The anime, Yuri!!! On Ice, really hit it off last year with multiple critical acclaims and awards. The hero, Yuri Katsuki, was said to be actually based on real-life figure skater, Yuzuru Hanyu.
Yuzuru Hanyu is a world-renowned figure skater and fierce competitor in the ice rink. On the 2014 Winter Olympics, he was the first Japanese male to win an Olympic gold. He is also a multiple world record holder due to his figure skating scores. His personal best is a total score of 330.43 for the ISU Grand Prix Final 2015/2016 season.
He is not only famous for figure skating, but also for his cute behaviour, which has also been portrayed by Yuri, and had charmed the whole nation of Japan.
The Bowstring Prince
Photo by David W. Carmichael. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Yuzuru was born and raised in the city of Sendai. At the age of four, he followed his sister, Saya, into skating and has never stopped since. His name means, “bowstring,” which symbolizes confidence, strength, and straightness.
No word can describe Yuzuru Hanyu better.
He is known for having the aura of a prince in the modern times. He skates with beautiful arms and legs, reminiscent of the elegance of a swan. He is also polite both on and off-camera.
The Prince with a Warrior’s Heart
But despite being compared to a prince, Yuzuru Hanyu is a warrior within.
He is a tough athlete. In an interview with Asaichi, NHK’s morning talk show, he admits, “It is important for me to have feelings of strong competitiveness and aspirations to improve, so definitely I’m not gentle.” He hates losing. He always aims for a clean skate, but more importantly, he values his whole performance for the audience’s sake.
Years of competing has bred him into an athlete with tough mental fortitude. Despite performing poorly in the short program segment of the 2017 World Championships, finishing fifth on the ladder, he made a flawless comeback with the free skate segment, breaking the world record in the process. He was able to land eight difficult jumps giving him a total score of 321.58. He proved that even if one can’t always be his best at all times, he can rise above the occasion when it truly counts.
His coach, Brian Orser, is impressed by his attitude.
Hanyu and Orser. Photo by David W. Carmichael. Licensed under Creative Commons.
To him, Yuzuru Hanyu is a true competitor. Despite being an Olympic champion at the age of 19, Yuzuru did not settle. Instead, he wanted to raise the bar higher. He always keeps having a passion for improvement.
For the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Yuzuru is attempting to do four quad loops (a jump with no less than four revolutions), a program which has never been attempted in an Olympic competition. Based on the mental strength Yuzuru Hanyu has shown, he has the skill and the heart to do what needs to be done.
The Prince is also a human
Having a warrior’s heart doesn’t mean having a heart of stone.
He carries around a Winnie the Pooh tissue holder in all his major competitions. He also likes to jam to One Ok Rock before he goes to the rink. He has even mastered the choreography for the viral Koi Dance (Love Dance).
These playful antics has actually gained him many endorsement contracts in Japan, the likes of which include Lotte and Ajinomoto.
The Fairytale Ending
Similar to the anime character Yuzuru inspired, Yuri Katsuki proved in Yuri!!! On Ice that even if the world tells you to give up, you have to keep pressing on and pursue the things that you love. In the anime finale, Yuri Katsuki ended with a podium finish paving a promising figure skating career before him.
The life of Yuzuru Hanyu is no anime. But if there’s anything that both Yuri and Yuzuru has shown, it is the fighting spirit that truly exemplifies the heart of a true Japanese warrior.
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