Anime series Medalist

[Couch Expert]

Medarisuto (TV Series 2025– ) ⭐ 8.0 | Animation, Drama, Sport

23m | TV-14

www.imdb.com

In January 2025 started new ongoing anime about figure skating - dedicated to Japanese novice and junior women skating. Feel free to discuss it ^^ I watched two episodes - and I like it so far. Definitely not as flashy as Yuri on Ice was - but more down to earth and beginner-friendly, focused more on training and behind-the-scenes everyday life. Lot of attention on basic moves and skills, skating moms jealousy, financial issues etc.
I'm not sure it belongs in off topic part of forum - but it also not very fit to be in The Edge.. probably?

 

[mikeko666]

I also looked for a thread about this anime in The Edge.
I've never read the manga, which had been received good reviews either, and just watched the first two episode and really love it. The story evolves two main characters Inori, 11 years old girl with very low self-esteem who finally got the courage to tell her mother that she wants to skate and Tsukasa, 26 years old man and a former ice dancer who regrets that he didn't begin skating until 14 years old. While there are many humorous moments like worms being Inori's comfort, the anime also shows the cruel reality of the sport, young kids paying sacrifices to achieve their dreams, parents of other kids speaking ill of Inori because they think Tsukasa looks emotionally investing on her too much.

Akiko Suzuki provided the choreographies, just like Kenji Miyamoto did to Yuri on Ice. The skating sequences were created with the motion capture technology with Akiko and Yuhana Yokoi's actual skating, including the sound.



I was surprised to know Kenshi Yonezu, one of the most popular singer-song-writers in Japan, provided the opening song, and was surprised even more to discover that he was a big fan of the manga and offered to write a song for the anime.

 

[denise3lz]

I think this animation deserves more attention in the figure skating community.

 

[Silevril Ilumire]

@Couch Expert , thanks for making a thread for Medalist! I was thinking about making a thread for it, but I did not know where to put it, either. So thanks!

I have been watching Medalist, and I really like it so far. I have a fascination with how figure skating is depicted in skating. But often times, figure skating is portrayed very unrealistically in fiction, sometimes in laughable ways, and sometimes in ways that feel stupid or even offensive. So far, Medalist has an interesting and somewhat original premise, and it feels authentic. I do not have personal experience with learning to skate so maybe someone else could critique it differently with their personal knowledge, but based on what I know it seems convincing. I really like the details like the recognizable jump take offs and the sound of the blades on ice. I like the characters and want to root for them.

@mikeko666 , thank you for the information on how the anime was made! That is very interesting.

 

[mikeko666]

I think this animation deserves more attention in the figure skating community.

The manga has been very popular in Japan winning many awards and the anime is already a big success bringing anime fans, skating fans and Kenshi Yonezu fans together.

The skating scenes are just amazing.

Inoris first competition (Preliminary Class)


Ryouka (Preliminary Class)


Planned elements: 1A, 1Lz, 2S+1A, 1F, SSp
Executed elements: 1A, 1Lz, 2S, 2S*+1A, SSp (*invalid)
Her coach was screaming in her head "Add an axel to the last flip!"

 

[mikeko666]

Hikaru (Novice B Champion)

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

I'm watching it too and enjoying it very much so far

 

[AlexBreeze]

Looks like the best anime of the winter season so far, though I haven't had time to delve deeper.

Thanks for the info on Yonezu. I didn't know. It's cool that he took part.

Before the series came out, many manga fans were afraid that the adaptation would mediocre but so far the opposite is true.

 

[TallyT]

A music video of the title song by Kenshi Yonezu has just been released, collaborating with Yuzuru Hanyu (whose name of course, means 'bowstring' and who heaps of fans of anime and skating alike think inspired the visuals for one of the main characters...

 

[TallyT]

I'm not usually a huge anime fan but given how big it is, and the massive reaction to the official mv release of the theme song yesterday (sung by Japanese superstar Kenshi Yonezu (yes yes, and starring Yuzuru , this is me after all) I was wondering if I might chase it down if it's being shown over here. It is apparently hugely popular and I remember that Yuri on Ice brought more than a few new fans to figure skating.

I have read that Akiko Suzuki was involved in choreography so while what the characters can do is predictably 'unrealistic' (Yuzu's word, for which he has been endlessly teased by fans) it's less so and more true to real skating that YoI.

Has anyone seen it?

 

[lileychristie]

It's still ongoing and I've watched it till the latest episode. I believe you can watch it through Disney+, but not sure if it's available in all countries.

