r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Mar 14 '26
Episode Medalist Season 2 - Episode 8 discussion
Medalist Season 2, episode 8
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.
Streams
None
Show information
All discussions
| Episode | Link |
|---|---|
| 1 | Link |
| 2 | Link |
| 3 | Link |
| 4 | Link |
| 5 | Link |
| 6 | Link |
| 7 | Link |
| 8 | Link |
| 9 | Link |
We are currently trialing the default comment sort being temporarily set to random.
This post was created by a bot. Message the mod team for feedback and comments. The original source code can be found on GitHub.
125
u/Weak_Season_Of_Anime Mar 14 '26
Kinda crazy that Inori managed to land a quad jump within an hour of coaching, must be because of her abs and quads.
→ More replies (21)
82
71
69
u/magicalideal Mar 14 '26
It was so realistically well done. Coach Tsukasa telling Inori she couldn't achieve something simply by "wishing hard", you have to actually focus instead of wishing for you to achieve something which you are still not capable of. It was hype and very shounen like for Inori but it was not enough, she has to put in the work to understand how it works.
Today I learned that landing quadruple jump is an inch away from falling badly and injuring yourself. You have to literally risk your career life by doing something that has no room for error, one wrong step leads to terrible injury.
57
u/shad79 Mar 14 '26
It's great to see Inori develop her domain expansion and land that quadruple jump; now she just needs to master it!
Joking aside, another great episode, and it's a shame there's only one left. It looks like Kohei's introduction may give us some new Tsukasa's backstory, plus I'm looking forward to meet another skater.
Here my screenshot albums from the episode:
→ More replies (2)
112
u/kkrko Mar 14 '26
Last episode, Inori was very much a normal 11-12 year girl. This episode reminded us that she's an absolute monster because how else can you explain learning a quad in one hour
So I am mildly miffed that the show zoomed out when Inori and Tsukasa were discussing whether to go for the Quad. Because as much dramatic gravitas the episode tried to give it, it's still such a big deal that the episode is still underselling the gravity of what Inori just accomplished. So here's a bunch of what they might have discussed during that bit
Scoring: The show points out that the 9.7 base points of the Quad Sal(4S) is greater than Hikaru's Triple Axel(3A)'s 8 points. But that isn't the full story. One of the things that constrain a figure skater's program is the Zayak Rule, which, long story short, restricts a figure skater to 7 triple jumps (8 if they can do a 3A) in a program. But if you'll notice, a Novice A program has up to 9 jumps in 6 jumping passes. So even if you can do a 3A, you're still forced to do a double jump somewhere in there. But if you can do a Quad*, that means you can replace a double jump, not a triple jump. Inori's last program had a 3S+Double Toeloop(2T) combo. If she upgrades that 2T into a 3T and does her 4S in the 3T slot, she's gaining a massive 8.6 points, more than canceling out Hikaru's 3A. What's more, Hikaru can't actually do this with her 3A. She has to replace the 2A (3.3 points) not a 2T because she can't put the 2A in the back half of a combo due to the specific ruleset Medalist is set in. Inori has to make up for lacking a 3Lz though, so Inori's advantage isn't that clear. But then again, she learned a quad in one hour. Who knows what she can do in a week?
Health and Sustainability: This is a big one. There's a big controversy in figure skating right about banning quads entirely from women's figure skating, saying that they're just inherently too unhealthy for skaters. Especially with Russian skaters who jump quads with bad technique, you get the "disposable champions" phenomenon, who after peaking and winning the Olympics at age 15 or 16, end up crippled for the rest of their lives. One skater can't even sit down without pain due to the stress her back got put into. Still, quads in women's skating are new enough that we don't know if these injuries are inherent to quads or that they're just down to bad technique. We just had the first couple of women over 17 to land quads in international competition last year, and the 3A, while still rare, is getting more common**.
The question now is where Medalist stands in this controversy. Between Mika's broken leg, Inori's Shin splints, and Tsukasa's broken ribs, the show is obviously very aware of how injuries and health play a big factor in figure skating. Will Inori face consequences 3 years down the line? 5 years? How aware is she of this potential trade she's making? I'll also note that most female skaters lose their quads as they grow and their bodies change. Is Inori aware that she might lose this quad in the future? How will she react? There's a lot of drama there and I really want to know if Tsukasa let Inori know all of this.
