January 12th, midnight. The second episode of "Uma Musume" Season 2 aired.
In front of the TV, Shiga Taka sat on the sofa, watching intently.
Tuesday isn't like Saturday; there was work the next morning. However, since it aired at midnight, it was only 12:30 AM when it finished, so staying up a little late wasn't out of the question.
Of course, the main reason was that many people were saying that Lin Zhiyan intended to use this anime to break the disc sales record held by "EVA." Although Lin Zhiyan had not made a public statement or confirmed it was this anime, various signs indicated it was indeed this one.
As someone who had been following Lin Zhiyan since "Death Note" in 2000, and had been watching his anime since high school all the way until now, when he had started a family and had children, he naturally had to support this "Uma Musume 2."
Additionally, he was genuinely curious as to why this anime was so highly regarded by Lin Zhiyan.
He didn't participate in online discussions, but he had watched the first episode. While it was indeed quite good, in his opinion, it didn't seem like it could break the average sales record per volume, even if the "power of the king" from the game were thrown in; it still felt difficult. After all, it wasn't as if there hadn't been works that tried that before.
However, it was also because EVA's average sales per volume were so high—accumulating to as much as 200,000 copies over twenty-some years—that it was truly more exaggerated than the box office performance of Spirited Away, making people feel that no matter what was done, its record could never be broken.
Setting that aside for now, regardless of whether it could be broken or not, Shiga Taka certainly had to pay attention to this animation; he wouldn't treat it the same way as other LSP animations.
On the television, first came the follow-up to the incident involving Tokai Teio's abnormal left leg.
In the hospital examination room.
Tokai Teio sat on a chair and said, very optimistically, "Geez, the Trainer is making such a big fuss. I'm really fine."
"This is just to be safe. It never hurts to let the doctor take a look," the Trainer explained.
"Let's get this over with quickly. I want to hurry up and start preparing for the Kikuka Sho," Tokai Teio said, looking impatient.
Just then, in the next second, she heard the doctor say, "Miss Tokai Teio."
"What is it?" Tokai Teio turned her head to look at the doctor.
Just then, she heard the doctor say, "Tokai Teio."
"What is it?"
Tokai Teio turned her head to look at the doctor.
"It's broken," the doctor said, concise and to the point.
"Eh?" The trainer was shocked.
"It's a fracture. You shouldn't expect to return to racing until next spring," the doctor elaborated.
Tokai Teio didn't react at first, but immediately after, she made an extremely exaggerated expression: "Eh?!"
!!!∑(?Д?ノ)ノ
"Please be hospitalized for treatment," the doctor said, very seriously.
"Hospitalized?"
Tokai Teio immediately became unhappy, fussing like a child: "No! No, no, no..."
"Is it really a fracture?" the trainer asked again.
"Yes, it is."
As the doctor confirmed, he began to prepare some medicine. "I'll give you a painkiller injection first."
"Eh?" Tokai Teio was taken aback.
Before she could react, her left leg had already been injected, causing her to cry out on the spot.
Despite the situation being quite heavy, it was unexpectedly a bit funny.
After that, it was the OP. Once the OP finished, there was a GG, and only after the GG ended did it return to the main story.
Although the doctor said, "It will take 6 months to heal, and you shouldn't return until next spring," Tokai Teio had no intention of giving up; she insisted on participating in the Kikuka Sho and declared that she would definitely win.
Although the doctor said, "It will take six months to fully recover, and a comeback will have to wait until next spring," Tokai Teio had no intention of giving up. She declared that she absolutely had to participate in the Kikuka Sho, and she was determined to win.
The Trainer was somewhat resigned, but he decided to help her come up with a plan, the first step of which was for Tokai Teio to be a good patient and focus on healing.
The news of Tokai Teio's fracture spread quickly through breaking news reports, shocking people and leaving many feeling heavy-hearted.
Some were discussing it privately:
"If Tokai Teio could compete in the Kikuka Sho, she'd definitely be the champion."
"But she's injured right now, so she can't participate, right?"
"Exactly."
The Trainer, who happened to be passing by, heard every word.
He also wanted to help Tokai Teio achieve her Triple Crown goal, so he went back and started poring over all sorts of professional books, formulating a plan that would allow Tokai Teio to return for the Kikuka Sho.
Once Tokai Teio was discharged from the hospital on crutches, he made a pact with her: as long as she didn't give up, he would support her with everything he had. However, if they reached the final moment and were still advised against it by the doctors, they would have to give up.
After that, it was time to implement the so-called "Comeback Plan," which included having Tokai Teio do visualization training—imagining what her comeback would look like, watching others run, and persistently imagining how she herself would run.
