A few years ago, a rumor surfaced that Hallmark ripped off an anime for one of its original movies. Hallmark has increasingly become a name in the made-for-television market, with its films -- especially its Christmas films -- becoming watched by an increasingly large number of people. The network draws a lot of derision for their films following a schmaltzy formula. But in 2017, a particular movie, Love on Ice, drew significant backlash for "ripping off" the then-recent and similarly-named anime, Yuri on Ice!!! More than that, fans argued the movie straight-washed and whitewashed the original anime to repackage it for an American audience. It got so bad that the crews behind both the anime and movie had to comment on the drama.
With the Hallmark Christmas movie season kicking it off once again, it's time to re-address this rumor. Did Hallmark rip off an anime for one of its movies?
The Drama
The drama started in late-2016 when Hallmark released a trailer for its winter-themed ice skating romance film, Love on Ice. Immediately, fans opened a petition against the film, which amassed over 3,600 signatures. Those who signed on wanted Hallmark to admit or acknowledge Yuri on Ice and that the network stole from the film.
The drama, honestly, only became more perplexing once the film came out and it turned out that both the film and the series had a lot of plot components in common. In fact, it seemed almost a little suspicious, just how alike the two films truly were. And it wasn't the first time Hallmark had been accused of stealing content from another creator.
In 2012, screenwriter Brad Wigor sued Hallmark for "unilaterally misappropriating" his treatment and partial script for a Christmas movie. Fans who partially understood the suit used this as proof that Hallmark stole Yuri on Ice!!! writer's Mitsuro Kubo's idea. This suit is directly referenced in the change.org petition.
It also so happens to be that this isn't the first time Hallmark has allegedly copied from a content creator. A man named 'Brad Wigor' filed a $7 million dollar lawsuit Hallmark Hall of Fame Prods and McGee Street Prods, while claiming that they stole his idea. It isn't fair for content creators who put time into creating something unique to have it be stolen.
But what aspects of the film seem to draw from Yuri on Ice? Well, a lot. It especially becomes even more obvious when one watches the two back-to-back, comparing both. However, in watching both, it also becomes clear the films have a lot of differences, too.
What the Two Have in Common
Yuri on Ice!!! is about a 24-year-old ice skater from Japan named Yuri who, after a particularly humiliating defeat, loses all sense of confidence in himself and descends into a spiral of depression and stress eating. However, after his childhood best friend's kids film him skating an Olympic-level ice skating tribute to his ice skating idol, Victor, said idol flies all the way from Russia to Japan to personally coach Yuri so he can fulfill his destiny of making history on ice. Also, there's a short, angry kid -- also named Yuri -- who Victor promised to coach but forgot about. The two Yuris develop a somewhat light-hearted rivalry.
Love on Ice, by comparison, is about a 27-year-old skater named Emily James who abruptly stopped skating to support her family, who is now a relic of the ice skating scene. She ends up getting a second chance at skating glory when a young, handsome coach tries to train her back to her maximum potential. However, there's also a young ice skating kid who was supposed to be coached by said young coach who ends up becoming, again, a rival to the older ice skater.
Conceptually, there are a lot of immediately apparent similarities. Both are about older skaters who are out of practice, getting back into the swing of things with the help of a young coach who, ultimately, does end up becoming their lover. Both Yuri on Ice and Love on Ice feature subplots involving a younger skater (both of whom are fifteen-years-old, blond, and aggressive) competing against the skater. And, spoiler, in both Love on Ice and Yuri on Ice!!!, the ending features the younger skater getting first in an ice skating competition while the older skater earns a respectable, unexpected second place.
The Big Points of Anger
However, tons of stories have similar plots. Hallmark has drawn story ideas from movies like Groundhog's Day and It's a Wonderful Life multiple times, but no one bats an eye. Why would anyone care if its story was similar to some anime?
Well, because of two factors: white-washing and straight-washing. Yuri on Ice!!! gained international acclaim in part due to its incredibly well-realized cast of characters and its diverse cast of characters. The story of Yuri on Ice!!! is one that pits characters from all over the world against one another, which means the series is ethnically diverse. But the one thing that everyone talks about is this: Yuri and Victor end up in a same-sex relationship. While the characters are never explicitly called gay (in fact, a strong argument can be made that many are bisexual), it is undeniable that two men end up in a romantic relationship -- possibly even getting engaged.
Love on Ice is a Hallmark movie, which means it's about two white people entering a heterosexual relationship. It is easy to see why fans might've seen this movie advertised, and seen it as Hallmark erasing a queer anime of its queerness. And that can be incredibly insulting, especially to the LGBTQA community. Hallmark has had a history of straightwashing its media, most recently when Hallmark pulled a Zola wedding commercial showing two women kissing following backlash from conservative groups such as One Million Moms.
But Let's Take a Breather and Look at This Right...
The drama surrounding Love on Ice became so big that one of the writers for Yuri on Ice!!!, Mitsuro Kubo, had to come out to quell concerns by confirming any and all similarities between the two were entirely coincidental. Hallmark publicly stated it had never heard of the anime.
Of course, when one takes into account all the facts, this is fairly obvious. The novel Love on Ice was based on came out in 2009. Production on the film started in 2015. Furthermore, the two films, though they have similar plots, have a ton of differences -- beyond the white-washing and straight-washing. Most notably, the entire second act of Love on Ice, which includes a strange subplot involving a lot of cliche romantic tropes -- most notably, an orchestrated misunderstanding plot designed to create romantic drama. Yuri on Ice!!! doesn't use this idea of a "misunderstanding" at all, because it doesn't need to add conflict.
Yuri on Ice!!! has two core conflicts running throughout its series, neither of which Love on Ice features. The series is about two ice skaters trying to succeed in an international ice skating championship. This means the series focuses heavily on the ice-skating technique. Love on Ice shows only as much ice skating as it needs to, often cutting away from the ice skating sequence the Yuri on Ice!!! animators lovingly illustrated.
But the BIG diversion is this: Love on Ice never explores its characters. Yuri on Ice!!! spends more time focusing on Yuri's mental state than ice skating. The series is about a man with some serious anxiety disorder finding self-confidence in himself. Yuri on Ice!!! is a character study. Love on Ice is a straight-forward romance. Ultimately, Hallmark probably should have ripped off Yuri on Ice!!!, since it would have resulted in a better story.