Uma Musume Adds Title Holder: Japanese Trainers React — "My Favorite Racehorse Lives On. People Talk About Him Again."
新ウマ娘タイトルホルダー実装発表 日本のファンの反応
“I finally get why an old man cries happy tears when his favorite racehorse becomes an Uma Musume character. It's that the memory gets carried on. It's that everyone talks about Title Holder again. Thank you — that's the only word I can find.”
推し馬がウマ娘化して喜ぶおじさんの気持ちがよく分かった。記憶が継がれるのが嬉しいんだ。みんながまたタイトルホルダーの話をするのが嬉しいんだ。 ありがとう、それしか言葉が見つからない。
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby announced a new playable character at its 7th-anniversary live: Title Holder, based on the real Grade-1-winning racehorse (nickname "Taiho"). The most-liked Japanese reactions reveal something English fans rarely get to hear: the franchise's emotional contract with the real horse-racing world. The single biggest comment wasn't hype — it was an older fan saying his "favorite racehorse lives on" through the game, that "the memory is carried on" and "everyone talks about Title Holder again," with nothing left to say but "thank you." From there the thread turned into the kind of affectionate trivia only Japanese racing fans carry: how Taiho was a surprisingly small foal at the paddock ("only slightly bigger than his tiny sister," who weighed just 20kg at birth versus the usual 50kg), how he happened to be racing at his peak right when Uma Musume itself was peaking — so a whole generation feels personally attached — and the unforgettable "soul of the escape" front-running win at the 2023 Arima Kinen that fans now beg the game to recreate. Mixed in: a roster wishlist (Efforia, Shahryar, Equinox, Do Deuce, his sister Melody Lane) and warm notes about the real jockeys, the Yokoyama family. The real-horse-to-game bond is the whole point here — and the thread keeps quietly circling back to it.
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Japanese fan reactions (excerpted from 293)
- @ぬっこここ123👍 76
I mean, he was racing at his peak right when Uma Musume itself was blowing up — so a ton of people have a real personal attachment to him.
てかウマ娘が盛り上がってる時期にちょうど活躍してた馬だから思い入れある人多そう
- @藤黄色👍 121
Honestly though, Taiho is surprisingly small. I still remember seeing him in the paddock at the Nikkei Sho in person and being shocked he was smaller than I'd pictured.
いや、タイホ君意外と小さいのよ。 日経賞の時のパドックを現地で見て思っていたより小さくてびっくりした記憶
- @イサムフジ👍 41
He's "way bigger than his sister" and nothing more — by racehorse standards he's just average size, right?
「姉よりははるかに大きい」だけで競走馬としては平均的ですよね。
- @Sera-or3👍 18
Apparently his body weight as a foal was only slightly more than his sister, who was born at just 20kg (the average is 50kg). Honestly it's more like "wow, look how big he managed to grow!"
産まれた時、20kgだった姉(平均は50kgです)に毛が生えたような馬体重だったそうですから むしろよく大きくなったな！て感じ
- @tonbotokiki👍 19
Taiho worked hard to grow big, okay.
タイホも頑張って大きくしたんだよ
- @Amagi_Erika👍 3
If a guy who looks like this still can't say no to his tiny older sister, that's delicious gap-moe material.
この見目でちっちゃい姉には頭が上がらないとかだとギャップ萌え的には美味しい
- @荒城の月👍 57
He went through a slump, his father and his younger brother both have accomplishments, and he finally broke through thanks to a "sun-like" kid… that's the kind of Trainer he is.
迷走したことがあって、お父さんも弟も実績があって、太陽みたいな子の活躍で一皮剥けて……そんなトレーナー。
- @schatz8770👍 89
Note: he announced himself at the Yayoi Sho just two weeks after the Uma Musume game launched, and won the Kikuka Sho that same year. A huge number of us launch-day Trainers got our brains fried by this guy.
※ゲームウマ娘リリースの2週間後の弥生賞で名乗りをあげた同年の菊花賞馬です 初期勢トレーナーは相当数が脳を焼かれています
- @ほいける-i6e👍 9
I still vividly remember the internet's reaction the moment he won the Kikuka Sho…
未だに菊花賞勝った時のネットでの反応は強烈に覚えてる…
- @pheno-xenon2337👍 5
That year was honestly so much fun… (getting sentimental)
あの年マジで楽しかったなぁ（しみじみ）
- @saitoua5191👍 7
Us app players are cursed: the moment the 2021 generation shows up, our brains get fried, no exceptions.
アプリ組は21世代が参戦すると無条件で脳が焼かれる呪いにかかっているんだよ
- @羽菜たろう👍 17
At first I figured a horse literally named "Title Holder" had to be some joke horse — then he actually went and became a title holder, and I remember being floored 😅
当初は、名前にタイトルホルダーと付けてるギャグ馬かな？と思ってたら、本当にタイトルホルダーになったから驚いた思い出😅
- @st-yi1by👍 69
I love his "soul of the escape" front-running run at the 2023 Arima Kinen way too much. I genuinely want the game to recreate that race, so please add the other horses from it too…
23有馬記念魂の逃げが好きすぎるんだ あのレースの再現が本当に見たいので周辺の馬たちも是非・・
- @百合仙人_2g👍 8
All 16 horses bunch up tight! No — it's 15, one is out front!! It's Title Holder!!!
