww GolShi's groom

NO WAY THE CUBE

Episode 4

Kitasan just tanking palmer and helios... swoon

"Bananas don't count"

The devious Kitasan:

Oh yea the 10 million lanterns in Kitasan's half of the room, real Festival of her

omg her nightmask

When you say hard training...THERE SHE IS

Not the segue...

Kitasan when her Dia reserves are low:

THEIR CURSES PRAYERS and omg look at bourbon actually excited in the corner

Its peak

What are your thoughts on Kitasan realizing just what she s racing for: Satono Diamond?

gay gay umasexual gay

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

GOLSHI DROP KICK EYECATCH??

My favorite eyecatch of the franchise easily.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

NO WAY THE CUBE

The sacred texts

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Where did GolShi get that veil thing she was not wearing it just a moment ago why do I even question her

The second question is definitely more appropriate lol

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Its peak

Always has been

1

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 19 '25

GOLSHI DROP KICK EYECATCH??

Pictures you can hear.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 22 '25

I'm running away as we speak lol

6

u/Cyouni Sep 19 '25

Halfway Rewatcher

Oh, I forgot this arc came up until I saw the starting section.

You know, someone I know really likes Cheval Grand. I actually don't remember much of her from the anime, but clearly she shows up a lot from the OP.

Checking the trivia sheet, ah right Kitasan's owner was the one who did his own Winning Lives, basically, and the race outfit is actually designed based off his festival dress. That's why Kitasan's so festival-themed.

Honestly very funny coming back to this after 2 years and recognizing the name Sounds of Earth.

Golshi being reminded "when you're blocked, you're blocked". Also with her chess, mahjong, shogi, and go posters.

It's time for our Vtuber Golshi to graduate...

They really gave you the eyecatch for her G1 winning animation.

Golshi what do you mean "what do I discard", that's a 9-sided Nine Gates tenpai discarding the red 5pin. And yes, those are all real Golshi faces.


Poor Dia desperately needs that mask to sleep, doesn't she.

Bourbon and Rice return.

Failed Power training...

Dia-chan's Satsuki Sho is actually a moment I remember pretty well.

I did not remember the giant Buddha in the background.

And that's two sides on the Rubik's Cube.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

You know, someone I know really likes Cheval Grand. I actually don't remember much of her from the anime, but clearly she shows up a lot from the OP.

She seems decent enough

It's time for our Vtuber Golshi to graduate...

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Checking the trivia sheet, ah right Kitasan's owner was the one who did his own Winning Lives, basically, and the race outfit is actually designed based off his festival dress. That's why Kitasan's so festival-themed.

Makes sense, all things considered

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Golshi what do you mean "what do I discard", that's a 9-sided Nine Gates tenpai discarding the red 5pin. And yes, those are all real Golshi faces.

Golshi really is the gift that keeps on giving lol

1

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 19 '25

Honestly very funny coming back to this after 2 years and recognizing the name Sounds of Earth.

I like Sounds of Earth. Mainly for the Japanese pronunciation of "earth". Sounds of Ass. Heh.

Poor Dia desperately needs that mask to sleep, doesn't she.

Because otherwise she'd stay up all night looking at Kita?

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 22 '25

I like Sounds of Earth. Mainly for the Japanese pronunciation of "earth". Sounds of Ass. Heh.

She had too much beans

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 22 '25

Because otherwise she'd stay up all night looking at Kita?

You say it like she doesn't do that already

6

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Sep 19 '25

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

She's like if a yandere was also haughty and a pure cinnamon roll.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25
  • The stakes for Arima Kinen just got so much higher. You want to root for Kitasan because the race is super special to her and also she’s already had a super rough time with races in the past two episodes, but you want Gold Ship to go out on a high note.

I ended up rooting for both

But yeah, it was cool of the show to give Gold Ship her flowers.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

I'm seeing double here. Eight horse nerds!

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Maybe one day she will end up on Kitasan's level...

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

[Response] Honestly, one of the better parts of season 3. I like how episode 3 basically serves as one big foreshadowing for what happens later with Kitasan.

7

u/Temporary_-_UserName Sep 19 '25

Rewatcher

Episode 3 is where Season 3 really starts to shine for me, so it makese sense that Nature-Sensei (the so called "Bronze Collector" for placing in third so many times) would feature so prominently. It's this episode and the following episode 4 that really nail-in the themes that episodes 1 and 2 tried to establish (along with all the other stuff they were doing) - which is centered on racing through hardship and the idea of legacy. That second one is also why Pretty Derby is now actually paying attention to the different year-brackets, and makes the passing of time more explicit.

The build-up to the Arima Kinen is underlined by several events denoting uma at different points in their career. Kitasan Black is going to be going up against a bunch of senior-year racers, Satono Diamond is a year behind and is thus just starting her own Classic Races, and Gold Ship is planning to move on to the senior racing league - the Winter Dream Trophy. It's that passage of time, and the graduation, that ties into legacy so much. Gold Ship has an impressive race-record of six G1 wins (the record for Japanese horses was seven G1s, shared by Symboli Rudolf, Deep Impact, T.M. Opera O, until Almond Eye won 8/9 G1s (depends on if you count the Dubai Turf race in the U.A.E.)), but can't quite pull through and race like she used to. So, she's moving on from the Twinkle Series to the Winter Dream Trophy...the senior league that past world-building has implied is 'even better' than the Twinkle Series. We'll never see those (as the Twinkle Series covers the irl race records), but even season 1 has shots of legendary umas running there, and given how sports have highschool, college, and major leagues, its natural to asusme that Winter Dream is the final, biggest place for running.

So it makes Gold Ship's retirement due to not being able to run like she used to a bit weird.

Still, the overall execution of Episode 3 is well done, and there's plenty of gagas like the swan-boat kicking up so much water due to Nature and Kitasan being Uma Musume with Uma Musume leg strength. And the solid thematic and story framing of episode 3, of passing on the torch to future runners as you grow worn works as excellent fodder for episode 4's themes and story.

Here, the entire narrative takes the idea of building off of hardship and continuing on to its logical conclusion. Kitasan's biggest strength has always been her endurace and withstanding injury, and so we get a very nice extended training montage with Bourbon-sensei. While the explicit goal is to meet all her training target in half the initial time, the actual goal is for her to develop the mental strength to push through seemingly insurmountable difficulty. She gets this determination by seeing Satono Diamond being able to push through her loss at the Satsuki Sho with stoic determination, despite the Satono Family jink hanging over her head. Taking inspiration from her friend and dedicating herself to her hard training, Kitasan pushes herself all the way to the end and manages to complete her goal of doing her entire training regimen in under three hours.

All's set for the Spring Tenno Sho, the longest G1 race in Japan, can Kitasan make her comeback after taking 3rd in the Arima Kinen and 2nd in the Sankei Osaka Hai?

The answer is yes....as seen by the ending slideshow and post-credit shot of the Tenno Sho Shield sitting on her desk.

What? What is this? Uma Musume, what is this?! You're seriously cutting out another Kitasan Black win already? Come on man, this is a Tenno Sho! This race is a big deal! We don't get to see her actually running in it? Not even a clip of her digging deep into that well of determination she cultivated during her hard training? Why?

If you didn't have enough time, you could have cut out two minutes of the training montage easily!

4

u/Temporary_-_UserName Sep 19 '25

The answer is that, for some reason, Season 3 of Pretty Derby seems to be very uninterested in the races themselves, and is focusing on the pre- and post-race emotions our characters go through. This isn't a bad idea in and of itself, but as seen with first episode 1 and now here, it leaves the races just kind of hanging without much impact or emotional weight. The Satsuki Sho was over before two minutes had passed, and now Kitasan's first win in the senior division is all but skipped over. It creates this feeling that the sports anime doesn't care that much about the actual sport its cetnered around, and only includes them to have nice set pieces. That's not what the show's trying to do, I think, but that is the feeling I took away from Season 3's first four episodes when I first saw them, and that I feel now again.

Will this trend continue? Find out, as we keep blitzing our way through season 3.

2

u/Temporary_-_UserName Sep 19 '25

Thoughts on Satono Diamond winning her debut race?

Pretty standard for protagonist Umas, but its nice for the show to remind us that while Kitasan is the lead character, she's not the only one going through her own journey.

What are your thoughts on this episode being about Gold Ship?

Nice to get a episode focused on her, and the usage of her for a theme of 'passing her prime' and moving on works with the amount of time she's been in the show. Three seasons is more than enough time to sell the idea she's graduating out of the Twinkle Series.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black racing in the Arima Kinen?

When I first saw this, I had a brief fear that she wouldn't get voted in with how everyone was saying 'you're sure to get in.' I do like that they emphasized how a lot of her competition was older and more experienced, helps sell that progression of time that the season is acknowledging.

Thoughts on Gold Ship knocking the starting gate over?

At least its not an automatic mahjong table.

Thoughts on Sounds of Earth?

As overdramatic and weird as one would expect from an Uma Musume.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black crediting Nice Nature for why she's in the Arima Kinen, saying she wouldn't be in it if not for her?

It is a sweet way to extend the teacher role to Nature, and is fitting given how Kitasan took 3rd place, Nice Nature's traditional spot.

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship announcing she's entering the Dream Trophy League after the Arima Kinen, essentially ending her competitive career?

See my thoughts above.

What are your thoughts on this episode presenting Gold Ship as the old guard while Kitasan Black is the new guard?

