As you may or may not know, I love observing the anime community’s collective reactions to certain shows. I follow numerous reviewers, check out forums, and encourage discussion on my numerous social media platforms - when I actually post stuff. Anyway, something I’ve noticed while traversing the internet is that certain viewpoints tend to be repeated, to the point that they become what I like to call “popular criticisms,” and I’m always curious to see if they’re legitimate when I actually watch the show in question. Maybe it’s a bad mindset to have, considering it means I watch a show with expectations instead of blindly, but I am a critic, and I do think it’s fun to see what if the parroted opinions actually hold some credence.
One that recently caught my attention was, “Yuri on Ice’s comedy breaks the tone of the series and is unnecessary.” So, when I actually watched the show, I decided to keep that in mind. As you could probably tell by the title of this view, I did see what people were talking about, even though it didn’t the show nearly as much as I thought it would. To be honest, my experience watching Yuri on Ice was positive with a few bumps along the way, with the comedy in the earlier episodes being one of them.
However, I didn’t see much discussion about why or how Yuri on Ice’s comedy breaks the tone of the series. Instead, people just seem to kind of recognize it, like with most other “popular criticisms,” and then move on with their lives. I suppose that’s just the nature of parroted opinions, but what’s the fun in simply addressing a problem instead of explaining why there’s a problem in the first place? Apparently there isn’t a lot of fun in it, at least according to most people, but I think it’s fun, and my opinion the only one that matters in this piece since I’m the writer-
So let’s discuss why I believe the reason why the comedy in Yuri on Ice bugs some people, including myself.
Firstly, let’s talk about the difference between “tone” and “mood.” Tone is the author’s attitude towards their work, whereas the mood is the general atmosphere that the work conveys. Tone can establish the mood of a certain scene, but it is important to note that that they are not the same. For instance, why don’t we quickly analyze the tone and mood of the awful joke I tried to tell earlier: “I follow numerous reviewers, check out forums, and encourage discussion on my numerous social media platforms - when I actually post stuff.” This line has a humorous, causal tone, and is meant to establish a comfortable atmosphere in which I can joke around while discussing anime. Sure, whether it actually succeeds is entirely up to you, but that’s not the point - the point is that the tone of the line creates a certain mood.
When talking about tone and mood in a visual medium, you need to keep those definitions in mind. In Yuri on Ice’s case, the reason why the comedy does not necessarily work is because the tone and mood clash. This is not necessarily a bad thing - a lot of parody comes from the idea of tone and mood clashing with each other - but it doesn’t quite work in Yuri on Ice because of the mood established by the animation. The obvious intent of the writers when they included the comedy in this show was to lighten the mood, so the tone of these comedic scenes is exactly that: lighthearted, and comedic. However, the actual mood of these scenes is not comedic or lighthearted, mostly because of what the visuals and colors convey.
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| What's the tone of this picture? What mood does it convey? |
Yuri on Ice!! uses a pallet that is slightly muted and much more grounded in reality than most anime. The colors are very warm, with realistic skin tones, natural hair colors, natural lighting, minimal bright colors, and an emphasis on deep blues, grays, whites, and wintery colors. The character designs are also fairly realistic, with different body types and human facial features. The show creates a calm, wonderful, beautiful winter-like atmosphere that feels down to earth and realistic...which is why the unrealistic, mood-lightening anime comedy Yuri on Ice utilizes doesn’t always work.
Before I go on, I should make something very clear - I love anime comedy. I love the chibi faces, the overreactions, the sweat beads, the exaggerated facial expressions, and how these comedic moments can actually be a window into a character’s mindset. However, the main reason why this type of comedy does not work in Yuri on Ice is because, by default, anime comedy is meant to be unrealistic. For instance, the anime comedy in Free! works because it previously established its tone as mostly light-hearted, and only occurs in moments that are meant to be comedic - it cuts out all the anime comedy when the show becomes serious, which actually makes the more dramatic scenes more dramatic because all the light-heartedness is sucked out. There’s a reason why the show chooses for most of the dramatic scenes to occur at night, and for the comedic scenes to emphasize the bright colors.
Yuri on Ice, on the other hand, doesn’t have a good distinction between what is supposed to be dramatic and what is supposed to be comedic most of the time. This is made very apparent in the first episode, in the first major scene, when Yuri is in the bathroom stall. When talking on the phone, his character makes an exaggerated comedic expression, and then soon after we see him cry. This directly contrasts with this defeated, depressing, and joyless moment, and it would have been more impactful if the exaggerated face was replaced with a more subtle expression of embarrassment or confusion. In other words, the tone and mood would have a stronger connection, enhancing the impact of the scene.
Another instance is when Yuri is jogging outside of the ice rink, and Yurio kicks him through the door. In this case, the show is supposed to be comedic, which is fine, but again, the realistic tone that the visuals convey completely clashes with this comedic moment. While this unrealistic slapstick would be funny in, say, Sabagebu, Kekkai Sensen, Mob Psycho, or any anime that revels in the fact that it is an animation and not a realistic portrayal of human beings, it’s not funny in a show that revels in the fact that it’s supposed to resemble reality. Anything does not gel with the anime’s atmosphere just feels wrong.
This is not to say that Yuri on Ice does not have funny moments, though. Yuri on Ice is at its comedic best when it just shows the characters interacting, and the resulting laughs that result from these big and definable personalities bouncing off of each other. Most of these moments involve Yurio, the rude, edgy mcedgster of the group, and it’s simply hilarious watching a small, 15-year-old boy act like that. That’s why it’s funny when Yurio acts all angry until he sees a T-shirt he likes. This is where, even though the anime face doesn’t entirely gel with the tone of the show, the comedy works - it’s a contrast that plays with expectations, and gives us insight into what Yurio is like beyond the surface-level edge and anger.
Overall, I would say that this criticism does have legitimacy, but it comes nowhere close to ruining the show; it’s just a flaw within a show that is generally pretty great. If you disagree, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it. Also, let me know if you’d like me to cover any other quote on quote “popular criticisms” concerning your favorite shows. Either way, I hope this was informative, and I’ll see you guys again soon!
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