Eisspeedway

Skate-Leading Stars

Skate-Leading☆Stars
Promotional poster
スケートリーディング☆スターズ
(Sukēto Rīdingu☆Sutāzu)
GenreSports (figure skating)
Created byGorō Taniguchi
Bandai Namco Arts
J.C.Staff
Manga
Written byChiaki Nagaoka
Illustrated bySumika Sumio
Published bySquare Enix
MagazineMonthly G Fantasy
DemographicShōnen
Original runDecember 18, 2020March 18, 2022
Volumes2 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by
  • Gorō Taniguchi (chief)
  • Toshinori Fukushima
Written byNoboru Kimura
Music byRyō Takahashi
StudioJ.C.Staff
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkTokyo MX, BS11, MBS, AT-X
Original run January 10, 2021 March 28, 2021
Episodes12 (List of episodes)

Skate-Leading☆Stars (Japanese: スケートリーディング☆スターズ, Hepburn: Sukēto Rīdingu☆Sutāzu) is an original Japanese anime television series produced by J.C.Staff, created by Gorō Taniguchi, and directed by Toshinori Fukushima. The series aired from January 10 to March 28, 2021.

Plot

The series will follow a group of high school boys who participate in a fictional type of competitive figure skating known as “skate-leading”. After suffering a humiliating loss to his (unrequited) rival, Maeshima Kensei swears off figure skating at the young age of 11. Fast-forward five years, and he's going nowhere in school or in life, sought after by all manner of sports teams but committed to none--until he learns his former not-rival now-skating-legend Shinozaki Reo has switched from singles skating to the new team-oriented skating style of 'Skate Leading'. He then with help of Shinozaki's half-brother Hayato Sasugai, who holds enmity towards Shinozaki, and members of skate leading club of Ionodai High School joins the competition against Shinozaki.

Characters

Ionodai High School

Kensei Maeshima (前島絢晴, Maeshima Kensei)
Voiced by: Yuma Uchida[2][3] (Japanese); Stephen Fu,[4] Steph Garrett (young)[4] (English)
Hayato Sasugai (流石井隼人, Sasugai Hayato)
Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa[2][3] (Japanese); Jack Reeder[4] (English)
Tomoyuki Kubota (窪田智之, Kubota Tomoyuki)
Voiced by: Gen Satō[5] (Japanese); Khoi Dao[4] (English)
Izumi Himekawa (姫川泉澄, Himekawa Izumi)
Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara[5] (Japanese); Christopher Wehkamp[4] (English)
Akimitsu Mochizuki (望月暁光, Mochizuki Akimitsu)
Voiced by: Reiou Tsuchida[5] (Japanese); Y. Chang[4] (English)
Sota Jonouchi (城ノ内颯太, Jōnouchi Sōta)
Voiced by: Shōya Chiba[5] (Japanese); Ricco Fajardo[4] (English)
Shotaro Terauchi (寺内正太郎, Terauchi Shōtarō)
Voiced by: Satoshi Hino[5] (Japanese); Ian Sinclair[4] (English)
Itsuki Kiriyama (桐山樹, Kiriyama Itsuki)
Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno[5] (Japanese); Keith Silverstein[4] (English)
Yukimitsu Mochizuki (望月雪光, Mochizuki Yukimitsu)
Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae[5] (Japanese); Meli Grant[4] (English)

St Cavis Gakuen High School

Reo Shinozaki (篠崎怜鳳, Shinozaki Reo)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya[2][3] (Japanese); Daman Mills,[4] Molly Searcy[4] (young) (English)
Toranosuke Kurayoshi (倉吉虎之助, Kurayoshi Toranosuke)
Voiced by: Kaito Takeda[5] (Japanese); Aaron Michael[4] (English)
Taiga Himuro (氷室泰冴, Himuro Taiga)
Voiced by: Yūki Ono[5] (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum[4] (English)

Yokohama Super Global High School

Noa Kuonji (久遠寺夢空, Kuonji Noa)
Voiced by: Sōma Saitō[5] (Japanese); Kim Morton[6] (English)

Chutei University Kamimaezu High School

Hajime Ishikawa (石川一, Ishikawa Hajime)
Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima[5] (Japanese); Seth Magill[7] (English)
Susumu Ishikawa (石川二, Ishikawa Susumu)
Voiced by: Kenji Nojima[5] (Japanese); Bryson Baugus[8] (English)

Media

Manga

In March 2020, a manga adaption by Chiaki Nagaoka with art by Sumika Sumio was announced to run in Monthly G Fantasy.[9] It was serialized from December 18, 2020, to March 18, 2022.[10][11] Two tankōbon volumes were released from March 27, 2021, to May 27, 2022.[12][13]

Anime

On December 1, 2019, J.C.Staff announced that they are producing a new original anime television series directed by Gorō Taniguchi, with Toboso Yana handling original character designs. The series is directed by Toshinori Fukushima, with Gorō Taniguchi serving as chief director. Noboru Kimura is writing the scripts, Yoko Ito is designing the characters, and Ryō Takahashi is composing the series' music.[3] The series was originally set to premiere in July 2020, but it was delayed to January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][14] The series aired from January 10 to March 28, 2021.[15][16] The opening theme song is "Chase the core" performed by Takao Sakuma (佐久間貴生, Sakuma Takao), and the ending theme song is "JUMP" performed by Shūgo Nakamura.[17] Funimation licensed the series and started streaming it on December 27, 2020, two weeks before its Japanese broadcast, in North America and the British Isles, in Europe through Wakanim, and in Australia and New Zealand through AnimeLab.[18] On March 13, 2021, Funimation announced the series would receive an English dub, with the first episode premiering the next day.[4]

