A lot of the fandom seems to be freaking out about this so let’s talk about it!
This was actually one of my favourite scenes from the episode. Not because of any kind of impending drama but because this conversation has honestly been a long time coming.
After episode 7, there was no relationship talk. Victor and Yuuri have yet to sit down and tell each other straight up what they want out of their relationship (both personally and professionally). Flash back to episode 4 where Victor was asking what he should be to Yuuri. Now they actually are boyfriends (well, even more than that, fiancés) but same as we’ve never heard them state it, I don’t think they’ve really made it explicitly clear to each other either.
I feel that so far they’ve just been letting things evolve as they go. The Cup of China was actually only a bit over a month ago in-series. Their intimate relationship is still very new and it’s been moving really fast. They’re definitely physically intimate (as you can see by the pushed-together beds) but they haven’t quite connected the same way on the emotional level. They definitely love each other and want to stay with each other, I don’t doubt that for a moment, but they haven’t sat down and said “I want to spend my life with you” to each other. They haven’t told each other what their plans are for their professional relationship either.
We know that Victor has been doing a lot of thinking, and it was very obvious in this episode that he is grieving his career, but it’s also obvious that he doesn’t plan to go back to skating competitively.
Yuuri however, being the anxious person that he is, is reading Victor’s grieving all wrong. Yuuri is thinking that not only is their professional relationship (which he could end simply by retiring) but also their personal relationship is holding Victor back from what he “wants” – to go back to being a competitive skater. And thus we get the line that we did here. This is Yuuri’s attempt to “free” Victor to allow him to chase what Yuuri thinks he actually wants, which turns out could not be any further from the truth.
They aren’t going to break up. I can tell you that right now and with absolute certainty. Rather than this being something that is going to create drama, it is actually going to work to solve it. Yuuri needs to hear from Victor that Victor has no intention of leaving and that he wants to stay with Yuuri more than he wants to continue his skating career. Also very important is that Victor needs to say it out loud. Victor is a thinker, he rarely makes big decisions on a whim. He’s been processing what he wants to do with his life for a year now and he has definitely come to his decision (as was evident in episode 10).
Victor has chosen Yuuri over his skating career and this line from episode 11 is just the gateway to the discussion that will firmly cement their personal relationship in place. And the final bow-tie on the gift that is their relationship will be the duet skate at the end of the episode.
As you guys may or may not have seen already, the Yuri on Ice production team aired a pre-Grand Prix Final special event today featuring the creator of the anime, Kubo Mitsurou, and the Japanesevoice actors of Yuuri Katsuki (Toyonaga Toshiyuki), Victor Nikiforov (Suwabe Junichi) and Yuri Plisetsky (Uchiyama Kouki). (You can watch the special here.)
You may have seen a variation of this picture in the past few hours and that comes from said special event (the people in the picture are listed above, going from left to right):
What I want to do here is compile the most relevant translations of what they said during this special eventin this post. Also, they openly addressed the kiss scene in episode 7 for the first time ever during this special, so you might wanna keep reading for that!
I’ll be going more or less chronologically.
They highlighted that the recording
sessions for YOI were way longer than most of the other anime series they
played in during their careers. They said that recording the voices for one
episode took around 6-7 hours (whereas for other anime usually it would be around 3, 4 at
most). They said that they spent that time on redoing scenes and creating all
the proper nuances in the characters’ speech/reactions etc. They agreed that it
was tiring, but fun in the end. Suwabe admitted that his image of Victor and
the director’s image of Victor were different (especially at first) so getting
on the same page and agreeing on the proper sound of the characters was crucial
and also took some time.
Toyonaga said that during the recording of
the first episode, he sat down with the sound director and discussed in which direction
they should take his acting for Yuuri for a long time. They decided that Yuuri should not
have many typical anime protagonist antics and quirks (acting-wise) and should
sound as real and realistic as possible. In the end, they came up with the
natural, raw-sounding voice and that’s what they went with from the first
episode until the last. Toyonaga said that this is also something that is
rarely done in the industry and what makes acting for YOI feel special.
