Moments subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.
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Anime
Episode 1
- No matter how badly Yuri thinks of himself, he's still one of six best male skaters in the whole world. He treats it as a personal failure, but he still had to defeat a number of talented skaters just to even qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
- The fanbook, which contains official data about the characters and the series, reveals that Yuri is actually the third best male skater out there. Dime-a-dozen skater, indeed.
- Also, the fact that despite Yuri's struggle with stress-induced anxiety and depression, he managed to finish college and get a degree at 23. When he comes home, he at least has a degree in hand, and a lot of skating experience.
- There is even a post pointing out the possibility
that before the disaster that is his free program, Yuri performed excellently in his short program, ranking high enough to get a good chance at winning the silver or the bronze medal. Had it not been for his anxiety and personal tragedy, he could have been standing on the podium alongside the best male figure skater out there. And with Victor on the rink at the time, that's already something to be proud of.
- There is even a post pointing out the possibility
- Yuri's flawless reenacting of one of Victor's performances, despite being slightly out of shape and spending some time in a state of depression. Is it any wonder he caught Victor's attention? Even though Episode 10 reveals that Victor already knew of him beforehand, it doesn't mean that Victor is any less impressed.
- Note that he skated the entire program without the song playing. Like what Victor says in Episode 4, he skates as if his body is creating the music.
- Speaking of Victor, his free program of "Stay Close To Me" has four planned quads. Any experienced figure skater will tell you that landing quads isn't easy and that even planning more than two in their program takes a toll on them, especially in the second half, and yet Victor skates all of them perfectly. It gets even more awesome when you add the fact that Yuri managed to do all of that too while he was overweight.
- To reiterate, Victor's free program had four different quads, namely the Salchow, flip, Lutz, and toe loop. Keep in mind that one of those quads, specifically the flip, is Victor's Signature Move, and Yuri was able to land it even before Victor became his coach. Also, the quadruple Lutz is stated to be a high-difficulty jump, and Yuri perfectly landed that too. Yuri has a lot more talent than he realizes or is even willing to admit. With the character manual revealing that Yuri's only shortcoming is his jumps, it's apparent that with enough training, Yuri can improve to the point that Victor would finally meet his match.
- Even if Yuri didn't exactly perfectly copy his program in the sense that he changed some of the quads to triples, there's no denying that the choreography alone is no cakewalk, and Yuri still pulled that off. Minako wasn't kidding when she stated that step sequences are one of Yuri's greatest strengths. If you try to evaluate a skater based on their ability to dance on the ice alone, Yuri would undoubtedly be one of — if not the — best figure skater out there. This fact is even backed up by the official fanbook saying that Yuri is Victor's equal in both skating and step sequences, and the same cannot be said for any other skater in the anime.
Episode 2
- The simple fact that Yuri manages to lose a fair bit of the weight he gained in a week at best is quite awesome, considering how difficult it is at his age, even with the proper diet and rigorous exercise.
- When Yurio tries to rub salt in the wound by mentioning the incident when Yuri cried, Yuri doesn't let the taunt get to him and just smirks back at Yurio, which irritates the latter.
- After being assigned the agape program, Yurio snaps that Victor had "better give [him] a program that [he] can win with!" Victor simply replies, perfectly calm, "Whether or not you win is up to you. It would be a winning program if I skated it." Arrogant or no, Victor has every right to make such a boast. In the end, Victor did give him a winning program.
Episode 3
- An understated one, but for another proof that Yuri's actually a far better skater than he makes himself out to be, Victor tells him that he's more than good enough to win if he wanted to. If you're acknowledged by your idol, who's also enough of a figure skating virtuoso to be hailed as a Living Legend, that's saying something.
- Both the agape and eros programs.
- Even though Yurio failed to convey his emotions since he was too focused on the technical aspects of the program, his performance is still noteworthy, as it shows just how he good he is at skating at such a young age.
