With new seasons of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Hell’s Paradise, Oshi no Ko, and Jujutsu Kaisen, the Winter 2026 season has surely been an eventful one so far. While there have been many exciting new releases as well, these returning hits are what have truly made for quite an exciting start to the year.

That said, among these mega-hit franchises, Hulu’s most underrated drama, Medalist, has also made its return, and with one of its best seasons to date. In fact, Season 2 of Medalist looks like it could just be one of the best returning anime of the season, even with competition like Jujutsu Kaisen and Frieren.

Hulu Has Winter 2026’s Best Returning Anime

With six of its nine episodes out already, Season 2 of Medalist is quickly approaching its end, and it’s fair to say that the new season has been better than fans could have ever hoped. Despite its shorter run and more focused, compact story this time around, Season 2 of Medalist has been exceptional so far, and yet, the series mysteriously continues to fly under the radar.

It’s been a whole year since the first season of Medalist aired, and while the series has previously been touted as a Yuri on Ice successor, Season 2 has made it clear that the series is anything but a simple replacement for another series.

Medalist is finally growing out of its shoes as a Yuri on Ice successor and establishing itself as its own story that is good in its own unique ways. And, the best part is, it’s only going to get better from here on out.

Medalist Needs to Become A Long-Running Series

For one, Medalist has further refined its use of CGI since Season 1, which is most apparent during the skate sequences. At the same time, however, the series also seems to be gradually breaking away from it, or rather relying less on it by mixing in more traditional animation into certain scenes.

As seen during the practice session between Jun and Tsukasa in Season 2, Episode 5, the result has been striking, and not to mention very evocative. Adding to this is the fact that Season 2 of Medalist has also leaned further into its main story and conflicts involving Jun and Tsukasa, and by extension, Inori and Hikaru.

With the All-Japan championship now on the horizon, Medalist’s anime simply can’t stop here. The anime absolutely needs a third season and deserves to become a long-running series, and with time, Medalist will hopefully garner the attention it deserves. There’s no doubt the series will continue to get better both in terms of its animation and story with future installments, making now the perfect time to catch up on the series.

Medalist

Release Date

January 5, 2025

Network

tv asahi, ABC TV, Nagoya TV, HTB, Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting, NCC, Niigata Television Network 21, khb, KFB, HOME, KSB, Kagoshima Broadcasting, Oita Asahi Broadcasting, Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Iwate Asahi TV, Akita Asahi Broadcasting, Yamagata Television System, Shizuoka Asahi TV, Asahi Broadcasting Nagano, Hokuriku Asahi Broadcasting, Ehime Asahi TV, Yamaguchi Asahi Broadcasting, Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting, Ryu-Q Asahi Broadcasting

Directors

Takahiro Hirata

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  Natsumi Haruse

  Inori Yuitsuka (voice)

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  Takeo Otsuka

  Tsukasa Akeuraji (voice)