^Toyonaga’s
face when Kubo said that, the moment she heard him in the audition, she knew he
was the only one for the role.
Kubo said that after the first episode aired, many male manga authors contacted her, saying how much they liked her new
anime. She was especially moved by the message from the author of “Hajime no
Ippo” George Morikawa who said that he really enjoyed the first episode and was really impressed with Kubo.
Kubo
was asked whether she got to interview any skaters or got to see the backstage
of any skating events and she said that she didn’t get that opportunity at all
and in fact had to pay for her own tickets to go and see the skating rinks we
see in the anime (apparently she even went to Russia for references for the
anime).
^Suwabe casually feeding Toyonaga some katsudon. (Foreshadowing?)
They also talked about the scene where Victor first meets Yuuri in the hot springs and had a long discussion about Victor’s nipples
and how the writers weren’t sure what color or shape or size to give them but they
ended up reaching a consensus and that’s what we can see in the anime. Kubo
also said that they hadn’t decided what Yuuri’s nipples would look like but she
had to draw them for that one poster in that one magazine and again it was a
difficult decision because there’s such a variety of nipples out there that it’s
hard to choose. They concluded that Yuri on Ice had nuance even in the nipple
department.
Then they discussed THE scene from episode
7 and I found this part quite exciting because this is the first time the
creator/voice actors addressed it directly and openly. And well, they called it
the hug/kiss scene. Kubo said that she got a lot of tweets from all over the
world, asking her for clarification (and some private messages, to which she
responded with the truth, but she didn’t share what ‘the truth’ was during the event (she was
smiling like all hell though so I think it’s pretty damn clear that it was a
kiss)). In the end, Kubo explained that she doesn’t want to push only one way of seeing the scene onto the viewers and
she thinks it’s better if the fans decide what they’re more comfortable with
themselves.
Which I’d say is fair enough and doesn’t take anything away from the scene, because it’s all about how we the viewers see it. She basically admitted that both interpretations are true. So we’re good.
Random bonus: They all agreed that JJ’s song (Theme of
King JJ) was memorable to them because the entire cast had to gather during
that recording session to record the audience singing that song. During
recording sessions, there is usually a break before the A-Part and B-Part of an
episode and on that occasion the sound director told them to listen to the song
during their break and memorize the lyrics so that they can get it recorded
immediately after. They all agreed that they struggled a bit because it was so
sudden and the lyrics were entirely in English. Uchiyama also said that Miyano
Mamoru (JJ’s VA) learned the lyrics quickly and started translating and singing
them in Japanese and the rest of the cast just sort of glared at him.
Bronus:
^Embarrassing hugs.
I think my translations are accurate, but feel free to check them with the video! I found this to be a very interesting and amusing event and I sure hope we’ll get another one, addressing the events in later episodes *cough airport scene and engagement rings cough* directly, eventually.
Hope you found this post educational or useful otherwise! (And if you have any questions, feel free to message me!)
So, me and my friend @nimurun live near Barcelona, so we did a tour of the locations from Yuri on Ice episode 10! The photos were taken during the day, so they don’t quite look the same, but it gives a general feel of the place ^^
Here are some of our favourites, with a side by side comparison from the anime:
First stop, Sagrada Familia, where my baby Pitchit took his selfie xD Victuuri were also here!
The hotel the skaters stayed in is called Hotel Princess and it’s on Avinguda Diagonal. Lots of conferences are held there and if you look it up on Google Images you’ll find pictures of the pool where Victor and Chris were hanging out!
Unfortunately we didn’t have the chance to go inside and take pictures of the lobby, but maybe next time we will ^^
Next up was the Fira de Santa Llucia! This one looked pretty different in real life: the font has change and there were no decorations hanging behind it.
Unfortunately we couldn’t find Maria Dolores, the shop where Yuuri buys the rings and when we asked around we were told it didn’t exist 😦
There used to be a jewelers in the square called Majorica, but it’s closed down now.