- In this episode, we see Yuri skate in his prime. As expected, he gets the upper hand even though he failed to cleanly land the quadruple Salchow, since he managed to perfectly invoke the emotion of sexual love. He was even — if not, more than — good enough to let Yurio know and immediately acknowledge that he lost before Yuri's performance was even over. This post even explains in detail that if the results were based solely on the technical and program component scores, Yuri still would have won.
Episode 5
- Even though he's leagues behind Yuri and was only able to score higher than him in last year's Nationals due to the latter's slump, Minami's skating is still worthy of mention. He may need to work on his jumps, but he's so light on foot when he's dancing on the ice that he makes skating look extremely easy.
- It's already obvious that Yuri is a good skater, but this episode shows just how little credit he gives to himself. He has to compete at the local competitions to qualify again for the Grand Prix tournaments, and in both the short and free programs, his scores are remarkably higher than the other contestants by at least twenty-five points — showcasing the difference between a national-class and a world-class skater. Yuri is even recognized as the "ace of Japan" by the public.
Episode 6
- Yuri performing the eros program, but this time he perfectly landed the quadruple Salchow, which was stated to be a jump he would have less than 30% chance of performing successfully. No wonder he got first place, and note that he's the only one among the six skaters to break the hundreds.
- Yuri's monologue during his short program. He knows that almost everyone prefers to see Victor on the ice than him, and he skates perfectly to show them that he's worthy of Victor's attention, whether they like it or not.
- Also, the delivery of said Badass Boast in both the Japanese and English dub, as both voice actors voice Yuri as if he is in his seductress persona. In the Japanese dub, Yuri's lines are said in a teasing and sultry tone, while in the English dub, the same lines are said in a bold and daring manner.
- To add, the way the monologue is worded in both languages just oozes with pure assertiveness and confidence, something Yuri severely lacked in the previous episodes.Yuri (Japanese): They can laugh at me all they want. They can think it’s not like me. But everyone really wants to know the new me, don’t they? [...] I’m the only one who can satisfy Victor. I’m the only one in the whole world who knows Victor’s love. I’ll prove that now.Yuri (English): They can laugh all they want. They can doubt and whisper behind their hands. But I’m going to show them the new me, and when I do, they won’t be laughing anymore. [...] Nobody else can satisfy Victor; only me. Nobody else knows Victor’s love; I’m the only one. And today, that’s what I’m skating to prove.
Episode 7
- Phichit isn't half-bad in the free program. Despite placing fourth in the short program, he's able to overcome the odds and win first place by giving a flawless performance, surpassing Christophe by 2.05 points.
- The maturity that Yuri and Victor both show when the latter accidentally makes the former cry during his well-intentioned albeit insensitive attempt to snap Yuri out of his stage fright. They're both able to turn the situation into something positive, when other characters would make things worse instead if put in the same situation.
- While Victor was mainly at fault, he gets points for not trying to defend himself or arguing back when Yuri calls him out on his actions, and only admits that he doesn't know what to do to help Yuri.
- During Yuri's free program, despite fumbling a few jumps, and even falling when he tries to land a quadruple flip (which is Victor's Signature Move), the fact he partially succeeded in pulling off an extremely difficult feat note impressed the audience and the judges alike (especially Victor himself), that he won the silver medal. You can't help but wonder: would he have won the gold medal if he nailed all his jumps?
- In fact, he would have. Phichit and Christophe (the latter ending in third place) have total scores of 285.86 and 283.81, respectively; which means that the difference between their scores and Yuri's total score, even if it isn't specified, is very small. With a perfect performance, Yuri might have even achieved a score in the 300's.
- Of course, there's the Wham Shot of Victor launching into The Glomp/The Big Damn Kiss combination after Yuri's free skate. Considering how most anime tend to avoid featuring same-sex couples in any anime that aren't categorized as yaoi/shounen-ai or yuri, especially when sports are involved, the entire scene is a CMOA for anime itself.
- Putting the kiss itself aside, Yuri!!! on Ice is a show starring an interracial same-sex couple, both of whom are from countries who have contentious relationships with the LGBT+ community at best, who publicly become a couple in a country where perceptions of homosexuality as a disease weren't challenged until as late as 2014. The creators have serious balls for producing a show that throws down the gauntlet for intersectionality.
