(Note I am using my Rubric, consisting of 5 categories that has 2 points each:
1= Fun & Artistic, 2 = Recommendation Confidence, 3 = Narrative Consistency, 4 = Emotional Moments, 5 = Personal Bias)
def fun and artistically unique 2/2
It takes the premise of Horse Racing and adds a Cute Girls doing Things flair to it with Horse Girls racing instead. Plus the show itself was quite enjoyable, I found myself constantly cheering for the characters in their races and got myself emotionally invested with Suzuka too.
narrative consistency is perfectly solid, the 2 problems i had was why is suzuka in spica and the rigal v spica disparity. But it doesnt bother me since the plot services really well despite it. That's a 2/2 too
Narrative Consistency can be simplified to starting any episode and being able to ask "What are we doing? Why are we doing it? When is this? Where are we? and How did this happen?", with a narratively consistent show being able to answer all of the above with a reasonable accuracy if not full clarity. At no point in the show did it felt like things were dragging, they made motivations clear, goal posts clear and wasted no time in moving the plot along whilst giving ample room for all the characters to breathe and shape up. I personally never felt lost and could trust the show to answer most questions satisfyingly whilst I enjoy the races themselves. Plus lots of fun subversion moments as well, and of course how the characters grow as a result of defeat and how Make or Break works.
Emotional Moments. There was definitely One. <SPOILERS> was the pull that sold me from 2x and 1.5x down to 1x speed. But besides that not much, i doubt ill remember any other moment after a while except Suzuka here
1/2
Emotional moments can be defined as any scene in the show that leaves a strong impression on you such that you will remember it long after the show is over. Like 2 years later if this show was mentioned, I'd still recall that scene of Suzuka there and the intense emotions it inspired in me. Those emotions can be Joy, Sadness, Anger or merely Thought Provoking Silence. Point is it leaves a strong impression. 1/2 since there is only 1 moment, I expect more. A good example is 3gatsu no Lion, its pack full of Emotional moments that make me remember it long after it ended.
It caters to my personal bias of drawing inspiration from history. but ofcourse no deep idealogue or magic systems here (if they used physics terms like horsepower and what not maybe. They did it once with the stream-way thing where if u tail a horse u can block air resistance. they also did the shallow step technique for uphill running, but besides those 2 there is a lot that could be done.
1/2
Personal biases for me mean when a show has 1 = Historical inspiration, 2 = Interesting Magic/Power System, 3 = Deep Idealogue.
No fancy powers here and no deep philosophy either, which is fine. But the fact that the races adapted in the show actually happened IRL is a strong inspiration from History which is a big plus for me, hence 1/2
Would I recommend this to everyone?
Idk, its definitely the category of cute girls doing things without much more to it. Since its subjective on someone liking it as a hit or miss, id give it a "I'll happily recommend it but ik its not for everyone" hence 1/2.
The premise of the show makes it hard to sell to an outsider, its definitely the cute girls doing things flair but telling someone its a show about horse racing doesnt begin to describe the emotional investment of seeing these Horse Girls competing in a sport unique to theirs. The fact how life threatening injuries are (quite literally) makes it all the more intense and how quickly no stars can be borne. That said, while I personally enjoyed, I can see why it may not be for everyone. Hence a 1/2 here as a niche recommendation.
That brings us to 7/10
leaning 7.5 since they sorta did do the magic system/physics system slightly, but i feel they could do more.
at 7/10 its in the same league as Jujutsu Kaisen and Cyberpunk Edgerunners for me
Aug 27, 2024
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