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I understand and do wish they had kissed again but also I sobbed like a goddamn baby at Stay With Me and I am so glad this anime happened and exists. I needed this episode and this show. Definitely in my favorites of all time list. Season 2 will start with a wedding slide show and take us to the Olympics.
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Dec 22, 2016 03:21
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Makkachin will be the ring bearer.
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Dec 22, 2016 03:22
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Viola the Mad posted:
I did like the rings and how they were handled, especially since they gave us a peak of the receipt so that we would know that yes, they are what we think they are. And the gag at the dinner later where you would normally expect a no-homo joke and instead get the minor correction of "oh we aren't married yet, they're engagement rings" was cute. And how the animators go out of their way to make sure you noticed ever single frame it's in. I guess I still wanted more? Like they're engaged, but it feels like we see more of their coach-skater relationship than their romantic one, like what you said about the break up-make up scene. It's possible I built up the ending too much in my head, but I also wanted them to be soppy and disgustingly romantic while Yurio makes immature gagging motions in the background. The ending sequence was what I wanted, just more consistently over the course of the episode.
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Dec 22, 2016 03:22
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Just so I'm clear, he's going to be Yuuri's coach AND rival?
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Dec 22, 2016 03:45
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Celery Jello posted:Just so I'm clear, he's going to be Yuuri's coach AND rival? I believe so but I could be wrong. I hate this
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Dec 22, 2016 03:47
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the engagement seemed more like some obligatory relationship hoop they jumped through, when the romance was already fine. afterwards we get the rings shining obnoxiously in every scene, for a promise that wasn't fulfilled and is now hanging over s2. i guess I don't care about having these sorts of big moments over the running thread of viktor and yuri's relationship, and the most i wanted from the finale was a confession of love or unobstructed kiss. pairs skating is about as close as it gets though.
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Dec 22, 2016 03:52
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whoever said the thing about about the sports relationship overshadowing the romantic relationship, that's what I felt. I know they got engaged with the rings a few episodes back. As someone who has been burned by queer media before, I would have liked a little bit more. There were way too many conditionals, about Yuri's ice skating career, and now them being rivals/coach/student relationship next season?? But where's the romance? It really did feel like it wasn't quite all there this final episode. I can't tell if it's because the finale was rewritten to shoehorn a season 2 hook, or they were hedging their bets all along... Like, at least during the off-season, I'll be more hesitant about recommending this show because I'm *still* not sure what direction it's gonna go. I don't want this to be reduced to "just kidding it was just a really strong relationship between coach and student, idol and admirer" and I really hope season 2 doesn't go that route. If season 2 cements the romance and doesn't try to weasel out of everything season 1 set up, but they can handle a rivalry on the ice and a relationship off the ice, i'll feel more vindicated. If you had a more generous reading of this episode, that's all cool and good too. Sorry for being so salty about this. I just really dislike the emotional rollercoaster of "is this media queer romance or merely queer-coded?". I don't like that ride and wanna get off. 
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Dec 22, 2016 04:10
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Yeah, the whole bit about Victor returning to skating and also somehow coaching Yuri??? How would that even work?? Who wants that??? I loved, LOVED the plotline of Victor settling into a life beyond competition, and for him to return to the rink feels like such a reversal. But overall: stunning performance with one flubbed jump. As long as Kubo and Yamamoto remain in charge, I think we can look forward to season 2. They better give us that drat wedding, though.
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Dec 22, 2016 04:28
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Wedding and adoption of several additional dogs, please 
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Dec 22, 2016 04:34
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devtesla posted:I believe so but I could be wrong. I hate this I'm almost positive that it's against the rules to compete and skate competitively at the same time. I took Victor's wanting to get back into skating was because Yuri made it clear in the hotel room that their relationship was over after the Grand Prix. Victor left skating to pursue love, so with Yuri no longer an option, what else did Victor have. Victor telling this to Yurio and Yakov, lit a very large fire under Yurio's rear end to win so Yuri couldn't retire. In the flash back, we saw that Yurio thought Yuri was a good skater who he wanted to see skate to his full potential. It explains why Yurio was apt to help Yurio with one of the quads he couldn't land. Yurio wants Yuri to keep skating and realized that he wants Victor to keep coaching him. It was ambiguous (sequel hook!), but more likely than not that Victor will be staying on as Yuri's coach instead of getting back on the ice to compete. So, what does everyone want to see in season 2?
