New Delhi: They say it’s never too late to find your passion in life, but what if it is too late? Your hopes and passions die out, and you remain a former shell of yourself until you find the passion you once owned, in someone else. This is how the story of Medalist, the upcoming sports anime of 2025 is.
Medalist is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsurumaikada. Filled with the aspects of teamwork and drama, along with the passion that burns within someone for something they like, Medalist revolves around the passion the protagonist Tsukasa Akeuraji feels for ice skating.
The anime intertwines the aspect of a sports drama meant to touch the viewer’s heart with aflame passion, leaving a message that it’s never too late to find passion and solace in what you believe is your craft, your best ability. The anime is set to release on January 5th, 2025.
“Medalist” will stream on Disney+ beginning in January — no confirmation of complete regions or exclusivity, but SEA Disney+ accounts have begun promoting the series.
TV broadcasting in Japan begins on January 4 [Sat], studio: ENGI pic.twitter.com/su8YLnTIFt
— Anime News by AIR (@AIR_News01) November 21, 2024
✧₊PV第3弾を公開🥇₊✧
TVアニメ『メダリスト』
2025年1月4日毎週土曜深夜1時30分～
“NUMAnimation”枠にて放送開始！EDテーマ：ねぐせ。「アタシのドレス」
PV内にて楽曲も初解禁✨https://t.co/ug0RuDwyFj#medalist #メダリスト pic.twitter.com/MBkSnNRwfw— 『メダリスト』TVアニメ公式⛸🏅 (@medalist_PR) November 8, 2024
Plot
Becoming an ice dancer was not what Tsukasa Akeuraji had aimed for when he decided to take on the figure skating world. However, it is where he ends up as he “started too late” to follow his true solo-skating dreams, this prospect eventually leads to the shattering of his hopes and dreams, breaking his heart and burning out the hope of him ever achieving the goals he aspired to reach for.
However, when he met a little girl in whom he saw himself, Tsukasa’s dreams were inhibited into Inori Yuitsuka, a fifth-grader so desperate to skate that she practiced in secret, and came to visit Tsukasa’s rink with her mother to ask for lessons. She was branded as useless by everyone around her, told it was “too late” for her to begin, and that catching up to other skaters was impossible.
Therefore, filled with a newfound conviction and unwillingness to let another passionate skater go down the same road as him, Tsukasa takes on the responsibility of coaching her and promises to make Inori a medalist.