Medalist

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Hi, I'm a figure skater.

This manga is incredible and I can attest to that. (TL;DR at bottom)

STORY: 9

It's a simple premise, a journey of Inori's way to an Olympic medal, but that's what makes the story so great. With such a simple plot, there's no limit to what you can do with it if you know and care for the sport. (Which, the author absolutely does, considering nearly everything to do with actual figure skating is factual.) For example, they incorporate actual skating culture into the manga, which unfortunately is a culture of classism and superiority complexes, but the culture also attributes to the plot ... as well, oftentimes becoming a wall for Inori to climb over. A story about a bullied kid aiming to be the best is nothing new, but nobody has ever done it like the author of Medalist has.

The story is Medalist's strongest point, in my opinion, with how well done and versatile it is.

ART: 8

Now, the art is absolutely something unique, but specifically, the paneling is what I enjoy most. In figure skating competition, you have the whole rink to yourself, and it seems like the author is trying to replicate that feeling of freedom with their use of panels. Characters often break the boxes, sometimes there are no boxes, there's so much dynamic movement that multiple panels are used to not only emphasize the highlight of a trick, but also to show every part of a given trick; it's creative and fun for skaters and non-skaters alike. To me, seeing this paneling felt like standing in an open rink by myself, and I can only hope everyone else gets that same feeling, because I loved it.

The author's expressions are... well, expressive! Extremely so! But it's not a bad thing at all! Sure, the lines can sometimes get scratchy and a little hard to make out in a few cases, but their use of scratchy lines really makes for fun art to look at! The character expressions themselves make me laugh because they're so exaggerated and funny looking. It's amazing how the author can switch between drawing a realistically accurate skate, to adorable characters, to those same adorable characters bawling their eyes out obnoxiously because they're kids. So great!

CHARACTER: 9

Oh my god, I honestly don't know where to start. It's amazing.

Inori is your typical lovable underdog, and (in the 6 chapters I've read) she has so much room for development and has even already had some. Her development isn't even cliché, it's actually seeming to be very original and something known only to Inori. She's fun and hilarious with her interactions with everybody, her dedication and drive to skate is so carefully crafted, and her other traits are unique and make her character to be easy loved.

I mentioned clichés before, and, yes, some of the characters do fall into clichés. But, they're not limited to only the cookie cutter mold they were (Or weren't, I don't know the author's characterization process.) molded by, they have good development and reason for falling into a cliché, it's never for no reason.

ENJOYMENT: 10

My favorite part of the review, all the personal sappy bits!

Reading this manga was so much fun, like recognizing technique practice and tricks and *coughs* falling on your ass a lot. But I especially loved seeing the passion the characters had and the passion the author must have in order to put that into them. It's not easy to write a story from the beginning of a sports career, there's so much that goes on under the surface of what regular sports enjoyers see, but this author clearly did their research and made sure that the whole process of figure skating, from getting a coach, to competing for the first time, was as accurate as can be.

Of the sports series I've seen, there isn't much figure skating representation. Yuri on Ice!!! exists and I love it, but that's about it, and it's a sports-romance anime as well. Nothing that's purely figure skating, which is odd considering how popular a sport it is.

I adore Medalist because it's figure skating for figure skating's sake. A child with a passion who chases that for as long as they can, and isn't that what every successful figure skater stared out as? That's what I started out as, and seeing myself in these characters was something I've never felt before. (In the lens of a skater, at least.) Medalist, despite only having read 6 chapters, means a lot to me, personally.

But for the non-skaters, I know that they can love and appreciate this manga as much as I do too. It's given so much care and attention to detail that, you don't have to be a skater to read it. There are explanations for complicated things, enjoyable moments outside of the skating and amazing art as well. It's an experience for everyone.

TL;DR

The story is amazing because the author takes advantage of the freedom they've given themselves by having a simple plot.

The art is unique and extremely fun to look at in every way.

The characterization breaks expectations and gives a reason to appreciate almost all the characters.

My enjoyment is very biased because of my history, but this manga is very easily enjoyed by others who don't share that history.

Thanks for reading if you did! I really hope this is all concise and easy to understand, but I just had so much to say about Medalist T—T

This is a premier, top of the line, character focused, theme heavy, sports manga about striving for victory. The primary conflict is about Inori trying to work her way to becoming No.1, e.g. Gold medalist, but there is so much beyond that. Almost every character in Medalist is a protagonist of their own story. This is not something you are only reminded of as an afterthought but something that works its way in at every point possible. Tsukasa has his own themes about sacrifice, chances give up on, making sure the next generation has better opportunities than he was given. Hikaru has her own set ... of complex themes. The cutest girl on earth (also known as Kamoto Suzu) gets her own spotlight. Rioh has his own chapter. Even Main and Yuna, relatively minor characters who only show up when Inori goes to a training camp or competes, have their own complex relationships and goals that they are striving towards. At no point at any time is any character introduced for a purpose or made simply to fill a role, each one is packed with a dense array of personality and dreams and ambitions and motivations that make them so striking and interesting in their own right. Medalist is not just a manga about Inori striving to be a medalist, it is about a whole host of athletes/coaches/support staff, all striving to achieve their own medals. In an overarching it's about the nature of competition and competitors just as much as the actual skaters.

I cannot recommend this manga enough. There's this line from chapter 35 that I love immensely that I feel encapsulates the way the author writes medalist. I translated it something like this: "To stand alone in front of the crowd, to be cold and hurt when you fall, to not run away until it's over even if you fail, even through all of that these kids are able to love the ice. I wonder why we can't just call everyone in this sport a genius." There is real care put into this fictional world to bring it to life. That's why I think it's a real masterpiece manga.

Also the drama is top notch.

Medalist is a new manga that people have probably heard of recently through twitter, and currently has almost no following outside of Japan. If you haven't checked it out already, you definitely should.

It is a very promising manga with a lot of potential so far. The art is fine for the most part, but really shines during emotional bits and parts where they are skating. The author is great at drawing figure skating.

The passion and interest the author has in figure skating really shines in their work here, and the character dynamic between the coach and student is absolutely great. If you came here ... from Yuri On Ice expecting romance, this definitely is not for you.
The story is great, and the parental pressure and societal pressures the two protagonists share are very relatable. The characters are also cute and likeable.

I highly recommend this hidden gem to anyone who enjoys dramas and sports manga, and is a must read for figure skating fans. If I could it give a more specific rating, I would give it a 7.5 from my impressions so far. As of writing, only 3 chapters are out.