Medalist (メダリスト) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsurumaikada. It has been serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon since May 2020, with its chapters collected in fourteen volumes as of January 2026. In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Kodansha USA. An anime television series adaptation produced by ENGI aired from January to March 2025. A second season aired from January to March 2026. An anime film is set to premiere in Japan in 2027.
Medalist won the Next Manga Award in the print category in 2022, the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category in 2023, and the 48th Kodansha Manga Award in the same category in 2024.
Plot
Inori Yuitsuka, an 11-year-old girl in the fifth grade, dreams of becoming a world-class figure skater. While she practices in secret at her local ice rink, competitors her age are considered "too old" to begin seriously training; in addition, as her older sister's skating career ended in failure, her mother is resistant toward putting her through the same experience. A fateful meeting one day introduces her to Tsukasa Akeuraji, a former ice dancer on the edge of giving up competitive skating himself, and he agrees to become her coach and help her realize her dreams. Those around Inori soon learn she has immense natural talent for the sport and, together, the two strive toward Inori's ultimate goal of winning an Olympic gold medal.
Characters
- Inori Yuitsuka (結束 いのり)
- Tsukasa Akeuraji (明浦路 司)
- Hitomi Takamine (高峰瞳)
- Nozomi Yuitsuka (結束のぞみ)
- Mamoru Sekoma (瀬古間衛)
- Hikaru Kamisaki (狼嵜 光)
- Jun Yodaka (夜鷹 純)
- Rioh Sonidori (鴗鳥 理凰)
- Ryoka Miketa (三毛田 涼佳)
- Mario Nachi (那智 鞠緒)
- Yudai Jakuzure (蛇崩 遊大)
- Suzu Kamoto (鹿本すず)
- Ema Yamato (大和 絵馬)
- Shinichiro Sonidori (鴗鳥 慎一郎)
- Yuna Yagi (八木 夕凪)
- Rinna Sarukawa (申川 りんな)
- Manaka Roba (炉場 愛花)
- Yotsuha Ushikawa (牛川 四葉)
- Kurumi Risu (離洲 くるみ)
- Sana Niwatori (庭取 さな)
- Iruka Okazaki (岡崎 いるか)
- Riina Kojoh (鯱城 理依奈)
- Sakina Anaguma (穴熊 咲希奈)
- Marika Kurione (栗尾根 茉莉花)
- Kakeru Uobuchi (魚淵 翔)
- Miku Ahiru (亜昼 美玖)
- Kohei Kamogawa (鴨川 洸平)
- Juna Shiratori (白鳥 珠那)
Production
The story takes place in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Its author, Tsurumaikada, is also from Aichi. While the manga is about figure skating, Tsurumaikada lacked experience and knowledge of the sport, and enrolled in a month-long figure skating class held in Nagoya Sports Center in Ōsu before beginning to illustrate the manga. Medalist is Tsurumaikada's first commercial work.[11]
As a self-professed fan of Natsumi Haruse, a voice actress known for her role as Kaoru Ryūzaki in The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls U149, Tsurumaikada tweeted in 2018: "I would also like to draw a figure skating manga that would someday be made into an anime, and have Natsumi Haruse play the main role!"[12] Haruse narrated the commercial for the release of the first volume of the manga series in 2020.[13]
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Tsurumaikada, Medalist started in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon on May 25, 2020.[14][15] Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on September 23, 2020. As of January 22, 2026, fourteen volumes have been released.
In March 2021, Kodansha USA announced the digital English release of the manga in North America, starting on May 18, 2021.[16] At Anime Expo 2023, Kodansha USA announced that the series would be published in print.[17] The first volume was released on March 5, 2024.
Volumes
Volumes
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on May 18, 2023. It is produced by ENGI and directed by Yasutaka Yamamoto, with series composition and episode screenplays being written by Jukki Hanada, character design by Chinatsu Kameyama,[45][46] music composed by Yuki Hayashi, and the skating routines choreographed by figure skaters of retirees Akiko Suzuki and Yuhana Yokoi, alongside active figure skater Hinano Isobe. The series aired from January 5 to March 30, 2025, on the NUMAnimation programming block on all ANN affiliates, including TV Asahi.[47][48] The opening theme song is "Bow and Arrow", performed by Kenshi Yonezu,[50] with two-time Olympic champion figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu starring in the music video.[51] The ending song is "Atashi no Dress" (アタシのドレス), performed by Neguse.[48]
The series streams on Disney+ worldwide and Hulu in the United States.[52][3] The English dub also premiered on Hulu in January 2025.[3]
After the airing of the final episode, a second season was announced.[53][54] The staff and cast from the first season is returning to reprise their roles. The season aired from January 25 to March 22, 2026, on the same programming block.[55][8] The first two episodes of the season received an advanced screening at the Marunouchi Piccadilly on January 17. The opening theme is titled "Cold Night", performed by Hana while the ending theme is titled "Rookies", performed by Conton Candy.[8][57]
An anime film set after the events of the second season, was announced in January 2026. The film is set to premiere in Japan in 2027.[58]
Episodes
Season 1 (2025)
Season 2 (2026)
Season 1 (2025)
Season 2 (2026)
Episodes
Season 1 (2025)
Season 2 (2026)
Season 1 (2025)
Season 2 (2026)
Reception
The series ranked fifteenth on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2021" by the Honya Club website,[64][65] and ranked twelfth on the 2022 edition.[66] The series ranked sixteenth out of 50 nominees in the 2021 Next Manga Awards in the print category;[67] it won the award in 2022.[68][69] The series placed ninth in the 2021 Tsutaya Comic Award,[70] and placed third in the 2022 edition.[71] The series ranked 30th on the 2021 "Book of the Year" list by Da Vinci magazine;[72] it ranked 23rd on the 2022 list;[73] 27th on the 2023 list;[74] 16th on the 2024 list;[75] and seventh on the 2025 list.[76]
The series won the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category in 2023.[77] It was nominated for the 47th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2023;[78] it won in the same category for the 48th edition in 2024.[79][80]
External links
References
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