Horse-racing drama meets pop stardom in new anime series

A hit animated Japanese series reimagines a real-life champion racehorse as a pop star.

stems from a video game franchise, and tells the story of Oguri Cap, a stallion from the late 1980s who helped reignite national interest in horse racing.

The new anime succeeds through its “bizarre but brilliant conceit,” The Japan Times wrote, reimagining the main character as a young horse-human hybrid who performs upbeat songs after every victory.

Every character mirrors their real-life counterpart, “anchoring the spectacle in sports history even as the show layers in idol concerts and high school hijinks… The dance breaks may be fantasy, but the drama is the real deal.”