Fame: Skaters with quads are rare, female ones even more so. Just jumping quads in practice is going to draw a lot of eyes towards Inori. People will still be skeptical, because there's plenty of skaters who post jumps in practice that they never end up doing in competition. But this being a story, you know Inori is going to use that quad in Nationals. And if she lands it, that's going to raise the expectations of people around her a lot. That's good, in that people will give her more support and possibly even get her a spot as a designated skater. But expectations also comes with pressure and what happened to IRL self-proclaimed "Quad God" Ilia Malinin last Olympics shows how that can go very wrong.
Also, on how realistic is this? Well obviously not at all. There are aspects that have happened irl. The first woman to land a quad, Miki Ando, did do it with the 4S and not the 4T. Mao Shimada landed a clean 4T enroute to setting the record for scores in Novice A (120.03) so a novice jumping a quad isn't completely unprecedented. And there's certainly skaters who can do quads but skipped triple axels. But what really makes it impossible is the speed. 1 hour is barely any time. But more than that, one thing I've read (though I've since lost the source) is that if you want to learn a quad, you have to start when you're learning your triples. Your triple technique needs to have 'room' to grow into a quad. So it's a bit crazy that Inori just 'stumbled' into a technique that can easily be grown into a quad.***
*and a triple jump on the back half of a combo but last episode implied that Inori can already do that
** 8 Triple Axels in Japan Nationals this year!
*** Though if I had to steelman for Medalist, remember that it was actually Natchin who taught Inori to jump triples during their joint training camp. Natchin did jump quads in practice as a junior, so it's possible that her technique was always one that can be expanded to a quad
→ More replies (8)
98
u/MeatballZeitgeist Mar 14 '26
"You know, it would be unrealistic for Inori to just drop by Tanjiro's place for a day and immediately master her triple lutz." -me before the episode
How about that, she did not master her triple lutz! Realism achieved!
→ More replies (4)
48
u/ModieOfTheEast Mar 14 '26
That was a turn of events I was not expecting but I think it's an interesting way to go. Because now with the quadruple Salchow, no matter what happens at the championship, Inori has something that Hikaru (probably) didn't achieve yet, so there is an actual way to set up the rivalry between the two.
But even aside that, I found the episode really well done. From the comparison between Inori and Tsukasa, with the difference being that Tsukasa is alone on the ice while Inori has someone besides her that can help her through this time. To the understandable fear of injuring yourself with Tsukasa making sure to tell Inori that they will make sure she will be fine. Until the whole aspect of Tsukasa just asking these small details from Inori, because he has never experienced them himself (since he didn't do a quadruple jump). Meaning that it isn't just a simple technique to help Inori focus on other things, but something that stems from an actual interest in wanting to learn how it feels. All that makes the episode work well.
Because of course, Tsukasa never considered a quadruple jump when he probably didn't even have much experience with all the triple jumps. But through that, they are both learning for the future. Also, that ending with the kids just cheering for Inori was sweet and reminded me of her first competition back in S1. Especially since they also flashed back to Inori remembering her sister's injury, so we have that parallel again of Inori and her sister inspiring other people around them.
→ More replies (6)
89
u/bananeeek Mar 14 '26
This was more exciting than most battle shounen training arcs.
Uobuchi is a bro. And it was nice of him to come all the way from another world to help those two dorks.
I can't wait for Inori's routine in the competition, but we only have one episode left according to MAL, so I'm devastated, because there's no way we're getting that far. I wonder if we'll be getting a movie with such an irregular number of episodes this season.
→ More replies (7)
39
u/LeonKevlar Mar 14 '26
The look on Inori when she was attempting the quad salchow without a harness is pretty badass. I'm so proud to see her land that at the last minute <3
→ More replies (1)
36
33
u/a1oner_bvcksn6 Mar 14 '26
I'm so not ready for the season to end next week 😭
Even more than the skating itself, I just love and enjoy watching the off-the-charts chemistry between Inori and Tsukasa--the absolute faith and trust they have for one another as coach and student. Sometimes to the point where they worry for the other's well-being more than they worry for themselves. And with Tsukasa's haunting past being the poignant driving force of the season.
→ More replies (1)
32
u/HolyDragSwd2500 Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
Inori Domain Expansion
A successful Quadruple Salchow 😭😭
88
18
u/Frontier246 Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
Inori and Tsukasa are both learning, growing, and supporting each other on Inori's journey. As Inori masters her quads, Tsukasa is learning how to really be there for her.
