Characters / Yuri!!! on Ice - Yuri Katsuki

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Yuri Katsuki

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Japanese), Jessie James Grelle (English)

"I tried to ignore a lot of things by focusing on skating. I wonder what I need so I can keep skating on my own..."

A 23 (later 24)-year-old Japanese figure skater who, after monumental losses at the Sochi Grand Prix and all of the following major competitions, decides to move back to his hometown to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Everything changes for him when his childhood idol, Victor Nikiforov, follows him to Japan and offers to become his coach.

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A-F

• Accent Slip-Up: He usually speaks standard Japanese, but he slips back into his native Saga dialect when he gets drunk. He also talks to his mother in his native dialect over the phone in the first episode.
• The Ace: Although not to the same extent as Victor, he's still seen as this by both his fellow Japanese skaters and skating fans. He's even recognized as the "ace of Japan" or "Japan's ace" — whichever you prefer.
• Achilles' Heel: Downplayed. Yuri excels in presentation, though he tends to fall short when it comes to getting a high technical score. As indicated in the official character databook, Yuri has a perfect score in both skating and step sequences, and a nearly-perfect score in his spins as well... though the score given for his jumps could be considered slightly above average at best. This is backed up by the fact that the only quads he knows are the quadruple toe loop and Salchow (the latter quad being a hit-and-miss move for him)... at least at first.
• Affectionate Nickname: Somewhat; in Yurio's nicer moments, he calls Yuri "pork cutlet bowl" instead of the usual insults. To a lesser extent, Victor calls Yuri a piglet or "little piggy" a few times, but he drops it once Yuri loses weight.
• Ambiguous Situation: In-universe, people are always wondering what kind of relationship he and Victor actually have. After the events of Episode 10 however, their situation is made pretty clear to the rest of the finalists, Yuri's ballet teacher and sister, and a crowd of restaurant patrons when Victor declares that they're engaged.
• Ascended Fanboy: After looking up to Victor all his life, the man himself comes and offers to be his coach. Soon enough, they enter in a romantic relationship, and get engaged in Episode 10.
• Audience Surrogate: One of the things that easily endears him to the viewer is how relatable he is in almost every aspect, especially to those who are dealing with anxiety in real life.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Despite his gentle personality, Yuri is not to be messed with; if pushed far enough, his outbursts can give even Victor pause... and that was when he was upset. Now imagine what would happen if he was angry instead, and we mean well and truly angry.
• Big Beautiful Man: Granted, during the off-season he's not really that fat, but in the stage drama, Victor finds Yuri's chubby self to be adorable, and gushes about how squishy he is while playing with his baby fat.
• The Big Damn Kiss: With Victor, in Episode 7.
• Blind Without 'Em: Downplayed; he seems to be able to skate just fine without his glasses, but in Episode 6 he has to squint to see his scores on the leaderboard at the China Cup. Word of God stated that he's practically half-blind without his glasses.
• Blue Is Heroic: In case you haven't noticed yet, his Color Motif is blue and he's the main protagonist of the story.
• Break the Cutie: His comfort-eating after his dog's death by and large ruined his chances for winning a medal at the Grand Prix Final. Combined with a poor track record at previous competitions, his five-year-long career became a list of failures that ended unceremoniously with him terminating his contract with his coach, Celestino Cialdini, and going back to his hometown to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. You can imagine exactly how much all of this contributed to the depression and extremely low self-esteem we see at the beginning of the series.
• Broken Ace: Yuri is a highly talented skater, but he deals with a lot of emotional baggage alongside his skating career, the latter being something he looks at with both pride and shame.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: A same-gender example; Yuri's anxiety and shyness is a contrast to Victor's confidence and sunny attitude.
• But Now I Must Go: Tries to invoke this by telling Victor that he'll be retiring after the Final. It backfires horribly.
• Celebrity Crush: His admiration for Victor is treated like one, though it develops beyond that as he and Victor become closer and eventually become a couple.
• Character Development: He gradually becomes more confident and self-assured after Victor enters his life, and even manages to land a spot in the Grand Prix Final in Episode 9 despite Victor's absence.
• Childhood Friends: He's been friends with Yuko and Takeshi since they were all children, though Takeshi initially bullied him.
• Classical Anti-Hero: The closest thing to an antagonist in the series is Yuri's self-doubt and anxiety, and Yuri is an anti-hero in the sense that he is a contrast to most other main characters in works related to sports (see Foil below).
