I have a couple of corrections. Yuuri did not take up ice skating to "get that girl" he did it because his ballet teacher encouraged him to. The theme Yurio ends up skating to is not unrequited love, it's unconditional love.
The show wasnt "supposed to be a bunch of yaoi bait" the creators worked very hard to create such a vibrant cast with their own ambitions that love ice skating. They wanted to tell the story of a skater that fell in love with another skater, and how that love made him stronger. That love comes in all shapes and forms, no matter the gender. The main theme is the hardships of anxiety, which is why yuri doesnt have a main rival because his greatest enemy is himself. Yuri doesn't train to beat the others, only to make himself stronger and for Viktor. His love makes him stronger, hence being a huge plot point of the show.
Jordan Tai Thank you for this! :) This video made a few good points but misses a ton of important ones too. Like the fact that Yuuri himself helps Victor (and other characters) grow throughout the season and it's not a one way street. There is just so much more depth to the story and it's characters than is summarized here tbh. ;v;
I love the fact there isn't an antagonist alot of charaters were introduced as antagonists entill we got farther into their development .I think the reason there isnt an antagonist is because Yuri's main antagonist is himself and his emotions.
yeah ANXIETY is a bad bad bitch and its amazing how its written so well, and how he struggles with it, "self sabotage" included!!!! but how amazing Yuuri truly is as he gains more strength over it. It doesnt magically disappear like it would in a shallow show cured by Victor no its written RIGHT, but Victor in his life does help him gain strength and its all just so beautiful.
soulmistin I mean not really engaged.. Victor just stated they were and the kiss is debatable, because it was blocked by victor’s arm. So it could also been a hug. Don’t get me wrong I also ship Victuri. I think it’s the cutest thing. I’m just stating facts.
People who think Yuri On Ice is just "yaoi bait" clearly has no idea how the show works. Victor and Yuri are in a mutual relationship with each other. It's probably the most pro gay homosexual relationship I've seen on tv because it shows it as a completely normal relationship. There's nothing Yaoi about it. We finally have a perfect representation of gay couples and people want to call it yaoi and that what pisses me off about some people in this fandom. Victor and Yuri shows the struggle and benefits of the friendship and relationship they built through Victor becoming Yuri's coach. You get to how completely comfortable they are to express emotion to each other, especially Yuri. There's no one way street in their relationship(which in most animes you see) This is a beautiful ship so please don't say it's Yaoi when it's far from it.
Hyper Well, Yaoi has been described by the contributors/authors/artists of that genre as not meaning to reflect true gay relationships. It's meant to simply put two male characters into a specific set of circumstances that most gay couples don't actually face. That's why Yaoi often has everyone be a gay character (a potential rival from everywhere) or "willing to be gay for one specific male character," often includes "but we are both guys!!" as a main concern, and often has abusive/rape elements because it isn't meant to reflect real gay relationships, but rather gay relationships that fit into a specific "ideal" with "sexual payoff" and specific tropes (seme and uke, anyone?). The creators of Yuri On Ice, which showcases a realistic romantic relationship between two men, deciding that they don't want to refer to it as Yaoi makes a lot of sense if you understand that Yaoi isn't meant to reflect relationships like the one in the show. No one is saying you can't think of it as Yaoi if bunching unrealistic and realistic gay romance works better for you. And no one initially called you out personally for thinking this way. The original commenter's point is that people should RESPECT the creators' explanation of their creation because they CREATED it, so their interpretation reflects more upon the work than outsiders looking in, BUT that doesn't mean you can't have personal beliefs. However, you don't seem to have one ounce of respect for the creators of the show when you get salty at the mention of the creators' interpretation and take it as a personal attack. I hope you have a lovely day!
Besides. Yaoi is actually extremely offensive to the LGBT community. It's like a weird fetish to the people of the LGBT community and we really don't like something like that being pushed into a completely healthy and cute homosexual relationship. You can think whatever you like but if it's not Yaoi don't call it Yaoi
Hyper actually it is harm done because people are putting the world Yaoi in front of one of the first healthy and non fetish related homosexual relationship. It's like something you care about finally happened and people want to take that and turn it into something completely different. But trying to explain it to someone who won't know how it feels is pointless. But what I'm trying to get at is calling it Yaoi when the producers said it wasn't is not only offensive to the fandom members who hate it but it's also offensive to the producers who spent a long time trying to craft this perfect relationship only for people to turn it into a fetish. Please don't
Hyper I was just pointing out that because of your previous comment you don't get it then. If you can't understand that people can actually be offended by this stuff. If you only care about the content of the show then why are you arguing with me about the relationship if you don't care about it so much
Sadly not "officially" canon. If you see some people's reviews/reaction, it can STILL be interpreted that it was just a close friendship or something, or even bait, or a close relationship that's not necessarily romantic. Especially in the last 2 eps where their interactions were shown to not be that of what you would call a romantic couple. The dance in the last part of ep 12 being the only exception (which feels to me that its a "gift" for the fans who ship them) But I still ship them and they have the potential to be officially canon, if the writers intend to solidify it. (There were just physical moments left for interpretation, some confusing dialogue, and it stands on ambiguous and interpretative up until the end). It is so interesting what they manage to create though! I have never seen such widely different and defensive conclusions and opinions upon the interpretation of a series as I have with Yuri on ice. I spent hours just reading the discussion threads on myanimelist (on the validity of the canon; which in all respects, if it seems canon to fangirls, then I fully respect that! Just, not to me).They definitely did something revolutionary there, and nevertheless showed the mixture of things that fall under "love" in every way through Yuri. While I do have a few qualms with how it ended story-wise, I'm just looking forward to season 2 xD
Hyper Yuri is pretty unhealthy mentally, but I don't see how their relationship is? Yaoi most of the time is 'aaaaarrghghh I'm not gay I don't want this!' 'Yeah you do' 'No I don't'. And that over and over. Yuri x Victor seemed really natural, they care about eachother very much. No one cares it's 2 guys
Hyper I guess that's true hahaha. I wouldn't want a relationship like that in real life. But it still works for me since it's an anime, doesn't have to be super realistic. And it's a lot healthier that a lot of other shows so I enjoyed watching it ^^
The reason Victor was hitting on Yuuri was because the had met before (the banquet). Of course we find out Yuuri doesn't remember and we then realize why Victor was going Yuuri.
"homosexual undertones" my good dude its definitely not undertones i mean they kissed on the ice and are actually fiances, they sleep in the same bed in the later episodes (or rather, they push the hotel beds together to make one big bed) and they pair skate to a song about true love just sayin
I'm happy to see that there are people recognising what a beautiful anime it is, I've nearly cried at how many people have brushed it off as "Yaoi fanservice" and not gave it chance for the amount of raw emotions and character development it displays. but I have to comment, Yuri didn't take up ice skating for Yuko that's obvious - they said he was advised to take up ice skating after taking up ballet and he was inspired by Victor's skating to continue. also it certainly isn't undertones...they are technically engaged. But I think it's beautiful how they displayed it as a normal relationship that was built on getting to know each other and becoming close and not labeling it as a shounen-ai. This is a anime that needed to exist and I'm so glad it does.
"A show that was supposed to be a bunch of yaoi bait" It's NOT bait because there was payoff. Viktor kissed Yuri on live TV and Yuri proposed to Victor. Like they literally exchanged engagement rings and Viktor said they would get married as soon as Yuri won gold.. *it was never supposed to be bait.* The creators said they planned the entire season from the start.
Thank you! @no t cool NO yaoi baiting was happening in this series. IT IS GAY. Viktor and Yuri ARE A GAY COUPLE. So people please stop down playing this a yaoi baiting because it isn't. The LGBTQIA finally are being represented in a healthy light for once in anime and not as some sexy kinky yaoi shit for fan girls to gaw over for once. The show treats Yuri and Viktor like people and shows their relationship in a healthy way. Unlike sooooo many yaois out there and gives the viewers what they were wanting to see for them to get HOOK UP! That's an amazing pay off! So YOI is NOT yaoi baiting it's gay. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYY! Viktor and Yuri Kiss and get even engaged! Not only that there are signs that they might have even been sleeping together,(Not sure if there was sex or not but there are some signs) Honestly the only way this show could have gotten any gayer was if they'd fucked on screen.
Ok, but y'all ignoring aaalll the previous history of yaoi bait? No, yoi isn't yaoi bait, but holy fuck it sure looked like it would have been. Like, you know, pretty much every similar show out there? @Arik Burton you said it. The LGBT+ are FINALLY being represented well, and not for fanservice shit. That's why everyone was pleasantly surprised. Because this shit just doesn't happen. It's not bait, who said that? Why start shit over a sentence that literally says "SUPPOSED to"? It was a plausible belief considering anime history?
Hachi Owl Lord He literally said it was supposed to be a bunch of bait and then went off about "homoerotic undertones" and "coming out metaphors" for half the video. There are no undertones. There are no metaphors. THEY ARE GAY. To say two men kissing on screen as an undertone or Yuuri's journey as a metaphor is ignorant and honestly offensive to the people that worked on the anime? BECAUSE of that bait history, they deserve to be recognized by what they did. It's nice that he liked the anime but if he still thinks that it's not an explicitly gay relationship like...what was the point of anything?
Hachi Owl Lord The video said it was Yaoi bait which is not. I'm not starting shit. I'm simply pointing that out. (maybe not in mature fashion.) He is completely ignoring it and yea you're right it did seem like it was going to be yaoi bait but it isn't which is awesome. It's cannon. Also sorry if it seems like I was starting anything. I'm just annoyed about the fact that people keep ignoring the fact they ARE GAY. It was a huge step on their part to actually do that. To standout and make a cannon gay couple without yaoi stereotypes. I'm very happy to see that other people in the comment section pointed that out as well like no t cool did.
lol. when people started thinking they're both gay, it immediately comes to the mind that they kissed in that episode. It was a hug or a kiss, but to satisfy most fan-yaoi fans, i think Kubo-sensei might have given into it (what most fans craved-lol) and like, said, it's "in-tune" with another series where the casts kissed. like haha, have they made a like deal or what to sync the airing of those scenes at the same time? ok yea, maybe they did, but why look into it any deeper? and... yea,even though Yuri really is emotional (obviously), Viktor was something constant, like a goal, in his life ever since he was young, like omg, can anyone imagine a like a 6,8,10 years old Japanese child (uhmmm.... those in the orient are conservative esp. the younguns) having weird thoughts? (you guys get it?) Viktor really was just, Viktor. Flirty Viktor. (remember when Vitya thought that he has been neglecting "Life and Love" because of skating? I think he saw those in, and with Yuri) and those feelings of admiration of Yuri towards him just develops into that "'abstract' kind of love" as what Yuri had said in the early episodes. Yuri just wants to stay by Viktor, and as stupid as Yuri can get (I'm not really bashing Yuri ok? Who hates him?) aside from wining the gold medal the only other idea he had was Viktor's idea of getting married. Viktor was the Idol-turned-guardian-turned-bestfriend-turned-important one. They weren't lovers coz the obviously didn't really have the onscreen kiss. We had though of it, assumed it, some had begged and craved for it and Kubo-sensei may had just like 'rejectedly confirmed" that they kissed. I'm really gonna find an official picture of their onscreen kiss to say they are lovers. lol. ok peace guys. I'm out!!!!!! (this was really reaaaally long)
Forgot to mention: Giant pun. Ice is written in kana as "ai-su". "On Love" is said "On Aisu" or "On Ice". Giant, bloody, pun that I didn't realize until episode 11. Whole thing. Pun.
