History In The Making - Yuri!!! On Ice

A closer look at the new sports anime skating into fans' hearts all across the internet.

We open on a dark ice skating rink, light from the windows illuminating a skater. The animation fades in and out of black, but soon reveals the skater, a young man with long silver hair and the voice over says, "He never fails to surprise me." The young skater glides across the ice into black and when he emerges again only seconds later his hair is short and he looks in the viewer's direction, the slightest of smiles on his lips. The smile is only there for a moment before the skater shifts his focus to the routine, but there is a fondness in that gaze that suggests a familiarity and an intimacy that he shares with the audience and other person in the room. These first eleven seconds of Yuri!!! On Ice establish the core, dynamic relationship between the show's main characters and establish the inspiration they bring one another that carries on throughout every episode.

Via crunchyroll.com

Yuri!!! On Ice is a Japanese anime that tells the story of Yuri Katsuki, a 23-year-old figure skater who returns home to the fictional town of Hasetsu on Kyushu, the southern most island of Japan, after five years following his loss at the Grand Prix. After his loss and weight gain, it seems to Yuri that his skating career is over. However, he still finds solace in skating and after his performance of skating legend Victor Nikiforov’s routine goes viral, his career is anything but over. In fact, Victor decides to retire from skating and comes to Hasetsu to be Yuri’s new coach.

First impressions tend to carry a lot of weight, especially when it comes to television, films, and books. A screenwriting professor once said to my class that we know whether we like a movie in the first ten minutes, and I’ve often found this to be true—in different variations of ten. I know whether I like a song in the first ten seconds, a book in the first ten pages, a TV show or movie in the first ten minutes. Creators have a limited amount of time to draw their audience and a lot of the work falls on the first sentence and first moments. These words and scenes are incredibly important to keep viewers glued to their computer screen (because who watches TV shows on TV anymore, amirite?)

Via crunchyroll.com

The opening scene of Yuri!!! lasts a total of twenty seconds before the opening theme begins in a flourish of bright color and we see sketch versions of the main characters skating to the theme "History Maker" by Dean Fujioka. The song is an electronic power ballad that gains momentum the more the characters dance across the screen. The lyrics that repeat the most throughout the track are, "We were born to make history." This lyric certainly speaks to Yuri's ambition as a figure skater, but also to the nature of the show itself. Yuri!!! finds itself placed among various sports anime and manga, but also yaoi or boys' love—these last two terms are somewhat interchangeable, but yaoi originally referred to BL stories that were not published commercially. Some popular sports anime and manga have been Slam Dunk, Prince of Tennis, and more recently Haikyū!!, while some popular yaoi/BL titles include Junjo Romantica and Finder.

Typically, the assumption about yaoi/BL is that heterosexual girls and women write and read these stories about men who do not necessarily identify themselves openly as gay. Of course, for men in Japan, yaoi/BL can be an escape from cultural conceptions of masculinity. It is in these BL narratives that men can identify with male characters who exude femininity and are beautiful while doing so. However, there are gay men in Japan who argue that these stories do not actually depict their lives and often perpetuate prejudice against homosexuality in Japan. Certainly, yaoi/BL can be accomplishing all of these arguments simultaneously.

Via crunchyroll.com

It is worth noting that Japan currently does not support gay marriage or have any anti-discrimination laws. The situation for LGBTQIA people in Russia—where two of Yuri!!!’s main characters are from—is similar: there are no anti-discrimination laws in place. Moreover, during the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia, a particular anti-gay “propaganda” law took the forefront of LGBTQIA activist conversations where issues of gay rights cannot be expressed to minors. At the time, many activists urged a boycott of Sochi and highly encouraged Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, who is openly gay, not to be a commentator for NBC. Weir claimed at the time that he did not think the Olympics were “the place to make a political statement.” However, it seems incredibly intentional on the part of the creators of Yuri!!! On Ice to begin Yuri’s story at the Sochi Grand Prix Final and later for him to skate the routine Victor won with at it.

Via Facebook: TheOfficialJohnnyGWeir

Sochi is also where Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu won gold in men’s skating, the first time Japan won gold in the event. In fact, Hanyu won the event while wearing a costume designed by Johnny Weir, who appears to be a direct inspiration for one of Victor’s outfits in a flashback in episode seven (check out what he wore at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics). Another interesting connection to Yuri!!! is that Hanyu’s ice skating idol growing up was Evgeni Plushenko, whose sudden retirement during the 2014 Olympics opened the door for Hanyu to win during the men’s singles event. It is details like this when juxtaposed to Yuri!!! On Ice that make it clear the creators are making purposeful decisions for Yuri’s story and they are taking history into account while doing so.

