The Enduring Legacy of Yuri on Ice

Author

Stephanie Liu
October 23, 2026

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Image via MAPPA

October 6, 2026 marked the ten-year anniversary of Yuri on Ice, which premiered on October 6, 2016. At the time, MAPPA had produced and released some works that were popular among the more core otaku crowd (Kids on the Slope, Terror in Resonance, Ushio & Tora, I’d say; I’d include Inuyashiki, but that was a year later), but it definitely was not the household name that it is now thanks to major projects like Jujutsu Kaisen or Chainsaw Man. People weren’t flocking to watch Yuri on Ice because of MAPPA’s name, but rather, we were on the edges of our seats to see the relationship and career drama of the titular figure skater, Yuri Katsuki.

For a series that basically included figure skating in some form every week, the animations were amazingly smooth. MAPPA didn’t rely on 3DCG for it either, like what the highly mocked Wandance anime adaptation did. The writing is so earnest, too, with no real “antagonist” or mean-spirited competitor that you might see in other sports anime. It’s really just a show about figure skating. Perhaps that’s boring for some, though. I remember people at the time crafting all sorts of wild conspiracy theories, like how the show would kill off Makkachin (Victor’s dog) or that Victor was secretly evil.

Two things really set Yuri on Ice apart, and it’s why it still holds a special place for me and its long-time fans. The first thing is its popularity with professional figure skaters. It was really something in 2016 to have actual professionals—some who probably had never watched an episode of anima before—delightedly reacting to and talking about the show. It’s especially cool because some of these skaters, such as Johnny Weir, served as the inspiration for some moments in the show. Johnny Weir’s rose crown and rose bouquet from 2010 are directly referenced by a younger Viktor in the show (which The Geekiary compares by putting the two images side by side).

The second thing about Yuri on Ice is the casual BL-ness of it all. Yes, I certainly did not expect the show to be BL when I first watched it. As I mentioned before, the show is very earnest and almost idealistic in its writing. No one has an issue with the fact that Viktor and Yuri K. are just kind of in a relationship or kiss or whatever. The reveal of what Viktor thought was happening and why he even came to visit Yuri in the first place was absolutely inspired. Tumblr was amazing that day.

I did think that MAPPA left room for plausible deniability, so as not to alienate those who were just there for the figure skating. It’s too bad, because this left enough room for people to basically go, “Nuh-uh!” about how Yuri and Viktor didn’t actually kiss, or that the engagement ring isn’t actually an engagement ring.

Yuri on Ice, to put it bluntly, probably would not have achieved the worldwide fame and popularity it enjoyed in 2016 if it had been made and released today. It’s rather similar to the effect of JoJo Fridays, where every week had people discussing the episodes and posting comics or memes. But I think for this show specifically, it worked better on a more insulated site like Tumblr. If even Tumblr was annoying about the Vikturi relationship or wanting the other shoe to drop on a show that just wants to cover a normal figure skating competition (with a side of romance and shenanigans), I cannot imagine what it would be like on 2026 Twitter.

As a Canadian, I often said that my favorite character was JJ (the, uh, Canadian) when traveling abroad. He was such a weirdly accurate depiction of a Canadian that didn’t default to just “nice and apologizes a lot” that I was hooked. My favorite fan-event memory for Yuri on Ice was going to the Animate cafe and trading Yuri K. for JJ and then becoming “The JJ Girl” because people started coming right up to me to just give me their JJs. Like damn, didn’t realize how unpopular he is in Taiwan…

It’s extremely unfortunate how MAPPA has been handling Yuri on Ice since then, though. The fandom is still big, and it gave MAPPA so much money from merchandise, Blu-Ray sales, and event tickets. Yet MAPPA still announced the cancellation of the Ice Adolescence movie in 2024, with no clear explanation for why. Some say it’s because they pocketed the money from Yuri on Ice and funneled it to the more “profitable and better” projects like Jujutsu Kaisen. Others say it’s just because MAPPA doesn’t want to work on a movie that’s associated with BL or might have a BL plot. Hard to say for sure, and the “various circumstances” that MAPPA cited only fuel the conspiracies.

An important person to note here is Sayo Yamamoto, an anime director and storyboard artist, as well as the key to Yuri on Ice’s success. Without her, there would be no Yuri on Ice. Or it would exist, but it would definitely not be as good. She directed, wrote, and oversaw the script for each episode. You may also know her from her work directing Michiko & Hatchin and Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.

She also storyboarded the first opening for Kakegurui (2017), which is her most recent credit. No wonder the second season’s opening animation had no sauce.This opening was a lot of fun to watch, and I never skipped it precisely because it was so enjoyable. If you haven’t seen it before, check it out here.

In any case, if you’ve got nothing else to do this weekend, why not watch or re-watch Yuri on Ice? It’s only 12 episodes long, so you can marathon it in a day if you have the time. Hop on peak.

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