Yuri on Ice Movie Axed: Inside the Cancellation and Fans' Petition for Revival

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers. Proceed with caution if you have not watched the show/movie.

Yuri on Ice shocked the anime fandom with the news of its movie's cancelation. Yuri on Ice is a series like none other before. Released in October 2016, the MAPPA Studios production was one of the first titles that pushed the company into stardom. Despite having a single season to its name, Yuri on Ice became a hot topic in the fandom as anime lovers flocked to its drama. Of course, this means all those fans were put out with MAPPA announced plans for the Yuri on Ice movie were canceled, but fans are not ready to give up on the series.

The official website of the movie confirmed the cancellation on April 19 with a notice that reads:

“Thank you very much for supporting Yuri On Ice. Regarding the postponed release of Yuri On Ice the Movie: Ice Adolescence, we have come to the decision to unfortunately cancel its production. We deeply apologise for not being able to meet the expectations of all those who have been waiting and have continued to support us through these years.”

The notice continued, mentioning that the production committee and staff had been in “constant discussions” to create and release Ice Adolescence, but the decision to halt the film’s production was made “due to various circumstances.”

The film was announced in April 2017, just a year after the 12-episode anime series debuted in 2016. It was initially slated for release in 2019, but got delayed. The delay raised fans’ hopes as it was attributed to plans to “substantially scale up the content more than originally planned.” The last update on the film was in 2020, stating that it was still in production.

Yuri on Ice fans’ hopes had already diminished after MAPPA CEO Manabu Otsuka’s comments last year. In an interview, Otsuka cited the lack of revenue generated by the series as the primary reason for not working on the film.

Fans didn’t take Otsuka’s comments lightly, feeling that they brushed off the significance of Yuri on Ice, which was a massive hit for the studio before MAPPA took on shows like Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen. Despite the project not being officially cancelled at the time, it is now clear that it has been cancelled for good.

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Taking to Change, the petition website has earned traction from fans of Yuri on Ice in wake of its stunning cancelation. More than 10,000 fans have signed a petition asking for Netflix to save Yuri on Ice. In less than a week, the petition has drawn global attention from the fandom, and its supporters say they aren't about to let Yuri on Ice fall into obscurity.

"The movie of one of the most famous and award-winning sports anime has been canceled," the petition writes. "This request is for Netflix to notice us and save Yuri!!! On ICE from oblivion by obtaining the rights for either a second season or a movie, we will continue making history."

Of course, the petition is not wrong about the Yuri on Ice fandom. The community is still thriving even in the wake of Yuri on Ice's absence as of late. In its heyday, Yuri on Ice won a number of top-tier awards from brands like Crunchyroll, and its pushed tons of home video sales. From Tumblr to Reddit, social media was flooded with Yuri on Ice content, and animation lovers were thrilled by its ice skating sequences. All of this left Yuri on Ice's movie in a good spot, but MAPPA Studios announced this month the project was no longer moving forward.

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