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A pulse-pounding underdog story that races from quiet country courses to roaring G1 grandstands — this series nails the electric atmosphere of competition while not shying away with its heartfelt storytelling and strategic cuts that keep every finish line feeling fresh.
Story - 9.9/10 'Umamusume: Cinderella Gray' has been one of my fastest growing series entry into my favorites. It is truly incredible just how atmospherically perfect this series is, and I don't see it being dethroned as one of the best series to depict the feeling of sports events. I was initially thinking to push this series onto a later start, because I've yet to catch up with the whole series, but I'm so grateful I didn't. This series perfectly encapsulates what it means to make a sports series good. No generic writing whatsoever, pure unhinged energy, great venue atmosphere, well done and spaced inner monologues, all of these elements are not even scraping the surface for what Umamusume manages to achieve for the sports genre.When it comes to straight up storytelling, this series follows an underdog story, the story of one of the characters I found most appealing in the Umamusume space (from what I managed to watch ofc), with a narrative really well though out, with rewarding arcs that genuinely are so well paced for how much they actually pack. And while Oguri Cap is by far a beast in this series, making for this underdog story to feel really one sided, it actually just isn't like that at all. There are many cuts that make this series so much more grounded, with the most relevant being her lockout from the Japanese Derby, an episode that made me realize just how well done this story is.
One thing to note is that, this is the only Umamusume story to source from a manga, as far as I'm aware, which to me felt like the best way to make this story to the level that it is at. Other cuts being anime originals, lacked the storytelling aspect for this series, which made for this one in particular to have a lot more depth and creativity behind it. Even before the atmosphere was great, but now, united with the amazing storytelling, you have some of the best showcase in the genre, hands down.
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I do actually want to make justice to just how amazing the atmosphere is so here goes a list of every detail that I managed to surprise that made me fascinated with this entry. So the series does start of in Kasamatsu, a countryside, the place where the atmosphere was the lowest, but not less detailed. Due to being a rural zone, we do see the atmosphere drop, we have lower quality tracks, less people attending, smaller venues, no commentary, not as many reporter camera shots, all of those elements contribute so much. You can clearly see much closer interaction from the racers with the community for the sole reason that there is just less chaos, the ending performance platform is lower budget, closer to the people. The camera shots during the races are less common because of the lack in popularity at this level, a much larger knowledge of players around the countryside, you see things much different from the city, and it makes sense.
Moving into the big leagues, is where the atmosphere shines the most though, first of you get booth commentary, something that has elevated this series so much in my opinion, good commentary always elevates a competition. Larger venues, as well as higher spectator counts, more camera angles as I mentioned, reporters having a bigger impact on stories, match strategies before, after or even during the races. Photo-finishes and just more dynamic shots in the animation. There are also the differences between rated and unrated races, some of those being the raceware for G1 races, having special uniforms, stage introductions, the status of the people attending those venues. I feel like I could go on for days writing about how well depicted the atmosphere is in and outside of the races.
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Characters - 9.7/10 Characters are a big deal in the Umamusume space, having hundreds of well designed characters, some being more relevant than the others, but never shying on details and uniqueness. In 'Cinderella Gray' we have our female lead Oguri Cap, a strong one, gifted runner with a passion for the sports and a competition fiend. Many of the prominent characters are either close to Oguri's circle or straight one on one competition, those being either March who was a lighter opponent but her first ever competition, a character dynamic that holds strong even when they part ways in levels. And Tamamo Cross, a racer that has been hyped the whole series, having incredible presence, being both a top runner and someone that has been observing Oguri during her uprise. Tamamo has been one of the characters that built the most hype around her arc, and even when her arc came around her depth and just pure energy went even higher, an amazing competitor for Oguri in the big leagues as well as a really well built up character... She is a lively character but serious and strategic one as well, something that was surfaced by the dynamic between those two. But, circling back to Oguri Cap, outside of racing quality, her personality is really good, she is on the clueless side, being easily distracted by anything in the outside world, creating a subtle comedic space around her, from the pure curiosity this character brings out. There is also the hilarious eating habit that she has, and we've seen this even in some background content in previous series, another great thing Umamusume does, the inside jokes that continue throughout spin-offs. Oguri is an outstanding character from both the competitor standpoint as well as the personality traits she has that create some really amazing comedic direction around her. 
#####Symboli Rudolf also makes an appearance in this entry, one that has incredible impact on everything about Oguri's future, she is singlehandedly dictating a lot of the choices around her, either being directly involved or just having an influence across the board. A character I found somewhat let down was Berno, she is Oguri's best friend, which is sweet in a lot of moments, the only issue with her character is the narrative around her, from her being a mediocre runner in the countryside to having the ability to transfer higher into the big city along Oguri, while she clearly doesn't have the level to compete on such scales. We are also never really informed of her performances after the transfer, which makes her, as good as she is overall, have a low level of depth.
Both trainers are amazing, and the fact that they are related adds a great element to the storytelling. From the lower leagues under Kitahara who is less knowledgeable and experienced, having to rely more often than not on Oguri's talent and having less room to actually improve her strategic thinking due to his inexperience, to training under Kitahara's uncle, Musaka, who has been in the business for some time, being experienced on top level races, we get to see a lot more of a strategic approach both during the races, but also when choosing what races Oguri runs. And one thing I found amazing about Kitahara was the dedication he had, also the shots showing him learning and progressing his way towards achieving a higher certification to be able to train Oguri again. The dynamic between this whole trio was amazing, as well as the vastly different attitudes Oguri had towards both of them, being a lot more direct and focused around Musaka, while in the presence of Kitahara she was a lot more curious, lively and passionate.
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Visuals - 9.2/10 When it comes to visuals, a standout for this season is by far the dynamic animation present during races. The quality is high effort, having some really intense cuts, and great fluid animation every time. Those moments also surprise the most use of CGI, and while it's for the most part really well done, there are some minor issues with it. There are obvious scenes were the CGI looks iffy or just a little out of place, but, for most people this would really not be an issue to be concerned by, and it still is really impressive as we do get fully animated competitions almost every episode, making for those nitpicks to be quite irrelevant in comparison with the bigger picture. This series has detailed backgrounds and really beautiful scenery, and while that is not the main focus of the show, they do not shy away even for the slice of life segments.Another important aspect of the series is the character design, this is an element that has been present in Umamusume even from its first seasons. They have really good designs and rarely ever show characters in the Umamusume world that lack a unique character look. Of course it's not perfect, but, as I said before for how much this series is trying to do, I'm more than happy to skim over some of those smaller aspects. It is clear that Cygames has put a lot of effort into this franchise which is more important sometimes than achieving perfect animation without any creative direction.
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Closing Notes To close this off, I feel like Umamusume, in general not only this spin-off, is a must watch for anyone that is interested in sports. Yes, this is horse-girl racing, an odd concept even for me at first, but it is just so well done on so many levels. And another thing to consider is that not all entries have the same story, we can clearly see that with this one as well. We are set in the same world, around the same facilities and competitions, yet each story feels unique, some better than other, but you can always find something to resonate with. But to me, the pure atmosphere of this series is a big draw and something that should not be missed. This series in particular follows an amazing protagonist and some really fun characters, along with the flawless narrative it has. A great entry into the Umamusume space and a standout in the sports genre, a show that will keep you wanting more every episode, with crazy cliffhangers, intense moments, and even heartwarming ones. Enjoyment Level - 10/10 Favorite Character - Oguri Cap Favorite Episode - Episode 9 ‘The Japanese Derby’
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