While I may not be the type of person who is very into anime, it was hard to ignore the hysteria over one of the most popular shows currently, which is a competitive skating anime called "Yuri!!! On Ice". The premise is simple: failed Japanese skater Yuri Katsuki is recorded recreating a routine created by his idol, the world famous Russian skater, Victor Nikiforov. This causes Victor to drop his plans to compete next season and travel to Japan to announce that he will bring Yuri’s career back from the dead, so that he can win gold at the Grand Prix Final, in which he failed the year before. The show itself is interesting, combining light humor with Yuri’s own bouts of anxiety and lack of self-esteem.
However, the show’s true appeal comes from the relationship between Yuri and Victor. At first glance, the show seems to bait the audience in a way to make it seem like the two are together, otherwise known as queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is rampant throughout many different platforms of media, and often ends with people watching or reading, knowing the author was just teasing at a gay relationship, and that the characters were never gay to begin with. This leads to a lack of representation for LGBTQIA+ people, and can frustrate those who are part of that community. It’s like a slap in the face, knowing someone will hint at another character’s sexuality, but make it seem like a joke in the end. But as "Yuri!!! On Ice" continues, it’s obvious that there’s more beneath the surface than just queerbaiting.
The relationship between Victor and Yuri is slowly revealed to be more than just friends, and the two find themselves in a relationship, even sharing an on-screen kiss. While this may seem like an elementary concept to most, to the LGBTQIA+ community, it represents a whole new meaning. The show may have gained traction from this aspect, but the whole purpose of the show is not to focus on the romantic relationship between Victor and Yuri, but rather Yuri’s dedication towards winning gold, for not only himself, but for Victor, who dropped everything to help coach him. Their relationship is shown in a way that lets people see that romance doesn’t have to be the main focus in a show or movie, and that LGBTQIA+ characters can exist outside of spaces where they are marketed in a LGBTQIA+ space. The fact is, when this show started, it wasn’t marketed as a “gay anime” and instead shows a healthy relationship between two grown men, who slowly fall in love with each other. Most of the drama is focused in on the skating competition itself, only with small clips of Victor and Yuri interacting in a romantic way.
It also abstains from overly sexualized remarks and forced intimacy between the two characters, instead forming a close bond between them, and allowing the two to grow and change as Yuri continues to compete with Victor always by his side. Instead of the show’s creators creating an overt sexual tension between the two to never be solved, and for the boy to get the girl in the end, they have created something much purer, which can truly display a healthy relationship.
The show does have its faults, but is also very powerful in the LGBTQIA+ community as it allows representation in a different kind of light. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I find the show not only entertaining, but a healthy display of love between non-heterosexual couples, which is hard to find represented in today’s media. With this, I encourage people to watch this show, not only to view the true love between Victor and Yuri, but to watch Yuri’s path to self-realization.Watch Yuri!!! On Ice Wednesdays at 3PM EST on Crunchyroll
