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

Sonidori, Riou Supporting

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Yodaka, Jun Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Miketa, Ryouka Supporting

Kino, Hina Japanese

Sonidori, Shinichirou Supporting

Ban, Taito Japanese

Kago, You Supporting

Inoue, Honoka Japanese

Takamine, Hitomi Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Sekoma, Mamoru Supporting

Muraji, Manabu Japanese

Yamashita, Shinpei Producer

Sawada, Airi Producer

Yamato, Masae Producer

Kanbe, Kouki Producer

Reviews

Mar 29, 2025

KANLen09

Recommended

Medalist — Simply…Truly, Madly, Deeply: Magnifique.

As a performing arts major, I lament the landscape of the AniManga industry that produces a lot of garbage content and do not go the road less travelled because there is a handful of unique things to cover, especially when it comes to sports and the like. Sure, you have the likes of Haikyuu! and Slam Dunk! when it comes to basketball, or hell, even the Indian sport of kabaddi, which was covered by mangaka Hajime Musashino's Shakunetsu Kabaddi a.k.a Burning Kabaddi. Above all, when it comes to figure skating, we all already know MAPPA's Yuri!!! on Ice as the ... massive and popular series representing the sport, but did you know that there's another new contender in this aspect?

If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then yes, it's the sports drama that is mangaka Tsurumaikada's Medalist, which since its serialization in May 2020, has gone on to be nominated for many awards and even won prestigious ones like the Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category in 2023, as well as Kodansha's Manga Award for 2 years in a row in 2023 and 2024. That should tell you how great of a masterpiece the source material is, at least for Tsurumaikada's first ever work. And when it comes to ENGI's adaptation of the source material this Winter season, I have to say that it's an absolute cinema unlike anything you've ever seen (or since Yuri!!! on Ice).

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France

A girl whose age is defined as "too old" to participate in a sport that should be cultivated since young and a man whose ambitions of trying his hardest to achieve victory turn short too many times that he's all but given up at this point. This is the remarkable underdog story of 11-year-old Inori Yuitsuka and Tsukasa Akeuraji, whose fate hangs in the balance against the known negatives in their way, where the two words "Give Up" resonate much of their current predicament, just as in Coldplay's song Fix You: "When you try your best, but you don't succeed." But as fate would have it, for the girl who dreams of becoming a world-class figure skater, and whose older sister failed in this once, leaving their mother in distress over plunging her funds into yet another child of theirs with much uncertainty, meets the man so keen on his competitive skating that winning is a bittersweet victory that's hard to come by, forms a partnership where it's a win-win solution for Inori, who is allowed to pursue her dreams before she hits middle school age, and Tsukasa, who against all odds, refuses to back down from fights of negativity and turns them into opportunities for the former to grow extensively. It's your typical underdog story, but it's done with so much heart and soul that you can feel it in your bones, every sense of it.

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." - Colin Powell

In fact, for such an esteemed work like this, you would think that the author him/herself must have the experience for all that's to be attributed to figure skating, right? You would be wrong. Born in Aichi Prefecture, the story takes place in Nagoya, where Tsurumaikada is from, and with no experience in the sport itself, he/she took on a month-long figure skating class held at Nagoya Sporta Centre in Osu in the Naka ward just to understand how the sport works before beginning to pen out Medalist in the way he/she likes it. This is truly motivational for someone going out of his/her way to write a work on something that not most people can or are willing to go to an extent to try out figure skating and, in more ways than one, sums up Tsurumaikada's own underdog story starting from scratch to then becoming the well-known author he/she is today.

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality." - Yoko Ono

If anything, Medalist's strongest suit is in its characters, mainly due to the insanity of the strong and perfect chemistry of Inori and Tsukasa. Inori may be "too old" at 11 years of age, but her heart of wanting to be a world-class figure skater is a childhood dream that she's been longing for the longest time, and it instills in the kid within her that nothing is impossible in this world, so long as she can reach out with her hand to reach and fight for it with passion and sheer determination. Inori is like the daughter that most parents would want to have, simply because she's a kid at heart and someone that would chase for her dreams despite the world telling her otherwise. It's that "never give up" spirit that pushes her to the limit to conquer even the most difficult programs and routines that we find ourselves genuinely cheering on her for.