16頭がギュッと固まる！ いや15頭だ1頭前を行っている！！ タイトルホルダーだ！！！
- @malkyrie5👍 16
I loved the owner's speech at his retirement ceremony, so I hope they work that into his character too.
引退式のオーナーの語りが好きだったからそっちの要素も取り入れてくれたらいいな
- @toarukengou5254👍 130
This means Efforia and Shahryar are coming too… right?! I'm allowed to hope for Equinox, Do Deuce and Panthalassa too… right?! And Contrail, please come too!!
エフフォーリアとシャフリヤールも来るってことだよね…！？ イクイノックスとドウデュースとパンサラッサにも期待していいんですよね…！？ コントレイルも来てくれー！
- @2マリー-g1v👍 40
I never expected them to have her speak the tagline from his "Hero Chronicles" feature word-for-word as her intro line. And now that Taiho's here, Efforia, Shahryar and Equinox suddenly feel a lot closer too.
ヒーロー列伝のキャッチコピーをそのまま紹介台詞で喋るとは思わんかった そしてタイホが来たならエフフォーリアやシャフリヤール イクイノックスも近くなってきたな
- @kantannguuusu3867👍 36
Efforia, Do Deuce, Panthalassa, and his big sister too — come on!!! This kid's Trainer has some connection to Sky's and Ryan's Trainer, doesn't he??
エフフォ、おドウ、パンサ、そしてお姉ちゃんもきて！！！ この子のトレーナーはスカイとライアンのトレーナーと縁があるな？？
- @恵那桔梗👍 28
I want to meet Melody Lane (his sister) so badly 🤩
メロディーレーンに逢いたい🤩
- @平仲徹-s8s👍 78
If Taiho's here, then they HAVE to bring his little sister Lane along too……… (sense of duty)
タイホくん来たならレーンちゃんも連れてこないと………(使命感)
- @naoyoshi-zero👍 36
If Taiho's here, his big sister Lane has to be just around the corner too, right? Which means another of Orfevre's daughters joins the roster.
タイホくん来たならお姉ちゃんのレーンちゃんも秒読みやろか？だとしたらオルの娘がまた増えるのか
- @overblue1640👍 38
If Equinox and Do Deuce actually show up my brain is going to melt.
イクイとおドウが来ちゃったら脳が焼ける
- @Georges_jp👍 22
Yokayoka! Add Yokayoka too!! I'm begging you!!!!
ヨカヨカ！ヨカヨカも来てくれ！！頼む！！！！
- @楓月-r6k👍 17
I figured they were due to drop a surprise reveal, but this one's way too huge.
隠し玉そろそろ来ると思ったらでかすぎるだろこれは
- @akateganinasu👍 59
Silver Sonic: "If you're doing the Spring Tenno Sho, then it's not just little Lane — add me too, the one running right behind him who gave him a real run for his money."
シルヴァーソニック「春天やるならレーンちゃんだけじゃなくて後ろ走っていい勝負した私も」
- @シライヌ-v7r👍 19
That was… the race where your jockey was riding with everything he had, right? And you proudly stood in the frame during Taiho's photo shoot afterward, too.
君それ…騎手が魂の騎乗してた時だよね？ しかもタイホくんの写真撮影でその姿を堂々としてたよね
- @モブのおっさん👍 29
If they lean hard into the Kazuo flavor, his Trainer could be one of the most ideal-prince-charming Trainers in all of Uma Musume. The second they win the Nikkei Sho, you just know he'd hug Title Holder shouting "WE DID IT!!"
和生成分強めだとウマ娘史上最強クラスのスパダリトレーナーになりそう。 日経賞勝ったら『やったぞー！！』って言いながらタイトルホルダーに抱きつきそう。
- @bulletyou3216👍 44
Seeing that her build resembles Sei's, I started to think there's a thematic link in how they both front-run the Kikuka Sho.
体格がセイちゃんと似てるのを見て、菊花賞の逃げ方繋がりがあるのかと思った
- @東ミハル👍 9
After all, their jockeys are a real father-and-son pair.
騎手も親子ですからね。
- @tonbotokiki👍 5
Nori-san himself is a Yokoyama Jr., so in a way the Yokoyama family is racing's own royal family.
ノリさん自体も横山Jr.だし横山家はある意味ロイヤルファミリー
- @きょうが-g8w👍 11
Duramente also gave off a cool-type impression when she first appeared in the anime, but once her in-game model dropped and you actually raised her, she showed off her cute side too — maybe this design follows that same lineage.
ドゥラメンテもアニメ初登場の時にかっこいい系印象受けたけどアプリでモデル出て育成されたらかわいい所も出して来たしその流れ汲んだデザインかな
- @蛍丸-z1o👍 1
This era of racehorses is probably a direct bullseye for anyone who got into the hobby through Uma Musume itself.
このあたりの競走馬はおそらくウマ娘からハマった人にストライクすぎる
- @たま-h7n1m👍 5
While his peers' offspring are debuting and other peers are becoming Uma Musume characters, the Deep Monster has reached his awakening and still keeps on running to this day.
同期の産駒がデビューし、別の同期がウマ娘になる中、覚醒の時を迎え今も尚走り続けるディープモンスター
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