Um, I don't know what you're talking about, "On Love" in Japanese is "ai ni tsuite" (like Victor said in episode 3 when he was introducing Eros and Agape to Yuuri and Yurio; and it translates more like "concerning/regarding love", but that's nitpicking, the meaning stays the same), and "on aisu" is "on ice" (like Hot Springs on Ice was pronounced "onsen on aisu" in Japanese), so the pun would rather be that "aisu", ice in katakana, contains "ai", which also means "love" xD
it was so heartwarming to see the lgbt community in japan and abroad tweet at kubo every week how thankful they were for such a heartwarming and touching portrayal of a gay realtionship. it's really sweet to see. thanks for the analysis, glad to see someone shift their ideas on an anime that many thought was just going to be baiting, but turned out to be a beautifully executed and high-quality show all around. the show has really proved itself, you know? :)
Okay, I know you put a lot of effort into this video, and so I appreciate that you acknowledge how great and deep this show is, but... A lot of this video is wrong. It has gay undertones?! It's a metaphor for coming out?! Yuri started skating to get Yuko?! No, no, and no. First of all, Victor and Yuri are fucking engaged. There are no undertones. This is not Yaoi in any way. Plus, homophobia doesn't exist in this anime, according to the creator, so there is no big metaphor. And Yuri joined figure skating because of his idol, Victor, not for Yuko. Also, Victor doesn't comprehend Yuri's emotions when they meet. It takes time for both of them to open up and understand each other. Also, Eros means sexual love while Agape is unconditional love. There are 2 reasons Yuri gets Eros: One, Victor doesn't want Yurio, a fifteen year old, to be skating about Eros. Two, because Victor knows how much Eros Yuri actually has, thanks to the events of the banquet at the previous GPF. Speaking of the banquet, it's important to mention that Victor has in fact known Yuri since the banquet, and fell in love with him there, because Yuri showed him happiness after years of feeling like he had no inspiration. The reason Victor came to coach Yuri was because he was attracted to him, in love with him, and inspired by him. Tbh, it sounds like you didn't even really watch the show. Regardless of if you did or didn't, I don't think you really understood the true meaning behind it or the message that the creator was trying to convey. Sorry to be so harsh, but I care deeply for this show, and hate to see it misrepresented.
Yati Sanghvi yeah painting a rare portrayal of a loving happy canon gay relationship as "homosexual" subtext is flat out erasure. they kiss, they are engaged. episode 12 really seals the fact that they are unmistakably a couple. all please @ straight people: just say gay. it won't kill you. homosexual makes you sounds like some 1950s suburbanite.
Awkward moment when you get it wrong that Viktor and Yuri are engaged, but have the audacity to chew this guy out for misinterpreting things. XD Yuri bought those rings as a good luck charm. He says so himself that he wanted something tying him and Viktor to this competition forever. Those rings had the same meaning to Yuri as a charm bracelet do to any of us. He wanted a gold medal, so he got gold rings. To Viktor it is an engagement ring, because in Russia, they wear their wedding rings on their right hand ring fingers. In JAPAN they wear their wedding rings on their left hand, just like much of the western world. Yuri expected that the ring wouldn't be misinterpreted on the right hand because of his culture. The whole reason why Phichit thought they were engaged was because they also wear their rings on their right hands in Thailand. But it's why Chris asked what the rings were for, because in Switzerland, they wear them on the left. Can I agree with you that in episode 12 they are a couple? Sure! Of course. I can agree that at some point in time, Yuri did end up falling for Viktor. Abso-fucking-lutely and it's fantastic! But the initial reason for those rings wasn't for that purpose. Maybe it's just because I'm a performer myself that I understand the logic between the expressively inept ideas of Yuri, and because I had a coach and team captain much like Viktor who did a lot of the same things for me, as a person, as Viktor did for Yuri. But nowhere, in episode 10 did Viktor or Yuri make any proposals. Trust me, as much as I wanted it to happen, I did thorough research on it.
i think Yuri is helplessly in love with Victor even before the rings, but he has ANXIETY (with self sabotage and all) he doesnt DARE to go for such a big positive feeling unguarded and hopeful. I think he DOES know those rings mean far more tho (he f*ign STUTTERS in his inside monologue!!! about what the rings truly are, and thats an important detail) Besides "lucky charm" in japan is a BIG THING and it has deep and important meaning that he gave it to Victor and of it being gold ring. Its beautiful. Look it up :) i mean it :) Victor implies marriage MANY TIMES (the hopeless sap :3 ) and just remember Yuris REACTIONS to them!!!!! especially the last one before his final Free Skate Victor tells him to win a gold medal already, he wants to kiss the gold medal - then remember Yuris face and their strong reaction to this!!!!!! Victor basically says he wants to marry him already (reference: he "half jokingly??? implied" they will marry when Yuri wins a gold medal) THAT was not a proposal there beside the rink but a subtle big promise/declaration and they understood its depth fully, their reaction was ...omg... . By all means they ARE "engaged to each other" in every sense of the world except official marriage proposal :) those dorks i cant :333 If u didnt pick up on this in that scene i dont think u fully understood why were they acting as they did there. BUT i also can be wrong about this interpretation that feels clear and obvious to me, i am only an emotional human being and i can be wrong. Anyways, this is how i see this thing after all the research and thinking of my own :) Also thanks for the input about the others impressions about the rings i only knew the russians tradition. Now the others reactions make even more sense!
No the reviewer is right to pick up on these themes. While the show itself exists in a world where homosexuality is completely normalized, but contextually and thematically particularly in the first 7 episodes Yuri is learning to accept and love himself. His sexuality is one of these components which is unspoken, but is epitomized by the evolution of the Eros performance. At the beggining of the show it was quite clear that his love for the sport came from skating for Yuko, and it was his driving force earlier on albiet a bit weak. Yuri has always been emotional and an attatchment to another person has been necessary for his skating, thats what that scene showed us. I would say that what you've written here is pretty surface level, it seems you've paid attention to what went on in the show (story) , yes good job, but doesn't appear that you've comprehended the thematic construction of the show as the reviewer has. Rather than being 'harsh', I would reccomend listening to the video again. There could be more elaboration but the way he's talking about the show gives it more value than the way you're talking about it right now, and if you really love it and want to appreciate it more I think the latter option is better.
silreenjello there were about 2.5 seconds devoted to the fact that as a little kid he looked up to Yuuko and then immediately Viktor is portrayed as his driving force, his idol, and his inspiration. this is continued through throughout the series!! literally no need to condescend to anyone in this thread, as we will all bring our own experiences to this wonderful and complex story. I honestly have to say that IS homophobic to erase the fact that Yuuri and Viktor are blatantly a couple. additionally, it is homophobic to assume that because there is a very slight theme of self-acceptance, which I think is very overshadowed by other themes anyways, and there are gays, the self-acceptance HAS to tie in to being gay. for every gay story to have to include difficulty accepting being gay and angst and struggles is fucking awful to have to see. one of the reasons I like yuri on ice so much is because it doesn't pull that crap, and to watch this story and get OH A BIG THEME IS ACCEPTING YOU'RE GAY out of it is like the epitome of straight people reaching
since i'm not tottaly fluent in english so i'm not sure if i heard right but....Did you say that Yuri picked ice-skating in hope to get Yuuko ? ("that girl") As far as i remember it was because he was impressed by Viktor performance (or maybe i'm wrong and i should rewatch the first ep)
At first I thought it seemed like Yuri had a crush on Yuko but then I realised he didn't -I think he was just inspired by Victor and enjoyed ice skating in general
witchgroup yuuko was the most successful hetbait ever. Ive been watching yuri on ice since episode 1 was released and I was totally amused while watching reactions of people thinking yuuko was gonna be the love interest and you can imagine the varying degrees of disappointment when they crushed that ship in episode 1 lol. its not like the show made it subtle that they're building up viktor as love interest and the relationship between yuuri and victor but there are still people desperate for a het ship they tried to ship yuuri with minako sensei and even later on with sara crispino who apparently actually has a crush on seung gil lol.
I really loved this analysis, but i would also like to add how huge of a role victor and yuri's relationship plays. Through the incredibly mature way their relationship grows, both yuri AND victor gain things from their love. The explanation of what victor has gone through and gained is done masterfully, especially in episode 10. We get the huge reveal about victors motivations and how meeting yuri sparked them. And all of this is done without blatant exposition or dialouge. Kubo Mitsurou practically wrote 2 stories in one show.
The relationships in this one are so pure it makes me so happy Kubo deserves way more love tbfh she's amazing Showing how Yuuri's and Victor's love is blooming without having to say "I love you" this is genius i loved this
no offense but a lot of the stuff you said was wrong. and the one thing that made me laugh was when you said "undertones". my dude.... they're literally engaged to be married. but at least you enjoyed the anime. i love yoi so much so im glad others share my feelings.
Hyper When the creator says 'Yes that is a kiss' it means intepretation is legit no longer required. It isnt -grey- or between the lines, denying a gay relationship when it's literally right there is homophobic af
***** The fact that Yuuri and Viktor are now engaged makes them very much a gay couple lol. As someone who is Lesbian, if you were to kiss me in that manner and go the next day 'yeah no I'm not into girls' then actually we have an issue. It wasn't a peck on the cheek, it was a mouth on mouth kiss, this series protrays a healthy gay relationship and when you erase that shit and say something gross like 'it's up to interpretation' when the creator has gone on twitter and confirmed 'yup they're gay, yup it's a kiss, yup they're gonna get married' then that's homophobic as fuck.
GenesisMoonstalker I can now see why Tumblr says straight people are so toxic as fuck. 'I have 3 otps that gays therefore I can't be homophobic' is a stupid argument, straight boys and girls get off on gays and lesbians but a majority of them are homophobic outside of it. I've met loads of guys who would pay to see me kiss a girl but in terms of LGBTQ rights, they're with the 'say nothing, keep it hidden' crowd. Your 'I ship gay boiiisss !!¡¡!' means nothing to me. Like legit, next time a gay person goes 'yeah no what you said is pretty homophobic actually' and you reply with 'I ship gay people' you're not proving anything aside from you see us as merely fantasies you get off on. Viktor kissed Yuri on the lips in pure joy. Kubo released a tweet stating how much she will protect the world YOI where it is non discriminatory on love. look at it like this, when straight anime characters gets rings, no one ever questions anything and agrees that 'yeah they're engaged, yeah they're married'. I don't get why Kubo has to explicitly tell you 'look they're married' when they have rings just like ??? I'm not sure how blunt you can be after that?
