History Anime / UmaMusume

* AmbiguouslyRelated: [=McQueen=], Ryan, Dober, and Ryan are all part of the Mejiro family. But it's unknown if they are siblings or cousins.

* UnrelatedInTheAdaptation: A large majority of the horse girls are not related give their young appearance. However, they do have some type of strong ties to one another.

* RelatedInTheAdaptation: {{Zigzagged}}, in most cases. Horses related in real life are probably not related in the anime, but behave, to a varying degree, like they are.
** Mejiro [=McQueen=] was the grandsire of Gold Ship, but the two are unrelated friends in the series. Gold Ship is instead a LovingBully always seeking [=McQueen=]'s attention.
** Maruzensky was the grandsire of Special Week, but the two are unrelated in the series. Instead, they merely have a friendly interaction.
** Symboli Rudolf was the sire of Tokai Teio. In the series, Tokai Teio looks up to Rudolf, and is driven to prove herself by surpassing her idol, while Rudolf patronizes Teio benevolently, even saying "I guess you're growing" in Episode 10.
** ''Many'' of the actual horses were related to each other, being descendants of the [[ReallyGetsAround prolific]] "sire of sires" Silence Sunday. Among his descendants were Special Week (son), Silence Suzuka (son), Fuji Kiseki (son), and Gold Ship (grandson). None of these characters are related in the series.
** Played straight with the Mejiros. Both Mejiro Ryan and Mejiro Dober[[note]]Ryan and Dober are related in real life - Dober is the daughter of Ryan[[/note]] are related to [=McQueen=]. And because the Mejiros are a well known family name, that implies that every known racehorse with Mejiro in there name are related in the show.
** To be precise, Mejiro Ryan and Mejiro [=McQueen=] ''are'' somewhat related in RealLife. A mare named Cheryl is the dam of Ryan's dam and of [=McQueen=]'s sire. When [=McQueen=] asks Ryan not to tell "grandmother" about something, this might mean that Cheryl exists in the world. But the dialogue does imply that Mejiro is an outright family name.

* EvolvingCredits: The ending credits for the second season closes with a shot of a young Tokai Teio chasing after Symboli Rudolf, representing how the latter is a distant and lofty goal made by a child. Following Episode 6, which has a heart-to-heart talk with Mejiro [=McQueen=] where she and Teio reaffirm their FriendlyRivalry, the closing shot is replaced by that scene, representing how [=McQueen=] is providing a more mature Teio with a realistic and sensible goal.

* AmbiguouslyRelated: {{McQueen}}, Ryan, Dober, and Ryan are all part of the Mejiro family. But it's unknown if they are siblings or cousins.

* BalloonBelly: Special Week, who ended up eating a little too much after a victory in episode 3. Only it comes back to bite her as her derby-uniform's skirt no longer seem to fit despite losing most of the weight beforehand.

* BagOfKidnapping: Gold Ship, Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka use one to bring Special Week to their team.

%%* ForegoneConclusion: In season 2, Tokai Teio wants to win the Triple Crown undefeated like Symboli Rudolf. [[spoiler: It be for naught since the real Tokai never achieved it]].

%%* ForgoneConclusion: In season 2, Tokai Teio wants to win the Triple Crown undefeated like Symboli Rudolf. [[spoiler: It be for naught since the real Tokai never achieved it]].

On December 15, 2018, it was announced that the spinoff 4-koma Manga ''Umayon'' will be getting an anime adaptation, with it first airing on July 7, 2020. A second season was later confirmed in September 2020, and began airing in January 4 2021.

On December 15, 2018, it was announced that the spinoff 4-koma Manga ''Umayon'' will be getting an anime adaptation, with it first airing on July 7, 2020. A second season was later confirmed in September 2020, and began airing in January 4 2021. The second season focuses on Tokai Teio instead of Special Week.

On December 15, 2018, it was announced that the spinoff 4-koma Manga ''Umayon'' will be getting an anime adaptation, with it first airing on July 7, 2020. A second season was later confirmed in September 2020, with plans to air in 2021.

On December 15, 2018, it was announced that the spinoff 4-koma Manga ''Umayon'' will be getting an anime adaptation, with it first airing on July 7, 2020.

