I’ve wanted to do a review of Yuri!!! on Ice since it aired a few years ago, but aside from a few brief comments and a short article I wrote on filling the void left by this amazing show after the season ended I never really discussed the series in any depth. So I’m going to rectify that right now.

I love this show–many of us do–and it was awesome seeing fans of the sport crossing into the anime-fandom as a result of watching the show as well as watching long time anime/manga fans crossing into the winter-sports fandom to obsess over how beautiful the cardiography is and the skill of skaters. Having formerly been a competitive athlete in skating, seeing two of my passions cross over has been a dream.

This is why I feel like the wait for Yuri!!! on Ice: Ice Adolescence has been a bloody nightmare.

I understand that it may take a while to produce, but this film has been promised to release for a few years now and the wait is just causing the hype to die. If it needs another two years, tell us–right? Why drag out the promise of more content with nothing to back it up over and over? To me, that’s just a quick way to lose your fanbase as it makes some (myself included) not bother to pay attention to the new promised release date because the expectation has too high of a chance to not be met. I’m almost at the point that I don’t even want to hear about it on my feed until it’s out, which is a shame because I’ve been a huge advocate of the series since it’s initial release years ago. I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there.

One of the things I loved about the series was its accuracy. Lots of people pointed out the accuracy of movement, but I appreciated the attention to sound.

I don’t remember anyone else pointing this out before, though I once did, but the sound for Yuri!!! on Ice (when the skates glide on the ice) is so perfect I could scream. Like, whenever I hear it I just go, YES – THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WHEN I SIT SPIN! or YES – THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE TO GLIDE BACKWARDS!

Moreover, the little seeds put in there for skaters/fans that you’ll understand if you skate and might miss or misinterpret if you don’t are also fun. For example:

^THIS IS SO REAL. His words with the image may make it sound like his feet are taking the worst hit, but figure skating can take it out of the whole body. His feet here are actually quite normal for anyone wearing professional skates. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve taken off the boots and seen this or imprints of my skates indented into the flesh with little dots or designs from my socks added in. It’s because your skates have to be extra tight (close to cutting off circulation can even be good) to protect your ankles. Loose skates can equal breaking an ankle if you aren’t careful so, yeah… that’s actually not that bad and his words probably have more to do with exhaustion than feet-pain.

All in all, as someone who has figure skated for years, this anime is amazing. It’s my favorite sport-anime on the market. It is beautiful and I am really looking forward to more… if it ever comes out.