GenesisMoonstalker I'm just gonna be blunt, but I'm beginning to feel like you don't grasp what engagement is, or understand the importance of it? Like no one gets engaged as friends. You didn't need to prove anything, the way you speak and reduce LGBTQ relationships to jerk off material already shows that you don't see us as anymore than porn fodder for your fantasies. LGBTQ people don't owe you kindness, and we don't need your fake ally support. Although I feel all your LGBTQ friends and family will feel a bit sad though no? Yuri on Ice has been seen by numerous people as an LGBTQ friendly anime with the creator who evidently supports and is a fan of Victor and Yuuri being together. In Olympics, Skaters and coaches are quite affectionate and often hug each other post routines, a kiss on ice is quite alright since there were skater who proposed on the ice.
ehh no. he picked eros to take him out of his comfort zone. Is something all artists teachers do to students in some point of life. I knew from tha start yuri will get eros for that same reason. And was right XD
This is also a great anime BY FAR, because.. notice on how there's no antagonist? The only antagonist in this is Yuri himself. He has to fight his way through anxiety, depression and all that stuff, and Victor helped him our a WHOLE LOT. This really tells a lesson out there to everyone but I just don't know how to put it into words. Also this Video is GREAT 👌👌👌👌
Yuuri and Viktor are a canon couple, the creators and cast confirmed this. It's literally just a sports anime with a canon gay couple, no bait or undertones.
I've already watched the series multiple times because I take away new things each time I watch it. It's full of themes and symbolism and I can't believe I almost didn't watch it at all because I thought it would be shallow. Boy was I wrong, it's the most inspiring anime I've ever seen and is now my all time favorite.
Loved the video, loved the subject and I might sound weird but i loved your voice too lmao but one tiny little problem is when you said that Yuuri started skating because he wanted to get that girl but he actually started because it was fun for him and while his friend the girl did it then he followed her and then took major interest after seeing Viktor being the good ass skater he is
Great effort, but I think you've misread it in some ways quite severely. Firstly, to talk about "undertones" of homosexuality is so, so not right. I think the show makes adequately clear that it focuses upon a gay relationship, but- I assume- commands subtlety to avoid getting caught up in, for example, Russia's 'gay propaganda' laws. Yet I don't see how you can fathom it as being in 'undertones'. If we were to talk about Seung-Gil Lee's character, that's different again- I interpret his character as being a clever play on a number of stereotypes (gay being one of them), but I could well be wrong. That's my completely subjective opinion. But the show is, objectively, a homosexual relationship. I'd go so far as to say it is 'predominantly about' one.
I mean, it is pretty clear that the show is meant to portray a healthy gay relationship that is normal. I mean compared to other media that popularly portrays same gender relationships which tend to focus on 1) coming out 2) homophobic violence. Yuri on Ice does away with that and you see two characters learn to be supportive romantic partners to one another. I feel like the maker of this video missed the point.
Despite some little facts that could have been corrected here and there.... boi I was smiling my way through this entire video and you know what it's really hard to fight down a smile that big omg I love this video. You mentioned all the key things which is why I'll forgive them tiny mistakes cause I pretty much love your analysis and it got me so dAMN HAPPY- however it is true that a couple things were wrong, like, Yuuri didn't exactly take up skating to get Yuuko, or the whole yaoi thing is wrong too, yaoi is basically sexual love between males, a shounen-ai is what is portrayed here, that focuses on the romantic love, but like I said, you DID get right on how that isn't even the main plot of the show, it's the skating, which is why Ima let most of it go and check out your other videos. bless keep it up
Idk if I'd call it yaoi bait since their romantic love for one another is so canon. This is such a positive and well made video, though! Also, so happy they're engaged ❤️😂
well he didn't go into it much but he did say it wasn't just yaoi bait, since a lot of sport animes do that. People expected it to be yaoi bait but then we got a real relationship out of it and it was great!
This anime is so precious and what I love the most was how show perfectly the anxiety and low self-esteem are because all the characters are very humans. And I agree with you about how emotional is this show, that make it so very interesting to see and not just for the female public, I think. I like so much this video, thumbs up. (Sorry, my english is so bad)
Sarahi Vieyra Haha I like the term 'female public' 😂 ('Ladies' might be better in future 😛) I totally agree btw 😊 It's great to see such a well-rounded cast
It’s refreshing to see a video about how great YOI is. I see so many videos with people complaining about several things. One I see often is about how “ugly” the animation is when the characters are skating. One thing I have to say to that is, seriously? Have you ever tried animation? Ok I know some people are gonna be all like, “animation isn’t that harrrdddd bluahgdshaushj” but I mean c’mon. Ice skating is a sport where you are constantly moving, and it’s usually more exaggerated, intense spins and movements; which in turn means more frames and more time needed to animate. Plus they add color and have correct animation for all the moves??? Which brings me to another complaint I often see. *”if we don’t know jack about ice skating, why put in the correct movents? It’s pointless.”* Now let’s be honest... if the movement weren’t correct, people who actually skated would complain.... so might as well do it right cause people gonna be people and complain anyway, that’s just how humanity is unfortunately... another complaint I see a lot is tied to the previous one *”the anime doesn’t teach us anything about ice skating, so I can’t even tell what the difference between the moves is!”* Again, people are gonna complain even if the animation is just random moves that look like skating. And why are you watching anime to learn about ice skating? Do your own research, take up ice skating yourself, HECK JUST DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW THE ANIME ISNT EDUCATIONAL! THAT ISNT THE MAIN POINT OF THIS ANIME! Thank you if you read all that, I really needed to get that of my chest... and remember... *WE WERE BORN TO MAKE HISTORY!* ❤️
I see you put a lot of effort into your vid and commend that. I believe you got some things wrong .Eros is sexual love not passionate. They are different. Apage is unconditional love not unrequited. These are completely different. Getting these wrong lessen your point that yuri because you got big themes of this show wrong. Also, that moment didn't show vikor as a genius. If you watched the end of episode 10 you would see that viktor fell in love with yuri right after yuri dry humped him. Viktor had a sexual love for him and found yuri sexual. This is why until the last episode yuri is skating to seduce viktor. Also, why viktor is obviously hitting on yuri since the first episode. your comment " His fears of lust to his fear of disappointment in viktor" is invalid. His lust for viktor brought out his skating by trying to impress him throughout the show. Yuri even said when practicing dancing that he is trying to seduce viktor by skating (this is lustful). Also, something I see a lot of reviewers( not just anime reviewers) do is try to create meaning out of everything. This was not a metaphor for coming out of the closet.Fact homophobia didn't exist in this anime. There is not enough evidence to prove this point. Also, to prove this point you just preached instead of connecting it to the shows and giving concrete scenes that could prove this.Homophobia was not existence in this show, so you would have to really stretch this show to create that conclusion. One of your claims was not everyone gets a viktor to help you. I don't see how this connects to this anime being about coming out of the closet and furthermore why this anime works. Also, if you are going to say in the beginning that you that you will explain why, how and what. You should probably use tigger words throughout your video, so that the audience can see what is the why, how, and what. I personally could not pick up on it. I hope you read this comment and understand that this is just criticism. I hope your channel the best.. cheers mate
eggcoco Thanks for your input. One of the things I was taught was when being properly critiqued is to not make any excuses. I think just about everything you said was true and I will be trying to improve my content. But this video was right in the middle of my 12 days of anime challenge where I had to crank out a video a day. Sorry but I can assure most of my content doesn't have this many mistakes and will be more thought out from now on. Sorry for breaking my no excuses rule ;)
eggcoco I believe there was some homophobia. With Yurio saying that Victor was dead. (After everyone found out about the promise rings) But this could also mean he was just dead as a skater since he hasn't skated recently.
Dazzle magic I thought Yurio was homophobic after that scene too, but it was literally said by Kubo (the creator of the whole story etc) that their world is free of love judgement, you can fall in love with whoever you want without being looked down upon.
Dazzle magic true but yurio was just jealous. Viktor said it himself that yurio was upset he would never beat him. Viktor getting married was the same to yurio as viktor ending his skating career. (Without allowing yurio the chance to beat him before then.) I don't think he was really against the two and their romance. This is one of the rare moments I would agree with fans in their deeming yurio to be the son of viktor and yuri. Yurio does act like their angsty teenage son that hates his parents,etc.
To the comments below - What's with the bashing? 'Undertones' don't have to be subtle - and there is an undercurrent of yaoi underneath the ice skating that pushes the series forward. I think this video's great. I mean the anime isn't just a romance, and everyone gets something different from it. I think that's the beauty of YOI.
I think the problem people have is when people call it "yaoi" (which is a genre of anime that pairs men exclusively to bait straight women) as opposed to just a romance
The creators worked really to bring us an amazing series while portraying a truly heathly relationship that didn't have to be made into a big deal. No matter who you have a relationship with, it should be accepted without hate. Victor and Yuri's relationship is a hella lot more believable and real then any shoujo type series I've seen.
This show was NEVER meant to be "Yaoi bait" - it was meant took be the opposite. Instead of objectifying homosexual men and actions, it sought to normalize homosexuality, by developing an emotionally healthy and mature gay relationship in a story that was not focused on homosexuality - revealing love between two men as natural and part of life - the save way heterosexual love is.
It also works because of multiculturalism - many characters from different countries, two main characters are Russians which means Russian food (pirozhki and borscht), ballet and language (vkusno!). It makes Yuri on Ice pretty unusual and even exotic. I personally love how realistic they draw all the locations and objects - Barcelona, Sochi, Moscow and St. Petersburg. The anime got me when I saw the Iceberg Skating Palace and Yuri Plisetsky's hoodie in the first episode!
I think this perfectly describes the show!!! There are so many themes and the show is so deep. And it's also a show that just makes you genuinely happy. I know that My co creator and both found ourselves cheering for everyone, not JUST for Yuri to win. It made you think, and it made you feel, and it makes you see things from different angles. All in all, we loved it and have already recorded out next song based on this Anime💖🙌🏻
Fundamentally the reason this anime did so well is because it told the rebirth myth properly. Yuri had to let part of himself die in order to be reborn/transformed into a new Yuri. He voluntarily faced the dragon within him, of course with the help of Viktor. I disagree that his fears "merely shifted", they died with that part of his personality only to be reborn into something new, rooted in love and belief in himself, which is the most beautiful part in my opinion. All in all it was a great story and I especially loved the soundtrack.
