Content Warning: This article contains discussions of mental health and eating disorders.
Over the years, there have been a number of successful anime that have managed to accurately capture the realities of competing in different sports. In Yuri on Ice!!!, fans are introduced to the world of professional skating and the colorful cast of characters who call that world home.
The series is renowned not only for its unique characters and beautiful animation but also for its realistic portrayal of competitive ice skating. While some sports anime take creative liberties with their source material, Yuri on Ice!!! manages to capture many of the features that exist in real-life ice skating and translate them into a unique and compelling narrative.
What Record-Setting Skating Looks Like
In the show, Russian skater Victor Nikiforov is not only the greatest skater in the world but one of the greatest skaters of all time. He is the winner of five consecutive World Championships, five Grand Prix Finals, and innumerable other competitions. His highest combined program total in the show is a whopping 335.76.
For context, the current men's world record for the highest competition total was set by Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who scored 330.43. What sets Victor apart is his ability to land technical jumps, as he has landed four of the five ratified quad jumps. This ability would put him on part with some of the greatest figure skaters ever to grace the ice in real life.
The Show Features Real Competitions
Besides the Olympics, the ISU Grand Prix is the biggest competition in professional skating. There are six different competitions that offer skaters a chance to compete in the Grand Prix Final so long as they finish within the top six of qualifying skaters: Skate America, Skate Canada, Sparkassen Cup, Trophée Lalique, Cup of Russia, and the NHK trophy.
Yuri on Ice!!! not only features the Grand Prix events themselves over the course of the first season but also the competitions required to qualify for the international main stage, like the All-Japan Figure Skating championship. Of course, the Junior Grand Prix events are also mentioned, especially when the show features Yuri P's dominant performances.
Professional Skaters Begin Training In Childhood
It's no secret that practice makes perfect, and the sooner you begin practicing the sooner you will become a master of your chosen skill. The same is true in figure skating, and the show accurately depicts the trend in figure skating of skaters beginning their professional skating careers at a young age.
Yuri Katsuki is shown to begin figure skating as a child at the Ice Castle with his childhood friends and encouraged at an early age by his ballet teacher to take up figure skating. This notion of being pushed at a young age to pursue figure skating is true in real life, where camps and training gyms offer instruction for children as young as 4 or 5 years old.
Romances Between Skaters Are Common
When an activity becomes an obsession, it's more likely that romance might develop between the participants who breathe, eat, and dream that activity. Ice skating is no exception, and couples ice skating, in particular, presents plenty of opportunities for romance to flourish.
Many present and former ice-skating partners have developed feelings for one another or even ended up happily married. Yuri on Ice!!! is on many anime fans' radars for being one of the few shows to depict a same-sex relationship. In reality, a relationship like Victor's and Yuri's is extremely rare, due to the roles of coach and student. While there have been cases of skaters marrying their former coach, it is definitely not the norm.
There Is A Lot Of Drama In The Skating World
The writers of Yuri on Ice!!!, Sayo Yamamoto and Misurō Kubo, made sure to provide fans of the show with plenty of drama both on and off the ice. From Yuri K's rivalry with Yuri P to his relationship with Victor, the story is full of scintillating details and relationships that simmer with tension.
The real world of figure skating has also had its fair share of drama. Many people are aware of the rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan that ended in tragedy for all parties, but there are many more stories of scandal and heartbreak in the world of figure skating. From skating partners that became romantically engaged to corrupt judges and extramarital affairs, the world of figure skating is ripe with intrigue and drama.
Skaters Possess Amazing Athletic Abilities
Professional figure skaters have the ability to make what they do seem so easy. In Yuri on Ice!!! and in real life, skaters appear to effortlessly glide across the ice, and perform amazing spins, jumps, and flips with grace and poise. To the uninitiated, figure skaters may not appear to be amazing athletes, but in reality, they are human specimens at the peak of physical fitness.
The strength required to perform a trip or quadruple flip is tremendous, and it takes years of training for skaters to master even basic jumps and spins. Truly, figure skaters are among some of the most talented and physically gifted athletes in the world.
Most Skating Powerhouses Are Young
Yuri P, whose character was inspired by now-retired Russian figure skater, Yulia Lipnitskaya, is depicted as a 15-year-old prodigy. That said, it isn't just chance that Yuri K and Yuri P are young powerhouses from Russia and Japan, respectively.
The top standings in Men's singles in 2020, aside from Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, are filled by Russian skaters, and the first five spots of the ladies standings are dominated by Russian women, two of whom are only 17 and have broken multiple personal and world records. Fans of the show and actual ice skating are eager to see what these young athletes will show the world in future competitions.
The Mental And Physical Burdens Of Skating
Yuri on Ice!!! highlights the strain the sport takes on skaters' bodies, including injuries and long-term effects (such as the strain put on skaters' feet due to rigorous ballet practice mixed in with ice skating). What fans of the show also appreciate is the glimpse into the mental health burdens of professional athletes.
In the show, both Yuri K and Yuri P tend to doubt themselves and struggle with the pressure of competition. Many professional skaters today talk about their challenges, and according to former professional skater, Jenny Kirk, around 85% of figure skaters live with an eating disorder. Yuri on Ice!!! tackles this conversation better than most other sports animes, and shows the burdens that many athletes must overcome.
The Choreography
One of the most mesmerizing aspects of figure skating is the choreography. Using their entire body, from their facial muscles to the motion of their figures, figure skaters imbue emotion, passion, and grace into their routines. Yuri on Ice!!! captures the delicacy of figure skating thanks to its diligent research, work with actual choreographers (like Kenji Miyamoto) and the use of movements by skaters (like Honoka Kawanishi) for realistic animation results.
Miyamoto individually choreographed each routine for every character, and his determination to breathe life into each skater's performances pays off, as the viewer is just as amazed by the choreography of the performances as they would be if they were watching real athletes perform the routines.
The Obsession With The Sport
To excel at any skill requires a certain amount of dedication, patience, and - to an extent - obsession. This is also true in figure skating and can be seen in Yuri on Ice!!! in the way that Yuri K obsesses over his performances going into and at competitions. Skating is mostly a solo sport, excel in pairs skating, so skaters have to be individually driven to excel and accepting of their numerous failures.
The pain of falling, of injuring themselves, and being criticized over and over again for tiny mistakes is exhausting and necessitates an incredible amount of motivation and drive. Professional figure skaters eat, breathe, and live figure skating, and can easily spend three to four hours a day skating, all while juggling school, personal lives, and relationships. It is truly an obsession, but for those in the sport, they wouldn't want to live any other way.