The second season of Uma Musume portrays what is possibly the hardest part of being an athlete: injuries. The occurrences of injuries often haunt the careers of famous players throughout every sport, ranging from Kevin Durant to Jason Kendall to Tiger Woods. These injuries often lead to inactivity and when placed in an environment such as competitive sports, being out for a long period of time can often be career ending. Those who come back often aren't 100% what they used to be and it often results in a decrease in mental and physical health.

Coming from a mediocre and generic first season that speaks of a countryside girl entering a new world of horseracing, the second season flips the script completely with a brand new protagonist Tokai Teio, whose motive is immediately established from the very beginning, to be just like her role model and win the Triple Crown. The show establishes the dreams and aspiration of Teio immediately and show that she already have two of the three qualities to become a legend, effort and talent, which leaves only luck to be desired. Teio's warpath to accomplishment is shown through a series of races just like in season 1 with Special Week; however, in this case, the true battles for Teio are fought outside the racetracks. This show asks arbitrary questions such as what do I have other than my dream and what comes after if the dreams are gone? It answers these questions by portraying a character dynamic between Teio and her team Spica and other rivals on the tracks.

There are some battles you can only fight yourself and there are some battles you can't fight alone. This show showed not only the struggles of Teio but other characters as well. Most of the cast on the tracks are well established and the one or two episode side stories show their side, allowing the audience to decide who truly deserves to win. Without going to much detail as the show is best enjoyed without spoilers, the dynamic between rivals allow for the concept of improving through competition and helping each other by competing.

The story of Tokai Teio is based on a true story of a legendary horse in Japan and explores the idea of self improvement and competitive improvement. Dreams are formed and new dreams can come; sometimes luck will not be by your side but you can still fight on. Sometimes your dreams are hard to achieve but will you give up or will you stand back up?

This show is truly something special. It fictionalizes a real life story and humanizes the characters in it. Some things are more important than sweat and winning in sports, and this shows portrays this perfectly.