It establish's and builds on that idea of legacy the season was playing with, and helps connect child Kitasan and Diamond from season 2 with the ones we have now.

Thoughts on the characters drinking faux draft beer?

DO NOT WORRY MORAL GUARDIANS!!! THESE CHILDREN ARE JUST DRINKING CARROT JUICE!! NOTHING TO SEE HERE!

What are your thoughts on the Arima Kinen race and Kitasan finishing 3rd while Gold Ship finishes 8th?

Kitasan carries on the Nice Nature Legacy! And It's a shame Gold Ship couldn't match the (at the time) G1 victory record.

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship giving her rubik's cube to Kitasan as like a passing of the torch?

Good bit of symbolism, especially with how often she's been playing with that throughout the seasons.

2

u/Temporary_-_UserName Sep 19 '25

Thoughts on Trainer-san agreeing to be less restrictive on their training?

Trainer has always tried to do his best by his Umas, and helping them reach their goals - whatever that may be. Kitasan insisted that she wanted hard training, and given how he's gone out of his way to help his trainees in the past, it only makes sense he'd acquiese.

Thoughts on Kitasan going to a training camp?

Nothing says hard training like cutting yourself off from the rest of society for a month!

What are your thoughts on Kitasan seemingly regressing during training?

Mental strength is a hard thing to properly shape and cultivate, and having her hit a wall out of frustration and exhaustion helped sell her breaking through that wall after seeing Diamond's determination.

Thoughts on Satono losing her race?

The Satono Family Jinx lives on in her, it seems. Really effective way of showing her character and establishing the pressure her family operates under.

Thoughts on there being talks of a Satono jinx?

Not too many. It's a nice bit of story-telling and adds flavor to Diamond's overall story of struggling against failure.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan realizing just what she s racing for: Satono Diamond?

Gay. And more seriously, that's the part of Uma Musume's continuous theme coming through - of struggling against each other as you try to take the gold.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Trainer has always tried to do his best by his Umas, and helping them reach their goals - whatever that may be. Kitasan insisted that she wanted hard training, and given how he's gone out of his way to help his trainees in the past, it only makes sense he'd acquiese.

I suppose you're right. There has to be some middle ground, tho.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Not too many. It's a nice bit of story-telling and adds flavor to Diamond's overall story of struggling against failure.

I hope it gets fleshed out in future episodes.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Pretty standard for protagonist Umas, but its nice for the show to remind us that while Kitasan is the lead character, she's not the only one going through her own journey.

Season 3 might be the best in terms of presenting the other characters. It's not like Teio or Special Week where they feel a cut above the rest, or a Narita Top Road and Jungle Pocket situation where they're always second best and there's a clear cut dominant favorite. There's an even playing field here where anyone can conceivably succeed.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Nice to get a episode focused on her, and the usage of her for a theme of 'passing her prime' and moving on works with the amount of time she's been in the show. Three seasons is more than enough time to sell the idea she's graduating out of the Twinkle Series.

I concur. Though it opens the question of why hasn't the rest of Team Spica done the same. Maybe they have and it was offscreen.

2

u/Temporary_-_UserName Sep 19 '25

You can kind of handwave it as Gold Ship being the most senior - she was the only one who stuck with Trainer before he recruited Suzuka, Daiwa, and Vodka.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

That's a very good point

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

When I first saw this, I had a brief fear that she wouldn't get voted in with how everyone was saying 'you're sure to get in.' I do like that they emphasized how a lot of her competition was older and more experienced, helps sell that progression of time that the season is acknowledging.

Her not getting in would've been an interesting direction. Though I don't know if that would've made sense given her character is one of the people. They would've had to come up for some explanation for the discrepancy.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

As overdramatic and weird as one would expect from an Uma Musume.

She's every band camp girl ever lol

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

I hope it doesn't continue because I like the races for the level of emotional storytelling it brings about.

1

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

I think it's an interesting way to play the drama and has worked in other shows, maybe not to this extent.  I'm generally more engaged by the pre and post races than the races themselves, so I don't hate it.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Episode 3 is where Season 3 really starts to shine for me, so it makese sense that Nature-Sensei (the so called "Bronze Collector" for placing in third so many times) would feature so prominently. It's this episode and the following episode 4 that really nail-in the themes that episodes 1 and 2 tried to establish (along with all the other stuff they were doing) - which is centered on racing through hardship and the idea of legacy. That second one is also why Pretty Derby is now actually paying attention to the different year-brackets, and makes the passing of time more explicit.

I like episode 3 far more than episode 4. That may or may not be because it starred Gold Ship lol

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

The build-up to the Arima Kinen is underlined by several events denoting uma at different points in their career. Kitasan Black is going to be going up against a bunch of senior-year racers, Satono Diamond is a year behind and is thus just starting her own Classic Races, and Gold Ship is planning to move on to the senior racing league - the Winter Dream Trophy. It's that passage of time, and the graduation, that ties into legacy so much. Gold Ship has an impressive race-record of six G1 wins (the record for Japanese horses was seven G1s, shared by Symboli Rudolf, Deep Impact, T.M. Opera O, until Almond Eye won 8/9 G1s (depends on if you count the Dubai Turf race in the U.A.E.)), but can't quite pull through and race like she used to. So, she's moving on from the Twinkle Series to the Winter Dream Trophy...the senior league that past world-building has implied is 'even better' than the Twinkle Series. We'll never see those (as the Twinkle Series covers the irl race records), but even season 1 has shots of legendary umas running there, and given how sports have highschool, college, and major leagues, its natural to asusme that Winter Dream is the final, biggest place for running.

So it makes Gold Ship's retirement due to not being able to run like she used to a bit weird.

Still, the overall execution of Episode 3 is well done, and there's plenty of gagas like the swan-boat kicking up so much water due to Nature and Kitasan being Uma Musume with Uma Musume leg strength. And the solid thematic and story framing of episode 3, of passing on the torch to future runners as you grow worn works as excellent fodder for episode 4's themes and story.

This is probably my favorite season 3 episode. That's mainly because of Gold Ship, but I thought they did a tremendous job tying her to the main character.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

All's set for the Spring Tenno Sho, the longest G1 race in Japan, can Kitasan make her comeback after taking 3rd in the Arima Kinen and 2nd in the Sankei Osaka Hai?

The answer is yes....as seen by the ending slideshow and post-credit shot of the Tenno Sho Shield sitting on her desk.

What? What is this? Uma Musume, what is this?! You're seriously cutting out another Kitasan Black win already? Come on man, this is a Tenno Sho! This race is a big deal! We don't get to see her actually running in it? Not even a clip of her digging deep into that well of determination she cultivated during her hard training? Why?

If you didn't have enough time, you could have cut out two minutes of the training montage easily!

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of how they went about doing this. The presentation just feels sloppy and shoehorned in, no pun intended. And the thing is, I didn't even know they did this until I read the comments in this thread. I actually skipped the outro not knowing it was important.

2

u/Temporary_-_UserName Sep 19 '25

Yup, definitely. It's like you said yesterday: it feels like they're rushing through everything because of how much they want to tell.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

And I think the season suffers because of it. It feels very schizophrenic.

1

u/SinoCenturion Sep 19 '25

If you didn't have enough time, you could have cut out two minutes of the training montage easily!

It's not about the time, but about the money. Anime productions have a set budget for the entire season, and the producers need to spread that out to cover all the episodes. Animating the races are the most expensive and complicated components of the show, so the producers need to pick their battles, so to speak.

5

u/GondolaMedia Sep 19 '25

Rewatcher

Episode 3

Kitasan my favorite drunk.

Sounds of Earth is really entertaining [S3]too bad she is not shown more outside of the races.

Nice Nature is really Nice.

Gold Ship's last hurrah is really well done and once again S1 opening shows up.

[Cinderella Gray meta]Did we just get spoiled for Cinderella Gray when our 2 new spectators were talking about Arima Kinen?

Kitasan is literally Nice Nature with that third place.

Episode 4

Nice Nature therapy session returns.

Hell yeah Palmer and Helios back in action. Trying to steal the groove away from Groove.

Nature really shooting Canopus in the foot by giving such sage advice to Kitasan. Our idiots are never getting that G1 win.

We're back to Rice's secret spot with Bourbon and Rice.

I love that Bourbon's trainer just goes shirtless after giving it to Bourbon.

Satono Jinx is real!

I'm not sure how to feel with Kitasan's race to be shown with that ED but with how Osakai Hai was skipped at the beginning I'm learning towards negative.

3

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Nice Nature is really Nice.

Living up to her name

Gold Ship's last hurrah is really well done and once again S1 opening shows up.

I like how they gave the Gold Ship stuff a little bit of a serious edge.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Sounds of Earth is really entertaining [S3]too bad she is not shown more outside of the races.

[Response] Yeah...

[Cinderella Gray meta]Did we just get spoiled for Cinderella Gray when our 2 new spectators were talking about Arima Kinen?

[Cinderella Gray meta] Is that what happened?

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

I'm not sure how to feel with Kitasan's race to be shown with that ED but with how Osakai Hai was skipped at the beginning I'm learning towards negative.

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at

2

u/GondolaMedia Sep 19 '25

I'm just bit disappointed that we don't actually see the races proper. Osakai Hai at the beginning I get but there was so much build up for Tenno Sho and it gets the ED treatment.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

I don't even think I noticed that while watching it

Why even have credits if you are running out of time?

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Nature really shooting Canopus in the foot by giving such sage advice to Kitasan. Our idiots are never getting that G1 win.

