Umamusume: A Masterful Execution in Character Development
How story, pacing, and delivery makes characters unforgettable
In 2021, a horse racing-themed game was released in Japan. Recently, it has become a massive hit once it came over to the west. Umamusume: Pretty Derby is both a gacha game and an anime that stars a cast of quirky horse girls that you train to compete in various races. Each one has a unique personality, history, and a goal you help them achieve. Because they are all based off real-life counterparts, not only have people became deeply fascinated in the game and the anime, it even brought more fans to take a deeper interest in horse racing.
Hello loyal readers! Thank you again for tuning in. In this article, we will be exploring the greatest strengths Umamusume has to offer. The way it delivers the characters’ stories and backgrounds is something we can all learn from. By applying these elements, more story tellers can take inspiration, and make their audience invested in their characters just like how this game does!
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Personalities Painted in Bold, Vibrant Colors
In the vast ocean of its cast, every player of Umamusume will find a character they adore. Each one has their own rich story and deep personality that shines when you train them. They have their own rivalries, banes, plus they interact with other characters in unique ways. While some may be equally shy or boastful, the game reveals a wide variety of ways to express that through their characters so you’re never bored – like tasting different flavors of fudge.
One sign of a great character lies within their personality, and a perfect example is this horse girl who everyone grew to love – the chaotic wonder of Gold Ship. She always keeps you on your toes, and forces you to go on whacky adventurers as she roleplays various scenes to keep things fun and interesting. She’s a crusader against boredom, and always finds ways to add zest to life. Her chaotic and childish nature is reflected in her real-life counterpart. In Japan’s horse racing scene, Gold Ship, (now retired,) was a notorious showboater, always seeking to entertain the fans. Another quirk shared between the fiction and nonfiction versions of Gold Ship is the way they bully the trainer – though the game is certainly nicer about it. As the real horse would try to kick his trainer (he is a male horse in real life, pardon the confusion,) in game, she would kick the trainer to celebrate her wins. Likewise, she can be difficult to train, and could restrict the player’s ability to train certain stats.
Likewise, Gold Ship’s success is heavily reliant on her mood. If she’s too bored or uninterested, she will outright refuse to race, despite her natural talent that ordinarily would lead her to demolish the competition. Sometimes, she might intentionally stop mid-race just to spark a reaction. The real-life version of Gold Ship went down in history as the “12 Billion Yen Incident.”
Another element of great character design is their backstory. This one I’d like to highlight is one that grew in popularity not because of her exuberant personality or her performance. Instead, she has won the hearts of many, vowing to never give up no matter what! Haru Urara was called “The Shining Star of Losers Everywhere,” after achieving a massive losing streak. In the game, she is super cheerful, and never lets a loss eat her up. She is a great role model for those struggling with their goals, teaching persistence and patience. Knowing of her real-life backstory, players seek to build her career up with great enthusiasm to help her across the finish line, and to achieve her first victory.
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Since the rising popularity of Umamusume, her recognition skyrocketed even more. Her fans discovered they can donate to feed her ryegrass to the now-retired horse, and crashed the website with overwhelming traffic. In a short time, they managed to donate over 2500 kilos of this high-quality ryegrass, worth over $20,000!
https://www.gosugamers.net/entertainment/news/76128-umamusume-fans-crash-donation-website-by-sending-over-2-500-kilograms-of-grass-to-haru-urara
Relatability will also get readers/players heavily invested in a character. Biwa Hayahide is a personal favorite of mine, with her book smarts and her meticulous planning. She suffered a leg injury early on in her career. While her sister never stopped training rigorously, Hayahide had to find a solution to catch up and eventually outshine her. This is how she developed her “perfect formula,” a genius level of analysis that she can use to bend the odds of success in her favor no matter what race she’s in. She’s a calm and cool horse girl, though gets bothered if you call her “big headed.”
I find her relatable because I too often get too indulged in planning. From business plans to story ideas, I’ve come up with millions of amazing ideas. Even when training Hayahide, I try to come up with ways to help her formulate her “perfect formula.” Sadly, unlike her, I myself struggle in executing those plans.
Great Unraveling: How the Characters Captivate the Viewer
The greatest strength in character story development lies with the pacing and interactivity of Umamusume. As a writer, one of the core factors in making your characters loveable is not just in the story itself, but also in how their story is delivered to the reader. With a combination of immersion and great pacing, the player feels emotional stakes for the characters he interacts with. As a trainer, you are helping each of these horse girls achieve their own goals, observing their interactions with their friends, and you’re supporting them in various ways outside of training. Running a career with Gold Ship, for example, you quickly learn and adapt to her unprompted roleplaying as she makes up exciting scenarios in her head. You end up playing along with these little games as to keep her spirits up. You also experience first-hand things that bring her mood down.
Little by little, you learn more about each horse girls’ quirks, interests, and hobbies through various scenes. As you become devoted in their success as a trainer, the game makes you feel close to these characters in many ways often neglected in storytelling. The more time you spend with these characters, the harder you cheer for them as they run towards the finish line.
Final Thoughts
Umamusume was not a game I was expecting to become captivated in. Normally I’m weirded out by these cutesy anime girl type games, but thanks to the memes and the cultural phenomena I was witnessing, I was compelled to give it a shot. While the tutorial threw me off with his arduous thirty-minute length, I eventually became enthralled, and became eager to become involved in the lives of all the racers. The writing was made with a lot of heart, and has set itself as a wonderful example of how to write compelling characters, and how to deliver that story to the readers.
An off-topic, interesting caveat I learned was something about myself in how I read. I find it easier to stay focused when the words pop up in a small section of the screen, as opposed to scanning my eyes across a page in a book.
What do you think? Got a favorite horse? Let us know in the comments below!