Yuri Plisetsky (Russian: Юрий Плисецкий; Japanese: ユーリ・プリセツキー, Yūri Purisetsukī) is a competitive figure skater and one of the main characters of Yuri!!! on Ice. He is the second Russian character introduced.
Background
Yuri as a child
Yuri was raised by Nikolai Plisetsky (Yuri's paternal grandfather), in Moscow, Russia. As a result of this, the two have a very close relationship, even closer than with his own mother. Yuri's mother was a former Russian idol who retired from show business early on.[3]
Yuri began figure skating at a young age, and later chose to move to Saint Petersburg from Moscow to train under the guidance of Yakov Feltsman. He is part of the new generation of Russian figure skaters, and had dominated the Junior circuit before moving on to his Senior debut. He is the two-time consecutive Junior World Champion and two-time consecutive Junior Grand Prix Final Champion.
Yuri has incredible talent who is described by many to be a rising star in the figure skating world.
Appearance
Yuri has blond, chin-length hair that covers the right side of his face and viridian-colored eyes. He is short-statured with a skinny frame; because of his appearance, he is nicknamed the Russian Fairy.
His warm-up uniform is either his training outfit or his costume under a black zip-up hoodie with black pants, sneakers, and a zip-up baseball tee styled runner with "Russia" across the chest. His skates have special blades that are said to make it easier to perform jumps. When not in performance costumes or warm-up gear, Yuri loves to wear clothing with mainly big cat prints.
Personality
Young Yuri
Yuri is a very ambitious boy who is determined to become the best of the best in figure skating. Contrary to his beauty and grace on the ice, once Yuri steps out of the rink he becomes foul-mouthed, rude, and dismissive of othersーearning him his second nickname, the Russian Punk. To ensure he gets what he wants, Yuri is not above threatening or intimidating his competition. He is short-tempered and very accustomed to yelling.
Yuri is both very critical of himself, and determined to impress Victor. He despises being underestimated and projects a strong air of confidenceーstrong enough to come across as arrogance, instead. He is prone to seeing other athletes as his rivals, and therefore his enemies. While Yuri has been noted to not take training seriously at first,[4] he has the ability to undertake highly rigorous training in order to do well, and does so without complaining.
A softer side to Yuri's personality can be seen when he thinks of his grandfather,[5] and later when he gives Yuuri some Pirozhki for Yuuri's birthday.[6] Yuri also shows this side of him to the few people he regards as friends, most notably Otabek Altin and Yuuko Nishigori.
Skills
Jumps
Yuri is shown to have an amazing amount of jumping ability starting from a very early age; when he was twelve, he landed a quadruple salchow (4S) during a local competition, despite being scolded by his coach frequently about it being too early for him to start such difficult jumps.[1]
In Agape, his quads are planned for the second half to maximize his score. In Allegro Appassionato, he is able to execute 6 of his 8 jumps in the second half, again to boost his score. This may imply that he has a good amount of stamina.
Spins
His signature as a junior were his combination spins. He is able to hold spirals and spins in a half-Biellmann position, which is a rarity in men's singles due to the flexibility that it requires.
Ballet
Yuri is shown to have been practicing ballet as part of his cross-training regimen for at least as early as ten years old. He takes it up again seriously when Lilia is invited by Yakov to train the skater for the Grand Prix series.[4]
Relationships
Victor Nikiforov
Victor promises to coach Yuri.
Yuri initially looked up to Victor as a skater, and had idolized him since he was very young. The two of them are rink mates under Yakov's guidance, save during the time Victor left Russia to coach a Japanese boy named Yuuri Katsuki.
Victor first took notice of the younger skater after he had attempted a quad in competition, despite it being physically dangerous since Yuri was still young, and promised to choreograph for him a program that would ensure victory for his Senior debut if Yuri won the Junior Grand Prix without any quad jumps.[1] Yuri becomes determined to prove himself to Victor as a skater. Victor eventually arranges a short program for Yuri after the latter won the Junior Grand Prix and traveled to Hasetsu, demanding that Victor should keep the promise.