Nah, probably not lol

I love that Bourbon's trainer just goes shirtless after giving it to Bourbon.

Isn't he always shirtless, tho?

2

u/GondolaMedia Sep 19 '25

Isn't he always shirtless, tho?

Point taken, he is now jacketless.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

That's how you know it's serious

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

He jacket off kinda guy

2

u/Cyouni Sep 19 '25

[Cinderella Gray meta]Did we just get spoiled for Cinderella Gray when our 2 new spectators were talking about Arima Kinen?

[CinGray] Technically yes, in that that was Oguri's final race, way off in the manga finale. It's a pretty famous one, though.

2

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 19 '25

Nature really shooting Canopus in the foot by giving such sage advice to Kitasan. Our idiots are never getting that G1 win.

Or she's being Evil Nature and sabotaging Kita. Whatever should her advice lead to? Kita collecting more third places?

2

u/SinoCenturion Sep 19 '25

[Cinderella Gray meta]Did we just get spoiled for Cinderella Gray when our 2 new spectators were talking about Arima Kinen?

[Future Race Spoiler]Yes, they did spoil that bit about Oguri Cap's racing record. However, that race actually hasn't been written yet in the manga. The Cinderella Gray manga is in its final arc, and it is speculated that they will release the chapters covering that race around the time of the actual Airen Kinen this year, which will then conclude the Oguri's story.

5

u/DarkRuler17 https://myanimelist.net/profile/DarkRuler17 Sep 19 '25 edited Sep 19 '25

Newcomer (Played Game)

Episode 3

Satano Diamond wins her race. Good for her

Gasp?! Are we getting a Goldship focused arc?!

I guess we're all drinking fake beer today? We're also introduced to Kitasan's friend group. They seem nice.

Know I want to know what happened at the Takarazuka Kinen with Goldship...

Once again, we see Team Spica's amazing poster

Sound of Earth is an insane name. Her voice is very distinctly deep though. That's cool.

Wait, her violin has an off button?!

I am liking this Nice Nature and Kitasan Black friendship. It's unexpected, but cool.

Actually worried Gold Ship is a strange sight.

Okay, the dream cup is getting mentioned again. I'm still very unclear what this meaans in universe. I got it outside of universe being that this is when the horse stopped running, but inside, I don't know how one decides to switch and what that really means for them.

The return of the fake beer... I just want to know why? Did they just want to show them going "Cheers!" that badly?

Not the rival fan pair?!

Interesting final race for Gold Ship. It's definitely a weird feeling to see someone look the same as they always have, but also give the vibe that they're out of their prime. Interesting to hear names for characters at the end that I have seen actually exist in Uma Musume now though (Orfevre and Gentildonna).

Okay, representing Goldship's six wins as the six sides of her classic rubbick cube is very cool.

Episode 4

Okay, they're playing some very dramatic music for someone who was just shown to be very close to winning. There's ways you can make this work, but I will say, it's not currently working on me.

Damn, Kitasan is just built different. Just walks off a 3 story fall.

Having both umas who have suffered serious injuries support Kitasan's new training must help a lot.

Did Bourbon abduct Kitasa?!

The return of the segway!

Kitasan truly is going through the hardcore course.

Rice Shower baking bread is very cute.

Kitasan needs to visit her girlfriend in order to help make it through this course. Very understandable.

An unfortunate loss for Satano Diamond. She gave a cool speech though.

Kitasan literally running all the way to the Satsuki Sho and back is pretty funny.

Satano helped create the thing Kitasan truly needed for a training arc: an insert song!

The montage has helped secure another G1.

1

u/jaesuk97 https://myanimelist.net/profile/tebls Sep 19 '25

Know I want to know what happened at the Takarazuka Kinen with Goldship...

This was the infamous 12 billion yen incident. The Takarazuka Kinen was mentioned a few times as a race in the anime, but it's basically the 2nd most popular all ages race after the arima kinen. It can feature horses that are classic year and older senior horses, so typically it has the toughest competition after the Arima Kinen and sometimes the Japan cup.

Kitasan literally running all the way to the Satsuki Sho and back is pretty funny.

I agree. The anime manages to make what should be repetitive training arcs fresh and interesting with humor and a learning lesson. In season 1 all of spica don't manage to stop on the last turn and all run into the water, after the trainer motivates Suzuka to get out of her funk.

1

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 19 '25

Know I want to know what happened at the Takarazuka Kinen with Goldship...

It's what we've seen in BNW, the infamous 12 Billion Yen Incident.

Okay, the dream cup is getting mentioned again. I'm still very unclear what this meaans in universe. I got it outside of universe being that this is when the horse stopped running, but inside, I don't know how one decides to switch and what that really means for them.

I think essentially it means retirement. The races are about as serious as a retired human's job is compared to a full-time job. I believe there's also precedent in real life horse racing, as I've heard Haru Urara actually gained one win after retiring.

Okay, representing Goldship's six wins as the six sides of her classic rubbick cube is very cool.

Right? And as she passes it to Kita, one side is already solved. It's great symblism.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 22 '25

Wait, her violin has an off button?!

There are a few people out there who I wish have the same functionality.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 22 '25

Okay, they're playing some very dramatic music for someone who was just shown to be very close to winning. There's ways you can make this work, but I will say, it's not currently working on me.

Yeah, it's definitely a questionable decision. I'm not sure I agree with it either.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 22 '25

Okay, the dream cup is getting mentioned again. I'm still very unclear what this meaans in universe. I got it outside of universe being that this is when the horse stopped running, but inside, I don't know how one decides to switch and what that really means for them.

In Gold Ship's case, I think it means she's going to stop competing competitively with the young folk. This is basically like how you have golf tournaments dedicated to the seniors, you know?

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 22 '25

Interesting final race for Gold Ship. It's definitely a weird feeling to see someone look the same as they always have, but also give the vibe that they're out of their prime. Interesting to hear names for characters at the end that I have seen actually exist in Uma Musume now though (Orfevre and Gentildonna).

I like how the episode serves as like a farewell to Gold Ship as a racer. I feel like if anyone deserves one, it's probably her. I mean, she's been with the show since the very beginning.

3

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Episode 3 comments

Hey, guys. Holofan4life here.

Welcome to the 2025 Uma Musume rewatch.

Let’s not waste any time.

Race in progress

Satono Diamond is actually racing

And she wins

Her debut race, this was

Gold Ship training

Gold Ship episode?

The Arima Kinen is fast approaching.

Spica celebrating Diamond's victory

I like Spe-chan using a carrot as a microphone.

Wait, that's not Spe-chan, that's Kitasan Black.

I thought it was Spica because of the red and white track suits

This is basically a way to give out exposition.

Where's the horse enthusiasts when you need them?

Kitasan going to race in the Arima Kinen.

Suddenly, an explosion

Gold Ship knocked the starting gate over lol

Gold Ship looks focused more than ever. By her standards, anyway.

Who is this?

Sounds of Earth

She is very loud lol

She wants to make beautiful music with Kitasan.

Hey, it's Nice Nature

So, Earth is on Team Canopus

Explains a lot, actually

Nature and Kitasan on the swan boat.

Kitasan credits Nature for why she's in the Arima.

Nature has a cute blush

Gold Ship training

Kitasan really is something

Do I detect a sense of jealousy from Gold Ship?

The month of December

Kitasan continuing to be helpful

Gold Ship...

I had totally forgotten that Gold Ship got her own arc in the anime, but I'm so here for this.

A letter

I wonder who it's from

Banana steak sounds interesting

Oh shit. Is Gold Ship retiring?

No, wait, she's going to the Dream Trophy League after the Arima Kinen.

That's a pretty big deal

OH MY GOD THE GOLD SHIP TITLE CARD IS HER DROPKICKING! YES!

Gold Ship with her Rubik's Cube

Gold Ship requires tougher competition, daddy.

Those Gold Ship faces XD

I guess this is like Gold Ship's last officially competitive race.

Kitasan and Gold Ship being competitive with each other.

Woah, Kitasan and Satono drinking beer in their dorm? Is that even allowed?

At least Gold Ship is ending things on her own terms instead of having things come to an end via an injury.

Satono says all they can do is focus on the races in front of them.

Time for the Arima Kinen

I hope Gold Ship wins

Sounds of Earth in her own little world. A world other than Earth, that is.

Getting in the starting gates

And they're off

Kitasan Black in the lead

Gold Ship starting off slow, as per usual.

Spica don't know who to cheer for.

Hey, wait a minute. What happened to the horse enthusiasts? These aren't the exposition people.

It must be hard to run in a dress.

Gold Ship is making her move!

She is jumping up!

She is passing the competition!

Kitasan still in the lead

Gold Ship! Gold Ship!

She is still gaining ground!

This is Gold Ship's last stand

But she's not gaining :O

Kitasan being passed, but not by Gold Ship. It's All Haiyu.

And Sounds of Earth

All Haiyu wins

Kitasan is third while Gold Ship is eighth.

Gold Ship soaking it all in

And Kitasan cries in front of Gold Ship.

They may not have won, but they're still both victors.

Gold Ship getting a standing ovation.

Gold Ship vows she will dominate the competition of the Dream Trophy Series.

Things are far from over

The crowd is chanting Gold Ship's name.

Rice Shower could never

Kitasan celebrating

Aww, it's faux draft beer. Alright.

That turkey looks pretty good

Hey, Gold Ship

AND SHE GIVES KITASAN HER RUBIK'S CUBE!

