Umamusume: Cinderella Gray, episode 22
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So, Remember the donut eating contest from way back in season 1? It was actually a reference to this race in particular, where Oguri Cap won against Tamamo Cross, and Super Creek got disqualified.
They even got right down to Oguri and Tamamo sharing a hug, truly peak long term story-telling.
I can't believe we were spoiled for Arima Kiren without knowing it.
Note the "33rd Eating Grand Prix" line of commentary... Guess what running of the Arima Kinen this was! One of the many, many little references that are funny on their own but when you get the real world history and what's going on add so much. Love when they put things like that in there.
Love how Inari One is commentating because she hadn't made it onto the scene yet.
thats such wild attention to detail
I mean, even before the CinGray manga was announced, the donut contest scene was meant to be sort of a fan service for the fans of the OG horses.
Edited IRL version of the race with Eng subs for reference (can't find one that is unedited with Eng subs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSQEEinTvTA
LMFAO What a catch! Thank you for linking this video once again, the connection totally makes sense now!
I was rewatching the show after the game came out and I caught up on the manga and this hit me like a ton of bricks. They did this so well.
Yeah when I rewatched that clip from Season 1 I figured it was gonna be a reference to this race given the lineup. Too bad there’s no Arima Kinen Trophy plushie.
That moment actually spoiled the result of this race for me LMAO
Now people will know how the actual sheer quality difference in over 7 years for literally everything in the franchise looks now.
The funny thing is that the spinoffs look better than the main series. But I honestly like the comedy in the main series more.
[removed]
That's so true! That scene is one of my favourites in season 1, and now after this episode I will always see it in a different light.
I see you Cygames, I see you animated Dicta Striker with a dented teeth in the winning live. Why couldn't you glue it back on before going live.
The animation where Dicta Striker go into the Zone and running, the whole sequence, I want to know who animated that, cuz it was so good. Probably one of my favorite part in this episode. Unfortunately, Cygames couldn't get the right for Soccer boy, I would definitely roll for her.
I love this last time talk to their rival before one of them move on moments, it makes you look back when the series starts and how much the MC have grown. Oguri cap really gone a long way, born weak, to winning Arima Kinen, really hit the world like a late Surger.
its probably the same people who did beginning of a new era
It was Sanri Nito. They don't have any credits on New Era, but either that or RTTT is clearly referenced lol
For some reason this makes it way cooler for me
I paused to check if they would animate the broken tooth. Was not disappointed.
Glue?! On horses?! How dare you!
(yes, I know glue can be made from something other than horses, but the words "glue factory" tend to get thrown around in the game fandom so much that it's stuck in my head. like glue)
For people wondering, Super Creek was disqualified for cutting in in front of a speeding-up runner. Ramming side by side is kinda inevitable in packed race but both involving runners can control their speed to avoid it. Cutting and stopping a runner at 60-90 km/h can cause a major crash for everyone behind. Luckily, no-one got hurt in this incident.
A bad example would be this one: Stay Gold moved in front of Narita Top Road and almost killed the jockey. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UlAw09irs88&t=134s&pp=2AGGAZACAQ%3D%3D
Wow, I knew it was considered dangerous, but this really shows exactly why.
Me before watching this: "It's just like overtaking, it shouldn't be that bad."
After watching this: "It's THAT bad."
These start making more sense when you consider these girls are portraying 500kg juggernauts going 70km/h.
From a horse's POV, it looks like an overtake AND a brake check (even though the overtaking horse didn't actually brake, the horse being overtaken might think it did)
I’m pretty sure this is part of the reason why stay gold was known as a terrorist on the race track. He was known for snaking his way around the final stretch which would lead to issues
In Japan Cup episode, it was also mentioned by Roppei that what Obey did was dangerous and risky. Risky as in it might get her disqualified. But the gap was wider enough for her to do so that it doesnt seem dangerous to the other uma behind. Well it still depends on the committee decision ig.
Now I want to see how they depict Stay Gold versus NTR in Umamusume form.
Damn, the terrorist of the tracks had another crime I didn't know about.
Or if you don't die, you'd end up with a critical injury. Ngl Christopher Reeve's accident still haunts me.
Everyone is popping their ults like a open lobby Overwatch game
The average Champions Meeting experience (I got my ass handed quite a few times):
me running my B+/ A ranked umas, while everyone else is A+
"Guess I'll lose"
I had a guy with highrolled triple S umas today, talking maxed speed and stam with good power.
