×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
What's So Gay About Yuri!!! on Ice?


Goto page   Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Яeverse



Joined: 16 Jun 2014
Posts: 1140
Location: Indianapolis
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 9:39 am Reply with quote
Harbor a directly sexual relation to each other? What episode was Yuri's proclamation indicting he felt that way?

Victor comes off as joking about it, so Im not convinced this is truly as canon as the writer mentions.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23807
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 9:56 am Reply with quote
Incredibly interesting article. I didn't bother sampling Yuri!!! on Ice because I'm not huge on sports shows in general and figure skating as a sport is way down on my list of interests. If I do watch a sports show it helps if it's about a bunch of cute girls. However, looking at the gifs that Jacob provided and seeing the steller animation quality, I think I'm going to have to give this a shot. I had read in the Fall Preview Guide the animation was great, but it's one thing to read that and another to see even brief snippets of it. Not gonna lie to you - if this had been about female figure skaters, I would have been all over it. So I'll give this a shot, but I KNOW there is no way it could be better than the immortal Ginban Kaleidoscope (which had a Canadian co-lead, yo)!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Hawkmonger



Joined: 30 May 2014
Posts: 440
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:07 am Reply with quote
Яeverse wrote:

Victor comes off as joking about it, so Im not convinced this is truly as canon as the writer mentions.

Is it not possible to be flirtations in a jokey way AND have genuine feelings behind it? I certainly think so.

Yuri! On Ice has turned out to be the big surprise hit for me this season.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Posts: 1426
Location: New York
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:11 am Reply with quote
@Яeverse
Jake makes note that the characters shy away from textually declaring attraction and that it could stumble off that path. Right now, he's going under the assumption that the series will follow through with what it's doing.

Anyway, great write-up! Very interesting and covers a lot of the issues I have with LGBT+ representation in anime/manga. I'm hoping YOI doesn't veer off, but I have reservations based on previous experience.

One minor thing, though. It felt kinda weird to read the Free characters as "asexual creatures." I think I know what you meant--that the boys of Free aren't really "real" people in general. But asexuality is an orientation too, and asexuals may be viewed as less human, so it was a bit striking to read the phrase in this article. Again, I know what you meant and it's not a huge deal, but I felt inclined to comment for future reference Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
EnigmaticSky



Joined: 06 Aug 2011
Posts: 750
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:14 am Reply with quote
Blood- wrote:
Incredibly interesting article. I didn't bother sampling Yuri!!! on Ice because I'm not huge on sports shows in general and figure skating as a sport is way down on my list of interests.


I'd recommend reconsidering your stance on sports shows. Really any kind of show can be good, and the natural competition a sports show has can make for some really interesting character studies. I'm not big on the shows that are just a fighting anime, but with super powered sports moves instead of attacks, but stuff like Ping Pong and Cross Game are so damn good.

I do hope this article isn't too preempitive. Whole lot left of the season, so I'll wait and see how Yuri on Ice turns out.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
JacobC
ANN Contributor


Joined: 15 Jan 2008
Posts: 3728
Location: SoCal
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:16 am Reply with quote
RestLessone wrote:

One minor thing, though. It felt kinda weird to read the Free characters as "asexual creatures." I think I know what you meant--that the boys of Free aren't really "real" people in general. But asexuality is an orientation too, and asexuals may be viewed as less human, so it was a bit striking to read the phrase in this article. Again, I know what you meant and it's not a huge deal, but I felt inclined to comment for future reference Smile


Right. Yeah, that's definitely what I meant, but I can see how it could be taken in a more negative way, my bad. Anime dazed I'll change it to "asexual beings."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13230
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:18 am Reply with quote
Due to some unfortunate experiences I have an automatic negative reaction to baity type shows. When I see that sort of thing I can't help but think "Oh great, now I'm going to have to deal with those extremist yuri fans who'll insist it's irrefutably canon."

Sure, that kind of thing goes for all shippers, but yuri/yaoi shippers have something extra in their arsenal: "You don't think they're a gay couple? You must be a homophobe!!!" So now I become some kind of evil bigoted a-hole because I don't think Kumiko and Reina want to bone each other.

