Don’t believe the hype is a popular saying that seems to be correct in quite a few cases. If I remember correctly this line dates back to a Public Enemy song from the 80’s. It pretty much means that sometimes a film or show gets so much attention, that it is almost impossible to ignore, much less dislike it. Last year the animeseries Yuri on Ice exploded all over the blogging community and beyond. Pretty much every animeblog that I followed featured a post about it, some even had multiple posts, saying how good it was. I usually get very cautious when I see something like that happening. For one thing, the theme for the series did not appeal to me. What could be so much fun about a series that dealt with figure skating? For another I have seen so many examples of movies or tv series that got hyped but ended up being a major disappointment, that I usually try to avoid those.
But in the end, my curiosity got the better of me, and I finally decided to give it a go. And I was spellbound by it….pretty much right from the moment when the opening tune of the series started playing I was hooked on this. So I guess in some cases you simply do have to believe the hype. Now when a series is loved by this many people, there is a certain pressure to do justice by it. I know a few of you have been saying they were really looking forward to this review. So to keep it in competitive iceskating terms, let’s see if I can bring in the gold medal by writing a good post for this one. This series definitely deserves it…..and really….no pressure, at all.
Yuri on Ice tells the story of the 23 year old Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki. Yuri has pretty much decided to put his entire career on hold after a defeat in the Grand Prix final. He is unsure of what to do next, but decides to head back to his hometown to figure out his next move. While visiting with one of his childhood friends called Yuko, Yuri performs for her at a local ice skating rink. The routine he shows her is a perfect copy of the one from his idol the Russian figure skating champion Victor Nikiforov. To Yuri’s surprise the footage from his performance was secretly filmed, and made it’s way over to the internet. And then the impossible really happens: Victor shows up with an offer to become his coach. Will Yuri be able to revive his career with Victor’s help? With a fierce competition ahead, and rivals that lurk around every corner, the answer to that is by no means certain. Especially when there is another figure skater that ironically is also called Yuri, who is hellbent on stopping him from reaching the gold…..
Now those of you that are not familiar with this series (and I doubt that there are many amongst you that are not), I can probably already see frowning. After reading the premise for this, you might be asking the same question that I did: How on Earth can this be exciting? Let me try to explain to you what makes this series so special. At the heart of this there is the relationship that develops between Yuri and Victor. Yes, these guys are both male, and yes they develop a bond that is definitely more than a simple friendship. Even though I am straight myself, I have never had any problems watching a relationship develop between two males. Really, what would the problem be? Unfortunately we are currently living in a society that does seem at times to take offense at that. To them I say: your loss! The heartwarming scenes that occur between Victor and Yuri are the absolute highlights of this series. It is all done in a very subtle and tasteful manner, and it is completely impossible not to smile when these scenes occur.
Speaking of highlights the figure skating animation sequences for this series are absolutely amazing. The animation is fluid, the accompanying music breathtaking, and it all deserves multiple rewatches to take it all in. It is also hard not to get caught up in all the excitement, especially during the later episodes, when the real competitions start. At times I felt like I was watching the Eurovision Song Festival, as the anime manages to create an atmosphere that just urges you to cheer for Yuri when he is about to perform. This series is all about creating a feel good atmosphere, and in that it succeeds very, very well. The characters are diverse, likeable, but also have their flaws just like real life human beings. And that for me is what makes this anime so amazing. At times I forgot that I was even watching an animated show.
Were there no negative things to this series? Well, one might argue about a few small fanservice moments that were not necessary in my opinion. Also at times we get a few pretty abrupt changes in tone, turning it into a slapstick comedy. But these scenes were also part of it’s charm, and at times reminded me of Your lie in April. These are very minor issues however for a series that has been an absolute joy to watch. If for some reason you are feeling down on a certain day, I recommend watching this show. I guarantee that it will help you lift your spirits. If after all this you are still not convinced that this show is worth the watch, just try out the first episode. If you are not hooked after watching that, you probably won’t be. But I honestly don’t see that happening. This series is definitely a gold medal winner.
I give Yuri on Ice a 9 out of 10 score.
I still haven’t watched this, despite all the recommendations. It’s really a case of finding the time at this point.
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haha, yeah I can relate. Time is a constant factor that tries to mess up every plan I have lol. Still, this one is definitely worth the watch. If you manage to finally find the time to see it, I hope you are going to enjoy this one 😊
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I usually get very cautious with a series involving lots of hype as well. This is one of the ones that’s had me very curious, especially since the animation looks so awesome, but that hype has kept me at bay. I enjoyed this review very much and may need to pick up Yuri on Ice before the summer season kicks in. Thanks for sharing! 😃
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Yes, I know the feeling. I was truly skeptical for this series. But it ended up being incredibly awesome. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as well. Maybe you should watch this in the summer season. When there is a heatwave outside there is nothing better than watching something that takes place on big block of ice 😊
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Hey, we gave this the same score!
I have been looking forward to this review and yup, definitely gold medal worthy. I had a smile on my face the whole time. And needless to say, I’m very happy to see that you liked this so much. I was also like this – wary because of the hype but sucked in right from episode 1.