Somehow I won. I would like to apologise, trainer put the time into those umas only for me to fluke out a win 🙇♂️
As good as end closers are especially for long CMs (better last spurt than late surgers while having slightly better stam consumption which is why you dont actually see that many late surgers this CM), they have this tendency called getting blocked and while the recent update helps aleiviate that it still happens
Why end close when you can end it all?
The reason Gold Ship is so Goated is that she will naturally go to the outside after using her unique, making it very unlikely that she will get blocked.
He had a 1200/1200/950 McQueen with angling and scheming, but my Rice Shower was chosen to front run and then hit every gold skill while he hit none so she just blew the whole race away 😅
That Uma must have hit her head at the gate when she ran. Sads
In 6 tickets I only qualified for group A once for this CM. I hate long.
too bad creek's no stopping me! was too late
Domain Expansion clash on the leads
Poor Dicta Striker omg, bro slammed her head into metal, bursted out blood for the whole race, lost the damn race and got gassed out, chipped her tooth, then is hostaged to go keep being athletic in a concert since third place got DQed? Nahhhhhhh we gotta tell Tazuna and Rudolf to do something about these concert regulations
Both Dicta Striker and Super Creek got big Ls today, though that Arima Kinen was a bit wild for Dicta Striker.
Super Creek took a huge L. You could see how devastated she was when she heard she was DQ'd, the animation was on point. No words, just held back tears. It's extra bad for her because she thought she'd placed on the world stage. She would've been up there on the stage with Oguri and Tamamo. Third place in the Arima Kinen is a huge deal, especially for a racer in her classic year. So painful for her.
Props to Dicta for coming in 3rd while bleeding all over the track, though. She probably should have stopped when the blood started pouring into her eye lol.
At least they cleaned up the blood from Dicta Striker's head and clothes before making her sing and dance! :P
But looks like they didn't have time to patch that chipped tooth, lol
Don't look a gift uma in the mouth. :P
I pretty sure they aren't FORCED to do so, I think it's upto them if they are healthy enough to be able to sing and dance in the concert
Yo, YO. This is fucking crazy. I don't think that any fans of the manga can possibly ask for a better adaptation at this point this is absolutely stellar. 3 zones all in this episode and none less hype than the other. People here are talking about Dicta Striker's and for good reason, the animators showed some serious love to her here and I couldn't be happier. Creek being disqualified is real sad here and that just happens sometimes when you want something so bad.
The entire sequence with Oguri finding/explaining her reason for running into the flashback with Tamamo Cross was beautiful and moving. I'm going to miss Tamamo a lot man, but what a great race to send her off on! Then we finally get the pretty derby part of Umamusume with a winning live, I actually didn't expect that either, but it was great too.
10/10 episode legitimately no notes.
Massive props to Dicta Striker for performing the winning live with a chipped tooth.
Probably in absolute agony the entire time with the head injury she sustained as well. Poor girl lmao
Most "fuck it we ball" horse of the race for sure. She's gonna have to sleep it off for a week. She just gonna touch her bed and immediately shut down.
I've known stage dancers, doing performances at holiday resorts, who taped up damaged limbs and even danced while unwell; there's no way Dicta Striker was giving up her spot on such a big stage!
(That's also one of the reasons why Super Creek was so gutted to be disqualified.)
"Hey Dicta Striker, we know that you hit your head, cracked your skull open, lost a lot of blood and broke your tooth but we really need you to perform a winning live right now because 3rd place got DQ'd. Here's your spare racing attire, good luck and get your ass on the stage now!"
She wouldn’t stop even if they tried to stop her. She won that third running like that, no way she’s giving her spotlight up to someone else willingly!
That performance is practically the champagne ceremony of F1 racers for these umas.
"just hit me with some Ibuprofen 'n' I'll be good!"
I 100% believe that they did NOT try to stop her and that she did it because she wanted to
What a beautiful episode.
Oguri entering the zone, the flashback with her mother, the talk with Tama, and on the other hand Dicta Stricker and Super Creek who lost harshly...
this episode gave me chills and hit me right in the feels. I love this anime so much.
Congratulations Oguri.
Considering her horrible start and losing so much blood from bleeding, I thought Dicta Striker was gonna be out of this race, and it was just gonna be Oguri, Tamamo, and Super Creek. It was awesome to see her get into her Zone and tail behind Tamamo.
