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NEWS: Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era Anime Film Screens in N. America on February 2




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loveliver



Joined: 26 Nov 2014
Posts: 210
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2026 11:27 am Reply with quote
GAGA releasing it here on their own is certainly a choice. GKIDS licensed from both GAGA and CyberAgent already. GKIDS was right there! They usually promote their theatrical and home media releases really well! The Miku movie was an exception to this, and it still made bank!
EDIT: Not to mention the theater reach they have compared to what GAGA could potentially reach (supposedly AMC theaters only).

All I'm saying is... this should've been licensed to GKIDS.
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minamikaze



Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 383
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2026 3:56 pm Reply with quote
loveliver wrote:
All I'm saying is... this should've been licensed to GKIDS.

GKIDS probably would have wanted the home video release license as well. Unfortunately, none of the Uma Musume series have ever been licensed for home video release in the US. Stores in Japan are even restricted from shipping the Cinderella Gray Japanese Blu-Rays to the US.
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Farhanawesome



Joined: 31 Dec 2020
Posts: 338
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2026 5:41 pm Reply with quote
A bit out of topic. People talk about GKIDS should license it. That would be great, But wouldn't be better if any licensing company took the advantage of the franchise popularity by giving the anime for the anime including like the recent cinderella gray before the hype down? If its GKIDS something like DANDADAN, then the dub cast might be an L.A/california based.
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StarDango



Joined: 22 Sep 2021
Posts: 125
PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2026 1:17 am Reply with quote
Farhanawesome wrote:
A bit out of topic. People talk about GKIDS should license it. That would be great, But wouldn't be better if any licensing company took the advantage of the franchise popularity by giving the anime for the anime including like the recent cinderella gray before the hype down? If its GKIDS something like DANDADAN, then the dub cast might be an L.A/california based.


I'm wondering if it's only a matter of time, or if there are deeper legal reasons for why it cannot be that simple.

On one hand, Uma only became global less than a year ago. While huge in Japan, I wouldn't be shocked if most people behind-the-scenes were cautious of how popular Uma would be anywhere else. Now that it's proved to be a major hit, maybe the anime is the next big step. Given how many characters and anime seasons there are, any foreign dub or physical release will need time to cook.

On the other hand, there's the possibility that Cygames wants to keep foreign releases heavily controlled to avoid certain issues. The race horses are real and are icons in Japan's horse racing scene. From what I've been told, this means their portrayals cannoy defame/dishonor these horses and their history. Which also means Cygames requires explicit permission and approval from the actual owners for a lot of things.

That's easy to manage in Japan, but not so much when you have to work with overseas partners. Unless strictly regulated, there's a high risk of something going wrong with translation/localization that the horses' owners may not be happy with.

But this is all based on speculation and a loose idea of how seriously Japan takes defamation/dishonorable portrayals of real figures (or in this case, beloved horses.) I can be looking into it way too deeply.

Still- as much as I would love a dub for one of Uma's anime (especially New Era, which is such a fun movie), I can also accept and understand why it may never happen. I'll probably still see this movie in theaters either way ^^;;;
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Farhanawesome



Joined: 31 Dec 2020
Posts: 338
PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2026 5:20 am Reply with quote
StarDango wrote:
Farhanawesome wrote:
A bit out of topic. People talk about GKIDS should license it. That would be great, But wouldn't be better if any licensing company took the advantage of the franchise popularity by giving the anime for the anime including like the recent cinderella gray before the hype down? If its GKIDS something like DANDADAN, then the dub cast might be an L.A/california based.


I'm wondering if it's only a matter of time, or if there are deeper legal reasons for why it cannot be that simple.

On one hand, Uma only became global less than a year ago. While huge in Japan, I wouldn't be shocked if most people behind-the-scenes were cautious of how popular Uma would be anywhere else. Now that it's proved to be a major hit, maybe the anime is the next big step. Given how many characters and anime seasons there are, any foreign dub or physical release will need time to cook.

On the other hand, there's the possibility that Cygames wants to keep foreign releases heavily controlled to avoid certain issues. The race horses are real and are icons in Japan's horse racing scene. From what I've been told, this means their portrayals cannoy defame/dishonor these horses and their history. Which also means Cygames requires explicit permission and approval from the actual owners for a lot of things.

That's easy to manage in Japan, but not so much when you have to work with overseas partners. Unless strictly regulated, there's a high risk of something going wrong with translation/localization that the horses' owners may not be happy with.

But this is all based on speculation and a loose idea of how seriously Japan takes defamation/dishonorable portrayals of real figures (or in this case, beloved horses.) I can be looking into it way too deeply.

Still- as much as I would love a dub for one of Uma's anime (especially New Era, which is such a fun movie), I can also accept and understand why it may never happen. I'll probably still see this movie in theaters either way ^^;;;


I saw on X that Uma musume is already get thai dub, and i think doesn't caused any problem. Is the whole fans speculation/theory that you talk about has to do with the controversy surrounding english dubbing game industry ? I've seen this speculation on reddit as some unsure or against the english dub for this franchise
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StarDango



Joined: 22 Sep 2021
Posts: 125
PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2026 2:47 pm Reply with quote
Farhanawesome wrote:
I saw on X that Uma musume is already get thai dub, and i think doesn't caused any problem. Is the whole fans speculation/theory that you talk about has to do with the controversy surrounding english dubbing game industry ? I've seen this speculation on reddit as some unsure or against the english dub for this franchise


Mostly. I, personally, am an EN dub anime fan (I will use subs if there isn't one, like with Uma) so I would love to see anything from Uma get an excellent EN dub. However- I've seen the controversies you're talking about and even understand where most of the concerns are coming from.

But I was also thinking about how there's more to Uma than being a gacha game with anime girls. Each character represents a legacy for a real life race horse and their jockeys. A lot of them are also still alive. It's different compared to dubbing anime that reimagines historical figures like the Fate franchise or anime that are fantastical period dramas.

I'm not saying that makes an Uma EN dub an impossibility. I genuinely hope I'm just overthinking things and a dub is being made as we sspeak. I just think that if anything I said happens to be the truth, then it explains why it hasn't happened yet or will not happen.

There's also considering the sheer amount of characters Uma has if it ever gets an EN dub. I'd love for the game to have an EN voice pack. If gacha games like Arknights (which started off with no EN cast in its global release) or Nikke can do it, maybe Uma can too.
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