Japanese Olympic Skaters Performed To 'Yuri On Ice'
If there's anything Japan is known for worldwide its anime. Which is why when Japanese figure skating team performing at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games performed to the theme of "Yuri on Ice," fans of the series went bananas on social media.
The routine was performed by Miu Suzaki and Ryuichi Kihara who have been who have been dancing together since 2015. The pair previously caught the internet's attention last year when they performed a routine set to the soundtrack to 2015's The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Daniel Pemberton's "Out of the Garage."
Throughout their career, Suzuki and Kihara have received a number of accolades both as both as single skaters and as part of a team. Unfortunately, their Olympic dreams were dashed, with Japan placing fifth behind Italy.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
But while their performance wasn't able to secure medals, it was enough to be celebrated by "Yuri on Ice" fans and cosplayers. Many took to Twitter, thanking the duo for their "magical performance" and for bringing the anime into the world's biggest sporting event.
But if anime fans were elated to hear the theme from one of their favorite series, some viewers were left wondering what the fuss was about. Fortunately, live TV audiences had NBC commentator Johnny Weir to thank for catching them up to speed.
For those still not in the know, "Yuri on Ice" is a sports anime about a fictional Japanese figure skater named Yuri and his international skating career. The series follows Yuri's evolving relationship with his idol, Russian figure-skating champion Victor Nikiforov, as well as his Grand Prix showdown with a younger skating prodigy Yuri P.
Suzaki and Kihara may not have bagged a medal this time around but they will probably have another chance in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Team skating, after all, is a relatively new Olympic event, having debuted in Sochi four years ago.
