Figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva swaps her Sailor Moon outfit for a traditional kimono in Kyoto

The anime-loving skater thrills everyone off the ice as she walks the streets of Kyoto in traditional attire.

Russian figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva has been making a name for herself around the world lately, with two world-champion titles under her belt already, all at the young age of 17. What really makes Medvedeva stand out from the rest of the competition, though, is her unabashed love of anime, which has won her legions of fans throughout Japan.

▼ One of her favourite series is ice-skating anime Yuri!!! on Ice

I'll take it. Pack him, please https://t.co/riGHu0Iyj4

—
Evgenia Medvedeva (@JannyMedvedeva) April 19, 2017

Her passion for anime was most recently on display last month at the World Team Trophy in Figure Skating competition in Tokyo, where she skated to the original opening theme from Sailor Moon while dressed as the schoolgirl protagonist from the anime series.

This wasn’t the first time for Medvedeva to perform in the iconic sailor suit schoolgirl costume, having chosen the outfit for her free skate in Niigata Prefecture earlier that year. After that performance, Medvedeva even got to meet Naoko Takeuchi, artist and author of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, who presented her with a beautiful hand-drawn illustration.

Japanese fans are so used to seeing the young star dressed up in anime-inspired outfits and posing alongside anime characters that it came as quite a surprise when Medvedeva posted her latest series of photos to Instagram on the weekend. Instead of taking her fashion cues from modern Japanese culture, this time the figure skating star appeared in a more traditional outfit, dressed up in a stunning formal kimono instead.

This was the first time for fans to see Medvedeva dressed up as a maiko in traditional kimono, and it seems even she was surprised by her appearance, saying “Look whom (sic) I met in Kyoto today” alongside her first photo.

The next picture revealed her face, as her comments section immediately filled up with comments praising her for her beauty.

One fan even commented that the red kimono made her look like she had transformed into the warrior associated with red, Sailor Mars. Scrolling through the photos below show Medvedeva walking the streets of Kyoto and visiting a traditional Shinto shrine.

While there’s been some controversy about foreign models dressing up in kimono in the past, Japanese fans were over the moon to see their skating idol in traditional attire, unable to contain their heart emoji-filled comments, with squeals of “kawaii” accompanying every picture.

Given that Medvedeva has been known to receive generous gifts from Japanese fans who are tuned in to her likes and passions, it might not be long before the anime plushies thrown onto the skating rink after her performances are replaced with more traditional Japanese accessories.

Featured image: Instagram/jmedvedevaj

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