Medalist

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 achievedbecause 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, anymore. But regardless of what was lost and what past life you were were dealt in the past, there's always a path forward. It may not be the one you set out for, but the ability to see your dreams through and smile after loss and hardship will always be attainable. This show spoke to me on such a deep, personal level. That will always be the defining factor in what makes a show an all time favorite for me. It wasn't just because the characters were fantastic or because the music was amazing or because the animation was spectacular. It was because I saw both past and present versions of myself on screen and was able to learn lessons alongside the characters that can lead to a path forward, towards a brighter future in my real life. There's simply no feeling more powerful than seeing yourself in a creative work. If you're feeling lost, burnt out, or alone in your passions, please watch this show. It was such a healing experience for me and I'm thrilled to know that there's still more to come in the future. I don't know if this show will be surpassed by the end of the year, but the impact it had on me is one that will last a lifetime. 10/10

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 seesome 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 the excellent animation of its skating. CGI animation has come a long way over the years and the different skating styles of its many performers is on full display. Even as someone who just isn’t interested in it as a sport, it was dazzling to watch. I could also just chalk this up to being a good underdog story. The whole idea of having a character who is “past their prime” when it comes to starting figure skating (difficult to accept for an 11-year-old, though starting early is a must to join the upper echelons of many sports) demonstrate a combination of innate talent and a willingness to work hard and work smart to rise in the ranks is always going to draw audiences in. But let’s face it: the series would not work without the excellent cast. The characters truly make this experience. It is a breath of fresh air that they let the kids feel like actual kids, but it’s not just down to that. Obviously, the leads are it’s most elements. Inori doesn’t just feel like a kid, though: she’s got a lot of uncertainties and hang-ups juxtaposed with a real desire to succeed and prove herself. Searching for worms is a sort of comfort for her, a means to succeed at something that she knows she can do and get a tactile sensation that brings her calm, even if most people wouldn’t describe wriggling worms as calming. It also serves as a means to an end, necessary for the limited training she has before the series starts. She has to overcome a sense of dread, both from her and her mother, as they’ve had to experience her older sister’s successes in figure skating only for her hopes to be dashed by a sudden injury. And this doesn’t get glossed over or easily solved, as her mother not only wants to protect Inori from injury, but from the pain of going through so many trials and tribulations only to have them dashed in an instant. It’s great that she and not Tsukasa ends up being the one to convince both herself and her mother that she can do this, accepting both success and failure and coming out stronger for it, and her mother ends up strongly backing her despite continued reservations. Her drive to succeed pushes her to new heights and it’s great to see her believe so strongly in her coach and bounce back from missteps, something many of her fellow skaters struggle with. If I had to pick, though, Tsukasa is the character that stands tall as my favorite throughout. We don’t immediately learn of his background in pairs skating, the difficulties he had to overcome as someone much later to the sport, or his own feelings of inadequacy drilled into him over the years (the one I can most relate to), but we see hints of all that play out slowly over the course of the season. It’s exceedingly rare for a series to not just give us insight into the athletes, but their coaches and their struggles as well, and there’s a lot to appreciate in how it’s portrayed here. Even better is that, when confronted with someone who actively disparages his credentials in Riou, he wins him over not by wanting to prove himself, but in how well he understands his new pupil and his concerns. Tsukasa’s story could have been the focus of an anime all on its own, and it makes me want to learn more about what specifically happened towards the end of his short skating career. Though, of course, that isn’t here in this season. We’re not at the point where the real competition is at hand, even though we spent all season working toward it. If anything, though, I think it got there a little fast. I’d have preferred to see more of Inori’s incremental growth rather than skip past several levels in the middle. I think the promise of competition is more interesting than the reality of it, with Hikaru in the background serving as a supportive rival and showcasing the best skating in the show. In the interim, Inori had plenty of competition that served partly as a showcase for her growth and skills, and partially as lower bars for her to aspire towards. The nice part is that they’re all characters with personalities as well, and though we only get to know a few of them (shout out to Riou, Ryouka and Ema in particular), they’re faces I want to see again and again, as are their coaches (particularly love Yuudai, Mario and Shinichirou - man is deadpan even when he’s extremely emotional and it’s amazing). Really, only Jun Yodaka stands as a consistently antagonistic (if occasionally hilarious) foil to both our leads, and likely one of the highest bars they’ll have to reach in the future. So yes, this series slaps and I love it. Particular shout-out to that scene where Inori pours hot soup on both Jun and Tsukasa’s heads believing they died falling down the stairs. Pure comedy gold.

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 thoughtthis 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 such a beautiful experience. I really feel for these characters. The emotional moments in this series were really well done too cause I caught myself choking up a bit seeing them struggle. Kinda hurts ❤️‍🩹. Overall, It was a really wonderful show. I definitely feel that Medalist was a definite stand out for the Winter Season. I'm eagerly awaiting Season 2 to see where it goes from here! :)

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 issueswe'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 play, these are feelings that constantly haunt us. By presenting something we've all experienced, it's impossible not to empathize with, even if it's just one of the skaters. On the other hand, these aren't just children's problems; we also have adults with their own situations. From a coach who was denied the opportunity to fulfill his dream and now tries to motivate a girl with the same dream as him, but without resorting to trying to live vicariously through her. An overprotective mother who wants the best for her daughter but doesn't know how to achieve it. Everywhere you look in this story, you'll find a conversation, a scene, a gesture, a movement that you'll empathize with whether you want to or not. In the sports section, even if you know nothing about ice skating, everything you see will seem beautiful. I had no confidence in how ENGI had used CGI in previous works, but here they decided to take it seriously. Every choreography, every jump, every spin feels extremely fluid and delicate. This is something you don't appreciate until you see it a second time, because the first time you saw it, you were most likely enthralled by the routines. One very positive thing is that Medalist doesn't resort to the image of the arrogant, overbearing, or rude rival. It manages to generate and create rivalries between the children on the rink, but a genuine friendship off it. The anime tries to explain everything very well before starting a routine, and I can tell you, it's not necessary to have understood anything, because you'll still enjoy every move performed to the rhythm of the music. Figure skating never disappoints, and Medalist only reinforces that belief of mine.