The final stop (for now) was by far the most important: La Catedral del Mar a.k.a. the place where VICTUURI GOT ENGAGED AJAIDHPUEQFJGUCFG (still not over it xD)
Again the anime wasn’t quite accurate, but pretty close. While we were here we met another group of Yuri on Ice fans from Barcelona who acted out the scene! They were so cute! >.<
The gates were open do it’s so it’s not quite right >.<
You can’t see in this image but people were looking at us funny lol
LOOK AT MY BEAUTIFUL SONS ;-; MAY THEY BE HAPPY TOGETHER FOREVER * ^ *
BONUS:
Near the Cathedral we found this Restaurant:
The name of the restaurant ranslates to “Victor’s Cafe”! XD
It’s literally right next to the cathedral, to the right, but unfortunately we’re poor so we couldn’t afford to eat there (T^T)
UPDATE!! @the-wintry-mizzenmast has informed me that Maria Dolores is actually a shop called Carrera y Carrera! https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/images/int/shopping/passeig-de-gracia/101b-carrera-y-carrera/P580/carrera-y-carrera-shop-barcelona-9369.jpg
Thank you so much for the info, will try to go there soon and that more photos! ^^
Yet another interview from Pash! Dec. issue. This is also with Mitsurou Kubo, it’s basically an “extra” of the commentary that I posted the other day, with a few other random questions & facts all very interesting as usual. By the way, this is were it was first confirmed that Yuuri and Victor speak English to each other (which is something Japanese people had been wondering for a while).
Same as in the last translation, italic/bold parts are recreating how the original article was, I didn’t decide where to add them myself.
***If you wish to share this translation please do it by reblogging or posting a link to it*** ***Re-translating into other languages is ok but please mention that this post is the source***
Mitsurou Kubo Q&A There’s still more behind the scenes! We are bringing you a few more curiosities and anecdotes in Q&A format.
Q: Why are there so many scenes about SNS? A: Actual skaters love SNS too, and there are quite a few of them who post really often. The director and I always enjoy looking at their posts every day. We created the ED in the image of Instagram and photos posted on the SNS. We are also thinking of ending some episodes with SNS style pictures, I hope you’ll enjoy.
Q: Is Yuuri on the SNS too? A: Yuuri is the type who gets an account but then never updates it. He doesn’t really check it. He doesn’t want to be bashed, and thinks that the fans’ passionate cheering is a bit annoying. He’s really terrible at dealing with fans. But lots of people around him are SNS lovers, so you can spot him in their posts (LOL).
Q: What do you especially pay attention to in this work? A: First of all, we were talking with director Yamamoto about the fact that no matter how you perfectly animate the skating scenes, if viewers don’t feel like cheering for an athlete they will never sympathize with them. That’s why until episode 4 we have spent time meticulously showing the interaction between Yuuri Katsuki and Victor Nikiforov in Yuuri’s hometown.
Q: What language do Yuuri and the others speak with each other? A: Yuuri and Victor fundamentally speak English with each other. Yuuri studied in Detroit, so actually he can speak English very well. Isn’t that cool? (LOL)
Q: Tell us something about the episode titles, which are always quite striking. A: I thought them all before writing the storyboards. The flow of the story was already roughly decided, but we had to present the titles at the meeting first of all. If I remember correctly, director Yamamoto and I thought up all 12 titles in Tokyo station, after returning from a trip to collect data (LOL). We decided episode 1 because it sounded nice, and since we had started with that kind of title we felt like we should continue with the same trend for all others too. But I guess it’s no use to act cool in the end (LOL).
Q: About “that” line. A: The lines centered around “(the theme is) love” in episode 5 are actually something that I came up with for the recording script that was used in the cast audition, before writing the storyboard. I used the same words in the actual episode.
Q: What memories do you have of the location hunting? A: I really like the Russian representative pair skater Yuko Kavaguti. I had never gotten an autograph from an athlete before, but when we went to see the GP Final in Barcelona last year, after the exhibition the director and I spotted her signing autographs, and we got one too. We told her “We really like you!!” (LOL), and she replied “ooh, really?” with a lovely voice like a little bird, that made me so happy.
Q: Where did you go location hunting? A: We went to China, Russia and Spain, also to watch the matches. It was about 5 days for each match.