As the series progresses, Yuri's perception of Victor changes. He no longer looks up as much towards Victor, disappointed that Victor had left competitive skating to coach Yuuri.[7] Despite this, Victor still cares very much about Yuri and was overjoyed when Yuri beat his short program world record.[8]
Nikolai Plisetsky
Nikolai is Yuri's grandfather and is the person Yuri loves the most, even over Yuri's own mother. Nikolai usually does his best to attend competitions held in Moscow that Yuri participates in. He often makes pirozhki for Yuri.[2] After hearing about Yuri's newfound love of katsudon, he creates the katsudon pirozhki, thereby combining two of his grandson's favorite foods.[6]
Yuri's short program very much centered around his love for his grandfather, in which Nikolai is shown to be very proud of Yuri.
Yuuri Katsuki
Yuri initially looked down on Yuuri for crying after losing the Sochi Grand Prix Final, and tried to intimidate Yuuri to drop out from competitive skating. He does not see Yuuri as much of a threat and was infuriated when Victor left Russia to coach Yuuri. Yuri stays at Yuuri's house while in Japan, and often rudely teases Yuuri. Despite all this, he was willing to teach Yuuri how to land a quad salchow[5] and eventually comes to see Yuuri as a worthy rival.
Even though most of the time Yuri is rude to Yuuri, he is still shown to care for Yuuri. Yuri instinctively cheers Yuuri on when the latter was seen to be underperforming during the Rostelecom Cup free skate, and later offers Yuuri some katsudon pirozhki for Yuuri's birthday.[6] Yuri becomes upset after Victor implies that Yuuri planned on retiring should he win gold at the Barcelona Final - a far cry from his initial wish for Yuuri to drop out of competitive skating. In order to prevent Yuuri's impending retirement, Yuri vows to prevent Yuuri from winning.
Yuuri and Yuri's dance battle.
Yuri rarely refers to Yuuri by his proper name, instead preferring to call Yuuri by the nickname "Katsudon" ("Pork Cutlet Bowl" in the English dub), as both a play on Yuuri's surname Katsuki and Yuuri's love for katsudon.
Yuuko Nishigori
After following Victor to Japan, Yuri meets Yuuko. Yuuko is friendly and supportive towards Yuri, helping him train for the "Hot Springs on Ice" event and showing concern for him when he decides to leave Hasetsu after Yuuri skates his program. The two keep in contact through texting, with Yuuko giving Yuri constant updates on the training situation at Ice Castle Hasetsu.[4] Yuuko is one of the people that Yuri thinks about before delivering his free skate at the Grand Prix final.
Otabek Altin
Otabek and Yuri talk at a cafe.
Yuri and Otabek become friends after Otabek rescues Yuri from his fans in Barcelona. They had initially met five years prior at Yakov's summer training camp but Yuri had no memory of the meeting. Otabek notes that he had first began to notice Yuri because his eyes had resembled those of a soldier's, and tells him that he feels like they have a lot in common.[7] The two of them are supportive of each other, cheering for each other during their individual programs.
Otabek is strict with Yuri, not allowing the younger skater to tag along to the club he was heading to, as Yuri is underage. Yuri, with the help of Guang Hong, tracks Otabek to Poblenou. He is amazed by Otabek's love of rock music, finding one that he likes as well. He later asks Otabek if he could use the song for his new exhibition skate.[9] The next day, Yuri asks Otabek to join in the former's exhibition skate after seeing Victor joining Yuuri's Stay Close To Me, to which Otabek obliges.[10]
Otabek's abilities in being a DJ and motorbike riding are traits beyond skating that Yuri consider to be cool.[11]
Jean-Jacques Leroy
Jean-Jacques has no ill feelings towards Yuri and often teases the younger skater. Yuri greatly dislikes Jean-Jacques as Yuri says that Jean-Jacques is the only person who is more annoying than Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki.[2]
Yakov Feltsman
Yakov is Yuri's current coach. He often scolds Yuri due to his attitude and disobedience. However, Yakov treats Yuri like a son, eating Pirozhki with Yuri[12] and embracing the young skater when he broke Victor's short program record. Yakov sometimes sees Victor in Yuri, both in his skating and his actions. Yuri is quite rude when speaking to Yakov, but evidently cares for his coach.
