Uma Musume no Nama no Nichijou (Horse Girl), First and foremost

Chapter 230 The Fans' Momentum and Support

The player presentation segment is also a key area for pre-match tactical considerations.

The Uma Musume Association didn't really hide this matter, directly informing all the participants, including their trainers, about the changes to the rules.

Furthermore, G1-level matches were the last to try this approach. Even if they couldn't adjust it to perfection immediately, most teams should still try to position themselves as advantageously or as disadvantageously as possible under the new rules.

After all, these star female horse racers are the result of the hard work of the new generation of Japanese horse racers. If, due to some accident, they suffer some long-term or even irreversible damage to their racing performance, then...

It's estimated that the Uma Musume Association will need a pure white Uma Musume to publicly apologize and resign...

Of course, the experiment we just made still needs to be carried out. We started as newcomers and worked our way up to the highest-level competitions, from G3 to G2, and finally implemented it at the G1 match in Darby, Japan today. The purpose was to diversify the risks and confirm that the solution provided by Golden Victory was sound.

Each contestant completed their pre-match performance.

As spectators watch the racehorses dressed in their top-level racing outfits, they are unaware of the impact their every move can have.

However... those in the Uma Musume racing circle know.

"Are you sure doing this won't worsen the original resource content?"

"Huh? Little Chiaki, have you thought of some evil and dirty tricks? Why don't you tell your Golden Victory-senpai about it?"

Upon hearing such arrogant words from the other party, Representative Qianming simply rolled her eyes at Golden Victory before expressing her concerns based on the current situation.

"Simply put, it's about leveraging fan support to artificially inflate one's popularity in order to achieve a better ranking. You see, viewers generally have a natural affinity for the top-ranked Uma Musume (Horse Girl)."

Even if the order were changed to simply use gate numbers to determine the order of appearance, it would be meaningless. Before the competition started, any audience member who bought a ticket would definitely know which popular horse girls were in the competition.

"Does this mean that later on, even the final outfits will become a selling point, and in the end, whoever controls the fashion trend will have a greater advantage?"

"...No matter what, it shouldn't be like this, uh, it shouldn't be, after all, this is a horse girl racing sport, if it really turns out like what you said about White Disaster..."

The main reason why Qianming spoke in a somewhat hesitant manner when she made this denial was because, deep down, she actually believed it to some extent.

After all, the racing game was essentially an idol project, and she didn't really understand the behind-the-scenes manipulations of idol popularity, but the two circles were somewhat similar, so she had heard a few things about it.

The idea of ​​spending a large sum of money to buy idol merchandise to boost votes and give idols a chance to gain more popularity now seems to apply to this upcoming system, and perhaps even more directly.

All you need to do is campaign for votes from fans, and even whether those who vote are fans of the "Hama Musume" fandom has become an interesting question.

"Anyway, I only care about how to improve the rules as much as possible under this environment. As for those dirty tricks behind the scenes that you can think of, that has nothing to do with me. Figure out the solutions yourself, or you can fire me if you want. I'm not taking the blame for this."

He shrugged and gave his direct response, and the current Golden Victory is indeed different from before.

"But this itself is also a systemic threat to horse racing..."

"If that alone isn't enough to convince those old guys, just say that there are a lot of viewers who follow international competitions, and that it's good preparation for the future. I don't believe they'll still refuse."

While not entirely favoring momentum and technique, it's important to allow momentum and technique to have room to be utilized, which is also crucial for a golden victory.

Unlike the tragic environment of the past where one was content as long as their momentum techniques weren't unfairly disqualified, now, in an environment where everyone is actively developing their momentum techniques, I want to create the best possible environment for my hard-earned momentum technique research.

Of course, this must be done in the best interests of everyone, just like the big pie she just threw out represents the long-standing bottleneck that Japanese horse racing girls have faced in international competitions.

But if it were possible to use momentum and skill to help Japanese racehorse girls win international competitions... Golden Victory was certain that those old guys who had almost become obsessed with this matter would have no reason to refuse.

As for whether it's possible...

It's hard to say about others, but she still has high hopes for Rudolph. Even if Rudolph fails to achieve his goal, she can always step in and win the award herself...

The conversation between the two may influence the future of the horse girl racing format, but the problem is that for now, they are just inconspicuous spectators in the stands. The real stars in this race are the new generation of star horse girls.

On the contestants' stage, the female horse racers could vaguely sense the impact of this change in the competition format.

The mere addition of a pre-race warm-up system is of great significance to Uma Musume, a change that confuses the audience and seems meaningless to them, even though they have recently learned and are working hard to adapt to the atmosphere and skills of the race.

momentum......

After warming up, she subconsciously unleashed her aura, and the audience's support and comments instantly became a kind of auxiliary, giving the stage girl some extra momentum.

Even the racehorse girls who are in line but haven't gone on stage yet, once they sense the atmosphere around them and the changes that have occurred after the racehorse girls they just saw recently went on stage, anyone with a bit of intelligence can discern the key to it.

Of course, there are also some racehorse girls who didn't think that far ahead.

As she watched her rivals take the stage one by one in descending order of popularity, Oguri Hat lowered her head and clenched her fists after realizing the significant difference in their auras.

Hmm, it seems that Golden Victory senior mentioned that the audience's popularity in today's match will affect the momentum and technique of us long-range competitors...

So this match has to rely on the audience...?