Q: What did you have trouble with during location hunting? A: We could never get appointments. In Russia we went to see the tournament in Moscow and we also went to St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg there is a famous sport club called Yubileyny, to which Plushenko and Yagudin also belong, and we tried going there even though we weren’t expecting much. Director Yamamoto was really nice and asked whether we could take a look inside, but of course… they didn’t allow us to… While we were taking pictures of the exterior we were told that now it was being remodeled and the main athletes were in another place. We tried to go there too, but again we were told that the public is not allowed inside. We still tried searching for some place we could take a look at, and we came upon a dining room. Inside there were a few Russian female athletes. We got a little hyper and were like “skaters training inside actually come here too!!” “they’re only drinking water!!”. We kept on visiting the place, trying to see all areas that were accessible to the public. In Moscow we went to CSKA, which is where Radionova is based, but here too we were not allowed to visit. So basically in the whole GP series we weren’t able to see even one back yard. Overseas you can take pictures in the main arena, so director Yamamoto, the manager and I positioned ourselves in different spots and did our best to take as many pictures as possible. We seriously had to do everything by ourselves. When we tried to go at the back we got excited because once again we could enter the dining room (LOL). Every time it was like that.
Q: What kind of place is Hasetsu? A: Hasetsu is a fictional town in Kyushu. In Kyushu there are actual skate rinks too, but we reckoned that if we used one of those it would become difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction. We did most of the location hunting in Karatsu, Saga prefecture. There’s a castle too because we figured a foreigner would like that. In Saga there is a film commission, so we also went there to officially ask for cooperation. As soon as we enter the GP series they never go back to Hasetsu, but in the beginning we showed a lot of “rural*” life. We wanted it to become a place that you could look back at and think “those were fun times”. [*translator’s note: You may think that Hasetsu is a normal town, but in Japan everything that’s not big metropolitan city is basically considered “countryside”]
Q: We would like to know how you created the performances in the series! A: We first had a meeting with the composer (Keisuke) Tominaga-san, in which the director and I participated too, and afterwards he sent us samples of about 200 songs. Kenji-sensei then gave us comments for all the songs, like “this sounds European”, “this is something an American skater would use”, “this one won’t work”. It sounds very convincing when it’s a choreographer saying it. After that the director and I did a further brush-up and chose the songs among the existing samples that sounded more similar to what we were looking for, we asked to create the actual songs, then we asked Kenji-sensei to create choreographies for them, and finally we had him perform said choreographies and filmed him with lots of cameras. Kenji-sensei listened to our explanation and told us to tell him if we had anything to say about the choreographies. He created all of them within a limited amount of time, even though the story was not fully decided in detail yet. And despite that, in the tournament scenes it happened a lot of times that the choreographies perfectly matched the scenes and made the monologues sound even more fitting, it was really magical. When I got to the point of writing the storyboard I realized once again how important the role of Kenji-sensei has been.
I need to rant to get it out of my system (and because lately I can’t draw to get my feelings out) about some things I really liked in the new episode:
The possible character development for Yurio. As I mentioned previously, it seems likely that Yurio’s development will be a bit similar to Yuuri’s, based on the fact he skates on the twin piece of music, “On Love”. His love isn’t the same than Yuuri. Yuuri was more about discovering romantic (and sexual) love (even if it meant realizing the love he was surrounded by too). Yurio, to me, will be more about recognizing and accepting the love on a more “innocent” form (Agape) he can receive but always refuse. He only accepts his Grandfather’s love (maybe because it’s the only one he ever received ?), but when presented with manifestations of affection and support from others (Yuuri and Viktor), he gets angry and sees them as pity or teasing. Maybe it will be his character development. At least that’s how I saw it foreshadowed in this new episode.