• Covert Pervert: Michele accuses him of being this. One may think it's because of Sara's warm reaction to him, but it may also be that Michele was there to see Yuri's drunken antics at the Grand Prix banquet last year.
• Cowardly Lion: His low self-esteem doesn't change the fact that he's a world-class figure skater, and Japan's leading skater at that.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Not really "moron" so much as "anxiety-riddled young man whose nerves hold him back big time". He claims to be only an average or even less-than-average skater, and you might believe him at first; but official data shows that in terms of overall skill, Yuri is only behind Victor and Christophe, and that is before Victor started coaching him.
• Cuddle Bug: He's mostly on the receiving end of this trope from Victor, but he does become one when Victor isn’t around, if his hugging spree in Episode 9 is any indication. The end of the episode confirms this is because of his longing to hug Victor, indicating he may be this offscreen when they're alone.
• Dark Is Evil: Played with in his eros program. He's not enacting a villain, although he plays as a Femme Fatale who pursues men and immediately casts them aside as soon as they are seduced, and there's his outfit for the program being all black.
• Deadpan Snarker: Not as often as you would think, but he can be witty if he wants to.
• Determinator: He learns to be one over the course of the series, despite his "glass heart" reputation. Once he finds something he's willing to fight for (namely, Victor), he'll take on hostile audiences, anxiety attacks, angry young Russian skaters and personal crises on top of his already demanding training regimen.
  • On a totally athletic level, his two greatest assets are pure physical stamina and willingness to work hard. Minako outright states that he wasn't the most talented skater at the local rink, but rose to the top of Japanese (and international) skating because he was the one who put in the most practice.
• Dissonant Serenity: In probably the most unsettling scene in the show, when Victor bursts into tears after Yuri proclaims he's retiring during the Grand Prix Final, Yuri's reaction is to calmly reach out and pull back Victor's hair so he can watch him cry more closely, and basically say with with little tone or inflection, "I'm surprised to see you cry."
• Don't Think, Feel: With Victor coaching him, Yuri eventually learns to not over-analyze his performance and to skate purely on his emotions, focusing on how he skates and not how he will score.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: In spite of his anxiety, he tends to keep his troubles to himself and doesn't like it when others attempt to coddle him.
• Drowning My Sorrows: A possible reason for him getting wasted in the previous Grand Prix banquet, besides the fact that he couldn't talk to anyone. After all, he wasn't having the best day: he lost his dog, gave an awful performance, and had no one to confide in about his turmoils. As he's aware of what could happen if he does, he ought to know better than to drink, but no one can blame him for choosing to down glass after glass of champagne.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Quite a few other male characters show some form of attraction to him, with Victor being the most prominent — an attraction Yuri eventually comes to reciprocate. There's also Christophe and Minami. Even his friend Takeshi, who's married, admits that he can be sexy. One of the commentators in episode 6 stutters after seeing Yuri lick his lips seductively at Victor's direction: "N-Nippon no Katsuki Yuri -"^note "K-Katsuki Yuri from Japan -"
• Experienced Protagonist: He learned how to skate at a young age, and he participated in the Juniors with Christophe at least ten years ago.
• Extreme Doormat: It's easy to think of him as this since he never calls Yurio out on his actions, let alone fight back, whenever the latter would be unreasonably cruel to him; though this is only because he simply doesn't care enough to argue and is only amused or indifferent to the other's tantrums.
• Face Your Fears: Part of his Character Development. He suffers from Performance Anxiety and has difficulty moving on from his failures, and a portion of the plot is dedicated to him learning to conquer his stage fright and confidently perform at his best.
• Family Theme Naming: The "ri" character (利) in his name comes from his father Toshiya's name (利也), and is also found in his sister Mari's name (真利).
• Fanboy: To Victor, whom he's admired since he was young. The walls of his room are covered with posters and photos of Victor (before he takes them down so Victor can't see them) and he even got a poodle because Victor himself has one, and then named the dog after him.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Although he's a skilled ice skater, he can't handle pressure or get himself back together after a loss.
  • He has a lot of insidious secondary flaws that appear to originate from his anxiety and tendency to devalue himself: self-centeredness, callousness, a Lack of Empathy, unstable/erratic moods and unwillingness to communicate, etc. Combined with Victor's emotional detachment and tendency to hide his feelings, this leads to some very rocky moments for their relationship throughout the show.
