Forum - View topicREVIEW: Yuri!!! on ICE BD+DVD
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CatSword
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Perhaps because Yuri!!! on Ice is much bigger compared to those shows - almost mainstream. It has Funko Pops and T-shirts at Hot Topic. You can go to Wal-Mart and buy the DVD set. |
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kazenoyume
Posts: 425 |
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For Love Stage it's because it's marketed and produced as explicitly a BL anime. This means they can get away with more, because it's right there on the tin what it is, but it also means that inevitably the budget is really low and there's not that much marketing and merch. Dokyusei is the only thing labeled BL I can think of that was given a considerable budget and any kind of prestige treatment by the studio. I also can't think of any BL series that is an original title as opposed to an adaptation. YOI isn't BL. It's a sports anime with a romance as one of the plots. Even if they did try to push it as BL, there would be pushback from it not being centered on the romance. It's all about genre boxes. I can't say definitively why From the New World allowed m/m kissing, but I would imagine the following: 1) Based on a previously existing work that had a lot of critical acclaim, as Bodacious noted. 2) The characters involved were teens. Sort of along the lines of what class A has become, it's considered more 'okay' for teens to engage in same gender relationships because it can be viewed as a 'phase (this isn't me agreeing with it, but that's the mindset). When Yuuri and Victor, two fully grown adults do it, it's obviously not that at all. They're just gay. 3) Going off number two, specifically in the case of New World, all but one of those characters ended up in 'endgame' heterosexual relationships. And the only one who didn't, spoiler[is because he died.] It's not so much the action of the kiss itself as much as the context. This is why you can get away with 'gag' kisses and really fanservicey ones in some shows, but something like YOI where it's a conclusion to the buildup of a normal romantic relationship, is an issue. |
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Oggers
 Posts: 368 Location: Ontario, Canada |
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I can't speak for the King of Prism movie because I haven't seen that, but Devilman Crybaby really isn't a good comparison to make in this case. The reason Devilman Crybaby got away with as much as it did is because it's a Netflix original, so Yuasa and Science Saru were allowed to go completely nuts with the sex and violence as long as they didn't show any genitalia (which they didn't...for the most part, there were still vagina mouths on some of the demons). I'm pretty sure a gay sex scene that explicit wouldn't have been able to be shown on Japanese TV, even if it were airing late at night. Even then, there's still the fact that they weren't as explicit about Ryo being in love with Akira like it was in the manga (though you could still tell that Ryo was in love with Akira even if nobody said it outright). |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5507 Location: Mexico |
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Thank you, your post was great! I was going to reply the exact same thing! Stuart Smith always makes such broad claims to support his "argument" even though such claims always have zero basis on reality. It is well-known that Victor and Yuuri's popularity is eons bigger than Yurio's. I'd also add that at Comiket, the amount of Victor x Yuuri circles hugely outnumber all Yurio pairings.
Just to link one of them, here's an article that was published around the time of the Olympics by a Japanese gay figure skating fan titled "Watching Yuri on Ice makes watching the Olympics a hundred times more fun" One of my favorite lines in the article: "『ユーリ!!! on ICE』は、スケートファンの私、そしてゲイの私、どちらの立場で見ても、本当に素敵な作品でした" Roughly translates to: "As a skating fan and as a gay man, from either perspective, Yuri on Ice is a wonderful production."
For concrete examples, the artist that drew the poster that was included in the Yuri on Life guidebook received a lot of backlash about not including the rings, and she replied that the publisher had forced her to remove it. Later on, in response to the backlash, the ring was added back on. Furthermore, there is a production sketch sheet that shows the rings actually have an engraving on the inside with the shape of a snowflake. This has only been shown in a few cons, and the staff thought it was going to be included in the YOI Production artbook, and expressed their surprise when they learned that it was not included. Many publishers have done their utmost to cover or censor the rings, which seems a bit much for something that, according to detractors "isn't proof of gay" |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11431 |
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^ I like the chagrined expression on Victor's face at Yuri being wedged in between him and Yūri.
 It's as if the artist were having their say about being told to do that when they'd rather put Victor in the middle. Even Yuri doesn't seem all that happy about it, with that forced smile he's wearing.