Yuuri and Viktor’s maturity. I already loved how, in general, Yuuri acted pretty mature especially toward Yurio (not picking up on his attacks, the “Viktor came because he wanted” and not beating himself over it, treating him like a valid opponent all by keeping in mind he’s way younger…). But here it really got me. He, and Viktor, were genuinely happy for Yurio. To see how he improved, how he really made the Agape his own (even if it still needs improvement). They cheered for him, Yuuri was happy to see Yurio again, and even Viktor (in his really awkward way) showed some happiness to see him again. Even though he is one of their opponents, and even though Yurio clearly showed animosity toward them, they didn’t pick on him and instead cheered him. It was heartwarming, and also a proof of maturity that’s refreshing (so many shows display adults that act like kids in the wrong sense of the word).
As mentioned in an other post : the maturity Yuuri displayed by immediately telling Viktor about Makkachin and telling him to go back. He didn’t keep it for himself (communication holy shit), he didn’t play any emotionally manipulative game (”it’s makkachin or me”), but instead showed empathy, took his own experience as something he didn’t want his lover to go through, and showed maturity by not being over dependent on Viktor’s presence (”I can do it without you, I’m an adult, and I don’t want you to suffer. I can handle not having you by my side all of the time, but I don’t want you to have your dog suffer/die without being able to be with him when I don’t need you right now”).
Speaking of dependence : Viktor and Yuuri will be separated. And that’s something I’m really happy to see. I really hope Makkachin doesn’t die though, and I think he won’t and that it’s really just an excuse to have them separated for a moment. And I think it’s important. Because currently, they always been together, and they’re pretty fusional. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with it, but it becomes wrong when it’s sign of overdependence on each other, when each part can’t function properly without the other. Now that they really reinforced their relationship in last episode, and that they’re confident in their relationship, it’s like a “proof test”, to have Yuuri having to perform without Viktor being here. I am confident it should go well (not that it will be easy, but that Yuuri will overcome it), and that it will be an other evidence of their healthy relationship. I think they need to be separated at least a bit, because it’s something that will happen sometimes. And also, it will be a “test” of Yuuri’s confidence. Did he really become confident or is it only tied to Viktor’s presence ? He only performed and won with Viktor always at his side so far. I do believe he actually gained confidence, but it will be a nice situation for them to “test” their relationship, its strength and Yuuri’s confidence. And it’s not a wicked test, but the one that can normally happen in real life. It’s not a “jealousy” proof test or anything. Just a “life makes it so I need to be at a place you can’t be because you have something else important to do right now, and neither of us can ask the other to drop everything to be at our side, so we have to split for a moment and it’s ok”. I’m really excited.
The Eros Programm really being a metaphor of the Viktuuri relationship. Especially in the beginning. At first, Yuuri was just copying Viktor’s smile. But then their relationship evolves, and Viktor starts to pull Yuuri so they can be more on equal grounds (”seduce me with your own charm” aka “you don’t have to copy me anymore or use any tricks, you have the ability to charm me in you”). And then he doesn’t just smile, but licks his lips. It’s seductive, it’s really Yuuri wanting Viktor (”Keep your eyes on me”) and it’s about where they are in their relationship. But then the relationship evolves again. They really get on equal grounds when Yuuri sees Viktor fucking up and when they both expose some of their weaknesses. And then they kiss. Their relationship is healthy and official, and so, next time, Yuuri blows a kiss at Viktor. It’s a nice reference to the kiss they shared before, and an evidence of the development of their relationship : it’s not about seducing anymore. It’s about expressing your feelings and your confidence in the other. The kiss and skating is for Viktor. And to parallel this, you just have the way Yuuri skates all the way. He starts off unsure, messing up some jumps, having to stay really focused on his story or the katsudon or the woman to be able to skate it right. And in the last episode ? He didn’t do any of that. He’s confident in this program as he is in his relationship with Viktor. And that’s. so. great.
This episode was less emotionally charged than the previous, less centered on Yuuri and Viktor (they’re just an established couple now and I love it. They don’t even fear to do things like the laces tying or the kiss on the skate. It’s awesome), but more on Yurio, his future development, and his relationship to other. It was great and the possible interpretations of what is to come are really interesting.
Hi! I’m that person who wrote that post with the lost-in-translation innuendo from episode 6. After that, some people said they want to know about the rest of the ‘lost in translation stuff’ from the rest of the episodes……so, hey, I’m crazy, so I went and did it.