 

[denise3lz]

It is released up to 9th episodes and story is still early stage as the protagonist barely do few double jump.
I am impressed this show is making these level of program exciting.

 

[Magill]

I'm not usually a huge anime fan but given how big it is, and the massive reaction to the official mv release of the theme song yesterday (sung by Japanese superstar Kenshi Yonezu (yes yes, and starring Yuzuru , this is me after all) I was wondering if I might chase it down if it's being shown over here. It is apparently hugely popular and I remember that Yuri on Ice brought more than a few new fans to figure skating.

I have read that Akiko Suzuki was involved in choreography so while what the characters can do is predictably 'unrealistic' (Yuzu's word, for which he has been endlessly teased by fans) it's less so and more true to real skating that YoI.

I can confirm it is available on D+ in Europe and I looove it! I admit I have started to watch when I heard Yuzuru praising it on his chat which got me interested.
One thing which actually sets this series apart from many other skating movies I have seen is that it is pretty informative and educational in terms of helping the viewers understand figure skating as a sport but doing so in a non-invasive and fun manner. We are following a young girl I think she is around 11-12, as she is starting her skating journey with a dream to win the Olympic gold one day. We can see her talking to her coach who is explaining to her differences between jumps, the way the IJS works and how you can strategize on the content of your programmes to maximize the scores, etc. We can hear her inner dialogue as she is counting the scores and adapting the program on her feet! A casual viewer can also get familiar with the names of various elements and how they differ - all in short and funny dialogues, no lecturing. Very useful knowledge, and I think it was brought up here many times how beneficial and needed it would be to educate the casual fans on these more complex aspects of the sport to help them understand how it actually works. Medalist is doing just this!!! And in a fun and loving way! I think this is probably the most interesting and important aspect of the anime from the point of view of the skating community - and IMHO it makes it worth it of a thread in the Edge! It should be really applauded for this! It even makes viewers aware of the current discussion on the relative importance of jumps vs everything else in the scoring system and we can see the young skaters take different approaches to the problem and yield different results! Though this aspect is a bit idealistic with scores going rather how they should go than how it actually happens in RL competitions. lol
Big plus for me is also that episodes are rather short so you can easily watch it as a break during your busy day without necessarily dedicating much time to the screen.
The opening song by super-popular in Japan Kenshi Yonezu and yesterday's music video adding Yuzuru Hanyu skating to Kenshi's singing are another example of how the series is quite clever in bringing together quite a few fandoms - those who already read the Medalist manga, anime lovers, FS fans, Kenshi fans and of course Yuzu fans. Plus lots of kids going for yet another series on Disney Plus! Quite a big crowd, altogether. The Bow and Arrow video has reached more than 30 million views within less than 1 day across official accounts on X, plus 4 million+ views on YouTube. Pretty impressive indeed! And it features Yuzuru having restored his 4Lutz, yes! long time no see, and at 30 years of age, no less!
So not to rely just on words, here's a clip from the movie and the Kenshi / Yuzu video, enjoy!

 

[Anna K.]

I'm a sworn binge watcher so I'm waiting until it's premiered completely. "Seasonal" anime series usually have 12-13 eps, so there's not much time left to wait I assume

 

[Karoltyna]

I can confirm it is available on D+ in Europe and I looove it! I admit I have started to watch when I heard Yuzuru praising it on his chat which got me interested.

THX, I guess I know what we'll be doing with my boy this weekend, as all our icerinks are already closed and we don;t like these that are still open.

 

[denise3lz]

I think it is interesting theme that coaches teaches something him/herself couldn't do in their competitive days.

In the real world most coaches did not jump triple while their elite students jumping all triple and even 3A and quads.

 

[Magill]

I think it is interesting theme that coaches teaches something him/herself couldn't do in their competitive days.

In the real world most coaches did not jump triple while their elite students jumping all triple and even 3A and quads.

It's true. I also wondered about it many times, even before the show as I don't think she's on that level yet, but yes, I thought a lot about the real life coaches teaching things they could never do themselves and how exactly it works... Maybe someone here has some experience in this area and would care to share... ?

 

[Karoltyna]

Why didn't anyone warn me that it is about 10yo. Now, at episode 8, my 10yo looks as if he wanted to pursue skating a little bit more. BTW Inori behaves and reacts exactly like my boy.

 

[Silevril Ilumire]

Yay, happy to see Medalist getting more attention on GS! It is available on Hulu in the U.S.

 

[Karoltyna]

Finished the season. My boy asks when they will release next season and pesters me to call our coach and book her before they'll close the last icerink in Cracow.