Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m thinking we’ll be heading down to the racetrack, and seeing how the training is fairing for Japan’s most accomplished young horse girls. Yep, it’s time for more of the gleefully preposterous Umamusume, wherein young horse girl athletes race to the brink of self-destruction for that golden prize, only to subsequently put on goddamn idol performances. If we are headed for the convergence point of all fandom fascinations, then Umamusume is clearly a key step along the way; combining gacha compulsions with mecha musume-adjacent database dynamics and idol music, the production seems like an absolute fever dream of the modern anime economy, the latest bizarre innovation in media mix commercialism.
It’s also a pretty good show! While I certainly have misgivings about what Umamusume represents, this season has so far offered a reasonably compelling personal drama, digging into the painful anxieties of an athletic career derailed by personal injury. The show has refused to sensationalize its heroine Teio’s troubles, and as a result has been able to effectively sell the painfully mixed feelings of cheering from the sidelines, watching your rivals achieve the dreams your body refuses to grant you. It’s been a rough ride for Teio, so let’s lend her our support as we return to Umamusume!