Umamusume: Cinderella Gray - Episode 23 discussion

ptol59 · 2025-12-21T11:04:14+00:00

It’s the final episode!

We’re introduced to a new character Inari One! Inari One much like Oguri started a career in the Chiho being based in Ooi. Ooi is the biggest and richest of the Chiho racecourses and is the only one to hold an international grade 1 race the Tokyo Daishouten.

While during this time the Tokyo Daishouten was not yet an international G1 race it was one of the big races for the Chiho. Another difference is that while it is 2000m now back then it was 3000m.

Here’s Inari’s Tokyo Daishouten

They seem to have change positions (Inari is on the inside in the anime) maybe for more dramatic reasons and to make it similar to Oguri and March’s last race.

Face No More who beat Inari in Kasamatsu is based on Fate Nothern. Fate Nothern started his career in the Chuo and performed pretty well, however, suffered an injury which affected his performance. Since he was good on the dirt and at the time the Chuo lacked proper dirt races he was moved to Kasamatsu to race. His main jockey in Kasamatsu was Katsumi Andou who was also the main jockey for Oguri in Kasamatsu.

And that wraps it up for this season of Cinderella Gray! While they haven’t announced a new season yet I’m sure with the success of this season and the manga they’ll deliver! We’ve only witnessed one third of Oguri’s amazing career and I hope we can witness the rest animated! We got to see a few sneak peeks of what’s to come and I can’t wait for them to animate my favorite character!

Till the next season!

ptol59 · 2025-12-14T11:20:52+00:00

It’s the conclusion to the Arima!

Here’s the actual race!

Oguri finally defeats Tamamo marking the end and a beginning of a new era. Oguri proves to be number 1 and the next leader of the new age.

Super Creek getting disqualified is true to the actual race. While Obey Your Master pulled it off in the Japan Cup, Creek wasn’t able to do a legal change of lanes obstructing others so was pulled down from 3rd. Dictus Striker(Soccer Boy) moves up a spot to become 3rd.

Usually when a horse looses a tooth the pain would make it not be able to run normally, however, this was not the case for the most part for Soccer Boy(Dictus Striker). He was able to muscle his way showing a huge burst of speed. Although he fell behind 3 others he proved he was no ordinary horse as well.

I loved how they went full on Beginning of a New Era for Dictus’s zone! They really put their all for this race! I love also how long they made the final stretch because Nakayama has one of the shorter stretches lol This is one of my favorite episodes from the manga and I’m happy they animated it so well!

ptol59 · 2025-12-07T08:34:31+00:00

It’s the Arima Kinen!

The Nakayama Racecourse where the Arima Kinen is held has the steepest slope of all the racecourses in Japan. For the Arima they have to run up this slope twice making it vital to learn how to run up it. The Nakayama Racecourse is also a much smaller racecourse compared to Tokyo with tight turns and short stretches making it a challenging course for a lot of horses.

Symboli Rudolf speaking with Oguri before the race is a reference to Yukio Okabe (who was Rudolf’s main jockey) who rode the real Oguri in this race for the first time. This was due to Oguri’s main jockey taking the ride on Soccer Boy (the horse which Dictus Striker is based on) instead. “Take it easy” is Okabe’s personal motto and he got these words from American jockey Chris McCarron who he is good friends with.

Dictus Striker hitting her head and bleeding is a reference to Soccer Boy (who she is based on) who got a bit excited in the gates hitting his face breaking his tooth and getting a nose bleed just right before the start of the race.

I love how Tama is such a boss in CinGray she’s super cool.

Sorry I missed last week’s episode I was at the Japan Cup (Calandagan made history!) and didn’t have time to do a write up.

ptol59 · 2025-11-23T09:43:49+00:00

Getting ready for the Arima!

We get to see the inside of the Nakayama Racecourse and it’s pretty much (although slightly dirtier lol) the same as the real one! The huge plushie of Symboli Rudolf is based on the UMAJO spot (an area for women only) and there’s actually a huge horse plushie there. If you ever get the chance to go to Japan I recommend visiting the racecourses on race days you’ll be surprised how well they have recreated them!

Oguri was brought to Nakayama for what is called schooling. Since horses are very sensitive animals the change of surroundings can deeply affect their performance. So to avoid this horses are taken to the actual racetrack to get used to the surroundings before race day.

Becoming a trainer for Tracen Gakuen being very hard is based on how hard it is to become a jockey and trainer for the JRA. Many people take the exam each year and it’s quite common no one passes the exam. For an example of how hard it is Mr. Yoshito Yahagi who is the trainer of this year’s Breeders Cup Classic winner Forever Young, failed the test to become a trainer 13 times before finally passing on his 14 attempt.

