Title: Yuri on Ice
Director: Sayo Yamamoto
Writer: Mitsurō Kubo
Studio: MAPPA
Original network: TV Asahi
Original run: October 6, 2016 – December 22, 2016
Episodes: 12
Type: Fiction
Genre: Contemporary, Sports
Source: Funimation

Summary: Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki faces a crushing defeat during the Grand Prix finals and heads home, unsure of whether or not he wishes to continue his skating career. After a video of Yuri mimicking Russian figure skater Victor Nikiforov’s routine goes viral, Victor decided to become Yuri’s coach, much to the dismay of his coach, his fans, and his fellow Russian skater Yuri Plisetsky.

After a disgrace in the Grand Prix Final, Japanese figure skater Katsuki Yuri seeks to retire. Victor Nikiforov, Russian world champion in figure skating is known for his surprises but is feeling stuck when he realises he has no more surprises left. When Yuri dances to Victor’s most famous routine ‘Stay Close to Me’ the video is posted online and is seen by Victor. In this moment the Russian world champion decides to move to Japan and become Yuri’s coach. Over the course of various competitions, the two form a powerful bond and see that each other was all they needed to accomplish what both had hoped for. Love.

– Trailer –

– My Review –

I don’t really watch anime anymore, or rather, I don’t want it as often as I used to when I was a teenager. I’ve only seen Merman in my Tub since the first season of Attack on Titan came out in 2014. Seriously. But something about Yuri on Ice caught my attention! I first heard about it through some of the people I follow on Twitter. They seemed every excited and happy about the show, so I looked it up. The next thing that made me want to watch was the fact that it’s about figure skating! I absolutely love figure skating, and I also really really like the animation style (yes, that’s important to me), so I started watching it.

Even though episodes are approximately 20 minutes each, I was very busy with work, reading, and blogging at the time, so it was taking me far too long to get from episode to episode. Then my friend who lives in Japan asked me if I’d seen the show, because she loves it, and when I told her that I had gotten stuck on episode 4 (not due to lack of interest, but lack of time), we decided that I should just wait until I visit her in Tokyo, and just marathon it with her then. This felt like a better option for me, since I usually don’t enjoy watching anime alone.

Some weeks ago I was in Tokyo visiting her, and we marathoned the entire anime in Japanese with English subs. I absolutely loved it! Then we went to Seoul with her husband and his brother, and there we marathoned the anime again, this time dubbed in English! And when I returned to Canada, I started feeling a little down because I missed my friends from Japan, so I convinced my sister to marathon the show with me in Japanese!

Needless to say, I really really love this show! I could probably watch it all over again right now! Since I watched it both with subs, and dubbed, I can recommend that those of you who have not seen it, but are planning to, should watch it first in Japanese with subs in whichever language you speak. The Japanese version, I found, is a little more serious and genuine. If you really like the show and at any point feel like watching it again, I recommend that you watch it in English! The tone is a little different, and some of the scenes are funnier. The voice actors definitely had a lot of fun with dubbing this show in English, and you can definitely tell! If you’re looking to have a good laugh, the English version is definitely a good choice for a second viewing.

The characters are all unique and special in their own way, and I found that I loved even some of the less important characters, the more I watched this anime. As for the main characters, …I loved them from the very first episode. Yuri and Viktor will always have a special place in my heart! Even characters which I initially disliked (such as Yurio / Russian Yuri), I found myself warming up to the more I watched the show.

As for the story, I cannot say much without spoiling things, but I will say that it was very very good! I don’t generally watch sport animes (with the exception of Free! because I really liked the art style and colours used ((and I won’t lie, I liked the fan service too)) but as I’ve mentioned before, I have always loved watching figure skating, which made this anime appeal to me a lot! The combination of figure skating and a plot of quality made Yuri and Ice and anime which I will have an interest in for quite some time, and one that I will never forget! I was excited to hear that a movie has been officially announced, and that a season 2 is pretty much confirmed, because I really look forward to seeing more of this story and the characters I’ve come to love!

THANK YOU FOR READING MY REVIEW! HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ANIME? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!