* AsHerself: the regular second commentator/analyst during the anime races is Junko Hosoe, a past jockey who is now a real life racing analyst (so her role is similar to NewscasterCameo). She has a [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B4%B0%E6%B1%9F%E7%B4%94%E5%AD%90 page in Japanese Wikipedia]]. She is voicing herself and is duly credited.

** Special Week. She has a giant box filled with carrots and eats so much that she gets a BalloonBelly. In fact, when on a diet, she is noticed by another to have less rice then normal even though it was still a big serving.
** Oguri Cap wins an EatingContest without really trying. And in a later scene, ''she's going for more!''

* EatingContest: There is one in Episode 6, with three participants. (For added fun, it references a RealLife ''horse race'').

* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: When the horse girls from the Rigil team dress up as butlers and set up a cafe, women of all ages come swooning. A lady even ''faints'' for Pete's sake.

* EyeScream: Every time Gold Ship tries to compete over something with Mejiro [=MacQueen=], she gets hit in the eye. In Episode 9, she gets GenreSavvy and [[spoiler:wears a helmet with an eye shield]] before attempting a prank.

* FragileSpeedster: Horse Girls are ''incredibly'' fast, mentioned to be capable of running 70 km/hour. However, it's ''also'' mentioned that a fall while running could actually ''kill'' a Horse Girl. This is TruthInTelevision, as Thoroughbreds are known for being incredibly fast at the cost of being more fragile. [[spoiler: Silence Suzuka breaks her leg mid-race, from the strain of running at top speed]].

* GenderFlip: A lot of the real life racehorses that the characters are based on, including [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Week Special Week]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_Suzuka Silence Suzuka]] are actually stallions.

* HereWeGoAgain: [[spoiler: The series begins and ends with a NaiveNewcomer watching a Winning Concert,and getting felt up when Trainer tries to scout her]].

On December 15, 2018, it was announced that the spinoff 4-koma Manga ''Umayon'' will be getting an anime adaptation, but no specific date was announced.

!! Tropes:

* ATasteOfDefeat:
** [[spoiler:Special Week]] experiences this in episode 3.
** [[spoiler:El Condor Pasa loses against Silence Suzuka]] in episode 6.

* CastOfPersonifications: Played totally straight as the entire premise.

* ManlyTears: Trainer-san (and much of the audience) in Episode 11 [[spoiler: when Suzuka returns to racing]].

* ShipTease: A staple of this anime. Special Week/Silent Suzuka is closest, but also a few others.

* ThePowerOfFriendship: [[spoiler: Special Week saving Suzuka from possible death]] in Episode 7. In RealLife, [[spoiler:Silence Suzuka was hurt so much he had to be put down. If fate of horsegirls in the anime world is tied to that of the horses in our world, then that scene is "power of friendship, or of love, [[ScrewDestiny defeats fate itself]]".]]
* TheRival: So many that it be easier to mention those who aren't rivals. Pretty much anytime a horsegirl pulls off an impressive win, the loser will see them as a rival.

* SiblingRivalry: Both Narita Brian and Biwa Hayahide are sisters who consider each other as rivals. It's treated as a way for the two to be closer to one another.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: the racing history in this anime generally follows the Japanese 1998 and 1999 horse racing seasons, though not without significant deviations. See the [[ShoutOut/UmaMusume ShoutOut page]] for details.
* WorldBuilding: Sometimes the anime gives a lot of attention to detail of horse girl life as different from ordinary humans. Notably, horse girls prefer old-style telephones with big handsets - they can hold the ear piece to the horse ear while the microphone is close enough to the mouth. A retro phone, located in Special Week's family home, first [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbJsmWJX4AAEDwp.jpg appears]] as a FreezeFrameBonus in Episode 1. Then in Episode 9 we see a similar phone, with an even longer handset (probably specially adapted for horse girls), in Tracen. On the other end of the line, El Condor Pasa in France is using a full-on antique style phone handset.

* ExpressiveEars: The horse girls have those, just like real horses. And their tails are sometimes expressive, too.

Named after the racehorses of a different world, the Uma Musume (ウマ娘, ''horse girls'') dedicate their lives to running. For many of these young women, their biggest dream is to participate in the Twinkle Series, run alongside Japan's fastest, and shine on the winner's stage.

* OneGenderRace: Horsegirls, apparently. The anime does not explain exactly how they are conceived, and WordOfGod states their fathers were completely normal. (Pregnancy and birth are explicitly mentioned).