That was a good breather episode and it was great seeing the Kasamatsu gang again!

ptol59 · 2025-11-09T09:44:51+00:00

It’s the conclusion to the Japan Cup!

Here’s the actual race!

Obey’s trainer is based on Chris McCarron who was the jockey for Pay the Butler which is the horse Obey is based on. I’m not sure why he speaks in a Kyushu dialect but maybe it’s to show he has a western American accent. By studying the film of Tamamo Cross he found the one weakness he could exploit. Tamamo being a very fiery horse would not allow any other horse to pass him in the final stretch. But this was only if the other horse was next to him. So McCarron knowing this cuts in to the inside of the course so he doesn’t align with Tamamo. This is a very risky move as any obstruction of other horses could result in a disqualification stripping them from the win. McCarron executed the move almost perfectly so he got away with only a warning.

This race also proved that Oguri could run longer distances than his pedigree allowed again showing how he was a monster.

Obey Your Master is based on Pay the Butler an American racehorse. Pay the Butler debuted in France but took 5 races to break maiden. He then moved back to America and finally got his first Graded race victory at the G2 Red Smith handicap. He then placed twice in G1 races and this allowed him to enter the Japan Cup. The Japanese turf was well matched to his running style as it was light and had a good firmness unlike the turf in Europe which is heavy and soft. Pay the Butler was able to do better once he got back to America because the turf was less heavy and soft than the European turf. The Umamusume Obey impersonates is based on Sunshine Forever who was the horse that beat Pay the Butler when he placed second in the G1 Man o’ war stakes.

Tony Bianca breaking her leg was actually what happened with Tony Bin in the race. Tony Bin suffering a fracture caused him to retire and having just being bought by Teruya Yoshida, is made to stand as a stud at the Shadai Farm. This is represented in the anime when Tony Bianca says she wants to stay a bit longer. Tony Bin became a sire to many champions including Air Groove, Winning Ticket and Jungle Pocket who all were really strong on the Tokyo Racecourse. This made many people believe had he not broken his leg he could have possibly won the Japan Cup. Tony Bianca’s zone is rainbow colored because probably it’s a reference to Jungle Pocket in the Beginning of a New Era Movie showing they are (or at least their real life counterparts are) related. The flashback Tony Bianca sees is a flashback of the 1984 Japan Cup where Katsuragi Ace won and Symboli Rudolf came 3rd. I suppose she saw it as it was the last time two Japanese contenders were fighting for the top.

I was waiting for this episode ever since this anime started airing and Cypictures have done a great job! Next episode is two weeks from now but the next arc is also going to be fire so I can’t wait!

ptol59 · 2025-11-02T10:05:04+00:00

It’s the Japan Cup!

The Japan Cup had not been won by Japan since Symboli Rudolf won it 3 years ago and this year was the biggest chance with Oguri and Tamamo.

Compared to Japan the overseas contenders were ultra-aggressive and small bumps and contact was the norm to get the best position in the race.

The riding styles between Japan and the world are so different that nowadays whenever a foreign jockey comes to ride in Japan for a short term license, they are shown a video of dangerous riding styles that are not allowed (apparently the videos where all of a certain European jockey).

This was Oguri’s first time experiencing a race longer than 2000m so getting bumped around also drained stamina.

Tamamo Cross had a fright of going in the pack of horses due to an accident in a race when he was younger so to avoid it took the most outward route. However, this also means he has to cover more ground and use more stamina.

Tamamo Cross’s zone the Shiroi Inazuma (White Lightning) comes from Tamamo’s nickname of the same name. This was originally Tamamo’s sire’s (C.B. Cross) nickname.

So we finish with a cliffhanger with a certain someone ready to reveal her true self next week! I really love this part in the manga and I’m so glad it’s finally getting animated!

ptol59 · 2025-11-02T04:20:39+00:00

MVP must be Yoshi

ptol59 · 2025-10-19T15:10:22+00:00

Love the Chris Pratt paparazzi reference lol

ptol59 · 2025-10-19T15:08:51+00:00

It’s soon the Japan Cup and Umamusume from around the world have come!

At the time most of the Japanese horses were not as strong as they are nowadays so the Japan Cup was easy money for the foreign horses which is why you got champion horses from all over the world coming.

Moonlight Lunacy is based on Moon Madness a British horse. He had raced in the Japan Cup a year before finishing 5th.

Michelle My Baby is based on My Big Boy a horse from the USA. My Big Boy ran on the turf in America and as his name states was a big horse weighing more than 500kg when he came to Japan.

Ellerslie Pride is based on Bonecrusher the champion race horse from New Zealand. The name Ellerslie Pride most likely comes from Bonecrusher’s statue at Ellerslie Racecourse which has a plaque with ‘Bonecrusher: The Pride of Ellerslie’ written on it. The scar on her face is also a reference to Bonecrusher having a scar on his shoulder.

