The Anime Medalist Special Exhibition 2026 was held on August 30, 2026, at Bellesalle Takadanobaba in Tokyo. The full main cast took the stage: Natsumi Haruse (Inori), Takehiro Ohtsuka (Tsugasa), Kana Ichinose (Hikaru), Natsuko Abe (Yunagi), Taito Ban (Shinichiro), and Emiri Kato (Hitomi). The event ran in two sessions; this report covers the afternoon show, which closed with the world premiere of the Medalist theatrical film‘s teaser visual and key new information.

Opening Ceremony

Pre-show announcements were handled by the “Luxe Higashiyama Trio” — Inori, Tsugasa, and Hitomi — whose lively in-character banter set the mood. The opening video began with Inori’s monologue: “Three minutes. A mere 180 seconds. You must pour everything you have built into that time. That is the world of figure skating.” It then rolled into the Season 2 opening ensemble sequence before introducing each cast member alongside newly drawn event visuals and memorable scenes from the series.

“Shine! Medalist Grand Prix” Corner

Ohtsuka and Kato hosted as the “Luxe Higashiyama Teacher Combo.” The first segment invited cast, staff, and special guests to each nominate a standout scene from Season 2. Selected clips were screened together, and some were performed as live dubbing on stage.

Natsumi Haruse Award

Haruse chose the scene from Episode 16, “The Queen’s Jump,” in which Tsugasa encourages a nervous Inori just before she takes the ice, and she replies with a quiet “Leave it to me.” Haruse described Tsugasa’s words — “A gold medal that everyone strives for cannot be won without the courage to stand above others” — as a kind of protective charm for Inori heading into the All-Japan Novice battle depicted in the film.

Emiri Kato Award

Kato selected Episode 20, “Lake of Ice,” in which Tsugasa takes a hard fall shielding Inori during harness practice while Hitomi rushes to his side. Kato praised the scene for capturing the tension that makes Medalist more than just a feel-good story. Haruse noted that a comment Kato made during the original recording session — “If a grade-schooler saw someone get hurt like that right in front of them, it would be seriously traumatic” — stayed with her and shaped her performance.

Akiko Suzuki Award

The professional figure skater who handled skating choreography and motion capture for the anime chose the four-way split-screen skating sequence from Episode 15, “My Card,” explaining that it conveyed “the feeling each skater has poured into every single second built up with their coach.”

Staff Award — “Everyone Is the Star”

The production staff selected Episode 17, “Gekokujo,” featuring Yunagi and Shinichiro discussing their resolve ahead of All-Japan Novice after the Central Block competition. Ban reflected on the scene’s portrayal of competitive harshness — not everyone can win — while Abe expressed joy at performing one of her favorite moments live in front of fans.

Kana Ichinose Award

Ichinose chose Episode 22, “Curtain Rise,” in which Hikaru watches Yotaka skate with intense, unblinking focus. Performing the live dub solo, Ichinose said the scene revealed “a glimpse of Hikaru’s unfathomable, unsettling quality” — less passion, more obsession — and showcased just how sharp and calculating Hikaru truly is.

Kaori Sakamoto Award (Special Guest)

Olympic medalist and recently retired figure skater Kaori Sakamoto made a surprise appearance via video message — even sporting Inori-style bangs as a nod to the series. She chose the scene from Episode 21, “Blazing Spirit,” in which Inori decides whether to attempt a triple Lutz or go for a quadruple jump, calling it “the moment that sparked Inori’s truly brilliant achievement.”

Tsurumaikada Award

Original manga creator Tsurumaikada also selected a scene from Episode 21 — Tsugasa seeing his younger self in Inori as she yearns to land a quad. Kato read the creator’s message aloud: “The vivid, manga-transcending compositions from ENGI, the realistic 3D-based animation, the performances of Haruse-san and Ohtsuka-san wrapped in Yuki Hayashi’s powerful music, and the flashback sequence added by series composer Hanada-san — together they made it an episode that completely surpassed manga expression. It was a scene that made me feel the joy of the anime adaptation all over again.”

Original Story Live Reading

The second segment featured a live reading of an original story written and fully supervised by Tsurumaikada. Six microphone stands were set up on stage, and the cast performed the special exhibition-themed narrative together. Highlights included a newly revealed piece of lore — that Yunagi first saw Shinichiro skate in a show when she was eight years old — which delighted Abe. The cast also joked about what a “mischievous program” by Yunagi and Shinichiro would even look like, with several members saying they’d love to see it animated someday.

Game Corners

The latter half of the afternoon show featured three audience-participation games. In “One-Cast Question” — themed around the character Uobuchi Sho — cast members fished questions from a rubber-pool “fishing hole” and answered whatever they caught. Haruse said she wants to learn to do backflips on a trampoline (since spinning on ice like a figure skater is out of reach), while Ohtsuka named Shikamoto Suzu as his current favorite character outside his own role, praising her unique relationship with skating and her quiet pride as an athlete. Kato said she’d choose jumping over step sequences, curious about what the world looks like mid-spin.

In “Can You Build the Program?”, the six cast members each contributed one character of a six-character answer to trivia questions without consulting each other — a nod to the importance of program composition in figure skating. The group managed only two correct answers out of five, with the math question causing particular chaos.

The final game, “Reward Voice ○× Quiz”, had the entire audience answer true-or-false questions about the series and cast. The last person standing received a personalized “reward voice” from Ohtsuka in character as Tsugasa, who congratulated the winner with: “Congratulations on your victory! I celebrate you with a joy GOE of +5!”

Theatrical Film Announcement: February 19, 2027

Following event merchandise announcements, a series of major updates were revealed. The TV anime’s first and second seasons will receive a rebroadcast, and a special preview reel for the Medalist theatrical film was screened, confirming a release date of February 19, 2027. A teaser visual was also unveiled for the first time, depicting Inori and Tsugasa sharing a fist bump as they stare forward with fierce determination just before taking the ice. The cast confirmed that full dubbing for the film has already been completed, and the audio used in the preview reel is from the final production track.

Haruse said she “poured her entire being” into the recording and spent some time afterward feeling like an empty shell — but that seeing the fans at the event recharged her completely. She urged audiences to rewatch Seasons 1 and 2 before February 19.

Closing Messages

Each cast member delivered a heartfelt message to close the afternoon show. Kato encouraged fans to revisit the TV series to build up excitement before the film. Ban emphasized that Medalist is a story where everyone — athletes and coaches alike — is the protagonist, and hinted that Yunagi’s journey may continue in the film. Abe said she felt the depth of the fandom in person and was moved by how many people love the series. Ichinose asked fans to use the rebroadcast to rewatch and come to theaters in February with their hearts fully prepared. Ohtsuka reflected on how the scripts and manga still move him to tears no matter how many times he reads them. Haruse closed by thanking the fans for the energy they gave her, saying: “I thought I was here to give everyone energy, but I ended up receiving so much more. That’s how full of love the world of Medalist is.”

The afternoon session ended with a united “Thank you very much!” from all six cast members, followed by a closing announcement from the “Nagoya Wind Trio” of Shinichiro, Hikaru, and Yunagi — a warm, Medalist-filled finale to a two-hour celebration.