US Olympics Figure Skating Has Gone Full ‘Yuri!!! On Ice’ – And It’s Great

Olympic figure skater Ashley Wagner is “furious.” The skater failed to make the Olympic team this time around, but that’s not all. You see, the selection process for the Olympic Team is not as cut-and-dry as you might think. On paper, it looks like the top scorers at the National Championships should go, but in real life, U.S. Figure Skating reserves the right to choose the Olympic team based on other criteria. Namely, overall annual performance.One of the skaters going to Pyongchang in (what she believes to be) her stead next month is Mirai Nagasu. Four years ago, Nagasu edged out Wagner for third place at the U.S. Championships, but Nagasu was left off the roster for the Sochi Olympics. Wagner was chosen for the team even though she came in fourth behind Nagasu.

This year, Wagner came in fourth place at the U.S. Championships and she’s been left off the team. Hence, why she is “furious.” Wagner hinted that the judges were being purposely stingy in her scoring and that she deserved to make the Olympic team. But in whose place? Second place winner Nagasu? She worked hard to reinvent herself as an indomitable jumper. First place winner Bradie Tennell? The teen whose Cinderella-season has been literally scored to the Cinderella soundtrack? Or third place finisher and international player Karen Chen? WHO SHOULD ASHLEY WAGNER ECLIPSE? DOES IT MATTER?

The whole thing is drama. The performances on the ice are drama. The gobsmacking jumps are drama. The horrific falls are drama. The skin-tight spangled costumes are drama. The new rule that you can skate to vocal tracks — including Lil Jon’s “Turn Down For What” — is drama. The contentious scoring system is drama. The wobbling legends are drama. The underdogs skating perfectly out of nowhere are drama. Ashley Wagner is drama. Adam Rippon is drama. The Shibutanis’ resting bitch faces at getting second place in Ice Dancing are drama. A news alert put out for Nathan Chen’s new hair cut is drama. 

Figure skating has never seemed more decadently dramatic. By that, I mean this is good drama. It’s the fun kind. This is “grab your popcorn and cackle” drama, not “Nancy Kerrigan got piped” drama. The drama that is unfolding in the U.S. Figure Skating scene — and by extension, the world figure skating scene — is like a real-life soap opera. Nay, it’s like Yuri!!! on Ice, but for real.

Yuri!!! on Ice is an exhilarating anime series about elite international figure skaters. It’s also a beautifully melodramatic love story. Katsuki Yuri is a Japanese figure skater whose chances at glory are dwindling. A twist of fate — and a viral video — bring him to the attention of his idol, Russian champ Victor Nikiforov. Victor is so moved by the video that he puts his own career on hold to train Yuri to be the best figure skater he can be. Naturally, they fall in love.

Yuri!!! on Ice is fun, addictive, erotic, and ironically, a supposedly pretty accurate portrayal of what life is like for an elite figure skater. Yuri!!! on Ice illustrates the internal politics of international figure skating as well as the interpersonal drama that brews between the sport’s top competitors. These skaters respect, loathe, and inspire each other. Binging through Yuri!!! on Ice made me all the more attuned to the interpersonal drama brewing between this year’s American figure skaters. Sure, the media will always highlight certain rivalries, but I found catty delight in watching how the skaters did or didn’t greet each other backstage, waiting for their scores.

Something else is different about figure skating this year, namely men’s figure skating. For the first time that I can remember, it’s okay for male figure skaters to be out. Adam Rippon is the very first openly gay figure skater to be named to the U.S. Olympic Team. This has nothing directly to do with Yuri!!! on Ice, but the show’s rise in popularity matches a shift in the zeitgeist. There have always been coded jokes about the sexuality of male figure skaters — Will & Grace famously gave Jack a zinger about it during an Ice Capades episode — but along with those coded jokes was the sense that any “flamboyance” should be kept under wraps. For years, the main rivalry in U.S. men’s figure skating was between “all-American” star Evan Lysacek and the now openly gay Johnny Weir. Lysacek was praised for his work ethic and athleticism. His vibe fit a heteronormative standard. But Weir, who would skate dressed in feathers and sequins, often struggled to win over the judges. It seemed as though Weir was penalized for not being straight enough for the sport.

Cut to this past week… The Men’s U.S. Finals were flouncy and ferocious, flamboyant and fiery. Instead of being forced to conform to a generic type of masculinity, we got a spectrum of performances. Off the ice, the drama continued. (Did you see that a man’s haircut got a news alert?) Rippon, a favorite for the Olympic team said that the only way he wouldn’t make it to Pyongchang was “if other mothers’ competitors are on the selection committee.” And then, Rippon was left off the podium after wobbling in his free skate. He eventually made the team, in a controversial choice that left surprise silver medalist Ross Miner as second alternate. The whole shebang was oozing with theatricality. It’s great.

Olympic Figure Skating always brings the drama on and off the ice, but this year seems particularly calibrated to bring soap opera-levels of drama. Part of that is that it is indeed an Olympics year. The pressure to qualify for the Winter Olympics, and then fulfill lofty expectations, has made even the sport’s greats crumble. But there’s something different at play. Maybe we can thank the rise of social media or invasive reality shows, but maybe we can also thank anime. Or maybe, I can thank anime. Watching Yuri!!! on Ice might have made figure skating better for me than it’s ever been before.

Where to stream Yuri!!! on Ice