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Why Tokai Teio is the Logic Nietzsche could not find. A neuro-philosophical deconstruction of the ‘Flu Game’ versus the 1993 Arima Kinen We often hear a criticism from outside our community (and sometimes from within the analytical circles of horse racing): “Why do you attribute human emotions to animals? Horses run because of genetics, adrenaline, and flight instincts. They don’t have ‘stories’ or ‘dreams’.” This materialistic view treats these magnificent creatures as biological machines — Ferraris made of flesh and bone. Let me be clear: I don’t care if you are a Spiritualist who believes in souls, or a Materialist who believes only in atoms and neurons. What matters is Consistency. But after digging deep into the history of the horses portrayed in Uma Musume, I’ve come to a realization: The Anime isn’t inventing these personalities; it is merely translating them. If we look closely at the testimonies of the professionals and the history of sports, we find that the “Human Heart” we see in the Anime girls is actually a documented reality in the horses themselves. 1. The Evidence of “Personality” over “Instinct” If horses were just machines driven by survival instinct, they would all behave predictably. But history shows us defiant individuality: Gold Ship (The Rebel): A machine does not decide to refuse a start because it is in a bad mood. But Gold Ship did (2015 Takarazuka Kinen). Trainer Naosuke Sugai famously admitted: “He is incredibly smart. He understands everything, and he chooses when to obey.” That is Free Will, not instinct. Rice Shower (The Stoic): Instinct tells a herd animal to seek approval. Rice Shower won against the heroes and faced silence from the crowd. Yet, he kept running and winning. That isn’t just speed; that is Stoicism — doing your duty even when the world hates you for it. Oguri Cap (The People’s Hero): He didn’t just run on muscle; he ran on support. In his final race (Arima 1990), Yutaka Take said: “I felt the crowd push the horse’s back.” Biologically, a prey animal should be terrified of 170,000 screaming humans. Oguri fed on that energy. That is Emotional Intelligence. 2. The Western Verdict: Witnesses to the Soul For those who think “Animeizing” horses is a Japanese quirk, look at what the toughest Western experts say. They confirm that the “Ego” and “Will” are real, not fiction. The Ego (Secretariat): Owner Penny Chenery famously stated that the horse knew he was a star. Whenever he heard the shutter of a camera, he would stop and pose, ears pricked. He wasn’t just an animal; he was a Showman. The Will (Seabiscuit): This is the ultimate proof. Seabiscuit was small and physically “defective.” His jockey, Red Pollard, was blind in one eye. Biologically, they should have lost. Pollard described Seabiscuit not as a fast horse, but as a warrior who would look opponents in the eye to “taunt” them. That implies Competitive Malice. 3. The Neuroscience of Will: We Are the Same Before we dismiss the idea of a “Horse Soul,” we must look at Comparative Neuroscience. Foundational research in Affective Neuroscience confirms that humans and horses share the exact same Limbic System hardware, while studies like EquiFACS prove they use facial muscles to express these emotions almost identically. Shared Hardware: We share the same Amygdala (fear), Hippocampus (memory), and Hypothalamus (stress response). Shared Chemistry: When a human feels “Pride,” dopamine floods the brain. When a horse like Teio refuses to eat after a loss, the exact same chemical process of “Depression” (Cortisol spike/Dopamine drop) is occurring. Conclusion: We are not projecting human feelings onto them; we are recognizing Shared Mammalian Traits. 4. Case Study: The “Consistency Test” (Teio vs. Jordan) Let’s apply the logic of consistency to the greatest human athlete, Michael Jordan, and compare his documented traits with Tokai Teio’s behavior. The parallels are not just poetic; they are behavioral. A. The Ego (Taking it Personally) Michael Jordan: Famous for his extreme competitiveness. A loss wasn’t just a result; it was a personal insult. He would shut down or train harder out of pure spite. Tokai Teio: Trainer Shoichi Matsumoto documented that after Teio’s first humiliating loss (Tenno Sho 1992), he refused to eat for days. The Reality: Animals typically stop eating due to digestive or systemic illness. Teio had neither. His refusal was psychosomatic. He understood “Status Loss.” That is not animal instinct; that is Human-level Pride. B. The “Zone” (Calm amidst Chaos) Michael Jordan: Known for entering “The Zone,” where crowd noise disappears and focus becomes absolute. Tokai Teio: Returning after 364 days to 170,000 screaming fans usually triggers “Wash Out” (hysteria) in horses. However, Jockey Seiki Tabara described Teio in the paddock as eerily calm, with pricked ears, soaking in the atmosphere. He wasn’t panicked; he was in a Zen-state, exactly like a human athlete before the finals. C. The Override Switch (Fear vs. Will) Michael Jordan (The “Flu” Game 1997): In reality, it was severe food poisoning. He wasn’t just tired; he was dehydrated and in agonizing abdominal pain. Yet, he overrode the body’s most violent signals to “collapse.” Tokai Teio (Arima Kinen 1993): He wasn’t running with a fresh fracture, but he was running against The Memory of Pain. The Reality: After suffering three major fractures in his career (including a Career-threatening previous Avulsion Fracture), Teio’s brain should have been rewired for “Fear.” A prey animal that has been broken three times usually develops a psychological block — it hesitates to push full throttle to protect itself. The Miracle: In the final 200m, Teio didn’t just run; he exploded. He consciously suppressed the biological instinct that screams “Do not go fast, you will break again!” To sprint with that violence after a year of suffering requires a psychological courage that overrides the deepest survival instincts. D. The Structural Advantage: The Myth of the “Solo” Warrior To truly measure Willpower, we must analyze the environment in which the trauma occurred. The “Flu Game” is often cited as a solitary