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Dec 22, 2016 04:38
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Miss Nomer posted:So, what does everyone want to see in season 2? More Georgi. Lots more. Georgi!!! on ICE.
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Dec 22, 2016 04:45
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more Chris/Viktor friendship
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Dec 22, 2016 04:54
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My ideal season two would have another skater or skaters as the protagonist (ideally Yurio), with gross married Victor and Yuuri as supporting characters. That's not going to happen, but I do hope that the next seasons can flesh out some of the other skaters--and maybe introduce some new ones! With the 1-cour schedule, Studio Mappa could do only so much in juggling such a large cast, and to their credit they did a very good job making each character distinct and interesting. You could really feel how each skater had their own story leading to the Grand Prix! If they get another twelve episodes, I'd like to explore those stories some more, especially with the skaters like Emil and Seung-Gil who barely had any time in the spotlight. Oh, and more Victor and Yuuri being disgustingly cute while Yurio gags in the background, but that should go without saying. e. On a meta level, I want them to introduce a lady skater designed after Evgenia Medvedeva. So many other skaters have made their anime debut, I think our girl has more than earned hers!
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Dec 22, 2016 05:13
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YOI should have become an ice skating version of JoJo where each new part stars a character named Yuri. For S2 I want more Yurio and his One Friend Otabek, bonus points if they start training together. On the angst side, Yurio dealing with his body changing and struggling to keep his position as the Top poo poo. An episode about Phichit's ice show. Viktor and Yuuri's wedding ending in Pole Dancing: The Sequel and Yuuri's eternal embarrassment. JJ's next power ballad and his new friendly one sided rivalry with Otabek because that's hilarious. Another Yuri of some kind. More chocolate poodles with two dads. Johnny Weir cameo. More sparkly outfits. More exhibition routines, I wanted to see all of them 
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Dec 22, 2016 05:17
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I want a spinoff about the women skaters. Also they're gay too and it's still just called Yuri on Ice.
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Dec 22, 2016 05:26
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jellycat posted:I want a spinoff about the women skaters. Also they're gay too and it's still just called Yuri on Ice. spinoff with the ladies named Yaoi on Ice e: Here, start with this http://robotsharks.tumblr.com/post/151480405190/hastily-put-together-my-own-yuri-on-ice-about-a
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Dec 22, 2016 05:41
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More JJ. No, less. Ah crap, I love his audacity.
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Dec 22, 2016 05:43
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I loved the pairs skating scene at the very end  Blue outfits really look best on Yuri and I admit I cried during his free skate along with the audience.Also does it mean that Yuri is NOT retiring until he wins gold? Didn't Yurio technically beat Yuri's top score already? FWIW: I didn't find the sports overshadowing romance since I've always labeled YoI a sports series on the basic level.
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Dec 22, 2016 05:47
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Miss Nomer posted:I'm almost positive that it's against the rules to compete and skate competitively at the same time. I took Victor's wanting to get back into skating was because Yuri made it clear in the hotel room that their relationship was over after the Grand Prix. Victor left skating to pursue love, so with Yuri no longer an option, what else did Victor have. Victor telling this to Yurio and Yakov, lit a very large fire under Yurio's rear end to win so Yuri couldn't retire. In the flash back, we saw that Yurio thought Yuri was a good skater who he wanted to see skate to his full potential. It explains why Yurio was apt to help Yurio with one of the quads he couldn't land. Yurio wants Yuri to keep skating and realized that he wants Victor to keep coaching him. They straight up said at the end that Viktor had announced a comeback, though. If anything, perhaps he was saying "Hey, while I'm still your coach, you better win five more times. Okay now I'm a competitor, get rekt"? I dunno, I'm hoping for some clarification and/or for it to turn out there was a translation issue.
