While S1 wasn’t the best looking TV show by any stretch of the imagination, S2 upped the quality by a large margin. With less than 3 years between the broadcast of the first and second seasons, Kei Oikawa and his staff had time to present the best product possible. Tomo Namiki returns as director of photography and delivered wonderful compositing work both during more mundane tidbits and dramatic moments. His work on some of P.A Works’ projects was already wonderful (Hanasaku Iroha and GLASSLIP for example), but his contribution on S2 was a welcome upgrade from the lackluster visual presentation of S1.
The animation was fairly decent with some striking character art in key moments, courtesy of chief animation director Satoru Fujimoto and Yousuke Kabashima who delivered some amazing AD work, with episode 12 being the highlight on that front. Races are more exciting than ever with the blend of 3D and 2D models being utilised a bit better, dynamic camerawork sometimes adapting 1:1 shots from their real-life counterpart (e.g. episode 10’s climax race) and some added effects during high stakes races (e.g. episode 8’s showdown). But those effects could have been more present, when compared to the high-octane, insane races from the spinoff manga Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, S2’s races can feel a bit slow and underwhelming.
Now it’s no surprise that Uma Musume takes direct inspiration from real life horse races. As S1 told the tale of Special Week and Silence Suzuka, S2 puts the spotlight on fellow Spica members Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen. While S1 took a classic approach to the sport genre formula, with an up-and-coming prodigy taking a shot at the title of the best horse girl in Japan, S2 is more focused on the hurdles an incredible athlete faces when circumstances outside of his control hinder his achievements.
It could be argued that S1 wasn’t all that happy-go-lucky, but the material was certainly less drama heavy. S2, on the other hand, is filled with dramatic moments and themes surrounding sports as a whole. How can we keep on going when it feels like the world doesn’t want you to succeed? How can we deal with the mental image of ourselves we forged for such a long time, only for it to be shattered in no time? What does it mean to shoulder the responsibility of your family’s lineage of champions and the expectations of both your rival and yourself? All those themes that, while Uma Musume doesn’t go as deep as it could on some of them, are still well-presented and deliver some gut-wrenching and exceptional payoffs.
This is more prevalent in Tokai Teio’s character as she follows the Homeric hero’s journey, taking us through a rollercoaster of emotions and leaving me with nothing else but respect and admiration at the end of it all. So for those of you who’ve been on the fence at the idea of completely replacing main characters, fear not, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen are an amazing pair of protagonists. Their relationship was beautiful and their rivalry was engaging and uplifting, with some iconic quotes that will forever remain engraved in my mind.
But Uma Musume doesn’t hit a home run for all its characters. While some of the side characters get much appreciated focus (mainly Rice Shower and Twin Turbo) , others get sidelined pretty quickly when they could have added more to the narrative, especially characters such as Biwa Hayahide.
While this season was heavier in tone and mood, Kei Oikawa does not let up with his quips. While his directorial work is attuned to character drama (e.g. Oregairu) , his comedic sense is also finely polished. While he already showcased his ability to deliver gags with an excellent comedic timing on the anime adaptation of Hinamatsuri, Uma Musume S2 isn’t without its fair share of running gags. What I found most amusing was the subtle visual gags slowly progressing through an episode or spanning several episodes, and the most focused viewer will surely get rewarded with really fun tidbits (e.g. Special Week’s cake melting in the rain).
In the end, Uma Musume is an excellent adaptation and a stellar sequel correcting most of season 1’s shortcomings, while providing an engaging and empathetic story about an athlete trying to come to terms with her new reality. While the concept of anthropomorphic horse racing girls may seem bizarre to the non-initiated and while season 1 was mediocre, season 2 stands as one of 2021 Winter anime season’s best offerings and 2021 as a whole.
