The Yuri!!! on Ice fandom is heartbroken, April 19, 2024 brought them the most disappointing news ever: the Ice Adolescence movie has been canceled.
Movie Canceled
The studio working on the series, MAPPA, published an official cancellation note for the fans, confirming what we all feared: the movie will never see the light of day. The production team deeply apologizes for not being able to meet fans' expectations, but the decision has been made.
No further details followed. The company doesn't reveal the reasons behind this decision, the only thing we've got is "various circumstances" due to which the production had to be stopped.
The message also says that the production committee and staff have been constantly discussing the Ice Adolescence movie, its creation and release, but it seems to have gone nowhere. MAPPA apologized once again for disappointing fans, but the decision seems to be final.
Ice Adolescence
The Ice Adolescence movie was first announced back in April 2017 at the Yuri!!! on Stage exhibition event, although back then the project didn't even have a name. A year later, in 2018, it was revealed that the movie was called Ice Adolescence and was scheduled for 2019.
A trailer for the movie, featuring a young Victor Nikiforov performing at the Winter Olympics, was also released in 2019 in Japan and then in 2020 internationally, so the project seemed to still be in the works and going strong.
The movie was later postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but no new release date was announced. And as we know now, there won't be one at all.
No matter how much time passed, fans were still hoping to see Ice Adolescence one day. Yuri on Ice used to be an immensely popular anime series, and everyone wanted to see Victor, Yuri and the rest of the amazing figure skaters back in action.
Big Hit
You just had to be there in 2016 when Season 1 of the anime aired. Yuri on Ice became a true phenomenon in the anime world. It was exciting and stunningly beautiful, it had incredible animation and likable characters. Shippers were thriving because there were obvious BL themes in the series.
Yuri on Ice was the first big hit by MAPPA. The project that made the studio famous and gave its career a big boost. The series was basically a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that made even those who don't like anime interested in this type of media.
Back then, MAPPA was a rookie studio with just a few big projects. And it needed just the right anime to bring it fame, and that anime was Yuri on Ice. It became popular both in Japan and outside of it, digital sales were sky-rocketing, everyone was talking about the series.
However, the CEO of MAPPA revealed that Yuri on Ice wasn't as financially successful as you might think considering its success. So this might be one of the reasons why the Ice Adolescence movie got stuck in production hell and will never be released now.
Major Disappointment
It goes without saying that fans are terribly sorry and disappointed that the movie has been canceled. They're puzzled by the fact that a series that blew up as much as Yuri on Ice vanishes into oblivion just like that.
Viewers are confident that if MAPPA had gone through with the movie and added a couple of more sequels to the series, it would have been as successful as the first season of the anime.
Yuri on Ice always had great potential, and there's no doubt that if fans had known about the financial struggles before, they would have done everything they could to support the series legally and try to keep it going.
Fans feel that production committees should learn how to capitalize on the hype more. Public love and opinion is a very powerful tool when you know how to use it, but the studio failed at that.
It makes anime fans think about Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, a series that's especially popular right now. Season 1 did wonders and tops most of the anime lists at the moment, but Season 2 announcement never came. Let's just hope that it won't suffer the same fate as Yuri on Ice.
People also want to know what went on behind the scenes and what really happened to Ice Adolescence. Was it poor schedule or management, did MAPPA's production issues have something to do with it? Or was it all about the money and the financial aspect that didn't satisfy the studio? Everyone needs more details.
Is There Still Hope?
There are still a lot of optimistic fans who think there is a chance to ever see the movie, though.
It's clear that Yuri on Ice is not a top priority for MAPPA right now, and announcing its cancellation is the right and honest thing to do, but as we said, public opinion matters. Can it be that the studio will see the fans' response and decide to change their mind?
To be honest, we don't see that happening now or anytime soon. MAPPA does have a lot on their hands, and Yuri on Ice is nowhere as popular as it was back in 2016. So it would be wise to focus on more successful projects right now like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man or Vinland Saga.
However, a number of fans think it would be a great idea for another animation studio to buy the rights to Yuri on Ice and make a sequel for the series. We don't know whether there are any chances of that happening, but we can always hope.
Would you like to see The Ice Adolescence movie from another studio?
Disappointed, but not surprised.