  • Pride. He's not arrogant, but he sets nothing less than high standards for himself when it comes to skating... which is why he doesn't take it very well every time he doesn't meet said standards, where his Performance Anxiety then comes into play and turns things From Bad to Worse.
• Foil:
  • To Phichit. Yuri is introverted, has trouble making friends, over-analyzes his performances and gets frustrated over any slip-ups in said performances, whereas Phichit is outgoing, extremely sociable, performs with the sole intention to entertain the audience, and isn't bothered if he makes a few mistakes. According to Tadashi Hiramatsu, the lead character designer, Phichit was deliberately made to contrast with Yuri in personality.
  • To most other sports anime protagonists. Said protagonists are usually Unskilled, but Strong, Weak, but Skilled, have zero experience in the sport but hold limitless potential, or are talented in the sport but have zero motivation. Yuri, however, is someone who's talented in ice skating, continuously improves by practicing, and competes for both personal and competitive purposes. His challenge in the story comes not from his actual lack of skill or difficulties rising to the top, but his own unreliable narration and personal belief that he isn't who he could be, despite earning a name for himself as the sixth best skater in the world. He's also a contrast to most other protagonists in that while they tend to be characterized with unbending will and the refusal to surrender to pressure and loss, one of Yuri's main characteristics is his Performance Anxiety and his will shifts between giving up and pulling through, and the anime is focused on his attempts to make one last grand performance, rather than his rise from a nobody to a revered athlete. There's also the fact that Yuri's an adult and has already graduated from college, whereas the others are still in their teens and in high school.
• Forgotten First Meeting: Yuri briefly interacted with Victor after the closing ceremony as Sochi, but Yuri assumes that the meeting didn't stick with Victor for long due to his feelings of inadequacy (having just bombed hard compared to Victor who took first place). 9 episodes later, it's revealed this trope is actually in effect in the opposite direction. During the after party for the Sochi Grand Finals, Yuri got black out drunk and flirted hard with Victor before begging him to become his coach. The next morning, Yuri didn't remember a thing and Victor was confused why he was acting so distant with him.
• Formerly Fit: Played with in the first episode; he's still quite capable on the ice, but his months-long gap between losing the Grand Prix Final and going back to Hasetsu had him gain quite a bit of weight. He does tone up once he starts training with Victor though.
• Friendly Rivalry: One-sided. Yurio sees him as a rival, but the feeling isn't mutual, and Yuri has no problems being friendly with him or even cheering him on during the Rostelecom Cup.

G-N

• Graceful Loser: While Yuri is ambitious, fairly competitive, and almost endlessly beats himself up about his losses, he never once blames his failures on anyone else and he doesn't lash out at them when they try to either comfort or demean him.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: He tends to use Gratuitous English when speaking to Victor, which is meant to reflect how he and Victor actually communicate in English with each other (he already knows English since he went to college in Detroit). He also occasionally chirps a couple words of Gratuitous Thai and Gratuitous Russian to other people of those respective nationalities.
• He Cleans Up Nicely: Compare how he looks during his performance of eros in Episode 3 to his usual look. With his hair combed back and without the glasses, he looks stunning enough to make Victor whistle at him.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Yuri does this a lot. He describes himself as a “dime-a-dozen” skater within the Japanese Skating Federation who managed to get to the Grand Prix Final only to flunk out spectacularly, and a good chunk of his narration and dialogue deal with his self-doubt. This is also a man who made it to the Final and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with five other skaters (including Living Legend Victor Nikiforov — who could rightfully be called the best the world has to offer), a man who's described as “Japan's ace” by the national press, and a man who is seen as an idol to other hopeful Japanese skaters like Minami who beg for his autograph after he takes them in competition. But none of that even registers on his radar.
• A Hero to His Hometown: His hometown of Hasetsu, Kyushu, happily boasts about him. Posters of him line the train station walls, and many residents can recognize him on sight alone. Most know that he lost his major competitions though.
• Hidden Depths: Yuri already knows ballet thanks to Minako, but it turns out that ice-skating and ballet hardly encompass the range of what he can do; in the credits sequence of Episode 10 he breakdances with Yurio, works a pole with Christophe, and tangos with Victor, and he does all of it stone cold drunk.
