For the longest time, Yuri on Ice has always been the premier ice skating manga and anime series that people would turn to. However, it looks like a new series is coming to challenge that top spot, and its called Skate-Leading Stars.
The new anime project centers around a young skater who decided to hang up the blades after being told he will never beat his rival. Training various other skaters, he learns that his rival is moving to competitive team skating. By a crazy turn of events, the protagonist and his new partner hit the ice to defeat any opponents in their way.
Following the inevitable release of the anime, a manga adaption has also been announced to be in the works by Chiaki Nagaoka and Sumika Sumio. Yet, for right now, not much is known on what magazine the manga will release on or the date.
Initially, the anime was supposed to come out in July but, following an update form the show's animation production team at J.C. Staff has been put on an indefinite hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has placed the series' premiere in early 2021. Make sure to share your thoughts on the news in the usual spot!
"You will never win against me."
Figure skater Kensei Maeshima stopped his career when he heard those words from his rival Reo Shinozaki. Some years after, Maeshima, now a high schooler, uses his physical talent for to help other clubs with various activities, while never committing to any one thing. One day, he sees a press conference where Shinozaki announced that he was shifting from single skating to "skate-leading." After that, he met a boy named Hayato Sasugai, who knew of Maeshima's single skating career. With the words, "I need you," Sasugai invites Maeshima to the world of skate-leading, or competitive team-based skating.
Skate-leading is a fictional figure-skating competition, in which each team of five skaters earns points for technical skills (such as unison formation) and artistry (such as composition and entertainment) from an automated camera-based system and nine judges. There are three positions on each team: the lead who is the point-getter with many combination jumps, the wings who are mainly responsible for twist lifts and similar elements, and the guards who perform with such elements as lifts and steps.
Skate-Leading Stars is premiering in Japan in January of next year!