Score: A+

This episode was everything I could have asked for! This episode is the kind where this show shines the brightest. You get the main character on the ice and giving the skate of her life. But beyond that there’s still development for Tsukasa and frankly for the various girls that Inori competed against here. It was a really good way to cap off an excellent little tournament that truly put Inori on the map and set up all sorts of possibilities for where the story can go.

She got it!

It really felt like they could go any given way for Inori here. Even during the skate just the idea that this unknown was going to get into the top 5 at that rate was already shaking up the other coaches. At the same time…heck, yeah she won! That’s the best thing no question about it. Sure, there are ways to work with her finishing second or third, but why not give her this monumental moment? All the more precious considering how far Inori has come. Until she’s beaten Hikaru you can say she’s not done chasing. But she’s there now. She’s in this mix and someone that others will keeping in mind as a target.

And for good reason! That skate was clean! At the level these girls are at it’s a given that mistakes will happen. All the more so when these girls are aiming for extremely high level jumps that are worth their weight in gold in terms of points. But Inori right now doesn’t have the same level of jumps. At least not in terms of high difficulty ones. What she does have is her skating. It’s always been a strength for her, but seeing how beautifully Tsukasa skates has shaped the kind of skater Inori wants to be and will become. That left her with easily the cleanest skate of anyone in that competition. And that in itself has value. Enough value to take the win. Not by a lot, but by enough!

A beautiful, but powerful skate!

Inori’s skate really was excellent though. Putting aside all the scoring business, that was the prime example of who Inori is. I quite enjoyed the very beginning when the episode was locked into her skating. It took a while for even her monologue to start up. Instead we really got to see how far Inori has come and why she deserved to win. She has such strength in her skates that she could pose, practically dancing on the ice and never losing her momentum. She was always just a quick push away from just racing into the next part of her routine. This was Inori’s time to put herself on the map and she did in a big way.

It is a scary thing of course that if her competitors had cleaner skates she wouldn’t have grabbed a win. But that’s skating for you. Inori brought the skate of her life to this competition and deserved her moment. And frankly same for Tsukasa. I’m glad Hitomi threw that doofus into his seat. He’s her coach! She may be the senior coach at that rink and all that. But there’s no one else that should be sitting beside Inori in that moment. No one. The moment he saw her on the ice…that was it.

Yuna isn’t someone to be forgotten!

My condolences to the girl who finished 6th. That hurts! She was so close! Both in score and position. And even crueller is that she was probably feeling good heading into the final skaters. She just needed one person to not outskate her and she was in. But…that’s how it goes. Not like she’s the only one that is going home with regrets. Every one of these girls came here with hopes and many of them went home with them dashed. Only 5 could move forward from here. And it’s not like things get any easier at the All-Japan. That includes…the girl with the horrifying eyes! Of course she had to make the top 5!

I do also feel for Yuna. That kind of character is just the type that really grabs me. Has battled her doubts and the strain of having a wall like Hikaru blocking the way. But she’s kept pushing herself forward. And then right when she’s got a gold medal in her sights…still loses it. Of course I’m not sure if there’s a realistic chance for her to get the win that she’s been chasing. There’s Hikaru and Inori ahead of her on the road. While I want Inori to just keep getting wins…I wouldn’t mind Yuna getting one along the way. If anyone won me over in this arc it was Yuna and very quickly. Finishing second is a wonderful result. But I respect that her competitive fire isn’t satisfied at all. Hopefully she can bring it at the next competition with an even better performance.

This guy is a good coach

While Tsukasa is still really nervous around Shinichiro, I do really like friendship that could form there. He really is so appreciative for what Tsukasa did for his son. And of course there is the level of idolization from Tsukasa due to the skating legend that Shinichiro is. He also really does have a tough position to juggle. He’s not Hikaru’s actual coach, but he gets all this attention and has to play pretend. Not that he doesn’t care about Hikaru at all or hasn’t supported her. Coaches at the site of these competitions have a role to play. But Hikaru is also a difficult opponent that his actual students have to continue trying to get past. I hope that whatever happens in the next episode will allow some real friendship to emerge between Tsukasa and Shinichiro. I think it’d be good for them both.

The “wall” to overcome!

This episode was everything I could’ve asked for. Inori gave the skate of her life and yet there is more to come. Not that much more since this season is going to be painfully short! But we aren’t done with the greatness of Medalist quite yet. This whole competition was excellent. It did what is so important in making many of the opponents into engaging characters. I left this tournament absolutely loving Manaka and Yuna. Those two had very different approaches and performances, but they both made their mark. And I’m kind of happy that they both share the podium here with Inori. They both will be moving on with Inori and will have to continue battling against even tougher odds.

But that’s the magic of this show. It can drop in new characters and do great things with them. Even the girls that didn’t make it into the top 5 felt like their own characters. Their pain and regrets felt tangible. I don’t know what will happen next or how far this story will get before running out of episodes. But I’m enjoying every bit of it.