Medalist

Tsukasa Akeuraji always dreamed of becoming a competitive solo figure skater, but starting too late in life meant his ambitions never got off the ground. Now barely scraping by, he takes on an assistant coach job, resigned to a future far from the one he once imagined.

Before his first day, Tsukasa meets Inori Yuitsuka, a shy fifth grader sneaking into the rink to practice. Captivated by figure skating, but held back by her mother's overprotectiveness and her own self-doubt, Inori has never been encouraged to pursue her passion until she encounters Tsukasa. Beneath her personality lies great potential, waiting to be unlocked with the right guidance.

Moved by Inori's determination to change and reminded of his own struggles, Tsukasa offers to coach and help her chase the dream she has been too afraid to voice. While the road ahead is long and filled with unfamiliar challenges and rival skaters, Inori dedicates herself to the art and strives to one day reach the Olympics and become a medalist.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yuitsuka, Inori Main

Haruse, Natsumi Japanese

Akeuraji, Tsukasa Main

Ootsuka, Takeo Japanese

Kamisaki, Hikaru Supporting

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Yodaka, Jun Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Miketa, Ryouka Supporting

Kino, Hina Japanese

Sonidori, Rio Supporting

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Takamine, Hitomi Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Inukai, Souta Supporting

Fukuhara, Ayaka Japanese

Yuitsuka, Mika Supporting

Waki, Azumi Japanese

Kamoto, Suzu Supporting

Itou, Ayasa Japanese

Yamashita, Shinpei Producer

Iwata, Takaki Producer

Kanbe, Kouki Producer

Miura, Takasumi Producer

Reviews

Jan 19, 2025

OrkusReOrca

Recommended

Preliminary (3/13 eps)

One of, if not, the best drama show we've got in years. A beautiful story, with beautiful message portray from 2 different perspective.

All drama show, after passing the point of how good the production is, will came down to how good the directing is, and how relatable it is to you and its message, to determine how much you will ike it. I think this show done all of that well, and for sure will touch your heart on some aspect. The wholesome, hard fought, and inspiring journey of this anime, is definitely a full on recommend no hold back from me. I will be ... only highlighting the good and what you might need to know in this review, since I think this anime have no flaws.

Recommend for: Directing, Message(+drama), Character, Vibe, production
Not recommend for: if you're a kid, possibly <18 yo (the message might not be as impactful)

FULL REVIEW:
First of all, let me get the directing and production out of the way. This anime is nigh perfect in these aspect. The soundtrack rinse the heart, the animation rejuvenate your mind, the pacing sooth you thoughts, and the directing mellow it all together perfectly. The only thing keeping it away from perfect is 3d skating a bit, but I wouldn't mind it at all since it's hard, but it's already very well made and beautiful. The vibe concocted from this directing is immaculate, the chill times, the serious time, and the enjoying times is portrayed perfectly through these aspect, and I love it. [Directing and production 9.5/10]

Next I want to highlight the characters. All the character in this show is written perfectly. The 2 main character we got have the perfect chemistry and writing. We can see how our kid mc is, at the end of the day, is a kid to her heart, but also with hard motivation and will despite all the setbacks or negative thoughts, that we can root for her. While the male mc on the other hand, also see what we see in her, see his possible younger self, and work his hardest and with passion to help the kid mc to her highest point. The writing is also not one dimensional mostly though also not 5head highly dimensional deep, is deep and thought through enough that it's feel real and relatable. [character 10/10]

Lastly I would like to talk about the message, and in consequences the drama. This, like most drama shows, is the main point of the story. You don't need to be in the skating industry, or even enjoy the sports for all that matter (though you would enjoy this show more if you like it ofc), the message and the drama is the good old follow your dreams and never give up thing. Which while I know most chunk of anime has this as their main message, this one is still one of the best.

This is because we have the perfect 2 main character that play thing message out from 2 different sides (not just one or a group of people in most anime). One where he already passed that point, but want another person to not suffer his past and push her to her fullest, thus along the way find his dream and passion in the process. Another one who just realized her dream, fought for it despite all the pain and conflicts, to make it a reality. I'm sure you audience will either resonate with one of these 2 main characters, and enjoy this beautiful written story on its way. [drama and message 10/10]

In conclusion, this anime is up to high standards in the term of directing and production already, but also with the support of very well written characters, and the 2 MC which portray the story very well from 2 side, to relay the message of the show and shown the journey through their 2 perspective, is a very well worth follow through story, and one I would definitely highly recommend.

This anime lean toward more of a wholesome getting over obstacle style of drama journey, and not soap opera politics style, so beware of that.

My rating as a drama: 9.6/10
My rating as an overall anime: 9.13/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 19, 2025

moozooh

Mixed Feelings

Informative

Preliminary (3/13 eps)

Medalist is the kind of story that appears maybe once a decade. Filled with rich, memorable characters and interesting dynamics, integrating exciting plot beats with existing problems and peculiarities of figure skating, having meaningful things to say in avenues similar stories hadn't really explored yet.