The fact that Oguri was finally able to break that wall and enter her Zone thanks to thinking about her mom, everyone from Kasamatsu, and even Tamamo was actually really sweet. <3
Welp, so much for Dicta Striker entering the dead heat with Oguri and Tamamo. I guess the blood loss finally caught up to her. Also, for someone who hasn't even unlocked her Zone, Super Creek did well coming in 3rd.
Not gonna lie, the end of the race where Tamamo and Oguri are their own little world watching their younger selves meet had me tearing up a little bit. That was genuinely a beautiful moment.
OGURI DID IT! HER FIRST G1 WIN! If the previous scene made me tear up, the scene after the race where Oguri and Tamamo hug it out definitely made me cry. Goddamn horse girl racing anime making me cry again T_T
Poor Dicta Striker ended up chipping a tooth! I guess that really shows how hard she hit that gate. It really is amazing how she still continued running after that.
Yeah, I kinda saw this coming with Super Creek. As soon as I saw her move diagonally and block that other umamusume, my immediate reaction was "Wait, isn't that illegal?". She could've finished 3rd. :(
I guess that means we won't see her do the Winning Live and she's been replaced by Dicta Striker. I do love that they sing Next Frontier. If I remember correctly, you unlock that song if you win Arima Kinen or one of the Tenno Sho races. And of course, Norn Ace is acting like a proud parent seeing Oguri perform. xD
I’m still not over Norn doing a Chika “I raised that girl” thing.
I agree with Kitahara at the end there. Its REALLY hard to watch with all these tears in my eyes
Oguri and Tamamo off in their little world having a talk had me bawling. God damn I love this show.
Going from the incredibly cute baby Oguri asking if she'd ever run like the Uma on TV straight into the guitar riff of the OP was whiplash and a half lol.
What a good ass episode. Bit of backstory, seeing so many ults popped including Oguri finally breaking into the zone, and getting the first full idol show of CinGray. I've not watched the other seasons of Uma so wasn't sure how crazy they can get and this one was fantastic.
I know we've got one more episode this season but if they don't give us another season of Oguri being an adorable fatty I'm going to be really annoyed.
think its already approved
It is, yeah.
If you liked cingray then you should definitely go watch some of the other uma musume anime. Season 2 and the Beginning of a New Era movie are considered some of the best anime adaptations along with this show, so you can skip to those if you want, but I've enjoyed everything so far
I'm still torn between Cinderella Grey and S2, they're radically different but both so peak. S1 has way more gags and is mostly context/setup do if you're familiar with the franchise you can watch in any order (if you feel so inclined).
Road to the top ONA, Beginning of a New Era movie, and Cinderella Grey are cygamespictures (and look gorgeous), everything else is studio Kai except S1 which I believe is PA works? So the style and direction bounces around a bit
Honestly while i like S2, the focus of it is entirely on the narrative, Cinderella gray has an amazing work on the races on top of the amazing narrative that sometimes watching S2 and even S3 races where the animation got way better it doesn’t hit in the same way and that’s me being biased to my absolute waifu in kitasan. The narrative is fantastic though specially for S2, I didn’t like the way they handled the ‘prime’ in S3.
To be fair, I think that Pretty Derby seasons focus on narrative in the same way the game does. A big aspect of Umamusume is the characterization and dynamics between their huge cast of characters, it's what adds to the charm of the series and what's pivotal to the narrative itself (which is why I'll never dislike the slice-of-life scenes, I find them too comfy), so the Pretty Derby anime is not particularly different from how the game explores this on said note... Which is understandable, considering that one is also meant to advertize the other lol.
yep, i will not be surprised if cinderella gray is one of the contenders for anime of the year, not even glazing LOL
It won anime of the season for spring and has been #1 ranking for fall, it's the favorite for the year at this point honestly
Helps that it's based off one of Japan's most beloved racehorses. Everyone likes Deep Impact or Oguri Cap over there.
Agreed with you, the emotional ups and downs this series just screams anime of the year for me personally.
CinGray is AOTY 2025 and I'm tired of pretending it's not
This episode peaked so hard I’m left speechless
Absolute cinema
Chat....I have a confession..so I've been watching this show, without watching any Uma Musume prior (Season 1-3). I enjoyed the first cour of this show, but even then just casually watching. No interest in trying the game or going back to watch the beginning of the anime.
