Yuri!!! On Ice
Genre: Sports, skating, BL
Studio: MAPPA
Hello my friends. Welcome to another blog entry.
After finishing the day with a beautiful Girls Love story…
I fell more eager to start this day with a Boys Love story. And let me tell that is absolutely one of the greatest yaoi stories of history. Once more… the title says it all.
«Don’t stop us now, the moment of truth
We were born to make history.»
Yeah. We are.
But before I start, I must ask the same questions, I have to in order to start making history:
Are you guys ok? Feeling Healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
And now… time to be born to make history. This is Yuri!!! on Ice.
PREMISE
Yuri!!! on Ice is an original anime series, produced by the always welcome Studio MAPPA, which aired between October and December 2016, in 12 episodes, directed by Sayo Yamamoto (the same director behind Lupin the Third: A woman Called Fujiko Mine). The choreography was in charge of former professional skater, Kenji Miyamoto.
23 year-old Yuri Katsuki is a very talented skater, but he is not precisely in the best moment of his career. After a lot of losses, including the Grand Prix Final, Yuri puts his career on hold and returns to his hometown in Hasetsu, Kyushu. Once there, Yuri decides to skate and perfectly imitates the beautiful routine of his idol, Russian skater Viktor Nikiforov. Unbeknownst to Yuri, his performance is recorded and becomes viral, something that indeed catches Viktor’s attention. Viktor moves to Hasetsu and catches Yuri, making himself the latter’s coach.
However, 15-year-old skating prodigy Yuri Plisetsky, discovers Viktor’s decision, travels Hasetsu and confronts him and Yuri. Now both Yuri K. and Yuri P. compete in a beautiful sets of skating matches, full of wonderful choreographies, always under the watch of Viktor.
Immediately after its released, Yuri!!! on Ice became a phenomenon, being praised by critics and professional skaters, being called as one of the best anime of 2016; while both Yuri and Viktor becoming a very renown iconic of LGBT anime, among other beautiful yaoi couples like:
Eiji and Ash; Ryoma and Izumi, and practically every couple from Given.
The opening song, History Maker, performed by Dean Fujioka, is definitely one of the best songs I have ever heard.
Furthermore, the success of Yuri!!! on Ice was so big, that in the 1st edition of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, the series won seven awards (Anime of the Year, Best Boy, Best Opening, Best Ending, Best Animation, Best Couple, and Most Heartwarming Scene), becoming the most awarded anime of the Crunchyroll Awards, along with My Hero Academia, season 2 (with seven awards as well).
Currently, Studio MAPPA is animated a sequel movie, called Yuri on Ice The Movie: Ice Adolescence, originally scheduled to be released in 2019, but delayed constantly. (And No. the COVID-19 apparently has nothing to do with it).
Before I move forward, I will share with you a link of Dean Fujioka’s History Maker, with lyrics.
STORY
Before I continue, let me share a personal anecodte.
Back in 2017, I heard about this anime, which I heard it was a marvel, and a sensation, some even called it a beautiful masterpiece. Naturally, that anime was Yuri!!! on Ice. Everyone kept saying Yuri!!! on Ice this, Yuri!!! on Ice that. It was all over my ears. Then I said… «Give me a break. This should be some overrated trend.» You know, sometimes when people calls a movie, a tv series or a cartoon a masterpiece, only to find out it is indeed overrated and this only merit is to divide fans.
Then I changed my mind and thought it was the history of a singer with blueish appearance, whose singing comes across the universe.
The point is that I decided to watch the first episodes of Yuri!!! on Ice, and… it was nothing like I saw before. An anime of a young skater that meets a really handsome man, they start a nice friendship and participate in many skating events, with really beautiful choreographies. I might be outdated, but by 2017, I didn’t remember seeing something similar. And it was worth it.
The animation is beautiful. It is MAPPA studio after all. What else can be expected? Similar to A-1 Pictures, we will get some wonderful animation. And the story is even better. Viktor starts being very harsh with Yuri, but patient, which becomes a beautiful love story; and then when the moments of skating are indeed a spectacle. Seriously, I don’t think you will find any choreographies like those in any other anime. The animation, the music, along with the movements combine together to make an audiovisual marvel that will always age well, especially for 2017.
But from my perspective, these dances make you feel as if you were in the audience… or in the Winter Olympics. A show that brings anyone to tears. (Didn’t happened to me, but the sensation in my heart always remains fresh).
Also, the story feels pretty natural. The bond that Yuri and Viktor create feels extremely genuine, and the energy brought by Yuri P. adds for a lot of comic relief that is really hilarious.
And every episode has the same atmosphere. Nothing gets boring, so you want to see what happens next.
At the end, you understand why Yuri!!! on Ice has become so popular. But that’s not all.
CHARACTERS
I think Yuri!!! on Ice proved that, if a story is wonderful, can be mostly because of its characters.
Like I said, Yuri and Viktor are a wonderful couple, and Yuri P, despite being a brat and a force to be reckon with, is still a pretty likeable character. All make a really chemistry, ready to bring action, passion and beauty, ideal from a sweet trio.
Extra praise from Junichi Suwabe, who brings an excellent performance from Viktor.
The rest of the cast, especially the skaters, are also pretty nice. What I really love is that they become from different countries (United States, Canadá, Switzerland, South Korea, Kazakhstan), which brings more realism and culture toward the skating competitions.
Case in point, we have Seung-gil Lee.
Notice the eyes, notice the skin colour, the hair, and the side of the face. It is a beautiful contrast, the series really worked hard to make this characters a unique design, especially in comparison to Yuri Katsuki. What I mean is that, while both are from Asia, they come from different countries (Yuri is from Japan, and Seung is from South Korea), and this makes the context of Yuri!!! on Ice richer more believable.
There are other characters that I wanted to have more development though, like with Yuko Nishigori and her family.
I do not know. Perhaps it is my viewpoint, but I got the feeling that she and her family could do more in the story. It is not a disaster, but it is something I wanted to point out.
Anyone, the characters are really good.
CONCLUSION
Indeed, Yuri!!! on Ice is one of the best BL anime you can ever see. But it is more than that. It is about overcoming your limitations, good sportsmanship, friendship, hope and, of course, love. The best part is that it doesn’t need swords, violence, blood to present good conflict. Everything, from the animation to the story, is well-crafted. It is not perfect, but a beautiful series to watch.
I wish I could tell more, but, at the end, it is better to watch than to describe.
And I want to finish this entry with the following statement…
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BISEXUALITY DAY!!!
See you around.
#bisexualityday
One day Henrietta… One day!!
Jainituos Presents 