Based on the mobile training game by Cygames, ''Uma Musume: Pretty Derby'' is Creator/PAWorks' animated take on the horse girl racing scene.

// Every time Trainer tries to touch the legs of a new horse girl, he gets kicked.
** In most races, when a fast girl passes some other girl at incredible speed, the other girl reacts with a loud [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muri_(Japanese_term) MURI]], usually translated as "[[ThisCannotBe Impossible]]" or "I can't". Also when a girl is preparing to "make her move" hoping wo with the race, she will exclaim IKERU ("I can do it"); in one race, four Ikerus are heard in quick succession. The MURI even makes an appearance in the EatingContest in Episode 6.
* ShownTheirWork: in spades. The amount of elaborate reality references in the anime is staggering, and they are found in surprising places sometimes, to the delight of the fandom.
* ShipTease: a staple of this anime. Special Week/Silent Suzuka is closest, but also a few others.

** RealPersonCameo: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yutaka_Take Yutaka Take]], the legendary jockey who rode Special Week and many other prototype horses to their best victories, [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/04/22/real-life-jockey-makes-the-jump-to-2d-in-umamusume-pretty-derby appears]] AsHimself as a real-time commentator at Nippon Derby in Episode 5, also voicing himself, also credited. His facial expressions show him rooting for Special Week; [[EasterEgg in the corresponding real-life race he was riding Special Week]].
* ATasteOfDefeat: [[spoiler:Special Week]] experiences this in episode 3.

* BigEater: Special Week. She has a giant box filled with carrots and eats so much that she gets a BalloonBelly. In fact, when on a diet, she is noticed by another to have less rice then normal even though it was still a big serving.

* CombatStilettos: The Horse Girls wear heeled shoes when racing, with a horse shoe nailed to their soles. In reality, heels would be the last thing a professional runner would choose to wear.

* EpicFail: At the beginning of episode 3, despite winning their respective races, every member of Team Spica minus Suzuka does something embarrassing during the victory concert. So Trainer asks Tokai Teio to train them to improve their performances.

* EyeScream: Every time Gold Ship tries to compete over something with Mejiro [=MacQueen=], she gets hit in the eye.
** In Episode 9 Gold Ship gets GenreSavvy and [[spoiler:wears a helmet with an eye shield]] before attempting a prank.

* NeverTrustATrailer: the [[https://youtu.be/HYrVKLBhitE original trailer]] was different in many ways from the anime. This is apparently not a case of a misleading trailer, but rather the concept being developed between the 2016 trailer and the 2018 anime, possibly taking into account some of the InternetBackdraft that the trailer caused.

* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: [[spoiler: El Condor Pasa's victory in Tenno Sho in Episode 7. She did want "revenge" on Suzuka, but not ''that'' kind of revenge.]]

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Special Week and Silence Suzuka. As common in many cases involving high school girls in anime, there is [[LesYay fandom speculation about more]], and the makers are not averse to teasing, but this is all we ''know'' from canon, apparently.

* RunningGag: Every time Trainer tries to touch the legs of a new horse girl, he gets kicked.
** In most races, when a fast girl passes some other girl at incredible speed, the other girl reacts with a loud [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muri_(Japanese_term) MURI]], usually translated as "[[ThisCannotBe Impossible]]" or "I can't". Also when a girl is preparing to "make her move" hoping wo with the race, she will exclaim IKERU ("I can do it"); in one race, four Ikerus are heard in quick succession.
*** The MURI even makes an appearance in the EatingContest in Episode 6.

* TheBigRace: There is a race in every episode. A few are just intra-school things for training (or, in once case, for selecting a member for a team); but most races in this anime happen on racecourses and have a significant audience.
* ThePowerOfFriendship (or ThePowerOfLove, depending on how you read the relationship): [[spoiler: Special Week saving Suzuka from possible death in Episode 7. In RealLife, Silence Suzuka was hurt so much he had to be put down. If fate of horsegirls in the anime world is tied to that of the horses in our world, then that scene is "power of friendship, or of love, [[ScrewDestiny defeats fate itself]]".]]

* VitriolicBestBuds: Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka are constantly arguing with each other in the opening and are not averse to exchanging stingy remarks in the anime itself, but are really good friends in Team Spica.
** Also, [[{{Tsundere}} Hishi Amazon]] and Narita Brian.