Uma Musume - Pretty Derby: Star Blossom - Vol. 5 Ch. 45 - She's Gone

[MangaDex]

 

[skywardgem]

the repeated "The sister's gonna be okay!" while Brian is on the verge of tearing herself apart leading into that "There's nobody there" page is so damn good, they really know how to rip your heart out

thanks for the chapter!

 

[lukasguldmann]

Holy peak🔥

 

[Chaosrunewiz]

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[SuperOniichan]

Did they intentionally make her retirement a metaphor for "death" (constant emphasis on her absence and the ghostly image at the end) or am I just trying to read too deeply?

 

[LordTartaros]

They really nailed this one

 

[Sleabedybarb]

it doesn't hit as hard if you know how things really went down:
brian's trainer was a piece of shit that drove him to an early grave, and cygames refuses to actually approach any of the darker sides of the horses' histories

 

[Durburger672]

Thanks for this heartbreaking chapter ❤️

 

[tracenarts]

it doesn't hit as hard if you know how things really went down:
brian's trainer was a piece of shit that drove him to an early grave, and cygames refuses to actually approach any of the darker sides of the horses' histories

careful there, you might cut yourself on the edge

 

[alfirizkyr]

That was crazy intense, I keep forgetting that this manga is also a hard-hitter when it comes down to the serious beats.

Amazing work with the typesetting too!

 

[Sleabedybarb]

careful there, you might cut yourself on the edge

Everything I said is true.

 

[MagnaDrake]

Did they intentionally make her retirement a metaphor for "death" (constant emphasis on her absence and the ghostly image at the end) or am I just trying to read too deeply?

A mix of both, probably. It's an actual thing in racing-adjacent media to have record holders be represented as a "ghost of the track", regardless if theyre still alive or not.

 

[Mechum]

She's gone out of my life
I was wrong, I'm to blame
I was so untrue
I can't live without her love
In my life, there's just an empty space
All my dreams are lost
I'm wasting away
Forgive me, girl

 

[quantumcroissant]

Did they intentionally make her retirement a metaphor for "death" (constant emphasis on her absence and the ghostly image at the end) or am I just trying to read too deeply?

Irl Biwa really did get tendonitis and retire, not die or anything, so it wouldn't be referencing that. It's just how Brian is always chasing after her. Like a time trial ghost lol

 

[quantumcroissant]

it doesn't hit as hard if you know how things really went down:
brian's trainer was a piece of shit that drove him to an early grave, and cygames refuses to actually approach any of the darker sides of the horses' histories

They're still referencing that in a way, just with Brian doing that to herself. Bear in mind that Brian is a person here, and if her trainer tried to abuse her like that she'd just fire them, the story wouldn't work even if they wanted to go that route

 

[SuperOniichan]

Irl Biwa really did get tendonitis and retire, not die or anything, so it wouldn't be referencing that. It's just how Brian is always chasing after her. Like a time trial ghost lol

The word "metaphor" in my comment clearly suggests that I'm not asking whether she died or not, but whether they're intentionally creating this vibe. It's obvious.

 

[HaskelOneL]

was anticipating this chapter when we saw biwas time trial ghost. if you know the IRL lore this chapter becomes more of a treat since the commentary is based on the IRL race commentary but its juxtaposed with the depressing vibes of brian chasing something that's no longer and can no longer be there. beating your sister's record and winning the triple crown has never been more depressing to watch

 

[HaskelOneL]

The word "metaphor" in my comment clearly suggests that I'm not asking whether she died or not, but whether they're intentionally creating this vibe. It's obvious.

the "death" vibes you're getting here are probably feelings of "she's no longer here" / "can't race against/with her anymore"

irl people wanted to have biwa and brian race against each other and this is referenced in the story as well. iirc this is also referenced in-game where in brian's career there's a special event if you race biwa before she retires

btw has anyone read the greentext of anon racing their dead dad's time trial ghost? when anon finally beats the ghost car they let it pass before they hit the finish line so it'll keep showing up in the future, kinda like keeping a part of him in the game. contrast it with this chapter where brian smokes biwa's ghost and it gives a vibe that biwa and brian can no longer race together

 

[Osha]

God this so deserves an anime adaptation whenever CinGray is done.

 

[quantumcroissant]

The word "metaphor" in my comment clearly suggests that I'm not asking whether she died or not, but whether they're intentionally creating this vibe. It's obvious.

yeah and I'm saying they're probably not intentionally creating that vibe because it wouldn't be based on anything and would go against the story.