As 2021 began, "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train" was still raking in box office revenue in theaters, constantly breaking box office records, yet Produ released its new main anime, "Uma Musume" Season 2.
The "Uma Musume" mobile game wouldn't launch until February, but its promotional campaign had actually already begun in January.
While the second season of the anime is a standalone work, it is also, in fact, part of the promotion for the mobile game.
Other promotional efforts for the mobile game also helped drive the popularity of the anime.
Of course, part of the anime's popularity also stemmed from its first season in 2018.
Although its average sales per volume for the first season fell just a little short of 20,000, it wasn't far off from the anime that held the top spot for average sales per volume that year, and in terms of its broadcast quarter, it was undoubtedly the dominant hit from April to June 2018.
Its popularity may not have been as high in other countries, but in Japan, it was quite substantial.
The second season changed protagonists, which was slightly unfriendly to viewers who loved Special Week and Silence Suzuka, but because the protagonists of the first and second seasons were on the same team, the former protagonist didn't completely disappear from the story.
Moreover, the stories of Special Week and Silence Suzuka had indeed been told, and it would be impossible to force another season without basing it on the real-life racehorses, so audiences could understand the change in protagonists.
In addition, the real-life counterparts of the second season's protagonists, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen, have even more legendary histories, making the second season's story even more anticipated.
With the change in protagonists, it wouldn't affect viewers who hadn't seen the first season at all. Starting from the second season would be perfectly fine, making it easier to recommend to others and attracting more people to the series.
However, there was another source of hype that Lin Zhiyan's timeline had, which the "Uma Musume" of the other timeline did not: Lin Zhiyan's long-stated goal of producing an anime with average Blu-ray sales surpassing "EVA" and box office revenue surpassing "Spirited Away."
When he mentioned it in 2014, no one believed him. When he brought it up again in 2018, still no one believed him. Even in 2019 and before October of 2020, very few people believed that Lin Zhiyan could achieve his goal.
However, after the release of *Demon Slayer: Mugen Train*, its box office exploded, breaking the record held by *Spirited Away* in just 66 days. With one of Lin Zhiyan's two goals achieved, many people began to take his goals seriously.
No one considered Lin Zhiyan's goals an unrealistic daydream anymore. They were no longer seen as having zero possibility, but rather just a question of whether or not they could be successfully realized.
According to what Lin Zhiyan said in a magazine interview in '18, both goals were expected to be achieved before 2022.
Before 2022, only 2021 remains.
In other words, at least one of the TV anime produced by Produ or Animation in 2021 was viewed by Lin Zhiyan as having the potential to surpass *EVA* in average sales volume per volume.
Considering that the main anime being promoted by Produ in '21 was only the second season of *Uma Musume*, and other publicly announced anime projects, including those by Animation, didn't appear particularly strong, and looking at the *Uma Musume* mobile game released in February...
There was too much evidence, making it easy to zero in on the anime *Uma Musume 2*.
Although the officials didn't explicitly say so, those who have followed this topic both online and offline felt that Lin Zhiyan was very optimistic about the second season of the *Uma Musume* anime, clearly aiming to stake everything on a single throw.
In such a situation, even those who hadn't watched the first season of *Uma Musume* would be tempted to pay attention to the second season and discuss related topics, which naturally helped to drive up the popularity of the second season.
The anime premiered at midnight on January 5th, and the title of the first episode was the name of the second season's protagonist: "Tokai Teio."
To avoid confusing those who hadn't seen the first season, the beginning of the first episode took care to explain the premise of the work:
"Uma Musume, girls born to run. They inherit names from another world; the original bearers of those names sometimes had tragic fates, and sometimes shone through the ages. They inherit those souls and continue to race—that is their destiny.
In this world, the Uma Musume will also face duels, the outcome of which remains unknown. They will continue to run, with only the finish line in their eyes."
While explaining the setting, a small line of text also appeared: "This work is a fictional piece based on real horse racing stories, focusing on adaptations based on facts."
After these introductions, the protagonist, Tokai Teio, makes her appearance, although it is a younger version of her. She is at the Tokyo Racecourse, watching a horse girl named "Emperor" overtake one opponent after another on the track, claiming victory and achieving a six-race winning streak. She appears very excited.
After Emperor's victory, a note in the top left corner indicates the corresponding real-world background: In July 1983, Emperor participated in her newcomer race and won, followed by consecutive victories in the Ginkgo Special, an Open Race, the Yayoi Sho, the Satsuki Sho, and the Derby, totaling a six-race winning streak.
Including such notes further lowers the barrier to entry for viewers who are not familiar with horse racing and also increases their understanding of horse racing culture.
After the race, there is naturally a press interview segment.
Reporters crowd around Emperor, taking pictures incessantly.
Maruzensky, a horse girl from the same era, walks up to Emperor to congratulate her. Emperor responds modestly, and then a small horse girl pushes through the reporters to reach her.
"Little girl, only authorized personnel are allowed here," a reporter reminds her.
The "little girl" is, naturally, the protagonist, Tokai Teio.
Looking at Emperor, she says excitedly and a bit nervously: "I, I... I want to become a horse girl who is as strong and cool as you, Emperor."
"Little girl, that's not easy. To be as strong as the Emperor, you need talent, hard work, and luck. You need all three to be perfect," Maruzensky said to Tokai Teio.
"Talent, hard work, and luck?" Tokai Teio looked puzzled.
The Emperor said to Maruzensky, "She's still young, she doesn't understand."
Having said that, she looked back at Tokai Teio: "First of all, you need to join Tracen Academy."
"Yes!" Tokai Teio quickly replied.
The Emperor took two steps toward Tokai Teio and crouched down: "Can you tell me your name?"
"To... Tokai Teio."
"Good, I will remember it."
As the Emperor said this, she patted Tokai Teio on the head.
This segment, on one hand, is intended to introduce Tokai Teio, the protagonist of the second season of the anime, allowing the audience to better immerse themselves. On the other hand, it also serves to further remove barriers for viewers who haven't seen the first season and know nothing about the work.
Of course, the Emperor is a very important person to Tokai Teio, so this part of the plot itself also has a very significant role.
In short, although the opening part is only two or three minutes long, every detail reflects the meticulous care put into this anime.