The meme. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The explanation behind the meme, if necessary.[[/labelnote]]ExplanationLike this.
Further mutations and successor memes, if any.
WHERE'S THE YURI / More like "Yaoi on Ice." note When the anime was first announced, a lot of Western anime fans expected it (or at least joked) to be a Yuri Genre work solely based on the title. Cue their surprise when the show was revealed to be about male figure skating and had quite a bit of Ho Yay. Most of the confusion stemmed from the fact that the "Yuri" in Yuri Genre and the name "Yuri" are both pronounced and written differently (The boy Yuri Katsuki's name is pronounced "Yuuri", for example). The "Yaoi on Ice" meme was eventually considered discredited.
But it is Yuri. note Yuri and Yurio have both pictured themselves or are told to picture themselves as women for their performances, since Yuri is In Touch with His Feminine Side and Yurio is more built for jumps and techniques women can do. Because of their self-images as "the most beautiful woman in town" and a "prima ballerina" respectively, some people joked that the show finally lived up to its name.
The real Yuri on Ice. note Fans, jokingly or otherwise, have touted Mila and Sara or the past relationship between Mari and Minako as the One True Pairing in terms of Yuri relationships. The PV for the racehorse personification project Uma Musume Pretty Derby that came out around the same time as Yuri!!! On Ice's announcement also featured two of its characters pair skating briefly, leading to a crossover joke between the two.
When did Shinichi take up ice skating? note Katsuki and Shinichi's visual similarities were immediately pointed out by the fanbase. Makes sense given that this anime and the Parasyte anime share the same lead character designer, Tadashi Hiramatsu.
To a much lesser extent: "What are Gintoki and Shinpachi doing here?" note When the second PV came out, a lot of confused Western fans only knew about the final scene, and surmised that it was a yaoi parody released by the Gintama team.
Related to Metal Gear: Hideo Kojima and Mads Mikkelsen are Yuri and Victor in Real Life. note Based on these series of photos, where Kojima shows lots of interest towards Mads during the production of Death Stranding. The fact that Yuri and Victor's character designs resemble them did not help either.
A common joke among fans is to make Yurio the disgusted third-wheeler to Yuri and Victor's Sickeningly Sweethearts.
Phichit is the ultimate wingman. note In most fanworks, Phichit serves as a wingman to any couple, official or otherwise, specifically Victor/Yuri and Leo/Guang-Hong.
Victor and Yurio's Russian accents in the English dub have become memes in and of themselves. Victor's in particular has been compared (whether lovingly or mockingly) to Gru from Despicable Me.
Lily. note Minor, but there were quite a few people who were expecting a woman named Lily to show up in the series as a reference to the "yuri" in the title (even though the words are spelled differently — see the Yaoi on Ice meme for that), either as a woman one of the cast knows, Victor's significant other, or even as Makkachin's name. Eventually, there was a "Lily" introduced— but she's Yakov's ex-wife, and quite a bit old.
Georgi's makeup and routine made him a Fountain of Memes. A favorite among the fans was making jokes about his similarity to Spongebob in the "coral blue" meme, and also to Ursula.
Photoshopping Phichit's surprised face over pictures that aren't Victor hugging Yuri while naked became popular even outside the fandom.
"The number of exclamation points in a sports anime tell you how gay it's going to get." note A joke made after some fans noticed that YoI had far more homoerotic subtext than most sports shows, and its title has three exclamation points in it. This led to comparisons with shows such as Free!, which has quite a bit of Ho Yay of its own along with one exclamation point, Haikyuu!! with two exclamation points, and fellow running show Keijo!!!!!!!! which has them all beat with a whopping eight exclamation points and is just as focused on sports (albeit one that isn't a professional sport in real life), while having a lot of skinship and Les Yay itself.
It got gayer. note Just like Steven Universe, every time a new episode is released, the fandom never fails to mention how it's gayer than the last.
Christophe, please don't. note The general reaction to Christophe's "I'm coming" in Episode 6 while on the ice and in competition. And then it happened a second time.
Yuri!!! On Ice saved 2016. note Tumblr practically exploded with this meme right after Episode 7 aired.
Alternatively, Yuri!!! On Ice saved my life.
Pray for Makkachin. note The fans' reaction to Victor's beloved poodle, Makkachin, getting into the steamed buns and ending up choking on one in Episode 8.
