The Fall 2023 Anime Preview Guide

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Season 3

Kitasan Black's racing career has gone without a single loss—until she fails to come in first in the Satsuki Sho. Seeking to live up to the example of her idol, Tokai Teio, Kita resolves not to let that get her down, and focus on doing her best in the upcoming Japanese Derby. But is enthusiasm enough to compete against all the other horse girls that are driven to win, including Duramente and her amazing acceleration? Kita will need to find out what it means to be true to herself, and how to channel that into a success story all her own.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Season 3 is part of a multimedia franchise by Cygames. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.

There's something funny about Uma Musume as it lines up at the starting gate for its third season. The anime has always used its real-world race record framework as an effective commentary on emergent storylines in sports. But now, established as a successful franchise with a particularly praised second season, Uma Musume Season 3 is also in conversation with the popularity and influence of itself. It's not the subtlest of allegories either, as all through this episode it's shown how new hopeful horse girl Kitasan Black worships Tokai Teio, the star of that second season, and hopes she can live up to her predecessor's lauded achievements.

If you recall the grueling tale of Teio, then you know that following in her hoof-steps might not be for Kita's best, but that's the base journey this premiere is here to start out. There are already plenty of fresh opportunities in this new layer of ambition for Uma Musume. I can already see them articulating the balancing act between matching what came before and trying to be true to yourself. If Uma Musume Season 3 can thread that thematic needle, this could be another remarkable season of sports entertainment as presented by cartoon horse girl history lessons.

The propelling personality of the series is back in full force to help its presentation of all that, anyway. Right from the start the audience can catch tiny, endearing details, such as foal-hood friends Kitasan and Satono Diamond sleeping with plushies of each other. Kita and her season- centering personality get demonstrated in an early montage, as it shows her assisting townspeople throughout her morning training routine. She really puts the "neigh " in "neighborhood helper." That energy is further supplemented by the humor being back in full force (after taking something of a backseat for in-between ONA Road to the Top). I got a kick out of knowingly goofy segments like Kita struggling to speak sparse English to a foreign tourist who very clearly spoke Japanese back at her. As well, there are appreciable quirks like every single horse girl that walks on-screen in this premiere being accompanied by a little banner with their name on it (including in crowd shots!). Plus Gold Ship is back, so I know I can at least count on a good time whenever she shows up.

Any other additional characters are only barely name-checked for this first episode. Even Kita's other half, Diamond, only gets a few aside appearances, including moments with family member Crown—with discussion of their jinx they're striving to break this season. Duramente, the horse girl who turns out to be the winner of the Japanese Derby that serves as this premiere's climax, is only scatteredly mentioned throughout. So it's really a testament to the show's raw emotional ability that Duramente's come-from-behind win (even beating our horsey heroine!) still resonated as a thrilling finish-line cross to cap this premiere on.

Uma Musume is absolutely putting on the gas for that final stretch, even if some of the presentation throughout the rest of this episode isn't quite at 100%. Much of the racing before the big finishes can look downright languid at times. Admittedly, anything would feel less intense after the extreme heights of the aforementioned Road to the Top. Still, I hope that's a concession to so many of the other priorities of this first episode, rather than an indication of how Season 3 will trend. Because this new season is starting out with a compelling thematic concept, and like all of Kita's teammates wishing her well, I want her and her show to do their best.

Going into this premiere, I was a little worried that the novelty of "The Horse Girl Anime" had run out. Sure, back in 2018 just the concept of this franchise was enough for its announcement trailer to go viral. Now, though, these equine track stars are a known quantity, and it can be difficult to keep feeling fresh when you're centered around the same sport, the same season of races, and are only changing out the focus character with each installment. While there is definitely some fatigue in this premiere, thankfully it finds its legs by the (first) finish line.

If you're new to this franchise, worry, not: this is a pretty newbie-friendly addition. While there's lots of familiar faces, our focus character is more or less brand new. Like Teio in season two, Kitasan's been upgraded from supporting role to headliner, but everything you need to know about her—and the lore of Horse Girls—is helpfully provided right up front. For returning fans that means a good bit of redundancy, and that's where the fatigue sets in a bit. So much time is spent (re-)establishing Kita, her motivations, and introducing her own host of rivals, that it can feel like we're going through the motions. There are some appreciable differences between Kita and her predecessors, but not enough to feel like a fresh new take.

Thankfully, we do get there by the end—when we see Kita thoroughly lose her big, hyped up Derby race. Sure, Special Week and Teio lost races before, sometimes catastrophically, but those were often big swerves in the middle of the season. This isn't just a loss, but a total defeat where Kita's own deficiencies as a racer all caught up with her at once. That's a great place to start for the now third iteration of a starry-eyed competitor protagonist, and it got me excited to see where this new season could go. I had my issues with how last season handled the various injuries of its major characters, but it also showed this property could grapple with hard-hitting emotions beyond what you'd expect from the wacky gimmick. This season is already in prime position to do that again.