There’s good news for fans of the Medalist anime — we can officially confirm that it’s receiving a second season! Along with the Medalist season 2 news came this trailer.
Medalist Season 2 Trailer
The show got its start on January 4. As a way to be more accurate, multiple figure skaters were involved for the choreography: Akiko Suzuki, a former Olympic skater; Yuhana Yokoi, a retired figure skater; and Hinano Isobe, who is still taking part in competitive figure skating.
Before that it started as a manga by Tsurumaikada, first appearing in the pages of Afternoon magazine from Kodansha in 2020. At the 2024 Shogakukan Manga Awards, it received the award for Best General Manga. It also got the Best General Manga Award at the 48th annual Manga Awards from Kodansha.
Kodansha USA Publishing is releasing the manga in English, and it gave this description for the plot:
Medalist Plot
Inori is a little girl who dreams of becoming a figure skater. Yet, the obstacles to this dream feel insurmountable: Inori’s already “too old” (she’s 11); she’s always had trouble at school; and, worst of all, her older sister’s skating dreams ended in failure, so her mother is dead set against putting her other daughter through a similar experience. Still, the rink is the only place Inori can be herself, and she’s out on the ice when a fateful meeting takes place. Tsukasa, a frustrated coach on the edge of giving up competitive skating himself, will join Inori to form an unstoppable duo powered by hard work, transcendent joy, and an unshakeable belief that they can prove everyone wrong.
The manga’s twelfth volume came out in Japan in January. In America, eleven volumes have been released so far.
You can also check out this music video for Kenshi Yonezu’s opening theme song “Bow and Arrow” here. It includes Olympic skater Yuzuru Hanyu.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.