Macross Frontier Designer Risa Ebata Draws Olympic Gold Medalist Alysa Liu
The piece connects a major anime character designer to a mainstream sports figure whose anime fandom has been visible throughout her Olympic run.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime News Network.
Crunchyroll released an illustration of Olympic gold medal figure skater Alysa Liu by Macross Frontier character designer Risa Ebata. Liu, a known anime fan who carried a Pochita plush from Chainsaw Man during the 2026 Winter Olympics, won individual and team gold at those Games.
Crunchyroll posted the illustration on Thursday, captioned with a note that Liu is a main character wherever she goes. Ebata, best known for her character designs on Macross Frontier, created the anime-style portrait. Liu has been open about her interest in anime; she was spotted multiple times during the 2025-26 season with a Pochita plush tissue case from Chainsaw Man, including in an Instagram story just before the Olympic opening ceremony. A fan in Japan later reported gifting the plush to her. Liu won individual and team gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, adding to a career that includes gold at the 2025 World Championships and the 2025-26 Grand Prix Final.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network Interest Macross F Designer Risa Ebata Draws Skating Gold Medalist Alysa Liu