Yo I hate sports anime because it's always yaoi bait but this one was an exception it's an amazing series so far lol awesome video btw really glad to see multiple themes being portrayed in this whacky ice skating anime haha
Midorilife ah gotchu, guess I judge sports anime too much thinking they're all yaoi bait cause all the fandoms have ships (nothing wrong with that) and it turns me off from watching it tbh
I think a lot of people calling sports animes "yaoi bait" is a bit of the fandom reading into it. Lack of any kind of representation (in this case LGBTQ+) has people making up the representation they want to see. Another good example of this is Harry Potter, where people have gay ships because there are no canon LGBTQ+ characters in the series.
i appreciate your analysis of of yuri on ice as a coming out story. There's a lot of subtlety in the growth of all the characters and their relationships with each other, and the main focus being Yuuri's growth and acceptance and confidence in himself. So thanks for that, it was refreshing to hear :) happy new year!
huh- Yuri didn't start ice skating to "get the girl"... he started because his ballet teacher encouraged him too. If you really want to say he continued ice skating for someone, ig you could say he did it to "get the guy" in way. He was OBSESSED with Viktor from a young age and literally got engaged to him on screen.
Except it's not yaoi bait at all, but confirmed by Kubo that she intentionally created an anime about homosexuality without all the fuss about repressed feelings, etc.
"Supposed to be yaoi bait" "homosexual undertones" : ^ ) someone missed the point. You make it sounds like the show was written as "we're gonna make this as low key gay as possible to get views" but the show creator stated that she had intentions of having this relationship flourish in a natural and genuine manner. It was never "yaoi bait" because the pay off was set from episode one, as seen with the reveal of the banquet scene and Viktor's immediate infatuation with drunk Yuuri. That "homosexual undertone" is the way an honest LGBT+ relationship on screen with out making it the focal point of the series. The subplot is how the two skaters grow with each other and fall in love.
That;s the point. I hear everyone exclaim, "Oh, Yuri on Ice is SO gay!" But it's really not. Yes, its gay, but that's not the main point. The show isn't all about homosexuality, and that's one of the things I love most about this show. The metaphor, the hidden messages, and how deep it really goes. Thanks for putting all of that into words; this was great! :D
For me it was also about picking yourself up when you have fail and trying again. It was about believe in yourself but not tearing down others. Yuri and Yurio excelled by being their best while JJ fell when he focused on tearing other down.
[RANT WARNING] ⚠️ It pisses me off when people say “omeged how is the genre not yaoi, they’re clearly gay”. No, stop right there. At best, yaoi is about a shy straight af young bottom that gets hit on by a (usually) significantly older, super masculine guy who is gay. The bottom hates it at first (often resulting in rape) but miraculously “falls in love “ because PLOT. Or fanservice . And then people say “IM SO PRO LGBT CUZ I WATCH YAOI”. Oh no you don’t. It’s like a guy saying “I watch lesbian porn therefore I’m pro gay rights”. You’re only “supportive” for your own gain or pleasure. The whole idea of yaoi is putting EMPHASIS on the gay relationship, which abnormalises it even further. While Yuri on ice just carries on with the initially intended SPORTS genre, and adds a relationship into to mix to make it even more enjoyable WITH NO SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON WHO IT IS because it doesn’t matter whether you are gay or not, LOVE IS LOVE. Thank you, **mic drops**
I have already watched it and I loved it!!! I can't wait until it comes out on DVD and I soooo want the soundtrack...if they make one for it...they totally should!! XD. I love how sweet and how much the characters had to work at what they wanted to accomplish. Also it was great how they used such beautiful music throughout the show. The emotion in this show, omg!! I love what happens with two of the characters and how the show doesn't just throw it out there in words, it's expressed...ALOT! in actions and that is so beautiful :). All in all it's a beautiful, amazing and inspiring anime, that when you work hard and have people in your life that help you in ways that work for you then you can do anything!! It's really inspiring!! Plus it's funny too *giggles* :).
he did not start ice skating because he was in love with her.... he admired her but it was clear in the show that that was it, and that he was crushing on victor since he was little..... take your hetero-goggles off
I really loved this show and how it didn't have the typical yaoi story. It was really kind to the LGBT community with the way it didn't emphasize the fact that Yuri and Victor are homosexual like it's something that makes the unique. They were unique because they were really fleshed out characters with their own story and feelings that weren't based on their sexual orientations.
Thank you for this review of Yuri on Ice! As a former skater, this show took me by surprise mainly because, well, it's ANIME + FIGURE SKATING. I was seriously afraid of how my favorite sport was going to be portrayed. Not to mention all the incredibly complicated technical and artistic components... But thankfully, Yuuri and all the other skaters (plus the genius of the creator and all the highly involved research they did), did not fail to amaze, astound, shock and surprise. I really loved the series and you went over some key points I hope more people will pay attention to! In any case, thank you and keep up the good work!
This makes so much sense and what I been thinking through the whole time. I just think it's cute and genuine how yuri and Victor interact. I love all the characters even the duche jj they all are fun and talented people and have there own struggles. I cried in some the episodes
Excellent analysis! I agree, it's so heart-warming to see people who don't watch the BL genre of anime giving Yuri on Ice a fair watch and sincerely enjoying it (as it deserves because it's got genuinely beautiful/meaningful story, animation, characters, music, and so on) because we've come far enough as a society to watch and enjoy stories about all kinds of people, even those who have different sexualities, etc, from ourselves. Yuri's story of coming to terms with himself, his sexuality (both being gay/bi and *being* a sexual person/discovering his sensual side) was both inspiring and moving in how vulnerable he made himself to let us/Viktor share his journey of growth with him. It's a really excellent coming-of-age story that I feel nearly all young adults would benefit from watching.
Well spoken and written, a little short though. I think your thoughts are well worth a longer video, soa subscription from me and I hope to see you update a little more content on Yuri on Ice since there IS alot to talk about. Taking advantage of the hype and momentum right now could be advantageous.
I think the last two episodes were rushed as hell, they could have done at least a 13th episode...just for the sake of art. but besides that, it was really good. I agree! ♥
yes so SAD!!! Missed out too much like this :( but they got this much time green light :( Im especially sorry for missing out Yurios EXHIBITION of "welcome to this madness" omg??? did u hear the ost? it would have been EPIC. It was planned then they couldnt squeeze in :((( and also the stay close to me we didnt see it full :( and what about everyone else after the final skate? ah... sad.
Chinxize4 Haha - for the sake of *art* **nudge nudge wink wink** Yeah it would have been great to get some more content in. Still, I think the pacing was perfect considering they only had 12 episodes to work with. In an ideal world I would want it to go on forever though ^~^
"homosexual undertones"
THEY ARE QUITE LITERALLY ENGAGED.
(Yuri and Viktor get married on screen)
Wow....all these undertones....what is the metaphor they are trying to tell me i wonder...................
*Starts looking for the cliched closet* "Aha, now I can downplay and misconstrue Yuri's anxiety into a tired cliche while ignoring the actual plot"
Aitana Arguedas YEAH
it is actually confirmed on the wiki that yuuri is viktor's fiance
I've seen people debating whether they're actually engaged or not. Dear lord i hope they are though.
I have a couple of corrections. Yuuri did not take up ice skating to "get that girl" he did it because his ballet teacher encouraged him to. The theme Yurio ends up skating to is not unrequited love, it's unconditional love.
Yeah, when I heard that part I was like hOLd uP-
Thumbs down clickbaitable
The show wasnt "supposed to be a bunch of yaoi bait" the creators worked very hard to create such a vibrant cast with their own ambitions that love ice skating. They wanted to tell the story of a skater that fell in love with another skater, and how that love made him stronger. That love comes in all shapes and forms, no matter the gender. The main theme is the hardships of anxiety, which is why yuri doesnt have a main rival because his greatest enemy is himself. Yuri doesn't train to beat the others, only to make himself stronger and for Viktor. His love makes him stronger, hence being a huge plot point of the show.
Jordan Tai Thank you for this! :) This video made a few good points but misses a ton of important ones too. Like the fact that Yuuri himself helps Victor (and other characters) grow throughout the season and it's not a one way street. There is just so much more depth to the story and it's characters than is summarized here tbh. ;v;
Jordan Tai .....you spelled Victor's name wrong.....you put 'Viktor'.....
lmao does it matter u still know who it is
Jordan Tai I know!!!😊 just pointing out the obvious
Death Time I mean, Viktor is the actual Russian spelling so it's not really wrong lol
Uh, it's not "unrequited" love. It's unconditional love. Big difference.
that's what I was thinking. Glad someone mentioned it ^^
I love the fact there isn't an antagonist alot of charaters were introduced as antagonists entill we got farther into their development .I think the reason there isnt an antagonist is because Yuri's main antagonist is himself and his emotions.
yeah ANXIETY is a bad bad bitch and its amazing how its written so well, and how he struggles with it, "self sabotage" included!!!! but how amazing Yuuri truly is as he gains more strength over it. It doesnt magically disappear like it would in a shallow show cured by Victor no its written RIGHT, but Victor in his life does help him gain strength and its all just so beautiful.
This is why I love the show
AbsolutelyAngelica Nice point!
AbsolutelyAngelica THIS
WHOA!
"Homosexual undertones" they're engaged and kissed on live tv, I wouldn't exactly call that undertones.
wait e n g a g e d ?DID I MISS AN EPISODE????
@@alschn7620 ep 10
@@jadeblouissant right, my apologies, i was squealing was too loudly to hear what they actually said at that moment.
soulmistin I mean not really engaged.. Victor just stated they were and the kiss is debatable, because it was blocked by victor’s arm. So it could also been a hug. Don’t get me wrong I also ship Victuri. I think it’s the cutest thing. I’m just stating facts.
@@artemis754 the creator said their togather and that it was a kiss
People who think Yuri On Ice is just "yaoi bait" clearly has no idea how the show works. Victor and Yuri are in a mutual relationship with each other. It's probably the most pro gay homosexual relationship I've seen on tv because it shows it as a completely normal relationship. There's nothing Yaoi about it. We finally have a perfect representation of gay couples and people want to call it yaoi and that what pisses me off about some people in this fandom.
Victor and Yuri shows the struggle and benefits of the friendship and relationship they built through Victor becoming Yuri's coach. You get to how completely comfortable they are to express emotion to each other, especially Yuri. There's no one way street in their relationship(which in most animes you see) This is a beautiful ship so please don't say it's Yaoi when it's far from it.
Hyper it's really not an opinion when the producers themselves said it wasn't Yaoi and they didn't want it referred as Yaoi
Hyper Well, Yaoi has been described by the contributors/authors/artists of that genre as not meaning to reflect true gay relationships. It's meant to simply put two male characters into a specific set of circumstances that most gay couples don't actually face. That's why Yaoi often has everyone be a gay character (a potential rival from everywhere) or "willing to be gay for one specific male character," often includes "but we are both guys!!" as a main concern, and often has abusive/rape elements because it isn't meant to reflect real gay relationships, but rather gay relationships that fit into a specific "ideal" with "sexual payoff" and specific tropes (seme and uke, anyone?).
