72 year old Umamusume fan goes viral for gacha game content and love of race horse history

Express Tribune

17 hours ago

A 72-year-old Japanese man named Matchan has gone viral for his ongoing passion for the anime-style gacha game Umamusume: Pretty Derby, building a dedicated following through YouTube videos that blend the game with real-world horse racing history.
Though Umamusume only recently received its Western release, it has long been popular in Japan. Matchan has been creating content around the game for years, with one of his older videos—where he attempts to match anime characters to real-life racehorses—gaining renewed traction and nearly 10 million views.
The video features Matchan identifying characters like Gold Ship with ease based on their designs and discussing horses like Kitasan Black and Haiseiko.
Though not all of his guesses were correct, viewers praised his ability to understand the inspiration behind the characters. His insights also added depth for newer fans unfamiliar with Japanese horse racing.
Since that video, Matchan has continued to produce related content, from playing the game and drawing fan interpretations of characters to sharing racing anecdotes.
Some of the horses he highlighted, including Haiseiko, have since appeared in the game, prompting fans to revisit his earlier videos and commend the accuracy of his predictions.
Commenters noted how closely his fan-made character concepts resembled the official designs later introduced in-game. One viewer remarked, 'I knew it was Haiseiko the moment I saw it.'
With the game's global expansion, fans outside Japan are discovering creators like Matchan. His blend of personal history, artistic expression, and game enthusiasm offers a unique perspective that continues to resonate with a growing international audience.