Uma Musume is an anime series that follows various horse girls, which are based on actual horse races. Cinderella Gray focuses solely on Oguri Cap. Oguri, due to her knee trouble when she was young, received help with it from her mother. Now, as we can see, she now has a very unorthodox running style, which her trainer, Joe, helps her with. One of the most notable things this anime does is showcase Oguri’s dominance. The anime does an impressive job at showcasing what happens when a star emerges in a small area and the impact she can have on the sport.
The 3 key characters centering around that are her trainer Joe, Fujimasa March, & Tamamo Cross. Joe is the one who finds Oguri. Though for Joe his only ambition was for the Tokai Derby, and Oguri had the potential to race in the big national races. Joe realized he was holding Oguri back because of his lack of ambition. His wanting to match up to Oguri was great development for him. Of course he needs to have the qualifications to be able to train Oguri at the national level. Though Musaka does an impressive job at guiding Oguri while Joe is away.
March, on the other hand, starts as Oguri’s rival, as she sees the potential in Oguri early on. She is one of the early victims of Oguri’s early dominance. Even in victory she saw what Oguri can do. Though she is important because she helped Oguri find her goals. First it was the Tokai Derby, and later he aimed to be the best racer when Oguri was lost as to what to do. Though their dynamic works well because we see Oguri developing in being there for March when she is struggling. Their dynamic going forward is one that is intriguing to watch.
Last is Tama and while Oguri was moving up in the ranks, we had seen her in spurts. Though we learn that she is considered the top racer in Japan right now. The finale serves a great spot in the story because every race before that Oguri dominated. Even when she was racing against G1 racers. Though this time she wasn’t able to beat Tama and that is a good thing, as it broke our expectations of Oguri just continuing to win. It gives Oguri a rival to match herself against, which is great as the series continues with cour 2.
Belno is a character that is in an odd spot. Once Oguri moves to nationals, she is more in a support role for Oguri. She makes a great impact early on alongside Joe, but once Musaka is coaching Oguri, we feel less of her impact. Which is to be expected with a trainer of Musaka’s caliber. The question is, where will her character go from here?
The visuals and animation are some of the best that we have seen from Uma Musume regarding seasonal airing. As CyGames Pictures animated it very well. Of course, not quite at the level of Road to the Top or Beginning of a New Era. Which is not surprising because those are 2 separate movies in production vs. a 2 cour production. Still, Cinderella Gray holds up well. The strongest point on the technical side is the sound direction. Which bodes well for all 13 episodes of the first cour of this anime.
While I would not suggest that Cinderella Gray be your first entry in the anime franchise. As watching Season 1 gives a better introduction. I also would say in terms of drama, both Season 2 and Beginning of a New Era hit higher highs. However, Cinderella Gray’s story is the best story structure the anime has so far. So if you are a sports fan, this one is absolutely worth checking out.
Overall I would give Cinderella Gray Cour 1 a 9/10.