Umamusume: Cinderella Gray

## Season 1

### Soundtrack

The openings of Umamusume: Cinderella Gray really scream "action" at the viewer. While they may not be my style, I can still recognize that they're pretty good openings.

On the other hand, both of the credits songs are really good. I genuinely didn't expect Oguri Cap's VA to have such a good voice, but I really enjoyed both of the songs. Both of the songs have really good beats and really nice vocals. So good, in fact, that it's hard for me to pick a favorite. I will definitely be adding both of them to my playlist.

The orchestral music is really good, too. I enjoyed the triumphant and intense music that every race brought. It really made them so much better. I love it. My favorite track is the one that I embedded above.

### Thoughts

I think Umamusume: Cinderella Gray is written with one goal in mind: to show the viewer how much fun horse racing is. There is so much love for horse racing that is portrayed in this anime. You see it in the characters, the way they act, the setting, the worldbuilding, and in the art. It's filled to the brim with love that it wants to burst out.

If I had to pick a highlight of an anime this star-studded, I'd have to choose Oguri Cap herself. She is an incredibly endearing character. You see her love for racing develop over the course of the story. Whether it's training, sparring, or racing you always know that Oguri Cap wants to win not because she wants to win, but because she loves racing. Her flow just shines in her dedication and hard work that push her into stardom. Moreover, what makes her incredibly endearing are her more "regular" traits. She's one of the most autistic characters I've witnessed in anime, and it makes for so many funny moments. In terms of umamusume, she's also a very heavy eater. Outside of racing, she's also very lazy in terms of things that aren't important to her. But when it comes to things that are even slightly important to her, she perks up and gets all excited. It's so fun and endearing!!!

One of the main emotional beats of the overarching story is Oguri Cap's rise to stardom. When she was young, Oguri didn't have good legs. But, her mother worked hard so that Oguri could have good legs and race. Because Oguri was shown how exciting racing was and it was all she could think about. It's very emotional seeing the amount of love Oguri's mother has for her. Oguri also loves her very much. She even wears the head ornament that was sent to her. Her rise to stardom from starting in a a middle-of-nowhere regional league is portrayed so emotionally effective. Her journey really moves your heart.

But what makes or breaks an action anime in the end is the action itself. I can't say I've really been that excited to watch racing of any kind, but this anime's heightened reality portrayal of racing is extremely exciting. The races themselves are like fight scenes, the strategy and actions of the umamusume are explained in detail so that the viewer understands what's going on. Of course, that's easy to execute. What makes the races so much more exciting are the stakes. This is where the story comes in to up the ante. You really feel the tension in the air of every race. It only makes it even better in the final few meters when it's not clear who's going to win. It's so good.

Other than the races and Oguri herself, there are also the side characters in the story. Each and every single important character represents so much about the world of racing and competition in general. Maybe it's superfans, rivals, or just opponents. They're portrayed and fleshed out incredibly well. More than that, I think so many of them are endearing. Especially the ones who are closest to Oguri herself, like Belno Light. Oh, let me tell you, I especially enjoyed Oguri and Belno's friendship. The characters are so fun and so are the relationships between them!!!!!!

I can't really speak about the entire story of Cinderella Gray because that would be boring. There are so many plotlines that I enjoyed, so I'll just list off some characters were the center of really good plotlines, which are Jo Kitahara, Tamamo Cross, Super Creek, and more. The stories of the side characters really provide so much needed depth to the racing that it ups the ante even more. I LOVE THIS SHOW.

I will mention the final race, the Arima Kinen, though. The build up of the story up to that point is insane. The Arima Kinen was Tamamo Cross's final race, so Oguri only had one chance to beat her. Oguri also went through like 20 episodes of character development, and also had been struggling in finding "THE ZONE". Of course there were other characters with interesting plotlines, but in the end it was just Oguri vs. Tamamo. The race itself was really intense, having so many moments from the start. Near the end of the race, Tamamo Cross activated her zone, White Lightning. Oguri's standard racing stood no chance. The sequence after is the true emotional climax of the story. Oguri looked back at her journey, her weak legs being treated with her mother's love, her friends at Kasamatsu who showed her how fun racing could be, and then all of the national races she was competing against. She finally realized her answer as to why she races. She didn't want to surpass anyone more but herself. She could finally enter her "zone": Gray Phantom. At the final stretch, they raced like they were kids, with love and passion for racing. In the end, Oguri won and it was such a beautiful emotional payoff. I loved seeing the reactions of everyone who was rooting for her. I almost cried while watching this sequence. Not of sadness, but of joy. I was rooting so hard for Oguri Cap. It shook something in my heart to see someone work and love something so hard and having it pay off. I loved seeing Oguri Cap win the Arima Kinen. BEAUTIFUL. GEM.

Overall, Umamusume: Cinderella gray is my favorite action anime. It's not even close. The action is so interweaved with the emotional core of the story. This is one of the most memorable animes I've watched. There is just so much love for racing that it makes me want to run. Thank you, Oguri. 10/10 GEM-GEM.

Standing up and taking a few steps... That alone was a miracle.