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Yuri!!! on Ice Anime Casts Pro Skater Nobunari Oda as Himself

The official website for the Yuri!!! on Ice television anime announced on Tuesday that it has cast professional skater Nobunari Oda (right in picture below) as himself. He will appear on December 14 in the show's 11th episode, where he will commentate the Short Program of the Grand Prix Final competition alongside the character Hisashi Morooka, who is played by real-life TV Asahi commentator Taihei Katō (left).

Funimation describes the series as follows:

Yuri Katsuki makes his way to the Grand Prix ice skating competition as Japan's top representative with his eyes on the prize. However, instead of celebrating, Yuri walks away defeated and ready to retire for good. But a run-in with champion Viktor Nikiforov and rising star Yuri Plisetsky ignites a new fire within him. With the two of them close by his side, Yuri will take to the ice once more.

The anime premiered in Japan on October 6, and Crunchyroll is streaming the series as it airs. Funimation began streaming an English broadcast dub on October 24.

Manga creator Mitsurou Kubo (Moteki, 3.3.7 Byooshi) and director Sayo Yamamoto (Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Michiko & Hatchin) are credited with the original work for the series. Yamamoto is also directing and overseeing the scripts for the series, and Kubo is designing the original characters and drawing the storyboards. Additionally, Tadashi Hiramatsu (Parasyte -the maxim-) is adapting the character designs for animation, Kenji Miyamoto is credited with the figure skating choreography, Taro Umebayashi (aka milk from PIANO) and Taku Matsushiba (PIANO) are composing the music, and Keisuke Tominaga (Kids on the Slope, Terror in Resonance music director) is the music producer. MAPPA is animating the series. Dean Fujioka performs the opening theme song "History Maker," while Wataru Hatano performs the ending theme "You Only Live Once."

Source: My Navi News via Otakomu