Summary:
The Ice Adolescence movie has been officially canceled.
The Yuri!!! on Ice fandom is heartbroken, April 19, 2024 brought them the most disappointing news ever: the Ice Adolescence movie has been canceled.
Movie Canceled
The studio working on the series, MAPPA, published an official cancellation note for the fans, confirming what we all feared: the movie will never see the light of day. The production team deeply apologizes for not being able to meet fans' expectations, but the decision has been made.
No further details followed. The company doesn't reveal the reasons behind this decision, the only thing we've got is "various circumstances" due to which the production had to be stopped.
The message also says that the production committee and staff have been constantly discussing the Ice Adolescence movie, its creation and release, but it seems to have gone nowhere. MAPPA apologized once again for disappointing fans, but the decision seems to be final.
Ice Adolescence
The Ice Adolescence movie was first announced back in April 2017 at the Yuri!!! on Stage exhibition event, although back then the project didn't even have a name. A year later, in 2018, it was revealed that the movie was called Ice Adolescence and was scheduled for 2019.
A trailer for the movie, featuring a young Victor Nikiforov performing at the Winter Olympics, was also released in 2019 in Japan and then in 2020 internationally, so the project seemed to still be in the works and going strong.
The movie was later postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but no new release date was announced. And as we know now, there won't be one at all.
No matter how much time passed, fans were still hoping to see Ice Adolescence one day. Yuri on Ice used to be an immensely popular anime series, and everyone wanted to see Victor, Yuri and the rest of the amazing figure skaters back in action.
Big Hit
You just had to be there in 2016 when Season 1 of the anime aired. Yuri on Ice became a true phenomenon in the anime world. It was exciting and stunningly beautiful, it had incredible animation and likable characters. Shippers were thriving because there were obvious BL themes in the series.
Yuri on Ice was the first big hit by MAPPA. The project that made the studio famous and gave its career a big boost. The series was basically a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that made even those who don't like anime interested in this type of media.
Back then, MAPPA was a rookie studio with just a few big projects. And it needed just the right anime to bring it fame, and that anime was Yuri on Ice. It became popular both in Japan and outside of it, digital sales were sky-rocketing, everyone was talking about the series.
However, the CEO of MAPPA revealed that Yuri on Ice wasn't as financially successful as you might think considering its success. So this might be one of the reasons why the Ice Adolescence movie got stuck in production hell and will never be released now.
Major Disappointment
It goes without saying that fans are terribly sorry and disappointed that the movie has been canceled. They're puzzled by the fact that a series that blew up as much as Yuri on Ice vanishes into oblivion just like that.
Viewers are confident that if MAPPA had gone through with the movie and added a couple of more sequels to the series, it would have been as successful as the first season of the anime.
Yuri on Ice always had great potential, and there's no doubt that if fans had known about the financial struggles before, they would have done everything they could to support the series legally and try to keep it going.
Fans feel that production committees should learn how to capitalize on the hype more. Public love and opinion is a very powerful tool when you know how to use it, but the studio failed at that.
It makes anime fans think about Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, a series that's especially popular right now. Season 1 did wonders and tops most of the anime lists at the moment, but Season 2 announcement never came. Let's just hope that it won't suffer the same fate as Yuri on Ice.
People also want to know what went on behind the scenes and what really happened to Ice Adolescence. Was it poor schedule or management, did MAPPA's production issues have something to do with it? Or was it all about the money and the financial aspect that didn't satisfy the studio? Everyone needs more details.
Is There Still Hope?
There are still a lot of optimistic fans who think there is a chance to ever see the movie, though.
It's clear that Yuri on Ice is not a top priority for MAPPA right now, and announcing its cancellation is the right and honest thing to do, but as we said, public opinion matters. Can it be that the studio will see the fans' response and decide to change their mind?
To be honest, we don't see that happening now or anytime soon. MAPPA does have a lot on their hands, and Yuri on Ice is nowhere as popular as it was back in 2016. So it would be wise to focus on more successful projects right now like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man or Vinland Saga.
However, a number of fans think it would be a great idea for another animation studio to buy the rights to Yuri on Ice and make a sequel for the series. We don't know whether there are any chances of that happening, but we can always hope.
Would you like to see The Ice Adolescence movie from another studio?
