20 Years Ago This Losing Racehorse Charmed Japan — Now an Anime Horse-Girl Game's Western Launch Has Brought Her a New Army of Fans

Umamusume: Pretty Derby, the Japanese mobile crippled successful which you rise anime horse-girls, has brought Japan’s astir unsuccessful racehorse a 2nd roar successful popularity pursuing its occidental motorboat connected Steam — with her positive, never-give-up cognition inspiring a full caller acceptable of fans overseas.

Cygames’ Umamusume: Pretty Derby franchise centers astir a formed of anime girls with equine ears and tails. Each 1 is based connected a existent racehorse, with the personalities, designs and stats of each quality reflecting their IRL counterparts. With the 2021 free-to-play mobile crippled yet getting its English-language debut this June connected Steam, much planetary fans person been discovering the charms of Umamusume’s characters.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby has enjoyed a palmy motorboat successful the westbound via Steam.

Pink-haired Haru Urara seems to person struck a peculiar chord with immoderate players. To accidental she has a bubbly, positive, can-do cognition would beryllium an understatement. Even though she often loses races, she is bully friends with the different horse-girls and often buys them souvenirs. Like Umamusume’s different characters, plucky Haru Urara is based connected the existent beingness equine of the aforesaid name, who is present 29-years-old and enjoying her status astatine Matha Farm successful Japan’s Chiba Prefecture.

Everyone loves an underdog, oregon an underhorse successful this case. Haru Urara raced from 1998 to 2004, nevertheless she didn’t triumph a azygous 1 of her 113 races. Although she made it to 2nd and 3rd spot a fistful of times, she spent astir of her vocation virtually lagging down (source: JBIS Search). So overmuch truthful that she became celebrated for losing, becoming a benignant of nationalist awesome of perseverance successful the look of adversity.

Yutaka Take riding Haru Urara successful 2004. Photo by Sports Nippon/Getty Images.

In 2004, Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese premier curate astatine the time, adjacent praised her successful his authoritative email magazine, saying: “I judge that Haru Urara's cognition of not giving up contempt being beaten contention aft contention is 1 that is intelligibly an inspiration for america all.” In her past years of racing a “Haru Boom” was underway (source: CBS News), with fans travelling crossed the state to ticker her suffer races and buying up Haru Urara merch. Even the betting slips with her sanction connected were being utilized arsenic charms to ward against postulation accidents (the connection “ataranai” oregon “didn’t win” stamped connected losing betting slips is simply a homonym for not being hit, by a car for example). In 2018, Haru Urara became a section personage again erstwhile she was featured connected Chiba police’s postulation information posters, getting paid 600kg worthy of carrots (source: Sankei News).

Fast guardant to July 2025, and users posting existent beingness Haru Urara contented connected X noticed a abrupt uptick of likes and follows, apt the Umamusume effect successful action. X idiosyncratic animal_love_kaz, a self-confessed instrumentality of retired racehorses who often posts photos and updates noted that their Haru Urara day station abruptly got thousands much likes overnight, with their overseas relationship gaining 400 caller followers. In a July 3 post, below, featuring a photograph of the equine with a angiosperm connected her caput that has since racked up 2.6 cardinal views, animal_love_kaz wrote: "I don’t cognize if this volition scope my overseas bros and sisters but Haru Urara is precise well, successful fact, she’s astir apt healthier and much energetic than me!"

なぜかウララさんの今年の誕生日の時のティアラのが昨日からまた更に1万くらいイイネが増えてて通知止まらんし海外アカで昨日から400人くらいフォロワー増えてるじゃん
海外ニキネキ達に伝わるかわからないけど、ハルウララさんはとても元気で過ごしてるし、むしろ私より健康で元気なくらいだよ😆👍 pic.twitter.com/E9MKbUaPRj

Umamusume’s Haru Urara has adjacent been co-opted into the “Why don’t you ever springiness up?” “Because she ne'er did!” meme, which is present floating astir a societal media remark thread adjacent you (here it is connected Reddit). It seems that Haru Urara has go a awesome of not giving up successful the look of adversity for a full caller radical of fans.

In-game Haru Urara people doesn’t person the champion stats compared to different characters. However players tin instrumentality connected the situation of trying to marque her a victor successful the game, oregon astatine the precise least, conscionable bask her infectious affirmative cognition successful the Story Mode cutscenes.

Haru Urara is besides a reminder that if your vocation isn't moving retired close now, you whitethorn find occurrence successful different tract (pun intended) aboriginal on. Although Haru Urara was not palmy arsenic a racehorse, she is present gaining popularity connected societal media, and surviving retired her status years with her person Pepper the goat. Matha Farms adjacent has authoritative merch featuring her, from T-shirts to cushion covers and telephone straps. Some fans sojourn her, but with the surge successful popularity of these existent beingness racehorses, Umamusume developer Cygames precocious shared guidelines connected however to respectfully conscionable your horsey idols successful existent life.

The mobile crippled Umamusume: Pretty Derby is disposable present successful English via Steam, Google Play, and the Apple App store. All 3 seasons of the anime are presently connected Crunchyroll.

Photo by Sports Nippon/Getty Images.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.