#is this my first tumblr hater's message btw? Thank goodnes I was starting to feel left out. Almost. I've been reached by the Tumblr hating!

[bowldeepfannish]

Someone; *watches Yuri on ice exactly once* WOW I LOVE FIGURE SKATING!! DAMN THEY NAILED THAT *squinting at wikipedia article* TRIPLE TOE COMBO(?) WOW HE KILLED THAT *squinting at another wiki article* SHORT PROGRAM xD MAn IM SUCH AN EXPERT ON THIS SHIT. WONDER IF I COULD GO TO THE OLYMPICS???? Me, a figure skater; i want death.

Don’t die Anon! And no need to get randomly so doom and gloom over random strangers over the internet whether you happen to be on the giving or the receiving end.

Just keep enjoying your sport on your terms, other people will enjoy it on theirs. Also figure skating is a bit of a marvelously odd beast blending both athleticism and artistry/performance, ‘acting’ even. It’s perfectly fine to enjoy either or both according to one’s own individual sensibilities and analysis skills. I don’t go into technical because expression and emotion are more my jam and I lack skating experience (temp rinks and rented hockey skates. ‘nough said) to gauge the minute points of a move/jump and I struggle even when I try replaying frame by frame. At least axels are easy to spot at a glance XDD. But generally over a more ‘muscular’ program I’d be more impressed with a technically easier program that has overall better flow  and ‘acting’ the program’s story and that moves me ad entertains me. I tend to prefer former competitive skaters programs actually. Then we get stuff like Yuzuru’s Seimei hence the best of both worlds so yay.

On top of that genuine interest and even pro careers can be sparked in different ways and by different means. Anime included. Among today’s YOI fans there are tomorrow’s  champions (and past, and present too. Incidentally have you followed some of them top figure skaters’ social media posts about YOI since more than 1 year ago now? )

CASE IN POINT AND QUICK HISTORY LESSON FOLLOWS. There are many roads leading to Rome  as we say or more than one-way street journey to reach your destination.

1) OUAT in my country  (we’re talking nearly 40 years ago dear readers and I was there walking the Earth ) they used to broadcast a lot of sport anime series.  We are a soccer kind of country and basicaly everything else gets very little coverage by comparison, or none at all. I can vouch for at least two generations of soccer players, tennis players, volleyball players  gymnasts and golf players getting their spark and/or gained support thanks to those series. Back then those anime were a mass phenomenon and a childhood staple /bonding experience. Everyone watched them and many wished to try the sports of their fav heroes :D. Fun times. Winning times too.

2) Even if I hadn’t watched YOI about 8 times and in three languages already and it hadn’t brought me much joy and lovely acquaintances in a hard phase of my life I’m very grateful to YOI because it led me to find out official reliable channels at last! to keep updated on figure skating and skaters as I had always wished to do (and did to an extent on other platforms since circa 2004. Regular-ish internet access yay) As I mentioned above in point 1) coverage for many sports has always been sporadic where I live and spotty at best outside of soccer, cycling and Formula1 because we are the land of Ferrari cars and Coppi and Bartali/Giro D’Italia among others yadda yadda .

For years I  and many others unless we happened to live near an ice rink (hint: rare) or belong in a skating fans’ circle could only glimpse something about figure skating ( I admit I prefer singles’ skating over the couples or synchro also my free time and internet is limited alas) through news articles, the occasional piece about Carolina Kostner exploits (and failures)  or whethever we were blessed with some mainstream TV  broadcast - often recaps or quick puff pieces -  about again Kostner, or Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba & Co. for skiing, or the temporary bonanza of Turin Winter Olympics 2006 .

Thank heavens for fervent Youtube uploaders of  real life figure skating from ancient to basically real time video shares. And Rocker Skating. And dedicated non-anime figure skating tumblr accounts. And the both national and international figura skating fans group  on facebook  - whose main/core base may overlap with YOI watchers but for the most past it doesn’t. They are  by average VERY gracious with all newbie fans whatever their walk of life or fandom btw. Just a tip. Because really those who love and/or practiced  the sport all started somewhere. Even you Anon - for constantly keeping people updated about old  present and new ice talents worldwide  and available streams for us poor fans who cannot subscribe to paid channels or won’t get any news at all on telly until the next Euros/Worlds/Olympics (because we are not in 4cc as a nation hence it’s not relevant #logic) - as long as Cappellini/LaNotte and/or Kostner skate there mind you. Otherwise who knows here TV-wise. 

Thanks YOI specifically for being a love letter to the sport and being such an uplifting humanistic watch about growth and understanding and meeting people halfway. With their quirks their flaws their own cultural background and all.

Thank you Anon for reminding me that YOI’s  above message is really one that is sorely needed ;P.