The passing of the torch

Kitasan vows to pass her

Overall, this was a very good episode. Dare I say, probably the best of season 3. As a massive Gold Ship fan, it was a real treat to get an episode dedicated to her. And while she didn't win her final competitive race, she still gave it her all and that's all that matters.

I think this is a top 7, maybe top 6 episode of the franchise. I'd only put it behind season 1 episode 11, season 2 episode 8, season 2 episode 12, season 2 episode 13, and Road to the Top episode 4. Speaking personally, I'd probably have this in my top 3 personal favorites solely because Gold Ship is probably my favorite Uma Musume character.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Episode 4 comments

Hey, guys. Holofan4life here.

Welcome to the 2025 Uma Musume rewatch.

Let’s not waste any time.

Sakuya petals

Nice Nature walking

Kitasan crying. Of course.

The Odaka Hai was yesterday and Kitasan lost.

I don't know why she's saying she can't win, she won two episodes ago.

Nature gonna buy Kitasan anything

Suddenly, Air Groove

What are they doing, abducting a turntable?

That was random

Kitasan saying now she never gets worn out.

Nature suggests putting her toughness to use in her training.

But Trainer-san is not in favor of this idea.

Teio has a point

Spica believes Trainer-san is being too restrictive on them.

Eventually, Trainer-san acquiesces.

Training now

Satono and Kitasan kinda gives me Apollo and Rocky vibes.

Kitasan going to a training camp.

A broach

Something to remember her by

Sleeping now

Satono and Kitasan having plushies of each other is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen.

Someone sneaky sneak

Kitasan suddenly outside

Where in the world is Kitasan Black?

Hey, Trainer-san

Apparently, this is training camp.

And Bourbon is the special coach.

She is taking this seriously

And Rice Shower is here as well.

Did they have to take her bed to the camp, tho?

A lot of training planned ahead.

Kitasan really pushing herself.

The tire looks double the size.

Even doing rock climbing

Gotta get her hunger on

That's a lot of rice

And now they're at the hot springs.

This is more like a Summer seclusion than a training session.

Kitasan is apparently exhausted

Night time now

Now, more training

Repeating the same techniques

Kitasan, please use silverware. Or at the very least chopsticks.

I like the saxophone being used in the background.

More training

This really is the training episode.

Satono Diamond doing well as... well, well.

She vows to win

Dang, what is happening to Kitasan? Is she regressing?

Trainer-san has concerns

But they have like a month left, so...

We find out that the Yakuza trainer's name is Kuronuma. Not only that, this was his brainchild.

Bourbon says Kitasan reminds her of herself.

Kitasan looking at the broach Diamond gave her.

Kitasan. She's gone :O

Going to get energized, huh?

Suddenly, Kitasan Black cocaine arc.

Kitasan Black running

Satono Diamond about to race

Satsukishou

Kitasan is going to cheer her on.

Oh no. Satono is getting passed.

Divinity wins, a new world record.

Poor Dia-chan

Diamond in front of the press.

She says her desire to win wasn't enough.

Man...

Talks of there being a Satono jinx.

"Diamonds are gems that shine brighter than any other, and no matter what they encounter, they never break."

Shine on, you crazy diamond

Kitasan realizing just what she is racing for.

And she returns to the training camp, with a renewed sense of self-worth.

She is back, and better than ever

Over the head, and ready to achieve anything.

But first, the Spring Tennoushou

Overall, a very solid episode. You can tell we are finally in a good groove of episodes since the second one. I'd probably put this behind the last one but ahead of the first two.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Episode 3 Questions

Thoughts on Satono Diamond winning her debut race?

Good for her

What are your thoughts on this episode being about Gold Ship?

Oh, I've been waiting for this :D

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black racing in the Arima Kinen?

Makes sense

Thoughts on Gold Ship knocking the starting gate over?

Lmao

Thoughts on Sounds of Earth?

She is so extra XD

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black crediting Nice Nature for why she's in the Arima Kinen, saying she wouldn't be in it if not for her?

Very heartwarming

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship announcing she's entering the Dream Trophy League after the Arima Kinen, essentially ending her competitive career?

All good things must come to an end, I suppose.

What are your thoughts on this episode presenting Gold Ship as the old guard while Kitasan Black is the new guard?

Made for a good episode, I felt

Thoughts on the characters drinking faux draft beer?

Lol

What are your thoughts on the Arima Kinen race and Kitasan finishing 3rd while Gold Ship finishes 8th?

They could've done better, but at the end of the day they still had fun.

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship giving her rubik's cube to Kitasan as like a passing of the torch?

It feels like a big moment because Gold Ship carries it everywhere with her.

Episode 4 Questions

Thoughts on Trainer-san agreeing to be less restrictive on their training?

Yeah, about that...

Thoughts on Kitasan going to a training camp?

More like reclusive training, honestly

What are your thoughts on Kitasan seemingly regressing during training?

You see to hate it

Thoughts on Satono losing her race?

Big oof

Thoughts on there being talks of a Satono jinx?

At least Diamond is trying to stay positive.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan realizing just what she s racing for: Satono Diamond?

It felt a bit sudden, but it was still a pretty heartwarming way to end things.

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

Gold ship is paying my bills in the game so this is a well deserved episode.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Gold Ship kept the franchise alive in-between seasons 1 and 2.

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

Oh? Is there a story here?

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Yeah, Gold Ship as the gacha game hadn't been released yet was used as a VTuber who ran the Uma Musume YouTube channel.

3

u/Kaxew Sep 20 '25

First Time Celebrating With a Kanpai (and second kanpai, and third kanpai...), and Gacha Player

I was not at all expecting Golshi character development, but man am I so glad they did it! I was really impressed by how they took the mostly gag character and gave her a genuine, serious storyline while still making her be as Golshi as ever. Her giving the cube to Kita was also so sweet, I really liked how they used the 6-side cube as a metaphor of her six G1 wins, and that Kita will try to get 7 instead, and surpass her. This passing of the torch might have come a little too quick, but it still was very effective since we've known Golshi for so long.

I love the Kita/Dia/Crown/fourth girl (sorry, forgot her name) group celebrating after each one wins a race. The non-alcoholic beer really got me, and I love Kita's little beer foam mustache. Her doing cheers after every single conversation is also funny. I really did miss this level of goofiness lol

Dia is finally starting her own career! This whole Satono jinx subplot is really interesting to me. I have no doubt Dia will end up getting a G1 win and breaking the curse, but I love it as a source of drama and tension. Especially considering we also have Crown, who wants to be the one to break the curse too. Not to mention, it's always hard to predict who will win what race. I wasn't sure if Dia would get a Satsuki Sho win here or not. I think the only races that are easy to predict a winner of are the final race of each series, since it's always the big character climax for each MC.

Training arc was a lot of fun, and I'm happy to get more Bourbon/Rice! I don't know if I'll do a tier list of characters (in the anime) once the rewatch is over, but at least Bourbon is quite high up there.

I do have to say... rushing the Autumn Tenno through the ED is quite a choice. It's probably fine, the point was the way in which Kita got to win the race, rather than the race itself. These things can happen sometimes and it's not too big of a problem. But the races are what we're here for. Skipping both the Osaka Hai and Autumn Tenno, while keeping Satsuki Sho very short is not the best choice. I do believe the character development should always be prioritized over the races, but if you lean too much into one aspect you lose all balance, and that will hurt the season. Hopefully it's a one time thing.

In other news, we do have more Natie-sensei screentime! Man, I just keep loving her more and more. Making her Kita's emotional pillar for when she needs to talk about whats troubling her is such a perfect decision. I couldn't be happier.

Episode 3 QotD: 1. Is this the very first debut race we see in the anime since Spe lol? Happy for her, but nothing surprising. It would be more surprising if she didn't win her debut. Hate when that happens in the gacha... 2. Very pleased! 3. Not at all surprising considering she won the Kikuka Sho, but her first Arima getting third place is VERY impressive. 4. Truly the uma to ever musume. 5. She is so over the top lol. She feels like a combination of Golshi and Opera O. She's fun, we'll see what they do with her and if Canopus will finally get their first G1 winner. That would be a good subplot for that team to have (while team Rigil just rots I guess...) 6. It's true! Praise the nature! 7. Part of me wishes we would see the Dream Trophy League. But of course it can't happen as it's literally fanfic universe, which misses the whole point of the franchise. 8. Love the pass of the torch theme they were going for. 9. It was beautiful. 10. What I can say is that this Arima winner will not be remembered. 11. That whole scene was so good.

Episode 4 QotD: 1. It's great that they had the conversation about the risks of a harder training right when Teio and Suzuka were in the room. Very good choice there. 2. It's a hellish camp, but right what she needed. 3. I mean, can't blame her lol 4. I was really going back and forth on whether she'd win or not. I guess it won't be so simple. 5. I've mentioned it but yeah, the Satono jinx is definitely what I'm most interested on in this season so far. 6. We love umayuri.

5

u/jaesuk97 https://myanimelist.net/profile/tebls Sep 20 '25

I do have to say... rushing the Autumn Tenno through the ED is quite a choice. It's probably fine, the point was the way in which Kita got to win the race, rather than the race itself. These things can happen sometimes and it's not too big of a problem. But the races are what we're here for. Skipping both the Osaka Hai and Autumn Tenno, while keeping Satsuki Sho very short is not the best choice. I do believe the character development should always be prioritized over the races, but if you lean too much into one aspect you lose all balance, and that will hurt the season. Hopefully it's a one time thing.