The creators of Yuri On Ice, which showcases a realistic romantic relationship between two men, deciding that they don't want to refer to it as Yaoi makes a lot of sense if you understand that Yaoi isn't meant to reflect relationships like the one in the show.
No one is saying you can't think of it as Yaoi if bunching unrealistic and realistic gay romance works better for you. And no one initially called you out personally for thinking this way. The original commenter's point is that people should RESPECT the creators' explanation of their creation because they CREATED it, so their interpretation reflects more upon the work than outsiders looking in, BUT that doesn't mean you can't have personal beliefs. However, you don't seem to have one ounce of respect for the creators of the show when you get salty at the mention of the creators' interpretation and take it as a personal attack.
I hope you have a lovely day!
Besides. Yaoi is actually extremely offensive to the LGBT community. It's like a weird fetish to the people of the LGBT community and we really don't like something like that being pushed into a completely healthy and cute homosexual relationship.
You can think whatever you like but if it's not Yaoi don't call it Yaoi
Hyper actually it is harm done because people are putting the world Yaoi in front of one of the first healthy and non fetish related homosexual relationship. It's like something you care about finally happened and people want to take that and turn it into something completely different.
But trying to explain it to someone who won't know how it feels is pointless.
But what I'm trying to get at is calling it Yaoi when the producers said it wasn't is not only offensive to the fandom members who hate it but it's also offensive to the producers who spent a long time trying to craft this perfect relationship only for people to turn it into a fetish. Please don't
Hyper I was just pointing out that because of your previous comment you don't get it then. If you can't understand that people can actually be offended by this stuff.
If you only care about the content of the show then why are you arguing with me about the relationship if you don't care about it so much
It's not yaoi-bait because they're actually canon????
It's not yaoi also,it's a equal gay couple.
Victor is gay. What?
Beth Anthony duh
Karlie Yanchick what
Sadly not "officially" canon. If you see some people's reviews/reaction, it can STILL be interpreted that it was just a close friendship or something, or even bait, or a close relationship that's not necessarily romantic. Especially in the last 2 eps where their interactions were shown to not be that of what you would call a romantic couple. The dance in the last part of ep 12 being the only exception (which feels to me that its a "gift" for the fans who ship them)
But I still ship them and they have the potential to be officially canon, if the writers intend to solidify it. (There were just physical moments left for interpretation, some confusing dialogue, and it stands on ambiguous and interpretative up until the end). It is so interesting what they manage to create though! I have never seen such widely different and defensive conclusions and opinions upon the interpretation of a series as I have with Yuri on ice. I spent hours just reading the discussion threads on myanimelist (on the validity of the canon; which in all respects, if it seems canon to fangirls, then I fully respect that! Just, not to me).They definitely did something revolutionary there, and nevertheless showed the mixture of things that fall under "love" in every way through Yuri. While I do have a few qualms with how it ended story-wise, I'm just looking forward to season 2 xD
Also, Yaoi most of the time contains really unhealthy relationships. Victor/Yuri just feels not forced at all
Hyper Why?
Hyper Yuri is pretty unhealthy mentally, but I don't see how their relationship is? Yaoi most of the time is 'aaaaarrghghh I'm not gay I don't want this!' 'Yeah you do' 'No I don't'. And that over and over. Yuri x Victor seemed really natural, they care about eachother very much. No one cares it's 2 guys
Hyper I guess that's true hahaha. I wouldn't want a relationship like that in real life. But it still works for me since it's an anime, doesn't have to be super realistic. And it's a lot healthier that a lot of other shows so I enjoyed watching it ^^
Hyper did we just have a respectful conversation where we discussed our opinions? This isn't the internet I know XD
The reason Victor was hitting on Yuuri was because the had met before (the banquet). Of course we find out Yuuri doesn't remember and we then realize why Victor was going Yuuri.
I wish I had a Viktor in my life
Jack/marksenpai Yaaas me tho
Tbh I want a Yuri in my life :) But a Viktor is nice too... Idk who to choose lolololol
God, don't we all?
Me too, but I want a Yurio is my life too..
Can't we just have Vitya, Yuri and Yurio? :D
It's so fun seeing the three of them interact XD
"homosexual undertones" my good dude its definitely not undertones i mean they kissed on the ice and are actually fiances, they sleep in the same bed in the later episodes (or rather, they push the hotel beds together to make one big bed) and they pair skate to a song about true love just sayin
PrincessElinori i don't think they kissed. Its not comfirmed
PrincessElinori their heads could have been side to side
+PhanEdiits it is confirmed.
JustACrazyCollector❤ where?
How is confirmed?
I'm happy to see that there are people recognising what a beautiful anime it is, I've nearly cried at how many people have brushed it off as "Yaoi fanservice" and not gave it chance for the amount of raw emotions and character development it displays. but I have to comment, Yuri didn't take up ice skating for Yuko that's obvious - they said he was advised to take up ice skating after taking up ballet and he was inspired by Victor's skating to continue. also it certainly isn't undertones...they are technically engaged. But I think it's beautiful how they displayed it as a normal relationship that was built on getting to know each other and becoming close and not labeling it as a shounen-ai. This is a anime that needed to exist and I'm so glad it does.
Izzy Gordon Preeeach
Love this anime for the story and character development
This is second favorite sport anime right next too Haikyuu!
"A show that was supposed to be a bunch of yaoi bait"
It's NOT bait because there was payoff. Viktor kissed Yuri on live TV and Yuri proposed to Victor. Like they literally exchanged engagement rings and Viktor said they would get married as soon as Yuri won gold.. *it was never supposed to be bait.* The creators said they planned the entire season from the start.
Thank you! @no t cool
NO yaoi baiting was happening in this series. IT IS GAY. Viktor and Yuri ARE A GAY COUPLE. So people please stop down playing this a yaoi baiting because it isn't. The LGBTQIA finally are being represented in a healthy light for once in anime and not as some sexy kinky yaoi shit for fan girls to gaw over for once.
The show treats Yuri and Viktor like people and shows their relationship in a healthy way. Unlike sooooo many yaois out there and gives the viewers what they were wanting to see for them to get HOOK UP! That's an amazing pay off! So YOI is NOT yaoi baiting it's gay. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYY!
Viktor and Yuri Kiss and get even engaged! Not only that there are signs that they might have even been sleeping together,(Not sure if there was sex or not but there are some signs)
Honestly the only way this show could have gotten any gayer was if they'd fucked on screen.
Ok, but y'all ignoring aaalll the previous history of yaoi bait? No, yoi isn't yaoi bait, but holy fuck it sure looked like it would have been. Like, you know, pretty much every similar show out there? @Arik Burton you said it. The LGBT+ are FINALLY being represented well, and not for fanservice shit. That's why everyone was pleasantly surprised. Because this shit just doesn't happen. It's not bait, who said that? Why start shit over a sentence that literally says "SUPPOSED to"? It was a plausible belief considering anime history?
Hachi Owl Lord He literally said it was supposed to be a bunch of bait and then went off about "homoerotic undertones" and "coming out metaphors" for half the video. There are no undertones. There are no metaphors. THEY ARE GAY. To say two men kissing on screen as an undertone or Yuuri's journey as a metaphor is ignorant and honestly offensive to the people that worked on the anime? BECAUSE of that bait history, they deserve to be recognized by what they did. It's nice that he liked the anime but if he still thinks that it's not an explicitly gay relationship like...what was the point of anything?
Hachi Owl Lord The video said it was Yaoi bait which is not. I'm not starting shit. I'm simply pointing that out. (maybe not in mature fashion.) He is completely ignoring it and yea you're right it did seem like it was going to be yaoi bait but it isn't which is awesome. It's cannon. Also sorry if it seems like I was starting anything. I'm just annoyed about the fact that people keep ignoring the fact they ARE GAY. It was a huge step on their part to actually do that. To standout and make a cannon gay couple without yaoi stereotypes. I'm very happy to see that other people in the comment section pointed that out as well like no t cool did.
lol. when people started thinking they're both gay, it immediately comes to the mind that they kissed in that episode. It was a hug or a kiss, but to satisfy most fan-yaoi fans, i think Kubo-sensei might have given into it (what most fans craved-lol) and like, said, it's "in-tune" with another series where the casts kissed. like haha, have they made a like deal or what to sync the airing of those scenes at the same time? ok yea, maybe they did, but why look into it any deeper?
and... yea,even though Yuri really is emotional (obviously), Viktor was something constant, like a goal, in his life ever since he was young, like omg, can anyone imagine a like a 6,8,10 years old Japanese child (uhmmm.... those in the orient are conservative esp. the younguns) having weird thoughts? (you guys get it?) Viktor really was just, Viktor. Flirty Viktor. (remember when Vitya thought that he has been neglecting "Life and Love" because of skating? I think he saw those in, and with Yuri) and those feelings of admiration of Yuri towards him just develops into that "'abstract' kind of love" as what Yuri had said in the early episodes. Yuri just wants to stay by Viktor, and as stupid as Yuri can get (I'm not really bashing Yuri ok? Who hates him?) aside from wining the gold medal the only other idea he had was Viktor's idea of getting married. Viktor was the Idol-turned-guardian-turned-bestfriend-turned-important one. They weren't lovers coz the obviously didn't really have the onscreen kiss. We had though of it, assumed it, some had begged and craved for it and Kubo-sensei may had just like 'rejectedly confirmed" that they kissed.
I'm really gonna find an official picture of their onscreen kiss to say they are lovers. lol.
ok peace guys. I'm out!!!!!!
(this was really reaaaally long)
Forgot to mention: Giant pun. Ice is written in kana as "ai-su". "On Love" is said "On Aisu" or "On Ice". Giant, bloody, pun that I didn't realize until episode 11. Whole thing. Pun.
Springdragon My mind just exploded
Springdragon My enjoyment of yuri on ice just increased
oh my god I finally get Yuuri's last line now, too. "We call everything on the ice 'love'." IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW.
Um, I don't know what you're talking about, "On Love" in Japanese is "ai ni tsuite" (like Victor said in episode 3 when he was introducing Eros and Agape to Yuuri and Yurio; and it translates more like "concerning/regarding love", but that's nitpicking, the meaning stays the same), and "on aisu" is "on ice" (like Hot Springs on Ice was pronounced "onsen on aisu" in Japanese), so the pun would rather be that "aisu", ice in katakana, contains "ai", which also means "love" xD
OMG I love tis anime even more now
Uhhh, Yuri didn't start ice skating to "get a girl"...
it was so heartwarming to see the lgbt community in japan and abroad tweet at kubo every week how thankful they were for such a heartwarming and touching portrayal of a gay realtionship. it's really sweet to see.
thanks for the analysis, glad to see someone shift their ideas on an anime that many thought was just going to be baiting, but turned out to be a beautifully executed and high-quality show all around. the show has really proved itself, you know? :)
Rachel lol they've been doing this since...like forever
yuri on ice is the only good thing to come out of this shit year
i thought haikyuu and ajin were really good
*Deven Sankersingh* Yeah I only liked Haikyuu. WE NEED MO' ANIME ! >:C _ahem especially a second season of yoi_
at least we can look forward to some huge releasees in spring :)
I thought Re:Zero was good.
