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BRUTUS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutus_(magazine) March 15, 2019 edition, available on Kindle on AmazonJP
https://www.amazon.co.jp/BRUTUS-%E3%83%96%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%82%B9-3%E6%9C%8815%E6%97%A5%E5%8F%B7-No-888-%E5%B9%B3%E6%88%90%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%80%82-ebook/dp/B07P6Q8D18/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1551467752&sr=1-1&keywords=brutus

pp.54-55, in the section under "We (heart) Heisei Anime:"

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Translation of the interview of MAPPA producer Noda Fuko

Noda Fuko is a producer at MAPPA. She worked at Studio 4C before joining MAPPA. Produced Punchline, Yuri on Ice, Garo: Vanishing Line.

Translator's note 1: Garo is one of the animated feature films MAPPA did, and probably one of the few things to compare if we want to speculate how information on Ice Adolescence might come out.

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Before Yuri!!! On Ice [hereafter YOI], I have only watched figure skating on TV here and there. We made [YOI], learning from both Yamamoto Sayo and Kubo Mitsurou, who are both big fans of the sports.

Yamamoto had a strong determination that "we don't want any compromised/irresponsible expression of figure skating [i.e., we want to commit to the figure skating expressions fully]" [*1]. With that, we received cooperations from many figure skating professionals [professionals being involved in the sports of figure skating]. That is why we could not allow ourselves to produce works that are half done/incomplete. We asked choreographer Miyamoto Kenji to choreograph each skater's routine with their music, and we videotaped the skating. The animating process began taking up this footage as the raw material.

It was our first time to do anything like this before animation production. It was also a first time to asking collaboration with Chacott, the manufacturer that produces equipment and costumes for dance and ballet. There were many special orders placed specially for YOI, and the process itself was a struggle but was a learning experience.

After the shooting [of Miyamoto Kenji footage], we began drawing based on the footage. We weren't able to express correctly if we didn't know the details, for instance, whether the takeoff for jumps are inside or outside edge, depending on the kinds of jumps they do. The drawing staff researched the movement watching the footage and actual figure skating competitions.

Furthermore, we wanted [our expression] to get closer to the actual experience of watching figure skating competition. We asked the former figure skating competitors. We were lucky to have Yokoya Hanae as technical supervisor, and Oda Nobunari, Honda Takeshi, and Stéphane Lambiel to appear in the show as themselves. The power of such legends [legendary figures] is also the large part of its appeal.

As a result of fully committing even to the details, we thankfully received large reactions during the airing. We were extremely happy to see the reactions of the current figure skating competitors and the professionals involved in figure skating on YOI, it was a huge motivation for those who are on the ground [*2] producing animation.

During production, I was actually pregnant. When my baby in the belly was getting larger, we were videotaping Miyamoto-san's choreography. When the song for the young skater from Japan Minami Kenjiro came on, my baby all the sudden started moving wild with the rhythms of the song! It was so memorable and interesting that my child reacted differently to different music (laughs).

I love each character, but if I had to choose one, [my favorite is] Katsuki Yuuri. He compels us to cheer for him, just watching him grow through his interactions with his coach and rivals. He is very human, and also has a strong core/inner strength. He is such an attractive character. Even after two years the show has ended, we receive gifts from fans for their birthday or Valentine's Day. And We are extremely happy that the characters are loved by so many people all around the world.

We are currently in the production of the feature film, and we are pushing ourselves to the challenge of expression that is only possible in the big screen. We are also planning on the appearance of (a) new legend(s) [*3], so please stay tuned!
現在は劇場版を製作中ですが、スクリーンならではの迫力ある表現に挑戦しています。また、新たなレジェンドの登場も予定していますので、ぜひご期待ください！

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Footnote 1: フィギュアスケートのシーンは一切妥協したくない. Literal translation of 妥協 is compromise and the synonym of this usage would be なあなあ (colluding, non-committal) or 適当 (irresponsible, vague),

Footnote 2: "on the ground" is a translation of 現場, and its literal translation is "a scene/site" that something is happening or being produced. Here it's probably closer to say "huge motivation for the production team." But 現場 signals something that is happening right there, so wanted to convey that meaning.

Footnote 3: Japanese language does not always specify singular and plural. 新たなレジェンド can mean one person or multiple (e.g. Victor is the living legend and such one-and-only-ness is conveyed through the name of リビングレジェンド, but simply saying レジェンド is unclear whether it is a singular person, multiple people, a group of people, etc.). Also note that she phrased Yokoya, Oda, Honda and Lamibel as "legendary people"レジェンドな方々, so this mention of "new legend(s)" may mean IRL figure skaters or professionals. But unclear either way! [edit: I forgot to mention "legends" in plural was a phrase used in the tokuho trailer, which I haven't see... but folks have reported. See here https://privatter.net/p/4188305]

Translator's Note: the second interview is by Takayama Makoto, the essayist/writer who have at least two books on Hanyu Yuzuru. The Takayama interview discussed basically how YOI's depiction of figure skating movements are faithful and true to the sports. He also talked about different forms of love was expressed without hierarchy in YOI, and that there was no hate, which he says is important for sports (he says "even rivals who feel jealousy and/or have determination not to lose, it doesn't mean that they hate each other")