> “To them I say: your loss! ”
Amen.
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Cool, and it’s comments like this that make me smile 😊 Yes it really was a terrific anime, not quite perfect like Your Lie in April for instance, but it came pretty close indeed. Just goes to show that sometimes it’s really cool to just pick out a series that is totally different from the things you normally watch. In this case it was well worth it.
And you are so right: amen indeed 😊
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Glad you ended up enjoying it. I was hoping you would but Yuri on Ice seems a bit different from your usual. Of course after reading your review I’ve now got the opening theme stuck in my head again.
Despite being a complete fan girl about this show, I’ll have to agree that some of the tone shifts into slapstick comedy aren’t as well handled as they could be, but overall, this show is pretty amazing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
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Yep, it is certainly different, but on the other hand I also highly enjoyed Your Lie in April, and that one ended up being my alltime favorite Animeseries.
But yes to tell the truth I was quite skeptical at first for this series, but boy am I glad I ended up watching it. It was amazing and something I would not have wanted to miss seeing. Hopefully there will be a season 2 for this, though I doubt it will end up being this good 😊
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I havent seen this anime yet, but thik i will start seeing it now 😀 the art style/ animation look beautiful 🙂
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It really was an amazing anime. I was pretty skeptical about this one as well in the beginning, but I ended up really loving this one. As for another Animeseries that you might enjoy, especially if you like the animation style is Your lie in april. It is for me without a doubt the best Animeseries that I have seen to date. If you end up seeing one of these series I hope you will enjoy them 😊
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I have Your lie in april on my watch list actually XD thank you for the recomandation 🙂 I would recomand; Yamada 7 nin no majo and Darker than black 🙂 Thank you, im shure i will 🙂
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Thank you as well. I will be sure to check those two series out 😊
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Np 😀
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Gotta love a Yuri on Ice review that starts with a Public Enemy reference! Good review mate 😀
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Haha, yeah I figured why not ? 😊Thank you, glad you enjoyed it ! 😀
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Great review! I’m glad to see you enjoyed the show. Sometimes the hype is right it seems haha.
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Haha, yes it certainly was in this case, abd I really am glad about that too. Sometimes it just takes a bit of a leap of faith to watch something 😊
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I recently watched two episodes of this (it seemed to be calling too often at my name) so I Figured I’d skate onto the show..and I’m glad i did. I agree when you mention the premise might seem off putting for some, especially it being called a ‘sports anime’ which is what brought initial doubts in my mind, but now they are simply over washed with delight.
To me, I like it for the humour, the beautiful art style and of course the relationship between everyone. Minako being somewhat a pushover with her high pitched voice brought about laughter, the triplets taking photos at the most awkward times and Yuri being made a fool at the worst of times. Also his little self thoughts that are explain certain scenes are very quaint and make the anime unique I beileve.
‘You were born to make history’ with this lovely review. 🙂
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Haha…love the wordplay you did on this comment Figured I’d skate on the show: great stuff 😂 But true, it really was a great series, something I did not expect it to be. I’m really not I to sports, at all, but this somehow worked. It really is a very unique anime, ome that is very hard to compare with anything. Hope you will continue with the rest of the series, and enjoy it. As always thank you for your kind words and wonderful comments 😊
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I’m glad you enjoyed the series, and gave us a great review from it as well! We had a lot of fun watching this each week, and I think these characters made all the difference in how enjoyable it was.
I like subtle relationship work, and this series did it really well. I feel like it’s generally less appealing when it’s thrown in your face, but fans took what little this show offered and blown it up out of proportion, I think 😛
Still, they made the competition really interesting, and regardless of the result I think it was just great following all the competitors along.
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Haha, thank you 😊 Yes, I agree I had not expected it to be such an awesome experience. It was not Your Lie in April, but it was definitely a great experience. I’m usually not into sportsanime at all, but this one just rose above the term sports and became something quite unique 😊
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People thinks this is Yaoi on Ice
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I just did a mini-review (fan-girl type) on my not-so-successful blog mentioning Yuri!!! on ICE, but it was good to read a post by someone else expressing their love for this anime! My personal favourite is ‘Yurio’
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I just checked it out and your blog: truly awesome. I can understand why you like Yurio so much 😊
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I too am weary of popular shows, because a lot of them tend to be overrated. Every now and then however you’ll find a show like Full Metal Alchemist that lives up to the hype. Sounds like Yuri on Ice is one of those shows.
Then again I could be mistaken if it reminds you of the Eurovision Song Contest. I can’t stand that competition and the voting is so rigged. Also, since when is Australia part of Europe???
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Yeah, this series was definitely a winner for me. And that’s saying much as I usually don’t really go for series such as these. But it was done well, had highly entertaining characters, and just a great overall atmosphere. Even though it was hyped, it was hype that was justified for a change 😀
As for the Eurovision Song Festival…I stopped watching that crap a long time ago…exactly for the reasons you mentioned,,the Riggs voting and the stupid “competition” 😊
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