Nah scrap that shit, Keijo is awesome!!! (Jk Re: Zero is better)
melonrinka I've never watched Re:Zero I don't like alternate world animes too much, too fantastical
Agape isn't unrequited love. It's unconditional love, it's unselfish.
Okay, I know you put a lot of effort into this video, and so I appreciate that you acknowledge how great and deep this show is, but... A lot of this video is wrong. It has gay undertones?! It's a metaphor for coming out?! Yuri started skating to get Yuko?! No, no, and no. First of all, Victor and Yuri are fucking engaged. There are no undertones. This is not Yaoi in any way. Plus, homophobia doesn't exist in this anime, according to the creator, so there is no big metaphor. And Yuri joined figure skating because of his idol, Victor, not for Yuko. Also, Victor doesn't comprehend Yuri's emotions when they meet. It takes time for both of them to open up and understand each other. Also, Eros means sexual love while Agape is unconditional love. There are 2 reasons Yuri gets Eros: One, Victor doesn't want Yurio, a fifteen year old, to be skating about Eros. Two, because Victor knows how much Eros Yuri actually has, thanks to the events of the banquet at the previous GPF. Speaking of the banquet, it's important to mention that Victor has in fact known Yuri since the banquet, and fell in love with him there, because Yuri showed him happiness after years of feeling like he had no inspiration. The reason Victor came to coach Yuri was because he was attracted to him, in love with him, and inspired by him. Tbh, it sounds like you didn't even really watch the show. Regardless of if you did or didn't, I don't think you really understood the true meaning behind it or the message that the creator was trying to convey. Sorry to be so harsh, but I care deeply for this show, and hate to see it misrepresented.
Yati Sanghvi yeah painting a rare portrayal of a loving happy canon gay relationship as "homosexual" subtext is flat out erasure. they kiss, they are engaged. episode 12 really seals the fact that they are unmistakably a couple. all please @ straight people: just say gay. it won't kill you. homosexual makes you sounds like some 1950s suburbanite.
Awkward moment when you get it wrong that Viktor and Yuri are engaged, but have the audacity to chew this guy out for misinterpreting things. XD
Yuri bought those rings as a good luck charm. He says so himself that he wanted something tying him and Viktor to this competition forever. Those rings had the same meaning to Yuri as a charm bracelet do to any of us. He wanted a gold medal, so he got gold rings. To Viktor it is an engagement ring, because in Russia, they wear their wedding rings on their right hand ring fingers.
In JAPAN they wear their wedding rings on their left hand, just like much of the western world. Yuri expected that the ring wouldn't be misinterpreted on the right hand because of his culture. The whole reason why Phichit thought they were engaged was because they also wear their rings on their right hands in Thailand. But it's why Chris asked what the rings were for, because in Switzerland, they wear them on the left.
Can I agree with you that in episode 12 they are a couple? Sure! Of course. I can agree that at some point in time, Yuri did end up falling for Viktor. Abso-fucking-lutely and it's fantastic! But the initial reason for those rings wasn't for that purpose.
Maybe it's just because I'm a performer myself that I understand the logic between the expressively inept ideas of Yuri, and because I had a coach and team captain much like Viktor who did a lot of the same things for me, as a person, as Viktor did for Yuri.
But nowhere, in episode 10 did Viktor or Yuri make any proposals. Trust me, as much as I wanted it to happen, I did thorough research on it.
i think Yuri is helplessly in love with Victor even before the rings, but he has ANXIETY (with self sabotage and all) he doesnt DARE to go for such a big positive feeling unguarded and hopeful. I think he DOES know those rings mean far more tho (he f*ign STUTTERS in his inside monologue!!! about what the rings truly are, and thats an important detail) Besides "lucky charm" in japan is a BIG THING and it has deep and important meaning that he gave it to Victor and of it being gold ring. Its beautiful. Look it up :) i mean it :)
Victor implies marriage MANY TIMES (the hopeless sap :3 ) and just remember Yuris REACTIONS to them!!!!! especially the last one before his final Free Skate Victor tells him to win a gold medal already, he wants to kiss the gold medal - then remember Yuris face and their strong reaction to this!!!!!! Victor basically says he wants to marry him already (reference: he "half jokingly??? implied" they will marry when Yuri wins a gold medal) THAT was not a proposal there beside the rink but a subtle big promise/declaration and they understood its depth fully, their reaction was ...omg... . By all means they ARE "engaged to each other" in every sense of the world except official marriage proposal :) those dorks i cant :333
If u didnt pick up on this in that scene i dont think u fully understood why were they acting as they did there. BUT i also can be wrong about this interpretation that feels clear and obvious to me, i am only an emotional human being and i can be wrong.
Anyways, this is how i see this thing after all the research and thinking of my own :)
Also thanks for the input about the others impressions about the rings i only knew the russians tradition. Now the others reactions make even more sense!
No the reviewer is right to pick up on these themes. While the show itself exists in a world where homosexuality is completely normalized, but contextually and thematically particularly in the first 7 episodes Yuri is learning to accept and love himself. His sexuality is one of these components which is unspoken, but is epitomized by the evolution of the Eros performance.
At the beggining of the show it was quite clear that his love for the sport came from skating for Yuko, and it was his driving force earlier on albiet a bit weak. Yuri has always been emotional and an attatchment to another person has been necessary for his skating, thats what that scene showed us.
I would say that what you've written here is pretty surface level, it seems you've paid attention to what went on in the show (story) , yes good job, but doesn't appear that you've comprehended the thematic construction of the show as the reviewer has. Rather than being 'harsh', I would reccomend listening to the video again. There could be more elaboration but the way he's talking about the show gives it more value than the way you're talking about it right now, and if you really love it and want to appreciate it more I think the latter option is better.
silreenjello there were about 2.5 seconds devoted to the fact that as a little kid he looked up to Yuuko and then immediately Viktor is portrayed as his driving force, his idol, and his inspiration. this is continued through throughout the series!! literally no need to condescend to anyone in this thread, as we will all bring our own experiences to this wonderful and complex story. I honestly have to say that IS homophobic to erase the fact that Yuuri and Viktor are blatantly a couple. additionally, it is homophobic to assume that because there is a very slight theme of self-acceptance, which I think is very overshadowed by other themes anyways, and there are gays, the self-acceptance HAS to tie in to being gay. for every gay story to have to include difficulty accepting being gay and angst and struggles is fucking awful to have to see. one of the reasons I like yuri on ice so much is because it doesn't pull that crap, and to watch this story and get OH A BIG THEME IS ACCEPTING YOU'RE GAY out of it is like the epitome of straight people reaching
since i'm not tottaly fluent in english so i'm not sure if i heard right but....Did you say that Yuri picked ice-skating in hope to get Yuuko ? ("that girl")
As far as i remember it was because he was impressed by Viktor performance (or maybe i'm wrong and i should rewatch the first ep)
At first I thought it seemed like Yuri had a crush on Yuko but then I realised he didn't -I think he was just inspired by Victor and enjoyed ice skating in general
witchgroup you're not. I don't get why people see this romance with yuuko either.
galaxyoungjae : Merci, thks for answerring ! ^^
witchgroup yuuko was the most successful hetbait ever. Ive been watching yuri on ice since episode 1 was released and I was totally amused while watching reactions of people thinking yuuko was gonna be the love interest and you can imagine the varying degrees of disappointment when they crushed that ship in episode 1 lol. its not like the show made it subtle that they're building up viktor as love interest and the relationship between yuuri and victor but there are still people desperate for a het ship they tried to ship yuuri with minako sensei and even later on with sara crispino who apparently actually has a crush on seung gil lol.
that's kinda amusing ^^ (also "hetbait" xD)
undertones.... they are engaged bruh
I really loved this analysis, but i would also like to add how huge of a role victor and yuri's relationship plays. Through the incredibly mature way their relationship grows, both yuri AND victor gain things from their love. The explanation of what victor has gone through and gained is done masterfully, especially in episode 10. We get the huge reveal about victors motivations and how meeting yuri sparked them. And all of this is done without blatant exposition or dialouge. Kubo Mitsurou practically wrote 2 stories in one show.
The relationships in this one are so pure it makes me so happy
Kubo deserves way more love tbfh she's amazing
Showing how Yuuri's and Victor's love is blooming without having to say "I love you"
this is genius
i loved this
Yuri didn't pick up ice skating to get the girl. He looked up to Victor and wanted to ice skate like him.
"Strong homosexual undertones."
Viktor and Yuuri get engaged, dude. That's not an undertone that's just a tone.
no offense but a lot of the stuff you said was wrong. and the one thing that made me laugh was when you said "undertones". my dude.... they're literally engaged to be married. but at least you enjoyed the anime. i love yoi so much so im glad others share my feelings.
its still not the main point of the anime but it also couldnt be just an undertone
Hyper When the creator says 'Yes that is a kiss' it means intepretation is legit no longer required. It isnt -grey- or between the lines, denying a gay relationship when it's literally right there is homophobic af
***** The fact that Yuuri and Viktor are now engaged makes them very much a gay couple lol. As someone who is Lesbian, if you were to kiss me in that manner and go the next day 'yeah no I'm not into girls' then actually we have an issue. It wasn't a peck on the cheek, it was a mouth on mouth kiss, this series protrays a healthy gay relationship and when you erase that shit and say something gross like 'it's up to interpretation' when the creator has gone on twitter and confirmed 'yup they're gay, yup it's a kiss, yup they're gonna get married' then that's homophobic as fuck.
GenesisMoonstalker I can now see why Tumblr says straight people are so toxic as fuck. 'I have 3 otps that gays therefore I can't be homophobic' is a stupid argument, straight boys and girls get off on gays and lesbians but a majority of them are homophobic outside of it. I've met loads of guys who would pay to see me kiss a girl but in terms of LGBTQ rights, they're with the 'say nothing, keep it hidden' crowd. Your 'I ship gay boiiisss !!¡¡!' means nothing to me. Like legit, next time a gay person goes 'yeah no what you said is pretty homophobic actually' and you reply with 'I ship gay people' you're not proving anything aside from you see us as merely fantasies you get off on.
Viktor kissed Yuri on the lips in pure joy. Kubo released a tweet stating how much she will protect the world YOI where it is non discriminatory on love.
look at it like this, when straight anime characters gets rings, no one ever questions anything and agrees that 'yeah they're engaged, yeah they're married'. I don't get why Kubo has to explicitly tell you 'look they're married' when they have rings just like ??? I'm not sure how blunt you can be after that?
GenesisMoonstalker I'm just gonna be blunt, but I'm beginning to feel like you don't grasp what engagement is, or understand the importance of it? Like no one gets engaged as friends.