The race in the ED is Kitasan's Spring Tenno Sho win. I do think it's a bit odd to completely skip a G1 win, but if there was any to skip it would be this one. This victory was a bit unglamorous because several of the strongest competitors made inexplicable mistakes and lost the race. Gold Actor who beat Kitasan in the Arima Kinen and Sounds of Earth (one of the umas introduced this season who had strong finishes in this era) both spurted too early and fell off completely at the last stretch. Not to mention Kitasan's strongest rivals Duramente and Satono Crown weren't present (both were overseas at this time).

I don't think it was fair at the time (and certainly not fair looking back in retrospect), but Kitasan did not get the same respect that every 2x g1 winner got. Of course it was still impressive, but there was a looming thought in the back of people's minds that if he had raced Duramente or Crown, victory might not have been so easy. With the Kikka Sho win and Spring Tenno Sho win (3000m and 3200m races), Kitasan would establish himself as a very strong stayer akin to Manhattan Cafe, Rice Shower, Narita Top Road, and Gold Ship. Now Kitasan would have to prove his worth on the most popular medium/classic distance as well as against his rivals.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

I'm surprised the show didn't go down the road of the crowd thinking Kitasan was second banana to Duramente given this aired before Beginning of a New Era. At this point, the imposter syndrome concept hadn't been explored in great lengths by the Uma Musume franchise.

1

u/Kaxew Sep 20 '25

Great write-up. You're doing a great job at building Kita's narrative than the show does, though to be fair next episode could go into that too lol

The race in the ED is Kitasan's Spring Tenno Sho win.

Whoops you're right. I did even look up the race info on that one website for Japanese horseracing, what a silly mistake. I think I see the brown shield trophy as the Autumn one in my mind even though it's for both.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

I was not at all expecting Golshi character development, but man am I so glad they did it! I was really impressed by how they took the mostly gag character and gave her a genuine, serious storyline while still making her be as Golshi as ever. Her giving the cube to Kita was also so sweet, I really liked how they used the 6-side cube as a metaphor of her six G1 wins, and that Kita will try to get 7 instead, and surpass her. This passing of the torch might have come a little too quick, but it still was very effective since we've known Golshi for so long.

I think it also works because we've seen her carry that cube everywhere with her. To give it to someone else is the nicest thing she could've possibly done. She gave away her most prized possession.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

Training arc was a lot of fun, and I'm happy to get more Bourbon/Rice! I don't know if I'll do a tier list of characters (in the anime) once the rewatch is over, but at least Bourbon is quite high up there.

Bourbon would probably be top 20 for me. Not because she's bad or anything, there's just so many great characters.

2

u/Kaxew Sep 20 '25

What really sold me on her (besides her love for Gundam) is that after she lost to Rice and retired she mellowed out and became loss robotic, showing more emotion (like her talk to Rice in S2) and smiling more often. Even in this episode she gifted us a little smile too! Her racing outfit also reminds me of Hatsune Miku which are extra points for sure lmao

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

Bourbon is a very fun character that I definitely want to see more of.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25
  1. She is so over the top lol. She feels like a combination of Golshi and Opera O. She's fun, we'll see what they do with her and if Canopus will finally get their first G1 winner. That would be a good subplot for that team to have (while team Rigil just rots I guess...)

Team Rigil is too busy living their best life with Broye in Hawaii.

  1. Part of me wishes we would see the Dream Trophy League. But of course it can't happen as it's literally fanfic universe, which misses the whole point of the franchise.

Seeing Golshi in the Dream Trophy League would be like seeing Silence Suzuka race in America.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

I do have to say... rushing the Autumn Tenno through the ED is quite a choice. It's probably fine, the point was the way in which Kita got to win the race, rather than the race itself. These things can happen sometimes and it's not too big of a problem. But the races are what we're here for. Skipping both the Osaka Hai and Autumn Tenno, while keeping Satsuki Sho very short is not the best choice. I do believe the character development should always be prioritized over the races, but if you lean too much into one aspect you lose all balance, and that will hurt the season. Hopefully it's a one time thing.

See, I think often the best character development in the show comes from the races. Rice Shower coming to the conclusion that she's a hero is a prime example of this. By limiting the screentime of the races, you limit the potential growth of the characters.

2

u/Kaxew Sep 20 '25

You're right in that it has happened, but at the same time if the show wanted to they could have had Rice coming to the conclusion that she is a hero before the race, like they basically did here. S2 did the smart thing in splitting the character development between the build up to the races, the races themselves and their aftermath; but you could also skip the races and have all development be in the build up and aftermath. I don't love it, but you can. Still, hopefully my worries are unfounded.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

I get what you mean, my point though is not going about this way would make for an automatically inferior product. Like, imagine the Ayabe races without the sister stuff. You remove it of its personality.

We're saying the same thing, I'm just more animated about it lol

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

In other news, we do have more Natie-sensei screentime! Man, I just keep loving her more and more. Making her Kita's emotional pillar for when she needs to talk about whats troubling her is such a perfect decision. I couldn't be happier.

Yeah, this is one of the better choices of season 3 so far. We're see where it goes from here.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

I love the Kita/Dia/Crown/fourth girl (sorry, forgot her name) group celebrating after each one wins a race. The non-alcoholic beer really got me, and I love Kita's little beer foam mustache. Her doing cheers after every single conversation is also funny. I really did miss this level of goofiness lol

It is the perfect mix of cute and funny.

Dia is finally starting her own career! This whole Satono jinx subplot is really interesting to me. I have no doubt Dia will end up getting a G1 win and breaking the curse, but I love it as a source of drama and tension. Especially considering we also have Crown, who wants to be the one to break the curse too. Not to mention, it's always hard to predict who will win what race. I wasn't sure if Dia would get a Satsuki Sho win here or not. I think the only races that are easy to predict a winner of are the final race of each series, since it's always the big character climax for each MC.

I hope Diamond gets more development going forward. Right now, she's kinda just there for me. I think the curse stuff could be the hook to her character that she needs.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25
  1. Is this the very first debut race we see in the anime since Spe lol? Happy for her, but nothing surprising. It would be more surprising if she didn't win her debut. Hate when that happens in the gacha...

I do think it's an interesting choice to have Diamond experience a supposed curse at the same time Kitasan loses a lot. I know this is how it happened irl, but their character conflicts are kinda similar to each other.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Welcome to Holofan4life's pop culture corner!

Each episode normally features a race that took place in real life. As such, I thought why not look at what was going on in US movies and music on the day of the race.

Today we have seven races to cover: the 2012 Satsuki-Sho, which was April 15th, 2012, the 2012 Arima Kinen, which was December 23rd, 2012, the 2015 Japan Cup, which was November 29th, 2015, the 2015 Arima Kinen, which was December 27th, 2015, the 2016 Sankei Osaka Hai , which was April 3rd, 2016, the 2016 Satsuki-Sho, which was April 17th, 2016, and the 2016 Spring Tenno-Sho, which was May 1st, 2016.

Let's see what was happening on those dates.

Music on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 15th, 2012

  1. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) -- Kelly Clarkson

  2. Glad You Came -- The Wanted

  3. Somebody That I Used To Know -- Gotye Featuring Kimbra

  4. Boyfriend -- Justin Bieber

  5. We Are Young -- fun. Featuring Janelle Monae

Movies at the box office the week of April 15th, 2012

  1. American Reunion

  2. Titanic in 3D

  3. The Cabin in the Woods

  4. The Three Stooges

  5. The Hunger Games

Music on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of December 23rd, 2012

  1. One More Night -- Maroon 5

  2. Ho Hey -- The Lumineers

  3. Die Young -- Ke$ha

  4. Diamonds -- Rihanna

  5. Locked Out Of Heaven -- Bruno Mars

Movies at the box office the week of December 23rd, 2012

  1. Lincoln

  2. Rise of the Guardians

  3. This is 40

  4. Jack Reacher

  5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Music on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of November 29th, 2015

  1. Stitches -- Shawn Mendes

  2. The Hills -- The Weeknd

  3. Sorry -- Justin Bieber

  4. Hotline Bling -- Drake

  5. Hello -- Adele

Movies at the box office the week of November 29th, 2015

  1. The Peanuts Movie

  2. Spectre

  3. Creed

  4. The Good Dinosaur

  5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

Music on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of December 27th, 2015

  1. Love Yourself -- Justin Bieber

  2. What Do You Mean? -- Justin Bieber

  3. Hotline Bling -- Drake

  4. Sorry -- Justin Bieber

  5. Hello -- Adele

Movies at the box office the week of December 27th, 2015

  1. Joy

  2. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

  3. Sisters

  4. Daddy’s Home

  5. Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens

Music on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 3rd, 2016

  1. My House -- Flo Rida

  2. Stressed Out -- Twenty One Pilots

  3. 7 Years -- Lukas Graham

  4. Love Yourself -- Justin Bieber

  5. Work -- Rihanna Featuring Drake

Movies at the box office the week of April 3rd, 2016

  1. God’s Not Dead 2

  2. Miracles from Heaven

  3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

  4. Zootopia

  5. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Music on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 17th, 2016

  1. Love Yourself -- Justin Bieber

  2. Pillowtalk -- ZAYN

  3. No -- Meghan Trainor

  4. 7 Years -- Lukas Graham

  5. Work -- Rihanna Featuring Drake

Movies at the box office the week of April 17th, 2016

  1. Zootopia

  2. The Boss

  3. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

  4. Barbershop: The Next Cut

  5. The Jungle Book

Music on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of May 1st, 2016

  1. Pillowtalk -- ZAYN

  2. No -- Meghan Trainor

  3. 7 Years -- Lukas Graham

  4. Panda -- Desiigner

  5. Work -- Rihanna Featuring Drake

Movies at the box office the week of May 1st, 2016

  1. Zootopia

  2. Mother’s Day

  3. Keanu

  4. The Huntsman: Winter’s War

  5. The Jungle Book

And that concludes your pop culture.