Via crunchyroll.com

Because Yuri!!! is written and directed by two women—Mitsuro Kubo and Sayo Yamamoto respectively—the show could fall under BL and the various arguments against the genre; however, Yuri!!! blends sports anime into Yuri and Victor’s developing feelings for each other. One story is not without the other, and this show is one of the first times a sports anime has depicted two men falling for each other. Despite being seen as feminine, ice skating began as a sport for upper-class men in Europe and North America and the pervasiveness of western culture throughout the world speaks to the conception of male skaters as effeminate. Sports are often seen as competitive by nature, which is commonly associated with masculinity, and ice skating is no exception to competitiveness. On one hand, Yuri!!! highlights the costumes in absolutely gorgeous animation—seriously the sparkles are ridiculously well done—and the emotion of the routines plays across the characters’ faces, usually as they think about what they want to express to the audience. However, Yuri and all of his fellow ice skaters are all also competitors looking to win the next Grand Prix Final and establish themselves as the best skater.

Research has shown reoccurring themes among sports winners such as strength, speed, power, and guts and, typically, the most aggressive men win while weaker men lose. These elements do make appearances in Yuri!!!—the desire to win at the forefront of Yuri Katsuki’s mind along with all of his competitors from around the world. In the first scene that Yuri meets Yuri Plisetsky “The Russian Punk,” the 15-year-old skater threatens him in the bathroom. Plisetsky points in Yuri’s face and says, “I’m competing in the senior division next year. We don’t need two Yuris in the same bracket. Incompetents like you should just retire already.” Plisetsky’s drive to win brings out his aggression, quite the juxtaposition from Yuri who moments earlier cries in one of the bathroom stalls because he lost. Yuri’s drive to win is obvious as the series progresses and he goes to skating competitions. He tries to stay focused and not let the other skaters’ performances—or his developing feelings for Victor—deter him from his goal of winning the Grand Prix Final.

Via crunchyroll.com

The episodes of Yuri!!! On Ice move quickly and are a triumph of concise storytelling. The creators pack every moment with layered meanings—and yes some of these are innuendos. Yuri!!! masterfully blends emotion and competition into every episode, the stakes raising every time Yuri makes progress. When Yuri overcomes the hurdle of choosing his own music, he is then immediately faced with actually performing to it. The artwork is colorful, and the skating routines are animation feats that you can’t look away from—did I already mention the sparkles? Moreover, the incredible choreography, which is done by retired ice dancer Kenji Miyamoto who has even choreographed for Yuzuru Hanyū, furthers the character’s individual storylines and character growth.

The episodes go by in a blur because they demand attention in the same way that actual ice skaters draw in their audiences. The relationships drive the story in conjunction with the competition—Yuri’s relationship with Victor is as important as the results of his skating. Ultimately, Yuri!!! is pure fun from start to finish and anyone curious about the show should definitely watch it. After all, as the ending theme says, “You only live once.”

You can watch Yuri!!! On Ice as it continues to air on Crunchyroll.

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References

Adams, Mary Louise. Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011.

Comic Natalie. "Yuri!!! on ICE Production Presentation: Sayo Yamamoto and Mitsurou Kubo." Translated by Laeza. Storyunlocker, September 1, 2016.

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Gaines, Cork. "Figure Skater Wins Gold Wearing A Costume Designed By Johnny Weir." Business Insider, February 14, 2014.

Lies, Elaine. "Japan election manifestos free LGBT rights from political closet." The Japan Times, July 7, 2016.

Macur, Juliet. "Outspoken Weir Will Be Quiet on Russian Law." The New York Times, October 23, 2013.

Messner, Michael A., Michele Dunbar, and Darnell Hunt. "The Televised Sports Manhood Formula." In The Gender and Media Reader, edited by Mary Celeste Kearney, 370-379. New York: Routledge, 2012.

McLelland, Mark, and James Welker "An Introduction to 'Boys Love' In Japan." In Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan, edited by Mark McLelland, Kazumi Nagaike, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker, 3-20. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2015.

Shuster, Simon. "Plushenko's Retirement Is Proof He Should Have Quit Before Sochi." Time, February 13, 2014.

The Associated Press. "Putin stresses 'gay propaganda' law." ESPN, January 17, 2014.

TVAsahi, "Yuri!!! On Ice Episode 1 – Easy as Pirozhki!! The Grand Prix Final of Tears." Crunchyroll video, 23:25. Posted October 5, 2016. http://www.crunchyroll.com/yuri-on-ice/episode-1-easy-as-pirozhki-the-grand-prix-final-of-tears-721621.

Wilner, Barry. "Hanyu wins men's Olympic gold, Chan 2nd, Ten 3rd." The Associated Press, February 14, 2014.

Yanai, Yumiko. "A Post-Plushenko Champion: Hanyū Yuzuru Wins Figure Skating Gold." Nippon.com, February 19, 2014.