I will not hesitate to call the original work behind this adaptation a masterpiece and, without any doubt, the best ongoing sports manga—at least if we don't count Real which is on an indefinite hiatus again. You don't normally see something executed at this level of craftsmanship in every respect; it's by all means an incredibly rare anomaly that, I hope, ... will in due time make Tsurumaikada a superstar author.

Which brings us to this anime—and, sadly, an anomaly it is not. It's the latest addition to the VERY long line of adaptations that don't live up to the works they are adapting. In fact, this one, in particular, seems to be doing its darnedest to aggressively diminish the impact of every scene and does not even shy away from misrepresenting their tone—and, in consequence, the characters themselves, which is a grave sin for any adaptation.

To those who don't understand what I'm referring to: please compare the scene of Hikaru's first jump in front of Inori to the same scene as it is portrayed in the manga. Medalist is a very "show, don't tell" kind of manga, and the director of this anime is either legally blind or completely lacks comprehension of visual storytelling—because you cannot possibly tell me Hikaru's emotions or the tone of the scene were conveyed remotely faithfully in the adaptation. The phenomenal storyboarding of the manga makes it abundantly clear for anyone who bothers to look.

Things like this erase much of the crucial visual storytelling. A visual representation of a formative experience for the protagonist had its impact surgically excised, a plot-important glimpse into a rival character is gone completely. Of course, it's not the only example—just the most egregious one. It takes real skill to be so average, so inept, and still hold a directorial position at a studio. Maybe he's a medalist at that, and this is what the title is about! Obviously, I didn't have any illusions about ENGI being able to deliver a quality adaptation (when do they ever?), but misrepresenting the main characters wasn't one of the downgrades I expected. That's just evil.

And it's not like it had to be this way. There have been many cases of anime adaptations elevating the original manga—or at least matching its quality where it matters. Last year's Frieren and Dungeon Meshi were fantastic recent examples. They made good, informed efforts on the part of very capable people who were passionate about doing justice to the source material. I don't see that here, and while I absolutely adore Medalist as a story and would give it glowing reviews any day, I cannot recommend it in the anime form in good conscience knowing how inferior it already is to the original work.

The sad thing is if I didn't know better, I likely wouldn't even realize what I was missing out on because this adaptation's blunders are all intentional decisions, making them look deceptive in their consistency. It means not just anime-onlies, but also those who generally prefer watching anime to reading manga may confuse one of the best-executed stories of recent times for a nice show about figure skating. This might actually be what I'm seeing in the other review praising the direction (of all things), or at least the evidence I have points me to this conclusion.

I can't go back in time and ensure this adaptation goes to a top-tier studio instead—which it deserved. I can only hope that if you're reading this, I can convince you not to make the mistake of thinking this is all Medalist has to offer. So if the anime caught your eye and you want to experience the story at its peak—which is FAR more impactful than you will see here—do yourself an enormous favor and read the manga instead.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 28, 2025

DigiCat

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (3/13 eps)

This had all the potential to become a great anime, full of depth, as we embark on Inori's journey to become a figure skater thru both highs and lows, on one side her love for ice skating and a diamond in the rough talent that gain both encouragement and respect from a very supportive coach, on the other her mound of anxiety and low self-esteem likely the cause of the toxic relationship with her mother

Now did this anime utilize that potential to create a compelling and heartfelt story?

...

Not. In. The. Slightest.

What we get instead is the overly melodramatic showcase of Inori's broken mind as her ... mother puts her down, dismisses and badmouths the sport she so much loves, literally (excuse my language) shits on her dreams every chance she gets. The poor coach Tsukasa is left in an exhausting neverending battle trying to compensate the absolutely vile mind poison this woman is spewing towards her own daughter with words of encouragement and the teaching of healthy coping mechanisms

The constant bombardment of belittling from this woman comes off as if we the audience is being berated along side Inori rather than a critique on her behaviour

As for the skating part, what is supposed to be the main focus of the show... it is (at least in these first episodes) nearly inexistent.
With the majority of skating scenes consisting of close-ups and stills, and opting for full CGI for the few full body skating sequences, a decision i find detrimental and hope for those who are enjoying the show it does not persist thruout the whole series, as in these scenes the skaters come off as robotic and expressionless

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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	Poll: Medalist Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Feb 1	54 replies	by Otaku-Aniki »» 55 minutes ago
	Poll: Medalist Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) IzanaSolos - Dec 14, 2024	126 replies	by davidyodo24 »» Yesterday, 10:41 PM
	Poll: Medalist Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jan 25	80 replies	by NishimiyaChoran »» Feb 3, 11:24 PM
	How good is Hikaru-chan compared to skaters irl? goodbyedays - Feb 1	6 replies	by goodbyedays »» Feb 3, 12:26 AM
	OP & ED NB_Tenchy - Jan 29	7 replies	by NB_Tenchy »» Feb 2, 9:22 PM