Victuuri

Victuuri is the slash ship between Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki from the ''Yuri!! on Ice'' series.

The relationship between Viktor and Yuuri is the main focus of the anime series. It is the most popular ship of the franchise, and has a gained a large fan-following within many anime communities.

Canon
Yuuri is a massive fan of Victor Nikiforov and was inspired by him to take a career in skating. He viewed him as a role model and dreamed of one day surpassing him. Yuuri even named a poodle after Victor, further showing his great admiration.

Fanon
The ship between Viktor and Yuuri is the most popular ship within the ''Yuri!! on Ice'' fandom, due to being the central relationship in the series. It perhaps one of the most popular Yaoi ships in the anime genre, mostly due to its positive depiction and canonical status.

Response
Critics have praised the relationship as it differs from the strictly sexual gay relationships typically seen in the anime genre. Some even referring to it as a revolutionary change in the genre. Japan's stance on homosexuality is not as progressive as other countries, some areas have not legalised gay marriage and the Yaoi genre is known for it's fanservice towards female fans. The "Victuuri" ship is known to subvert typical homophobic themes in anime, and instead depict a relationship that is both progressive and epitomises equality.

Trivia

 * Many fans have joked that the series name should be 'Yaoi on Ice' instead of 'Yuri on Ice'. Yuri is often used to describe femslash pairings. However, Yuri on Ice does not depict 'Yuri' pairings and instead portrays a yaoi couple.

Notes and References
Victuri