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Yuri!!! on Ice Staff Offer Art, Memories of Olympic Figure Skater Denis Ten

Last week, 25-year-old Kazakhstani figure skater and Olympian Denis Ten was murdered in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Yuri!!! on Ice staff, including director Sayo Yamamoto, recalled the impact Ten had on not just the anime series, but on figure skating as a whole. Yamamoto shared her thoughts in English and Japanese while the official Yuri!!! on Ice Twitter account also offered condolences in English, Russian, and Japanese.

Yuri!!! on Ice co-creator Mitsurou Kubo also offered something in memory of Ten; a portrait.

Yuri!!! on Ice character designer Tadashi Hiramatsu wrote a blog post on July 20 about the murder. Hiramatsu wrote that he cannot accept the death of Ten and shared information about a memorial planned for the figure skater. The Medeo High-Mountain Skating Rink in Almaty is attempting to install a memorial for Ten, but must first negotiate with Almaty city officials, as the rink is owned by the city government. A crowdfund is under consideration to fund the memorial.

Hiramatsu also wrote in his blog post that after hearing the news of Ten's death, he went to the Higashifumi skating rink and skated silently for 25 laps; the same age Ten was at the time of his death.

He ended his post expressing condolences for Ten's family and the people of Kazakhstan and promising to support the world of figure skating.

Thanks to Lia of the Rebellion for the news tip

Source: Tadashi Hiramatsu's blog, Mitsurou Kubo's Twitter account, Kazinform