Her teammates in Spica were very cooperative, offering all sorts of help and giving her a lot of useful things. Special Week, in particular, took some time one evening to go to Tokai Teio's room and video call Silence Suzuka, who was far away in North America, to ask for advice on rehabilitation.
Tokai Teio herself was also working hard on her studies.
Her attitude inspired a horse girl from another team, Excellent Quality, who set a goal to win a few preparatory races and participate in the Kikuka Sho.
Mejiro McQueen, a teammate in Spica who came from the prestigious Mejiro family, simply took Tokai Teio to the Mejiro estate, having the family's dedicated medical team help her recover better and faster.
After much effort, Tokai Teio was finally able to have her cast removed and no longer needed crutches, though this didn't mean she could return to racing immediately.
There were still various kinds of training ahead.
August passed quickly, and September arrived.
In the restaurant, Tokai Teio was eating when Excellent Quality walked over with her meal, sat down across from her, and asked how she was doing. She then told her that she would soon be participating in the qualifying race, and that she needed to win it in order to enter the Kikuka Sho.
"I'll be waiting for you, because my dream is to defeat you," Excellent Quality said.
"Mm."
Tokai Teio nodded with a smile, though beneath the table, she couldn't help but clench her fists.
October.
The Kikuka Sho was fast approaching, but despite Tokai Teio's strong desire to compete, the doctor only shook his head.
After leaving the hospital, Tokai Teio felt a bit dejected.
At dusk, she arrived at the Tracen Academy racetrack, where she saw Excellent Quality training with all her might.
Walking to the door of the trainer's office, she pushed it open just a crack and was startled, yet deeply moved, to see him working tirelessly, searching for a way for her to successfully return, compete in the Kikuka Sho, and win. She quickly walked inside and told the trainer that she wouldn't be able to participate in the race.
"We have to keep our promise, stay determined until the very last moment. But if the doctor advises against it, we'll give up on participating, right? I won't participate..." Tokai Teio said.
"Not yet!"
The Trainer grew anxious. "It's too early to give up now. There must be another way. Teio, I will make you an undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume..."
"There's no need. It's already unnecessary." Tokai Teio shook her head. "I can't run at full strength right now. If I force myself to participate in the Kikuka Sho and compete against everyone else who is giving their all, I can't do it."
Even though she couldn't participate, she still asked the Trainer to take her to the Kikuka Sho racecourse to watch the race that day.
On the day of the race.
Many people felt regret that Tokai Teio couldn't participate.
Standing on the viewing platform, Tokai Teio watched the Uma Musume running on the track while simultaneously performing imaginary training:
"If it were me... I would stay in the middle pack at this point, observing the situation. By my side is that girl I competed against in the Derby, with her talent right behind me. She must be chasing me..."
Although she couldn't participate, through imagery training, it felt as if she were on the track, taking part in this very race.
On the track, the competition was neck-and-neck.
The leading Uma Musume had already reached the third corner and started to climb the hill.
Tokai Teio continued her visualization: "Holding back until here, then making my move at the next corner..."
Reaching the next corner, the visualization continued: "This is the moment to make a sudden dash, surge to the front, and no one will be able to catch me..."
As she thought this, tears suddenly began to fall, drop by drop.
No one could catch her, but... as it happened, she couldn't participate, she wasn't on the track, and could only watch from the sidelines, doing this kind of imagery training.
For an Uma Musume, this was undoubtedly a tragic thing.
In the spectator stands, cheers suddenly erupted.
Tokai Teio looked up in surprise, turning her gaze toward the track.
The image of herself disappeared, replaced by the figures of those Uma Musume who were running with all their might.
The camera focused on the participating Uma Musume, and then began to depict their inner thoughts.
Nice Nature: "Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it! I absolutely won't let anyone say this is only because Teio isn't participating!"
Other Uma Musume also shouted in their hearts:
"I absolutely cannot lose to Teio!"
"We are stronger than her!"
"Stronger!"
"Stronger than her!"
The atmosphere at the venue was stirred up.
Watching this, Tokai Teio couldn't help but say: "Go..."
At first, it was just a very faint voice, but soon she couldn't help but shout: "Go! Run!"
The beginning was very funny, but the final part of this scene was inherently tear-jerking. The heart-wrenching atmosphere was built up so perfectly and effectively that Shiga Taka, watching in front of the TV, couldn't help but tear up, as he hadn't done in a long time.
"I'm getting old; I can't handle such tear-jerking scenes anymore," Shiga Taka sighed to himself.
However, seeing this, he had to admit it.
Episode 2 of "Uma Musume" Season 2 was truly done well. No wonder there were rumors that Lin Zhiyan thought so highly of this animation.