Otabek Altin

**Otabek Altin** (alt. spelling: Otabek Altyn; Kazakh: Отабек Алтын; Japanese: オタベック・アルティン, *Otabekku Arutin*) is a Kazakh figure skater featured in *Yuri!!! on Ice**.*

## Appearance

Otabek has short black hair styled in an undercut, dark brown eyes, he is usually stoic and expressionless (though sometimes he wears a slightly moody expression) and he is relatively short for his age, though in real life this is common for male figure skaters competing in the singles disciple, such as the main cast of the series does.

### Short Program

Otabek's short program outfit is meant to emphasize his representation of Kazakhstan.

## Personality

Otabek is generally stoic and tends to be introverted, preferring to spend time alone rather than with other skaters. While he himself is shy and quiet, his skating is very eloquent and expressive.

On rare occasions, Otabek's kindness reveals itself, such as him rescuing Yuri Plisetsky from the Yuri Angels, clapping when Phichit congratulated Yuri Katsuki and Victor on what he assumed to be their marriage, and during Yuri Plisetsky’s free skate at the Grand Prix Final.

## Background

   Five years prior to the Barcelona GPF, Otabek was a participant of a training camp run by Yakov Feltsman. It was his first year as a Junior, and due to his inability to keep up with the Russian skaters in his bracket, he was moved to the novice class where he met Yuri Plisetsky. It was then that Otabek decided not to carry on with ballet, realizing there was no right way to skate.

Afterwards, he moved around to train, from Russia to America, then to Canada. It has only been a year since he was able to return to his home rink in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Otabek made his Senior debut during the previous season and took bronze at Worlds. He received a silver at Skate America for the current season, and gold at the NHK Trophy. He is hugely popular in Kazakhstan and is considered a national hero.

## Skills

While Otabek is not initially known to have any special skills that make him stand out, Yuuri Katsuki greatly admires Otabek's determination, believing it is Otabek's greatest strength. Nonetheless, Otabek's programs are known for their high technical difficulty.

## Relationships

### Yuri Plisetsky

They become friends after Otabek rescues Yuri from his fan club. The two of them had first met five years prior, at a summer training camp run by Yakov. Otabek notes that he'd first began to notice Yuri because his eyes had looked like that of a soldier's, and tells him that he feels like they have a lot in common. Yuri is supportive of Otabek during the GPF short program, and Otabek does the same for Yuri during the free program.

Otabek is strict with Yuri, not allowing Yuri to follow him to a club the evening after the GPF since Yuri is underage. However, Yuri tails Otabek to Poblenou, and becomes interested in Otabek's skill as a rock music DJ. Yuri requests to use the song that Otabek plays to be used for Yuri's new exhibition skate. Otabek agrees last minute to join in Yuri's exhibition skate after Yuri sees Victor and Yuri Katsuki skate together for Stay Close to Me. During the exhibition skate, he assists Yuri in removing the latter's gloves, and "shoots" Yuri with a finger gun onto the ice.

### Yakov Feltsman

Otabek had attended a summer training camp held by Yakov when he was younger, but the two currently do not have much of a relationship with each other, nor any interactions between them are shown in the anime.

### Jean-Jacques Leroy

While Otabek rarely interacts with JJ, it was JJ that taught Otabek how to do a quad Salchow.

### Leo de la Iglesia

Leo revealed to Yuri Plisetsky that he and Otabek are friendly with one another in the Welcome to The Madness special event manga, Leo mentioning that he follows Otabek's private Instagram.

## Programs

### Exhibition - Welcome to The Madness

While this is not Otabek's exhibition skate per se, Otabek joins in with Yuri Plisetsky's new exhibition skate at the request of the latter, and assists with pulling off Yuri's gloves and "shooting him dead" with a finger gun.

## Quotes

* "*Yuri Plisetsky had the unforgettable eyes of a soldier.*" (to Yuri Plisetsky)

* "*Now is the time for you to take center stage. The whole world is waiting for you... Don't forget what it is you want. Now is the time to take off. Fulfill your dream. Only you can make it reality. Live your life. Dance your dream. Sing, sing... Sing your own song. Do to the fullest, play to the fullest, and discover. Find your path, and go above and beyond it! Now is your beginning. Live your own life. Now is your beginning! This is your time!*" (GPF FS Monologue)

## Etymology

* The name **Otabek** is actually of Uzbek origin; the Kazakh equivalent would be Atabek (Атабек).
	+ Another possible equivalent is Otarbek (Отарбек).

* Otabek's surname **Altyn**/**Altin** (Алтын) means "gold" in Kazakh, as well as several Turkic languages.
	+ It is also a historic Russian currency.

## Trivia

* Otabek is based off Kazakh skater and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, Denis Ten, who was also born and based in Almaty, and often received teddy bear plushies of the fictional character Ted, like the teddy bear Otabek carries in Episode 12. He was also a musician in his free time, which is most likely where Otabek's DJ-ing hobby comes from. On the anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence, Denis Ten posted a picture of Otabek on his Instagram. Sadly, Ten passed away on July 19, 2018 after he was stabbed in the thigh by two carjackers and lost more than 3L of blood .

* The city referenced in Otabek's short program, Samarkand, is a city in Uzbekistan and one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia. It is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site.

* One of Otabek's hobbies is working as a disk jockey. He enjoys working with rock music.

* Otabek has many mischievous friends.

* Otabek hates SNS but he updates his Instagram often.

* Otabek's Instagram account is otabek-altin. His account is private.
	+ The caption for his Instagram post reads: 'This escalator is so long. It's been a long time since I last came to Almaty.'

* Otabek's Short Program, Samarkland Overture could possibly be a reference to Denis Ten's 2014 Olympic gala exhibition "Warriors of Kazakhstan", as he performed it in dedication to his homeland after becoming the bronze medalist of that Olympics.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 YURI!!! on Life Official Guidebook
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Yuri!!! on Ice* Episode 11
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Yuri!!! on Ice* Interview PASH+ (12 April 2017) (English translation)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 *Yuri!!! on Ice* Side Story - Welcome to The Madness
5. ↑ *Yuri!!! on Ice* Episode 10
6. ↑ *Yuri!!! on Ice* Episode 12
7. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/sports/denis-ten-olympic-skater.html
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *Pash! Magazine* March 2017 Issue
9. ↑ Kubo Mitsurou - Twitter