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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So it took many people to get me to watch Yuri on Ice. I was just so skeptical despite loving figure skating since I was a child. I own some ice skating movies or books even. But, I really had a tough time thinking this anime would be worth my time. So I didn’t even start watching it until after the simulcast, sacrificing some sleep in the process. I did end up being pleased with the show enough to actually buy the LE set which is the newest anime I’ve purchased in about two years. I found out recently when my former boss was celebrating turning 50 that she likes the show as well. Kihara and Suzaki using music from it for their short program this season was neat too. So I think there are genuine and special things about it, probably many of the ones this review outlined.
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crazieanimefan1
 Posts: 410 Location: Auburn, AL |
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I was one of the lucky ones to even get an LE. Someone forgot to mention this, but I found out through some anime sources that the LE of Yuri on Ice sold out almost as immediately as it came out.
I told my husband that later and even he was surprised. I don't know if that's the fastest selling LE blu-ray combo I've seen lately, but to me it was quite a feat since many do embrace this show, myself included, despite it's flaws. I also sort of relate to Yuuri since I suffer with depression. Seeing his anxiety, I could understand that back when I was younger. Yurio I hope gets better screentime in the movie. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing Viktor's backstory, or family life before he got into skating. We've seen Yurio's grandpa, heard of his mother, who was cut from the anime, and even saw Yuuri's family. Never heard much of Viktor's. Just the dog. |
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catandmouse
Posts: 214 |
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Or you know, you can just like the series for no specific reason?
This series is going to be the death of me(or more specifically my wallet), I just really enjoyed it but I'm also not looking for validation as to why I enjoy it. It is what it is |
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CrowLia
Posts: 5507 Location: Mexico |
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I forgot to mention it in my previous comment, but thanks for the great review, Jacob! I think you really touched on the show's greatest qualities. Like many, 2016 was a horrible year for me, and the quarter in which Yuri on Ice was airing was particularly one of the lowest points in my life and YOI was a ray of light in a period of great loss and hopelessness. I could relate to Yuuri's anxiety and self-deprecating attitude a lot, and watching him struggle and fight through it to come out stronger at the end motivated me to pull through. I can never fully express how much Yuri on Ice helped me and what it means to me. I will be forever grateful to Sayokan for all her passion and years of fighting to make this anime happen
I had never bought an anime DVD or BD in my entire life, but I got both the Japanese and American versions for Yuri on Ice. In almost every aspect the Japanese version is superior -i'm still disappointed the Funi version doesn't include Kenji Miyamoto's coreography videos. I do prefer the disk art in the Funi version for the reasons willag mentioned, they feature beautiful scenes of Victor and Yuuri, and the art booklet and postcards are a very nice bonus, especially since a lot of the art included in them hadn't come out when the Japanese version was released. |
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1822 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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Right Stuf still has stock on hand, but who knows how long that will last. Haven't seen the show but will buy it, eventually, due to being directed by Sayo Yamamoto and the generally positive reviews. |
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Chocoreto
Posts: 105 |
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Yuri on Ice was this popular because it made the ship come true. And that's it.
I've said it before, but shipping does play a big role in series, and this is solely the writer's responsibility. Of course, every viewer has their own personal experiences and preferences, but usually, when we root for a ship, it's because the show is written in a way that makes us see something in the interaction between two characters (regardless of their genders), that makes it enticing enough to root for. Plus, people love to pair male characters and we don't get many ships like that come true, and that's the main reason Yuri on Ice had such enormous success. When we're talking about two male characters, all we'll usually get will be a feminized uke and a dominant seme who'll cross the line of sexual assault. We've seen this enough in Junjou Romantica. Romance for romance's sake will never be able to produce a decent story that can stand on its own, other than satisfying some kinks. But, if the characters have goals of their own and find love through their experiences, then, it can be something worthwhile. Yuri on Ice is a story that you can't help but love dearly, but when you sit back and look at it objectively, you'll realize that a story that thins its characters to try and cover everything in 12 episodes and leaves its protagonistic duo aside, when they were the reason the show was endearing in the first place, does not deserve an A+ rating. |
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Crisha
Moderator
 Posts: 4290 |
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@kazenoyume and CrowLia - Thanks, I really enjoyed reading your posts on the Japanese fandom. While I follow a lot of Japanese artists on twitter and pixiv, I am limited by Google translate to understand what they post. I know little about the Japanese YOI fandom other than what other English speakers say second hand about them or what I can parse from their posts using a translator service. I know they were up in arms about the rings being excluded from some of the official art, and I've noticed stock for some Yurio merchandise on websites I order still up while Yuuri and Victor are sold out.
