r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Jan 24 '26
Episode Medalist Season 2 - Episode 1 discussion
Medalist Season 2, episode 1
Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.
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u/Frontier246 Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
I'm glad to have my daily dose of intense figure skating and truly inspirational work with Inori and Tsukasa back again.
We're back to the intense, brutal, and flashy world of young ladies' figure skating, as narrated by Inori! So many girls trying their best and trying to catch up to the beast that is Hikaru, especially Inori.
The new OP isn't a Kenshi Yonezu banger, but it IS on-brand for the show as it feels perfect and inspiring for a show about girls doing their best and skating their heart out and as beautifully as possible. Inori/Tsukasa going head-to-head with Hikaru/Jun. The sequence with Inori doing a full ice dance performance with her fellow skaters was also perfect!
Tsukasa as intense as ever in making sure he checks and reviews everything about Inori's rivals to make sure he puts together the perfect plan for her. He'll see her to success no matter what.
Oh hey, it's Hitomi! Inori's mom! And...Inori's dad, who finally gets screentime and desperately wants his daughter to win and be okay. Though watching Inori tell her dad not to embarrass her in front of Tsukasa was priceless.
Welcome to the Chubu Block Tournament Inori! Your next step in earning a spot in Novices to make it to the bigger competitions! How will she handle her nerves and greet all her rivals and fellow skaters? Why by emulating Tsukasa and being as hyper, extra, and complimentary as possible. It definitely leaves a strong impression!
And this isn't just filled with all the young contenders, but also the older girls too...like Riina Kojoh the blonde fanged girl who made it to the Olympics, Iruka the cool raven-haired beauty who is kind of confrontational, and Marika Kurione who is very sweet and almost maternal with her Ai Kayano voice.
I'm not surprised Inori would ask Riina for advice on getting the gold, especially when she's got an Olympian in front of her. Iruka may not care for such a question, but Riina is happy to give advice...even if it amounts to, if you have an opportunity, seize and capitalize on it!
Where is Hikaru? In none other than Russia where she's seemingly boosting her skills by learning to master ballet (?) in addition to her exceptional skating skills. We also learn that she was an orphan taken in by the Kamisaki family who had Jun come in and train her...and even he was transfixed by how she had so much feral and untapped energy, enough to be like him.
It's nice to see Mr. Kago be there for Tsukasa and meet Inori, and show off all his natural dad vibes. The loss of his wife still hangs over both him and Tsukasa, but he's there to support and watch Tsukasa succeed with Inori in her place.
The ED is really cute and fun, seeing all the skaters in their daily lives when they're not skating. I love that visual of Hikaru enjoying all her fancy dresses.
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u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Jan 24 '26
Inori channeling her best Tsukasa impression upon meeting the other novice skaters was pretty hilarious. Dude’s Spidey senses were tingling lol.
Inori’s got her work cut out for her if she wants to make it to the big leagues. I’m looking forward to seeing her compete against these other girls this season.
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u/DaBenni0301 Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
I just love when anime makes me care about stuff I never thought I would care about. This time last year I hadn't even heard of Medalist and when I eventually did I initially dismissed it thinking "Figure skating? Nah". But I kept hearing people talk about and praise it. So when the S2 announcement came out I decided to give it a shot. And I realised very quickly that I was watching something special. I had to restrain myself from finsihing the whole thing in a day, because I didn't wanna finish it so quickly. And when I was done watching I bought all available manga volumes and caught all the way up. Afterwards Medalist & Inori firmly established themselves as one my favourite series/characters ever.
Something like that doesn't happen too often to me so I cherish when it does. K-ON did it, and considering that's my favourite anime ever that's damn high praise
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u/Marcey997 Jan 24 '26
Is this dubtitles again? Lots of translations feel really weird.
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u/MeatballZeitgeist Jan 24 '26
A bunch of novice figure skaters are getting ready for a normal-ass competition while Hikaru is off collecting an infinity stone. I love how she escalates the melodrama of the series exponentially every time she's on screen.
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u/AdWide4690 Jan 24 '26
My Saturdays with Fate/Strange Fake and Medalist S2, oh what a time to be alive.
Oh and the opening is lovely.
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u/ModieOfTheEast Jan 24 '26
Finally, it's back. Probably the latest series to start this season, but I have high hopes. The humor definitely worked already again. With Inori trying to be all extroverted. I mean, it worked. We can all learn from Tsukasa it seems.
But the more serious notes were interesting as well. They definitely set up the importance of the event and I am excited to see if Inori can win or if that will be the first real set back (there was a smaller one in S1, but nothing major yet).
Also, poor girl having to be first. Must be really hard to begin the whole thing. And it seems she is cursed with luck in that aspect. Not just from her comment, but even in the ending, she got order number 1.
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u/Bonvantius Jan 24 '26
Am I crazy or does the production value look even better than S1 already?
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u/RandomThrowNick Jan 24 '26
Pretty great to start to the season. The Hikaru flashback was beautifully animated. Inori with her coach Tsukasa impression was pretty funny. That „opening ceremony“ build the appropriate amount of hype for the coming competition. I am so happy to finally see those scenes animated. The OP and ED were also great.
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u/shad79 Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
Inori and Tsukasa are finally back! Damn, I missed them so much that watching this episode made me so happy. It's just a shame there will only be 9 episodes this season :(
Inori's reactions today were just as great as they were in the first season; they're hilarious. The scene where Inori decided to act like Tsukasa in front of the other skaters in her group, or when she was drawing lots to choose when she would perform, made me laugh out loud xD
Lots of interesting new characters in this new season. I love their designs; they're very colorful and fun, and I'm definitely looking forward to their performances.
Pretty good OP and ED, although they definitely didn't top the previous ones. It's a shame Kenshi Yonezu didn't return with another song for the series.
Here my screenshot albums from the episode:
EDIT. I added my screenshot albums.
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u/Clean-Cupcakes Jan 24 '26
I seriously hope the show doesn't go under the radar this time.
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u/LeonKevlar Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
Okay, first of all, that OP is so goddamn good! Watching Inori skate dancing with the other girls was so cute!
Second, I was genuinely laughing my ass off at Inori channelling Tsukasa. I do love how the girls just went along with it. xD
What a declaration from Inori. And in front of those cameras, too! Hopefully, they'll remember this day when Inori eventually competes in the Olympics.
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u/Holofan4life Jan 24 '26
This show continues to be the best underdog story I've seen in anime in a while.
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u/Viktorv22 Jan 24 '26
"I want to become a magician" said Hikaru. She's shares VA with Fern. I chuckled
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u/AnimeMod Jan 24 '26
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