Episode 8
- Yuri nailing his short program yet again, receiving a total of 109.97 points and beating his previous personal best, only falling behind J.J. with a score difference of 3.59. He even beats Yurio (who skates Agape for the short program) by 11.88 points. Even if Yurio hadn't failed to land his triple axel, it's obvious that Yuri still would have beaten him.
- Heck, his performance made everyone cheer for him when a few minutes ago they were cheering for Victor. To explain, most of the audience were keen on seeing Yuri lose because (as stated in previous episodes) they would rather see Victor return to figure skating and don't favor Yuri since they blame him for Victor's departure from the sport. Yuri knows this all too well, and just like in Episode 6, promptly silences the crowd by giving a perfect performance, receiving a standing ovation and being awarded another score breaking the hundreds.
- This scene in general showcases Yuri's Character Development with his Performance Anxiety. If the same thing had happened a few episodes ago, Yuri's spirit would have been cracked, splintered, and broken. But here, even though he could feel the tension, he isn't fazed in the slightest bit and uses the audience's low expectations to fuel his drive to win and perform even better than before.
- And in another direction: Yuri, who used to hide his feelings for Victor under the metaphor of pork cutlet bowls, embraces his love openly (and through the persona of the seductress, so different from Yuri as a person) by reminding Victor via the tie grab and the soft whisper, something he notes is embarrassing but he did anyway because it was in character for his program and necessary for himself. Bravo, Yuri.
- As stated above, Yuri isn't well-liked by many skaters and by the audience, and both he and Victor know this. However, instead of letting it get to them or vocally opposing the matter, through Yuri's skating and through the subtle (and not-so-subtle) public acts of affection they give each other, they're basically giving everyone a big middle finger for their scorn and telling them they don't care.
- Whether or not you like how self-confident he is, J.J.'s performance proves why he was the bronze medalist in the previous Grand Prix Final, only behind the likes of Christophe and Victor. There are his spinning skills, his jumping height, and his willingness to break the traditional practice of saving the jumps for the second half, which undeniably leaves an impact on the audience. He even got first place in the short program with a score of 113.56, which in Real Life would be a world-breaking record.
Episode 9
- Yurio's free program, which we finally see in full. He was able to last until the very end (the program was so exhausting that he was gasping for breath at the end), and was able to perfectly perform such a difficult program, which he even made harder by adding the number of jumps. He might have even won first place, had it not been for J.J., again.
- Despite not performing to the best of his ability due to Victor's absence, Yuri still does well enough to place fourth and qualify for the Grand Prix Final. The audience is even aware that if Victor was there to watch, the results would be drastically different.
- This scene deserves a lot more credit, as it truly shows how much Yuri has grown. Without Victor around, Yuri is at a loss and isn't in the right state of mind to skate, and it shows when he fumbles a jump early in his program. Compared to how he was in Episode 7, he's in a much more fragile state than ever and is barely hanging by a thread, knowing that it's all or nothing now in the free skate, and he's doing his very best not to lose it completely. Unlike last time, where he had a chance to vent out his emotions, there's no such opportunity this time around. However, after a long and painful struggle, he picks himself back up and impresses the audience once more as they feel all the emotions he conveys into his choreography. In the end, he barely qualifies for the Grand Prix Final, but even if he made it only by a hair's breadth, it was more than worth it.
- Speaking of J.J., even if you don't like him, you can't say that his arrogance is unfounded — he's the only skater among the six finalists to win both the qualifying events he participated in with a gold medal. It's no wonder he's seen as Victor's successor, what with being acknowledged as "a new prince in the figure skating world".
Episode 10
- Victor and Yuri's relationship is a CMOA in of itself, as they had gone farther than any other romantic couple in anime had in the span of only ten episodes: they're already truly engaged, and with golden rings as solid proof.
- The scene before the credits, where all six finalists head for the rink with determined and fierce expressions. They know that this is the final showdown, and all of them are ready.
