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 ion 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 ing

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Sonidori, Riou ing

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Yodaka, Jun ing

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Miketa, Ryouka ing

Kino, Hina Japanese

Kago, You ing

Inoue, Honoka Japanese

Sonidori, Shinichirou ing

Ban, Taito Japanese

Kitora, Kanna ing

Miyashiro, Momoko Japanese

Sekoma, Mamoru ing

Muraji, Manabu Japanese

Yamashita, Shinpei Producer

Yamato, Masae Producer

Kanbe, Kouki Producer

Sawada, Airi Producer

Reviews

May 29, 2025

KirbyGrandmaOG

Recommended

This anime had me genuinely invested in Inori's character growth; From episode 1 all the way to the end I was finding myself excited every time she learned a new move or came up with a game plan. One major aspect I really enjoyed was the excellent use of CGI in the animation; very good example of how it should be done. The animation was beautiful and one of the times I found myself getting a hit of dopamine watching every action/skating scenario! I would have given this a 10, but I did find the dramatization to be ... way over the top for the smallest of problems. Though I do get that kids tend to overthink and worry about the simplest of things, which I know all too well. Very realistic view in all honesty of what is going on in a kids mind during such stressful situations, but it felt like the adults were overreacting a lot as well which is why I found it to be a little off. Coach Tsukasa is a breath of fresh air and seeing him be an amazing ing character despite his own shortcomings with figure skating made me extremely happy for the students that have a top tier role model. Overall, the pacing for season 1 was perfect and I am very excited for season 2. :D
Solid anime 9/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 4, 2025

Hail_Lelouch

Mixed Feelings

Most underrated anime of 2025 currently, Medalist is a sports drama that centers around Inori who wishes to make it big in Figure skating. While the characters and the animation is good, the story felt a rushing piece. There were no hard lessons learned for the protagonist with no losses and the sudden time skip after Episode 9 felt a bit off.

As a fan of sports anime, I gave Medalist a try. While there were some emotional elements that made me rooted for the character, but the side characters weren't given enough spotlight in of backstory and story progression.
Unlike many anime, Medalist portrays ... a world without true antagonists; instead it is populated by earnest, hardworking characters who embody humanity's better nature. Medalist is a decent show and while it’s far away from the genuinely best sports anime, it might become strong as the story progresses more.

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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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