Towards Tsukasa's end, it's in the same way as he sees his young self in Inori, being the young skater who's always on fire for wanting to be better, despite not making it to the podium and finding himself in training after training not just to get by but to prove the point that he still can make it. And this catalyst of Tsukasa is brought down to Inori with an obtuse, cheerful enthusiasm that "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me." The power of positivity that Tsukasa brings to the table is second to none, and the toxic phrase of "boys will be boys" exudes the now Inori's coach to greater heights, always challenging the perception against people that think that they have peaked and cannot go any further.

Trust me, Inori and Tsukasa are like a father-daughter figure duo who always challenge the notion of "what's normal will never change," as they meet other skaters with reputations far greater than theirs and coaches who want nothing but the best for them, for better or for worse. It's a poignant message that stands the test of time to see the same message but from differing points of view from someone just starting out in the sport and the other having gone through the sport and overcoming his fears from the past to bring fruit to the present with the one who's just getting started. It's one hell of a poignant story with very relatable characters that you can't opt not to take your eyes away from them, not even a glimpse. In other words, any anime with scripts written by Jukki Hanada is a guaranteed masterpiece.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt

The beauty of a wonderful adaptation is always sublime, that its presentation will stick with you for a very long time. And courtesy of director Yasutaka Yamamoto and the staff team at ENGI, I have to say that this is BY FAR one of the most beautiful depictions of the blend between 2D and 3DCG that the source material has ever gotten such an upgrade translating onto the small screen. More than realizing that Yasutaka Yamamoto had once directed yet another sports series, Fall 2018's Hinomaruzumou a.k.a Hinomaru Sumo (directed at professional sumo wrestling), it's clear that he understood the assignment going into Medalist, and the results speak for themselves.

We used to chide Kadokawa's subsidiary studio ENGI for their depiction of messy and inconsistent 2D and 3DCG ever since the studio was founded in April 2018, but take one look at Medalist, and it shows a rather stark contrast of a passion project through and through, with no restrictions whatsoever. Even more so is the involvement of actual figure skaters choreographing the skating routines, with the help of retirees Akiko Suzuki (2013 Japanese national champion) and Yuhana Yokoi (2-time Japanese Junior national medalist) alongside active skater Hinano Isobe (2011 Triglav Cup winner). This shows how much blood, sweat, and tears went into the production of the anime, and it's such a rewarding payoff for fans of the manga going into the show, only to come out witnessing that the anime is the superior version of the source material.

The OST composed by Yuki Hayashi is very well done and filled with emotions wrecking the very heart of the soul to oblivion. I'll admit that Kenshi Yonezu's OP song is rather fine, even if it fits the thematics of the show very well. Neguse's ED song, however, changes that rhythm into a childlike song with Inori and her love for earthworms (which is very sweet to see), and the song is really good.

"Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream." - Khalil Gibran

To say that Tsurumaikada's Medalist is one of the best Winter 2025 anime by miles and leaps, is just greatly underselling how much this show has done so much for its audience, just by a simple story, very compelling and relatable characters, and a message that while simple, is all the more influential and motivational for anyone being pissed off at life and its mundane records of living. You are what you breathe, and life isn't so limited that options for growth are limitless.

I'll leave you with this quote that sums up Medalist in its tip-top shape:
"Dream and give yourself permission to envision a You that you choose to be."- Joy Page

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Mar 30, 2025

Cynthesia

Mixed Feelings

Wasted potential. Medalist is a show that holds so much potential but ends up fumbling the execution of pivotal moments resulting in an experience that leaves me conflicted. All of the pieces are there. Great characters, an engaging plot, interesting subject matter and drama , if only it were handled with slightly more care it could have been one of the greats.

Medalist features the best rags to riches story that you can imagine. Inori starts from below zero. Her entire life has been defined by belittlement, rejection, and failure. She's outcast from not only society but her own family and completely rejects any meaning ... in her life. That is, until she meets Tsukasa, who is so enamored with her skating ability that he vows to bring her to the top despite what she's been told her entire life. Tsukasa and Inori's relationship is the crux of this anime's appeal. They have such incredible chemistry and love for each other that you can't help but smile whenever they put each other on the highest of pedestals. The value of a positive role model cannot be overstated, Tsukasa is a man who brings out 200% in anyone he sets his sights on. Not through overwork or strict training regimens, but rather through unrelenting torrents of praise and suggestion. And just as he brings out the best in Inori, she brings out the best in him. Through watching her progress, Tsukasa realizes that he isn't the failure that he's deemed himself to be. Their relationship is truly something special and a joy to watch unfold on the screen.