• His Own Worst Enemy: The only real antagonist of the story is Yuri's insecurities and anxieties. To put it this way, if he didn't have them, he would have been a far more powerful presence in the figure skating world.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: His decision to change some of the jumps in his short program at the Grand Prix Final in an attempt to get a higher score led him to score lower than in the China Cup and the Rostelecom Cup, since he neglected to invoke eros in favor of heightening the technical aspects of the program.
• Hollywood Pudgy: An In-Universe example. The weight gain he underwent in Episode 1 is obvious, although other characters treat it as if he's gone obese, when he's only mildly chubby at best. Their reactions are justified by the fact that it's an absolute must for figure skaters to keep their bodies in tip-top shape as getting too careless with their eating habits will greatly hamper their ability to skate.
• Hypocrite: In a rage, Victor calls him out on wanting to retire while telling Victor to return to the ice.
• I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Given that Yuri idolized Victor for a long time, it's no surprise that Victor's arrival in his life is a huge shock to him. It's even because of this trope that Yuri believes that his time with Victor is short and he'll eventually leave once the season ends. Even when they become a couple, Yuri continues to hold a lot of doubt about their relationship and if he really is worthy of Victor's attention.
• Iconic Outfit: Both his Eros costume and free skate costume, although the Eros one is a lot more popular.
• Inelegant Blubbering: Yuri has cried a few times on screen, and it's never pretty.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Yuri easily caves in to pressure and doesn't think he amounts to much; yet when it comes to his goals in skating, he aims higher than high and will not forgive himself for making even a single mistake, which hints that he actually harbors some self-pride, which is unfortunately mangled by his Performance Anxiety.
• Informed Attribute: His weight in the first two episodes. Now and then, he appears fat (mostly for Sight Gags), but for the most part he only appears to be mildly chubby. Though, given how much Sayo Yamamoto loves her sight gags and visual humor, it's probably just her exaggerating his out-of-form state to milk it for comedy.
  • It's also justified given that he is a professional figure skater. Even being a "little chubby" can be a big drawback when you're competing in a sport that values flexibility and dexterity.
• Innocently Insensitive: Fairly often. His own anxiety tends to wrap him up in his own emotions that he forgets he can have an impact on how other people feel.
  • He tells a story about how a friend at his home rink was in an accident once and someone tried to comfort him in the hospital. He pushed them away by his own admission rather rudely, not wanting other people to know about or interfere with how he feels.
  • He accidentally mocks Minami's admiration for him by calling Minami's favorite programs he's done his "dark past" and telling him he's embarrassed by them, and then disses him again by refusing to play along with Minami's challenging looks and declarations of rivalry. Once Victor makes it clear exactly how disappointed in Yuri he is for being so rude and off-putting to someone who's inspired by him, he snaps out of it and wishes Minami good luck before his skate.
  • His initial reaction to shattering Victor's heart is completely apathetic, reaching out to casually touch him while making an utterly inappropriate remark. He then proceeds to act confused and defensive when Victor snaps at him.
  • Word of God comments that he can be "quite cold-hearted", and is "someone who doesn't really try to get into people's hearts".
• Insecure Love Interest: For almost the entire series' run, Yuri is incredibly anxious regarding his relationship with Victor (before and after it became a romantic one), given that once in almost every episode, a minute is dedicated to him dreading the day when Victor will lose interest in him and eventually leave. Even when that doesn’t turn out to be the case, he still fears that keeping Victor around as his coach will detriment the other’s skating career, which becomes the central conflict of Episodes 11 and 12.
• Instant Humiliation Just Add Youtube: Played with; he's absolutely mortified over the video of him performing Victor's program that goes viral, despite the fact that he receives nothing but praise for it.
• Instant Web Hit: The video of him performing Victor's free program becomes this, enough that it catches the attention of Victor himself. Although he had already caught Victor's notice long before the video ever existed.
• In Touch with His Feminine Side: He has a bright blue poodle-covered phone case, for goodness' sake. More seriously, his gender fluidity is explored (positively) in Episode 3 when he finds he connects to the female role in the eros program story better than that of the male playboy he was expected to play and chooses to interpret the program through her all the way up until Episode 6.
