Cactus Matt and I are continuing our joint watch of Uma Musume Pretty Derby and bickering about it. I’m having a lot more fun discussing the show than watching it! In case there’s any doubt Matt is in Bold!
For a second there I thought I wouldn’t have much to say this week but, shiz got real! Real indeed! “First things first I’m the realest” (That’s a bad reference and I feel bad)… You really should….
The episode started off somewhat scattered. I find Spe’s personality a little too inconsistent to truly form a strong connection with her. What do you think Matt? She’s got a lot going on upstairs, despite what you and others might think, I’m fully into Spe-Chan’s arc, even if she spends at least 50% of the show as an observer rather than an active contributor… I can totally relate to that… I’m not saying she’s dumb at all. It’s just that she handles situations erratically. I get she’s under a lot of pressure and tackling some serious situations but is she the type of person to see a setback as motivation to get better or to crumble at every loss? Is she the type to blame herself, others, the universe? So far, she seems to swing from one personality type to another (I’m not saying this is bad) and I haven’t been able to put my finger on the pattern which makes it more difficult for me to relate.
They’re bringing back the eating disorder storyline, Spe is obviously an emotional eater with potential depressive issues, and as weight actually factors in heavily in her running and performance, this could be interesting but it seems way too dramatic for this show, doesn’t it? The weight gain is just to show a horse girl with a cute little pot-belly. I guess that’s a fetish for someone out there??? I don’t think so. They mention it a lot…
Then again, they’re already whitewashing the horrors of horse racing, so they may be able to
make bulimia and anorexia cute too? It seems like a weird direction to go in, for me. Is it common? Everything cute girls do can be fetishised! Wait until ‘women being oppressed by the patriarchy’ can be turned into an anime! Oh wait, it already has, it’s called ‘Darling in the FranXX’! #boom
For the most part, the first half was ok. The little retreat was cute but I was worried about Spe the whole time and then everybody talking about racing with Suzu sent even more warning bells… A storm is coming…
I actually liked the little exchange between the new girl and trainer. It was funny. It’s almost like having trainer being a human being and not a f**king one note pervert makes his character palatable, who would have guessed?!
In all seriousness, though it had been telegraphed for weeks, the lead up to Suzuha’s inevitable injury was really quite suspenseful. I watched that race on the edge of my seat, cringing and half closing my eye with every change in tempo or close up on her feet. Kudos, that’s some great editing there and pretty impressive for this show. Somebody in the cutting room should really do a suspense/thriller type story next. It’s like watching a spectacular car crash only with the knowledge that everyone escaped mostly unharmed, that said, I’m super appreciative that the show finally went there.
Also, the visuals of Suzuha’s pained slow down right after her injury, incredibly reminiscent of an actual injured horse (helped by some great audio cues), where heartbreaking. I found it downright difficult to watch and was relieved when the scene was over. I don’t know, I kinda felt it was ~weird~ that Suzuka kept running even when she clearly sustained an injury, but then again I’m new to Sports anime… that’s right Irina, this is a Sports anime! As much as you’d like to deny the fact!
Tell that to all the CGDCT lovers out there who have told me Sports! Is by far the worst genre and they would never watch it ever. This said, horses at full speed often do that (not so much actual runners as you would see in a sports anime…cough) since they can balance out on the remaining 3 legs better than we can. You seem to know an awful lot about horse racing… I’m not so proud of this but I actually did horseback riding in my youth for years….yup for real….
And everything that followed was truly touching, if a little sad. It’s weird, it’s almost like we’ve reversed opinions on the show post Suzuka’s injury. I thought it was kind of lame, especially that flashback where Special Week rushes onto the track to “save” Suzuka from doing herself a harm, despite the fact that she’s basically limping by the time Spe-Chan catches her in her arms. I don’t know, maybe I’m just too caught up on Gold Ship, she’s best girl now, okay? Haha I know you don’t actually care… I like the other one (the new one – don’t remember her name). Maybe we did. I’m a sucker for sappy stuff, I’ve never hidden that. And I love friendship tropes – they’re a HUGE part of … cough Sports! anime cough…
I really hope they don’t skip over the rehab and just make everything magically all better again. In one episode they’ve drastically changed the tone of the series and set up quite a few more sober obstacles to overcome which I think is quite interesting. I wasn’t expecting such a turn. Considering it took 7 episodes to get to something resembling actual drama, I wouldn’t be surprised if everything is A-O-Kay, next episode. After all, didn’t you see the end credit montage, she got like 15 flower baskets, that’s bound to remedy that fractured foot of hers! Either that or she just spends a couple of episodes in a wheelchair on the sidelines while things go on around her. I did see it!!!! I watch all the way to the end! Proud of me?!
OK, so the show got a lot less cute for cute’s sake and mildly pervy and a lot more sportsy and character driven so I like it a little more and Matt likes it less. For those of you keeping score at home that 3 to no freakin surprise here whatsoever… Hey, I like that it got less pervy too…uh huh (I added this while formatting – Matt didn’t et a chance to see it or respond!)