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Dec 22, 2016 05:58
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Link time! Competitive vs. professional skating Interview with the three main VAs, including the info that Yuri bought a pair of rings Yuzuru Hanyu's cameo So you want to watch some Stephane Lambiel So you want to watch the Russian and Japanese Nationals live (Answers: Yes, but possibly not in your language, and LOL NO, respectively) I'm waiting for the detailed (and angry) posts about how JJ shouldn't have been on the podium, never mind hit 300 points with his total, but this may actually be the episode that can't be accurately tallied. (Otabek was robbed, you guys.) Edit: Apparently they're bad at math, because they're using the current numbers for judging. This is pretty illustrative of Yuri's performance before Victor, with terrible jumps but good PCS. Maera Sior fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Dec 22, 2016 |
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Dec 22, 2016 06:36
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Maera Sior posted:Otabek was robbed, you guys.
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Dec 22, 2016 06:42
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Phichit is moe
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Dec 22, 2016 07:06
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Overall I was super happy with the episode (other than Otabek getting robbed), and I am excited for a second season. The pair skating was beautiful. I really really wanted it to be more anthology-ish with season two (like other people have mentioned) focused on another skater, or on women's skating (omg yessss), but I'm cool with continuing onto the rest of the season, too.
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Dec 22, 2016 07:49
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Miss Nomer posted:I took Victor's wanting to get back into skating was because Yuri made it clear in the hotel room that their relationship was over after the Grand Prix. Victor left skating to pursue love, so with Yuri no longer an option, what else did Victor have. Maybe I'm reading you wrong, but Yuri and Victor's romantic relationship absolutely did not end. they're still wearing the rings in the epilogue. 
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Dec 22, 2016 08:06
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It did feel like they just let a lot of threads in Victor and Yuri's relationship hanging but I was satisfied with it mostly because of the pair exhibition at the end because that was adorable. Skating-wise I loved all of it, including JJ (Except for the bronze thing what the hell). I thought his struggle and turnaround at the end and refusal to give up was great. Yurio at the end was fantastic and I'm glad they decided to end the grand prix that way. His ability to channel teen rage into his skating is wonderful.
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Dec 22, 2016 08:28
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Maera Sior posted:Edit: Fun for speculation, but not really anything to get too worked up over.
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Dec 22, 2016 09:05
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After episode 10 I was convinced that we would get a beautiful finale resolving all threads with Viktor and Yuuri happily married and both of them retired, coaching Yurio and spoilin Maccachin, etc. And I looked forward to it, even though I would be sad that the anime was ending. Around episode 11, the rumors started flowing that we would get a second season, and that tempered my expectations. I've seen a lot of anime that had less than satisfying conclusions to a season in order to preserve interest in the following season. So I more or less expected this episode. There was still a lot of stuff I liked (like angry Yurio being furious that Yuri thinks he has the right to retire now), even though I would have preferred some things to be done differently. But we get Season 2 out of this, so I think it's a more than fair trade. And this is clearly a sports anime, and the sports part will always be the main focus. Don't delude yourself into thinking that the romance between Yuuri and Viktor is more important to the creators than the figure skating. Their relationship is the other main aspect of the show, but still only in second place. I enjoy the sport parts and love the romance part, so I'm happy with this arrangement.
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Dec 22, 2016 09:08
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Maera Sior posted:(Otabek was robbed, you guys.) https://twitter.com/Tenis_Den/status/811837201516494848 Adelheid posted:Maybe I'm reading you wrong, but Yuri and Victor's romantic relationship absolutely did not end. they're still wearing the rings in the epilogue. Whoops, I was a little unclear in my write up. Yeah, the two of them are together at the end, but before it was dicey due to bad communication. Miss Nomer fucked around with this message at 09:34 on Dec 22, 2016 |
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Dec 22, 2016 09:31
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I want three episodes dedicated to Phichit's show. I want 90 minutes of it.