• In Vino Veritas: Normally, Yuri is a wallflower in situations that require socializing. Give him enough drinks, however, and he'll become the Life of the Party, as shown in the credits for Episode 10, where it's revealed that he had a dance-off with Yurio, pole-danced with Chris, and then danced and flirted with Victor before begging him to be his coach while at the previous year's Grand Prix banquet. It seems he inherited this trait from his father.
• It's All About Me: A complicated example. He's not intentionally selfish or entitled, but whenever he starts to have doubts about something, even if there's proof that there's actually no need to worry after all, he can only be appeased if his fears are resolved the way he thinks it should be resolved. He also has a tendency to get wrapped up in his own mind, and doubts his self-worth to the extent that he sometimes forgets that he can have an impact on the way that other people feel, leading him to do some pretty callous things under the assumption that no one cares.
• Lack of Empathy: An interesting, selective case. He has so little self-worth that he can't empathize with people that do value and support him, including his family and friends in Hasetsu, Minami, and Victor. He manages to upset Victor in Episode 12 while acting completely detached from the situation. He actually enters the rink after their fight calmer than in any other competition, despite Victor being clearly miserable and depressed. He assumes that he's valued so little that other people won't miss him when he pushes them away or distances himself, which becomes a major point of contention between him and people who care about him multiple times throughout the series.
• The Last Dance: He understands that, because of his age and Victor potentially losing interest in him, this will very likely be his last season, even if he succeeds. Episode 10 puts his worries about Victor losing interest in him to rest, as the man is head-over-heels for him and they're engaged to be married, but whether or not this is going to be the final season of his career is still unclear. As of Episode 12, this is eventually subverted, as he decides to compete for another season.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: While he's not the most confident skater out there, when it's his turn to perform — given the right motivation and if at the right mindset — he easily demonstrates why he's the best skater in Japan. In Episode 12, once he decides he's going out of his career with a bang, he breaks a world record with his free skate and throws himself healthily into first place.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: A Rare Male Example is invoked in his and Yurio's short programs, and he's the latter. Besides the color of their costumes in said programs (black for Yuri and white/silver for Yurio), while Yurio gets the more innocent and angelic agape program, Yuri gets the sensual and nearly-devilish eros program.
• Living Emotional Crutch: To Victor, with Victor also being one to him, after they get to know each other. Word of God even stated that the two — now that they’re in a relationship and are engaged to add — can’t stand to be apart and basically can’t live without each other. Thankfully, this is explored in a healthy manner; while they aren't at their best without the other around, they're able to willingly separate if there's a good reason for either of them to leave.
• Loser Protagonist: He'd tell you so. He calls himself a "dime-a-dozen skater" and while it's true that he's never been able to win any of the major competitions he's competed in, anything presented outside of his point of view paints a completely different picture: he's a world-class skater who's A Hero to His Hometown and has been dubbed by the media, among other things, "Japan's ace" and "the pride of Japan," and as of his previous season the only Japanese skater to make it to the Grand Prix Final – and you have to be high-placing in the season before that to even qualify for the qualifiers of the GPF, since the competitors are selected from a group of less than 20 high ranking skaters. His paralyzingly low self-esteem just keeps him from seeing any of that, so really it's more like “a loser protagonist in his own eyes”.
• Love Confession: To Victor, and on national TV, no less. Too bad Victor can't understand it. Then again, after the events of Episode 7, maybe he did understand a bit more than he let on...
• Luminescent Blush: Generally often, but every thirty seconds around Victor.
• Manic Pixie Dream Guy: Played an unwitting one to Victor when he drunkenly invited him to become his coach. Victor, feeling compelled to search for a new direction after twenty years of devotion to the rink, took him up on the offer and, according to Victor, Yuri showed him a new world filled with “life and love”.
• Manly Tears: He's the most guilty of this, but then again, he has very good reasons to cry every time the waterworks come forth.
• Master of the Mixed Message: Due to The Reveal of Episode 10, he has been this to Victor, as Victor believed him to want him to be his coach and possibly to start a relationship, but as soon as they meet again, Yuri is bashful and shies away from his touching and flirting, which confuses Victor. It's made even worse as, after they get engaged, Yuri seems to want to end their relationship, though it's ambiguous whether he means it romantically or professionally. Episode 12 reveals that he was only referring to their professional relationship, but it still leads to a falling out between them.
• Meaningful Name: His given name, Yuri (勇利), is written with the kanji for "courage"; while he doesn't have very much of that at first, he gradually becomes more confident over the course of the story. His family name, Katsuki (勝生), means "born to win", which complements Victor's name.
