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「おかえりなさい!」 (Okaerinasai!)
“Welcome Back!”
As Uma Musume gets closer and closer to the finish line, we wrap up some of the tension that came with whether Silence Suzuka would be able to make her grand comeback. With all of the training she put into her upcoming race, a bulk of the episode was about preparing her nerves to see if she can stand a chance after her injury. Although she received support from most of the girls in the academy, one character remains enigmatic in her opposition to Suzuka with Sun Visor acting as her rival for the race. It was pretty jarring to see a racer that was outright hostile towards another girl with how much Sun Visor had been holding back her scorn when facing her head-on. She was also satisfied about making sure Suzuka was last, and sorely asked her to race again after it wrapped up. There were a handful of hot-blooded runners in the show, but Visor made a big impression with the level of hostility she gave towards Suzuka even when she knows that it’s her first race since she received a potentially career-devastating injury.
There were no second chances for the real life Suzuka, but her comeback was a success as she was able to power through her nerves to charge through the pack, winning first place in her first race since her leg was injured. It was an emotional victory with how moved the arena was with how well she performed after seeing her in dire straits not too long ago. Her victory weighs on everyone in the sense of making the impossible possible by giving Suzuka the ultimate comeback, having her win a race with no problem even after being told right after the accident that she might have no chance of running again. It’s easy to see why Trainer would be crying at several points in the episode as he was hit hard with the possibility of Suzuka never racing again only to see the odds work in her favor. They might not have any further races in the books for Silence Suzuka, but this was the greatest send-off if any to ensure that the horse’s legacy won’t be forgotten as their anime counterpart gave Suzuka the victory that could have been.
Suzuka’s victory was the highlight of the episode, but it also set the stage for Special Week’s challenge at the Tokyo Cup. All eyes are on Spe-chan as she is the representative from the academy to face the cup against some of the most talented racers in the world. The only catch is that she will also be racing the French champion Broye, who happily takes on the challenge of racing against Japan’s finest with her participation in the cup causing chaos within the academy. Spe-chan has a lot of high expectations on her as El Condor Pasa confronts her to help her in any way she can to defeat Broye despite Spe-chan’s insistence on taking her on with her own intuition. Whether Spe-chan is fully ready to take on Broye in the Tokyo Cup has yet to be seen, but the excitement in the air is building up at a tremendous rate as the last scene of the episode gears up for Spe-chan to get ready to charge out the gate.
Look what he got here. Our first poor sport! Sun Visor should pick a name that isn’t so visually literal, or at least take a lesson from the other ponies. Friendship is magic ‘n all.
It was surprising. After all this time of friendly rivalries or hot-headed racers that are actually cordial and have no ill-will towards anyone, Sun Visor shows up to both challenge Silence Suzuka post-injury and have an attitude about it. In defeat, she didn’t hide the fact that she wanted to win and didn’t even try to pretend she wasn’t trying her hardest to beat her.
Knowing the result of Japan Cup 1999 kills any excitement I could feel for next episode. I’m a little more interested in episode 13. I just learned there’s an episode 13 and now I think we might be looking at a possible Suzuka vs Spe showdown to cap off the show. That would be pretty cool.
IMO it’s the journey, not the destination, like Fate/Zero. You already know the ending, but want to see the spectacle anyways. 😀
Besides there are lots of IRL races to choose from. TBH I was hoping for a rematch between Special Week and Grass Wonder. 😛
~~
What’s amazing with Suzuka’s win is that she tied the course record even with a poor start and trailing for most of the race.
~~
Rather than just a Silence Suzuka vs Special Week showdown, I’d like to see a Team Spica race, as they’ve never shown a full race featuring the other girls. >_<
True, while the next episode will probably be more notable for the build-up and character interactions than the race itself, the post-Tokyo Cup episode should be very neat because it would be unpredictable to find out how they’re going to cap off the series, whether it’s through a Spe/Suzuka race or a Spica race or even just some relaxing SOL vacation stuff with Spica.
https://randomc.net/image/Uma%20Musume%20Pretty%20Derby/Uma%20Musume%20Pretty%20Derby%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2014.jpg Cutest Walmart advertisement
Literally the only show worth watching.
And Tarou has moved on from producing animoo to training racehorses, I see.
To think that it’s been over a year since Suzuka’s injury too.
Also, don’t forget that Spe-chan wants to be the fastest horse girl in Japan, so even if she lost to Broye and came in second, wouldn’t she technically still be that? lol
Spe wants to be the “best horse girl” in Japan. But Trainer said in episode 1 that every horse girl has their own particular idea of what it means to be the best. For some, it’s about winning the Derby, for others it’s about achieving a Triple Crown. The show never told us what it means to be the best horse girl for Spe, but I don’t think it’s just about being the fastest. She would have to beat super champions like Rudolf and Narita Brian to become the fastest and that’s just impossible. Heck, she would have to beat Suzuka and that’s probably impossible too (though I could see Spe achieving a draw if they raced each other). Beating Broye will be a huge achievement, but that won’t make her the fastest. Not even close.
Actually, I think Spe herself doesn’t have a clear idea of what it means to be the best horse girl for her, and the show is more about her discovering what that means than actually becoming the fastest or whatever.
*clicks on the spot where the thumb up icon used to be
Heck, Spe hasn’t even beaten El Condor or even Grass Wonder. Beating Broye doesn’t mean she could take on those two. That’s not how horse racing works.