You didn't need to prove anything, the way you speak and reduce LGBTQ relationships to jerk off material already shows that you don't see us as anymore than porn fodder for your fantasies. LGBTQ people don't owe you kindness, and we don't need your fake ally support. Although I feel all your LGBTQ friends and family will feel a bit sad though no?
Yuri on Ice has been seen by numerous people as an LGBTQ friendly anime with the creator who evidently supports and is a fan of Victor and Yuuri being together. In Olympics, Skaters and coaches are quite affectionate and often hug each other post routines, a kiss on ice is quite alright since there were skater who proposed on the ice.
Very well done (but I personally think Viktor REALLY picked Eros for Yuuri because of ep 10)
ehh no. he picked eros to take him out of his comfort zone. Is something all artists teachers do to students in some point of life. I knew from tha start yuri will get eros for that same reason. And was right XD
Was a joke- but very good points!
indeed. good point
I'm glad people are seeing how amazing the anime is. Representation at its finest and, honestly, its best.
This is also a great anime BY FAR, because.. notice on how there's no antagonist? The only antagonist in this is Yuri himself. He has to fight his way through anxiety, depression and all that stuff, and Victor helped him our a WHOLE LOT. This really tells a lesson out there to everyone but I just don't know how to put it into words. Also this Video is GREAT 👌👌👌👌
I thought that this anime would come off as another cringy annoying sports anime that would make me uncomfortable. But now it's one of my favorites!
Have you seen Free! ? =)
Samuel Lee is free a yaoi?
Alyx Coupe
Hmmh... not really XD
same
Kinda stopped watching the video after he said "he took up skating to get the girl" uh.... no....
he actually takes up skating competitively because of victor too
Yuuri and Viktor are a canon couple, the creators and cast confirmed this. It's literally just a sports anime with a canon gay couple, no bait or undertones.
tfw your lead male protags have smooched on screen confirmed by the creators and are engaged to be married but it's still just 'yaoi bait'
I've already watched the series multiple times because I take away new things each time I watch it. It's full of themes and symbolism and I can't believe I almost didn't watch it at all because I thought it would be shallow. Boy was I wrong, it's the most inspiring anime I've ever seen and is now my all time favorite.
Loved the video, loved the subject and I might sound weird but i loved your voice too lmao but one tiny little problem is when you said that Yuuri started skating because he wanted to get that girl
but he actually started because it was fun for him and while his friend the girl did it then he followed her and then took major interest after seeing Viktor being the good ass skater he is
Great effort, but I think you've misread it in some ways quite severely. Firstly, to talk about "undertones" of homosexuality is so, so not right. I think the show makes adequately clear that it focuses upon a gay relationship, but- I assume- commands subtlety to avoid getting caught up in, for example, Russia's 'gay propaganda' laws. Yet I don't see how you can fathom it as being in 'undertones'. If we were to talk about Seung-Gil Lee's character, that's different again- I interpret his character as being a clever play on a number of stereotypes (gay being one of them), but I could well be wrong. That's my completely subjective opinion. But the show is, objectively, a homosexual relationship. I'd go so far as to say it is 'predominantly about' one.
I mean, it is pretty clear that the show is meant to portray a healthy gay relationship that is normal. I mean compared to other media that popularly portrays same gender relationships which tend to focus on 1) coming out 2) homophobic violence. Yuri on Ice does away with that and you see two characters learn to be supportive romantic partners to one another. I feel like the maker of this video missed the point.
My thoughts upon finishing this show were "Man...should I feel gay or should I feel complete?"
The Art of Anime, Why not both?
I also felt that.
The Art of Anime I felt complete but there's no reason people can't feel both.
YURI ON ICE IS LIFEEEEEE ;-; and its ending halp
Alex bleach there will be another season tho :)
I can't wait/ it's too painful... and I'm still mad about the covered kiss ;_;
Despite some little facts that could have been corrected here and there.... boi I was smiling my way through this entire video and you know what it's really hard to fight down a smile that big omg I love this video. You mentioned all the key things which is why I'll forgive them tiny mistakes cause I pretty much love your analysis and it got me so dAMN HAPPY- however it is true that a couple things were wrong, like, Yuuri didn't exactly take up skating to get Yuuko, or the whole yaoi thing is wrong too, yaoi is basically sexual love between males, a shounen-ai is what is portrayed here, that focuses on the romantic love, but like I said, you DID get right on how that isn't even the main plot of the show, it's the skating, which is why Ima let most of it go and check out your other videos. bless keep it up
Idk if I'd call it yaoi bait since their romantic love for one another is so canon. This is such a positive and well made video, though!
Also, so happy they're engaged ❤️😂
well he didn't go into it much but he did say it wasn't just yaoi bait, since a lot of sport animes do that. People expected it to be yaoi bait but then we got a real relationship out of it and it was great!
This anime is so precious and what I love the most was how show perfectly the anxiety and low self-esteem are because all the characters are very humans. And I agree with you about how emotional is this show, that make it so very interesting to see and not just for the female public, I think.
I like so much this video, thumbs up.
(Sorry, my english is so bad)
Sarahi Vieyra Haha I like the term 'female public' 😂 ('Ladies' might be better in future 😛)
I totally agree btw 😊 It's great to see such a well-rounded cast
It’s refreshing to see a video about how great YOI is. I see so many videos with people complaining about several things. One I see often is about how “ugly” the animation is when the characters are skating. One thing I have to say to that is, seriously? Have you ever tried animation? Ok I know some people are gonna be all like, “animation isn’t that harrrdddd bluahgdshaushj” but I mean c’mon. Ice skating is a sport where you are constantly moving, and it’s usually more exaggerated, intense spins and movements; which in turn means more frames and more time needed to animate. Plus they add color and have correct animation for all the moves??? Which brings me to another complaint I often see.
*”if we don’t know jack about ice skating, why put in the correct movents? It’s pointless.”*
Now let’s be honest... if the movement weren’t correct, people who actually skated would complain.... so might as well do it right cause people gonna be people and complain anyway, that’s just how humanity is unfortunately... another complaint I see a lot is tied to the previous one
*”the anime doesn’t teach us anything about ice skating, so I can’t even tell what the difference between the moves is!”*
Again, people are gonna complain even if the animation is just random moves that look like skating. And why are you watching anime to learn about ice skating? Do your own research, take up ice skating yourself, HECK JUST DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW THE ANIME ISNT EDUCATIONAL! THAT ISNT THE MAIN POINT OF THIS ANIME! Thank you if you read all that, I really needed to get that of my chest... and remember...
*WE WERE BORN TO MAKE HISTORY!* ❤️
This is the moment were I subscribe AND turn on notifications. Big motivations there.
Devra PQueen yay! Thanks for the double subscribe.
I see you put a lot of effort into your vid and commend that. I believe you got some things wrong .Eros is sexual love not passionate. They are different. Apage is unconditional love not unrequited. These are completely different. Getting these wrong lessen your point that yuri because you got big themes of this show wrong. Also, that moment didn't show vikor as a genius. If you watched the end of episode 10 you would see that viktor fell in love with yuri right after yuri dry humped him. Viktor had a sexual love for him and found yuri sexual. This is why until the last episode yuri is skating to seduce viktor. Also, why viktor is obviously hitting on yuri since the first episode. your comment " His fears of lust to his fear of disappointment in viktor" is invalid. His lust for viktor brought out his skating by trying to impress him throughout the show. Yuri even said when practicing dancing that he is trying to seduce viktor by skating (this is lustful). Also, something I see a lot of reviewers( not just anime reviewers) do is try to create meaning out of everything. This was not a metaphor for coming out of the closet.Fact homophobia didn't exist in this anime. There is not enough evidence to prove this point. Also, to prove this point you just preached instead of connecting it to the shows and giving concrete scenes that could prove this.Homophobia was not existence in this show, so you would have to really stretch this show to create that conclusion. One of your claims was not everyone gets a viktor to help you. I don't see how this connects to this anime being about coming out of the closet and furthermore why this anime works. Also, if you are going to say in the beginning that you that you will explain why, how and what. You should probably use tigger words throughout your video, so that the audience can see what is the why, how, and what. I personally could not pick up on it. I hope you read this comment and understand that this is just criticism. I hope your channel the best.. cheers mate
eggcoco Thanks for your input. One of the things I was taught was when being properly critiqued is to not make any excuses. I think just about everything you said was true and I will be trying to improve my content. But this video was right in the middle of my 12 days of anime challenge where I had to crank out a video a day. Sorry but I can assure most of my content doesn't have this many mistakes and will be more thought out from now on. Sorry for breaking my no excuses rule ;)
eggcoco I believe there was some homophobia. With Yurio saying that Victor was dead. (After everyone found out about the promise rings) But this could also mean he was just dead as a skater since he hasn't skated recently.
Dazzle magic I thought Yurio was homophobic after that scene too, but it was literally said by Kubo (the creator of the whole story etc) that their world is free of love judgement, you can fall in love with whoever you want without being looked down upon.
Dazzle magic true but yurio was just jealous. Viktor said it himself that yurio was upset he would never beat him. Viktor getting married was the same to yurio as viktor ending his skating career. (Without allowing yurio the chance to beat him before then.) I don't think he was really against the two and their romance. This is one of the rare moments I would agree with fans in their deeming yurio to be the son of viktor and yuri. Yurio does act like their angsty teenage son that hates his parents,etc.
shygirl2927 Okay
"this show definitely has some homosexual undertones"
they got engaged to each other
Nah, I'm pretty sure YOI's biggest selling point was it's gayness
ＢＬＥＡＣＨ мємєѕ thats the reason I watch it
Wow I really like the way you explained this anime. Thanks.
how you could go the whole review without mentioning the word love blows my mind
Miz Belle Never mention the L-word ;)
To the comments below -
What's with the bashing? 'Undertones' don't have to be subtle - and there is an undercurrent of yaoi underneath the ice skating that pushes the series forward. I think this video's great. I mean the anime isn't just a romance, and everyone gets something different from it. I think that's the beauty of YOI.
I think the problem people have is when people call it "yaoi" (which is a genre of anime that pairs men exclusively to bait straight women) as opposed to just a romance
Yuri on Ice works because it's amazing.
Yuri on ice saved 2k16 ಥ_ಥ👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽such a beautiful anime with deep meaning
The creators worked really to bring us an amazing series while portraying a truly heathly relationship that didn't have to be made into a big deal. No matter who you have a relationship with, it should be accepted without hate. Victor and Yuri's relationship is a hella lot more believable and real then any shoujo type series I've seen.
I may be wrong but didn't Minako sensei convince Yuuri to pick up ice skating?
if i remeber correctly she convinced him to pick up ballet
Florence Franck she was his ballet teacher but she convinced him to start ice skating ^^
Safietjuhh Oooh right my mistake
This show was NEVER meant to be "Yaoi bait" - it was meant took be the opposite. Instead of objectifying homosexual men and actions, it sought to normalize homosexuality, by developing an emotionally healthy and mature gay relationship in a story that was not focused on homosexuality - revealing love between two men as natural and part of life - the save way heterosexual love is.