Downloaded the game, didn't understand the 'choose your own adventure' gameplay/learning curve in the beginning, but once I understood...........now I'm fucking hooked lmao. I'm not spending any money playing, but was enjoying enough that I decided to watch season 1. The 2018 quality was a little discouraging after Cinderella Gray...but shit was still good.
So Uma Musume now has me in a chokehold. Watching this show has a lot more investment now that I know the characters and understand why the story plays out the way it does from the game's direction.
I just needed to admit and accept that I am now a huge fan, tho I was skeptical of horse girl racing in the very beginning of it's existence lmao.
Also....Grey Phantom LFG!!!!!! (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻
Also Also...
I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING! ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽
We got another one lads.
Time for you to watch Season 2! I'm excited for you. Also, in case you didn't already know, /u/holofan4life hosted a rewatch of all the shows (except the youtube shorts) just before this season, and the threads aren't just full of hype and memes, but also contain insights into the real life events the show makes reference to.
Thank you for the shout out. I appreciate it.
Thanks again for hosting the rewatch, which got me into the show and then the game! By the way you're responsible for the drain on my wallet when Tamamo Cross's banner hits next month.
I don't blame you, Tamamo Cross is a great character.
As a Hololive fan
Dammit Kay Yu.
He shared some of the cuts he worked on:
https://x.com/kaynimatic/status/2000269825814454776
Wait hold up the HoloCure guy?!
Yes, the holocure guy. He's always been an animator, with HoloCure as his passion project he does in his free time.
Missus Kay-Yu (Kaela) would be proud.
All I'm thinking is, what the does Maruzen even do in Tracen? What is this thing that she and Rudolph supposedly needs to do?
Oh well. Screen time for the best girl is never a bad thing.
student council stuff, whatever that is
At least one thing they did as Student Council was going around looking for horses to promote to the Twinkle series. Though I dunno how many besides Oguri were called up.
Does Tracen have a Prison?
Making out with Rudolf on the council roomThe real question is what does Mr CB do?? They keep showing her in the intros as one of the menacing three older stars but outside of episode 1 I don’t think she’s appeared at all. Meanwhile Maruzensky acting like Rudolf’s assistant.
Technically speaking, Mr C.B. is not part of the Student Council. She's portrayed as a free-spirited girl that runs whenever and wherever she wants, sometimes even getting into races she isn't supposed to be into. She would probably spend time doing whatever stuff she likes to do instead of being "limited" to that role, hence why she doesn't appear as much alongside Rudolf and Maruzensky (except for specific times) when dealing with technicalities.
It must be added that the reason why Maruzensky is portrayed as Rudolf's assistant in Cinderella Gray is because, chronologically speaking, it isn't the time for Narita Brian and Air Groove, the two actually part of the Student Council, to appear (they debuted respectively in 1994 and 1996, while Cinderella Gray focuses on 1987-1990 events) and Maru is supposed to fill their roles.
Takes care or her beautiful hair
Prevent Rudolf from killing Katsuragi Ace
I guess their position is meant to be like a sporting director sort of role like in football clubs. Managing recuitment of new talents and whatnot
Raising her
sonprotoge, Sakura Chiyono O.Who got the Supra Mk3 after winning the Derby
She needs somewhere to drive her Countach
Probably helps Rudolf scout runners for the national races and some admin stuff i'd guess. Or just stands around and looks cool, which she is, the coolest of the cool.
Student council, it make not look like but for a long time their principal or director Akikawa is not in academy and whenever she is not there Student Council has to work as main body for academy so whatever work releated to academy and it's student is done by them
Not to mention Ruldolf has a whole baby Tokai Teio to take care of at home lol.
I like that Super Creek's power focuses more on wits, while the others are more about running really fast. Looking forward to her future race against Oguri.
My favorite Creek detail is her long stride running-style being reflected in the rhythm of the sound effects and even the camera shake during close-ups, the attention to detail is incredible.
I feel so bad for Creek, but I know they had to depict the disqualification somehow. I guess no one is immune to lapses in split-second judgment from the exhaustion at the end of the race, no matter how cute the doodles are.
Dicta Striker getting animated like she was in the movie for the bullet shot was AWESOME.
Also NEXT FRONTIER
One of the best episodes of the series in my opinion, this was great. Brilliant voice acting, awesome animation (especially for the the three different zones popping up in a single race), just great stuff all around.
