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Skating isn’t just the context for the romance - it’s the heart of how Yuri and Viktor communicate and bond. Each character has their own distinctive style, and you watch them refine it episode by episode. In addition, the level of detail paid to the figure skating elements is outrageous. Yuri and Viktor aren’t yaoi puppets being smooshed together for cheap thrills - they’re rich, complex characters with a variety of wants and needs. So what is it about “Yuri on Ice” that finally broke through? It’s the depth and complexity of that representation.
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Many anime series have flirted with gay representation before. Upending gay stereotypes, both in anime and in Japanese society. Crunchyroll - the streaming service with exclusive rights - crashed under the pressure of too many users logging in to watch the finale. A report commissioned by Kadokawa Ascii Research Laboratories found that the show was the #1 anime mentioned on Twitter during its initial airing, with 1.4 million tweets compared to the runner-up’s 348,000. One would think that the controversial subject matter would make the show a tough sell, but what’s really remarkable is how “Yuri on Ice” has become a mainstream hit. And that’s what really drew people to a cartoon about figure skating. This inversion of the formula that the show had been following all season added unexpected depth. The show’s tenth episode introduced a surprising twist - a year before, Yuri had gotten drunk and asked Viktor to be his coach, actually initiating the relationship. On the way, romantic feelings flower between the two, but Viktor is always portrayed as the initiator, the one more confident in his body and his sexuality.
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Yuri is laid low by doubt, and Viktor heals him and brings him to meet his full potential. | Īt first, that dynamic seems pretty standard. ‘Yuri on Ice’ pays tribute to American figure skater Johnny Weir. The mutuality in their power dynamic is a big part of the show’s appeal.
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Viktor is older than Yuri, but he’s not grooming him for a relationship. It’s interesting to see how “Yuri on Ice” plays with these yaoi stereotypes, both embracing and dismantling them. Yaoi is also often tragic in tone, with these couples doomed to separate or worse. Many yaoi stories revolve around relationships between an older, dominant man and a younger, submissive one, dubbed “uke” and “seme.” That relationship can often border on abusive, both physically and mentally. But if you look to it for a healthy view of gay relationships, you’re likely to be disappointed. Called yaoi, it started in the early 1970s and has boomed in popularity since. In Japan, the majority of male-on-male romance and sex portrayed in comics and cartoons is made for women. But that comes with a caveat: it’s not necessarily being made for gay people to enjoy. There’s an unusually large amount of gay content in Japanese popular culture, however. Same-sex marriage is also still prohibited everywhere but a few parts of Tokyo (which didn’t issue its first same-sex marriage certificate until 2015). Civil rights laws nationwide don’t protect sexual orientation, and many gay men and women choose to stay closeted. Despite its status as an enlightened, modern democracy, there’s still a significant stigma against same-sex relationships.
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Homosexuality in Japan is a difficult proposition. What it was, though, was a clear and powerful indication of deep feelings between two men in a relationship that had been building for hours of animation. It wasn’t the climactic part of the episode. The kiss - a relatively chaste one, partially obscured by Viktor’s arm - wasn’t the first same-sex smooch in anime. The internet exploded with surprise and delight. Years later, a video of him skating goes viral online and attracts the attention of Victor Nikiforov, a Russian skater who seeks him out and offers to train him for a comeback.Įach episode is stuffed to the rim with drama, but the 12-episode first season (which just finished airing in Japan) showed its colors in the seventh, when Yuri and Viktor kissed for the first time. The titular Yuri is a young Japanese skater who retires from competition after a demoralizing loss. Let’s hit the rink to discover how this unusual hit is upending decades of LGBT representation in animation. But the show’s transformation of queerness from subtext to text is unprecedented.
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Produced by a relatively new studio named MAPPA, “Yuri On Ice” takes its cues from a lineage of sports cartoons, including “Slam Dunk” and “The Prince Of Tennis” - stories of young men working to beat the best and overcome personal problems. The athletes in question are male figure skaters, and you’re watching “Yuri On Ice,” the most unlikely breakthrough anime of the year.