Following the successful launch of Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s English version last year, the horse girl racing franchise’s first anime feature film started screening in North American theaters as of February 27. Titled Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era, the adaptation has already proven to be another international hit for Cygames, earning an estimated $900,000 USD over its first three days.
Commemorating the overseas premiere, the movie’s director Ken Yamamoto recently gave an interview to South Korean outlet ThisIsGame, where he shared his insights on the franchise’s strengths from the perspective of both a hardcore fan of the game, as well as a filmmaker experienced in numerous major IP adaptations. Yamamoto has previously been involved in anime and film adaptations of Attack on Titan, One Piece, Fate/Grand Order and Castlevania.
While Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era was created through close collaboration with the game’s development team, Yamamoto says he felt a surprisingly high degree of creative freedom despite the project being based on an established IP.
“Each Umamusume within the game possesses a deeply developed individual story, and all of this simultaneously exists within a ‘what if’ world.” Yamamoto suggests this is what helped him conceive a single, cohesive script for the film adaptation (note that this is based on machine translation, so the exact nuance should be taken with a grain of salt).
He also adds, “Moreover, by crafting drama based on the stories of real racehorses and the people connected to them, new inspiration can inevitably arise for as long as the history of horse racing continues. It’s an immensely powerful format capable of generating stories of infinite range.” Not only that, he says, but “because Umamusume is grounded in sport, it can shift tones, incorporating comedy, gritty realism, delicate drama, even touches of romance, without ever feeling lightweight or silly, like a gag episode in an action series. I believe this is one of the franchise’s true strengths.”
Much like the game’s storylines, the Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era movie adaptation draws from real-life events, basing its drama loosely on the career of Jungle Pocket and the events surrounding the 2001 Japanese Classic Races. The film is currently being screened in 600 theaters across North America, distributed by GAGA corporation.