Seeing Oguri finally hit the zone after all this time was awesome especially with the little glimpses of her as a child was soo worth the wait, it was executed so well. Getting to see one of the idol performances as well was fun : )
Feel bad for both Striker and Creek, especially the former, my girl was battered all over the place in this race. Hits the gate, bleeds the entire race, runs out of stamina at the very moment she gets to take Oguri on for real and then loses a damn tooth at the end.
And you're telling me she has to perform a Winning Live after that.....man
Dicta Striker: "Good thing that Winning Live seems to reserved to the Top 3, so I gonna sit on that one and rest after bleeding this whole damn race"
URA: "Super Creek got disqualified for dangerous behaviour during the race, so now YOU ARE 3rd place, so go wash your face and get on that stage"
Dicta's face after hearing that
That grey phantom graphic gave me the chills.
OGURI PEAK.
I'm actually surprised this isn't the season finale.
One more to go?
epilogue and setup for season 2, im actually genuinely curious on what theyll cover because of the 1 ep length
That final shot of girls running on dirt.
There's only one reason they'd show that as a next episode teaser...
Its the end teaser for like the kasamatsu arc so theyve used that before but very interesting i guess its back to the boonies indeed lol
They’ll probably end it during Inari ones introduction
Dicta's final push into the zone was so insanely animated it blows my mind. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Big credits to @nito_sannri who did the key frames for it; https://x.com/nito_sannri/status/2000117787881337273
CygamesPictures really has some of the best animators and gives those animators the space to work on great things.
Also, a bit shoutout to everyone working on the OST. The songs are not only really good on their own, but they also change and mix the songs depending on what is happening in the race. This is my favorite OST of the year.
It’s kind of crazy that they went all out on the animation for the fourth best Uma in the race but I respect it. Dicta Striker had a great zone and deserves the attention.
An "unofficial" Uma at that. So happy they are going the extra mile even for an Uma you can't pull. Dicta Striker is so cool.
When Tamamo Cross started to talk about the Spring Tenno Sho and other races a part of me was like “maybe she’s actually not retiring!” But it was not meant to be, at least Oguri and Tama have made their peace with it.
It’s crazy that they had such an intense rivalry over only three races, but there was a lot of baggage brought into every race and all of them were incredible races in themselves. It reminds me of how Grass Wonder and Special Week only ran together twice but it was enough to cement a big rivalry.
It’s really simply but Oguri realizing the one she wants to surpass is herself is a really powerful moment. Up until now, everyone she’s raced against has been striving to compete against the best. But it isn’t enough for Oguri to be close to the best or the same as them, she has to imagine a version of herself that can surpass everyone else, and break all the limits keeping her from getting there. Especially now that she’s already at the peak of Umamusume racing.
It's amusing how Tamamo's power-up doesn't look too weird given what everyone else wears for a race.
Dunbine's OP starts playing
"I just wanted to run with you."
kittehs
HERE WE GO
things to be careful about how you've illustrated them
Character vs. self
There it is.
Slight mood swing.
"Awwwwww."
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
The rules rear up again!
Definitely Mom Norn.
Ah, Belno acknowledgement.
The good ol' Winning Live like we haven't had it in a while, featuring snaggletooth Striker.
I liked how the final stretch turned into a flashback run for Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross. Changed things up after the usual string of power-ups from everyone. But rivals and friends now.
Super Creek's DQ is a proper follow-up to that issue coming up earlier in the season. Was maybe unexpectedly officious.
Finally the Winning Live as another recalled moment from earlier to close out a long second act. An adaptation moving at a solid pace.
God I love Dicta Striker, this goober's zone sounds like Metal Slug and she runs like a Final Fantasy character.
Yeah Oguri Cap, go ahead and cheat on Fujimasa March with Tamamo Cross while the former is literally watching you from the audience. I bet she doesn't even care anymore.
Nahh Oguri has two hands precisely for that. I guess Belno will take the tail
So Norn Ace gets the tummy and Symboli Rudolf gets the lips
We missing anyone?
What a way to end the race it was peak indeed.
Hell yea NEXT FRONTIER live, truly the song to cap off the Arima Kinen after doing so many careers.
Absolutely love how they portrayed the dynamic and how the final battle with Tamamo Cross was not just an intense run, but two kids having fun until the end.
You know Oguri has this race in the bag when it's her turn to have the childhood flashback at the pivotal moment.
Perfect episode, beautiful character animation, it's peak.
At the end Next Frontier is something that I wasn't expecting.
Anyhow when will we get Cingray version of Umapyoi, ft. Oguri Cap, Tamamo Cross, Kitahara Jo, Roppei and Belno Light.