Faced with this behavior, Oguri-chan didn't agree or disagree; rather, she was confused.

An increased presence reflects the audience's recognition and expectations of oneself.

But such momentum is temporary and will not become one's true strength forever.

have no idea......

I don't know, so what would the emperor think, and what choice would he make?

If she were an emperor, Little Chestnut Hat would definitely accept the help from the audience without hesitation.

Because she wanted to win the game.

Oguri Hat: "..."

I want to win too.

I want to win this game!

It wasn't that she made the decision herself; right now, Oguri Hat is mostly hesitant and uncertain about this situation.

But in a match she desperately wanted to win, too much hesitation only led to her eventual defeat!

Is this the kind of presence others expect of me...?

It seems I have to stake the Sakura family's reputation on this match.

The aura of others is quite different from the spirit that Master has mentioned he has cultivated or the aura he has felt from his opponents. Can the audience also meet his expectations?

There seem to be more than I expected. As expected, besides Aldan, the Mejiro family's reputation still has some influence.

Oh dear... my momentum is building. It seems like I might become a bit scary in this match.

Hey—ah! What a strange feeling! But with everyone's help, I'm determined to win the second race! Because my goal is to become an undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl!

Each person gains their own popularity and supporters, deriving their own aura from those people.

Each person can only offer so much, and only the live audience can provide the necessary momentum, which seems to have some limitations. Even with these constraints, the stark contrast between the female racehorses' appearances on and off the stage clearly demonstrates the value of this approach...

"But White Disaster, are you sure you're not playing with fire by doing this?"

Sensing the atmosphere of the competition, and even as the atmosphere on stage intensified, Representative Qianming subconsciously offered his own aura as a form of support.

Ordinary people may not realize it, but they convey their momentum through shouts and cheers.

However, Chiaki and the other racehorse girls, who had also learned the techniques of charisma, could clearly feel that the part of their own charisma that was released with their emotions was being broken down into small, fragmented pieces around them.

She disassembled it into pieces and then reattached it to the racehorse girls in a way she couldn't see.

Of course, the person behind her was too far from the audience and the stage, so Chiaki mostly learned about the general situation from the description given by the pure white horse girl next to her.

"Playing with fire? Perhaps..."

"The power and technique are amazing, aren't they?"

"It's interesting to share your beliefs with others and accept the beliefs of others as your own temporary strength."

With a wide grin, the scene around her was incredibly beautiful, thanks to the pure white horse girl's monstrous perception.

The scattered energy resembled falling fireworks and snowflakes, and also shared a similar image with fireflies at night, drifting through the air at a relatively slow pace towards their destination.

It is dazzling yet full of mystery, making it both alluring and admirable.

Looking at the surrounding scenery, the pure white horse girl couldn't help but feel happy.

In the more distant future, could other female racehorses and audiences be able to see such a scene?

She was quite certain that even someone as perceptive as Oguri Hat would find it difficult to see such brilliance at this stage, given the fundamental difference in their aura. She would only know that there were many smaller, already gathered auras of others surrounding her own.

"Huh? Do you know what I was going to say?"

"I don't know. We're currently immersed in another magical world, and we no longer have any worldly desires, including those of Xiao Qianming."

Representative Qianming: "?"

Sensing that the other person was likely experiencing a recurring bout of neurotic behavior, and knowing that taking any stimulating actions would only worsen their condition, she simply treated them as a normal person and continued the previous conversation:

"Others might have to consider their tactics more carefully due to a lack of momentum and skill, but if this gap is filled, momentum and skill will probably become the main focus of the match, right?"

With one ear slightly perked up, Golden Victory casually replied:

"Isn't this exactly what those old guys want to know? How will more momentum and technique change the game?"

"Whether it's more exciting or uglier, safer or more dangerous, or no change at all, given that almost everyone has received an increase, we should be able to make some comparisons, if not entirely accurate."

"Hey, we'll see. We don't think they're idiots. Since we're already at the G1 tournament, we certainly don't believe that a group of racehorse girls from the Darby's Japan would be put on the field for a sample test."

It might sound a bit sour, even though the Golden Victory was mostly met with disdain.

However, the Horse Girls Association has indeed done a good job of protecting the racehorse girls, including the handling of Kurozuma's past devilish training and subsequent improvements. Even though it was the devilish trainer who was injured in the process, it did not affect the essence of helping the racehorse girls.

What? You're asking about money and returns?

It can only be said that once you touch something, you have to pay the price. Besides, this arrogant guy is so uncooperative that he refuses to improve things, so this is the only option we can make.

Of course, this was something Queen Chiaki, the head of the association in charge of negotiations, told Golden Victory when she went to the Uma Musume Association to resolve their issue with Kuronuma. As for who was right...

All I can say about Golden Victory is that she will always support her own family members. As for who is right and who is wrong, she will definitely correct the wrong things!

......

Before the gate, as he entered and awaited the start of the match, the Emperor of the East Sea felt that his body was somewhat heavier than usual.

Her body felt heavy, as the expectations of others, her own pressure, and the oppression of her opponents all weighed heavily on her shoulders.

but......

Is this heavy feeling something that the White Disaster predecessor once felt?

Today's change was suggested by Senior White Disaster, doesn't that mean that Senior White Disaster was really running against the tide with the support of the audience on his shoulders...?

The East Sea Emperor values ​​the competition more, and previously regarded the audience and popularity as something secondary.