To begin with I've always liked horses, lol. I might've grown up reading Warrior Cats but I've always liked horses just as animals, as indicated by my past interest in MLP as a franchise, but I never got into horseracing until I got into Umamusume

With Umamusume my first introduction to it was Road to the Top which I sometimes think is even better than the movie it preceded (Beginning of a New Era) at least in terms of directing quality and narrative cohesion...? But what really captured me about the franchise was its approach to dramatizing historical events and I really love learning about the real horses and their histories ...theres just sooo much drama in there and I think this is something I'm seeing in The Royal Family j-drama too, but the way racehorses are all representative of the hopes and dreams of their trainer, their jockey, their owner, all the people who cared for them, and the horses in their pedigree... I guess I just really loved the authenticity and wholesomeness of Umamusume and I actually think the "idol" aspect works extremely well in the context of its world, esp.since I came to it after falling out of love with Enstars.