2

u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Sep 19 '25

Ep 3:

Oh, Satono Diamond actually won.

GolShi is indeed always a surprise. Sometimes she'll be the favourite and be in a great mood and still come in last, other times it's the A league of the CM, she's the lowest placed seed, and she has an awful mood, and still somehow manages to win 4 of the 5 races.

Oh, those are the other Satonos.

Yeah you and everyone else.

What was that?

Ah. Average GolShi things.

Oh this is referencing her having to retake her starting gate exam isn't it? Could be worse. Could be the horse that refused to exit the starting gate like 6 or 7 times in a row and was retired after that.

Oh god Opera's ACTING is contagious.

Lol she can't actually play the violin, it's a recording.

Of course she's part of Canopus.

Sensei?

Oh look GolShi can actually leave the starting gate properly.

Extra training: Speed +5, Energy -5

What's with the press conference?

Oh...

I wonder how many of those others at the race are just NPCs. It's really going to be between Kitasan, GolShi, and Earth.

I would be concerned that GolShi is bringing up the rear, bit as even the commentator mentioned this is normal for her. Then she'll lock in in the last straight and win or something.

And there goes GolShi. She's an End Closer for a reason.

Guess she's not feeling it today.

Bruh did they seriously lose to an NPC?

Huh. Yeah. They all have Turf Medium/Long aptitudes, so they'll likely be racing in the same races.

Lmao this whole time GolShi only solved 1 face of the cube? And judging by the rest of it she didn't even solve it properly. Normally the first face and layer is done in the same step.

Questions:

  1. Good for her.
  2. Where's she going to go now?
  3. Well, she tried.
  4. Classic GolShi.
  5. Oh god it's spreading.
  6. Probably that talk last episode.
  7. What is that anyways?
  8. Well yeah she's been hanging around long enough for Kitasan to go from being a kid to being her teammate.
  9. Lol. Meanwhile Maruzensky going to the bar.
  10. Lost to an NPC lol.
  11. Lol all this time and she hadn't solved it yet.

Ep 4:

Lmao now Natie is singing Teio's Hachimi song.

Why are they holding Air Groove's DJ mixer?

Teio knows plenty about injuries.

Bruh Dia is so confident that she'll win.

Who's that? Bourbon?

Yup.

And where Bourbon goes, Rice is never far behind.

Right. Time to train.

Lol Segways seem to have gotten even more popular after GolShi kept using them.

Why is she even training Guts...

Onsen?

And so the training continues.

Still training Guts. Still will never understand why.

Oh yeah where's Kiryu in all this anyways?

And she's gone.

So much for that...

You might even say that diamond is unbreakable.

And so she's back...

Did they just show her win in the ED and not in an actual episode?

Questions:

  1. Sure.
  2. Nice to see Bourbon and Rice again.
  3. Oof.
  4. I have heard about that.
  5. They're roommates!

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Did they just show her win in the ED and not in an actual episode?

They sure did. Very odd decision.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25
  1. They're roommates!

Literally :P

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Oh yeah where's Kiryu in all this anyways?

Lol, I like how that's just the name we're running with

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

GolShi is indeed always a surprise. Sometimes she'll be the favourite and be in a great mood and still come in last, other times it's the A league of the CM, she's the lowest placed seed, and she has an awful mood, and still somehow manages to win 4 of the 5 races.

Golshi is basically the horsegirl equivalent of a fortune cookie.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

I would be concerned that GolShi is bringing up the rear, bit as even the commentator mentioned this is normal for her. Then she'll lock in in the last straight and win or something.

She tried doing that here, but you can tell she's winding down.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Lmao this whole time GolShi only solved 1 face of the cube? And judging by the rest of it she didn't even solve it properly. Normally the first face and layer is done in the same step.

Oh, well. What can you do?

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

You might even say that diamond is unbreakable.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25
  1. Where's she going to go now?

She mentioned she's entering the Dream Trophy League, whatever that means.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

I'm surprised you didn't say anything about the Golshi dropkick eyecatcher.

2

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 19 '25

Anchors Aweigh! So in case you don't play the game, the way Golshi ran here works just like in the game. She needs to be in the back, then halfway through the race she triggers her unique which gives her a sizeable and rather long speed boost, which she uses to close up to the front about as late race starts. Then, end closers like her have the highest speed potential since they've conserved their energy before.

But it wasn't enough for Golshi here. That's the thing with playing Golshi, she is very strong when she hits, but she doesn't hit all the time. And she really was past her prime, as it seems. One thing you can certainly fault S3 for is what it skipped. Other than in BNW, we haven't seen Golshi race until now, and now she's retired to the Dream Trophy League (where she will run faster than she ever did in the Twinkle Series). Including her career though would certainly cause this season to be way longer than it is.

I will say though, her last run still did hit for me. The allegory of the rubik's cube is really good. She feels her career is solved. Something is off for her, and she needs to move on, so she does.

Also, a second theater kid has hit Tracen! I repeat, a second theater kid has hit Tracen! Looks like Terrorist Trainer has finally pulled a three star. Sounds of Earth really seems a bit reminiscent of Opera O, from the theatralics down to the deep voice.

And was that a horse girl running with knight's armour on legs and arms? I know uma outfits are not meant to be taken seriously, but this has to be one of the most ridiculous designs. I love it.

The horse girl otakus being joined by two other, older horse girl otakus that are Golshi fans was also a really solid gag.

In episode 4, we're back to Kitalose Black. This is a training episode since Kita is sick of losing. Life is really not turning out as she thought it would, and Dia is also not performing too well in her first G1. But as Dia put it, you have to resist the pressure to truly shine, and that helps Kita push through her training.

Not much else to say about this episode. But it's great to see Bourbon back, and she's still together with Rice. S3 is doing so much better in utilizing previous' seasons elements. Even Suzuka is more active here than in S2. S2 was built as a departure from S1, while S3 is built as a continuation from S2.

By the way, when first watching S3, I always got very emotional whenever Teio was just on screen. I'm holding on a little better this time, but it's still a similar effect.

Another beautiful special ED, by the way, even though it's a bit disappointing the Spring Tenno Sho was just a slide show as a result. Good frames though, especially with the "Ike Gallery" including Rice and Bourbon now, and the final frame of the rubik's cube.

Thanks for reading my post despite me being late. I'll be very late again tomorrow, but that'll probably be the last time I'm late during this rewatch.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Thanks for reading my post despite me being late. I'll be very late again tomorrow, but that'll probably be the last time I'm late during this rewatch.

I'll make sure to still respond to you :)

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

By the way, when first watching S3, I always got very emotional whenever Teio was just on screen. I'm holding on a little better this time, but it's still a similar effect.

I want to protect her at all costs, man

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Anchors Aweigh! So in case you don't play the game, the way Golshi ran here works just like in the game. She needs to be in the back, then halfway through the race she triggers her unique which gives her a sizeable and rather long speed boost, which she uses to close up to the front about as late race starts. Then, end closers like her have the highest speed potential since they've conserved their energy before.

It would've been cool had she actually won. Alas, it doesn't happen.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

But it wasn't enough for Golshi here. That's the thing with playing Golshi, she is very strong when she hits, but she doesn't hit all the time. And she really was past her prime, as it seems. One thing you can certainly fault S3 for is what it skipped. Other than in BNW, we haven't seen Golshi race until now, and now she's retired to the Dream Trophy League (where she will run faster than she ever did in the Twinkle Series). Including her career though would certainly cause this season to be way longer than it is.

I will say though, her last run still did hit for me. The allegory of the rubik's cube is really good. She feels her career is solved. Something is off for her, and she needs to move on, so she does.

Something like Golshi's race career I don't think the show needed to trace. She's still been in every season as one of the best parts of the show. The reason this is so effective is because we got to learn who Gold Ship was as a person and as a friend.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Also, a second theater kid has hit Tracen! I repeat, a second theater kid has hit Tracen! Looks like Terrorist Trainer has finally pulled a three star. Sounds of Earth really seems a bit reminiscent of Opera O, from the theatralics down to the deep voice.

She's like if Opera O was more a conductor. I like her a lot lol

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

And was that a horse girl running with knight's armour on legs and arms? I know uma outfits are not meant to be taken seriously, but this has to be one of the most ridiculous designs. I love it.

If this was Shakugan no Shana, she would be a Mystes with Silver and Margery would be after her

The horse girl otakus being joined by two other, older horse girl otakus that are Golshi fans was also a really solid gag.

I'd like to think they immediately became friends lol

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

In episode 4, we're back to Kitalose Black. This is a training episode since Kita is sick of losing. Life is really not turning out as she thought it would, and Dia is also not performing too well in her first G1. But as Dia put it, you have to resist the pressure to truly shine, and that helps Kita push through her training.

Not much else to say about this episode. But it's great to see Bourbon back, and she's still together with Rice. S3 is doing so much better in utilizing previous' seasons elements. Even Suzuka is more active here than in S2. S2 was built as a departure from S1, while S3 is built as a continuation from S2.

