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I kept hearing about Yuri On Ice everywhere, and as a gay guy I was very interested to see how a canon gay couple would be represented in a sports anime.

I find it very disheartening that some people quickly dismiss the show as fanservice/queerbait because the creators respect the audience enough to not spoon-feed them every bit of information about the main couple. There's tons of suggestive dialogue (Episode 6 is full of it) and minor details (pushed together beds, subtle PDA, the jewellery story receipt) to figure out what's going on. Keep in mind that the 12 episodes cover about a year of Yuuri's ... life, so a lot of things are left out but still hinted at. I understand that not having everything shown and explicitly stated on-screen might be unsatisfying for some viewers, but I actually love that way of storytelling. You just have to pay a little bit of attention, and you'll find that it's not necessary for the characters to go "We're GAY and we're DATING" in order to solidify their relationship. It's all pretty in-your-face as it is. The creator herself chuckled about the Western audiences asking for a confirmation of what went down at the end of Episode 7, while the Japanese viewers didn't seem to need it.

I initially expected the skating aspect of Yuri On Ice to be kind of mundane and boring, but boy was I wrong! It turned out be extremely engaging (without the contrived drama that so many shows are notorious for) and kept me at the edge of my seat during the routines. Some scenes even made me sob uncontrollably, which is not something that I do often while watching anime.

The music in this is also gorgeous. I've been listening to the main musical themes (Agape, Eros, and Yuri On Ice) non-stop, but there are also some earworms like Shaaaaall Weeee Skaaaaaaateeeee or Still Alive. All in all, The soundtrack is worth checking out.

The only cons of this anime are that it was too short (24 episodes would've given the creators more time to explore certain things they had to cut) and that the animation took quite a nose-dive during the second half of the season. It feels like studio MAPPA bit off more than they could chew with all the elaborate skating routines, so scenes that didn't involve the main characters suffered as a result. There is some REALLY derpy and stiff-looking stuff in the later episodes, although the first 5 or 6 look fantastic. That said, I'm positive it will be fixed for the Bluray release cause there is a one-month gap between every volume, which seems like enough time to make the necessary adjustments.

I took off a point for the uneven animation from the overall score, but it's still one of the best anime series I've seen in years!
Now we wait for season 2.

Back when I watched the first two seasons of Junjou Romantica, I was an inexperienced gay teenager who had no idea how relationships worked, so this series seemed like the epitome of drama and romance to me.

I was very excited when I found out about the third season, and I binge-watched the first 9 episodes. While I still believe that it's a decent and enjoyable series, I think I might've outgrown it.

Ironically enough, in an anime focused on romance, the most interesting and entertaining interactions for me revolve around friendships and day-to-day life. Unfortunately, they feel much more natural than what the couples bring to ... the table.

All of the relationship drama seems extremely contrived and none of the characters simply TALK to their lovers. Instead, they all jump into downright stupid conclusions, never voice what worries them directly until they overthink the situation to the point that they snap and make a scene out of it. I know we're on a time limit here, but it would be nice to see these characters interact like normal people once in a while, because generally it feels like when they're not fighting or having sex, they are mere acquaintances who for some odd reason "love" each other. That would be sort of okay for a new couple, but for someone who's been in a relationship for several years, it's just frustratingly underdeveloped and melodramatic. Speaking of which, their displays of affection also look silly in that context. It always has to come down to lots of grabbing, and pulling, and blushing, prefaced by monologuing for ten minutes. You'd think after four years with Usami, Misaki would be less awkward when it came to intercourse, but nah... he still acts like it's their first time and he doesn't want to do it. I guess some people might find it cute, I did for the first two seasons, but at this point, it feels unimaginative, repetitive, and tiresome.