Hopefully at the end of the next episode, since it's the final ep of the season as per tradition. With the release of Koeru ft. Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross, Cin Grey even has the 'op sung by the umas' part settled too.
Konishi-kun singing Uma🅱️yoi Legends would be mega
You unlock Next Frontier when you beat the Arima Kinen (or either Emperor's Prize)
NEXT FRONTIER OMG
Was anyone else rlly emotional when they showed Oguri Cap as a kid. I can't tell if it's bc it's cute or sad for me or both
It gives off the tragic trope of a kid going "Can I do that one day?" when they obviously couldn't given their circumstance. Usually the mother would hug the kid while crying, maybe apologizing. So it's set up to be a bittersweet setting, but us knowing that she actually reaches that peak overwhelms us with pride. Along with the subversion of the trope where the mother never gave up on Oguri
REF, DO SOMETHING😭 everyone busting out ults like an open queue match in Overwatch 2
This show is a top 3 anime to have come out in 2025 , so good every episode
This truly was the year of UMA's.
Dicta Striker still making time and pushing through the pain to participate in the winning live, umazing.
Sad about Creek getting disqualified, I still find it cool how the series references IRL race events. Wish we would see Tamamo Cross race Oguri again.
Now I need to pull Tama once she hits global to reunite her with Oguri
Wait, this was an idol anime all along?
I always find so funny when someone is "making their move" and everyone's like "Oh they're going so fast, they're leaving everyone else in the dust" and they make it seem like they're going 3x he speed of everyone else and just moved like 50ft ahead (position-wise) and all that, then they pan out to show the whole pack and they just moved like 3ft ahead haha.
But anyways that aside that was an amazing episode, honestly can't believe how much I've come to enjoy the series as a whole, season's not even over yet and I already can't wait for S2.
To be fair, it actually makes sense. From our perspective it may seem like it's "just" them speeding up a little bit, but THAT "little bit" is actually something very strenuous on their bodies, let alone when you have to keep the pace in a long distance race and when horses/Umas can reach a maximum velocity of 70 km/h. It's about endurance and power, and even being able to move 3ft ahead is something that can be worth to win.
It definitely makes sense logically and in terms of actual race mechanics, but it’s a funny side effect of how they have to depict things in an anime. The races are stretched out like 6x their actual duration so when Tamamo is speeding up at an incredible rate it feels like it lasts a long time but it’s really just meant to highlight something that happens in a matter of seconds.
Like how the final 200m of every race lasts 15 minutes.
Agreed, as you said, it's depicted from an anime lense and, therefore, will tend to do... Well, "anime things" lol. They're meant to "exagerrate" or "hype up" many little dynamics and interactions, and they already did something similar with Michelle "smashing" onto Oguri during the Japan Cup.
It reminds of the Fujiwara Zone in Initial D, where some people genuinely thought that Fujiwara somehow obtained the power of teletrasportation, but it was simply a visual effect to showcase how fast the AE86 would accelerate to the point of seemingly "vanish" from the opponent's eye (and, similarly to Umas here, Takumi would also enter into a state of absolute concentration when handling the 86).
You should check out some YouTube videos of like TM Opera O winning the satsuki sho(irl horse racing). I watched road to the top anime and it seemed a little exaggerated. Then I watched the real race and that horse really just zoomed up out of nowhere.
I expected childhood flashbacks, but I thought they'd run them through most of the episode and save the rest of the race for the final one.
And Dicta? Damn, I thought she'd be basically out of the race, but she was still very much in the game.
Is this the first time we got a post-race disqualification on screen? I don't remember this happening before. I mean, I understand that idol concerts are more important...
The bullet shot sound when Dicta triggers her Zone is really nice.
I'm so ready for the idol haters to crash out over NEXT FRONTIER.
Absolute Cinema of an Episode
Finally, a real winning live, and Dicta Striker is still missing a tooth during it lmao
Dicta Striker stole the show.
I’m glad I got into Umas this year because that was some peak animation. Reminds me of S1 Blue Lock feelings where everyone was getting hyped from each other.
Man, I feel bad for Creek. I loved the detail that her trainer immediately recognized the foul though. This show's great for little things like that
Dicta's so cool.
This is fine.
When you ult so hard, you both end up in another dimension.
oh yeah, this is an idol anime.
I cried tears of joy. Oguri really deserved this win!
Dicta losing her tooth was hilarious!