And also, a big thanks to Jacob for an amazing review of the series. You're able to thoughtfully describe several of the best things I enjoyed about YOI, but with 10X more eloquence. I enjoyed reading your review. |
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Chester McCool
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This is all baseless speculation. No anime is bound by its source material to that kind of degree. Plenty of anime adaptions tone down or flat out omit more controversal or inappropriate-for-the-timeslot content. Minors drinking and smoking, explicit nudity or sexual content, brutal violence,and so forth What isn't speculation is the fact plenty of other anime feature blatant, uncensored homosexual content in them. The most obvious ones being BL titles since that's what they base their entire appeal on. All the conspiracy theories and conjecture on why YOI was so noncommital are just that. Despite what some people say, gay isn't the main theme of the show. Skating, determination, and overcoming the odds are. It's a sports show, not a romance. If they're gay, then whatever, it's about as relevent to the series as Korra suddenly being gay in the finale of Legend of Korra is. If you want my personal opinion, if it was censorship, then they made the right call and whoever made that order deserves a raise. YOI did better than any BL show ever did by a country mile. BL inherantly has a niche audience. Sports shows do not. If the team wanted to make it Super Lovers But Ice Skating then kudos to the person who reeled them in. It has a lot more mass appeal as it does now and is a massive financial hit because of it. Figure skating is massive in Japan, and catering to the widest audience instead of fujoshi was a smart move. |
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Crisha
Moderator
Posts: 4290 |
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I don't think small changes like explicitly showing the kiss in episode 7 would suddenly define it as BL. The show would still be primarily a sports show with a side of romance, except there's no censorship with the kiss. The BL genre is defined by more than just guys kissing.
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Songster01
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It's bloody obvious that the series is a sport anime, just as it clearly has a slow-burn incidental queer romance between the male leads. However, just because it’s a sports anime doesn’t magically negate the importance of any content that refers to other genres. There is much to laud in the series, and most people I know who are thrilled by Victor and Yuuri's romance are at least as thrilled by many other brilliant aspects of the show: narrative, character designs, animation, characterization, the mostly very accurate depiction of the competitive figure skating world. In fact most of the queer people I know are also now following the sport ardently. The combination of queerness _and_ fs appealed to queer skaters who have repeatedly commented and supported the show: Adam Rippon, Johnny Weir, Joe Johnson, and Eric Radford. The excellent combination of elements in the series appealed to some in the international LGBTQIAP2S+ community; the possibility of (the all-too rare) happy queer romance might have been one hook, but it was the glorious whole that kept them enthralled. It shouldn't be a surprise that different elements may provide an initial hook for different audience members for a range of reasons, but that does not negate the importance of other aspects of the show. Note the above also does not subscribe to the outdated notion of the audience for YOI being a binary: fujoshi vs. everyone else, with only the fujoshi caring about Teh GaYYYY. Thanks for erasing the very real queer folks inside and outside Japan (like myself) who watched the show and enjoyed it. As for censorship, it’s not speculation. Sayo Yamamoto, the director, herself remarked on how she faced tough internal censorship in the Go! Yuuri Go! official fanbook. Link to the screenshot of the excerpt where she talks about the end scene in ep7 as well as a translation: http://gogoeeg.tumblr.com/post/162106083219/sayo-yamamoto-talking-about-the-kiss-scene Strangely enough I think Ms. Yamamoto is more of an expert than you are on the ins and outs of the business of anime production. Removed personal insult. Economic success placed above the desires of a creative artist, moreover a woman in a misogynist, homophobic society, pushing against her bosses and bigoted attitudes in a male-dominated industry. I celebrate her and not the prejudices she came up against. Finally, the heteronormativity inherent in setting far higher standards for proving a queer romance exists vs. a straight one is pretty damn poisonous. Also poisonous is the idea that queerness is _only_ about romance and sex, as if incorporating platonic elements into the relationships with their partners somehow means they are actually “gal pals” or “bros before hos”, not a couple. We see plenty of straight couples who don’t have sex or kiss without people having to strenuously argue that they are in a relationship. Sayo and Kubo made it clear that Yuuri and Victor are multiple things to each other, as Yuuri desired in the famous beach scene in episode 4: Victor should remain his complicated self, and not play one restricted role as set out by society. BL all too often reduces queer men to their sexual relationships, and often toxic ones at that, so let’s not repeat that wrong here. Edited to remove insult. --willag |
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