THERE ARE HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD BEWARE
I made a post recently discussing why a kiss in Yuri on Ice wasn’t necessary for me, that it wasn’t something I needed to see to appreciate the relationship between Yuuri and Victor, a relationship that has been framed with the amount of care that few other relationships in anime get. The general consensus in the responses were, “Hell yeah, but if a kiss happens, that’s just gravy” and that’s how I felt as well.
What I didn’t expect, however, was for a kiss to be handled so well that it wasn’t just gravy, but a whole new serving to digest.
In this episode, Yuuri is facing old demons with a new twist. His anxiety has evolved, and now, he’s terrified that a bad performance will reflect poorly upon Victor. Victor, for the first time, seems legitimately challenged by how Yuuri’s dilemma.
Ask yourself, how many times in an anime (or any medium for that matter) would this have actually just been a sudden kiss? If this was a shoujo, a yaoi, a romance novel, a film, how many times would it have just been a “shut up and kiss me moment”?
But it wasn’t, and because Yuri on Ice actually TOOK THE TIME to create characters that are more than just fan service fodder and place them in a story meant to highlight this relationship as something more than just bishie boys getting almost physical, we get a scene that his like a truck, emotionally.
Victor watches as Yuuri summons the strength to put on a winning performance, relieved by the tears he shed moments before. Despite the exhaustion and lack of sleep, he decides to call an audible and change his finale.
Victor, who has consistently been cool as a cucumber up until now, is shown hiding his face in his hands…then with a look of determination, runs to greet Yuuri…with this.
Not because a kiss is some sort of remedy for fear, anxiety, and stress. Not because Yuuri needed it to heal him, but because Yuuri’s efforts, determination, and desire to captivate Victor stirred Victor to the point of expressing those emotions that came boiling over.
I didn’t expect this to become one of my favorite relationships in anime history. I didn’t expect to care this much. It’s a sports anime. Yet here I am, in literal awe of the direction and writing in this series.
Some people might scoff at this being a big deal, but if you’ve sat through the queer baiting, the presentation of homosexual behavior as nothing but predatory, and the repetitive shaming and misrepresentation of anything gay in anime, you know. You know that this is a big deal, that this is an achievement.
Yuri on Ice is setting the standard. From here on out, no writer or director can cop out without being called out for not doing what has already been done.
Congratulations, Yuri on Ice fandom. Enjoy this win.
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