If you’ve been keeping track of my recent pterodactyl screeches about Yuri!!! On Ice, you know that we’ve been getting new art to tie in with the Winter Olympics. We started with an image of Yuri on the ice, beaming from ear to ear about representing Japan in the Olympics, that beautiful golden ring from episode 10 of the series shining brightly on his finger.
After the second image, which shows Victor supporting Yuri from the sidelines, it made sense for the third illustration to have them together in the kiss and cry (the area where figure skaters wait for their marks to be announced).
Such intimacy. Such tenderness. Such-… wait, where the hell is Victor’s ring?!
The art has been fixed, all is right with the world
After having a good chuckle about MAPPA turning off comments again (because they know we’re gonna pester them about The Adolescent Film That Never Was), fans noticed that Victor’s finger was missing an extremely important piece of jewelry. That golden ring that Yuri is wearing is part of a matching set, yet its mate, which belongs on one Victor Nikiforov’s finger, was gone.
It’s cool, they fixed the image.
Fandom rejoice, our ice skating husbands still have matching rings!
Now that that scare is out of the way, let’s celebrate those rings and how significant they are to Yuri, Victor, and the fandom that still hangs on this anime’s every word. (Don’t worry, I’m right there with you.)
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it (so Yuri did)
I remember, back when I watched Yuri!!! On Ice for the first time, thinking that there was nothing else they could possibly do to make me fall more in love with the series. Every episode had Yuri and Victor growing closer, leading to the ninth episode where Victor had to leave Yuri alone to go and check on the fluff nugget, Makkachin.
By the way? Ending episode eight on a cliffhanger that made me worry about this pup’s wellbeing? Cruel. Absolutely cruel.
Anyway, Yuri spends a lot of the episode sulking because Victor isn’t there, so when he gets to meet up with him at the airport they initiate the sacred rom-com trope of AIRPORT RUN. Yuri is SO touch starved for Victor that he’s practically bouncing in front of the door, waiting for it to open so he can run into Victor’s arms. Yuri asks Victor to be his coach “until he retires” and Victor, after kissing his finger (foooooreshadowiiiiiing), says that it sounds like a marriage proposal before he admits that he hopes that Yuri never retires.
At this point, I was like, “Nothing will top this moment,” unaware of what was about to happen in episode ten. Because remember how Victor told Yuri that his comment sounded like a marriage proposal? Well, what if Yuri double downed and, oh I dunno, got them matching gold rings??? Of course, the flustered pork cutlet bowl that is Yuri Katsuki calls it a “lucky charm” and a present to thank Victor for everything that he’s done. Sure, that’s what it is, that’s why he put the ring on his finger in a backdrop that would do Netflix/ABC/Hallmark proud during the holidays.
Victor, being the blunt man that he is, straight up calls them engagement rings and says that he’ll marry Yuri if he wins the Grand Prix.
This is great for a couple of reasons. There’s the fact that the engagement news is legitimately celebrated by their friends AND an entire restaurant full of people. Seeing the outpouring of love and support is both wholesome and entertaining as Yuri tries to deny what Phichit, the restaurant, and the viewers already know. Then there’s the part where you realize that the other skaters don’t have an issue with the engagement, it’s the bold declaration of Yuri taking first place in the competition they’re all a part of that puts them on edge.
But by far, the greatest gift the rings gave us is that, for the next couple of episodes, we get to watch Yuri and Victor kiss their rings and look to them for guidance when they’re away from each other. It’s like they use them as a way to fill in for the person when they aren’t able to stand next to them during significant moments. That’s why the new art having the rings is such a big deal. Presumably, this art is taking place years after the series to tie in with the current day Winter Olympics, so these two still having their rings shows that they still share that connection with each other.
The real question is, are they officially married now? Did Yuri end up winning a Grand Prix at some point? We know, from the art at least, that he’s in the frickin’ Olympics, so …
(Image: Paramount Domestic Television/MAPPA)
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