Recommended
I don't usually write reviews, but after seeing all the 10's on here, I felt as if I had to. Also, this is my first review, so please forgive me if it's a bit over the place. Yuri!!! On Ice was one of my favorite anime from last year. It's a show I thought I wouldn't like at all, but when it began airing, everyone was telling me how good it was, so I had to watch it. I was hooked instantly on episode five. I nearly cried on the last episode and I knew quickly it deserved to be in my top ten. Afew months later, people began going nuts over a short special that was going to show Yurio's and Otabek's exhibition skate coming out in May and even I got quite excited. Now the special is finally out, and even being a YOI fan, I found some issues in a two minute special.
In the original series, I was super happy to see that they gave Yurio a friend, and I do think it was a good idea to make a small special showing something from the show that we didn't get to see before. It's a great idea to see Yurio and Otabek bond together and see their friendship grow and before their exhibition skate together, but when do they talk about skating together? Never. We don't get to see them talking about skating together, it just happens. Granted, there is an upcoming manga showing them talking about skating together as a pair, but this is the special, not the manga, and this two minute special would've worked way better as an OVA. An OVA would've shown Otabek and Yurio talking together, discussing their exhibition skate, bonding together, and letting their friendship grow. Because of this, this short feels like it's rushed, and that problem also ties into the original show, which was also a bit rushed. Then again, this is a two minute special that's trying to be its own thing with a story that's not meant to be extremely criticized. All the creators wanted to do was show Yurio and Otabek skating together as a pair, and that's totally fine. This isn't something that needs a big story to carry it to greatness, this is its own thing that's trying to fix a small issue/nitpick we had with the original TV series, and for what we did get, it was handled rather well. This special is still interesting and immerses you in what's going on and what's happening. Not only that, it also brings back that excitement we got from the TV series. White it could've been better as an OVA, what we got was passable.
A problem I had in the original series was the skating animation. Not all of it was bad, but there was a massive decline as the series went on, giving us a lot of hilarious faces and poses. In this special, however, there is none of that. The animation here is GORGEOUS. It's crisp, clear, fast-paced, and beautiful. There is not one shot that has a derp moment. The animation is mostly centered on Yurio, and every single second on him is near perfection. The way he moves and dances make him feel as if he's real. He moves like an actual human being. Even Otabek, who doesn't move around that much, is also beautifully animated and drawn. When he does move, he feels like he's real because both he and Yurio move so naturally. The shots given to both of the characters and even the audience are well drawn and are actually clever. When Yurio does a special Johnny Weir move, the "camera" pans to him leaning back and gliding across the ice, and even then it flows perfectly. The animation knows when the show the perfect shots, knows how to make the characters move naturally and humanly, and knows how to be beautiful. The series animation may have faulted in some areas, but here, it almost makes up for it by being almost perfect.
I enjoyed every character from Yuri!!! On Ice; even the side characters. While they didn't get as much screen time as I wish, I still remember them for their relatability and personalities. In here, I have only two characters to criticize, in both a positive and slightly negative way. Let's start with Yurio. Yurio is a very interesting character. He's an angsty teen with a soft spot for tigers and his grandpa, while also having incredible talent in skating. In this special, it kind of delivers on what his character is: An edgy teen. The music and dances perfectly embodies his character, and honestly, make him more interesting. The music is screaming, "Fuck you, this is who I am," and that's all I really have to say. It's just Yurio. An angsty, edgy teenager. It's quite incredible to see how you can show who your character is from just poses and music. Otabek, however, I'm mixed on. In my opinion, he was one of the most boring characters from YOI and was shoehorned in so hard. And nothing has changed. He still feels shoehorned and boring. What do we know about him? He likes bears, he's a DJ, and he's Kazahk. Yeah, those things about him are pretty cool, but he as a character still falls flat. I know he doesn't say much, but if this short can make Yurio a bit more interesting, it's a bit disappointing that Otabek hasn't even changed. I wish the special could have made him do a bit more. I do like Otabek for what we got in the show, but I wish he did more. It's quite disappointing. But then again, this special is trying to be something else and totally different from the series, and it's not looking for huge character development, and I probably wouldn't haven't been so hard on it if Yurio stayed the way he was, but since Yurio changed, it's disappointing how Otabek is still boring. Again, this isn't looking for huge character development, and I do feel like I'm being a bit hard on it, and for what we got, it's pretty decent.
I love YOI, and I do believe this a good special to tie the fans over until the movie comes out, but there are a few issues that people aren't recognizing. While the animation is near perfect, Yurio became a bit more interesting, it's great to see Yurio and Otabek interacting with each other more, Otabek remains boring, it's a bit rushed, and we don't really get to see Otabek and Yurio talking with each other about skating together. Yet, this is a special that isn't meant to be judged so harshly, if it was, I'd probably lower the rating to a 6/10. YOI is an anime for everyone, and the love behind it is so strong it just makes me love the series more, and this special has the same love put into the show. If there is something else I really like about the short, it's that it's very entertaining. I was drawn to the screen not only because I was happy to see something YOI related again, but because of the animation and that it was just interesting. It's a good short, nothing more and nothing less, and it's a good tie up for the upcoming movie, and that makes me incredibly happy.
