2016, as a year, has been awful. But, there is at least one good thing to come out of this trainwreck of a year: Yuri!!! On Ice. This series about ice skating has taken the world by storm, becoming a modern cult hit, to the point that real figure skaters are blogging about and watching it. It's been one of the things keeping me going this semester. Yuri!!! On Ice delightful slice of sweet, snowy, over-the-top sports fun.

It's got a female director (yay!), a diverse cast, fun and trope-y melodrama, surprisingly intricate and consistent writing, and a realistic portrayal of an LGBTQIA+ relationship that isn't set up to bait viewers. This series has something for everyone! Here's why you should watch it.

Yuri!!! On Ice is a series about a professional Japanese figure skater, Yuri Katsuki, who falls into a slump after failing miserably at a recent ice skating competition (and being yelled at by a teeny-bopper Russian skater about how much of a failure he is). So, Yuri goes back home to recoup. After Yuri performs a routine he'd memorized, originally done by his personal idol/celebrity crush, the Russian professional skater Viktor Nikiforov, footage makes it onto the internet, which propels Yuri into worldwide stardom once more--and brings Viktor right to his own backdoor (literally), begging to be Yuri's coach.

Yuri recounts his reaction to Viktor showing up at his backdoor. Which is an onsen (hot spring). Me too, Yuri. Me too. (Source: Crunchyroll)

Now, with his idol being his personal coach, and some other people who adore Viktor being very jealous, Yuri has to not only deal with gaining confidence in himself and getting back into shape after his last disastrous season, but he also has to deal with the struggles of competition once more. Yuri wants to go for gold, and Viktor is there at his side, supporting him, helping him make friends along the way. Little does Yuri know, he'll not only grow as a person and a skater, but he'll find love and friendship when he needs it most.

I've always loved ice skating (even if I, personally, am horrible at it), and sought it out every Winter Olympics. I even took lessons for a couple years. It's one of my favorite sports, even if I'm not fanatic-level about it. This series does a phenomenal job with portraying ice skating routines, which is in no small part due to the sheer amount of effort put into the animation and the writing in general. The animation staff consulted professional skating coaches for the movement reference--in other words, they didn't rotoscope actual footage and trace it over for the animation. The animation? Drawn frame-by-frame.

Viktor skating. (Source: Google Images)

Also, the amount of research and love that went into this series shows. The music is to die for, the ice skating routines are well-researched, and the costumes are lovely. The rules for skating scoring are laid out in-series, and each routine is commentated like a real routine. Yuri is based in part on Yuzuru Hanyuu, the Japanese skater who stole the hearts of the world in the Sochi Olympics, and Victor is based on Pleshenko. The references to the world of skating abound, to the point where real-life skaters have embraced the series with glee, such as Pleshenko himself!

So, to say that this series has a following is an understatement, and that following is in no small part due to the characters. Skating is fun and all, but a series like this--even if it's a sports anime--can't stand on its own two skates without a good cast to back it up.

Phichit, a Thai skater, taking a selfie. Bless. (Source: Google Images)

Thankfully, most of this cast is incredibly likable, and the characters that you don't like... Well, you'll love to hate them. And the characters you do like... Let's just say that you'll get very attached to them.

Along with that, the cast is incredibly diverse, and full of people of color, some of whom are LGBTQIA+. Which is awesome. Heck, I'm not even LGBTQIA+, or a person of color, and I'm excited for this representation! Watching it with friends who are on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, it made me so incredibly happy to see them happy about their sexualities being represented. That is also why I recommend Yuri!!! On Ice; it's adorable, fluffy, and has representation that, in a year that has been horrible for the LGBTQIA+ community (and everyone else), is much needed and appreciated.

This series has silly, rom-com-y romance. It's not even remotely subtle. Each friendship and/or romance is given a chance to shine. Especially Viktor's and Yuri's. Their relationship shows them both making mistakes, but ultimately trying to help each other and having each other's backs.

Anyway, I could gush on end about this series for hours and tell you even more, but really, you deserve to watch this fun, silly, series yourself! Treat yourself. Watch Yuri!!! On Ice on Crunchyroll. You won't regret it.

Rating: 4.5/5 Triple Lutzs