- All joking aside, Yuri can break dance with Yurio, pole dance with Christophe, and ballroom dance with Victor like a pro, all the while being drunk out of his mind. Keep in mind that he was staggering no more than a few minutes before dominating the dance floor and yet he managed to dance three varying dance practices with ease. Yuri Katsuki is a man of many talents.
- Considering he was drunk off his ass, the fact that he managed to beat a sober Yurio in break dancing, and also support Chris's weight with one arm while pole dancing shows Yuri's a pretty strong guy in a sport that doesn't prioritize upper body strength.
- The entire pole sequence is incredibly impressive. Yuri is able to perform the Superman, a trick that requires a lot of balance and is incredibly straining on the thighs, without any prior training that we know of. Christophe is shown being able to lift himself into an Ayesha and a Spatchcock, tricks that require advanced control and flexibility, respectively. Their doubles routine shows Christophe performing a Jade Split while Yuri stands on him, then Yuri going into a fully-extended half-flag while supporting Christophe on top of him. It's not difficult to imagine that if Yuri's exercise of choice is ballet, Christophe's is pole dancing. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that Yuri takes off most of his clothes during the routine except his socks, while pole dancing is a sport where skin contact in as much of the body as possible — especially in areas like the legs that are used for climbs — is extremely important. Being figure skaters, flexibility is important, but the tricks depicted in the montage aren't just accurate (showing that the creators have appreciation for alternative sports even outside of figure skating), several of them are difficult even for experienced pole dancers. And to reiterate, Yuri was drunk!
- On a side note, the fact that Yuri downed more than sixteen flutes of champagne without passing out is pretty awesome, since one needs an extremely high tolerance to be able to drink such an amount and stay conscious, let alone dance.
Episode 11
- Yuri's final performance of the eros program, even though he doesn't perform it as flawlessly as the last two times. Still, it took him a lot of guts to change the last two jumps of the program: the quadruple Salchow into a quadruple Salchow + triple toe loop combination, and the quadruple-triple toe loop combination to a quadruple flip. Doing the latter part gets special mention, as he chose to land a jump he hasn't mastered yet — and even though he doesn't land it cleanly, he still was able to do so without falling down on the rink unlike the last time. Sure, it may have caused him to have a minor breakdown, but he has still come a long way, and his performance earned him a decently high score of 97.83.
- It's a personal CMOA for Yuri to not let the incident destroy him, and he manages to keep calm throughout the entire episode, even when watching the other skaters perform flawlessly (besides J.J.), even with Yurio picking on him again, along with Victor unintentionally failing to provide him the support he needs. Had this happened a few episodes ago, it might have irreparably damaged Yuri, and while it still hurts him, he has grown strong enough to not break down completely.
- On the side, while watching J.J. bomb his performance due to being overcome by pressure, Yuri acknowledges that no matter the results, J.J. should be proud about how far he has come, and he should be proud of himself too, since he's still a Grand Prix finalist and one of the top six best male skaters in the world. This is something that he never would have acknowledged earlier in the series.
- Phichit's performance of the "Shall We Skate?" program, with him nailing all his jumps this time. Not to mention, the animation for his program has significantly improved compared to Episode 6. He has definitely made an impact on the audience, and proved why he's the first Thai skater to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
- Yurio finally perfecting his Agape performance, and even upping the difficulty by raising an arm in the air while performing his jumps, causing him to place first in the short program with a world-breaking score of 118.56. To emphasize, he surpassed Victor's world-breaking record, which no one ever saw coming, not even Victor himself.
- Otabek's performance. It's the first time we see his short program and now that we have, it's no wonder he made it this far. It says something that, according to Sara, he wasn't that memorable the previous year and this year, and yet not only did he nailed every jump, but he managed to rank in second place, breaking his previous personal record in the process and cementing his status as the dark horse of this season's Grand Prix Final.
- Isabella and all of J.J.'s fans cheering for him even though he messes up his short program and comes in dead last. Doubles as a Heartwarming Moment.
