Something about emulating an out and openly queer character I admired so much gave me the motivation and confidence to try being sexy on camera for the first time, and seeing people respond positively in ways I only dreamed of made the more masculine side of my identity feel real and respected. Yuri on Ice as a show itself means so much to me- it's the reason I began taking cosplay seriously, the show that got me back into both anime and figure skating, and the show that proved to me that the Japanese animation industry is ready to make progress again with the kind of LGBT representation the fans truly deserve. In particular, I can give most of those thanks to cosplaying Victor Nikiforov.
We heard from some fans of the series in the most recent issue of Cosplay Realm Magazine, and we loved learning about their love for the series.Ĭosplaying has given me more confidence than almost any other area of my life, and so much of that comes from validating my gender identity and presentation. That is a big reason why this series became so popular during and after it’s initial airing. Through the depiction of Yuri and Viktor’s relationship, many fans found characters and a story that they could relate to and see themselves in. Some iconic moments in the series include the kiss between Yuri and Viktor and later on the engagement of the two. Throughout the series, Yuri and Viktor develop a relationship far past that of a mentor and student, eventually becoming romantic in nature.
Yuri!!! on Ice tells the story of Yuri, an aspiring figure skater, and Viktor, a professional figure skater who has retired from his career to become Yuri’s coach. While the genre does depict same sex relationships, it is usually done in a very unrealistic way and often has a focus on the sexual side of it rather than concerning itself with a realistic portrayal of the relationships.
In the past, most depictions of homosexuality in anime could only really be found in the yaoi or “boy’s love” genre. Yuri!!! On Ice was regarded as groundbreaking for it’s depiction of a gay couple in anime. The anime was of the sports genre, focusing on figure skating but this isn’t what made it such a popular show. Yuri!!! on Ice (ユーリ!!! on ICE) was an anime that originally aired in 2016.