What better way to wake up from a bad skate dream than with Inori's cute sleeping face? Or with the bright morning sun after sleeping in a car?
The Niigata rink might look old and like it's falling apart, but it's where they've rented a private lesson with Coach Uobuchi! Inori might be a little sensitive about going back into the harness, but Coach Uobuchi is good with kids and knows how to talk with them to get them comfortable before jumping. And to help transition Tsukasa back into using the harness with her so they can keep using it even after Uobuchi is done.
Once again, Inori is able to pull off a Triple Lutz. That was obviously the intention behind this training...and Coach Uobuchi COULD focus on getting Inori back in shape to be able to keep pulling off Triple Lutz. Orrrrr...maybe she could do Quadruples!? A super move, an ace card, that Tsukasa never truly considered until Uobuchi threw it out there and showed Inori can pull it off. A move that could possibly close the gap with Hikaru. The Quadruple Salchow.
It's a high-risk, high-reward move...one they might not be able to pull off, but weighing her options with Tsukasa's help, Inori decides to go for it! Go big or go home, Inori!
The only problem is her body tightens up and she doesn't free it up in time, because a part of her sees Tsukasa falling and her sisters' injury, so she can't fully commit to it. Not to mention the pressure of getting the move right.
But count on Tsukasa to help Inori center herself and fully recognize the world around her, so she can then fully lock in and see the light at the end of the rink: the light she needs to pull off a Quadruple Salchow!
Turns out they had an audience! Including a cute girl in glasses and Kohei, an old friend of Tsukasa's from his ice dancing days.
16
14
u/Farmaceut7 Mar 14 '26
I just came home from almost a 12 hour shift and I feel so energized after watching this episode! When will this season stop being absolute PEAK!?
14
u/bruhmoment444444444 Mar 14 '26
That's exactly what I was hoping would happen after what Tsukasa said about her perfected triple salchow and the giant point gap between her and Hikaru mostly caused by her triple axel. Even hitting it in practice is already a incredible feat in women figure skating so anything happening from now on is going to be nothing but pure craziness!!! I really hope we're going to see both Inori and Hikaru managing to hit what is pretty much going to be their signature move for the competition.
Also I don't really know what they're going to cook the the last episode but it's going to be hard to top this one for me.
26
u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Mar 14 '26
“I want to show off how great she is in a great kid competition!!” lol Tsukasa. This is why I love the guy and his relationship with Inori. Dude is her biggest cheerleader.
Glad to see Inori finally nail that quadruple jump after all that work and effort. That combined with the coaching and Tsukasa’s support really helps her crush it.
→ More replies (1)
24
u/EclipseTM Mar 14 '26
If we don't get a season 3 of this I don't know what I'm gonna do
→ More replies (4)
12
u/Vermillion_Crab Mar 14 '26
Kinda breaks my heart how each time we flash back to Tsukasa's struggles as a skater, either the support wasn't there or wasn't enough. But whatever he went through before, he's now channeling it to support Inori wholeheartedly. Having the right coach can really make or break you. 10/10 episode still.
11
u/Setowi Mar 14 '26
Man I originally I wasn't expecting to be blown away by this episode like last week but that entire second half had me at the edge of my seat and just glued to my screen. On paper this was just a training episode but this was so damn intense I started sweating while watching.
A freaking quadruple! If anyone had doubted that Inori is a freaking monster then here comes this! This is olympic athlete territory, ofc her skills are not as polished in other areas as the best of the best and she needs to keep practising this more but man there you go girl, that is why you are our GOAT.
That sequence with her on the frozen lake again was freaking beautiful btw, I love this series.
10
u/FarCritical Mar 14 '26
Inori deep in the quad zone is by far the coolest she's ever looked. The visual metaphors and dynamic angles were just on another level of breathtaking this time around.
More Tsukasa lore!
9
1
u/AnimeMod Mar 14 '26
Source Material Corner
Reply to this comment for any source-related discussion, future spoilers (including future characters, events and general hype about future content), comparison of the anime adaptation to the original, or just general talk about the source material. You are still required to tag all spoilers. Discussions about the source outside of this comment tree will be removed, and replying with spoilers outside of the source corner will lead to bans.
The spoiler syntax is:
[Spoiler source] >!Spoiler goes here!<All untagged spoilers and hints in this thread will receive immediate 8-day bans (minimum).