What a beautiful way of putting how awesome Yuri on Ice is! I love this analysis 😭❤
It also works because of multiculturalism - many characters from different countries, two main characters are Russians which means Russian food (pirozhki and borscht), ballet and language (vkusno!). It makes Yuri on Ice pretty unusual and even exotic. I personally love how realistic they draw all the locations and objects - Barcelona, Sochi, Moscow and St. Petersburg. The anime got me when I saw the Iceberg Skating Palace and Yuri Plisetsky's hoodie in the first episode!
Fun fact: this anime wasn't supposed to be yoai but when the creator saw how close they were or something she/he changed
*_so it's canon??_*
Milk *_yes_*
Amber Main correct.
My summary of the show: Gay. Gay. Gay. Hot guys. Gay.
oh and there was some ice skating too, I guess...
Tiger Queen lol same
I think this perfectly describes the show!!! There are so many themes and the show is so deep. And it's also a show that just makes you genuinely happy. I know that My co creator and both found ourselves cheering for everyone, not JUST for Yuri to win. It made you think, and it made you feel, and it makes you see things from different angles.
All in all, we loved it and have already recorded out next song based on this Anime💖🙌🏻
Fundamentally the reason this anime did so well is because it told the rebirth myth properly. Yuri had to let part of himself die in order to be reborn/transformed into a new Yuri. He voluntarily faced the dragon within him, of course with the help of Viktor. I disagree that his fears "merely shifted", they died with that part of his personality only to be reborn into something new, rooted in love and belief in himself, which is the most beautiful part in my opinion. All in all it was a great story and I especially loved the soundtrack.
Yo I hate sports anime because it's always yaoi bait but this one was an exception it's an amazing series so far lol awesome video btw really glad to see multiple themes being portrayed in this whacky ice skating anime haha
this is just lame, most sport anime are just normal sport stuff... no yaoi except for Free and this master piece..
Midorilife ah gotchu, guess I judge sports anime too much thinking they're all yaoi bait cause all the fandoms have ships (nothing wrong with that) and it turns me off from watching it tbh
I think a lot of people calling sports animes "yaoi bait" is a bit of the fandom reading into it. Lack of any kind of representation (in this case LGBTQ+) has people making up the representation they want to see. Another good example of this is Harry Potter, where people have gay ships because there are no canon LGBTQ+ characters in the series.
i appreciate your analysis of of yuri on ice as a coming out story. There's a lot of subtlety in the growth of all the characters and their relationships with each other, and the main focus being Yuuri's growth and acceptance and confidence in himself. So thanks for that, it was refreshing to hear :) happy new year!
Yuri on ice works because Yuri on Ice is life
huh- Yuri didn't start ice skating to "get the girl"... he started because his ballet teacher encouraged him too. If you really want to say he continued ice skating for someone, ig you could say he did it to "get the guy" in way. He was OBSESSED with Viktor from a young age and literally got engaged to him on screen.
Except it's not yaoi bait at all, but confirmed by Kubo that she intentionally created an anime about homosexuality without all the fuss about repressed feelings, etc.
I just want to quietly point out that agape is self-sacrificial love and not unrequited love...
"Please subscribe. ...*please*..."
...Oh, all right. That's cute! XD
"Supposed to be yaoi bait" "homosexual undertones"
: ^ ) someone missed the point.
You make it sounds like the show was written as "we're gonna make this as low key gay as possible to get views" but the show creator stated that she had intentions of having this relationship flourish in a natural and genuine manner. It was never "yaoi bait" because the pay off was set from episode one, as seen with the reveal of the banquet scene and Viktor's immediate infatuation with drunk Yuuri. That "homosexual undertone" is the way an honest LGBT+ relationship on screen with out making it the focal point of the series. The subplot is how the two skaters grow with each other and fall in love.
This was so well done
Grell's Bassy! tysm!
That;s the point. I hear everyone exclaim, "Oh, Yuri on Ice is SO gay!" But it's really not. Yes, its gay, but that's not the main point. The show isn't all about homosexuality, and that's one of the things I love most about this show. The metaphor, the hidden messages, and how deep it really goes. Thanks for putting all of that into words; this was great! :D
He did it because he saw Viktor not that girl. Viktuuri is cannon
DON'T STOP US NOW
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
WE WERE
BORN TO SHIP VICTUURI!!
"Please subscribe...please"
Alrighty my Spicy Cinnamon roll, I'll subscribe. Good job btw, video is really good and fun to watch.
Arika Aksornsua Haha just like me! Subscribed too 8)
For me it was also about picking yourself up when you have fail and trying again. It was about believe in yourself but not tearing down others. Yuri and Yurio excelled by being their best while JJ fell when he focused on tearing other down.
The fact the i never end up favoriteing the main characters in shows. I love ALL the characters in this show including the main characters.
[RANT WARNING] ⚠️
It pisses me off when people say “omeged how is the genre not yaoi, they’re clearly gay”.
No, stop right there.
At best, yaoi is about a shy straight af young bottom that gets hit on by a (usually) significantly older, super masculine guy who is gay. The bottom hates it at first (often resulting in rape) but miraculously “falls in love “ because PLOT. Or fanservice .
And then people say “IM SO PRO LGBT CUZ I WATCH YAOI”. Oh no you don’t. It’s like a guy saying “I watch lesbian porn therefore I’m pro gay rights”. You’re only “supportive” for your own gain or pleasure. The whole idea of yaoi is putting EMPHASIS on the gay relationship, which abnormalises it even further. While Yuri on ice just carries on with the initially intended SPORTS genre, and adds a relationship into to mix to make it even more enjoyable WITH NO SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON WHO IT IS because it doesn’t matter whether you are gay or not, LOVE IS LOVE.
Thank you,
**mic drops**
"homosexual undertones" manime my dude they literally got engaged on screen
I'll give you three reasons
1. Original idea
2. Funny jokes
3. Very, very gay
I rest my case 🙂
4. super well written characters
5. pretty animation
6. nice music and choreographies
7. gaaaay
I have already watched it and I loved it!!! I can't wait until it comes out on DVD and I soooo want the soundtrack...if they make one for it...they totally should!! XD. I love how sweet and how much the characters had to work at what they wanted to accomplish. Also it was great how they used such beautiful music throughout the show. The emotion in this show, omg!! I love what happens with two of the characters and how the show doesn't just throw it out there in words, it's expressed...ALOT! in actions and that is so beautiful :). All in all it's a beautiful, amazing and inspiring anime, that when you work hard and have people in your life that help you in ways that work for you then you can do anything!! It's really inspiring!! Plus it's funny too *giggles* :).
DaisSister13 The soundtrack is on iTunes!!
Then I better make sure to save up money so I can buy it after the new year!! XD. Thanks for letting me know that!!! Yay!!! XD.
This is so well put. I couldn't put my finger on as to why this anime was so good, you analysed it perfectly
he did not start ice skating because he was in love with her.... he admired her but it was clear in the show that that was it, and that he was crushing on victor since he was little..... take your hetero-goggles off
like it's an alright review but you shsould really read what actual gay people have to say about this show, about why it's important and good
I really loved this show and how it didn't have the typical yaoi story. It was really kind to the LGBT community with the way it didn't emphasize the fact that Yuri and Victor are homosexual like it's something that makes the unique. They were unique because they were really fleshed out characters with their own story and feelings that weren't based on their sexual orientations.
Extremely Passionate? Guurl.....
Thank you for this review of Yuri on Ice! As a former skater, this show took me by surprise mainly because, well, it's ANIME + FIGURE SKATING. I was seriously afraid of how my favorite sport was going to be portrayed. Not to mention all the incredibly complicated technical and artistic components... But thankfully, Yuuri and all the other skaters (plus the genius of the creator and all the highly involved research they did), did not fail to amaze, astound, shock and surprise. I really loved the series and you went over some key points I hope more people will pay attention to! In any case, thank you and keep up the good work!
hey so what your top 3 ships? mine are a *VICTUURI*, MikaYu, TomCo
Love your channel! Very well put together. Nice mic, good music and over all vibes. Subscribed and eagerly awaiting new uploads. ^^
This show brought me back to anime
Twilight fan same.
This makes so much sense and what I been thinking through the whole time. I just think it's cute and genuine how yuri and Victor interact. I love all the characters even the duche jj they all are fun and talented people and have there own struggles. I cried in some the episodes
I would say "romantic subplot" rather than "undertones" but good video otherwise.
Excellent analysis! I agree, it's so heart-warming to see people who don't watch the BL genre of anime giving Yuri on Ice a fair watch and sincerely enjoying it (as it deserves because it's got genuinely beautiful/meaningful story, animation, characters, music, and so on) because we've come far enough as a society to watch and enjoy stories about all kinds of people, even those who have different sexualities, etc, from ourselves. Yuri's story of coming to terms with himself, his sexuality (both being gay/bi and *being* a sexual person/discovering his sensual side) was both inspiring and moving in how vulnerable he made himself to let us/Viktor share his journey of growth with him. It's a really excellent coming-of-age story that I feel nearly all young adults would benefit from watching.
I love Yuri on ice sooooo much it's unbelievable to me, I'm so in love with it
this compiled all of my feelings about yuri on ice's complexity into one video.
Well spoken and written, a little short though.
I think your thoughts are well worth a longer video, soa subscription from me and I hope to see you update a little more content on Yuri on Ice since there IS alot to talk about. Taking advantage of the hype and momentum right now could be advantageous.
You just got a new subscriber based purely on this video, I am so happy you get what this anime was all about :)
I think the last two episodes were rushed as hell, they could have done at least a 13th episode...just for the sake of art.
but besides that, it was really good. I agree! ♥
yes so SAD!!! Missed out too much like this :( but they got this much time green light :( Im especially sorry for missing out Yurios EXHIBITION of "welcome to this madness" omg??? did u hear the ost? it would have been EPIC. It was planned then they couldnt squeeze in :((( and also the stay close to me we didnt see it full :( and what about everyone else after the final skate? ah... sad.
Chinxize4 Haha - for the sake of *art* **nudge nudge wink wink**
Yeah it would have been great to get some more content in. Still, I think the pacing was perfect considering they only had 12 episodes to work with. In an ideal world I would want it to go on forever though ^~^
But I'm glad they didn't get to squeeze everything in! Cause now we'll get to have a second seasonnnn~
There’s a movie coming out in 2019 we’re it explains victors backstory...
I also heard that they get married, I’m not sure yet.
Rename the video to "Why everyone loves Yuri On Ice"
I'm doing a very similar video right now. Mine is more how they handle gay relationships and stuff.
We were born to ship vituri
great video! gives me digibro vibes in terms of knowing your point, and knowing it concisely. with a little more experience, youll be great matt.