Anime: Yuuri!!! on Ice

Yuri on Ice!! -- Which isn't, to get the obvious joke out of the way.

The idea that male figure skaters are all gay is probably a cliché that dates back to five minutes after someone invented figure skating, the sport in general being seen as the least manly thing you can do on ice. That said, I have attempted doing some ballet in my youth while bored, and I must say just keeping your legs up in those positions for a single minute, nevermind a five-minute performance, requires muscles like steel wire and coordination like... Something that's very coordinated indeed. Add to that that figure skaters essentially do these ballet moves with roller skates attached to their feet in sub-zero environs and the idea that they are somehow less 'manly' than your average footballer or hockey player becomes a bit hypocritical to me. Why am I mentioning this? Well, because this anime is about gay figure skaters, of course.

Yuri on Ice!! is a 2016 fall anime based on an original concept by director Sayoyamamoto (Michiko to Hacchin) and animated by studio MAPPA (Apollo on the Slope, Terror in Resonance). Based around the last season of Yuri Katsuki, a Japanese figure skater who made it to the Olympic finals only to finish dead last, Yuri on Ice!! tells a story of Yuri falling into major slump about himself and the sport he practices, and how an encounter with his idol and five-time champion skater Victor Nikiforov changes all that with a mixture of sports story and gay romance. Honestly this show ended up being one of the year's surprises, not just to me but to the anime world in general it seems, and not a bad one either as I will explain shortly.

Art & Animation: 8/10 -- I don't know whether to praise or curse this show for its overreach. A little of both perhaps.

Art-wise Yuri on Ice!! is a solid ordeal. There are a *lot* of backgrounds and locales, even if some of the skating rinks look a bit recycled, there is a large and rather vibrant character gallery who manage to come across as fairly distinct and not all following the same 'prettyboy' character design (the women are a bit more uniform, but then there aren't that many of them around), the colouring is excellent and of course the amount of animation put into creating an anime about something so movement-intensive as figure skating is pretty fricking impressive. That said, I get the distinct impression that the show didn't have the full budget for its plans. To put it simply, the figure skating routines in the middle of the show are blatantly missing many frames of animation and you can see the jankiness of movement with the naked eye, and several of the performances have been copy/pasted between episodes. I mean, it's obviously the same routine every episode, but more to the point it's the exact same shots and animation re-used with a slightly different background. For a show that puts so much stock in these performances as a centrepiece of the episodes, it's really quite a noticeable drop, and luckily one the show averts in the last two episodes by noticeably improving the finalist performances in the Big Game.

That said, despite these lacks, and it's a fairly noticeable one, this show has objectively really great art and animation for a one-courser drama series. Comparing it to other shows in its category like, say, Free!, it stands on its own as a very good example of good art and character design, even if the animation budget could have used a boost.

Sound & Music: 9/10 -- Earns an additional point for the ear-worms alone.

In contrast to the somewhat up-and-down nature of the animation, the sound of Yuri on Ice!! is top-notch and nearly flawless. The show features some top-tier quality from its voice cast, with Jun'ichi Subawe stealing the show as champion skater-turned-coach/love interest Victor Nikiforov in a role that will probably make more people go "GAR" for him than his previously most famous "white-haired handsome man" role. Rounding out the trio of 'most important' characters is Toshiyuki Toyonaga as main character Yuuri Katsuki, bringing some 'inexperienced and insecure' chops to the character while still managing to convey passion and determination when it counts, and Kouki Uchiyama as rival and jerky teenager Yuri Plisetsky with pretty much the exact same voice as he did for Soul Eater Evans, which fits the equally cartoonish Yuri. While all three characters are voiced by men who are 5-10 years older than their characters, they don't feel that much out of place. The support characters are all fairly well-cast as well, with the stand-out probably being Mamoru Miyano doing his best Katsuyuki Konishi impersonation as Canadian egomaniac Jean-Jaques Leroy/"J.J.".

On the musical part, the music is excellent, especially the pieces chosen for the figure skating sessions. From the "On Love" pieces used by main characters Yuuri and Yuri to pieces like "The Theme of King J.J." (which is an *insufferable* earworm) and "Minami's Boogie" which is only used in a single episode by a minor competitor (literally; he's underage) in a regional tournament, the quality and care to detail in every one of the pieces really shine through and demand your attention to the skating sessions. Special notice goes to the OP, "History Maker", a piece I'd best describe as a "waltz in E major and dubstep", if the concept of such a combination didn't make most people run to the hills upon thinking it (for anyone actually musically inclined, let me just say that I know nothing about musical keys and the song probably isn't in E major, nor is it, technically, a waltz). Let me just say, it's much better than I describe it as, and annoying catchy on top of it. It's easily my top anime intro of 2016, or at least the top one of the vanishingly small number I've listened to all the way through without muting the stream in annoyance.

Story: 7/10 -- Sports! Subtext! More sports! More subtext! Subtext becomes text! Disappointing ending!

The story of Yuri on Ice!! is a fairly standard sports/relationship story, innovations of the main characters being of the same sex aside. The progression of Yuri's road to recovery to his placement in the finals of the next season's Grand Prix (because you know there's no way he was going to lose and drop out permanently) is interlaced with his admiration giving way to infatuation with Victor, who has taken on the role as Yuri's coach for reasons that actually make sense by the end of the show, if not at the beginning (let's just say, there was a fairly good reveal about it). The two stories, although fairly cliché on their own, make a fairly good showing of supporting and enhancing each other: Because Yuri's love interest is also his coach, there is a nice interplay between the sports and relationship parts and the central theme of 'love' comes across fairly well and is given a decent exploration both through the main characters and the side characters. There is also his developing 'rivalry' with his name-brother Yuri Plisetsky, which is, well, competent but burdened a bit down by Plisetsky being a much less interesting character to focus on than Yuri and Victor are.

However, there is one fly in the ointment: The ending. It's very obvious that Yuri on Ice!! was intended as a one-season single story anime and that its surprising popularity meant that a decision was made to give it another season (like you do). Because of that, and I'm spoiling now, the ending turns its final intended climax of 'the veteran's final season' and relationships with a younger generation into a 'you are not ready yet' ending, and chooses a character who is completely unsuited as its vehicle for that ending. This ends up breaking the emotional build-up quite badly and left a sour taste in my mouth. Not badly enough to ruin the rest of the story, as it's clear we've had *some* progression, but the pay-off was definitively not worth the set-up. For those who *have* seen the show, all I'm saying is they should have used Chris.

Character: 6/10 -- Good stuff in general, with two or three exceptions.

Being a character-driven drama, Yuri on Ice!! depends very much on a strong central cast and a good supporting gallery, something I must say it delivers on. Main character Yuri is a rather typical insecure milquetoast at the beginning of the show, albeit one that develops slightly as a character and also delivers enough depth to show that underneath his insecurities Yuri is a deeply driven and ambitious young man hobbled by a lack of self-love. Similarly, Victor initially comes across as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl (only, you know... A boy) who latches onto Yuri for reasons that don't seem very clear, and is similarly given increasing depth over the course of the show to display a former single-minded career man who has a deep respect and love for his pupil. The side characters run the gamut from hilariously overacted and clichéd to sufficently explored to count as human beings, being generally well-crafted for the purposes of filling out the world and some even having their own character arcs. It's solid stuff.

And then, there is the other Yuri, who is the definitive 'weak spot' of the whole thing. Look, I know that there are differences between people and young prodigies do exist, but the 16-year old super-genius special snowflake skater with mood swings and a default state of 'jerk' doesn't really spell 'good characterization' to me after all the shows I've seen where these people take centre stage, and making him Yuri's main rival and foil (the latter job Victor generally does better anyway) means he gets more of the limelight than I'd like. Especially as his main character arc has some definite problems compared to Yuri's. Even with this slight blemish, however, the anime has a solid positive character impression.

Value: 7/10 -- About as inoffensive as you can get from its genre, albeit said genre may not be 'something for everyone'.

When talking about Yuri on Ice!!'s 'value', we need to address the elephant in the room: A very core part of this show is a homosexual attraction between two of the leads, and what starts out as 'subtext' for fanservice becomes more and more 'text' as the show progresses. In this I feel it's important to distinguish 'homosexual relationship' or 'gay' from 'yaoi': As someone who has both read yaoi and experienced the real thing, I must say that yaoi is almost purely fetish and has about as much to do with 'real' homosexuality as the tsundere archetype has with real-life S&M. Yuri on Ice!!'s depiction of homosexuality is a source of 'value' in that it's the first 'mainstream' anime to do this: Sci-fi cult series No. 6 did it first, but No. 6 was not a particularly good anime anyway. On the other hand, this is obviously going to turn some people off the show. I mean, some people don't like romance, period. Others don't like moe. And so on. If you don't like gay relationships in your show, Yuri on Ice is obviously going to be a turn-off.

Beyond the main character romance, Yuri on Ice!! is a sports anime and follows a somewhat archetypical 'comeback' story arc for a sports tale, although not without putting a few twists on the proceedings, and its depiction of professional figure skating manages to be apparently realistic while still comprehensible for the layman -- I may not know entirely what a 'quad' is, or what a 'lutz' is, or how the points scoring system works, but I can see that the characters aren't breaking the laws of physics or 'real world' reality to accomplish something. I think that, like Akagi did for Mah-Jong, this show is scrupulous enough that I could probably 'get' a lot more of it if I was willing to put in some research and can still appreciate the drama.

Enjoyment: 8/10 -- May not get me into figure skating itself, but it made me appreciate the sport more.

Yuri on Ice!! had a good enjoyment factor to me. The story was fairly well paced and storyboarded, the characters were solid (for the most part) and drove the story onwards, the music was great and there were identifiable tropes, themes and a central narrative for my inner 'I am so smart' critic to analyse. The romance was sort of neat. I had a good time, with some laughs and a few feels.

Total: 7.5/10 (rounded up to 8/10) -- Competent where it counts and exceeding it on a few occasions. Maybe not a total 'history maker', but a worthy piece of history all the same.

Altogether, I must say I liked Yuri on Ice!! and I hardly seem to be alone in this. As a sports show goes, it's a bit cliché and the ending suffers from its own popularity, but with a steady progression and decent characters and plot. As a love story, it may be a little bit too careful for my tastes but it's steady and willing to chip at that wall to create that 'world where everyone is free to love each other', which I sincerely hopes it helps in doing. The two stories are melded together if not expertly then with solid competency, and supported by good production values that goes above and beyond both your average romance drama and your average sports show. It's my favourite show of 2016, for all that's a really low bar to clear, and I think it stands on its own as a pretty great example on how to do a show right even if you're not willing to be a complete innovator in general tone or story direction. And while I think the show fell a bit victim to its own success in the end, I'll be looking forward to the next season.

The highest rated new addition of the Fall 2016 season is a sports anime that offers to showcase a lesser known sport, figure skating. I found early in my anime career that a enjoy anime like that; learning some of the intricacies of sports I've never encountered is amusing. That aforementioned affection for the genre is the sole reason that I have yet to drop the below average All-out. Given the hype surrounding Yuri on Ice, I got into it with excitement.

The first episodes set the mood nicely, presenting our main character ,Yuri; the sport; the sport; the major players; and, of course, the drama. The creators seem to understand the building blocks of sports anime and do a good job utilizing them. One problem is the reasoning for the creation of the main pair; it was not believable at all, but they offer a cute justification towards the end, so it gets a passing grade.

After the stage is set, we begin the tournament portion of the anime -no surprises here. It is pretty interesting, with beautifully animated choreographies and an interesting cast of rivals.

One element I did not like was the continuous homosexual slapstick between (but not limited to) the main characters. The constant stream of gay gags was not funny at all; it seems to exist solely as a form of fan-service. In my opinion they should have gone with either some actual romance, or with a manly camaraderie theme.

Yuri on Ice attempts during its 12-episodes to run a full circle, which is admirable, but ultimately fails, because the ending was hollow and unsatisfactory. The writers went through the motions to offer a proper ending, but it did not resolve any of the underlying issues and it lacked a sense of epicness.

One could argue that I am asking too much out of 12 episodes, or even that the setting of a second season needs some sacrifices plot-wise; fine arguments, but I really think they could have done a better job writing the end.

Concluding, Yuri on Ice a good sports anime. It feels formulaic at times and suffers from a lukewarm ending, but it is a very enjoyable watch. Of course it is overrated; I do not know where did it got its hype from, but there are a lot of sports anime better than this. 7.0/10.