I am, to put it mildly, indifferent to figure skating, and I certainly don't find stories with little girls as the main characters fascinating. It is all the more surprising that I watched "Medalist" - a story about a little girl who is engaged in figure skating - with pleasure.
For the main character, Inori, it all apparently began when her older sister took up figure skating. But formally, Inori was amazed by the performance of the young star of Japanese figure skating Hikaru, which she saw on TV. Inori, like any child, learns by imitation. So she wanted to learn figure skating, which her sister was fond of and which is so popular that its stars are shown on television. To learn and surpass! After all, in other respects the girl considered herself untalented and clumsy. The matter was complicated by the fact that the girl's mother, after the injury of her older daughter, which forced her to leave figure skating, was afraid that the same would happen to the younger one. That's why she didn't give the girl money to take up her expensive hobby. Her mother's neurotic overprotection nearly cost Inori her athletic career and self-confidence. However, Inori showed a special talent - persistence and even impudence, which allowed her to "bribe" the rink guard with worms for fishing and to train there herself for free.
The second main character of the anime, Tsukasa, caught her illegally using the rink. The guy had a difficult life in figure skating. He started doing it very late - already as a young man, having accidentally found himself benevolent sponsors, he was not confident in himself and did not achieve any particular heights in his sport. Therefore, after the death of the sponsor, he increasingly got by with odd jobs as a laborer. Fortunately, his former ice dancing partner, Hitomi, offered him a temporary position as an assistant coach at the very rink where he found Inori on his first day. He was hooked by the determination of the girl, who also came to figure skating quite late, and he decided to help her.
The plot of the story is quite intriguing and masterful - the viewer seems to come "to the rink" at the same time as these two underdogs, the girl and her coach. The viewer begins to grow "from scratch" with the two main characters, gradually getting drawn into the world of figure skating with its problems, rivalries and achievements. Both main characters demonstrate both professional and personal development in the course of the narrative. The dramaturgy of the story, although not without melodramatic exaggerations, is excellently constructed, involving the viewer and leading to the catharsis of "overcoming and achieving". The psychology of the jealous mothers who bring their children to figure scating is subtly noted, as well as the children themselves, both those who are involved only because their mother tells them to, and those who follow family traditions or are passionately interested in sports, like the main character. The work of a coach is interestingly revealed, often involving attention to detail, the need to overcome the desire to "clone and fulfill oneself" through young athletes and, instead, find a suitable, individual "key" to a trainee, depending on his character and motivation. Tsukasa's thoughts on giving Inori agency in making key decisions about the direction of her training in order to develop responsibility, independence, and individuality are also important as a life lesson. Therefore, the mangaka can only be given a big plus for the story and characters, as well as the animators who transferred everything to the screen. The quality of the narration is excellent. The animation of individual performances, especially Hikaru's performance, is simply outstanding.
Without any exaggeration, I can say that "Medalist" is an excellent spokon. One of the best in recent times.
