@everylastbird and I headcanon that during their Detroit Skating Club days Yuuri and Phichit were a lot like JD and Turk from Scubs (Yuuri and Yuuko tried to copy Viktor’s moves all the time so this had to have happened at some point lbr)
So I’ve been thinking more and more about Yuuri since entering his headspace requires you to enter the Lost Five Years. We can kinda sorta guess where he was while in Hasetsu, but his years in America are just…. the more you think about it the more you’re like—it’s basically that sports movie where the protag changes their life to follow their dream except there’s no fucking climax.
(Unless someone will do the thing of screenshotting all of his trophies and guestimating which ones match which competitions. No I didn’t attempt this. Don’t judge me.)
But… here’s me throwing my hat in the ring of how he was as a competitor.
The best place to go for nearly any of younger!Yuuri would be the younger skaters. Aspects of them, I’m assuming, are mirrors of where Yuuri was. JJ’s fall at the GPF was a direct mirror of Yuuri and the moment where he finally admits what all of fandom knew—You Are One of the Best Six Male Figure Skaters In the World Please Stop Shitting On Yourself.
So, we have:
Guang Hong.
Since Cao Bin was in that roster for the GPF fail, let’s assume he retired gave up on beating Viktor and Guang Hong now has his shot.
(Also: Please think of Yuuri and Christophe as these goddamn stubborn ice skaters that won’t give up on beating Viktor. Assume that they have random ice skating fans who are their sole fans for the reason of “You gotta appreciate the Final Two. You can do it! (You really can’t)”)
Guang Hong is just… not connecting with this choreography and music. If he wasn’t screwed by YOI being Yuuri’s narrative then he was screwed for not liking his program.
pre-YOI Yuuri: (canon confirmed) Just went with whatever Celestino gave him.
And then you have Seung Gil
Seung Gil is making friends with no one. Which makes his later reaction important.
He does the human thing of crying. A shock for Yuuri, who has spent the last couple days being super freaked out by Seung Gil’s resting bitch face.
Parallel: Yuuri bottling up every single reaction while he’s literally reading news articles discussing his possible retirement and saving it for the bathroom stall, where no one can see him.
Also, it’s been confirmed on the wiki that Christophe and Yuuri competed against each other several times at the Junior World Championship and Christophe has Yuuri’s number. You’d think they’d be tight-knit pre-Banquet Strip Show?
Banquet was probably the first time Yuuri instigated a Friendship Bonding moment.
And then, you have one of the few moments where the show breaks from Yuuri’s very close narration (Absolutely All Of These Moments Are A Gift) and, from Minami’s pov you see:
Resting Bitch Face.
This is what the skating world knows Katsuki Yuuri as, that super serious skater super set on beating Viktor Nikiforov.
Can you imagine being one of those skaters that kinda-sorta knew Yuuri and then being at that banquet where he got drunk and dance-battled everyone??? From any of their povs it would probably be like one of those high school movies where the Type-A Valedictorian gets drunk at a party and finally just monologues all their secret thoughts at everyone.
(Hell, this is also probably why Viktor had no fucking clue who Yuuri was during that “commemorative photo” incident: Not only does Yuuri not look like Ice-Skating-Bishounen!Yuuri, but he’s not wearing competition face. Viktor’s also forgetful. There were so many reasons.)
There is quite a difference to Yuuri’s looks when he’s in skating competition mode and when he’s being himself. It’s not just the lack of glasses or the way he styles his hair is different but his entire aura is different as well.
He’s so confident looking when he skates even if he’s full of nerves. It’s a warrior going to battle. His entire mindset, the way he carries himself, everything changes.
Compared to when he ‘met’ Viktor he looks like a stranger. I do wonder, Yuri was right by Viktor at that moment. Was he looking at Yuuri as well? Did he recognize him?
So this moment really jumped out at me when I was watching the YOI finale…
…and probably (definitely) not for the reasons you think. I know it parallels Yuuri’s narration in Episode 1 and brings us right back full circle—he says exactly the same thing back then, and the juxtaposition makes us realise how far he’s come in one year, how different the Yuuri of now is.
My first reaction to it, though, was that it reminded me so much of…
Hamlet. Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I know it sounds crazy but honestly!!
Hamlet is your original indecisive, waffling, angst-ridden main character. He spends most of the play trying to come to terms with who he is and what he needs to do. This line, “This is I, Hamlet the Dane”, is widely acknowledged as a pivotal turning point in Hamlet’s character and his conviction, the point where he finally reaches a decision, and it is his love for Ophelia that gives him that final push, just as it is Yuuri’s love that affirms his own convictions.
I won’t take the Hamlet/Yuuri parallels any further because they are two very different characters and these are two very different stories, but I do think that the tradition of a character declaring, to borrow a phrase from JJ’s theme, “This is who I am” is a notable and time-honoured literary trope that earmarks the importance of this moment for Yuuri. Hamlet isn’t the only example, and you don’t have to look all the way back to the Elizabethan era.
Think about “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Think about “I am Moana of Motunui.” Think about “I am Moana.” Think about “What’s your name, man? Alexander Hamilton.”
In this moment, when Yuuri signifies himself clearly, the narrative is riding on a long and rich literary tradition to drive home the fact that in finding himself, Yuuri has found his determination, his purpose, his goals, and what he and he alone can do and is meant to do. This is the culmination of “Yuri!!! on Ice”, the free skate song that represents his skating career. And he’s finally reached it.
Nothing but My Aching Soul 