Lilia Baranovskaya
Lilia is Yuri's ballet coach and free program choreographer. She also choreographed Yuri's original exhibition skate, until Yuri chose to change his program the night before. She is strict when teaching Yuri, but is also very motherly towards him, sometimes shedding tears of pride during Yuri's free skate performances. Yuri stays at Lilia's house with Yakov throughout their training for the Grand Prix series.
Mila Babicheva
Yuri is Mila's rink mate under Yakov's guidance. Mila treats Yuri like a younger brother and enjoys teasing him. Nonetheless, she has also been shown to be willing to extend help to him when needed.[12] Yuri usually refers to her as "Baba" (meaning 'grandma' or 'old lady') as a play on Mila's surname, or "old hag" in the English dub.
Programs
Short - In Regards to Love: Agape
The song is one of two different arrangements, written to encompass two different aspects of love. Agape is defined as selfless, all-encompassing love.
The program is choreographed in-series by Victor Nikiforov.
Free - Piano Concerto in B-minor: Allegro Appasionato
The song is described in-show as being well-known for its difficulty and heart-pounding intensity.
The program is choreographed in-series by Lilia Baranovskaya.
Exhibition - Angel of the Fire Festival
Angel of the Fire Festival was Yuri's original exhibition skate before the GPF. The program was choreographed by Lilia Baranovskaya. Yuri chose not to skate this piece after the GPF because he believed that it would remind people too much of his free skate.[10]
Exhibition - Welcome to The Madness
The song is chosen by Yuri after hearing Otabek Altin play it in a rock club. The program is choreographed in-series by Yuri himself.[9] Otabek joins Yuri in this exhibition skate, standing by the side of the rink and assists Yuri in removing the latter's gloves.
Quotes
- "If you don't have any inspiration left, you're as good as dead." (To Yuuri, about Victor)
- "If selling my soul is what it takes to win, I'll give you this body, no holds barred."[4] (To Lilia)
- "I'm going to take advantage of everything I can right now to win." (To himself)
- "If you retire now, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."[8] (To Yuuri)
Trivia
- The name Yuri means "the light of God".
- The name Yuri is not only Russian, but it is also a Greek, Hebrew, Japanese and Korean name.
- The inspiration for Yuri is Russian figure skater named Yulia Lipnitskaya.
- While choreographer Kenji Miyamoto performed the programs for every other skater in the anime, Yuri's choreography was the only one performed by a female skater named Honoka Kawanishi to make it easier to animate.[13][3]
- Yuri's Instagram is yuri_plisetsky.
- Yuri has been the main provider for his family since his days competing as a rookie, receiving government aid for skating.[11][14]
- Yuri's mother was supposed to make an appearance in Episode 3 (during the Onsen on Ice), but she had to be cut out due to lack of time.[3]
- Yuri's favorite animal is a tiger[15], but he loves cats in general as he owns a cat named Potya.
- Adding on his love for cats, Yuri's phone case has a white tiger's face. He also has a shirt with a tiger print on it, as well as one with a lion print.
- Yuri's short program score in the Barcelona GPF would have exceeded the real-life world record by nearly 8 points.
- Yuri's first Instagram post that appears in the ending reads '#StPetersburg #Russia'
- The caption in Yuri's second post in the ending credits reads 'Lion'
- Yuri has rabid fans named "Yuri's Angels" who appear at every competition.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Yuri!!! On Ice Episode 2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Yuri!!! On Ice Episode 8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Yuri!!! on Ice Blu-ray Vol. 2 Booklet
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Yuri!!! On Ice Episode 4
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yuri!!! on Ice Episode 3
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Yuri!!! On Ice Episode 9
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Yuri!!! On Ice Episode 10
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Yuri!!! on Ice Episode 12
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Yuri!!! on Ice Interview PASH+ (12 April 2017) (English translation)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Yuri!!! on Ice Side Story - Welcome to The Madness
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 YURI!!! on Life Official Guidebook
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Yuri!!! on Ice Episode 11
- ↑ Miracle on ICE - Animage Jan 2017 (English Translation)
- ↑ Yuri on Ice!!!Official Website Character Profiles
- ↑ Yuri!!! on ICE Blu-ray Vol 1. Booklet