Otabek Altin facts! I wanted to put all tidbits and facts about Otabek into one place since they seem to be spread out over multiple places. Some of these will be common knowledge, some of these will be more obscure, and there is some repetition, but I wanted to make sure they all had sources (as best as I could anyway). Please let me know if I’ve missed anything so I can add it here. Otabek Altin is a male figure skater from Kazakhstan. “Otabek” is an Uzbek name and “Altin” means “gold” in Kazakh. (x) His birthday is on October 31st and he’s 18 at the time of the GPF (he’s 18 in the WTTM manga and at NHK Trophy which is held in November)
He’s 168 cm/5'6" (official website)
He DJs in his spare time (WTTM manga) He ends up placing 4th in the Grand Prix Final. His short program is Samarkand Overture and free program is Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, 2. Movement “Advent” (Genesis edition). He joins Yuri’s exhibiton Welcome to the Madness. Extra info about Welcome to the Madness can be found here. About his personality and senior debut (official website):
“Not making his feelings shown outwardly, he only thinks stoically about skating. He is reticent and shy but his skating is eloquent. In last season’s world championships, he made his senior debut and achieved 3rd place. In the grand prix series, this season is his first time to participate and he is the dark horse. He boasts a tremendous popularity with the people as a Kazakh hero.”
About his training history (fandom wikia/episode 10):
“Five years prior to the Barcelona GPF, Otabek was a participant of a training camp run by Yakov Feltsman. It was his first year as a Junior, and due to his inability to keep up with the Russian skaters in his bracket, he was moved to the novice class where he met Yuri Plisetsky. It was then that Otabek decided not to carry on with ballet, realising there was no right way to skate. Afterwards, he moved around to train, from Russia to America, then to Canada. It has only been a year since he was able to return to his home rink in Almaty, Kazakhstan. […]He received a silver at Skate America for the current season, and gold at the NHK Trophy.”
JJ and Otabek were rinkmates (Go Yuuri Go!!!) Leo follows Otabek’s private account (WTTM manga) Otabek hates SNS (social media) (kubo) His Instagram account is otabek-altin and the caption for his post in the ending is “This escalator is so long. It’s been a long time since I last came to Almaty.”
The inspiration for Otabek Altin is most likely Denis Ten, from the fandom wiki:
“Otabek is based off Kazakh skater and 2014 Olympic bronze medallist, Denis Ten, who was also born and based in Almaty, and often received teddy bear plushies of the fictional character Ted, like the teddy bear Otabek carries in Episode 12. He was also a musician in his free time, which is most likely where Otabek’s DJ-ing hobby comes from.”
Factoids from YOI Guide Book translated by yumebeats:
- Had his senior debut last year and got bronze at Worlds - He doesn’t care about making friends w/ others - He doesn’t hate people but he gives off that impression - Yurio is the one exception - Yurio didn’t realize who he was at first when Otabek rescued him from his fangirls - Otabek was in the novice class at the summer camp - Also, the guidebook lists him as 18, what is the truth - He knew if he couldn’t discover something no one else could do, he’d never win - Even though he didn’t make podium, he left a strong impression on the entire world - He didn’t stand out at all in his junior years but now he finds himself among the top senior skaters - He trained in many countries - Yakov was running the summer camp where he met Yurio - His body is stiff and he can’t remember choreography quickly - His junior years were a period of trial and error - Okay yes it confirms here that JJ taught him the quad salchow - Otabek’s strength is forging new paths for himself whenever he hits a wall - He chose the Samarkand Overture 2 make a strong impact as a new entry to the ranks of top skaters - His SP costume is meant to emphasis his status as the representative from Kazakhstan - His skating is supposed to be very crisp and solid - The image for his FS is “I will confidently lead my country! Follow me, my countrymen!”
How the concept of Otabek came about (x):
Otabek is a solitary bad boy who is also the god of victory who loves Yuri (x):
Otabek has a lot of mischievous friends (x):
Yuri finds Otabek cool and is glad Otabek sees them as equals:
About miscellaneous relationships (x):
Otabek helped Yuri come up with names for Yuri’s hypothetical ice show (x) Otabek is manly and decisive (fanbook):
Read about Otabek’s costume design here and here The motorcycle he rides in episode 10 is a Harley Davidson Street 750 (x)