Controversy! Anime Medalist accused of plagiarism
The anime Medalist has recently become the center of controversy after being accused of plagiarism by Korean fans. The discussion began when a striking sequence from the anime, in which the character Hikaru Kamisaki performs a stunning skating performance, went viral on social media.
The scene, praised by many fans, led one otaku to comment: “I never knew it was possible to express such beauty, grace and lightness in an anime.” You can watch the sequence that made the anime go viral below:
Controversy! Anime Medalist accused of plagiarism
This is not the first time that an anime has been accused of plagiarism. A similar case occurred with Stars Align, in which a dance was used in the ending without due credit to the original choreographer.
Many Korean netizens are accusing Medalist of plagiarizing the choreography of famous figure skater Yuna Kim, especially her 2009 performance. The controversy has led to direct comparisons between Hikaru Kamisaki’s performance and that of the athlete, leading to accusations that the anime had copied both the choreography and other elements, such as the music used.
Comments on a Korean forum were translated into Japanese showing how some native speakers are not seeing the performance in Medalist as a simple homage:
- “Japan was obsessed with Yuna Kim”
- “Since the Japanese have never managed to beat Yuna in competitions, they turned her into the villain of an anime to finally defeat her and thus have their victory, Japan being Japan.”
- “Yuna should demand payment for the use of her choreography!”
- “Did they ask Yuna’s permission to use her choreography?”
- “Anyone can see that it was a copy, they used the same song, it’s obvious that it’s Yuna Kim”
- “Both the character design and the song are the same as Yuna”
- “It’s all a blatant copy”
- “Japan already bothers me, but making Yuna the villain was the last straw”
- “Japan has a huge inferiority complex”
- “The manga doesn’t have any of that, so it’s the anime team’s fault, who decided to make the copy”
- “Everything to make the Japanese protagonist win”
- “Japan has never managed to overcome Yuna Kim”
The controversy divided opinions. While some believe that Medalist copied elements of the skater’s performance, stating that the song, the character’s outfit and the choreography are very similar to Yuna Kim’s performance, while others argued that the costumes and movements are common in the sport and do not indicate direct plagiarism.
via Você Sabia Anime
