Marika Takano, who plays Silence Suzuka, cried when legendary jockey Yutaka Take called out to her! Report from "Umamusume Pretty Derby: Just before the broadcast‼︎ Special Stage" [Animejapan 2018

On March 24-25, 2018, the "Uma Musume Pretty Derby: ‼︎ Special Stage" was held at the YELLOW Stage of AnimeJapan 2018 at Tokyo Big Sight.

On stage were Azumi Wake playing Special Week, Marika Takano playing Silence Suzuka, Machico playing Tokai Teio, Ayaka Ohashi playing Vodka, Chisaki Kimura playing Daiwa Scarlett, Hitomi Ueda playing Gold Ship, Saori Onishi playing Mejiro McQueen, and Tazuna Surugawa Ms. Yukiyo Fujii, who plays Tazuna Surugawa, and from the staff, Producer Junnosuke Ito from Toho and Content Producer Akihiro Ishihara from Cygames appeared on stage.

The seven actors playing the roles of Umamusume are also the members in charge of the TV anime "Umamusume Pretty Derby" OP theme "Make debut! The seven appeared on stage in their well-known costumes and horse ears, and talked about the anime just before its broadcast.

In the "Aim for the best Uma Musume in Japan! In the "Character Introduction Race" corner, the seven contestants had 30 seconds to introduce the Uma Musume they portrayed. Since the judge was producer Ito, who is a big horse racing fanatic, Ueda's introduction was well received by the audience as she related the character of Goldship, the famous horse in real life, to the character of Goldship as an Umamusume. Ms. Kimura introduced Daiwa Scarlett as a beautiful girl who hates to lose and never stops working hard to be the best.

Ms. Waki cheerfully showed Special Week's purity and friendliness. Machico-san expressed his own (Machico-san's) feelings about Tokai Teio's friendliness and purity. Machico performed a trick where he waited for the audience to give him a lucky break. He also passionately expressed his love for Simbolirdorf, the student council president.

Ohashi-san introduced Vodka's prideful, competitive, but sensitive side. Ms. Ohnishi showed her skillful commentary as she played the role of Mejiro McQueen. Her calm tone of voice conveyed the impression of a young lady.

On stage, she gave a lot of information, as if to say, "This is it!　and more information was presented on stage. First of all, the TV anime "Uma Musume Pretty Derby" will start on April 1 on TOKYO MX, BS11, Kansai TV, SAGA TV, AT-X, and Abema TV. The first episode will be an hour-long special that will broadcast the first two episodes all at once.

Prior to this, on March 31, Ms. Waki, Ms. Takano, Machico, and others will appear at the Umamusume hit prayer race at Saga Racecourse and "2018 Meiji Yasuda Life J1 League Section 5 Sagan Tosu vs. Nagoya Grampus" at the Best Amenity Stadium.

Pre-registration for the game "Uma Musume Pretty Derby" began on the day of the event. The long-awaited gate-in was finally in sight.

The biggest surprise of the day, however, was the appointment of JRA jockey Yutaka Take as promoter of "Umamusume. Mr. Take will appear in "Umamusume" commercials starting in April and will be involved in various other ways. In the video, Mr. Take spoke of his interest in the "Uma Musume" anime, naming the famous horses he has ridden.

The cast members, who are in the midst of the unique experience of playing characters bearing the names of legendary horses, were thrilled to hear Mr. Take, the partner of the famous horses, recognize the Uma Musume and call them by their names. Mr. Takano, who played the role of Silence Suzuka, on whom Mr. Take rode, even broke down in tears.

The event concluded with Ms. Kazuki asking the audience to follow the work and the Uma Musume. The "Uma Musume Pretty Derby" is a work of overwhelming volume, with anime, games, and TV commercials, so be sure to keep an eye out for it.

(Reporting and writing by Kiri Nakazato)