Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Aan1m
Absolutely incredible and one of the best sports anime’s I have watched - the animation is absolutely fantastic and so are the soundtracks - the protagonist and the coach are absolutely lovely characters and are just so easy to back in there journey - it is also surprisingly emotional with a lot of realistic depth and heartbreaking moments - as usual with sports anime’s since this resolves a lot around children it always sucks when a character you like loses but swing inori grow so much in the space of such a short time is so incredible to watch - the performances are absolutely breathtaking and always have me at the edge of my seat - just overall a fantastic watch and one of the most underrated anime’s
Read at the sourceOtaku_Senpai
The show starts with very strong first episode. So the first episode will probably hook you. Art and animation is nice. In particular the skating is done well. I wonder how the skating animations were done. Looked hand drawn, but is it also using CGI? I was confused, its that good.
I liked the story and the characters. Sports anime enjoyers will like it. Athletes go through training regiment and put in hard work. Of course all skating lovers will love it. I am a bit surprised the manga is categorized as a seinen, as I had thought its young girls who would love it as the lead character is a 11 year old girl. I think anime will appeal in particular to 13+ year old girls the most.
Unlike the sports anime Uma Musume Cinderella Grey, the coach here is actually useful. I mention this as this…
Read at the source_yz
If Medalist is one of the highest rated sports drama on MAL, then there's no wonder Umamusume is taking the world by storm right now — it's just better.
The premise is typical: the rising of an underdog. The problem is the show repeatedly kills off the stakes before you even start to feel them. The protag is starting from zero and has to compete with kids that spent half their life skating? Seems like a proper way to build tensions — oh, nah, it's made clear right away that she's a prodigy. The protag overtrains and hurts her leg? how will she catch up... — oh, a time skip right away, and the leg is healed! Basically, the MC is a terminator that only looses when it's needed for the plot and her real enemy is only her anxiety.
The characters have their charm, but there're two problems: t…
Read at the sourceemberreviews
Medalist is an adaptation of one of my favorite manga and could not have been given to a worse studio for said adaptation, and while it managed to assuage my fears of a production collapse and come out the other end as a solid work unto itself, I still find myself constantly nitpicking many aspects of the final product. Despite the gorgeous character models and intense lighting effects and fun little character acting moments, there’s also this sense of everything not fully fitting together, like it’s missing something at its core to unify all these elements into a cohesive whole, and there were more than a few editing choices that felt a bit jarring and disorienting. Going mostly full-CG with the figure skating segments was a bit of a disappointment, as many of the movements came off a bit…
Read at the sourcesalwacja
This anime delivered.
A beautiful story about self-development and building your character while doing what you love. I love how the characters were shaped and how they changed and grew throughout the episodes. Inori matured so much. She grew so much under Tsukasa's guidance. I cried while watching, and by the end, Inori is truly sweet and wonderful. This little spark was so lucky to meet Tsukasa, who guided her development. Other characters, too. If I had met Rioh, I wouldn't have liked him, but the way he changed, the way his behaviour towards Inori and Tsukasu turned around. He also grew. Tsukasa is such a solid material. He's a great guy, the way he helped Inori raise her level, looking at his history with ice skating, and the way he supported her. That's a good one, literally father…
Read at the sourceC4bs
Just before the start of the new anime release season, while I'm choosing which ones to watch or not, I always wonder if there will be some lesser production, with little publicity and confined to an obscure streaming service, that will end up surprising me with its quality and becoming a big surprise for me. Unfortunately, such discoveries have become increasingly rare due to my coverage of Eastern entertainment industry news, almost completely robbing me of the feeling of discovering a good work, because, in most cases, I already know in advance whether it will be good or not.
On the other hand, when I come across a positive surprise these days, I end up appreciating it even more, knowing it's a rare occurrence. And for me, Medalist's anime was the big surprise of the winter season, not…
Read at the sourceanalysis1909
Every now and then, an anime comes along that doesn’t make a loud entrance but leaves a quiet, lasting impact. Medalist is one such anime.
It's not the most talked-about show right now, but it truly deserves more recognition. With each episode, you can feel the dedication of the writer, director, animators, and the entire production crew. Medalist is a rare sports anime that prioritizes emotion over spectacle, and it does so beautifully.
At first glance, Medalist may seem like a typical underdog sports story centered around figure skating. But what sets this anime apart isn’t just the sport, it’s the relationship between the coach and the player. While many sports anime focus on rivalries, competitions, or team dynamics, Medalist places its emotional weight on the bond between a passiona…
Read at the sourceAES-senpai
Set to premiere in 2025, "メダリスト" (Medalist) is a highly anticipated anime series that promises to deliver a heartwarming and inspiring tale from the competitive world of figure skating. Based on the acclaimed manga by Tsurumaikada, this adaptation is expected to capture the emotional depth, intense training, and sheer passion that define its source material. It aims to be a compelling watch for sports anime enthusiasts and anyone who loves a story of perseverance against the odds.
The Plot: A Late Bloomer's Journey to the Ice
"Medalist" centers on the unlikely duo of Tsukasa Akeuraji, a once-promising figure skater whose dreams were cut short, and Inori Yuzuki, a young girl who, despite her age (often portrayed as being in elementary school), shows immense potential but initially struggle…
Read at the sourceHail_Lelouch
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 terms 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 t…
Read at the sourceChuy_diazz
Medalist is something I didn't know I needed, but I'm grateful it was given to me.