• Momma's Boy: He and his mother are very close; she's the first person he talks to — besides his coach — after losing the Grand Prix Final. She seems to be supportive and loving towards him, and both share a physical resemblance, including having somewhat similar body types. He's also quite close to his dad, but his attachment to his mother is more apparent.
• Motor Mouth: Yuri does this in Episode 5 when he tells Victor in-detail about how he didn't do so well in the previous skating season.
• My Greatest Second Chance: To Yuri, Victor coaching him for the upcoming season is this, seeing it as the opportunity to make up for the mistakes he made in past competitions and allow his skating career to go out with a bang... although he changes his mind in the finale.
• Nervous Wreck: A realistic example. Yuri feels tense before and during every competition, and in serious instances, can even break out into a panic.
• Nice Guy: Played with. While far from a bad person, he's really only friendly and bright at times. On the other hand, he also has his fair share of less likable traits (i.e. Lack of Empathy, unstable moods, self-centeredness, etc.)
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Yuri seems to be a combination of various Japanese figure skaters.
  • Yuri's career and background are based almost verbatim off Tatsuki Machida. 23-year-old Machida, like Yuri, finished last during his first stint at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi (which was actually held at the Iceberg Skating Palace), proceeded to fail at Nationals, and didn't make it to the World Championships that year. Machida was also a college student at the time, had no idea what to do when he graduated, and struggled with low self-esteem. Both Machida and Yuri went overseas to America, and Yuri's home rink "Ice Castle Hasetsu" was most definitely inspired from California's "Ice Castle" where Machida trained.
  • Part of Yuri's personality and skating style draw inspiration from Daisuke Takahashi. Takahashi was known for having a "glass heart" from his fragile mentality during skates in his early days. This is reflected in Yuri's struggle with his anxiety and weak mentality on the ice throughout the entire series, as well as directly referenced in Victor's statement of "skaters' hearts are as fragile as glass" in Episode 7. However, Takahashi is a legend who has a sensual style of skating much like Yuri's eros persona. In addition, Yuri's strength is said to be step sequences, which is also Takahashi's specialty.
  • Visually, Yuri looks quite a bit like Yuzuru Hanyu and his idolization of Victor was directly inspired by Yuzuru's admiration of Victor's real-life counterpart, Evgeni Plushenko.
• No Social Skills: Downplayed; it's not like he can't interact with other people, although Takeshi stated that Yuri has never been good at making friends. One of the reasons Yuri even got drunk in the previous Grand Prix banquet was because he couldn't mingle with anyone.

O-Y

• Odd Friendship: His relationship with Phichit, since Phichit is extroverted and enthusiastic while Yuri is introverted and often melancholic. Though this is downplayed, since despite their contrasting personalities they see eye-to-eye in many things and are both friendly with other people. They were also roommates for an unspecified period of time when they were rinkmates in Detroit.
• Official Couple: As of Episode 10, he's happily engaged to his coach, Victor Nikiforov.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Yuri was one of the finalists in the Sochi Grand Prix, although he bombed his performance and ended up at last place. Regardless, the fact remains that he defeated a fair number of other good skaters to make it to the Final. There's also some evidence to suggest that he had done well enough to set him up to podium in his short program – news articles mention him "slipping to last" after the free skate and he talks about how, before he bombed, it was "supposed to be his day."
• Oh, Crap!: He does this thrice in Episode 1: first was when Minako caught on his weight gain, second was when he discovered that his reenactment of Victor's free skate was uploaded online and had gone viral, and finally the next day when, after being pounced on by a very familiar-looking poodle, his father tells him that they currently have a good-looking foreign guest and he realizes exactly who that guest might be.
• Old Shame: In-Universe. He considers his Lohengrin program a part of his "dark past".
• Older Than They Look: He turns 24 after Episode 9 and is the third oldest competing skater in the series after Christophe and Georgi, yet he looks a lot younger (with or without the glasses) than most of his competitors, nearly all of whom are still in their late teens.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Between Victor the Living Legend and Teen Genius Yurio, Yuri might not seem like much, but he still made it to the Grand Prix Final, which means he's a damn good skater. His self-deprecating attitude doesn't help.