It was last year in (JUNE or put exact month here) when Kadokawa Games announced or to put it more accurately revealed the game Relayer as its announcement took place years ago under the name ‘Project Stella’. During that time, there weren’t enough details to suggest which direction the promised title will be taking, how it will create something different from reality experience, and whether or not it is going to introduce something innovative especially when taking into consideration the fact that this project was based on another title ‘Girls Starly’ intended for smart devices.      It is worth mentioning that the developing team had a rich experience building a game of similar type called ‘God Wars’. Such experience provided the advantage of learning from players’ impressions, improving various elements, and introducing an original story with fresh narrative of lore and Japanese Folklore. God of war ‘to me’ was indeed the beautiful surprise of the year 2017. Despite its humble demo version, the game continued to improve with time. I have come to enjoy it even though I had little appreciation for the story narrative and little acquaintance with Japanese Folklore. These were marginal indeed. I was able to understand the story with such depth of the underlying themes and its characters.      While both games are strategy based, there are distinctive differences which include but not limit to the time period, the story, the characters, as well as the gameplay system. God Wars is greatly inspired by the Greeks mythology while Relayer is set in the future. It doesn’t associate closely with science fiction. It is however futuristic, not in terms of time but in terms of civilization advancement.  Relayer stood out from the beginning as a mecha-strategic game which doesn’t revolve around the story. As pointed earlier, the game was based on ‘Starly Girls’ released for smart devices. The two titles share world connection. No other commonalities are known beside that which opens a door for speculations. Both games offer rich story, character-centric style, and attempts to create a line of personalities dynamically interacting with the surroundings elements outside the main story. The game strength lies in the way it introduces characters and the excellent unfold of events. While the pacing is fairly fast, there are side and bond events which shed the light on characters backstories. Players are given the opportunity to confront the characters deeply outside the battel field.  I didn’t expect to grow attached to Relayers characters as my first impression was not out of the usual. I thought it to be another science fiction game which proved to be far from the truth. As I progressed in the game it dived deeper and deeper covering philosophical aspects. Every character represents a certain theme. Every name signifies some meaning which brings to light what noble role it is going to serve in the story. We can decidedly conclude that deep understanding is of great value to appreciate Relayer. Without it, the game might seem ambiguous and lacking enough support. Despite its clarity, the game doesn’t narrate the story to players in a direct manner. What is the best way to gain familiarity with the characters then? It is by active interaction through side stories which ultimately help players realize key details important to comprehend the overall story of the game. Same can be said about the gameplay system. A comprehensive guide to gameplay mechanics doesn’t exist. The player is therefore encouraged to gather various clues thrown here and there; in the main story, in the side quests, or even in the after-story content which reveals more hidden details. As you read through my review, this question might have occurred to you “what is your impression of the story then?” I might have indeed gone far with my description, but rest assured there is a dedicated section that details my reflection of the story. Dear reader be worn that Relayer story is one that unfolds dramatical events to paint a picture that contrasts indirectly the reality of our world. It combines too many substories for a game. While my review might be inadequate to embrace all the game aspects, I have invested efforts to demonstrate as many as I can because Realyer is a story centric game. It is very rich and especial. The developing team has done an excellent job creating an experience that managed to captivate me as God Wars once did. How would I describe such experience? [THE STORY] The story is dramatic and heavy in emotions. Humanity, politics, and social culture all interrelate within the story. It walks players with a girl who transcend from being the daughter of a highly reputed and corrupt politician to an orphan living without a family. The girl loses her true identity to suit the plans of her evil father who cared only to use her as an object to realize his plan of saving (his kind) Relayer is set in the year 2049 where humans race has advanced significantly. They became able to transport through space to create colonies. In the same year, a drastic event take place in a location close to the moon which causes the death of the colonizers. It is revealed -later in the story- that another race identified under one name has orchestrated this event. This race worships gods with myths circulated 100 million years ago (السنة الضوئية تعبر عن المسافة) when the Starchildern were created. These are chosen humans with exceptional abilities enabling them to control the Steller Gear.  Steller Gear is a type of Mecha developed as part of research activities conducted by the Japanese government on real giant Mecha from the long past. The Japanese invested large effort to develop Mecha fighters advanced enough to approximate the original ones. With attack threats, it become inevitable to use these Mecah for war purposes. This starts a competition among corrupted parties to monopole this research. The ultimate goal of course is power and dominance. Companies such as ATLAS