Medalist

It is recorded as the work of Tsurumaikada. Publication is recorded by Afternoon KC and Kodansha Comics. The recorded date of publication is 2020. It is associated with Japan. Recorded genres are spokon and drama anime and manga. The recorded subject matter is figure skating.

• Name — Medalist • Ja Kanji — メダリスト • Ja Romaji — Medarisuto • Genre — * Drama • Sports

• Type — manga • Author — Tsurumaikada • Publisher — Kodansha • Imprint — Afternoon KC • Magazine — Monthly Afternoon • First — May 25, 2020 • Volumes — 15

• Type — tv series • Director — Yasutaka Yamamoto • Writer — Jukki Hanada • Music — Yuki Hayashi • Studio — ENGI • Licensee — Disney Platform Distribution • Network — ANN (TV Asahi) • First — January 5, 2025 • Last — March 22, 2026 • Episodes — 22

• Type — film • Director — Yasutaka Yamamoto • Writer — Jukki Hanada • Music — Yuki Hayashi • Studio — ENGI • Released — 2027 2 19

• Portal — yes Medalist is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsurumaikada. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon since May 2020, with its chapters collected in fifteen tankōbon volumes as of July 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 February 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.

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.

• Inori Yuitsuka: • Tsukasa Akeuraji: • Hitomi Takamine: • Nozomi Yuitsuka: • Mamoru Sekoma: • Hikaru Kamisaki: • Jun Yodaka: • Rioh Sonidori: • Ryoka Miketa: • Mario Nachi: • Yudai Jakuzure: • Suzu Kamoto: • Ema Yamato: • Shinichiro Sonidori: • Yuna Yagi: • Rinna Sarukawa • Xanthe Huynh • Manaka Roba: • Yotsuha Ushikawa: • Kurumi Risu: • Sana Niwatori: • Iruka Okazaki: • Riina Kojoh: • Sakina Anaguma: • Marika Kurione • Ai Kayano • Kakeru Uobuchi: • Miku Ahiru: • Kohei Kamogawa: • Juna Shiratori • John Choi

• Illustration — Nagoya Sports Center, in Naka-ku, Nagoya, featured as an early setting in the manga, and where the author enrolled in a skating class. 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. 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!" Haruse narrated the commercial for the release of the first volume of the manga series in 2020. In September 2026, Tsurumaikada announced that the manga would take an indefinite hiatus due to "production circumstances."

Written and illustrated by Tsurumaikada, Medalist started in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon on May 25, 2020. Kodansha has collected its chapters, referred to as "scores", into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on September 23, 2020. As of July 22, 2026, fifteen 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. At Anime Expo 2023, Kodansha USA announced that the series would be published in print. The first volume was released on March 5, 2024.

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, 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. The opening theme song is "Bow and Arrow", performed by Kenshi Yonezu, with two-time Olympic champion figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu starring in the music video. The ending song is "Atashi no Dress", performed by Neguse. The series streams on Disney+ worldwide and Hulu in the United States. The English dub also premiered on Hulu in January 2025. After the airing of the final episode, a second season was announced. 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. 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. An anime film set after the events of the second season was announced in January 2026. The film is set to premiere in Japan on February 19, 2027.