This post aims to collect and explain as many translation errors, emphasis changes and things that just can’t make it through the language barrier as possible from the Yuri on Ice official subs, through episodes 1-6.
I want to preface this by saying that I have the utmost respect for Crunchyroll translators. Theirs is a tough job : parsing everything by ear, running on tight deadlines, having no context for future episodes and needing to make sure everything sounds like a real conversation. It’s hard, and I don’t envy them their jobs.
But even the best translators could make mistakes.
Let’s get started, shall we? Episode 1’s going to be a little dry, but rest assured that there are some juicy, tasty stuff down the line in further episodes! This is also going to be very long, so please bear with me. A short count of issues :
Episode 1 – 17 issues Episode 2 – 15 issues Episode 3 – 9 issues Episode 4 – 23 issues Episode 5 – 26 issues (!!!!!)<– this one is important Episode 6 – 20 issues
(This is going for maximum accuracy, so there will be some splitting hair and some throwing conversational flow to the winds when it becomes necessary.)
Episode 1
The subs translated this line into present perfect tense, but it’s actually in the past perfect tense. Correct version : Ever since I first saw his skating, it had been an unending chain of surprises.
You know, in case we don’t have enough ‘describe Victor in the past tense’ things to freak out about!
The subs missed a word here, simplified the sentence and removed the tiny personal touch of the announcer to make it more like English language sports commentary. The announcer also described Victor’s skating, not just the state of his competition. The original line is 「いや、フリーも驚異な強さで圧倒しました！」(いや means ‘no’, but in cases like this it’s often used to show awe at something you half-expect anyway.) When you add the missing bits back in, the line would be like : I’ll be damned, he also crushed the FS with a miraculously strong performance!
‘Seems to lay such rumors to rest’ is a rather mild way to put what the announcer is saying. He sounds quite excited in the Japanese commentary, but that’s not how English sports commentary works, so….anyway, the original line is 「そんな噂を吹き飛ばすかのような圧巻の滑りでした」, which would make the whole sentence ’Some speculated that he might retire this season, but that was a masterful performance to blow any such rumors out of the water!’
The actual meaning doesn’t change much, but the emphasis has been shifted quite a ways.
(warning: really huge-ass, super long post with many screencaps)
You know what the most amazing thing about the Yuri!!! on Ice ep 7 kiss is? That it wasn’t the most amazing thing in the episode. For real. In fact, it wasn’t amazing at all, and I mean this in the best possible way: when it came about, it felt real and organic, because the show has been leading us here all along.
The narrative has paved the way for this moment to happen—and more than that, for it not to be the end of the series, but simply another element of the story as it develops.
I am going to tackle why I think this is so, starting with…
the genre question
I think one of the things that’s struck me about Yuri!!! on Ice from the start is: this is not a typical sports anime.
This is the start, and the framing, of a typical sports anime.
Our protagonists are at the start of something new. They are there to face their sport, overcome challenges, and learn to work as a team. Along the way, they will meet allies as well as powerful rivals. In the end, they will fight their way to the top and embrace the power of nakama.
This is the start of Yuri!!! on Ice.
When we first meet Yuuri, he has already done most of that.
Can I just say that I love the way the crying scene in episode 7 was handled? Yuuri is feeling anxious and completely overwhelmed because his A) his final score depends on the program he’s about to perform, which determines whether or not he goes on to compete in Russia. B) His entire family is watching and expecting him to do well, and C) Victor’s career and credibility as a coach is directly tied to how well Yuuri does. Victor remembers feeling anxious as a young skater just starting out, but he’d never dealt with the stakes that Yuuri is dealing with right now. Not only does he not know why Yuuri is so anxious, he himself has no idea how to help, as a coach or just as someone who loves Yuuri.
Does everyone see this image? The image that shows our small Edgy™ boy looking like a kicked kitten? Well guess what, there’s a reason behind it.
Now we have seen all the theories going around about how Yuri is possibly just butthurt about not getting first place. How he was probably so used to winning that to lose smacked him hard, and/or how something terrible might happen. Yet there is something that we didn’t consider. A real, valid, and scary reason as to why Plisetsky looks so concerned, almost fearful, about gaining second.