• Paralysis by Analysis: Played with. He doesn't freeze up in the middle of his performances, but he tends to overthink every move he does and has a hard time letting go of any mistakes he could make, which can cause him to panic or even mess up in the worst case scenario.
• The Perfectionist: Despite thinking he's only a run-of-the-mill skater, he also sets very high standards for himself whenever it comes to skating, and doesn't forgive himself if he falls short of his own expectations.
• Performance Anxiety: His Fatal Flaw. He's an excellent skater, and medaled several times, but hasn't won a single major competition yet because of his tendency to overthink every little thing and second-guess himself.
• Personality Blood Types: Type A.
• Pretty Boy: He's more cute than outright pretty by default, but he easily becomes this with a bit of grooming.
• Prone to Tears: Downplayed. While he's not so sensitive to the point that every ill-willed or misguided action immediately sends him into tears, there’s still a reason Yuri has a reputation of having a “glass heart." Played a bit more realistically in that he almost always stabilizes after crying and that it's usually after a long buildup of negative emotions.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Another same-gender example; Yuri is the blue to Victor's pink (specifically red, since pink is a shade of red).
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Yurio and Victor's red, but sometimes it's zig-zagged with the latter.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: A downplayed example, but he's quite sensitive in comparison to the short-tempered Yuri Plisetsky.
• Ship Tease: With Victor, big time. And as of Episode 10, they're now happily engaged.
• Shrinking Violet: He's a painfully shy, nervous person, especially around Victor when they first meet. The Nishigoris state outright that he doesn't make friends easily, and consequently prefers to deal with his problems by practicing at the skating rink or Minako's ballet studio instead of opening up to other people.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Becomes this with Victor after their Relationship Upgrade into an Official Couple, much to Yurio's chagrin.
• Signature Move: It's been stated that Yuri's favorite move is the triple axel, though he's also well known for his signature skills — which a few characters have pointed out to be his step sequences, spins, and his high stamina. His step sequences stand out more than the rest, to the point that they impress Yurio and they're usually how he compensations for only having one consistent quad.
• Single-Target Sexuality: It's clear that once he sees Victor on TV as a kid that there's nobody else for him. This may also be the reason that Yuri hasn't dated much; no one else interests him like Victor does (although he gets flustered and is a Master of the Mixed Message even when Victor himself comes knocking).
• Skilled, but Naive: Not so much naive as much as emotionally vulnerable. While he's a talented skater, his Performance Anxiety keeps him from delivering a perfect performance, at times even botching said performances.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Downplayed, although Yuri doesn't seem to be Book Dumb by any means as he finished college while he was still living in Detroit.
• Spell My Name With An S: Is it "Yuri" or "Yuuri"? Though in Japanese his name is pronounced and written as "Yuuri" ^note The Japanese logo for the show writes it in katakana as ユーリ, with the dash representing an elongated "u" sound., it's romanized in merchandising and In-Universe as "Yuri," especially since most Western markets where his name would be written in letters don't really make a distinction between the pronunciations of "Yuuri" and "Yuri." Some fans do still write it Yuuri to make a distinction between Yuuri Katsuki and Yuri Plisetsky without having to use "Yurio."
• Stepford Smiler: Painfully so. He's the depressed type, and desperately tries to hide how broken he actually feels from the people around him. It's Played for Laughs occasionally, most notably in the first episode where a chibi version of himself cheerfully explains how his skating career is going down the drain.
• Straight Man: He has a few quirks of his own, but he's still more or less this among the main trio or even among all the other male skaters, as their own eccentricities make him look well-adjusted in comparison.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Yuri holds a strong resemblance to his parents. He especially looks a lot like his mother Hiroko when he's gained weight, as his father Toshiya points out.
• Suddenly Shouting: During his breakdown in Episode 7, when he calls out Victor on his insensitivity and inability to deal with the situation properly, he starts off with an anguished but somewhat-quiet tone, and his voice gradually gets louder until it reaches the point where he's screaming at Victor.
• Talented, but Trained: In contrast to Victor and Yurio, who have already shown a natural aptitude in skating at a young age, Yuri got his skills because he works harder than hard to improve, and Minako points out that he was gifted with more time to practice than anyone else. It also helps that he had an internationally renowned ballet dancer as his instructor in addition to figure skating, which allowed him to be recognized for his peerless step sequences.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Even a bit of effort is needed to bring out his handsome side, he still fits the bill.
