YURI!!! on ICE the Movie: Ice Adolescence
© YURI!!! on ICE Production Committee, MAPPA Co., Ltd.
After years of delay and minimal news on its progress, animation studio MAPPA has officially announced that they will no longer continue developing the sequel movie of their 2016 original TV series, YURI!!! on ICE. On 19 April 2024, the official X account of YURI!!! on ICE released a notice written in Japanese and English on the cancellation of the production for the movie Ice Adolescence. The production committee did not include a specific reason behind their decision to drop the movie, only stating “various circumstances” after having “constant discussions to create and deliver the movie”. YURI!!! on ICE premiered on 6 October 2016 and finished its 12-episode run on 22 December 2016. MAPPA first announced the production of the original movie at the live event YURI!!! on STAGE in Chiba on 29 April 2017. This makes it almost 7 years since the initial announcement of the movie leading to its ultimate cancellation. The movie title Ice Adolescence was officially revealed with a key visual and a short teaser video at the YURI!!! on CONCERT event in Osaka on 1 July 2018, its release date was initially planned in 2019. Sadly, the production committee would then make the first announcement on the delay of IceAdo’s production on 6 September 2019 at the show’s official website. On 26 November 2020, the official X account of YURI!!! on ICE posted a notice to update fans on IceAdo’s production, alongside a teaser PV which was exclusively released at the series’ theatrical screening in Japan in 2019. To celebrate the show’s 5th anniversary in 2022, MAPPA released three brand new illustrations for a collaboration with sportswear brand Mizuno. These were among the very last updates from the series, with the movie’s development having been stuck in limbo until its official cancellation.  The cancellation notice received a huge amount of negative responses from both domestic and international fans, who had always been united in holding onto the hopes that the movie would be released someday. Junichi Suwabe, who voiced the show’s deuteragonist, Viktor Nikiforov, also posted his regret on the movie’s cancellation, conveying his wish to see more of the world in which the characters live someday. Toshiyuki Toyonaga, the voice provider of the main character Yuuri Katsuki, joined in to express his feelings and thanked the fans for their support all this time and the staff who had to make this heavy decision after working hard on the project. YURI!!! on ICE presents the story of professional figure skater Yuuri Katsuki who returns to his hometown in Hasetsu, Kyushu after his devastating defeat at the Grand Prix finale. After going viral thanks to the secretly-recorded footage of him performing an advanced routine done by top Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov, Yuuri suddenly finds this idol figure of his coming over to his house offering to be his mentor. Yuuri puts aside his mixed feelings over his career as a figure skater and accepts the offer, but he also has to compete with the young rising star in the figure skating world, Yuri Plisetsky, who has his own goal to get Viktor to return to Russia and coach him instead. It is unfortunate that things had to end this way, but one thing is certain: the impact this show has made will surely be remembered in history. Maybe someday, we will get to see the next level of this show. The Indonesian Anime Times

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.