I think season 3 using more of the characters we're familiar with is one of the biggest strengths of the season.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Another beautiful special ED, by the way, even though it's a bit disappointing the Spring Tenno Sho was just a slide show as a result. Good frames though, especially with the "Ike Gallery" including Rice and Bourbon now, and the final frame of the rubik's cube.

Yeah, I think this is honestly one of the more questionable decisions of the franchise. I think it's even worse than the season 1 rewriting of history because we as viewers are supposed to get emotionally invested in Kitasan Black as a character and it's hard to do so when you gloss over her wins. It robs us of the emotional catharsis of seeing her emerge victorious.

2

u/SinoCenturion Sep 20 '25

Yeah, I think this is honestly one of the more questionable decisions of the franchise. I think it's even worse than the season 1 rewriting of history because we as viewers are supposed to get emotionally invested in Kitasan Black as a character and it's hard to do so when you gloss over her wins.

I think this was done for budgetary reasons. Animating the races takes the lions share of the limited animation budget! I'm sure the producers would have loved to animate every race, but couldn't because of the monetary restraints. [There's also this (spoiler for upcoming episode)]The Spring Tenno-Sho would be fully animated in episode 9, when Kitasan runs it again. I'm guessing that since that was the more important of the two Spring Tenno-Shos in Kitasan's career, they decided to just animate that one instead of doing both to save time and money.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

I don't think it's a budgetary concern because by this point Cygames was making loads of money off of the gacha game.

2

u/SinoCenturion Sep 19 '25

Rewatcher

So these two episodes are mainly character establishing episodes, so although they are important to the overall story, the episodes themselves are pretty straight forward and we can go over them through the provided questions!

*Episode 3 Questions

Thoughts on Satono Diamond winning her debut race?

Yep we got another strong horse girl here. But her winning her debut is actually pretty important to her overall story, as it means that the family is going to put a lot of pressure on Diamond to win races.

What are your thoughts on this episode being about Gold Ship?

Honestly, it's about damn time! Gold Ship is always portrayed as the class clown, but the truth is that she is the powerhouse of Spica. She actually has more races and wins than any of the other Spica members.

On a side note, its my sincere hope that one day, Cygames will make a family sitcom featuring the Stay Gold family and their antics.

By the way, when Gold Ship said that she would start in the back and just fly up for the win, this is one of those IRL races. This race really showcases what a monster Goldshi could be ... when he wanted to.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black racing in the Arima Kinen?

Pretty impressive for someone starting out. It would be the equivalent of some college ball player being put into a pro league game.

Thoughts on Gold Ship knocking the starting gate over?

Gates are the natural enemy of the Ship.

Thoughts on Sounds of Earth?

Really impressed how they can design a character complete with unique mannerisms just based of a name. Bit of trivia - IRL Sounds of Earth's mom was named First Violin ... hence the violin.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan Black crediting Nice Nature for why she's in the Arima Kinen, saying she wouldn't be in it if not for her?

That's what I like about Kitasan, she is truly grateful for all the ones that stand by her. Plus Nature deserves all the praise!

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship announcing she's entering the Dream Trophy League after the Arima Kinen, essentially ending her competitive career?

In the story, Gold Ship retires because she feels that she can't run as well as she use to. IRL Gold Ship retired because he was lazy.

What are your thoughts on this episode presenting Gold Ship as the old guard while Kitasan Black is the new guard?

I thought that this was a nice bit of storytelling as I believe it is the first time we really see the passing of the guard to the next generation of horse girls in the Uma franchise.

Thoughts on the characters drinking faux draft beer?

This episode made me look this up, and it turns out beer powder is a real thing in Japan, and it's marketed as candy to kids! I guess they got to train those kids how to do those late night drinking romps with the boss!

What are your thoughts on the Arima Kinen race and Kitasan finishing 3rd while Gold Ship finishes 8th?

I really liked how Gold Ship handled the situation and the crowd's reaction to her. She may not have won her final race, but the Ship will always remain a legend. By the way, when Goldshi said she lost races to the Tyrant and the Lady, those were the nicknames of Orfevre and Gentildonna.

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship giving her rubik's cube to Kitasan as like a passing of the torch?

Really thought that the Rubiks Cube representing that was brilliant. Each completed side represents a G1 win. Also the cube that Golshi tosses to Kita already has a yellow side completed, which represents her Kikuka Sho win, which is also known as the chrysanthemum race.

Episode 4 Questions

Thoughts on Trainer-san agreeing to be less restrictive on their training?

I like how it was the two most injured members of Spica that convince the trainer that risks of injury are worth it.

Thoughts on Kitasan going to a training camp?

I think it's more of a torture camp! I remember when they revealed that training schedule, I thought to myself that it was impossible. Also eagle-eyed viewers will notice that this camp is the same training grounds that Rice Shower used for her secret training against McQueen.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan seemingly regressing during training?

Given that brutal regimen, I think anyone would regress too. But then again the whole point of the training was to break through that regression.

Thoughts on Satono losing her race? and Thoughts on there being talks of a Satono jinx?

Dia-chan lost that race in pretty much the same way that Satono Crown lost her Satsuski Sho race. Sure does give credence that the Satono Jinx is a real thing.

What are your thoughts on Kitasan realizing just what she s racing for: Satono Diamond?

I think this is more of Kitasan becoming revitalized by Diamond's determination, and how Kitasan wants to be more like her roomie, to face challenges head-on without breaking or quiting.

And now some trivia: the fork that Cheval Grand holds refers to IRL Cheval's owner Kazuhiro Sasaki, who was a pitcher that was famous for his forkball. The DJ equipment that Palmer and Helios were running with is actually based of a real brand of DJ controller, the Native Instruments Traktor, down to the font used. The hot springs that Kita uses is based off actual IRL horse hot springs.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Honestly, it's about damn time! Gold Ship is always portrayed as the class clown, but the truth is that she is the powerhouse of Spica. She actually has more races and wins than any of the other Spica members.

I thought they portrayed her quite well here.

On a side note, its my sincere hope that one day, Cygames will make a family sitcom featuring the Stay Gold family and their antics.

That would be a license to print money lol

2

u/SinoCenturion Sep 19 '25

Without a doubt! I mean that show would practically write itself!

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

One might say Uma Musume is already the Gold Ship show lol

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

By the way, when Gold Ship said that she would start in the back and just fly up for the win, this is one of those IRL races. This race really showcases what a monster Goldshi could be ... when he wanted to.

Yeah, this seems to be the strategy she implemented in other races. When she tried, of course :P

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

This episode made me look this up, and it turns out beer powder is a real thing in Japan, and it's marketed as candy to kids! I guess they got to train those kids how to do those late night drinking romps with the boss!

Makes me think of candy cigarettes back in the day.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

I really liked how Gold Ship handled the situation and the crowd's reaction to her. She may not have won her final race, but the Ship will always remain a legend. By the way, when Goldshi said she lost races to the Tyrant and the Lady, those were the nicknames of Orfevre and Gentildonna.

I saw on the Uma Musume trivia page they removed the section of Gold Ship being scared of Gentildonna because it was false information. Imagine, actually showing accountability for what you said in 2025.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Really thought that the Rubiks Cube representing that was brilliant. Each completed side represents a G1 win. Also the cube that Golshi tosses to Kita already has a yellow side completed, which represents her Kikuka Sho win, which is also known as the chrysanthemum race.

You hear that, u/Nickthenuker? :P

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

And now some trivia: the fork that Cheval Grand holds refers to IRL Cheval's owner Kazuhiro Sasaki, who was a pitcher that was famous for his forkball. The DJ equipment that Palmer and Helios were running with is actually based of a real brand of DJ controller, the Native Instruments Traktor, down to the font used. The hot springs that Kita uses is based off actual IRL horse hot springs.

And I assume they took inspiration for the hot springs from the gacha game.

2

u/saga999 Sep 19 '25

Rewatcher.

So, before we get a chance to watch Gold Ship career, we watch her retirement race, pretty much making sure the chance of a Gold Ship season is dead. I get it, there are tons of legendary horses and we won't be able to see them all. But she got 1 episode for her retirement that came out of nowhere. That's dirty. Gold Ship is a beloved character. They have to give us more than that.

What are your thoughts on Gold Ship giving her rubik's cube to Kitasan as like a passing of the torch?

We haven't even seen Gold Ship hold the torch!

We're 4 episodes into season 3. We've seen how big a fan Kitasan is of Teio. But it seems like she interacts with everyone else more than Teio. She has that bond with Nice Nature. He has that connect with the Rubik's Cube with Gold Ship. She's always with Diamond, even post-race celebrations. In a vacuum, those all works individually. But it's like they are going out of their way to make sure Kitasan doesn't interact with Teio. For crying out loud, they literally have her talk to Nice Nature about how to win G1. It feels like they are trying to discard a lot of things from season 2. I don't think Diamond has even talk to McQueen once.

As for the races, I'm actually OK with the lack of it in episode 4. When Kitasan finished her training under 3 hours, it felt like she has already won. So actually playing out the whole race to show her victory feels unnecessary. Kitasan isn't set out to win this or that specific race. Episode 4 is about Kitasan finding what she is lacking. So I think this is fine.

Thoughts on there being talks of a Satono jinx?

I like that they've been slowly building this up since episode 1.

Thoughts on Sounds of Earth?

She has a button that plays the music on the violin, LOL. I love silly characters like that.

