Nicolas Pierot, a French sculptor living in Shanghai, has been crowned the French ice sculpting champion after creating an impressive sculpture of Pegasus Seiya, a bronze knight from the popular manga series "Saint Seiya" (Knights of the Zodiac). The competition took place during the weekend at Place de la Victoire in Yssingeaux, where eight senior competitors transformed blocks of water ice into manga-themed masterpieces.
The 2025 French Ice Sculpting Championships featured manga characters as the mandatory theme for this year's edition. Armed with a complete toolkit including chainsaws and various electric tools, the contestants breathed life into their frozen creations. Pierot, originally from northern France but currently residing in Shanghai, impressed judges with his detailed representation of the iconic bronze saint from the beloved anime series.
The competition results showed strong performances across all participants. Nicolas Barbet from Lisieux, Normandy, secured second place with his sculpture of Phoenix, the legendary fire bird from Osamu Tezuka's works. Third place went to local competitor Thibaut Boulleret from Yssingeaux, who created "The Temptation of the Shinigami," showcasing the diverse range of manga inspiration among the sculptors.
The championships featured a two-day format with different age categories competing on separate days. Saturday was dedicated to senior competitors, while Sunday afternoon was reserved for junior participants under 23 years old. The public was invited to watch the sculpting process free of charge, providing an entertaining spectacle for visitors to witness the transformation of raw ice blocks into detailed artistic creations.
The junior competition scheduled for Sunday followed the same manga theme, with eleven young sculptors set to compete. These younger artists were given two and a half hours, from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, to complete their own transformations of water ice blocks. The event demonstrated the growing popularity of both ice sculpting as an art form and manga culture's influence on contemporary French artistic expression.