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Dec 22, 2016 09:44
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Miss Nomer posted:So, what does everyone want to see in season 2? 
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Dec 22, 2016 12:53
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 I must say that interview was disappointing. Viktor's VA seems to leave plausible deniability on the table, unless he was being sarcastic and it didn't come through.
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Dec 22, 2016 13:31
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Celery Jello posted:
Yeah, that was a frustrating read. But, maybe the seiyuus can't be quite as overt about it?
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Dec 22, 2016 14:51
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If someone read the interviews without having seen the show, I think they'd be surprised to hear that Viktor and Yuuri are a thing. They only talk about their professional relationship and even the rings sound downplayed; the closest they get is referring to them as partners once and that's a pretty generic term (and if being called "partners" in a sports anime was all the confirmation need we'd be in the best timeline, but alas). It's one of the major parts of the show and it's not even touched on? Really?  It's like the show went, "I heard you weren't satisfied with the finale, so let me make it worse." Maybe I'm paranoid but, like a lot of people, I've been burned on the promise of a happy gay couple enough times that seeing this familiar, widening chasm of plausible deniability is making me nervous.
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Dec 22, 2016 16:10
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For season 2, I'd like to see Yurio struggling with his growth spurt, as that would require a radical shift in his performance style. I'd like to see more of how Victor thinks about skating and why he got burned out. I'd like to see post-retirement Chris.
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Dec 22, 2016 17:37
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I think that due to anime in general being a really risk averse business that it is unlikely to get any truly explicit gay romance. I also imagine that the backlash against it not being completely explicit is mostly an American thing, since being openly gay is a lot less acceptable in Japan and the primary base for shows like this (with heavily implied gay romance) there is probably fujoshi (at least from a marketing perspective; that isn't to say there aren't a lot of gay Japanese people also watching this stuff).
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Dec 22, 2016 17:42
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Adel posted:If someone read the interviews without having seen the show, I think they'd be surprised to hear that Viktor and Yuuri are a thing. They only talk about their professional relationship and even the rings sound downplayed; the closest they get is referring to them as partners once and that's a pretty generic term (and if being called "partners" in a sports anime was all the confirmation need we'd be in the best timeline, but alas). It's one of the major parts of the show and it's not even touched on? Really? I think this is not a case of plausible deniability, but more implausible deniability. They do everything short of explicitly confirming it, so that the worst homophobes can construe a reality in where it's totally normal for two straight people to exchange engagement rings, kiss each other's hands, stare longingly at each other, or figure skate a routine together that's clearly of a romantic sort (while again blushing and gazing at each other). Nobody who watches this show with an open mind would deny that Viktor and Yuuri are a couple.
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Dec 22, 2016 17:57
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Kind of reminds me of Lyrical Nanoha all over again.
