We be bloggin'

Eeeeey, and on the second day of Weebsmas, Two ice skaters fell in love! When I, Star, originally, thought of the concept of this post back in 2019 it was going to be a play-by-play of moments where this theme was apparent. Now, 4 years later I realize we didn’t even review this anime… So I’m going to do my best with an in-depth review of this beloved, Boyslove.

At the time, I was new to the fujyoshi world and honestly couldn’t begin to guess the tropes of this anime or any Boyslove. It was a world far removed from me since I loved watching Seinen. I stepped out of my bubble to casually watch this anime to get a grasp on an upcoming group cosplay. At the time, the Winter Olympics were also in full swing that year and my favorite event is Ice skating so naturally I was incredibly ready for a romance between two male skaters. Man was that everything I wanted and more.

Much like the real world, there is a lot of open-ended questions by the end of this story. That doesn’t mean that it was any less entertaining or gratifying to watch. Some things are just left unsaid, which was hard for the viewers to accept, myself included. I, like many other viewers/fujyoshi/fudanshi/romance otaku were left wanting more and by popular demand the studio announced a prequel to one of the main characters in the story. This was highly anticipated and was NEVER recieved. We are still waiting…

I need you all to understand that this is not an understatement. So much so, that the fanbase took upon itself to fantasize about a world where a live-action was created. There’s even videos making fun of a live-adaption of the anime.

The worst part is, there were so many promo images about what the movie was going to be about and what it will portay as one half of the epically romantic duo. We even had a premiere date. But no movie was made and no explanation given.

So you can image how upset the viewers were. The images were gorgeous! This was the biggest let down of that year. Now, thinking back on it, COVID probably halted a lot of the production of this movie. Many of the viewship was left fading away but there are die-hards that will never forget this artful story of Yuri on Ice.

But before you begin to think that this story was supposed to be a serious one, the original anime was actually quite comedic and in a way, very realistic to how some skaters become stronger. Like most sports anime there is a subtextual point in an atheletes career where they need a coach and who better to coach then an ex-champion of the sport. This is that story. The BEST part of this anime is that the characters were modeled from REAL SKATERS. Not to say that this was their forbidden romance (because that’s a delulu thought) but that to real fans of the sport, we had more context than your average Boyslove viewer. (Also shining a light on Queer male skaters which is amazing to see internationally.)

Anyways, I digress. Just know that a lot of heartfelt thought and research went into the making of this sports/Boyslove/comedy anime. So much so, that its popularity had the actual skaters rolling and inspired to the point where skaters actually danced to the OST. With anime becoming more mainstream, it was bound to come to this and, I’m not mad about it. (Just look at Hanyu’s performances and outfits the similarities are impeccable.)

Lastly, I will address the resonating theme of the anime which is leaving your heart on the ice. It’s the core of the story where the passion for the sport meets the love the athletes have for each other. So in a lot of ways, it’s a coming-of-age story of how one skater achieves greatness by the power of love and passion. The literal examples used in the anime refer to the Latin terms “Eros” and “Agape”. Where “Eros” is to express a desperate, addictive, aggressive, need that a lustful love may have, while, “Agape” is a soft, heartfelt, blissful romantic love. Our pupil in the story was challenged to show both emotions in his performance and only when he understands those feelings wholeheartedly in himself would he truly showcase the performance that was made for him.

This story is a lot okay. We love it here. We hate it here. We may never get a prequel. This too I’ve accepted and now I should watch it again.

AishiteLOVEru~

Star