• Teacher/Student Romance: He and Victor started off as an ice skating student and teacher, respectively before becoming a couple and getting engaged. An uncommon healthy example, since they're both consenting adults and Yuri could have refused Victor at any point without any significant negative consequences.
• Tears of Joy: He sheds these when he finally perfects his free program in the Barcelona Grand Prix Final.
• Took a Level in Badass: Under Victor's tutelage, and through his own willpower, he becomes an even better skater. After a few months, he's now able to land jumps that he wasn't able to before, in particular, the quadruple Salchow, the quadruple flip (which is Victor's Signature Move), and by the credits in Episode 12, possibly the quadruple Lutz as well — meaning he likely now has a total of four quads in his repertoire. Both the crowd and the other skaters note how much he had changed from the previous season. Additionally, he has become more assertive and dauntless, not allowing anyone else's expectations or opinions get to him. In fact, he beats Victor's world record for the free program score in the Grand Prix Final.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Pork cutlet bowls, so much so that they've become a trademark of the series itself.
• Trauma Conga Line: Let's just say that life didn't take it easy on him after his self-destruction at the Sochi Grand Prix, to the point that he even nearly considered retirement. On the bright side, he slowly recovers after returning to his hometown.
• Underestimating Badassery: His competitors and the figure-skating world at large think he has nothing compared to Victor, and his Heroic BSoD in the previous season doesn't exactly inspire confidence. But thanks to his Character Development, he's by and large exceeded their expectations with spectacular performance after spectacular performance.
• Unreliable Narrator: In a different way from most examples. It's not that he intentionally misleads the audience (in fact, to a degree, he's not even consciously aware he's doing so), but it becomes more and more apparent how much his low self-esteem colors his narration. If you were to go by what he says alone, you would think he's an awkward, uninspired skater of middling talent who stumbled into the world of professional figure-skating almost by accident, instead of the sexy powerhouse performer he's shown us he can be, never mind the fact that Victor is properly smitten with him, and has been for longer than Yuri could ever assume. The audience has no idea about any of this until Episode 10 though, because Yuri was blackout drunk at the banquet where he and Victor met. Just as an example, he paints his GPF skate as something to be ashamed of, despite the fact "last at the Grand Prix Final" translates in reality to "6th in the world."
• Victorious Loser: While he doesn't place last again in the Grand Prix, he fails to claim the gold medal. On the bright side, he was beaten by Yurio only by an extremely narrow margin, he won the silver medal, surpassed Victor's world record in the free skate, and gained the widespread acclaim and recognition of the public. He even looks happy and fulfilled when he's shown standing at the podium.
• Virgin-Shaming: It's not exactly confirmed if Victor is the first person he's ever been in a relationship with, although Takeshi teases him for being inexperienced at dating, and he refuses to answer when Victor asks if he's gone out with someone before or when Lutz asks if it's true that he's never had a girlfriend. Nevertheless, he doesn't like it whenever his romantic history (or lack thereof) is brought up, given his reaction to Victor's prodding in Episode 2, and reflexively snapping in Episode 4 when Victor suggests thinking of a past lover as an inspiration for his free program.
• Wacky Marriage Proposal: The wacky part is downplayed but when he and Victor exchange pair rings, Yuri calls them "good luck charms". While it's part of the meaning, his intention is evident, and it fools exactly no one — Victor makes it clear that they are engagement rings, and that they intend to get married once Yuri wins the gold medal at the Grand Prix Final.
• Weight Woe: He gains weight quite easily, which is not helped by his love of pork cutlet bowls.
• Worf Had the Flu: It's made clear that the reason he didn't do so good at the Sochi Grand Prix Final was because he wasn't at his best, both mentally and physically. There's no doubt that at his top form, he would have done far better.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • To Christophe, who considers him a valid substitute for Victor.
  • Episode 12 reveals that Yurio considers him to be this, and looks absolutely baffled when Victor tells him that Yuri intends to retire.
• Yoko Oh No: While not as direct and violent as the usual examples, he's subjected to this by several skaters, most of the media, and especially almost the entirety of Russia; although interestingly enough, it isn't because he and Victor have become an item. Since Victor is the world's most renowned ice skater, fans and skaters alike resent Yuri because they see him as the reason why Victor retired from figure skating. Yuri even monologues about how he knows that almost no one wants to see him succeed at the Grand Prix.