- It's also pretty awesome that J.J. is able to pull himself together enough to smile at his fans and do his catchphrase. He'd just had a massive failure, something he's very much not used to. It's hard to put on a good face after that.
Episode 12
- While sad, a crying Victor giving Yuri a well-deserved callout for being so insensitive counts.
- Despite placing dead last in the short program, J.J. is able to pick himself back up in the free program and get a score of 213.83, which then amounts to a total score of 300.54, earning him the bronze medal once more.
- After seeing him make mistakes the past few times, Yuri finally gives a perfect performance of his free program, with flawless execution and animation to boot, as well as perfectly landing the quadruple flip. He even changed a few jumps to aim for higher points (e.g. a triple loop to a triple flip and a triple flip to a quadruple toe loop). All in all, his performance leads to him receiving an overall score of 319.41, beating Victor's world record for the free program. He doesn't end up winning the gold medal, but the fact remains that his free program score is the highest among all the six contestants, and even though Yurio beats him, it's only by the skin of his teeth. Technically, Yurio won, but it's obvious who's the true champion here.
- Let's make this clear: remember that Yuri bombed during his last Grand Prix Final, and yet this time, even though he doesn't win first place, he still gives the performance of a lifetime and finally overcomes the anxiety and stage fright that has always held him back from skating at his best. He even surpassed Victor's world record for the free program, which certainly no one had expected to happen, even more than when Yurio had beaten Victor's personal best in the short program. Yuri had already achieved the victory he sought, therefore even if he won only the silver medal, he was more than satisfied.
- There's the fact that many fans who are knowledgeable about how scoring works in ice skating have stated that in the scenario where both Yuris perform flawlessly in both their short and free programs, Yuri would score higher than Yurio. Even in the scenario where the scores for their actual performances are more realistic (particularly in their short programs), Yuri would still win. Say what you will on who deserved the gold medal more, but there's a reason Yuri is Japan's ace skater.
- While it's easy to overlook, Otabek is the only other other finalist aside from Yuri to skate his free program without making any mistakes. While he sadly places only at fourth place, he still came a long way from someone who was of barely any recognition in the previous seasons.
- There's also his entire monologue while he skates his free program. You have to admit, it's a pretty awesome speech.Otabek: Now is the time for you to take center stage. The whole world is waiting for you. Don't let yourself lose sight of what you want. Now is the time to take off. Fulfill your dream. Only you can make it a reality. Live your life as it was meant to be lived. Move... dance your dream. Sing, sing... sing your own song. Work to the fullest, play to the fullest, discover all you can! Follow your own path until it ends, and then keep going! Now is the beginning. Now is your chance to live! This is your beginning... this is your time!
- There's also his entire monologue while he skates his free program. You have to admit, it's a pretty awesome speech.
- Even with the aforementioned statements, the fact doesn't change that Yurio won first place at Grand Prix Final, right at his senior debut. This is especially when you factor in that while he always aimed for the gold medal, he became even more driven to win because he didn't want Yuri to retire, believing that if he wins, Yuri would continue his career instead. After Word of God confirms that Yuri would've retired if he won the gold medal, this becomes even more awesome, as well as a Heartwarming Moment.
- Yuri declaring that this wouldn't be his last season after all, and will continue competing for another year, with the intention to win the gold medal this time. His journey isn't over yet; it's only truly beginning.
- During the Grand Prix exhibition gala, we are introduced to a short but grand spectacle: Yuri and Victor pair-skating to the duet of “Stay Close to Me”.
- The final words the episode leaves us with: “See you NEXT LEVEL!”, which could only mean one thing... a second season is on its way!
- While it turns out that the sequel will actually be a movie, and not a complete season, it doesn't change the fact that we'll be getting more of Yuri!!! on Ice for a while. And who knows, it may follow the formula of having a movie sequel before adding a second season, like what another anime did.
- There is also the possibility that the movie will cover the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Given that a medal in the Olympics is far more prestigious than a medal in the Grand Prix, one can't help but feel excitement as to who will take the gold medal this time.
