I watched a streamer man called Northernlion run an Umamusume Pretty Derby tournament and thirty thousand people were in the channel. Haven't heard of this potent brand, just as vigorous as the horses that inspired it? Of course you have. It's the anime/manga/music/game series from Cygames about beautiful, fast young women who are reincarnations of famous historical racehorses. Obviously.
I'm out of town for a sec but when I get back I see no reason not to go over to Gabe's and take this game way too seriously. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to take it as seriously as they have; I saw a clip from the show compared to a moment from an actual, historical race. It made me very still. There's nothing to say, really, except "somehow, they have managed to capture the drama of the sport in a radical new guise, surely minting a new generation of fans for both."
I, too, want to shrink the world to a pinhole and just stare at one thing so hard that all its secrets are revealed. Taking tennis or racing or volleyball or horses or boxing too seriously seems like it would have limited appeal, some kind of ceiling in it somewhere, an easily avoidable trap because I've fallen into it several times already. But this trick works on me every time.
(CW)TB out.
