5/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Tsukasa never quite fulfilled his own skating dreams. Inori has yet to get the chance to pursue her skating dreams. Together, the pair is working to make Inori's dreams come true! With Tsukasa as her coach, Inori might finally get the chance to skate.

If I had to describe this volume in one word, it would be "wholesome." The whole story is just so adorable! Inori is so cute, and I love her spirit! Tsukasa is such a good and patient character as well! As adorable as this story is, it also deals with some darker subjects, like the intensity of the skating world and crushed dreams. However, the story is a happy one, and the two main characters are such dorks! They have the best reactions/facial expressions! I honestly am looking forward to seeing more of Inori's journey and learning more about Tsukasa in future volumes! There are also some interesting side characters that have piqued my curiosity! Again, this was such a wholesome read! I would recommend it to manga readers looking for a sweet sports read that's a little different from the norm!

Thank you to Kodansha Comics, NetGalley, and TSURUMAIKADA for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Inori is already ten years old and wants to skate, but her mom wouldn't let her before. Serious skaters begin at age five, so Inori is a bit behind everyone else. Tsukasa bombed an ice dancing audition and pursues the path of coaching. When he sees Inori's ambition, he steps in to be her coach, despite her mother's berating Inori's lack of talent--in her opinion. Tsukasa can see Inori's potential. she is a fast learner, and even though they have to start small, he can see Inori going a long way. Where he couldn't follow his dreams, he encourages Inori to follow hers.

This is a really nice feel-good manga that also builds on the student-coach relationship. The encouragement that shines through this manga demonstrates the importance of one following their dreams and not giving up in their pursuit. I enjoyed the art in this manga and found that the ice-skating story was a bit different than some of the other ones out there (lots of TV shows and movies that feature older teens or college age people). This manga features a child with a coach who is college age. There is a lot of potential where this story can go, and I am curious how long it will run. Will it be like Major, a baseball manga that runs through a young boy's life from Kindergarten to playing in college? Or will it be a single run of the season for Inori, kind of like Yuri!!! on Ice?

A great first installment great for Middle Grade, Young Adult, and New Adult audiences, sports-lovers, and those looking for a great ice-skating story!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha for giving me a free PDF copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Now, if you’ve been anywhere near Anime in the past 5-ish years, you probably heard of Yuri on Ice. When I requested this title, I correlated my love for that anime and hoped I would find something similar in this manga. And while ice skating is the focus of this manga, it is nothing like Yuri on Ice.

You meet Tsukusa, a young man who had grand dreams of being a single ice skater that stood on the Olympic stage. Starting late in his med-teens, those dreams were sadly washed away and after college, he was forced to retire as he had no future within skating.

He meets little Inari shortly after meeting with his old skating partner and somehow finds himself becoming a coach to her. Riddled with anxiety and low self-esteem, she isn’t the normal ice skating student. Tsukusa pledges to his student however to get Inari to stand on the Olympic stage and fulfill her dreams of being the best ice skater the world has ever seen.

This manga is so wholesome. Poor little Inari wants nothing to skate but everyone is against it and it crashes her hopes and dreams of becoming an ice skater. Her biggest opposition is her own mother. She finds Tsukusa and she finally finds someone that will fight for her and not against her. Pair that hopefulness and drive from Inari with Tsukusa’s want and faith, this manga will put a smile on your face and have you rooting for them before you even hit page 100.

I personally can’t wait for the second volume and highly suggest this manga for anyone who wants a feel good manga to lift their spirits.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga this also needs a physical copy asap!!! I have to say currently, this is my favorite ice skating story of all time. Yes that's a pretty tall order. However, I love it because it presents these three items: What it is like starting out in a hobby/field so late that people do not take the main character seriously, How the ice skating world works in Japan for someone new to ice skating in general, and finally and to me the best part, learning the technical aspects of ice skating itself as well as what happens from the coaches' perspective. Because of these points and also the amazing artstyle that this manga holds, I have to give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars only because I wish that the ending wasn't a cliffhanger!!

W H O L E S O M E
Do you need a reminder that there is good in the world? This manga is IT!

Inori is a wonderfully unique spitfire, that makes you want root for her. She feels genuine through and through, from her anxiety to her passion.

Tsukasa is incredibly supportive, and does an amazing job supporting Inori in her growth as a skater, as well as her mental health. His drive to ensure she feels like she has agency in her growth as a skater is also awesome.

WOULD RECOMMEND!

I am SO impressed with this volume! What an absolutely delightful read that I was not expecting. The characters are great, the plot is interesting, and the artwork is phenomenal! I am very, very much looking forward to checking out the second volume when it releases!

3.75 out of 5 stars!

This is a sports manga focused on an ice skater and her coach at the start of their journey. Wanting to skate so much to escape from the hardships of her life, Inori meets Tsukasa, a former ice skater turned coach. Both encountered roadblocks and hope as Tsukasa begins his coaching career with Inori, who started her ice skating journey later than most of her fellow peers. This books gives glimpses of how support is needed from family and others as well as how people grows stronger in this skating arena.

This is an enjoyable manga series. The heroine really loves to skate and she has roadblocks in her journey towards advancement. This manga series has some light and dark moments, plus also showing how ice skating is like in Japan. One would really want to cheer for Inori as she learns more about ice skating through the adversity she encounters within the story. Though there were times that Inori's personality irritated

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

As usual, I didn't get to know the summary in detail and was surprised to find a figure skating manga.
This is a relatively rare topic, despite the success of the anime Yuri on Ice!
(I know that once again I annoy with my eternal dissatisfaction with this and that, but ...) this manga floods you with a lot of text xD But on the other hand it is well structured and somehow "alive", and Inori and Tsukasa are charming. The atmosphere is both somehow innocent and in the tradition of sports manga stories.
I liked the one with the socks xD

The original of this opinion is in Bulgarian. Sorry for the translation errors. I am adding a link.

This took me by surprise by how great it was.

With the success of skating anime, mostly from Yuri on Ice, I’ve seen more skating focused sports anime making its way to popularity and I haven’t found anything close to it, but Medalist proves itself worthy. It focuses on a young girl who wants to skate, but faces obstacles along the way, from jealous skaters and mothers, to a disproving mother. The only person who believes in her is her couch, who gave up on his dreams and is giving his student the chance to chase hers

The first thing I have to say is that the art is STUNNING. I found myself just staring at the gorgeous panels, and the expressive eyes and character designs. It’s all so beautiful it’s breathtaking, especially in the skating scenes.

The story follows the usual sports manga and anime tropes, but the genre always thrives on how well the characters are written, and the characters here are great. Inori is so sweet and adorable in how earnest she is in her passion for skating, and when she gets nervous and anxious you really feel for her. Tsukasa is the lost retired athlete trying to find stability and direction after giving up on skating, and is able to find it in coaching Inori’s talent. Their cute mentor relationship brings out the drive in each other to work towards their goals.

This volume holds so many promises for an amazing series. It’s gorgeous and beautiful, and the story grabs at your heart strings and can make you laugh.