I'm not a fan of yuri, but I appreciate it when such subject matter is handled well. Not too vauge for the sake of being baity, and not just some quirky comic relief trait. Midori from Tamako Market and Miku from Symphogear being examples (though Miku's feelings do become gag material in the specials).

I also appreciate it when lesbian couples are allowed to be overtly sexual. Not for titillation's sake, mind you, but there's this mindset that yuri couples are all pure and innocent compared to 'vulgar' men dominated relationships. But shows like Kanamemo and Cross Ange allow the girls to have physical needs as if it were something perfectly normal (which it is).

I only speak of yuri because by comparison I'm rather benign to yaoi. Yaoi baiting doesn't bother me nearly as much as yuri baiting, but since I still prefer women I usually skip sausage fest shows. I need something like Free which had at least 2 prominently featured female characters.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Jedai



Joined: 31 May 2009
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:21 am Reply with quote
Very interesting article, articulating some of the distinctions and thank you for the list of shows that depict LGBT relationships more realistically.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
SciasSlash



Joined: 09 Jun 2015
Posts: 118
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:23 am Reply with quote
Kumiko and Reina don't have canon love interests. Taki has no interest in Reina, and Kumiko's never once expressed interest in Shuuichi in the actual show.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13230
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:24 am Reply with quote
SciasSlash wrote:
Kumiko and Reina don't have canon love interests. Taki has no interest in Reina, and Kumiko's never once expressed interest in Shuuichi in the actual show.


But the fact remains that Reina is in love with Taki. It's not something you can just ignore because you want Kumiko and Reina to hook up.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
SciasSlash



Joined: 09 Jun 2015
Posts: 118
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:26 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
SciasSlash wrote:
Kumiko and Reina don't have canon love interests. Taki has no interest in Reina, and Kumiko's never once expressed interest in Shuuichi in the actual show.


But the fact remains that Reina is in love with Taki. It's not something you can just ignore because you want Kumiko and Reina to hook up.


Yeah. I never denied that? But to me, a 'love interest' is something that has an actual potential to be fulfilled. Reina's crush on Taki is absolutely a thing, but 'love interest' is a bit of a misleading word.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13230
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:34 am Reply with quote
SciasSlash wrote:
Yeah. I never denied that? But to me, a 'love interest' is something that has an actual potential to be fulfilled. Reina's crush on Taki is absolutely a thing, but 'love interest' is a bit of a misleading word.


Well, that's a matter of semantics.

Still, Jacob's point is that, at least in Reina's case strictly going by the anime, there's proof that she's not actually a lesbian.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
quaton



Joined: 17 Nov 2014
Posts: 45
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:35 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
I need something like Free which had at least 2 prominently featured female characters.

Those must've been really irrelevant characters then because I don't remember either of them despite my good memory. No way I'd watch a whole series for characters that are bland and one-dimensional enough for me to forget their existences.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
SciasSlash



Joined: 09 Jun 2015
Posts: 118
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:36 am Reply with quote
[quote="Vaisaga"]
SciasSlash wrote:

Still, Jacob's point is that, at least in Reina's case strictly going by the anime, there's proof that she's not actually a lesbian.

She could easily be bisexual, though.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Brakus



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 130
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:43 am Reply with quote
There's a big elephant in the room: Tiger & Bunny.

Let's set aside Fire Emblem for a moment. Even though he is a successful businessman, he still comes off as an "okama" style character in the TV series, especially toward Rock Bison. Fire Emblem does get some great and long-overdue character development in The Rising movie, however.

I always considered Tiger & Bunny very relatable to me as a gay otaku, especially with the way Kotetsu and Barnaby got along -- very rocky at first, and then as the series went on, and Barnaby leared to trust Kotetsu, it became extremely hopeful and positive for viewers like me to see them together. And when Kotetsu takes the hit in Episode 24, Barnaby's reaction is almost heartbreaking. I really believed that Kotetsu and Barnaby, by the end of the TV series, had developed feelings for each other. Even though practically all of it was in the subtext, I knew it was there. Producer Masayuki Ozaki has stated that whatever the viewer's interpretation of their relationship is correct.

Again, setting aside Fire Emblem, do you think Tiger & Bunny was a step forward in gay-positive or gay-relatable characters and situations in anime?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page   Next
Page 1 of 11

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group