The sports anime Yuri!!! on Ice took the world by storm in 2016. It gained popularity due to the realistic depiction of figure skating. The story begins when the lead, Yuuri Katsuki, is defeat at the Grand Prix Final. A disheartened Yuuri returns home to think over his career options.
In a turn of events, Yuuri finds Victor Nikiforov in Japan offering to coach Yuuri. Meanwhile, Yuuri's ambitious rival, a young Russian boy named Yuri Plisetsky, travels to Japan to settle scores with Victor. At the same time, Yuuri and Victor's relationship blossoms into a heartwarming romance. Yuri!!! on Ice is much more interesting than it appears at first. Here's how.
10 Locations
Yuri!!! on Ice shows a variety of locations, mostly as figure skating competition arenas. In the opening sequence, the Grand Prix Final takes place in Sochi, Russia. In 2014, Sochi actually hosted the Winter Olympics. The figure skating event was hosted at The Iceberg Skating Palace. The anime has done an amazing job of sticking to this detail.
Locations such as Detroit Skating Club and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium are real-life places. The Hasetsu Station seen on the show closely resembles the Karatsu Station in Japan.
9 Yuri Plisetsky's Backstory
Ideally, Yuri Plisetsky's parents should have cheered for him, but they are absent for a backstory that connects very well to Yuri's ambitious character. His mother was a former Russian idol who retired from show business early on. Yuri was raised by his grandfather, Nikolai Plisetsky, in Moscow.
With an aging grandfather, Yuri becomes the breadwinner of his family. Therefore, he grows through hardships to emerge strong-willed and persevering.
8 Nishigori Triplets
The Nishigori triplets—namely Alex, Lutz, and Loop—are best known for their mischief. They secretly filmed Yuuri Katsuki while he was skating and posted the video online. The girls' are beyond their years in terms of figure skating knowledge and the use of technology. Each of the triplets is named after a type of figure skating jump: the Axel jump, the Lutz jump, and the Loop jump.
7 Importance Attached To Food
Yuri!!! on Ice attaches a great deal of importance to foods, namely Katsudon and Pirozhki. The protagonists, Yuuri and Yurio, are from different nations, Japan and Russia, respectively, and, even though they are rivals with each other, they bond over food. Yurio enjoys eating Katsudon, and, on his birthday, he gifts Yuuri a bag of Pirozhki.
Moreover, Victor Nikiforov describes Katsudon as the food that God eats. Before a face-off between Yuuri and Yurio, Yuuri says he wants Victor to stay so he can eat Katsudon with him. Similarly, Yuri's grandfather brings him a bag of Katsudon-Pirozhki, shown as a token of love in the anime.
6 Social Media
Social media plays a significant role in Yuri!!! on Ice. Victor Nikiforov decides to coach Yuuri Katsuki after he sees Yuuri's dance on the internet. Instagram and Youtube are often referenced in the anime. Both Victor and Yuri Plisetsky are avid users of Instagram. The Nishigori triplets are addicted to social media, as well. The story progresses—especially episode four's ending—through selfies, Instagram posts, Youtube videos, geotagging photos, and even JJ's Snapchat dog filter.
5 Yuri Plisetsky's Sense Of Style
Yuri Plisetsky's distinctive sense of style tells viewers about his feline obsession. He wears leopard printed jackets quiet often. Either that, or his t-shirts bear some kind of feline illustration. Yuri Plisetsky's belongings have cat prints, too. His phone case has a tiger on it, and he owns a leopard printed suitcase.
Yuri calls himself the Ice Tiger of Russia. In addition, his Instagram post in the show's end credits says "Lion" in the caption.
4 Chanel's Hydra Beauty Nourishing Lip Care
Not only did Yuri!!! on Ice popularize Katsudon-Pirozhki, but it also boosted the sales of Chanel's Hydra lip balm. The product costs $50 and claims to soften and smooth lips. Around the world, Victor Nikiforov cosplayers make sure to include this little detail in their act. Yuri!!! on Ice lent an iconic status to the lip balm, and it will forever be known as the balm that Victor Nikiforov applied on Yuuri's lips.
3 Blades
Every skater in the anime was written with special care. Their character development, costumes, and skating styles were sensibly dealt with.
One such detail pertains to the blades used by skaters. Yurio's blades are light in weight, designed to perform, jump, and spin with ease. Keeping in view Yuuri's personality, he wears standard blades, while the extravagant Victor Nikiforov wears golden blades.
2 Glare Coming Off Of Ice
Figure skating athletes do actually struggle with ice glare. This sport-specific problem was also emphasized in the anime. It is a well-known fact that figure skaters have horrible eyesight in the rink. Yuuri squints his eyes at the end of one performance to see the score. His eyes are squinted to overcome vision problems often faced by real-life ice skaters.
1 Ted Plushy
The Kazakh skater Otabek Altin is based on the late Olympic skater Denis Ten. Otabek was particularly close to Yurio in the show. In real life, Denis often received Ted, the teddy plushies after his matches. This little detail was included in episode 12 of the anime. Like Denis Ten, Otabek Altin is from Almaty, too.