When Still In Love galloped into Uma Musume’s Japanese servers on August 24, 2025, she brought with her something the franchise had never quite seen before: a fully-realized yandere archetype that has sent shockwaves through the fanbase. At first glance, Still In Love appears as a quiet, sensible Uma Musume with little more than a fondness for sweets to distinguish her from others. But underneath this demure exterior lies something far more compelling—and terrifying.
When it comes to races, she transforms into “a whole other beast,” showing “a ferocious appetite for competing and letting the competition eat her dust.” The way she suppresses these desires with dignity is described as both “troubling and charming at the same time.” But it’s not just her competitive spirit that has fans talking—it’s the unmistakable signs of obsessive devotion that make her Uma Musume’s first true yandere.
The Yandere Archetype: Love Gone Beautifully Wrong
For those unfamiliar with the term, “yandere” combines the Japanese words “yandeiru” (to be sick) and “deredere” (lovey-dovey), describing characters who start as innocent and affectionate but gradually break down mentally due to overwhelming love. The archetype describes someone whose love becomes so intense that they fall into a “mentally ill” state while continuing to express devoted affection.
Yandere characters are fixated on their love interest, acting kind and sweet on the outside while harboring obsessive tendencies that can lead to extreme measures to ensure their beloved focuses only on them. They’re characterized by possessive and jealous streaks, becoming agonized if anyone else shows affection toward their target.
Still In Love’s Yandere Manifestation
What makes Still In Love particularly fascinating is how her yandere traits manifest in-game. In her Career Mode, the training menu features a unique mechanic where “she grows more unhinged as it progresses, affecting her expressions and commentary, as well as applying a red-tinging effect that grows stronger over time.”
Her character design deliberately plays with duality—her in-game sprite usually displays “bright, ordinary eyes, but when it goes into running motion, it turns into eerie, dead eyes.” When she achieves her first G1 victory, she strikes “a fascinating Yandere pose.” The game even depicts her as having a split personality, calling herself “that child” while expressing desires to “swallow the people running together” during her personal story.
This visual and mechanical storytelling represents a bold new direction for Uma Musume, which has traditionally featured more straightforward character archetypes. Still In Love’s dual nature—sweet and unassuming in daily life, but intensely obsessive when it comes to racing—perfectly embodies the yandere framework.
The Real Horse Behind the Madness
The brilliance of Still In Love’s characterization becomes even more apparent when examining the real racehorse that inspired her. The historical Still In Love was a Japanese Thoroughbred who won the prestigious Fillies’ Triple Crown in 2003, becoming only the second horse in Japanese history to achieve this feat. She was ridden exclusively by jockey Hideaki Miyuki throughout all 16 races of her career, giving him his first G1 championship victory.
The relationship between horse and jockey was remarkably intense and exclusive. According to reports, Still In Love “refused to be ridden by any jockey other than Hideaki Miyuki, creating a kind of yandere aura around her.” She wouldn’t let anyone else ride her, leading to what was often described as their “strange relationship.”
Miyuki himself was quoted as jokingly saying “he would elope with the horse if he could no longer ride her,” and admitted that after losing races and being criticized, “he feared losing his position as Still in Love’s jockey and even thought about running away with her far from everything.”
Perhaps most tragically mirroring the yandere narrative, Still In Love suffered a significant decline after her Triple Crown victory, failing to win again in her remaining two years of racing. She was said to suffer a “mental decline” that affected her performance, yet Miyuki remained her loyal jockey throughout.
Fanbase Reaction: Embracing the Darkness
The response to Still In Love has been explosive across social media platforms, particularly on Pixiv where fan art depicting her yandere characteristics has proliferated rapidly. Her story has “gone viral online” as fans delve into both her fictional portrayal and the real-life narrative that inspired it.
What’s particularly notable is how the fanbase has embraced rather than rejected her darker traits. Modern audiences find yandere characters provide “psychological thrill and emotional depth,” making them “hot topics on social media.” The yandere archetype resonates with fans because these characters “aren’t treated as monsters” but rather as “a romantic archetype—as someone you can love… who is lovable despite the way she’s dangerous.”
For Uma Musume specifically, Still In Love represents something fans have been unconsciously craving: a character who breaks the mold of the franchise’s typically wholesome presentation. Her inclusion suggests Cygames is willing to explore more psychologically complex character types, potentially opening doors for even more nuanced storytelling.
The Appeal of Obsessive Devotion
Why do yandere characters like Still In Love captivate audiences so completely? The archetype has “significantly contributed to sales of character merchandise and media expansion,” with Japan’s character-related business market reaching approximately 2.65 trillion yen in 2023.
For some fans, yandere characters represent validation: “The things that you’re afraid of about yourself aren’t things that stop you from being lovable.” They offer a fantasy of unconditional devotion, albeit taken to impossible extremes. Even though they would be terrifying in real life, “they become some of the most beloved fan-favorite characters” in fiction.
Still In Love’s appeal is amplified by her basis in reality—she’s not just a fictional construct but inspired by a real relationship of mutual devotion between horse and jockey that transcended typical professional boundaries.
A New Chapter for Uma Musume
Still In Love’s introduction marks a significant evolution for Uma Musume as a franchise. While previous characters have had their quirks and complexities, none have embraced psychological darkness quite so thoroughly. Her presence suggests the series is maturing alongside its audience, willing to explore more sophisticated emotional territory. Given the overwhelmingly positive fan response, it seems likely that Cygames will continue developing her character and potentially introduce similar complex archetypes.
The success of Still In Love demonstrates that Uma Musume’s audience is hungry for characters that challenge expectations and explore the full spectrum of human—or in this case, horse girl—emotion. In a franchise built on the foundation of real horse racing history, her inclusion proves there’s room for both light and shadow in the paddock.
Still In Love has undoubtedly galloped into the hearts of Uma Musume fans worldwide. She may be the franchise’s first true yandere, but given her reception, she likely won’t be the last.
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