Umayuru

Name: Umayuru
Genre: Comedy

うまゆる

7.0(2,683)

MAL Score

Ranked #4404

Popularity #8272

Comedy
Anthropomorphic

Episodes: 24
Status: Finished Airing

Synopsis

In Umayuru, the beloved horse girls from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby take center stage once again, this time in a delightful collection of short episodes that emphasize humor and whimsy over competitive racing. Viewers are treated to an array of comedic moments as the characters navigate their everyday lives, each showcasing their unique personalities through quick-witted skits and playful banter.

This charming series, available on the franchise's official YouTube channel, offers a refreshing glimpse into the lighter side of the Uma Musume world, inviting fans to enjoy bite-sized snippets of fun and laughter that capture the essence of these anthropomorphic athletes. Each episode is a joyful celebration of camaraderie and the delightful chaos of their daily adventures.

Otaku Consensus

Umayuru lands as a compact franchise dessert: Seiya Miyajima’s chibi direction and the official-YouTube short format keep the timing brisk, while the parody-heavy writing lets Uma Musume’s cast chemistry breathe outside the franchise’s sports-drama machinery. Its 7.04 MAL score and 71/100 AniList score reflect a warmly received but niche entry, with the clearest criticism being that the surreal sketch structure rewards existing Uma Musume literacy far more than it welcomes newcomers seeking the emotional racing arcs praised in the main series.

Why You Should Watch

Watch Umayuru if you want the Uma Musume cast energy without committing to a full training arc, tournament structure, or melodramatic cooldown. It scratches the same bite-sized comedy itch as chibi spin-offs like Isekai Quartet, but with the specific flavor of horse-girl celebrity parody, school-life absurdity, and quick character-first punchlines. The appeal is not “more racing”; it is seeing a sports franchise loosen its tie and become a rapid-fire sketch show. Because the episodes were released through the franchise’s official YouTube channel, it also works as a low-friction side dish between larger Uma Musume seasons. Viewers who already know the rhythms of Tracen Academy, the running gags, and the real-race-name character identities will get the most out of its compact jokes.

Key Characters

S
Symboli Kris S(VA: Meiku Harukawa)
Symboli Kris S stands out here because the short-form format gives her a sharper comedic footprint than a conventional ensemble sports episode would allow.
T
Tanino Gimlet(VA: Misato Matsuoka)
Tanino Gimlet’s main billing makes her one of Umayuru’s key draws for fans interested in the franchise’s broader roster beyond the most familiar Pretty Derby leads.

What Makes It Stand Out

1
Umayuru is a 24-episode finished short-form series distributed through the Uma Musume franchise’s official YouTube channel, making it structurally closer to a recurring web sketch program than a standard TV sports season.
2
Scooter Films produced the anime, with Seiya Miyajima serving simultaneously as director, character designer, and chief animation director, a production setup that helps unify the chibi visual language across rapid episodic gags.
3
The writing is built around a compact comedy-room model: Youko Yonaiyama handled series composition and scripts, joined on scripts by Yumi Suzumori and Seiichirou Mochizuki, with Tetsuya Kobari credited as scenario director.
4
AniList’s highest-weighted tags for the series include Chibi, Kemonomimi, Episodic, Surreal Comedy, and Parody, which accurately positions Umayuru as the franchise’s gag-cartoon lane rather than a miniature version of the main racing drama.
5
The main-character data foregrounds Symboli Kris S and Tanino Gimlet, signaling a different spotlight from the broader Uma Musume TV conversation that often centers on earlier anime leads and their competitive arcs.

Fun Facts & Trivia

Fun fact 1: Cygames is credited as the original creator, tying Umayuru directly to the wider Uma Musume multimedia franchise rather than positioning it as an unofficial side parody.
Fun fact 2: Seiya Miyajima’s triple role as director, character designer, and chief animation director is unusually centralizing for a comedy short, especially one dependent on consistent facial exaggeration and fast visual punchlines.
Fun fact 3: Youko Yonaiyama did double duty as both series composition lead and scriptwriter, giving the project a defined comedic structure while still sharing individual script work with Yumi Suzumori and Seiichirou Mochizuki.
Fun fact 4: The series’ reception is modest but positive across database audiences: MAL lists it at 7.04 from 2,683 votes, while AniList records a 71/100 score and 48 favourites.
Fun fact 5: The parent Uma Musume: Pretty Derby anime has a broader reputation for mixing sports energy with character drama, including an IMDb rating of 7.3/10, which makes Umayuru’s lighter parody format a notable tonal pivot inside the same franchise.