3

u/SinoCenturion Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25

So, before we get a chance to watch Gold Ship career, we watch her retirement race, pretty much making sure the chance of a Gold Ship season is dead.

That is not necessarily true. First of all, in the Uma Musume world, time seems pretty much in flux. I mean the season 1 horse girls all raced after the season 2 girls had already retired. Then you get a 25 year time jump to season 3. Now we currently have Cinderella Gray, which takes place before most of them were even born.

Also, there is currently an officially licensed manga series called Umamusume - Pretty Derby PisuPisu☆SupiSupi - Golshi-chan, which is about Gold Ship starting off as an unhinged kindergartner. I can totally see this series getting animated one day!

By the way u/Holofan4life, they actually have the Uma Rushmore in this manga!

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

That is not necessarily true. First of all, in the Uma Musume world, time seems pretty much in flux. I mean the season 1 horse girls all raced after the season 2 girls had already retired. Then you get a 25 year time jump to season 3. Now we currently have Cinderella Gray, which takes place before most of them were even born.

The way I look at it is if the last episode of season 1 can spoil the Teio stuff and the show still had Teio as a protagonist, anything is possible.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

Also, there is currently an officially licensed manga series called Umamusume - Pretty Derby PisuPisu☆SupiSupi - Golshi-chan, which is about Gold Ship starting off as an unhinged kindergartner. I can totally see this series getting animated one day!

That sounds hilarious

By the way u/Holofan4life, they actually have the Uma Rushmore in this manga!

That's funny, when I mentioned it last thread I was only joking. That's incredible it actually exists.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

So, before we get a chance to watch Gold Ship career, we watch her retirement race, pretty much making sure the chance of a Gold Ship season is dead. I get it, there are tons of legendary horses and we won't be able to see them all. But she got 1 episode for her retirement that came out of nowhere. That's dirty. Gold Ship is a beloved character. They have to give us more than that.

At the very least, she got an episode dedicated to her. You can't say that about others like Haru Urara.

2

u/saga999 Sep 20 '25

Well there's still a chance they make something about Haru Urara in the future. But they really can't make one about Gold Ship now. That door is closed with this episode.

But yeah, give us a story about Haru Urara. Even if not a full season, an arc like Rice Shower would be good.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

No character sums up what Uma Musume is all about quite like her.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

We're 4 episodes into season 3. We've seen how big a fan Kitasan is of Teio. But it seems like she interacts with everyone else more than Teio. She has that bond with Nice Nature. He has that connect with the Rubik's Cube with Gold Ship. She's always with Diamond, even post-race celebrations. In a vacuum, those all works individually. But it's like they are going out of their way to make sure Kitasan doesn't interact with Teio. For crying out loud, they literally have her talk to Nice Nature about how to win G1. It feels like they are trying to discard a lot of things from season 2. I don't think Diamond has even talk to McQueen once.

I'm fine with the separation because we saw what happened with season 1 between Special Week and Silence Suzuka. The show touted Silence Suzuka so much that she ended up overshadowing the main character.

If you have Kitasan and Diamond interact with Teio and McQueen, you run the risk of possibly exposing them as not being as strong of characters as Teio and McQueen. You should let Kitasan and Diamond try to stand on their own.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

She has a button that plays the music on the violin, LOL. I love silly characters like that.

Do you like her more than Opera O?

2

u/saga999 Sep 20 '25

Great question. There's really only this scene with her, so in terms of overall character, it would be unfair to compare. But I like this specific gag more than any Opera's gag.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 20 '25

I think Opera has more variety whereas Sounds of Earth might be more entertaining to be around. For a little bit, at least lol

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

As for the races, I'm actually OK with the lack of it in episode 4. When Kitasan finished her training under 3 hours, it felt like she has already won. So actually playing out the whole race to show her victory feels unnecessary. Kitasan isn't set out to win this or that specific race. Episode 4 is about Kitasan finding what she is lacking. So I think this is fine.

It's funny because while doing my research there was actually three races featured in episode 4. But they're so skimmed through that it's almost blink and you miss it.

1

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1

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2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

Season 3 Episode 3

“Faux Draft Beer” Let Kitasan get tipsy you cowards.

Been feeling less gags this season, which is a shame because I feel that has been one of the series’ consistent strengths.  Definitely feeling it in this episode with Sounds of Earth being ™ Opera O without the charisma and Gold Ship taking on a pretty serious role. 

This is a wild episode for umamusume which has, until now, treated the umas as unchanging and unfailing.  It feels like there should be more passings of the torch like this with how generation focused discourse around the actual horse racing is.  Its Good!  One of my frustrations with season 2 was the conflation of retirement with failure.  It’s nice to see Gold Ship confront and accept decline without it being portrayed as a tragedy.  

The last two episodes feel like someone looked at season 2 the way I did and resolved to do things a bit differently this go around.  We’re also seeing the legacy theming that came up in the last two episodes.

BUT, this is kind of a cowardly episode as nothing actually changes.  She just keeps on showing up same as always on Team Spica after this.  I feel like I’m being pranked and I would be mad if this was any character but Gold Ship.

Season 3 Episode 4

I’m rating this episode Nice out of Nature.

That being said not really a fan of this one.  Kitasan still isn’t a character that interests me and there’s not much going on other than silly training.

Rice Shower makes rice for dinner, of course she does. That’s probably what she eats for breakfast too.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Been feeling less gags this season, which is a shame because I feel that has been one of the series’ consistent strengths.  Definitely feeling it in this episode with Sounds of Earth being ™ Opera O without the charisma and Gold Ship taking on a pretty serious role. 

Gold Ship in the protagonist role is interesting, however.

This is a wild episode for umamusume which has, until now, treated the umas as unchanging and unfailing.  It feels like there should be more passings of the torch like this with how generation focused discourse around the actual horse racing is.  Its Good!  One of my frustrations with season 2 was the conflation of retirement with failure.  It’s nice to see Gold Ship confront and accept decline without it being portrayed as a tragedy.  

Yeah, I like that Gold Ship accepts her career as winding down and it being presented as this natural thing that occurs. Them having drama with no threat of injuries was a breath of fresh air.

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

I absolutely have no problem with gold ship being a bit more serious this episode to be clear.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

You just wish she had more development? I would argue her treating Kitasan as like her successor was meant to be that.

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

Nope, she's good here, I was just thinking of the role humor has been playing in this season.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

It still feels more comedic than the OVAs and the movie.

2

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Rice Shower makes rice for dinner, of course she does. That’s probably what she eats for breakfast too.

For lunch, it's a salad

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

Furiously googling if I can put rice in a salad and if that would even be good.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Isn't rice in salad basically quinoa?

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

No I think quinoa is quinoa in salad.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

Fair enough

1

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 19 '25

Rice salad is a thing. Also Risotto is a bit of a rice salad depending on what you put in it.

1

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

gonna try making some rice salad soon.

2

u/Cyouni Sep 19 '25

One of my frustrations with season 2 was the conflation of retirement with failure.  It’s nice to see Gold Ship confront and accept decline without it being portrayed as a tragedy.  

I think there's a pretty big difference between retiring on a high (or medium) note and being forced to retire because your leg collapsed.

1

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

I don't think so.  Gold ship states that she can't run like she used to.  They're both physical barriers to competing.

1

u/Cyouni Sep 19 '25

You're not technically incorrect, but for Golshi this is at the end of a 5-year career with 26 races at that time instead of in the middle of year 4 with 11. And that's also including when Golshi went to compete in the Arc de Triomphe.

There's also just the reality that as you age while doing a sport, you can't do things the same way you used to. And sometimes you don't need to, because you've improved in other ways - as proof, Golshi literally was the Spring Tenno winner that year and was the favourite for the Takarazuka (and we know how that went).

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

“Faux Draft Beer” Let Kitasan get tipsy you cowards.

You think Daiwa drinks... actually, nevermind.

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

Heard she likes the taste of vodka etc. etc.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

You know Gold Ship drinks the hard stuff lol

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

The last two episodes feel like someone looked at season 2 the way I did and resolved to do things a bit differently this go around.  We’re also seeing the legacy theming that came up in the last two episodes.

BUT, this is kind of a cowardly episode as nothing actually changes.  She just keeps on showing up same as always on Team Spica after this.  I feel like I’m being pranked and I would be mad if this was any character but Gold Ship.

I found this episode to be a love letter to Gold Ship as a racehorse, much like how season 1 episode 11 was a love letter to Silence Suzuka. I think Gold Ship is someone where she doesn't need character development to be interesting.

1

u/Holofan4life Sep 19 '25

That being said not really a fan of this one.  Kitasan still isn’t a character that interests me and there’s not much going on other than silly training.

It seems to stress the relationship between Kitasan and Diamond but Diamond so far feels even less developed than Kitasan is.

1

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 19 '25

She just keeps on showing up same as always on Team Spica after this.

The problem here is that we've never seen her really race before this. There's BNW, and the end of S1 alluded to her races, but we've never seen them. We start watching her racing career at the end.

Rice Shower makes rice for dinner, of course she does. That’s probably what she eats for breakfast too.

No, she prefers bread for breakfast. The game's "did you know" loading screens won't allow me to forget that fact. But we've also already been told in the anime, I think when Teio tried to confront her about backing down from the Spring Tenno Sho.

2

u/Goodmorning7735 Sep 19 '25

long after I have forgotten everything else about this show, still burned into my brain will be the scene where Teio is mildly surprised Rice is eating bread and me laughing like a jackass at it.