Born to Make History: Why Yuri!!! On Ice Is Doing Queer Representation Right

Yuri!!! On Ice has proved to be the smash-hit of 2016 Winter anime releases so far. Despite the show not even finishing its run yet (only having seven released episodes at the time of this writing), it has risen to one of the most popular titles this year and has stolen the hearts of many, particularly the LGBTA community. And with the release of the latest episode, screams of delight were heard all across the fandom with the canonization of the obvious romantic relationship between the shows main protagonists, Yuuri and Victor. But why is this such a big deal in the first place and why is everyone so excited because of it?

Yuri!!! On Ice is the story of Yuuri, Japan’s top figure skater who suffers from crippling anxiety and low self-esteem. Having just lost yet another tournament, he feels his skating days are over and it’s time for him to retire and work at his family’s bath-house. However, fate intervenes in the form of Victor Nikiforov, Russia’s top figure skater, coming over to Japan to inform Yuuri (while being very, very naked at the time in the bath house) that he’s come to be his new coach after seeing him perform.

The show was instantly a hit with it’s amazing opening theme and great production value. However, many were quick to notice as far as episode one that the relationship between Victor and Yuuri definitely seemed to have romantic set-up, with Victor blatantly coming onto Yuuri in episode two and then asking him if they could sleep together.

This kind of expectation turned some people off to the show early, feeling it would just be baseless fanservice with no intention of following through its implications. Sports anime is infamous for its abundance of homoerotic subtext and sadly also has the reputation of not having the courage to follow through on these implications, instead preferring to play it safe so fangirls can have pairings to ship without any actual canon evidence of a queer relationship.

But even from episode one, it was clear something was different from the way Yuri!!! On Ice was setting itself up compared to the average sports show and was defying expectation right from the beginning with the most recent episode simply being the biggest example.

The thing about Yuri!!! On Ice’s homoerotic subtext is this – there isn’t any. It’s all plain text and has been since the very beginning. As it goes on, the show pulls absolutely no punches in showing that both Victor and Yuuri have a relationship that can’t be interpreted in any other way. The confirmation in the latest episode solidified that the show was indeed taking itself seriously but all the plain evidence was there right from the beginning. The relationship between the two of them progresses and grows while also developing the two individually – as any good romance should.

What separates Yuri!!! On Ice from similar BL-themed works in anime is how realistic both Victor and Yuuri are as characters and how uncharacteristically healthy their relationship is. While the show isn’t subtle in the slightest about their romantic and sexual attraction to each other, the show takes care never to fetishize that attraction. The pacing is phenomenal and the progression of the relationship is one of the most natural aspects woven throughout the narrative.

Both Yuuri and Victor struggle with their own personal troubles, with Yuuri’s anxiety holding him back and his confidence being at an all-time low (with the latest episode showing him going through panic attack before his performance) and Victor being a brilliant skater but having no idea how to relate and improve Yuuri’s insecurities. What makes them work together in a relationship is showing through the progress of the show not just their obvious feelings for each other but how much the two of them are helping each other through their failings (the latest episode is a shining example of this). While the nature of their relationship isn’t subtle in the slightest, their development and individual personalities shine with realism and relatability.

Additionally, the treatment of sexuality proves the most mature aspect of the show. One of the best examples is in episode three, where Yuuri is tasked to perform a routine based on the theme of Eros (sexual love), with the promise that Victor will stay and become his coach if he wins against the other skater. He’s completely out of his depth as he has no experience in that area and comes up with a narrative to follow of a playboy seducing the most beautiful woman in town, then casting her aside leaving her heartbroken.

However, the day before he decides to perform the routine, he states to his ballet teacher that being the playboy is not suited to him and he feels more natural in a different role. Yuuri instead decides to play the part of the woman, who seduces the playboy herself rather than the one being seduced (put it in the context of Yuuri’s situation and you can clearly see the implications). This show is full of moments like this, where expectation of gender and sexuality are casually cast aside to give something completely different to what was thought to be cast-iron convention.

Which is why Yuri!!! On Ice is one of the best shows airing this year – because if shows like this and directors demonstrate that they are willing to break the mould in this way, it opens up a lot of possibility for future projects. It’s this kind of writing and intent that gave life to master-works such as Cowboy Bebop, Revolutionary Girl Utena, all of Satoshi Kon’s work, Baccano! Wolf’s Rain and many more.

All of this makes sense when looking at the director, Sayo Yamamoto. Having worked with the likes of Satoshi Kon and Shinichiro Watanabe and having directed episodes from shows like Space Dandy and her full directing project The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, she is no stranger to defying expectation. Her projects show that she is always willing to break the mould of what is considered story convention for anime and it’s no surprise Yuri!!! On Ice follows the same pattern.

To see both the anime and LGBTA community embrace the show with such open arms can only be a testament to its excellent writing and representation. As mentioned, the show is only seven episodes into its twelve-episode run but based its popularity and reputation as one of the best queer romances in anime history, it may truly be born to make history.

Yuri!!! On Ice can be viewed on Crunchyroll.

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