The Uma Musume franchise, along with the anime and mobile game, includes several manga series. Serving as a bit of Expanded Universe insight into how the horsegirls live their lives, these manga are unconnected to the other media adaptations. They were released shortly after the Winter 2016 premiere of the franchise concept trailer, making them the oldest installments of the three media. Many of them run in Cycomi, the magazine that runs manga based on Cygames' properties along with original content.
There is a fourth manga, Umayon, that focuses on the horsegirls' anime characterizations. for tropes on that comic, see the anime page.
Starting Gate!
The first story-based part of the franchise, illustrated by S. Kosugi. Just like the anime, this manga starts with Special Week coming by train to join Tracen ("Traincent" in the fan translation). But rather than get her first glimpse of the racetrack, she bumps into Silence Suzuka as she enters the academy, and finds out that Suzuka is the first other horse girl she ever saw...- Alternate Universe: To the anime (though, technically speaking, the anime came two years later). The personalities of a few characters, most notably Silence Suzuka, are quite different. Schooling is also kept separate from derby runs, with girls often taking a few years in Tracen Academy before they can even try to qualify for racing. Team Spica, the Trainer, and even the inter-horsegirl relationships were all exclusive to the show.
Haru Urara Ganbaru!
A short manga focused on Haru Urara, illustrated by ZECO. Following Urara's racing career from the beginning, the series shows her attempts to win inbetween her growing bond with her trainer and her rancher. It ran from March to September in 2016.- Berserk Button: Urara hates her striped kneehighs.
- Character Focus
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: All of Urara's races are based off parts of the real life horse's track record.
Cinderella Gray
A manga focused on Oguri Cap's racing career, illustrated by Taiyou Kusumi. It began serialization in 2020.Umamusumeshi
A Slice of Life manga featuring various horsegirls, written and drawn by Tsukumo Asakusa.- Pun-Based Title: In Japanese meshi(飯) means food. And it is a cooking manga.
