Love Wins on “Yuri on Ice”, It’s a Victuuri!

November 18, 2016 Angel Wilson

Yuri on Ice

I’m hesitant to just label a queer ship canon.  I’ve been baited far too many times.  But guys, Yuri on Ice has delivered.

Since the start of the show, the lead characters of Yuri on Ice have been extraordinarily shippable.  I tend to avoid sports anime because I don’t want to be bombarded with fan service with no payoff, but a trusted sports anime friend insisted that this show felt different.  

I joined in around episode 3 and it didn’t feel like baiting to me.  It felt like a slow burn BL story.  Would it pay off, though?  Sports anime has a bad reputation in that field and I was terrified I’d get burned.

But no, friends, Yuri on Ice did it.  They made the queer ship canon.  Yuuri and Victor are officially a thing, folks.  And it’s not ambiguous to me.  They kissed on the lips live on international television at the China Cup.  And that was after they were shown sleeping in the same bed and several episodes after Yuuri confessed his love on national television.  

But hey, if those weren’t enough, we got a kiss and it’s really hard to deny we are seeing a legitimate queer romance play out in a sports anime.

Despite this, there are still detractors.  There are some people out there insisting that it’s a hug and nothing more.  We see Victor diving towards Yuuri, their lips inches apart, and then he shuts his eyes, but we never see the lips make contact.  This has been primarily attributed to censorship on Japanese television.  The creators have stated that Yuri on Ice barely passed the network censors.  

There’s speculation that the only way they could get queer protagonists on screen in a show that wasn’t explicitly labeled as BL/Yaoi was to hide the kiss behind Victor’s sleeve.  This is just speculation, of course, and their next smooch could be portrayed full on without a damn arm blocking the shot.  (Have you seen the preview for the next episode? Highlight for spoiler:  That tie pull is something else).

Despite the obstructed view of the kiss, it was undoubtedly a kiss.  Fans have gone all out to illustrate such.

But if the 3-D models and sketches aren’t enough, just watch the scene yourself and be the judge.

So congratulations, Yuri on Ice fandom. We did it!  Our ship has sailed and we’re only halfway through the first season.

Author: Angel Wilson

Angel is the admin of The Geekiary and a geek culture commentator. They earned a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. They have contributed to various podcasts and webcasts including An Englishman in San Diego, Free to Be Radio, and Genre TV for All. They identify as queer.


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15 thoughts on “Love Wins on “Yuri on Ice”, It’s a Victuuri!”

  1. I’m really still hesitant to term it as canon since I’m still waiting for any official statement from the creators. But the 7th episode surprised me.

    1. Kubo-sensei made a statement on his Twitter account that it was definitely a kiss: http://yuris-on-ice.tumblr.com/post/153363762917/gotohellsenpai-kubo-confirmed-victor-and-yuri

      There was also a longer tweet where Kubo discussed how it was a natural “romance” but I’m having trouble finding that one to quote right now. Also Kubo’s Twitter is entirely in Japanese so it’s hard to search for it (I don’t speak Japanese).

      But yes I am also amazingly floored by this episode.

        1. Oh it wasn’t me saying that. It was me summarizing Kubo-sensei, so I’m not sure, but I interpreted it as meaning it unfolded organically. The characters and story led them to a romance instead of them aiming to write a romance from the start. But again, this is me attempting to decipher Kubo-sensei’s tweet in Japanese so I have Bing’s translation working against me here.

          1. Oh, I understand it now. I just wasn’t sure what it meant by “natural romance,” before you replied I was thinking something along the lines of a “limited” romance or something like that. Thanks for explaining! And I totally get it that it’s hard to translate Japanese sometimes, but it’s better than nothing right?

            1. Agreed. I’ve been stalking Kubo’s twitter and Bing has been giving me some really weird translations lol. But I use it anyway.

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  4. In what episode were they seen sleeping in the same bed? I don’t believe I ever caught that scene.

    1. At the China Cup they share a bed before Yuuri’s free skate. It slowly pans up as Victor rests his head and Yuuri’s chest. There’s a lot of dialogue regarding Yuuri’s need to sleep, too. His exhaustion is a major plot point of the episode.

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