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Dec 22, 2016 18:05
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Gosh you guys all sound so down on the finale, really. For me, it ticked almost every single box I could have asked for. I wanted Viktor to return to the skating world, I love that he's the champion and I want him to uphold that title. I wanted Yuri to keep skating too. I WANTED what he wanted all along, to 'skate on the same ice as Viktor'. I just had no idea how they'd do that. I really wasn't interested in a 'they both quit and get married and live happily ever after' because if the show has made one thing abundantly clear, it's how skating IS a reflection of their emotions, their personal lives, and their love. For all the characters, not just Viktor and Yuri. Taking that away from them in any form is really going to impact the dynamic of their relationship, and the show, and the story it tells, to me. The skating has never been presented as a distraction from their real lives, or as 'just a job' - it's absolutely an expression of themselves. And the finale completely confirms that. We've had the mirroring of Viktor and Yuri both saying how they've found strength in each other (on the second episode, and the second to last episode, oddly), and with that strength they've found in each other, they both decide to go forwards with their lives, by *skating*. I had no idea how they'd achieve everything I wanted - if Viktor goes back, I want him to win, but if Yuri goes back, what story does it tell if he loses? - but they handled even that really well, to me, with Viktor agreeing to go back on the proviso that Yuri wins five world championships. Viktor's going back intent on being the best coach and the best skater and whichever one wins in the end is going to make him happy. That makes ME so happy. I was absolutely dreading the finale, I really thought even a happy ending would leave me absolutely heartbroken, but I came away from it absolutely buzzing and content. My biggest fear would be that Yuri would win silver and that would be fine, because he's won ~Viktor's love~, which would have just felt so hollow to me given everything we've seen them go through. That he won silver and I was still over the moon was such a relief. He won silver, and despite the show's entire insistance of Gold Or Bust, it wasn't played down as a negative thing at all. It was handled as beautifully and tenderly as the rest of the show, with Viktor goofing around and alleviating Yuri's anxiety by being a dork at him. My only disappointment at all comes from the form of the lack of a goddamned kiss. They even lead up to it perfectly with the 'I'm not happy with kissing anything but a gold medal' banter. I can only assume that, as other folks have said here, it's due to censorship issues forcing their hand at revealing the two of them going the whole way (on camera, as it were, at least). I don't know Japan or Japanese shows or anything, but I figure this is sports-genre anime that's already doing a LOT more than most sports-genre animes seem to do. Is it channel based or genre based or just something of a wall that has yet to be smashed? If it's due to television air ratings or whatever, is there ever hope for that slice-of-life OVA that has them macking on each other every other scene? Or manga? Because I'd be down for that. I really, really can't wait to see how the dynamic of their relationship changes when they're competitors as well as partners and coach/pupil and everything else. It adds yet another layer to their relationship, and I have so much faith that it'll be handled so well, because everything else in the show has been handled with such heart. Oh, and I made some ridiculous noises during Yuri's exhibition skate. Fan-pandering? Most likely, but drat was it worth it.
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Dec 22, 2016 18:22
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Chedranian Girl posted:My only disappointment at all comes from the form of the lack of a goddamned kiss. They even lead up to it perfectly with the 'I'm not happy with kissing anything but a gold medal' banter.
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Dec 22, 2016 18:37
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I think it's been said already, but the main divider between people who dislike or like the finale appears to be whether or not you were expecting a self-contained story or an explicit hook for a second season. The show was pretty clearly setting up some narrative arcs regarding Viktor, Yuuri, and Yuri's growth as people and skaters. Yuri's mostly landed, which was surprising considering he'd been back grounded somewhat, while Viktor's and Yuuri's suddenly hit the snooze button. It was kind of jarring. I think I'm less down on it now than I was yesterday, because they did manage to successfully get me to give a poo poo about a second season. It just feels like the landing would've hit better if they had ten more minutes to avoid rushing everything, or perhaps leave someone's free skate offscreen like they did when Viktor was a dick(tor) to Yuuri in the parking garage. Everything moved too goddamn fast, and regardless of whether you're a fan of the plot beats that got hit, that was an objectively noticeable issue with the episode. It resulted in the transition to setting up a new season, as opposed to ending the story, feel really arbitrary. That having been said, I don't think people being down on the finale is a sign of people turning on the show overall. It's one component of an anime that otherwise consistently hit a lot of beats really well. It got a severely lapsed anime fan such as myself (I think my last anime was Naruto before the time skip?) so it's doing SOMETHING right. And if season 2 is as likely as everyone seems to think (Are there ratings numbers to justify one? I dunno how they make the decision for anime), it's something they'll get 12 whole episodes to fix. Speaking of fixing, my sister linked me this Twitter and I could not stop looking for these during the entire last episode: https://mobile.twitter.com/badyoicaps/status/811947675016957952/photo/1 Here's hoping the animation budget is better next time.
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Dec 22, 2016 18:48
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