Do you have an ultimate comfort show? Or perhaps an ultimate comfort episode? I have quite a few, but I have narrowed it down to my ultimate comfort show and my ultimate comfort episode.

Yuri on Ice

I can watch Yuri on Ice every day. In fact, there was a long period of time that it was my daily watch.

Yuri is Japan’s top skater with anxiety issues. After a disastrously bad season, he packs up and heads back home. Then, one day, his inspiration shows up at his family’s onsen and declares that he is going to become Yuri’s coach. Victor slowly breaks down the walls that Yuri built with his charisma and persistence. Yuri gains confidence and even choreographs his own free skate all thanks to the love and support of Victor.

The animation. The music. The ice skating. The love story. It has all the elements to make the stress melt away.

Skip Beat! Episode 19

I remember stumbling upon Skip Beat! one night. I ended up watching most of the series in one sitting. Skip Beat! follows the female protagonist’s voyage through a revenge plot to get back at her childhood friend, Sho. She vows that she will become a bigger star than him. In the process, she falls in love with acting.

In episode 19, our protagonist, Kyoko, is starring in a music video with Sho. However, she is struggling to act through the pinnacle scene. In this scene, she is an angel that falls from grace when she kills the devil played by Sho. Calling a friend on a filming break, she finds the motivation to do the scene. When it comes time to film the scene, she gets a strong aura about her. She acts the scene so perfectly, she catches her childhood friend off guard.

For some reason, this scene resonates with me. It might be because she finally gets a taste of revenge. At the same time, she gets fulfillment from her job well done. In fact, it stirred something within him.

What about you? What’s your ultimate comfort?