In 2016, Yuri!!! on Ice made history by becoming the first mainstream sports anime to feature two queer protagonists. The story — which mainly focuses on Yuri Katsuki’s return to ice skating under his idol’s guidance — captured the attention of audiences around the globe, thus, when an animated film was promised to fans, the excitement was palpable. So, where is it, then?
The feature-length project, titled Yuri!!! on Ice the Movie: Ice Adolescence, was announced in April 2017, four months after the original anime’s 12-episode first season wrapped up. Unfortunately, that would turn out to be the worst move that studio MAPPA could’ve made. The truth of the matter is that we’re in 2023, and in these six years of waiting, updates on the film have been few and very far between.
In an effort to push the animation studio into giving up some — any at all, really — information about the movie’s status, fans started an online petition. A new movement, known as #MAPPAWhereIsYOI, has also taken over social media, in hopes of bringing the studio’s attention to the subject.
Currently, the petition has over 4,000 signatures, but as exposure grows, fans are hopeful that it’ll gain traction. Considering that this movement has been around for a few months, though, and MAPPA’s continued silence, there’s no telling when or even if fan efforts will bear fruit. This is a particularly tough blow for LGBTQ+ viewers, since representation as good as this is still hard to come by in mainstream anime series. Of course, there are many high-quality anime with queer characters and themes out there, but few reach the level of global success that Yuri!!! on Ice managed to achieve.
The wait has been so excruciatingly long that it very much feels like Ice Adolescence has been completely forgotten about by its animation studio. The film was originally scheduled for a 2019 premiere, and when that fell through, MAPPA failed to provide fans with a new release window. Perhaps to make up for it, that same year, a teaser trailer finally hit the internet, but while we thought the waiting purgatory was nearing its end – time proved us wrong yet again.
At this point, some are starting to lose hope that this project will ever see the light of day, so truly, even the smallest of updates on its status would mean the world to Yuri!!! on Ice‘s loyal audience. It’s not too much to ask, is it?
