In What Order Should You Watch the "Umamusume" Anime? A Guide to Airing Order, Historical Chronology, and More

The "Umamusume" project features a wide-ranging media mix including games and anime. As of May 2025, the game "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" has surpassed 22 million downloads.

The "Umamusume" anime showcases the everyday lives of the Umamusume and their struggles on the race track. The "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" anime series features characters like Special Week and Tokai Teio as protagonists, while in "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray," Oguri Cap is the main character.

This article summarizes what order to watch the "Umamusume" anime, including airing order and historical chronology.

Recommended Viewing Order for the "Umamusume" Anime

This section outlines the recommended viewing order for the "Umamusume" series as broadcast anime. While there are also games and manga in addition to the anime, you can enjoy the anime series without any prior knowledge. As of August 2025, the following "Umamusume" anime works exist:

■ "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" (TV Anime)
■ "Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 2" (TV Anime)
■ "Umamusume: Pretty Derby Road to the Top" (Web Anime)
■ "Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 3" (TV Anime)
■ "Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era" (Theatrical Film)
■ "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" (TV Anime)
■ "Umayon" (TV Anime)
■ "Umayuru" (Web Anime)
■ "Umayuru Pretty~Gray" (Web Anime)

As of August 2025, it is recommended to start your viewing with "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" and then watch the "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" series.

"Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" has a standalone story, so even if you are unfamiliar with the previous "Umamusume" series, you can fully enjoy it. As the newest anime in the franchise, it is also perfect for experiencing the fun of live reactions on social media.

The "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" series consists of several works, each with a different main character in every season. While you can enjoy the show regardless of your starting point, some characters appear in multiple seasons across different story arcs, so watching in broadcast order from the first season is recommended.

"Umayon" and "Umayuru" are comedic short anime series that you'll find even more entertaining if you already have some understanding of the Umamusume characters.

Recommended Viewing Order as of 2025

"Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" (2025)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby" (2018)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 2" (2021)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 3" (2023)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Road to the Top" (2023)
　↓
"Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era" (2024)
　↓
"Umayon" (2020)
　↓
"Umayuru" (2022)
　↓
"Umayuru Pretty~Gray" (2025)

What if You Want to Watch in Airing Order?

If you want to watch the "Umamusume" anime in the order it was broadcast or produced, follow this order:

"Umamusume: Pretty Derby" (2018)
　↓
"Umayon" (2020)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 2" (2021)
　↓
"Umayuru" (2022)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Road to the Top" (2023)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 3" (2023)
　↓
"Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era" (2024)
　↓
"Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" (2025)
　↓
"Umayuru Pretty~Gray" (2025)

What if You Want to Watch in Historical Order?

Many of the Umamusume featured in the series are modeled after real racehorses, and in some cases, the race results depicted in the anime are directly inspired by history. This section lists the main anime in order of the years in which the real-life horses that inspired their protagonists were active. Note that "Umayon" and "Umayuru" are excluded since they are short comedies focused on everyday life rather than races.

"Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" protagonist: Oguri Cap (1985)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 2" protagonist: Tokai Teio (1988)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby" protagonist: Special Week (1995)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Road to the Top" protagonist: Narita Top Road (1996)
　↓
"Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era" protagonist: Jungle Pocket (1998)
　↓
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 3" protagonist: Kitasan Black (2012)

*Parentheses indicate the birth year of the real-life racehorse.

What Is the "Umamusume" Series?

"Umamusume" is a cross-media franchise featuring horse girls who have tails and ears like horses and possess superhuman running abilities. The project spans games, anime, manga, stage plays, and more, with live events hosted by the franchise’s voice actresses enjoying massive popularity.

The Umamusume, inheriting the names and spirits of legendary racehorses, dream of shining on the national stage and competing in the popular sports entertainment event "Twinkle Series." They attend the educational institution "Tracen Academy," where they strive alongside their friends towards their dreams and the races.

After races, "Winning Live" concerts are held to share the joy with fans. The Umamusume who triumphs in a race is awarded the coveted center position at these performances.

What Is the "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" Anime?

"Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" tells the story of Oguri Cap, a gray-haired Umamusume.

Oguri Cap enrolls in Kasamatsu Tracen Academy, a school in a declining rural area. The school’s trainer, Jo Kitahara, laments the dying state of local races but, upon witnessing Oguri Cap’s performance, senses he has finally encountered the star he has been waiting for.

Scouted by Kitahara to join his team, Oguri Cap enters numerous races, overturning all expectations. She gradually becomes known as the "Monster"—the ashen Cinderella girl who will leave behind countless legends.

This anime adapts the manga of the same name serialized in "Weekly Young Jump," commonly referred to as "Singure." The TV anime will air over two split cours starting in April 2025. Tomoyo Takayanagi, known for roles such as Sarina Tendoji in "Oshi No Ko," voices the protagonist, Oguri Cap.

Are the "Umamusume" Anime Series Connected? How About the World of "Cinderella Gray"?

To date, multiple adaptations of "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" have aired as TV anime, along with comedic short anime "Umayon" and "Umayuru," as well as "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray," which airs from April 2025.

The TV anime "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" tells the story of the protagonist striving for the title of "Japan’s number one Umamusume," alongside her teammates. Season 1 features Special Week, Season 2 Tokai Teio, and Season 3 Kitasan Black as the leads. While each season has a different protagonist, some characters also appear across different seasons, indicating a shared world within the TV anime series.

The web anime "Umamusume: Pretty Derby Road to the Top," distributed on the official YouTube channel "Paka Tube!", and the feature film "Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era" share the same continuity and are connected. However, these works are independent from the TV anime "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" series.

"Umayon" and "Umayuru" are comedic short anime portraying the chibi daily lives of the Umamusume. While characters from "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" appear, these are gag anime not connected to the main "Umamusume" series and should be considered parallel worlds.

"Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" features Oguri Cap, who also appears in "Umamusume: Pretty Derby," as the protagonist. However, it has no connection to "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" and is a completely stand-alone story. Junnosuke Ito, who planned and structured the "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" manga, answered a fan question about whether the worlds of "Cinderella Gray" and the anime Umamusume are connected by saying that he tries not to create any severe contradictions, but leaves it up to the reader’s interpretation.

Summary

The "Umamusume" anime series includes the three-season "Umamusume: Pretty Derby," the short anime "Umayon" and "Umayuru," and "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray" with Oguri Cap as its protagonist.

The best viewing order recommendation is to start from the latest, "Umamusume: Cinderella Gray." Since the story is entirely independent of the other series, it’s enjoyable even for those who have no prior knowledge of the franchise.

（C）2018 アニメ「ウマ娘 プリティーダービー」製作委員会
（C）2021 アニメ「ウマ娘 プリティーダービー Season 2」製作委員会
（C）2023 アニメ「ウマ娘 プリティーダービー Season 3」製作委員会
（C）2024 劇場版「ウマ娘 プリティーダービー 新時代の扉」製作委員会
（C）久住太陽・杉浦理史＆Pita・伊藤隼之介／集英社・ウマ娘 シンデレラグレイ製作委員会
（C） Cygames, Inc.

List of images for this article