Initially, I thought this would have a very heavy dramatic weight and I would have to suffer and cry with the characters. I did end up crying, but not because of the exaggerated drama, but because of the conviction and determination shown by each and every one of the characters in Medalist. The story focuses on children; they are the main focus of this story. When working with children, everything becomes more complicated because you have to make childhood problems seem truly worrisome. To do this, it focuses on issues we've all experienced: personal insecurity and the desire for change. These are two things that, as adults, we can resolve or continue to struggle with, but at the age of the children in this…
Read at the sourcedarth_kaiser_x
It's not my type of anime but I gave it a chance because people spoke highly of it, and it was worth giving it a chance, a story of effort and overcoming even in totally unfavorable conditions, charismatic characters and a protagonist who when we see her suffer hits that pang in the heart because she just wants to follow her dream even if deep down she thinks and others also think "my time has passed, it's too late for me", something that touches anyone who has been through this, Tsukasa is a total character, the great comic relief, if the anime reaches their adolescence, Riou will definitely be Inori's romantic partner if there is one, Jun is the antagonist and easily the most "detestable" in the work but he is the challenge that Tsukasa has to overcome, the animation is sensational and v…
Read at the sourceSupersonic_Pain
Fantastic show with just a couple bumps
I think the cast is very well-done. Tsukasa aside, the coaches are kinda whatever. I liked Ema's coach, Yudai Jakuzure, but tbqh none of the other coaches left much of an impact on me. There's one that has a more "traditional" antagonist role but he just kind of stands there ~menacingly~ for most of the show so *shrug*.
Cast-wise, who I really want to talk about are the kids.
I think Inori's really cute and a nice protagonist. She can be a bit of a pessimist when it comes to her own performances and capabilities but I never found it annoying, especially since Tsukasa is there. She and Tsukasa have a really good, nice coach-student dynamic going on, especially since you can see where Tsukasa is coming from.
Doing shows with little kids in them is…
Read at the sourceCynthesia
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 li…
Read at the sourceMightyJou
A man who gave up his dream and a girl afraid to chase hers. He is by nature serious, loud and energetic. She is shy, quiet and deeply insecure. One could see this mix to only end in a disaster, but what if they are meant to bring out the best from each other? This is essentially important in a relationship of a coach and an athlete who both aim to the top, who aim for the medal.
Child athletes and their struggles are a subject that barely get any coverage, mainly ´cause it might be a bit hard to handle. "Medalist" however deserves full-marks in character presentation, story-telling and sports performances as it takes a look at a figure skating and what goes around it. Handful of child characters, their thoughts and hard work are presented beautifully in the performances they give in the…
Read at the source5iv3_
I'll be honest, I was a little iffy with this show before it came out as ENGI is known for not having the best track record, HOWEVER I believe they've sorta redeemed themselves with this show because it was really great. I thought I'd have an issue with the CGI but it actually looked pretty good and worked really well here. I feel my worries weren't completely unwarranted but I'm glad this turned out much better that I anticipated.
I love figure skating as a sport so seeing more and more anime crop up about the topic always makes me happy, and I really thought this show did a good job explaining a bunch of technical terms within the sport while also balancing the essential plot for the show. Having our mains connect over a similar problem and learn to compensate through each other was su…
Read at the sourceMidniteAndBeyond
This is currently my anime of the year. This is currently one of my favorite shows of all time. This was so unbelievably perfect in every single way. It had me hooked from episode 1 and in tears all the way to the very end. It's a beautiful story about never giving up on your dreams, but also finding the people who believe in you and want to support you and ensure you never feel hopeless or alone in the world. It's astonishing how one's life path can be completely determined by the support system they have in their childhood. Some dreams are never achieved because of lost time that can never be reclaimed. While someone on the brink of despair can be saved and have their whole life turned around all because of ONE person who saw something in them that they weren't able to see in themselves,…
Read at the source8bitEcho
Please do not skip out on this. Especially if your decision is based on the numerous reviews and comments left by manga readers. What many of the vocal ones of them seem to not understand is that its never going to be as magical to experience a story told as beautifully as medalist a second time. from the score, to the acting to, to the choreography to the gags, every piece of this story and its production ooze passion. Both for the sport of figure skating and the narrative of striving to persevere even when you don't believe you can achieve even the basics of what may be your dream.
Characters both adult and child alike are written masterfully, the problems they face are realistic and approached not with unbearable naivete from the younger than average cast nor are they bogged down by st…
Read at the sourcewhiteflame55
I don’t really care about figure skating. The vast majority of my knowledge of the sport starts and ends with a ridiculous song about Brian Boitano from the South Park movie. I didn’t watch Yuri on Ice (I know, travesty), and the only times I’d watch figure skating would be when my wife was streaming that part of the Olympics (she’s a fan). So when I heard that Medalist, a manga about figure skating, was winning all the awards and was set to get an anime adaptation, I thought it might be interesting, but didn’t think much of it. Might be an opportunity to see some solid sakuga with a decently strong “get better despite all the odds” narrative.
…so how is this series so good? Why was it persistently in my top 5 for the season along with all the heavy hitters?
It’s easy to just point to th…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
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…
Read at the sourceMarinate1016
Since it first aired, it’s been Medalist and then a big gap between the rest of the competition this season. Not only is it anime of the season, but it’s one of the best sports anime of all time with one of the most inspirational protagonists I’ve ever seen and one of the most heartwarming teacher/student dynamics of all time. At its core, Medalist is a story about the positive impact that a great role model can have on a kid. Sometimes you can change someone’s life and give them an ideal to strive towards without even knowing. Inori and Tsukasa’s development and bond made every episode so fun to watch, but even more importantly this story speaks to the importance of never giving up on your dreams. It’s never too late to pursue your dreams and do the things you want to in life, no matter w…
Read at the source