The Genre I Continued

Back in February, I stumbled into a genre I had never explored before and loved it. I vowed to keep going- and I did.

Haikyu!! started Chase and I on a journey that I never anticipated. In my original article on Sports anime, I talked about checking out Yuri!!! on Ice, and, well, I done did it! During my hiatus I was able to take my time and go through some content I was dying to check out, and this was one of them. There might not be a lot of positive things people want to say about 2020, but one thing is true for me: it brought me some amazing anime. Granted, I am super behind on the Yuri train, considering its original airdate was back in 2016... but we are just going to ignore that a mosey on along.

Let's me start by telling you a little bit about the show. Yuri!!! on Ice follows 23-year old ice skater, Yuri Katsuki, after he has a soul crushing defeat at the Grand Prix Final. Appearing as if his career in ice skating is over, he returns home. However, while skating at his home rink for a childhood best friend, he is secretly recorded preforming a very advanced routine made by his idol, Victor Nikiforov- a famous Russian skater. The video is uploaded and eventually, goes viral. Victor sees the video, and promptly leaves to find Yuri and be his coach. This 12-episode anime takes you on a magical journey of healing as Yuri pushes to find himself and the true meaning of love through what he believes will be his last season as a professional figure skater.

Yuri!!! on Ice has received global success and has won multiple awards in Japan and the US- and it deserves every single one. Three awards from the Tokyo Anime Award Festival, one Japan Character Award, seven awards from the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and endless amounts of chart toping recognitions, staying in the top ten and top five of different sales records. And even with ALL of that, the series never got a season two. The creators seemed happy with what they were able to convey in the original creation and it seems only very reluctantly came out with a movie this year. There have been endless rumors for years about a season 2, which I don't believe is outside the realm of possibility, but also don't see as necessary. Not that I wouldn't love that, but I agree that what the creators were able to capture in 12 episodes was ultimately worthwhile and wouldn't want them to compromise or possibly even ruin that by a fan pressured second season.

So, what's the fuss? What makes this anime so great? Well, for starters, its beautiful- and I mean that in every sense of the word. The story, the characters, the art, the music! All of it! Even the intro! The stinking intro was one of my favorites that I have ever seen! It was simple and gorgeous and made me want to cry and it's just a freaking intro! But in all seriousness, this anime genuinely was beautiful, touching on topics of anxiety, overcoming fear and self-doubt, tackling loneliness, and finding love outside just the surface of the word. This anime is honest and raw, showing both the ugly sides and more forgiving sides of our own minds.

Saying all that makes it sounds heavy, but I promise it's not. The creators did a great job of finding a balance between the serious scenes and comedic relief. There are some more sensual scenes, but for the most part (with the exception of two scenes off the top of my head involving a secondary character), they all felt very natural almost necessary with the high emotions and performance of figure skating.

If you loved animes like Your Lie in April or even Orange, I think you will find this right up your alley- just with less sadness by the end. Meaning: this will inspire you to grow, to pursue your dreams more full-heartedly, and to love yourself and others more purely. Though this piece of art shares the same genre as Haikyu!!, it could not be more different. I will say that if anything, it has made me appreciated the consistently good variety of anime this genre is capable of producing. I will most certainly be checking out more anime in the Sports genre and encourage you to do the same.

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Thank you for joining me for some Nerdom tonight- Happy Hump Day! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, please be safe and remember to be kind to yourselves. The holidays can be stressful, but they don't have to be. Give yourself a hug for me and I will see you back on Sunday for The Mess. Remember to stay nerdy, stay messy, and happy holidays my friends!