Just a writer

hey!! sorry to bother you, but i was wondering if there are any differences in the main characters' movements in yoi? like, i was watching the op and victor's ending pose, with his palm out and that confident smile, strikes me as very victor. do yuri, victor and yurio move in specific ways that suit their personalities? since you know about figure skating you seem like the right person to ask and i'm just curious

okay so i love this ask and i wanna use it as a jumping off point for something i’ve been wanting to do, which is contextualizing what we’re seeing in yoi with styles of real life skating.

one thing i have been loving about yoi so far is how well the characters fit into the typical styles of the countries they’re representing. i absolutely agree that viktor’s style hinges on confidence. viktor is definitely loosely based on evgeni plushenko, an iconic russian skater who’s known for his quads and balletic style.

to talk about russian and east asian skating, i have to come at it from the perspective of an american who’s very familiar with north american skating. in the US, historically, “feminine” styles of skating for men have been discouraged. the association of figure skating with women & gay men has long been considered detrimental to the sport by the US skating federation. (this attitude is changing, but slowly.) therefore, most prominent US male skaters (and generally canadians too) have been rewarded for a “masculine” style that depends on powerful jumps and simple choreography that’s as far removed as possible from being “pretty”. i’m not gonna post a video bc i hate this style but here is a good example of this type of skater, if you’re curious. any “dance” elements in that program are closer to ballroom dance than anything else, which has an implied female partner.

russia has a different attitude towards gender roles. while gender roles are still strongly enforced in russia, the ideas of “masculine” and “feminine” are very different. ballet and figure skating are both considered masculine in russia, and for men to excel at grace and poise in these arenas is not stigmatized. to be clear, it’s still extremely stigmatized for men to be “feminine,” but dance is not considered feminine. male skaters (and dancers) are also required to be strong and powerful. so you have this sort of hybrid style where artistic skill is rewarded but only insomuch as it is a measure of strength. plushenko’s iconic free skate “tribute to nijnsky” shows this very well (nijisnky being one of the most famous russian ballet dancers). the choreography is beautiful, but it’s based around exhibiting plushenko’s skill and power. he achieves artistry through extremely difficult and well-executed skating. a good example is the step sequence that begins at 2:15.

viktor exhibits this style very well. it’s also very russian of him to have all the most ridiculously difficult jumps.

i can’t speak to gender roles in japan, since i’m not educated on the topic, but i can speak to the tradition of japanese men’s skating. japanese male skaters have a reputation for absolutely stunning artistry. not just yuzuru hanyu, but also skaters like daisuke takahashi, takahiko kozuka, tatsuki machida, nobunari oda, and nowadays shoma uno, have all been known for grace & fluidity of movement that is rarely seen in men’s skating. not just the russian style of power, skill and passion, but an actual beautiful quality to the movement itself. you could watch pretty much any daisuke takahashi program for an example but here’s one:

(as a side note, i chose this video bc it’s a very beautiful example of daisuke’s artistic talent but my actual fave dai program ever is his hip-hop swan lake.) that quality is what viktor is responding to when he says that yuri’s body makes the shape of the music. this style is why japanese men have dominated male skating for years.

this post is already way too long but i’ll say before i end it that yurio’s style is very much the NEW russian way to do things. plushenko was 24 when he won gold at the 2006 olympics. he was a seasoned, experienced skater with a mature style. nowadays russia mostly churns out 16-year-old prodigies with enormous jumps who are considered washed up by the time they’re 18. sadly, the russian federation has a tendency to push its baby skaters very hard until they burn out young, and then move on. yurio reminds me of someone like elena radionova: balletic, flexible, full of energy, and athletically very skilled, but lacking the depth of emotion that comes with maturity. (not a drag on elena, who i love! just a criticism of the russian fed for never letting its skaters grow up & develop.)

so basically the way people skate in yoi is based in real world traditions of skating. they’re all instantly recognizable as products of the real, existent skating cultures in the countries they represent. as a skating fan, it is very satisfying to watch.