Yuri!!! on Ice Cast and Staff Joyously Celebrate Yuuri’s Birthday

It’s everyone’s favourite, and best, katsudon’s birthday!

Nov. 29 is a very special day for one very special boy: Yuri!!! on Ice‘s titular character Yuuri Katsuki’s birthday. The Japanese skater has numerous iconic lines, including his way of introduction by proclaiming he’s merely a “dime-a-dozen skater” when he is one of the top male figure skaters in Japan. In fact, he’s also a “pork cutlet bowl fatale that enthralls men.” While it has been seven years since Yuri!!! on Ice aired, the cast and animators made sure to celebrate the GPF silver medalist with new illustrations.

Noriko Ito, one of the animators for the 2016 anime, visited the Mizuno shop where they illustrated a beautiful piece of artwork of Yuuri with a faint blush on his cheeks. In addition, they also drew the main cast of the anime celebrating Yuuri’s special day, including a rather sulky Yuri Plisetsky and adorable Makkachin. Victor also received his own artwork where Ito illustrated him winking as he wished his student and fiancé a happy birthday.

Junichi Suwabe, the voice actor for Victor Nikiforov, and “Stammi Vicino”‘s singer Kudō Kazuma both honoured Yuuri’s birthday in the best way possible, by eating a bowl of steaming, delicious katsudon.

Animated and produced by MAPPA, Yuri!!! on Ice is an original story that follows the story of Yuuri Katsuki, who, after suffering a sixth-place finish at the Grand Prix Final, decides to halt his competitive career and return to his hometown of Hasetsu. However, he gets the shock of his life when his idol, Victor Nikiforov, the most decorated male figure skater in history, arrives at his family’s onsen, announcing he will be Yuuri’s coach.

The anime received critical acclaim for its accurate depiction of figure skating by competitive figure skaters and its portrayal of a romantic relationship between two men. Yuri!!! on Ice also received praise for how the anime depicted Yuuri’s anxiety. Sales for Yuri!!! on Ice have been extremely high, with each of its six Blu-Ray volumes topping the Oricon Animation Blu-ray Disc ranking and having the highest combined DVD and Blu-Ray sales of any animated series in Japan. It grossed over 3.2 million yen from home video and music release sales. Yuri!!! on Ice’s opening song, “History Maker,” performed by Dean Fujioka, reached number 43 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. The soundtrack for the anime became the top-selling anime CD album on the Oricon charts for the first half of 2017.

Yuri!!! on Ice announced an original film titled Ice Adolescence in April 2017 with an initial release date of 2019. The film has been delayed with the production committee’s reasoning that it was to “substantially scale up the content more than originally planned.” The studio released a teaser trailer in January 2019 in Japan with the trailer released internationally in November 2020. On the official Yuri!!! on Ice: Ice Adolescence‘s official website, a note reads: “The production of YURI!!! on ICE the movie: ICE ADOLESCENCE is still ongoing with the aim of further enriching the film. ​However, we have not yet reached the stage where we can announce the release date. Our team will continue to work diligently to deliver a film and share our unwavering love and dedication for skating. We deeply apologize to all fans for the circumstance and ask for your generous understanding.”

Yuri!!! on Ice is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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