PETA, the organization that works for animal rights worldwide, recently decided to go after Umamusume: Pretty Derby, and fans didn’t take it well. They posted a rather graphic artwork of Silence Suzuka over on X (formerly Twitter) which sparked somewhat intense rage on social media. Not only did fans weigh in, but Japanese politician Zenko Kurishita had something to say about the situation as well. Fans are also pointing out that the creation in question violates Cygames fair use policies, which PETA seemingly disregards.
PETA claims that Silence Suzuka’s portrayal in Umamusume is dishonest. They say “in real life, the horse suffered a catastrophic injury in a race and was euthanized.” There was no comeback in real life for the actual horse unlike what’s shown in the anime, where she eventually returns. The image itself shows Silence Suzuka in a disturbing way with her leg broken, which some fans have taken as disrespect to the original legendary horse. You can see post and replies for yourself here, but be warned about its disturbing nature.
Zenko Kurishita, a Japanese politician and “free speech activist” had something to say about the situation as well. He feels that PETA is targeting Japanese content, citing their former similar graphic images to parody and target the Pokémon brand. According to him, PETA may be a large organization but it’s not free from accountability, again referencing the fair use content policy and indicating a potential copyright violation in the creation of the image.
Cygames is strict about its guidelines and the way fans choose to portray them. Their content creation guide limits fans (and seemingly PETA) from portraying their characters in “a violent, sexual, or otherwise obscene nature.” They have also stated clearly, that they may pursue “legal action if necessary.” Many fans have already reported the disturbing post to Cygames, especially pointing to the section regarding the restriction to “injure the reputation of this franchise” but there hasn’t been an official statement by the developers on this situation yet at this time.
