The opening part tells the story of Tokai Teio's childhood, but since this animation is not about Tokai Teio's inspirational growth story, it quickly returns to the normal timeline—the point in time right after the end of the first season's story.
In the Tracen Academy dormitory, the TV is on, broadcasting news about Uma Musume. Two news anchors are providing commentary:
"The Spring Tenno Sho was won by Mejiro McQueen."
"It was truly a complete victory."
"There are more exciting races to come, and that is the Japanese Derby in three weeks."
"The most popular Uma Musume at the moment, Tokai Teio, is set to compete. Her performance in the Satsuki Sho was also very strong."
"After all, she has been undefeated since her debut, with five consecutive wins. I wonder what kind of performance she will give in the Derby; it's really something to look forward to."
On the wall hangs a poster of Tokai Teio's idol, Symboli Rudolf, and next to it is a piece of white paper that reads: "Goal!
An Unbeaten Triple Crown Uma Musume!"
On the table is a magazine with a cover story about Tokai Teio winning her first crown, dominating the Satsuki Sho.
As the protagonist, Tokai Teio, fully dressed, turns off the TV, grabs her bag, says a word to her roommate Nice Nature who is still sleeping in bed, and leaves the dormitory.
After leaving the dormitory, she bought a honey drink, and then, as a highly popular idol... a highly popular Uma Musume, she was surrounded by fans all clamoring for autographs.
After finally finishing with the autographs and rushing to school, she remembered that it was the school's open house day.
Because the Spica team's trainer had terrible luck and drew the short straw, the team members were responsible for the reception work for the open house.
With the exception of Silence Suzuka, who had gone to North America, all members of Team Spica were present.
Everyone was assigned a part of the work, receiving visitors who had come from outside the school and introducing them to various aspects of Tracen Academy.
This plot sequence was set up to give viewers who hadn't seen the first season or didn't understand the setting of the work an initial understanding of the situation at Tracen Academy, while also helping viewers of the first season refresh their memories, as the first season had aired three years ago and was quite a while back.
Of course, there was another purpose: to introduce two little fangirls, Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond, one a fan of Tokai Teio, and the other a fan of Mejiro McQueen.
However, the plot of the campus open day takes up less than half of the episode; the second half of the first episode mainly focuses on an important race for Tokai Teio—the Derby.
Tokai Teio was the most popular runner in this race, but she was starting from gate 8. No runner from gate 8 had ever won at this racetrack, as the track turns immediately after the start, and gate 8 was right on the outside, making it a very disadvantageous position.
Even though Tokai Teio was very popular, it was hard not to feel a bit worried.
Fortunately, Tokai Teio herself was in excellent form, and her little fangirls and teammates were all cheering her on. Once the race officially started, she got off to a great start. She pushed in the middle and later stages, overtaking one Uma Musume after another, and claimed the championship with ease.
Following the Satsuki Sho, she secured another major race victory, achieving the Unbeaten Double Crown. Now, only one more major race victory was needed to reach the goal of an Unbeaten Triple Crown.
The name "Teio" echoed throughout the racetrack as countless people cheered for her victory.
Fans who had previously been worried about her starting from gate 8 even whispered among themselves:
"Teio might have already surpassed the Emperor."
"So, geniuses really do exist in this world. It's frustrating, though."
Ahua, the trainer of Team Rigil, also congratulated the trainer of Team Spica, saying things like "As expected, you're amazing."
The trainer of Team Spica, however, replied: "Save the congratulations for the Kikuka Sho; she hasn't reached her goal yet."
Starting off as a genius, effortlessly winning the Derby G1 race at the very beginning, and achieving an unbeaten double crown—it made winning the Kikuka Sho and achieving the unbeaten triple crown seem like a simple matter.
However, at that very moment, in the middle of the track, while making a "V" sign and happily accepting the cheers of the audience, Tokai Teio suddenly felt something was off with her left leg.
She didn't think much of it, assuming it was at most a minor injury, and after moving it a bit, she went back to happily enjoying the cheers of the crowd.
After the race, as per custom, there was a live performance featuring the top three finishers, and standing in the center was the champion, Tokai Teio.
She sang and danced with the second and third-place finishers, with countless fans cheering her on from below, her popularity soaring.
The Emperor, the Spica trainer, and her teammates were all at the venue to watch the performance. At first, no one thought much of it, but when a certain movement occurred, the Emperor and the Spica trainer realized something was wrong; they were stunned, and their expressions became very serious.
The singing continued, but after a smile from Tokai Teio on stage, the screen went black, the credits rolled, and the first episode ended.
Before the second season aired, those who followed the PVs and related news already knew that the protagonist had changed to Tokai Teio. However, although they knew it was Tokai Teio and were well aware of her legendary life, the specific approach to the story was still a question.
They could have easily started from Tokai Teio entering Tracen Academy or from her debut race, adding some slice-of-life scenes, and ending with her achieving the Unbeaten Double Crown.
A story that showcases how genius and invincible Tokai Teio is, crushing all other Uma Musume without needing any special advantages, would certainly be popular in a country like Japan, which loves to create legends.
However, after watching the first episode, most of the audience realized that this is by no means an "invincible" genre anime.
The animation production team had clearly chosen to tell the story of Tokai Teio's later life.
It starts with her as an undefeated genius, true, but the story it intends to tell isn't about Tokai Teio's genius, but her indomitability.
Consequently, shortly after the first episode aired, many people online began to comment:
"After watching the first episode of 'Uma Musume,' I have a feeling the story of the second season is going to be really painful."
"I never expected them to start with the undefeated Double Crown."
"I looked up the story of the real Tokai Teio—she suffered four fractures in her life. Based on some details at the end of the first episode, it looks like her first fracture is coming up soon, and on top of that, she'll break her bones three more times later on!"
"I've got my tissues ready; I'm prepared to wipe away tears at any moment."
"Animation production team: 'You thought I was going to make a story about an undefeated Tokai Teio? No, it's a story about resilience!'"
"I know the upcoming plot is going to be heartbreaking, but I can't say anything against it. After all, it's an anime based on real events. I bet that 'Old Thief Lin,' who loves to depress his audience, is probably snickering in hiding right now."