Behind the Scenes of Yuri On Ice with MAPPA Panel at AnimeNEXT 2017

I was so excited to sit in on this panel and learn about the making of Yuri On Ice. I had no idea how deep the creative process was. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. From the tiniest details like the casts clothing to the colors that are used within the background design. There are also several props used in the designing of all the characters clothes and skates. Examples of props that were used are skates, food, and skaters clothing.

The design of each character’s skate is unique. Each character’s set is based on actual skates used by ice skaters down to the very scratch marks. They used designs from popular skate company.  While designing the animators were given images to help create a realistic image. If you’ve watched the anime and paid close attention to the skates, you could actually see the added scratch marks on the shoes.  If you’ve watched the anime and paid close attention to the skates, you can actually see the added scratch marks on the shoes.  Also that each set of shakes has different bolts.  Each skater even has their own blade color.
Each of the cell phone covers was designed specifically for each character.  For example, Viktor’s cell phone cover is modeled after the outfit he wore on the first episode. These designs were based on a popular cellphone cover designs from Japan. The other cell phone cases were also designed with the character in mind. Picchi-kun likes hamsters, in which they were used in the developed his cellphone design.

The food drawings were drafted many times. The creator wanted to make it look as authentic as possible. They first pencil sketched the food and then added color which brought the food to life. The creators even ate certain foods many times to grasp a more realistic experience.  They used four different coloring methods to design the food. For example, Yurio’s favorite dish Pirozhki. The director said that he wanted the dish to look as close as possible to actual dish. The color scheme for all the characters to me seems like the toughest job. The color coordinator designs and

The color scheme for all the characters to me seems like the toughest job. To color coordinator designs and match the right colors for all the characters. We’re talking about thirteen different designs for each character. Then the director chooses the final color scheme out of the thirteen designs.

The characters outfit’s design also comes from real figure skating companies. They used those design to make their outfits as accurate as possible. The sketches are first colored in blue then, they add the different color schemes. There were several different scenes with different facial expressions for each character. The director’s main focal point was the face. Other focal points were with the movement of the clothing and hair. The majority of the skating scenes are focused on the large movements and then the small ones. Then, they connect the small and large moments to create the image and make them flow together.

Many of the scenes are done with a variety of color. Some scenes have 120 different color options. The color of the clothing must match with the background design. The color coordinator change the clothes depending on each episode. Sometimes they would change the color of the clothes to make them look like new clothes. The director wanted to make the characters appear as though they wore different clothes everyday. If youwatch the episodes carefully, you can tell that the clothing is the same except for the color arrange. In the scene above you can see that the color of Viktor’s coat change from brown to black.

Every character has a unique eye color. Each set of eyes is done using two colors. There is a main color layered a hint of undertone. The idea behind this design is that a person’s eye color can change due to the lighting and wanted to add that effect to the characters. For example, Yurio’ s eyes are green with an undertone of blue to give it a special effect.  Making his eyes sexy enough that it’s hard to look away.
The extra effort put into this anime is fantastic. It makes you really appreciate all the work the team puts into the anime. Seeing the process makes you see how hard it is to create an anime of this caliber.

Yuri On Ice is a great anime. if you have not seen it you must, especially if you’re a yaoi or BL fan.  This is so much hard work done behind the scenes in the anime. All the details and thought process put into this show solidifies itself.  It’s amazing to see how the graphics and artwork come together so beautifully.

Those who are fans and are interested in more about Yuri On Ice.  There are talks about a  possible movie production coming soon.

In the DVD set, there are clips of Yurio’s exhibition. I can not wait to buy a copy. During the panel, I was able to see the exhibition and it was amazing. It is a must watch.

List of  the artists who worked on Yuri On Ice who came to AnimeNext: