Yuri on Ice centers around Yuri Katsuki, a 23-year-old figure skater and his journey with his anxiety, as well as his relationships with the characters around him—most notably, his relationship with his skating coach and love interest, Victor Nikiforov.
Despite what you may think, Yuri on Ice is a show full of nuance and depth that deals with casual queer representation and heavier themes like mental health and self-confidence. Yet, at other times, the show’s humour and lighthearted scenes are absolutely on point.
So, here are some of the biggest reasons why you should watch Yuri on Ice.
The Animation, Music and Choreography
Fundamentally, what makes anime anime is, well… the animation. Yuri on Ice doesn’t always have flawless, outstanding animation. Some would even say that its animation is simply average more often than it is excellent. But for the most part, Yuri on Ice is a light hearted anime, and the animation style reflects that—it doesn’t take itself too seriously, unless it needs to. That’s why when it does, it is all the more breathtaking.
It is during the skaters’ performances that they go all out. The flawless animation is paired with excellent music and routines that were choreographed by Japanese figure skater, Kenji Miyamoto. Even if you do not have any prior knowledge of or interest in figure skating, the show explains everything in simple, easy to understand terms that help you to understand the stakes of the competitions, and you will be able to appreciate the beauty of it all.
Mental Health and Self-Confidence
From the get-go, Yuri on Ice doesn’t shy away from telling us that Yuri, the main character, struggles with things such as anxiety and self-confidence. In fact, more than the romantic aspects or the athletics aspects, it is these, more stigmatized topics that the show tends to center on. Yuri never truly “gets rid” of his anxiety, or his confidence issues, but that is never portrayed as the goal. Instead, the show portrays Yuri’s healthy development towards learning to live with these things and succeed despite them. He learns from them and creates healthy, give-and-take relationships with the people in his life who help him through the tough times.
The anime does not portray Yuri as someone who is just his mental health issues. Instead, it portrays Yuri as a nuanced human being who has mental health issues that he must live with, but it never lets those things define him.
Portrayals of Health Relationships
One of Yuri on Ice’s best qualities is that it portrays healthy, give-and-take relationships as the norm. Even between the figure skaters who are competing for first place, the environment is encouraging at best, and highly competitive at worst. Most of the athletes respect and admire each other, and portray great sportsmanship even when faced with great losses and high-pressure situations.
Between the main couple, Yuri and Victor, there are even more examples. When we are first introduced to the two characters, Yuri idolises Victor and looks up to him as a mentor, which could have led to a dynamic with a power-imbalance between them. However, as the series goes on, Yuri gets to know Victor as a person with flaws just as much as him, and by being there for each other and helping one another through rough patches, their relationship levels out into a more balanced one.
Queer Representation
One of the most well known things about Yuri on Ice is its queerness. In fact, this can be one of the reasons that some people are averse to the show; however, this is where the show truly shines.
One of the biggest complaints about Yuri on Ice is that the relationships in the story are simply queerbait. This take is something that I fundamentally disagree with.
There is a quote that a writer I know once told me. They said, “If your characters must kiss or be physically intimate with one another in order for the audience to understand that they love each other, then you aren’t writing the romance right.” Yuri on Ice embodies this sentiment through its casual yet serious portrayal of a queer relationship.
The development of Yuri and Victor’s relationship is realistic and believable. They go from practical strangers who know each other only through their careers, to two people who help each other grow and develop. In their dynamics, there is an absence of the explicit portrayals of sexuality that many people (especially in the West) have come to associate with romance and often, those of the LGBTQ+ community. Yet it is obvious how much they come to care for each other—in the grand moments like when they exchange promise/engagement rings and publicly share their first kiss, but also in the way that they are able to admit that they have grown as human beings thanks to each other. The writers of this story did not need to put these characters in an overly sexualized or stereotypical setting, because the characters were so well rounded-out.
Yet another factor that contributes to the excellent representation in the anime is that Yuri and Victor aren’t gay characters who just happen to be human beings—they’re human beings who just happen to be gay. Their queerness does not encompass their entire identities, nor does it invalidate their other experiences. The show does not flaunt the fact that they’re queer, they simply let the characters exist as people whose queerness is simply one part of their identities; one piece of the puzzle.
Finally, Yuri on Ice portrays gender identity as the nuanced, personal journey as it is. For one thing, when Yuri is practicing his skating routine, he struggles to fit the mold of the playboy that has been assigned to him. Despite practicing and trying his best, he ultimately discards the entire idea that he must embody traditional forms of masculinity in order to create a successful, true to himself performance. Instead, Yuri turns towards a significantly more feminine persona where he can truly express his sexuality and identity. He relates more to the feminine role than he ever could the masculine one, and the series portrays it as completely normal. Yuri is allowed to be himself and explore his identity without being held back by gender norms and other such labels.
Additionally, throughout the show, many of the male characters opt to dress and perform in more androgynous or feminine outfits. It is even shown that in the past, Victor had very long hair and presented himself in a more gender nonconforming way than he does in the present timeline. These parts of a character’s identity are delivered to the audience in a very real way that never feels forced or out of character. Ultimately, these are just different parts of a character’s identity that add up to define who they are, and that, in and of itself, is the causal representation that we all need.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I truly hope that you’ll give this anime a chance! Here is a link to a well-done video by queer youtuber, James Somerton about Yuri on Ice. He covers every point that I mentioned in the “queer representation” section of the blog, as well as exploring each topic in an in-depth way.
