‘Yuri on Ice’ Prequel Movie ‘Ice Adolescence’ Officially Cancelled

After years of waiting, fans of the critically acclaimed ice skating animeYuri!!! on Ice received horrible news. The prequel film about Victor Nikiforov, Yuri!!! on Ice: Ice Adolescence has been officially canceled. The anime’s official Twitter account released the following statement about the cancelation:

Thank you very much for always supporting
Yuri!!! On Ice
.

Regarding the postponed release of
Yuri!!! On Ice the movie: Ice Adolescence,
we have tome to the decision to unfortunately cancel its production.

We deeply apologize for not being able to meet the expectations of all those who have been waiting and have continued to support us throughout these years.

The production committee and staff have been in constant discussions to create and to deliver the movie, but due to various circumstances, we have had to make the difficult decision to stop production.

We sincerely apologize to everyone who has been anticipating gets release and thank you once again for your continued support.

This is a disappointment for sure after the movie was pushed back multiple times, first in 2019 and then again during the pandemic. Still, fans had hope, as a second teaser trailer and screenshots for the movie were released during this postponement. In 2022, an image of romantic leads Victor and Yuri Katsuki nearly broke the fandom as Victor was missing the ring he and Yuri had exchanged during the show. The ring was later added back in after intense fan backlash.

‘Yuri!!! on Ice’ Was a Historic Anime

This is crushing for fans as Yuri!!! on Ice was one of the most critically acclaimed anime series to come out of the 2010s. The ice skating community praised the series, including Johnny Weir, Adam Rippon, and Evgennia Medvedeva being vocal fans of the show. Weir, who was one of the inspirations for the show, shared in an interview with The Geekiary his love of the series, stating:

“I am very honored that the production team has taken some inspiration not just from me, but from the skating world. There are so many details that pop up that wouldn’t mean anything to a casual skating fan, but to us as skaters who actually lived it, you can
see so much respect for our world
and what we do through the animations and storylines.”

While not perfect representation, what garnered Yuri!!! on Ice the most recognition was its positive LGBTQ+ story of how Yuri and Victor fell in love. It always had to combat censors during its run, as their kiss in the series needed to be hidden. While the couple exchanged rings, it was never officially said on screen that they were dating. Having two men fall in love without the normally toxic tropes of Yaoi anime was unprecedented in Japan and for the sports anime genre.

You can watch the teaser trailer for the now-canceled Yuri!!! on Ice: Ice Adolescence below.

Yuri on Ice

Release Date

October 5, 2016

Cast

Toshiyuki Toyonaga , Jun’ichi Suwabe , Josh Grelle , Jerry Jewell

Seasons

1