Yuri!!! on Ice

Episode 4

Following the climactic conclusion to the show's introductory arc, Yuri!!! on Ice decompresses with an episode on how the characters have grown. Basically, Yuuri's journey toward global skating dominance will consist of him participating in two international competitions, as well as domestic preliminaries. The first competition takes pace in China, while the second will be in Russia. Yuuri's former coach, Celestino, will be at the China prelim, alongside Yuri's friend Phichit. Meanwhile, Yuri's rematch with Yurio will take place in Russia. So Yuri!!! on Ice will be a world tour show, presumably introducing us to new skaters at each locale.

But that's just the expository part of the episode. The rest of it examines Yuuri and Yurio's relationships with their respective coaches and the issues they'll need to work on going forward. Yuuri's problem continues to be a lack of confidence. Victor tries to bolster Yuuri's self-esteem via positive, flirtatious attention. Over the course of this mentorship, Yuuri is coming to terms with being a late bloomer. While his strengths as a skater may not be as flashy as Victor or Yurio's, he's still worthy of sharing the stage with them, and his relationship with Victor may even be heading in a romantic direction. While Victor has been coming onto Yuuri pretty hard, it hasn't gone anywhere because Yuuri keeps getting too flustered to take it seriously.

This time, however, Victor straight-up asks if Yuuri wants him to be his “boyfriend.” (The word he uses is actually the gender-neutral Japanese word for lover, koibito, which the episode has questionably translated as “girlfriend” in several other contexts.) It's played off as the set-up to Yuuri screaming “NO!”, which I found slightly disconcerting, but it's still a step toward straightforwardly addressing the strong romantic chemistry between them. I hope that the show understands what it's depicting: these two guys come off as seriously, blatantly, honest-to-god into each other, both sexually and romantically, a dynamic that's quite hard to find in anime. I feel somewhat silly quibbling at small details for an indication of what the show might do, but this is fraught terrain, and there are already a lot of hopes being placed on Yuri!!! on Ice as a source of halfway decent gay representation in anime. Whichever route the show ends up taking, I'll try to be fair, taking into account both its context and its goals. Anyway, if a relationship between Victor and Yuuri is going to happen, it'll have to be based on patience, particularly on Victor's part.

However, I do have some qualms regarding the long-term viability of a relationship between these characters. Victor has some unaddressed personality issues that seem like they'd make it tough for him to commit to a long-term relationship, especially one with a partner as inexperienced as Yuuri. I called Victor the gay Mary Poppins in an earlier review, but Mary Poppins always leaves once her business is done. The very traits that brought Victor into Yuuri's life (his impulsivity, his flightiness) imply serious downsides. There's a chance that Victor's passions can cool as rapidly as they flare up, meaning that he would move on from Yuuri as soon as he peaks as an artist and satisfies Victor's initial interest. However, it's important to note that whether or not Yuuri and Victor stay together (if they even get together) would have little bearing on the show's potential for gay representation. Regardless of orientation, relationships take many forms, and some are transitory. These types of relationships are still worthwhile, even if they're not forever and always. I'm just saying that Yuri!!! on Ice would need to address Victor's personality issues if it wants to make him anything more than a manic pixie dream boyfriend.

While Yuuri is the one struggling with trying to make it big at an age when most skaters are on the decline, it's the adolescent Yurio who really angsts over the inevitability of his physical obsolescence. At 15, Yurio is about to enter the real throes of puberty. His body is about to change in unexpected ways, and there's a strong chance that this will negatively affect his performance as a skater. Approximately 5'3” and built like a twig, his aerodynamic, lithe frame contributes greatly to his ability to complete difficult jumps. It also seems like Yurio may be facing some exterior pressures that he wants to resolve sooner rather than later. While I'm sure that his trainers mean well, their draconian and punitive training methods – requiring that Yurio be reborn (and thus die) as many times as necessary – are probably doing a number on the kid's physical and mental health. The message they ultimately send is that Yurio is worthless when he's not winning, which is a dangerous thing to tell a kid who already lacks a support system. Yuuri, by contrast, is just now becoming cognizant of his support network as a source of his strength.

In the end, Yuuri becomes more confident. For the first time, he selects his own music to skate to – a piece written by a school acquaintance about his skating career. He titles it Yuri!!! on Ice, giving us a nice title drop. (I liked the implication that this student – a girl – had a crush on him, but that Yuuri was too naïve or gay to notice.) He's stopped sitting in the passenger seat of his own career and taken initiative, both in terms of his practice regimen and artistic ambitions. On the other hand, Yurio is allowing other people to mold him into their ideal artistic object, having sold himself “body and soul” for some unknown reason. I don't know what motivates Yurio to sacrifice himself to such an extent – financial problems? sheer pride? – but his arc will probably involve him regaining his autonomy.

As a follow-up to the previous episode, it's also worth noting that gender presentation in male figure skating, which played into last episode's climax, is apparently a hot button issue. After being decried as a “feminine” sport by many, skating as an institution has tried to develop a reactionary strain of machismo, to the detriment of gay and gender non-conforming skaters. Male skating tries to differentiate itself from female skating via an emphasis on the sport's “technical” aspects – jumps and such – that are more difficult for women to perform. Conversely, this relegates “non-technical” (and thus feminine) aspects of the sport – like performance – to a secondary status. By having Yuuri play at androgyny, embrace his strengths as a performer rather than a jumper, and base his routine on his ultra gay crush on another dude, Yuri!!! on Ice could be making quite a radical statement. (For more information on this topic, check out this article.)

Overall, Yuri!!! on Ice crams a surprising amount of meaning into this supposed “downtime” episode. The only people who rested this week were the animators, as that aspect of the production took a noticeable hit. Ah well. Gotta save that drawing power for the competition sequences, I guess. Meanwhile, the characters continue to be both multifaceted and entertainingly developed. A few new faces were brought into the supporting cast, such as Yuuri's friend Phichet and Yurio's rinkmate Mila. Phichit in particular looks like he'll take center stage during the Chinese competition. Yuri!!! on Ice continues to be excellent – I just hope that it sticks the landing with some of its more ambitious and controversial material.

Grade: A-

Yuri!!! on Ice is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.