That my friends, is the fact that he may have the possibility of not qualifying for the GPF.
If you’re unfamiliar with how the scoring system works for Grand Prix assignments you may be wondering “Alex! How can this be? He hasn’t lost because he didn’t get first place, he should surely be able to qualify!” Now to answer this, is that yes, he still has a chance but the damage it can do to his own confidence and performance is drastic. Especially at the state he is after loosing to Yuuri during the Onsen on Ice.
Now to give you a fact or two, to even qualify for Grand Prix assignments, your scores from the previous season will be taken into account. In this case, men’s singles, each skater needed to gain a technical score for each program.
Short Program: 36.91 Free Program: 70.83
All for a combined total of 188.95 as the final result for technicality. Now in all honesty, that may seem pretty low, but in reality its actually quite difficult for an entering senior, someone who’s scores are being taken from when they were 14, to qualify for such an event. Meaning there’s two times the pressure on this poor sweet Tragic Backstory™ Edgy™ teen. He’s already having difficulties with the fact that puberty is right around the corner to fuck him over so the challenge of qualifying is quite heavy.
So now that we have that out of the way, lets focus onto present time and what we know. Yuri Plisetsky has positioned second place after SkateCanada which to us may not seem like a big deal, but to them it’s a silent threat. Why? Well you see to qualify for the Grand Prix Final you have to gain a certain number of points; 20+
The scoring for each event is the same and follows the same table. Lets give the four five as an example.
First Place: 15pts Second Place: 13pts Third Place: 11pts Fourth Place: 9pts
With this knowledge we know that Yuri Plisetsky has thirteen points. Nothing bad to our eyes, nothing harmful, still a good score. However we now know that the lowest he can get is fourth place. We know this due to the table AND because of what is said to Phichit prior to his SP performance.
This shows that Phichit already has 9 points in the bag, and getting thirteen will leave him with a qualifying score of 22. He barely misses the margin.
Now, we know Yuri Plisetsky is a very strong skater. We know that he’s very much likely the most talented in his generation, but there will always be people better than him. There will always be the time that he can’t win. Yet he his still new to the Senior class, and as other theorists have said, he is not used to losing. With Yuuri’s performances so far it would only be likely that he wins the Rostelecom Cup, and that Yuri gets placed below him. It’d only make wonders if Plisetsky comes out of nowhere, building himself together, and winning the GPF when nobody expected. Surely he’d be ecstatic by the result.
However that is in the future, Plisetsky is focused on the present. As he is used to winning, anything below second place would be 1) damaging to his performance in future competitions 2) Weaken their already wavering mental strength 3) Give way to what’s happened to Katsuki during the previous year.
Not to mention Yakov would certainly not be pleased. He sees second place as satisfactory. Just within his tolerance, and most likely scratching off by a hair.
Yuri Plisetsky, as I have said numerous times, sees second place as a threat. He sees it as a wavering knife ready to cut the string that holds him. Sure, if he got fourth then lucky him, he’s qualified. Yes, he would be qualified, but the strain on himself to perform even better will on greaten by much more. He would perceive that performance as a sign of degrading skill. Most likely due to the fact that he very well know puberty is coming to bite him in the ass.
His center of gravity will change, his joints will grow stiff before loosening, hormones and growth spurts will be flying and jumping off the walls, and it is virus that kills many young skaters.
So please, keep in mind that this all isn’t something silly or whatever, it’s not just a child’s worry. It is a child’s concern for the future. A concern for his own performance, lifestyle, legacy, and very being. Plisetsky needs to win for his family; A prize money of 18,000 USD. That isn’t a lot, but it is necessary for his situation.
His performance may degrade due to the stress that he is putting upon himself to evolve faster, stronger, and more graceful. He would be pushing himself to the very limit just to achieve a dream many are fighting for. A dream in a sport where one injury can end it all.
This isn’t just Yuri Plisetsky being bitter about his performance, no. This is Yuri Plisetsky being terrified out of concern for a new found threat that he believed never to have existed.
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