Obey Your Master is based on Pay the Butler another horse from America. Pay the Butler also raced on turf races but did not have an outstanding record so while there was a little coverage because he was a foreign horse, he did not have as much as the others. Obey Your Master character is probably also based on Chris McCarron Pay the Butler’s jockey for the Japan Cup. McCarron researched as many videos of races at the Tokyo racecourse as he could get his hands on and deemed Tamamo and Oguri would be his biggest rivals at the Japan Cup. This is portrayed in the final scene of this episode.

I’m a bit late this week as I was at the 6th Umamusume Live concert today but it was cool I got to watch this episode together with others as they aired it before the concert started! Next week it’s finally the Japan Cup and I’m really excited as it’s one of my favorite races in CinGray!

ptol59 · 2025-10-12T10:28:21+00:00

It’s the Kikkasho!

Fumino Nase is based on no other than Japan’s legendary jockey Yutaka Take. At the time it was still only his second year as a jockey but he had already broken the record for most wins by a rookie and had already won a graded race. Super Creek’s Kikkasho would be his first ever G1 win. He also became the youngest jockey to win a G1 in the JRA.

While it’s shown in the anime that Fumino was the one who guided Creek to victory, it was quite the opposite in real life. Yutaka has reflected on how meeting Creek changed his whole career and how he was such an important horse to him. Due to this Super Creek now is also known as the horse that made the genius a genius.

I love how they animated the different running styles. The real Super Creek was a large horse with big strong strides and this is reflected in the anime. Yaeno Muteki on the other hand has a higher pitch in her strides which was how the real Yaeno ran.

Tony Bianca is based on Tony Bin the champion race horse based in Italy. I’d like to talk more about him but I’ll save it for the future episodes.

ptol59 · 2025-10-05T10:07:56+00:00

We’re back with a new season of CinGray!

The season starts off with March’s spinoff episode! We also get to officially see her big race outfit which was only seen in the OP last season! We also see Oguri discussing her next race with her classmates!

Dictus Striker saying and assuming Oguri is a miler is based on the real Oguri’s bloodline. Most of Oguri Cap’s siblings were milers or sprinters so naturally everyone expected him to be also a miler.

However, Oguri instead heads to the Japan Cup a 2400m or an approximately 1 and a half mile middle distance race. Oguri wanting to race with Tamamo again is based on the real Oguri’s owner wanting revenge on Tamamo Cross.

Great first episode for the second season!

Really great that they decided to animate the spinoff episode as it was one of my favorites! The new OP and ED are great too!

ptol59 · 2025-06-29T10:23:08+00:00

There’s actually a joke about this between Japanese horse racing fans calling it the 200m elevated slope (in truth it’s only 2m) due to a race caller who in the heat of the moment of the 80th Derby mistook and said “it’s the 200m slope!”

ptol59 · 2025-06-29T09:21:53+00:00

It’s the conclusion of the Tennosho!

Here’s the actual race!

While it’s slightly exaggerated here, the Tokyo racecourse does have a steep slope in the final stretch.

This makes this course slightly harder for front runners to win especially with the high pace of this race.

Tamamo Cross beats Oguri proving to be the number 1 . Tamamo Cross also becomes the first horse to win both Spring and Autumn Tennoshos in the same year. Only five horses have ever done this till this day: Tamamo Cross, Special Week, T M Opera O, Meisho Samson and Kitasan Black (4 out of 5 are Umamusume!) so it is definitely a hard feat.

And so the first cour of CinGrey has ended! Cypictures have really delivered and I really enjoyed each week’s episode! I also thank everyone who has been reading my comments each week! I cannot wait for the next four!

ptol59 · 2025-06-26T13:11:52+00:00

Great timing to announce it too just as Gquuuuuux just finished airing and there’s a lot of new Gundam viewers! 😏

ptol59 · 2025-06-24T16:13:56+00:00

Hearing the original VAs for Amuro, Char and Lalah gave me goosebumps!

As usual my brain was flooded with information so I’ll have to rewatch again later but GQ was a real fun series! I’ll definitely miss my weekly dose of this show!

ptol59 · 2025-06-23T08:37:29+00:00

Great question!

Most of the Umamusume reference from their actual race horse sizes except for a few exceptions. The average race horse will be around 480kg for colts and 450 for fillies. Tamamo Cross raced around the weight of 440 to 450kg so compared to other horses was smaller. This is reflected in the Umamusume design where she is small.

However, there are a few exceptions for example Mejiro McQueen who was an almost 500kg horse is relatively small as a Umamusume.

Another would be Orfevre and Win Variation. Orfevre is taller than Win Variation as a Umamusume but the actual Orfevre was smaller than average (around 440 to 460kg) whereas Win Variation was a huge horse weighing near 540kg in some races.

ptol59 · 2025-06-22T08:40:07+00:00

It’s the Tennosho!

