If you follow me over on Tumblr, you may have noticed me getting quite excited recently about an anime show called Yuri!!! On Ice. I thought this show deserved a mention on this blog because it includes what is probably the best-executed plot twist I’ve seen on a TV show. I will explore this here while attempting not to give major spoilers (which is going to be tricky, since I am discussing a plot twist).

As a bit of background, Yuri!!! On Ice is a show about figure skaters and the main character is a Japanese skater called Yuri Katsuki. There are two other characters main enough to get featured on the show’s opening credits and one of those is a Russian skater called Victor Nikiforov. As the story opens, Yuri has just suffered a humiliating loss and is considering quitting the spots, while Victor is at his peak performance, setting world records, and winning gold medal after gold medal. In the first episode, Victor decides to quit skating, flies to Japan, and announces that he is now Yuri’s coach – much to everyone’s astonishment, especially Yuri. Yuri has idolised Victor for years, so their early interactions are filled with awkwardness, but gradually they open up to each other.

Given that the show has Yuri’s name on it, it’s unsurprising that as the audience, we see all this from Yuri’s perspective. We see him discussing the situation with friends, we hear his thoughts in inner monologues, and he acts as a narrator speaking directly to the audience at times. This means that a lot around Victor, specially his reasons for coming to Japan, are concealed from those watching the show. This led to some speculation among the fans about his motivations.

Then we reach episode 10 of this 12 episode show. After having seen 9 episodes narrated by Yuri, we get an episode with Victor as the narrator. During this episode, a key piece of information is revealed that changes the interpretation of everything that came before it. Not that I said “changes the interpretation”. This information doesn’t create plot holes or raise questions in the way plot twists sometimes do. The revelation instead answers questions – only some of which the audience knew to ask.

The key answer it provides is, of course, why Victor chose to become Yuri’s coach, but it allows their early interactions to be seen in a completely new light. On top of that, behaviour and dialogue from the minor characters, that had previously been dismissed as that character just being like that, now slotted into place. An insult from one character, an angry statement from another, an overly touchy-feeling greeting from a third, all make more sense in the wake of the revelation. It also allows the audience to go back and watch the early episodes again and see Victor’s side of the story. Nothing about the episodes had to change, but the intepretation of so many interactions is completely flipped.

As a writer, I think it’s worth highlighting what this show does well because these are lessons we can take to our own writing.

First, the plot twist doesn’t create any plot holes. I’ve read books and seen shows before where a plot twist leaves the audience wondering, “But if this is the case, then why did that thing happen?” You don’t want a plot twist to raise more questions than it answers.

Which brings me to point two, the plot twist should answer questions. A well-written plot twist will leave readers/viewers thinking, “Oh! So that’s why that thing happened. It all makes sense now.”

Finally, the plot twist should be surprising. I don’t think anyone saw this revelation coming. I watched the show with a friend who’d been seeing discussions on Tumblr about Yuri!!! On Ice and knew that there was a major plot twist coming in this episode, but she was still surprised by the nature of it. If a plot twist can surprise you even when you know it’s coming, the writers have definitely done something right.

So if you want a lesson in how to get a plot twist right, I recommend watching this show. Plus it’s fun, which is always a bonus.