by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer

As we’ve established, I’m a figure skating fan. If someone’s skating around in circles, I want to see it! So I knew it was only a matter of time before I watched Yuri!!! on Ice, a sports anime from 2016 that essentially follows a season of figure skating competition. Our main character, Yuri Katsuki, a Japanese figure skater, returns home after performing poorly at the Grand Prix Final. He’s able to convince Victor Nikiforov, the reigning champion and his idol, to be his coach. The series ends with Yuri competing in the following year’s Grand Prix Final.

If you’re not a fan of skating, this show is pretty accessible. Every episode, there’s usually a freeze frame explanation of how figure skating works, and what led to Yuri’s current status in the competition. And there is a lot of competition in this show. Yuri competes against another Yuri, a Russian skater often called Yurio to differentiate between them, to convince Victor to be his coach (episode 3); at the Japanese qualifying competition (episode 5); in the Cup of China (episode 6 and 7); at the Rostelecom Cup (episodes 8 and 9); and the Grand Prix Final (episodes 11 and 12). The downside of all this competition is that you see the same programs over and over. However, I would argue that figure skating fans are somewhat used to this, as skaters do usually perform the same programs throughout a season (sometimes even for multiple seasons). The drama is in whether they’re able to hit the right peaks during the season, and compete effectively.

In the show, beyond the drama of competition, we see Yuri and Victor become closer and Yuri’s confidence grow in his own skating. After Yuri pulls off a difficult program in episode 6, Victor runs onto the ice and kisses him (though his arm obscures the actual kiss). Toward the end of the season, they get matching rings, and they both get teary at the idea of ending the season and going their separate ways. What I find a little funny is that there are characters openly questioning what the matching rings could mean… Hm, engaged much? But I understand we’re working around censorship and societal norms. I do think it’s commendable that the show is about as openly queer as it can be without really being openly queer. What’s also notable in this show is that there’s really no reaction (read: punishment) for Yuri and Victor’s relationship. They get to be together, be happy, and compete without any unfair repercussions.

Now, let me set the stage for you in terms of men’s figure skating in the 2015-2016 season: Yuzuru Hanyu is tearing up podiums and breaking high score records. Men are landing more and more quad jumps, and jumps in the second half of the program are given a higher point value, which makes skaters want to take more risks. The sport is portrayed accurately for the time. The competition programs all accurately reflect the level of difficulty being performed around that time. A big credit to the show’s choreographer, Kenji Miyamoto, who both performed competitively and choreographed for Shoma Uno and Yuzuru Hanyu, among others. While the quad jumps are stressed several times throughout the show, by the 2016-2017 season, Nathan Chen became the first skater to land 5 quads in his free skate. A big deal is made on the show about short programs breaking the 100-point mark, but it happens regularly now. In fact, the top ten highest scores in figure skating are all now well above 100.

Similarly, the show mentions performing the hardest jumps in the second half of the program for more points. While this was the rule at the time, it has since been changed. After the 2018 Olympics, where so many skaters fell (including Nathan Chen), Twitter was aflame with conspiracies about the quality of the ice. But the real culprit was likely that the skaters were going for the extra points that landing hard jumps in the second half provided (and probably a bit of nerves). Now, only the last three jumping passes are given extra points in the second half. So while you can still put the harder jumps there, you can’t wait to do all your jumps in the second half, as Yurio does in one episode. (Notably, Alina Zagitova did this in the 2018 Olympic women’s event and ended up winning the gold above her Russian teammate.)

But what’s fun to spot in the show, if you’re in the know, is which skaters are based on which real-life competitors. While Victor is likely based on Russian skater Evegeni Plushenko, one of his costumes and the flower crown worn in another scene are both based on looks Johnny Weir wore in his career. Yuri is based on Yuzuru Hanyu, the previously mentioned Japanese skater who has been to the Olympics three times (winning the gold twice!). Yurio is based on Yulia Lipnitskaya, the young Russian female skater who took the world by storm with her Schindler’s List program at the 2014 Olympics. Otabek Altin is based on Denis Ten, the first skater from Kazakhstan to podium for that country. (This is another one where the connection is obvious, but the costuming confirms it for sure!) Sadly, Ten was murdered in 2018, and the figure skating community mourns that loss. In the most fun cameo of the show, Stéphane Lambiel, a real-life Swiss skater, makes an appearance in the final episode.

However, for all that skating is seen as a sport full of gay men, there are historically not many out gay competitors. And it was especially rare for earlier generations. (I must once again plug the Blind Landing podcast’s “Out on the Ice” season if you’d like to know more about this!) The unfortunate truth is that some skaters who were out while competing were outed, like British skater John Curry in the ‘70s. Rudy Galindo, the first openly gay U.S. figure skating champion, came out in a book about the secret world of figure skating in 1996, shortly before winning the national title. Johnny Weir, in what is known as a glass closet, did not officially come out until after he retired in 2011, though he was often mocked and, fans believe, underscored due to his sexuality. With the 2014 Winter Olympics taking place in Russia, American skaters were basically told that the government couldn’t help them if they’re caught breaking Russia’s anti-gay laws. Then, after missing out on the 2014 Olympics, Adam Rippon came out in 2015, one of the first to do so while competing. (Though I want to note that he is not the first.) What happens next? Yuri!!! on Ice.

Yuri!!! on Ice took the figure skating world by storm. Queer American skaters Johnny Weir and Joe Johnson both talked about the show. Johnny Weir said it made him break his one-episode-of-TV-per-night rule. Joe Johnson, part of the first openly queer ice dancing team with Karina Manta, did the J.J. Style gesture in the “kiss and cry” after a program. Absolute legend. (And if you haven’t seen Johnson and Manta’s incredible “Sweet Dreams” ice dancing program from 2019, please go watch it right now.) Denis Ten tweeted about the show and Otabek specifically, which was super cute. Evgenia Medvedeva, a regular anime girlie who performed a Sailor Moon themed exhibition skate before, wore a shirt with Yuri and Victor on it, and posted about the show frequently. Incredibly, one of the Japanese pairs teams, Miu Suzaki and Ryuichi Kihara, skated to Yuri’s free skate music, “Yuri on Ice,” at the 2018 Olympics.

Since Yuri!!! on Ice, many more skaters have come out, and the sport is starting to become more inclusive. But there is still so far to go. Quite a few skaters came out during the 2020-2021 season, including several who were still competing. After coming out in 2020, French skater Guillame Cizeron faced comments from Russian skating judge Alexander Vedenin, who said that there was no believable chemistry between Cizeron and his ice dancing partner, due to his sexuality. Cizeron would go on to win the gold medal at this year’s Olympics. Timothy LeDuc, the first openly nonbinary skater at the Olympics, is still often misgendered by commentators. While I would love to live in the world of Yuri!!! on Ice, where queer skaters can exist without any particular ridicule (or special fanfare), we aren’t there yet. But there’s always the sequel film, Yuri!!! on Ice: Ice Adolescence, which is supposed to come out someday.