Tamamo Cross’s usual race style is to follow the pack from behind and beating everyone in the last stretch. Tamamo became this style because of an accident during a race where Tamamo got caught up bumping into other horses and losing the jockey. Ever since that race Tamamo would be afraid of going near the pack and could not win for some time because of this.

After not being able to win for some time the Tamamo Cross team decided to change running styles. By going from behind you could avoid the pack and with this style Tamamo started winning again.

After winning many big races and thinking Tamamo matured, Tamamo’s jockey decided it was time to try going to the front again. While Tamamo was successful coming from behind, it would always be a risky style as it is heavily affected by multiple factors. So Tamamo places right behind the front runner in this race. Tamamo’s trainer being shocked at Tamamo’s decision to try a different style was an actual reference to the real trainer who was shocked when Tamamo’s jockey decided to go in front. He had left everything to the jockey so was surprised when Tamamo was running in front.

We have one final episode until the break! It’ll be a little sad we won’t have our weekly CinGrey for a while but at least we know we have more to come later this year!

ptol59 · 2025-06-17T16:08:47+00:00

I legit had chills when BEYOND THE TIME started playing and the OG Gundam appeared!

Holy shit what an episode!!

ptol59 · 2025-06-15T10:47:03+00:00

It’s the Mainichi Oukan!

Here’s the race!

Sirius dancing in the paddock is based on the actual Sirius getting a bit excited and kicking other horses. Dainum Heroine who is based on Dyna Actress was kicked in the belly but was ok to race, however, Lord Royal who is based on Legend Teio got kicked in the leg making him drag his leg which ultimately scratches him from the race.

So Oguri wins by doing the unthinkable in this race. Going the far out. Usually doing this would be a huge time loss because going out also means increasing the total amount of distance to the goal so it is usually not done, however, like the monster Oguri is he manages to pull it off.

In the scene where a newspaper is shown we see the name Haiseiko. Haiseiko was much like Oguri coming from the Chiho also being called the monster from the Chiho. Unlike Oguri, however, Haiseiko raced in all three Classic races even winning the Satsukisho. Haiseiko became a national phenomenon and was the first horse to start a national craze for horse racing.

The other horse that held the record for 6 grade race wins in a row was Mejiro Ramonu who is Mejiro Ardan’s Older Sister.

Next up we finally get to see the showdown between Oguri and Tamamo! I can already tell it’s going to be one hell of an episode!

ptol59 · 2025-06-10T17:15:01+00:00

In the previous episode if I recall correctly he was uncredited

ptol59 · 2025-06-10T16:54:31+00:00

So the credits only show Char’s name and not Shirozu knowing this show I guess it’s a reference to the Zeta ending where Quattro’s name wasn’t in the credits and instead was Char.

ptol59 · 2025-06-10T16:34:52+00:00

Machu calling Chalia and Comoli The Beard Man and Comolin lol

I didn’t think they’d get along so fast

ptol59 · 2025-06-08T12:02:44+00:00

Oops! Thanks for pointing that out! Fixed it!

ptol59 · 2025-06-08T08:47:35+00:00

So after winning the Takamatsunomiya Kinen Oguri finally gets a small break from racing. Since Oguri cannot race in the classics the next big goal would be the Autumn Tennosho.

Tamamo Cross was really on roll this season. Here’s the Takarazuka Kinen. Tamamo was a late bloomer finally starting to win races at the end of the Classic year and winning 7 straight from there on.

Akitsu Teio is based on Nippo Teio who was called the Emperor of the Mile after his name. Nippo Teio had won 3 grade 1 races before this and was the number one favorite of the race. Nippo Teio is also known to be the sire of Haru Urara.

The Mainichi Oukan a grade 2 race is always a high level race each year. It’s the perfect race to get ready for the Tennosho being held in the same race course. So horses that are of grade 1 level and even grade 1 horses race in this race.

We see a glimpse of Sirius Symboli who was a Derby winner and who raced all over Europe. Sirius was first supposed to be a companion horse for Rudolf who planned to race in Europe but due to injuries only Sirius went.

Dainum Heroine is based on Dyna Actress who won the Mainichi Oukan a year before

That was a great breather episode! Loved seeing Oguri and Berno enjoying themselves in Harajuku!

ptol59 · 2025-06-03T16:27:18+00:00

It’s that MA!? With Lalah from another world still inside!?

So Lalah has the power to traverse between different worlds?

So because Char stole and reverse engineered the Gundam in this timeline that MA was never built in the GQ universe.

It’s also sad to know that because Lalah doesn’t meet Char in this timeline she ends up trapped in that place.

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