Most of the animation budget goes to Dicta Striker instead of Oguri in this episode lol.
Tho my most fav moment is the race between tama and oguri right before the finish line and after the soul talk stuff. The animation and running sounds is really great there and they didn't add any of the zone effects and sounds which made it looks really nice and grounded
OK, watching the episode at the middle of the racecourse surely felt very different, especially when it’s a G1 race day. First of all, congratulations to Sosie, Ka Ying Rising, Voyage Bubble, Romantic Warrior and their respective connections for winning the Hong Kong International Races, and of course to Soul Rush for his retirement. True fighters, fighting for the glory of a G1 title, perhaps it’s also the reason why runners tend to use the power of “the zone” in these races, just like that fateful Arima Kinen.
If you ask me, how to describe the episode in a single word, I would most likely say “kawaii”. I mean, just how cute they are when they are young, and of course, Nase’s drawing are (as stated by Creek).
But on the other hand, I might also use the word “explosive” to describe it, auras exploding, “zones” colliding, everyone giving out everything in the race, and some even awarded themselves a trip to the doctor and dentist, or worse still, the stewards room for their actions mid race. In some “sub-newtype” conversations, it all ended in Oguri’s favor and the 2 gray horses, once never considered to be fast, embraced each other as the top 2 finishers.
And most importantly, they give us what we want, a winning live (full version too!!!), a perfect wrap up to the first era of Oguri’s journey in the central races, just look at her massive improvement in dancing mare, surely many things had changed, old friends reunited, new classmates met, new rivals conceded their defeat, and now, as Rudolf has said, a new era begins. The era of the gray monster.
BTW did Oguri and Tamamo really met in childhood? I think in that area created by the zone, it’s all up to interpretation.
They should imo, that scene is right after Tamamo mom got rejected by the apartment where Oguri lives, in Tamamo flashbacks few episodes ago we saw when she got drag by her mom. Oguri mom saw it from her windows. It's possible Oguri is playing somewhere nearby outside the apartment
Peak... peak... peak.
Hugs for Ogurihaha. You did good, mom. Real good. 🥹
This was cap, as in peak. Also, new winning live song animated! This was our first animated Next Frontier!
Fantastic climax for the show today. Oguri breaking through, those shots of her and Tamamo just having fun running together, that hug at the end, a perfect episode.
Really good choice to have this race get the full Winning Live treatment, though maybe they always do that for the big climax race each season.
All that huggin' and cryin' after the race. It's peak, I'm afraid.
I loved the rivalry between Tamamo and Oguri. They were competitive but still respected each other and took their Ls with grace. It is also telling that before the race starts Oguri kinda lashed out against Tamamo, saying she has stopped having her as a goal because at that point Oguri is just kinda tired of losing and is upset that this is the last time she is gonna race against Tamamo so if she cannot surpass her now, she will NEVER be able to and no matter what she accomplishes later the history will forever write that Oguri Cap has never beaten Tamamo Cross despite multiple races. But after the race is over, despite the fact that Oguri has won and thus technically does not have to have Tamamo as a goal anymore she still respectfully apologizes and gives Tamamo the respect she deserves as a true rival and friend
Man I cried, I really have a soft spot for afflictions from birth so Oguri’s motivation was already enough for me. Really running is a gift that practically nobody knows they had, I haven’t ran myself since childhood and never will. Loved seeing one overcoming it, such a simple yet elemental story that is rarely done. My AotY for sure.
Keep running, Oguri!
Dicta "no problem" Striker, was in fact experiencing big problems 🥲
I was half waiting for super creek to get into the zone as well
We did see her eyes glow blue, kind of like how Oguri's eyes were leaking the initial part of her zone in the Japan Cup.
And then her moment when she realized she couldn't catch up to Oguri/Tama seemed to almost exactly mimic Oguri's similar moment in the Japan Cup.
The Zone aura tends to be from physical breakthroughs, surpassing a limit for a surge of speed or power. Since Creek's advantage is her physical/mental composure and endurance, seems like it manifests differently as simply a fire in her eye, representing both her wisdom and her determination just like the usual Zone would
Dicta Striker is definitely showing the physical endurance of uma musume that's for sure.
Hit head while accelerating quickly, lose massive amounts of blood, go zone mode and accelerate even more. Do all of this in 1.5 times your best distance aptitude. After everything is done sing and dance on stage.
Peak physical endurance right there.
