Medalist Review: An Ice-Skating Dream-Chasing Story That's Super Healing
Machine-translated from Traditional Chinese
Medalist
Just finished this 2025 figure skating sports anime, and it really hit me hard!
I thought it was just another typical hot-blooded sports anime, but I was completely captivated by its delicacy. Adapted from an original work that has won multiple manga awards, the story is totally grounded—no protagonists born with cheat codes, just ordinary people giving it their all.
The male lead, Tsukasa Akeuraji, is a former figure skater trapped by past failures, stripped of his glory and full of regret. The female lead, Inori Yuitsuka, is an 11-year-old girl hiding incredible skating talent, but can only practice in secret because her family opposes it. The meeting of these two lost souls isn't a one-way rescue—it's a mutual journey of growth and support.
The 3D-rendered skating moves are super smooth—the texture of blades cutting across the ice, the muscle lines during jumps, every detail shows the effort put in. The moment Kenshi Yonezu's theme song kicks in, paired with the female lead dancing her heart out on the ice, I got goosebumps all over!
No mindless hype, just real struggles: the female lead facing doubts about being too old, family opposition, training plateaus; the male lead shackled by his past shadows. But they never give up on each other—this master-student bond hits harder than any romance.
The only minor gripe is that some everyday animation isn't consistently polished, but it doesn't affect the experience at all. What's rarest is that it doesn't treat gold medals as the only end goal—it tells us: the meaning of chasing dreams has always been the growth and perseverance along the way.
Anyone else watching this? Which character do you like the most?
Just finished this 2025 figure skating sports anime, and it really hit me hard!
I thought it was just another typical hot-blooded sports anime, but I was completely captivated by its delicacy. Adapted from an original work that has won multiple manga awards, the story is totally grounded—no protagonists born with cheat codes, just ordinary people giving it their all.
The male lead, Tsukasa Akeuraji, is a former figure skater trapped by past failures, stripped of his glory and full of regret. The female lead, Inori Yuitsuka, is an 11-year-old girl hiding incredible skating talent, but can only practice in secret because her family opposes it. The meeting of these two lost souls isn't a one-way rescue—it's a mutual journey of growth and support.
The 3D-rendered skating moves are super smooth—the texture of blades cutting across the ice, the muscle lines during jumps, every detail shows the effort put in. The moment Kenshi Yonezu's theme song kicks in, paired with the female lead dancing her heart out on the ice, I got goosebumps all over!
No mindless hype, just real struggles: the female lead facing doubts about being too old, family opposition, training plateaus; the male lead shackled by his past shadows. But they never give up on each other—this master-student bond hits harder than any romance.
The only minor gripe is that some everyday animation isn't consistently polished, but it doesn't affect the experience at all. What's rarest is that it doesn't treat gold medals as the only end goal—it tells us: the meaning of chasing dreams has always been the growth and perseverance along the way.
Anyone else watching this? Which character do you like the most?