They aren't the only characters in the show of course. For the most part they do fine. Rioh is the strongest, being introduced in the back half of the show and receiving the most development of any of them. Just like Tsukasa and Inori he's deemed a failure because of his inability to shape up to the best of the best. Of course this is entirely self proclaimed and watching Tsukasa work his magic on him, although to a lesser degree than Inori, is very charming and hammers in the importance of positive role models. Hikaru is the virtuoso endgame rival character. She's nice, doesn't really contribute overall but serves well as an end goal for Inori. Mittens is a decent early rival character, she gets better with time. Other characters definitely do exist but ultimately are sidelined to focus on Inori and Tsukasa's relationship which is a good choice as it's easily the strongest aspect. They mostly behave as you would expect children to do, with all of their issues essentially stemming from typical melodrama that you would expect from an immature mind. They serve their purposes well as rivals but don't go much beyond that after their performances.

Speaking about the performances, this is probably the most polarizing aspect of Medalist. I fall slightly in the middle camp although I lean more towards the "it doesn't look great" side, and this is where the majority of my disappointment with the show comes from. On one hand, it's understandable that they would choose to use CG for the figure skating portions. Not only is figure skating incredibly complicated but CG can allow for a much more fluid full body feel as it's generally much more naturally smoothed out. There's certainly good looking CG so it's not an inherently bad decision to use it. Unfortunately, Studio Engi didn't nail it. The models look pretty gross, especially when using their performance outfits. They really stick out on the ice and it creates this very mannequin-esque feel to their movements. Similarly the performances are not all that smooth. This is most apparent whenever they have to perform any kind of spin, which only becomes more prevalent as Inori's skill level increases. Rather than incorporate an entire 360 degree rotation they simply chopped together 4 90 degree rotations and loop it which makes for a very choppy looking experience. The general movement ends up looking fine but whenever they have to perform anything with any technicality it ends up falling short. This severely limits the potential impact of the performances which are the key highlight of the show. Climactic moments are equally hindered as they either rush into them or don't provide them enough time to build tension which also ruins their impact. This is easily the worst part of the show, and it happens to be the most important one.

Similarly, some dramatic moments outside of the rink are handled somewhat poorly. This is more of an issue in the first half of the show rather than the second. Inori and Tsukasa's backstory feels a little glossed over and their relationship develops at lightning speed as they try to get onto the rink as fast as possible. As Inori is someone with massive trust issues and negative self confidence this doesn't really make sense and I would have appreciated it if they went a little more in depth. This can be somewhat excused as they only have 13 episodes to work with and clearly don't want to sacrifice more than they already, clearly, have from Inori's development on the rink. With regards to Tsukasa's backstory it ends up being mostly reduced to a bullet point form and doesn't receive any major focus in the show. This ends up detracting a little from Tsukasa's overall character as it's not entirely convincing why he believes he's a failure but this isn't so much of a major disappointment as it is a source of mild dissatisfaction.

The pieces are there for Medalist, and maybe I'm being a bit too harsh. But when you present something with so much potential and then end up consistently missing the mark when it matters most it creates such a strong feeling of disappointment than if the difference of potential and execution were smaller. Medalist is certainly a fantastic drama, featuring a strong cast who all go through massive growth and a clear love for the sport that it's depicting. If only it were able to nail those pivotal moments.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 14, 2025

LevixAckerman

Not Recommended

Preliminary (6/13 eps)

Somehow, when I watch Medalist, I often compare it to Yuri on Ice, and maybe that's not the best idea. The story revolves around our protagonist, Inori Yuitsuka, who wants to start figure skating because, according to her, she doesn't excel at anything else. By chance, she encounters Tsukasa Akeuraji, a former professional skater. His dream of winning a medal was never fulfilled, so now he wants to achieve it through Inori.

It's a nice premise, but it just feels way too forced. The protagonist comes off like a robot who can only identify with figure skating. The other skaters are all still kids, constantly rivaling ... each other and wishing the worst for one another. The characters and their actions also didn’t convince me. Medalist feels like a checklist being ticked off. Maybe comparing it to Yuri on Ice was simply unfair, since that still remains the best figure skating anime.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend it!

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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