Episode list

No.Title [19][20]Directed by [a]Written by [a]Original air date [21][b]
1"Pact"
Transliteration: "Meiyaku" (Japanese: 盟約)
Yoshiyuki NogamiNoboru KimuraJanuary 10, 2021 (2021-01-10)
2"Break"
Transliteration: "Buranku" (Japanese: ブランク)
Kazunobu ShimizuNoboru KimuraJanuary 17, 2021 (2021-01-17)
3"Self-Centered"
Transliteration: "Jiko-chū" (Japanese: 自己中)
Yoshiyuki NogamiNoboru KimuraJanuary 24, 2021 (2021-01-24)
4"Inspiration"
Transliteration: "Shokuhatsu" (Japanese: 触発)
Fumihiro Ueno
Toshinori Fukushima
Noboru KimuraJanuary 31, 2021 (2021-01-31)
5"Bonds"
Transliteration: "Kizuna" (Japanese: )
Shigeki AwaiNoboru KimuraFebruary 7, 2021 (2021-02-07)
6"Indecision"
Transliteration: "Shunjun" (Japanese: 逡巡)
Aya KobayashiNoboru KimuraFebruary 14, 2021 (2021-02-14)
7"Resolve"
Transliteration: "Ketsudan" (Japanese: 決断)
Toshihiro MaeyaNoboru KimuraFebruary 21, 2021 (2021-02-21)
8"Champions"
Transliteration: "Ōja" (Japanese: 王者)
Yoshiyuki NogamiNoboru KimuraFebruary 28, 2021 (2021-02-28)
9"One Lead"
Transliteration: "Wan Rīdo" (Japanese: ワンリード)
Noriaki AkitayaNoboru KimuraMarch 7, 2021 (2021-03-07)
10"Finals"
Transliteration: "Fainaru" (Japanese: ファイナル)
Shigeki AwaiNoboru KimuraMarch 14, 2021 (2021-03-14)
11"Perfect"
Transliteration: "Kanzen" (Japanese: 完全)
Aya KobayashiNoboru KimuraMarch 21, 2021 (2021-03-21)
12"Sworn Friends"
Transliteration: "Meiyū" (Japanese: 盟友)
Yoshiyuki NogamiNoboru KimuraMarch 28, 2021 (2021-03-28)

Notes

  1. ^ a b Information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.
  2. ^ Every episode was pre-released on Funimation two weeks before its original air date.

References

  1. ^ "《花樣滑冰Stars》-《Skate-Leading Stars》". YouTube. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "TVアニメ「スケートリーディング☆スターズ」公式サイト". TVアニメ「スケートリーディング☆スターズ」公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  3. ^ a b c d "ID: Code Geass & Black Butler Creators, J.C. Staff Make Skate-Leading Stars TV Anime". Anime News Network. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Friedman, Nicholas (March 13, 2021). "Skate-Leading Stars English Dub Announced, Cast & Crew Revealed". Funimation. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Skate-Leading Stars TV Anime Reveals More Cast & Staff, Story Intro, July Debut". Anime News Network. March 15, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Morton, Kim [@KimMortonYep] (April 5, 2021). "HAPPY EASTER!! I'm super excited to make a supes extra announcement that I play the supes extra Number 2 Prince Noa Kuonji in #SkateLeadingStars! Thank you so much to @FUNimation and @VAJerryJewell for having me! I'm so excited for the rest of the season! Hope ya like #speedcore!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Skate-Leading Stars - The Complete Season. Funimation. May 24, 2022.
  8. ^ Baugus, Bryson [@BaugusBryson] (April 8, 2021). "I'm a little late cuz I didn't realize it came out earlier this week, but you can hear me as one of the whispery twins, Susumu Ishikawa, in ep 3 of Skate-Leading Stars! Thanks to @VAJerryJewell and @FUNimation for the opportunity!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Skate-Leading Stars Skating Anime Gets Manga". Anime News Network. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  10. ^ 月刊 Gファンタジー 2021年1月号. Fujisan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  11. ^ 堀田きいち「君と僕。」18年の連載に幕、次号からは番外編が3カ月連続掲載. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 18, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  12. ^ 【3月27日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 27, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  13. ^ 【5月27日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. May 27, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "Skate-Leading Stars Anime Rescheduled to January After COVID-19 Delay". Anime News Network. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Code Geass, Black Butler Creators' Skate-Leading Stars Anime Delayed Due to COVID-19". Anime News Network. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  16. ^ "Skate-Leading Stars Anime Reveals TV Ad, January 10 Premiere". Anime News Network. November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  17. ^ "Burūrei / Dībuidī / Shīdī | Terebi Anime "Sukēto Rīdingu☆Sutāzu" Kōshiki Saito" BD・DVD・CD | TVアニメ「スケートリーディング☆スターズ」公式サイト [BD / DVD / CD | TV Anime "Skate-Leading Stars" Official Website]. skateleadingstars.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "Skate-Leading Stars to Stream Exclusively on Funimation Before Japan! ⛸". Funimation. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  19. ^ "Sutōrī | Terebi Anime "Sukēto Rīdingu☆Sutāzu" Kōshiki Saito" ストーリー | TVアニメ「スケートリーディング☆スターズ」公式サイト [Story | TV Anime "Skate-Leading Stars" Official Website]. skateleadingstars.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  20. ^ "Watch Skate-Leading Stars Sub | Drama, Slice of Life Anime | Funimation". Funimation. Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  21. ^ "Hōsō Haishin | Terebi Anime "Sukēto Rīdingu☆Sutāzu" Kōshiki Saito" 放送・配信 | TVアニメ「スケートリーディング☆スターズ」公式サイト [Broadcast / Distribution | TV Anime "Skate-Leading Stars" Official Website]. skateleadingstars.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.