Manga Adaptation by ENGI
Streaming on Hulu Subbed | Dubbed
Premise
Tsukasa always wanted to be a professional figure skater, but having only begun training during middle school, he never managed to climb to the top and has largely settled for lower ambitions. However, his life changes when he meets a young girl called Inori who has been practicing skating in secret, afraid to tell her mother of her dreams. When Tsukasa convinces Inori’s mother to allow her to train properly, he becomes Inori’s coach and vows to make her a champion.
Artemis’ verdict: Thin Ice
I expect this show will be inevitably compared to Yuri on Ice by plenty of viewers, but aside from the most obvious aspect, I’d say the two have relatively little in common. This may be damning with faint praise – although Medalist is certainly its own series, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. If anything, I’d say Medalist is an average show that’s trying its darndest to be touching, and kinda sorta succeeding, but only if you’re very into works that feature young children gambaru-ing their way to the top in [insert ride-or-die activity here]. Personally, I’m not opposed to those kinds of anime, but I do find it difficult to get into series that depict kids, mostly because they typically don’t look, sound, or act like their age – they look, sound, and act like fictional children designed by and for adults. There are always exceptions to the rule, but Medalist doesn’t strike me as one of them. While it’s outwardly a very sweet anime with undoubtedly noble intentions, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stick this one out.
Jel’s verdict: Bronze at Best
There’s some potential here for an interesting sports/dad anime hybrid, but I was not impressed by this first episode. My main problem is the writing. The dialogue is extremely bland and sounds like they’re reading a summary of the script rather than talking like actual human beings. Also, I appreciate a goofy comedy interjection as much as anyone, but they do it WAY too much in the big climax of the episode. Medalist might get better over time, but I’m not betting on it.
