Dance the Night (Japanese: 夜を踊れ Yoru o Odore) is the eleventh episode of the Medalist anime.
Synopsis[]
Characters[]
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Story[]
On the first day of the training camp, Lux Higashiyama FSC arrives at New Sunpia Tsuruga. Hitomi asks everyone to share their goal sheets. Inori says Double Axel, a goal that draws admiration from her clubmates but sparks more beef with Rioh, who warns her that there's no way out and she's setting herself up for embarrassment. Ryoka Miketa and Mario Nachi arrive late, with Ryoka declaring her goal is a Triple Salchow. Mario is introduced as their special guest, personally requested by Tsukasa to teach jumps. Hitomi mentions that Mario could land a Quad Salchow in the past, though she admits she never landed one in competition.
Ryoka asks Rioh if he's not attending the Nagano camp, a crucial stepping stone toward the Olympics. Inori had missed the opportunity due to not meeting the level requirement before the deadline and will be too old to qualify next year. Rioh soon grows annoyed of Ryoka too and calls her a "mendako face," enraging her. As Tsukasa reviews the goal sheets, he notices Rioh's is blank.
When practice begins, Mario instructs the skaters on straight jumps, which help improve control against centrifugal force and prevent over-turning on landings. After rounds of pursuit drills, where the coach closely follows the skaters on the ice, Tsukasa remains full of energy, but Hitomi and Mario find the exercise exhausting. Mario comments on Tsukasa's positiveness, but Hitomi explains that while he can be optimistic for the sake of others, he becomes the polar opposite when it comes to himself.
As the day winds down, the skaters check out their hotel rooms, gather for dinner, and take a bath. Tsukasa enters the bath himself after the skaters, but finds Rioh still there, having come late on purpose to avoid running into anyone. In the bath, Tsukasa brings up his goal sheet. Rioh admits he has goals but prefers to keep them to himself. Tsukasa expresses understanding of the fear that people might judge your goal, but encourages him to share so they can better help him.
However, Rioh then questions Tsukasa about his singles skating badge level. He has never seen Tsukasa's name in any Novice or Junior competition records and is certain there's no way Tsukasa is Level 6, intending to challenge Tsukasa on how he expects to teach a student who's already better than him. When Tsukasa reveals it's only Preliminary Level — even lower than Rioh expected — Rioh remarks that Inori would be disappointed, but Tsukasa states that she already knows.
Rioh responds that if Inori is aware and still wants to beat Hikaru, there's nothing more he can say. Before leaving, he tells Tsukasa to not worry about him, believing he's already reached his ceiling. He comments on Tsukasa's flashy muscles, mocking that he's better suited for building his body than building athletes.
Left alone, Tsukasa broods over his wasted time without a coach and how Inori faced the same struggle. Growing frustrated, he abruptly stands, exits the bath, and sprints up a hill, shouting out his irritation at Rioh's attitude. He missteps at the top of a steep slope, loses his footing, and slides down. Lying in the grass, he resolves to prove himself by making Rioh land a triple-double combo under his instruction.
In the girls' room, Inori shares with Ryoka her worry that if she fails Level 6 multiple times, people will start blaming her coach. She expresses her desire to land a Double Axel and become a strong athlete capable of choosing Coach Tsukasa herself, a dream that Ryoka reassures her will come true. The next morning, the other skaters find Inori and Ryoka asleep in strange positions, likely having dreamed of jumping.
The next morning, Tsukasa eagerly approaches Rioh to help him with the triple-double. Later, Inori successfully lands a Double Axel. Rather than revel in the achievement, both Inori and Tsukasa try to suppress their emotions, though their excitement is evident. During his turn to practice to music, Rioh finds himself pressured to push himself as well, despite his growing frustration and a desire to stop. He attempts a triple, but ultimately falls short. Meanwhile, Inori shocks everyone by suddenly nailing a Triple Salchow, breaking down two obstacles in one day thanks to everything she built tackling the Double Axel. Even then, she refuses to celebrate until she can sync the jump with music.
Seeing this, Rioh is left stunned. A flashback reveals the time when Hikaru first started living with the Sonidori family, and when she looked up to Rioh, who volunteered to teach her to skate. However, he would later find Hikaru training with Jun Yodaka instead. Rioh approached Jun, asking if he could receive the same training as Hikaru, but was told that he was in the way.
Outside, Tsukasa finds Rioh sitting alone and visibly dejected. He congratulates Tsukasa for getting Inori to land the triple and asks to be left alone. When questioned about his pessimism, Rioh explains his frustration with his own stagnation — as the son of an Olympic silver medalist, he has every advantage and cannot fault his environment, yet still has nothing to show for it.
Noticing that Rioh's goals seem to align with Jun Yodaka's achievements, Tsukasa asks if he's trying to emulate him. This strikes a nerve, and Rioh has a meltdown, which Tsukasa worsens by comparing his skating habits to Jun's. He screams in agony, declaring that the two things he hates most are cockroaches and Jun Yodaka, and if he had to choose between a roach smoothie and buying Jun Yodaka a cigarette, he'd probably choose the smoothie.
Tsukasa deduces that Rioh's resentment likely stems from admiration. He then proceeds to lift Rioh to his back, carrying him back to the rink. He requests Rioh's music to be played, but declares that he will skate to it himself.
Trivia[]
- The shot of Inori holding a sword is a reference to Kaoru Ryuzaki from THE iDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS, a character voiced by Natsumi Haruse, who also voices Inori. Tsurumaikada, a fan of Natsumi's performance as Kaoru, envisioned her in the lead role while creating the Medalist series.
Deviations from Source Material[]
- In the manga, the bath scene is intercut with Inori and Ryoka's conversation. Immediately after Tsukasa responds to Rioh's question about his badge level, there is a scene where Ryoka mentions Mario reaching Level 7 in sixth grade and asks Inori when Tsukasa achieved his. This exchange originally leads up to the conversation depicted in the anime, but was omitted in the adaptation.[1]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Chapter 12: Howling at the Night
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