Interest
Could the Winter Olympics Feature Yuri!!! on Ice?
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
It didn't take long for Yuri!!! on Ice to cross over into mainstream figure-skating. Russian skater Evgenia Medvedeva showed support for the series when it aired in 2016, even receiving Yuri!!! on Ice-inspired gifts from fans and, most recently, starring in "Yevgenia!!! On Ice" on NBC's official Twitter account for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Fellow skater Masato Kimura performed his version of the series opening sequence to "History Maker" and Johnny Weir, a partial inspiration for Victor, shared his positive impressions of the series at Crunchyroll Expo in July. Meanwhile figure skating pair Ryuichi Kihara and Miu Suzaki were spotted performing the anime's titular track together and performed a whole Short Program routine to the song for the 2017 NHK Trophy in November.
Even Funimation put up an aptly marketing-focused billboard for the series outside the SAP Center ice arena in San Jose.
SPOTTED: Yuri!!! on ICE ad at the US Figure Skating Championships!!!
— Funimation (@FUNimation) January 5, 2018
If you're in San Jose, find our YOI billboard near the SAP Center for the competition, and snap a pic with hashtag #yurionice! pic.twitter.com/GFPWNGyXFc
So could we see Yuri!!! on Ice on the international stage at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang? Ryuichi Kihara and Miu Suzaki could repeat their performance at last year's Grand Prix competitions. The duo were spotted practicing the Short Program on Monday to the Yuri!!! on Ice insert song.
After the session, Suzaki said they were "having fun" practice. Viewers will have to tune in to the Olympics to see if the anime song-backed performance takes the official stage.
Source: Asahi Shimbun (藤田太郎)
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