Reminder that Dicta's best aptitude is not long, it is mile, which makes her more scary
Man, this was a truly fantastic episode.
As a side note, showing the epithets when the girls reach the zone reminded me of the team leaders and boss racers/wanderers from Tokyo Xtreme Racer.
Hell yeah TXR mentioned. I havent played the new one but TXR3 was so peak with the boss auras and stuff like that. Genki themselves also made a JRA horse racing management game themselves albeit its quite niche and JP-only (G1 Grand Prix on the 3DS)
Further proof Oguri is best horse. The only downside to this season ending is now I need to go buy all the manga. I need more Oguri in my life.
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That's why she's my favorite UMA!!!
Oguri 🧢 (as in 🏔️)
FINALLY SOME IDOL STUFF
Tamamo’s got it regardless?
Oh shit, Dicta’s still in this!
Is it time for Oguri to finally break into the Zone?
Aw, smol Oguri a cute.
She’s got it!
Damn, guess that’s it for Dicta…
Awwwww
Oguri!!!
Aw…
Damn, Dicta broke a tooth too…
Oh… shit.
Nice Winning Concert!
Komiyama “sore demo”!
Who the fuck at Tracen hates Dicta Striker so much that they made her perform an idol dance while nursing a concussion
Twinkle Series didn't have a concussion protocol back then.
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God the scene with Oguri and Tama as kids made me tear up. I love this anime...
This isn’t a race, this is a hunt.
Through the power of anime flashback, I summon last second powerup!
Damn, given the explanation of the zone increasing fatigue, that might have worsened Dicta’s injury and been what took her out of the race.
Oh no, poor Super Creek. Disqualified from one of the year’s biggest races and the first two so close yet so far out of reach. I’m so sorry for not being able to root for you this time, I hope you’ll have better luck in future races.
The callback to the apartment, the ending theme and their hug after the race is so cute.
I just realized I forgot to even say that Oguri won. YEAH, VICTORY AT LAST!
Good on Musaka for giving Belno credit for her hard work as well.
Oguri had the protagonist buff this week and unlocked her Gray Phantom Zone (I mean it is historically accurate tbf) but the real show-stealer for me was that sequence of Tama blitzing past everyone, that ost gave me goosebumps.
The kenji kawai ost makes the show for me tbh, it's hard to imagine these awesome moments without them
OST release when!???? I'm begging!
Cinderella Gray Original Soundtrack Release on 24 Dec 2025
Lmao poor Dicta Striker. She cracks her head open on the starting gate hard enough to leave a dent in the steel, spends the whole race badly concussed and spewing copious amounts of blood everywhere, her recurring leg injury returns with devasting consequences, her tooth falls out; then the organisers still throw her onto the stage immediately to dance a complex music number. Give the poor Uma a break!
Lovely episode as always, but the idol elements as always remain a little absurd.
I don't think she had problems with her leg, she just was too drained to maintain the zone enough to catch up to Oguri and Tamamo
She is a miler. Races she runs are usually almost 1 km shorter, so it's no surprise she go gassed.
Yeah, if anything - for Dicta the Arima level distance already supposed to be struggle to begin with to manage stamina and not get completely out of gas because she is mile runner - compared to Oguri/Tamamo, who are just ran on Japan Cup, which is nearly similar length to Arima - or Creek who is the already known stayer as winner of Kikuka-sho.
Getting 4th place, especially after crazy gate crashout at beginning, and then still getting to podium after Creek got disqualified for dangerous lane breaking, was just the sheer craziness.
Is this the first time a non officially named uma musume having a vocalized performance in a winning live?
Nah, S3 had that in Kitasan's final race too. It's Calling, the stand-in for Queens Ring finished 2nd while Cheval Grand finished 3rd, and all three of them performed the Winning Live together. That was also an Arima Kinen Winning Live, come to think of it.
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I was really hoping Oguri would win without entering the zone. Would be so on par to win through sheer force. But the zone is basically their ults in a way so it kinda was obvious they were gonna have her activate triumphant pulse.
I was holding back, but at the end of the conversation between Oguri and Tamamo in that mental space (?), Roppei's words in the last stretch of the race, the soundtrack, the sound effects focused only on the runners, the expressions on both their faces.
By the time the hug happened, I couldn't hold back any longer and started crying.
Without a doubt, for me, this is the anime of the year.
Now, I think I'll have to ask the question that everyone is wondering:
Will Cinderella Gray also have Umapyoi Densetsu as the final ending theme song for the season?