Makkachin has Makkachoked. note See above.
Anime!PewDiePie. note Many fans have pointed out how skater Emil Nekola has a suspiciously uncanny resemblance to YouTuberPewDiePie. Even PewDiePie himself lampshaded the resemblance.
Yuri is a Queen. note After Victor kisses Yuri's skate (and before that, kneeling down to tie his skates for him) Yuri has now been deemed a queen by Tumblr. It gets doubly funny when you realize the BDSM implications of being titled as such, and that Yuri and Victor has had scenes in which BDSM subtext can be read...
Victor and Yuri are Yurio's Embarrassing Parents™. note Tumblr's taken to calling Yuri and Victor Yurio's proud "dads" after they excitedly jump up to cheer him on not seconds after Victor kissed Yuri's feet on live TV.
Honet Emil. note A sign in Episode 8 reading "Honet Emil" can be seen being held up by a fan of the Czech skater Emil Nekola. Due to Honet not being a word in Czech despite looking as if it was supposed to be this, it quickly became a joke among fans of the character and especially fans from the Czech Republic.
"Something round and golden." note The episode 10 preview had Yuri saying this to Victor when he asked what we was going to get for Christmas, leading to many speculations as to what said thing was. Guesses ranged from romantic things such as a medal or a wedding ring to more amusing and absurd items, such as condoms and potato chips. The Japanese side of the fandom have made jokes about "kintama", which can either mean "golden balls" or...testicles.
THEY'RE FUCKING MARRIED. note The Reveal of the "something gold and round" in Episode 10: rings.
Christophe carries a portable stripper pole at all times. note In Episode 10 it was revealed that at the last Grand Prix Final banquet, Yuri got drunk and, among other things, got involved in a pole dance with Christophe. After questioning why such a pole was in the ballroom in the first place, fandom consensus was that Christophe carries it with him where ever he goes.
How will I ever watch anime again? note To many fans, Yuri!!! On Ice has set a new standard for anime, between the diversity of the cast, the tastefully portrayed LGBT romance between Victor and Yuri, the soundtrack, animation, plot, etc. To many fans, no anime currently can reach the level set by Yuri!!! On Ice.
The only straight thing about this show are Yurio's splits. note Pretty self-explanatory.
"And Then What?" note The fans are so overwhelmed by the creators coincidentally granting their wishes like Literal Genies that they don't even know what to expect anymore for the Victor/Yuri ship.
Similarly, "Can we-" "Okay." note The fans keep getting their wishes granted, and so ask for more and more unrealistic things, like asking for a kiss, then a respectfully portrayed gay relationship, then a full on marriage proposal, with the writers refusing to back down and demanding more challenging requests while the fans are beside themselves trying to think of something that really would be impossible.
We need a Mean Girls AU. note This was the fans' first reaction to JJ's imagination of the five other competitors during his panic/anxiety attack wherein Yurio stands at the forefront and the rest - most especially Yuri who looks like a vampyseductress - looking especially intimidating with sneers on their faces.
Can you hear mY HEART BREAK? note Given the emotional roller-coaster that was Episode 11, this was the fans's immediate reaction after Yuri says his Wham Line. Now, this is what people are singing to due to the ending of the show itself.
Yuri!!! On Ice crashed Tumblr. note On December 21, 2016, the day the finale aired, Tumblr's (and Crunchyroll's, and many other anime streaming sites) servers were so overwhelmed by fans that the site itself crashed. When they were finally restored, Yuri!!! on Ice was comfortably situated as the number one trending topic.
OVERCOME CHIHOKO! note During the Yuri!!! on STAGE event, Yuri and Victor are apparently drunk and started strip janken and flirting shamelessly with one another and when they started stretching, Yuri mentions something that sounds like "Chihoko" (while Yuri is really referring to a shachihoko) which Victor misinterprets to be the name of Yuri's ex. In his jealousy, he writes "OVERCOME CHIHOKO" on Yuri's back.
Pochayuu note The anime's collaborations with Sanrio where a Super-Deformed Yuri frequently cosplays as Pochacco quickly led to the fan creation of Pochayuu, a tiny half-human half-dog creature who resembles Yuri. He frequently appears in fanart as Yuri and Victor's pet or adopted child.
