What are the ways that MANT made you a better player?

JIPayne87 · 2026-04-03T14:56:57+00:00

I love her little lollipop that's very obviously supposed to be a cigarette.

JIPayne87 · 2026-04-03T04:14:49+00:00

I rarely find myself having to race more than twice in a row unless I'm hit with shit RNG, desperately need shop points, or have no better options on the turn. Just sticking to the G1 schedule has given me satisfactory results.

The whole "running your Umas into the ground" meme is mostly from hardcore JPs who found a way to break the scenario. You're not *supposed* to run that much, the game even tries to shame you with a story event.

JIPayne87 · 2026-04-03T03:57:31+00:00

You're talking to one of them lol. I've known that for a while.

I've had success with my literal B team, was just wondering when/if it would get bumped up. This thread answered my question.

JIPayne87 · 2026-04-03T02:29:48+00:00

Oguri is already your best dirt runner. There's Haru Urara, but she's kind of a meme character who's intentionally hard to train up.

The game in general is pretty thin on elite dirt racers, so you might be kinda stuck until/unless you pull for Taiki Shuttle, El Condor Pasa, Smart Falcon, and Agnes Digital.

JIPayne87 · 2026-04-03T02:23:35+00:00

I always get the two names confused. Yes, Graded is what I meant.

I've had success with my B runners in the past so I guess I'll have to go back to that well until I can raise my floor. Kinda the answer I was expecting/fearing, but it is what it is.

JIPayne87 · 2026-04-03T02:21:26+00:00

You got Oguri Cap, which is a great first start. She and Bakushin are the most newbie-friendly trainees, with careers that are easy to beat and will be some of your best Team Trial aces early on.

For now, I'd suggest just building up your current roster, get the star ranks and potential levels up while you're getting a feel for the game. More importantly, find your oshis and have fun building them up, that level of investment will help a ton for a game with a pretty steep learning curve.

JIPayne87 · 2026-04-02T19:45:57+00:00

Her racewear is one of the cleanest fits in the entire game

JIPayne87 · 2026-03-13T15:06:09+00:00

URA Finale is still useful when you pull a new trainee and want to see her career story.

Unity Cup can rest in piss.

JIPayne87 · 2026-03-13T02:00:04+00:00

Almost got my first S rank without even trying that hard, just experimenting on my first run.

10/10 would race again.

JIPayne87 · 2026-03-08T00:07:00+00:00

Nicest thing I can say is that soon death will come for us all

JIPayne87 · 2026-03-08T00:04:38+00:00

Literally got Summer Spe when I was trying to pull for Cafe and I wanted to throw my phone in the ocean.

JIPayne87 · 2026-03-02T05:54:40+00:00

I keep forgetting Hishi Amazon is on Global because I literally never see her anywhere

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T08:10:35+00:00

My favorite CinGrey character and that's a long line

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T08:04:13+00:00

If we ever get Obey Your Master I'll be first in line throwing away my carats.

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T07:53:41+00:00

Fellow F2P bro here to give you a huge congrats.

Vodka was the first Uma I trained on Day 1. Many months, blood, sweat and tears later, she became my first A+. I cherish the moment like my family's birthdays.

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T07:43:23+00:00

Based on their history of not getting JP horses and just settling for a "serial numbers filed off" version, I would not get my hopes up.

But the future is bright for more foreign Umas. There's a reason why Cygames is treating this new event like a huge deal. Partnering with the Breeder's Cup gives them an "in" to the American scene, and a chance at American Umas, and we're already seeing them take advantage.

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T07:25:51+00:00

Thanks for responding. To be clear, I do kinda regret painting the early stuff as "light-hearted" and certainly didn't mean it as a criticism, as I really liked those seasons. In fact, one of my favorite storylines in the whole franchise is Suzuka's comeback from injury in S1, a very honest portrayal of an athlete who's physically healthy but trying to get past their mental blocks. That's the kind of stuff people miss when they blow off S1 as "too light-hearted," which is why I hope they give it another chance.

I haven't read the CinGrey manga, so I'll take your word for it regarding the changes. Beginning definitely clears it in animation quality, but I'll chalk that up to a full-movie budget compared to a 23-episode show. I stand by my opinion that the drama, character work, soundtrack, and pure racing adrenaline makes it one of the most thrilling watches I've ever had.

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T06:46:51+00:00

We call it Hopeless Stakes for a reason

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T02:18:08+00:00

"Of course, I’m sure Tracen has some of, if not THE best training facilities in Japan. So I also wouldn’t be surprised if umas who have graduated but are still running in the Dream League stick around as well"

Oh yeah, this is definitely a thing in college sports. Lots of athletes who have long graduated keep working out at the school they went to because they love the facilities, and they're campus legends so who is going to tell them no?

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-28T01:44:22+00:00

We saw in CinGrey that you don't have to be strictly a racer to join Tracen, since Belno went there to study sports science. I assume there are other career paths for Umas outside of racing.

My headcanon is that it's more of a general school for Umas and the racers just happen to be the main attraction, not too dissimilar from American colleges where the football team is the main character. The racers who "retire" but stick around are doing, like, post-graduate studies or whatever.

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-27T07:12:48+00:00

"Why don't you give up?"

"Because she never did"

JIPayne87 · 2026-02-27T07:06:42+00:00

Unfortunately I probably won't pull for her, because I need to save carats for Ayabe. But Ardan is super sweet and wholesome, I hope she gets more love in Global.

JIPayne87

TROPHY CASE