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yuzusorbet · 7 years

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My 2nd Ice Show Adventure (Fantasy On Ice 2017 in Niigata)

Summer 2015, I went for my very 1st ice show, Fantasy On Ice (FaOI) in Kobe, and it was the 1st time I saw ‘nama-Yuzu’ (real-life Yuzuru) after being a fan since 2014 Olympics.

Summer 2016, I had tickets for FaOI again but this time, Yuzu pulled out of all ice shows to recover from lisfranc ligament injury, so I sold my ticket, prayed for Yuzu’s health and happiness, sent him letters of support, and managed to survive the terribly long off-season with other long-suffering Yuzu-fans.

This summer (2017), I am so busy with work projects that I have no time for fangirling, not to mention ice shows, and I moaned about it to a few friends. Almost like a miracle, one friend told me that if I wanted, she could get tickets for me for FaOI Niigata! I decided I could get away for the weekend. I must!

The shows were on Friday, Saturday, Sunday (16-18 June) and it would be my first time in Niigata. I took an ANA flight (yay! ANA!) and arrived in Niigata airport on Thursday. The first meal I had was a very delicious bowl of ramen, and as I ate, I was surprised that I could taste bits of yuzu (the fruit). I have never had ramen with yuzu before and so I was really happy! It was really oiishiiiiiiiiii~~!!! What a great omen, I thought. My first meal on this trip was with yuzu. xD

On this 1st night, there was something else that made me think of Yuzu.... I saw Bourbon ice-cream! “Mo chotto”!

I was way too full from the huge bowl of ramen and so I did not buy ‘Mo Chotto’ ice-cream to try. Thought I’d try it another day but I did not pass by this shop again and I could not find it anywhere else. Sigh. Regret. The snack is common but the ice-cream is not.

Friday 16 June (ice show is at 7pm, doors open at 6pm)

In the morning, I changed hotel. Checked into ANA Crowne Plaza (yay, ANA!) because it’s a short walk to the ice show venue. A Yuzu-fan friend, D-chan, messaged to say she is nearby and asked me to join her for coffee. OK! It was a lovely breezy walk from ANA hotel to an area called Pier Bandai and I found her in a cosy little coffee place with comfy sofas. I ordered an iced coffee and we chatted away. “I can’t believe I’m really here....” “He’s somewhere near us now, you know....” “Omg we’re breathing the same air as him....” xD

Happiness is talking with a Yuzu-fan while sipping coffee in Japan. :)

Soon it was time to meet another friend, Kay, the wonderful person who got my tickets for me. We had plans for an early dinner together and then go for the ice show. I met her at Niigata Station and we walked around looking for food. Some restaurants were not yet opened for dinner as it was too early. Luckily there was a soba shop that was open and we both felt like eating soba, so in we went. (soba= buckwheat noodles)

We ordered their specialty which was soba dipped in a warm broth with tender slices of pork. And once again, I had the lovely surprise of finding yuzu in it! I really love the citrusy fragrance it gave to the soupy noodles. We felt so happy eating soba with yuzu. It was a very good meal. :)

From Niigata station, there was a shuttle bus to the show venue, running pretty frequently. (I really love Japan; they think of everything.) There was no real need to look for the bus-stop, just look for the long queue! Luckily, it was a short wait as the buses came quickly and soon we were on our way to Toki Messe! Just a 10-minute bus ride and we were there, a lovely glassy tall building by the river.

We were early but the queue for FaOI merchandise was already VERY LONG. It’s ok, let’s admire the pretty Tanabata decorations and chit-chat while we wait in line. Finally we could at least SEE the sale counter! It’s going to be our turn! I got a T-shirt, a towel and the programme booklet. So happy to get the towel because 2 years ago at FaOI Kobe, the towel was sold out before it was my turn, on the very 1st day!

Then Kay pointed out to me something that made me very happy.... Ice Rink Sendai merchandise counter! I have not had the chance to buy anything from Yuzu’s hometown rink before, so I hurried towards it excitedly. Wow, they really have a lot of pretty things!

The photo of Yuzu wearing ‘Irene gloves’ was there. (Irene is short for ‘Ice Rink Sendai’ and is the name of the mascot.) And also his signature with a message saying “I will never forget, I will continue to do my best and give my support.” (my translation from Japanese) And there is a little mushroom at the end. ^^

What a simple but heartwarming message for his hometown rink....

I bought the ‘Irene’ gloves, T-shirt, keychain and some stationery. I love the pink theme!

There were also stalls selling really beautiful books and magazines..... I want them all!

Glad we were early. It was hard to take a good look at the stalls when it got very crowded later.

I was also very amused to see a counter that rented out binoculars, haha. I did not rent one on the 1st day, but I did for the next 2 days. Best decision ever. I could see clearly all his cute facial expressions and who he was talking to all the time at the finale. (Guess who. :))

And of course, there were big boxes for fan letters and gifts to skaters. Yuzu’s box filled up quickly and the inner bag had to be changed several times by the staff. I used my new Irene stationery to write 2 fan letters (one on behalf of the FB international fan group and one from myself) and dropped them into the box on the 2nd day. On the 3rd day, I decided to also drop a letter into Oda-san’s box. I told him I enjoy his skating, his talk shows and his blog, thanked him for his great friendship with Yuzu, and may God bless his beautiful family. :)

After all the excitement outside, it’s time to go in. The seating arena for Niigata is smaller than some other places, so even the furthest row was not that far away. I was somewhere in the middle, nearer one end of the rink.

As usual, there were guys in black jackets who walk around holding up big signs that say “No taking of photos or videos”. (I took this pic before the show, no pics during the show. Law-abiding fan.)

The show started and the skaters were introduced one or two at a time. Yuzu was the last one to come out and the applause and cheers for him were huge. It was clear who the star of the show was. :)

After the opening number, the skaters did their individual performances. I enjoyed watching all of them. My favourite ones were the 2 performances by Nobunari Oda -- the music was beautiful for both and I love to watch his jumps; it’s like he lands on marshmallow (once again I am reminded of why they gave him that T-shirt saying ‘landing with cat’s feet’); Sex Bomb by Plushenko was hilarious and I laughed so much; and Shizuka Arakawa-- what supreme grace and beauty.

Ice dancers Papadakis and Cizeron were very beautiful to watch. So glad they performed in this FaOI. The acrobatic duo of 2 men in Swan Lake tutu performing ‘Notte Stellata’ was very funny. I have seen Yuzu perform to this song so beautifully so many times in the past season (and watched it live at 4CC) and now this exact same song is skated in such a comical way..... I was so tickled. xD

For the record, the other skaters were Kaori Sakamoto, Marin Honda, Akiko Suzuki, Miki Ando, Shoma Uno, Evgenia Medvedeva, Denis Vasiljevs, Javier Fernandez, Elladj Balde, Johnny Weir, Stephane Lambiel, Jeffrey Buttle and the Chesnas. Many of them performed twice, before and after the intermission. Much thanks to all for their wonderful performances!

At the end was Yuzu’s Chopin Ballade Number 1. I had the good fortune of watching this 2 years ago, at the last show of FaOI 2015, when he gave us a surprise performance with live piano music played by Kotaro Fukuma. At that time, he did the 2nd half of his usual Chopin, in a black FaOI finale shirt. It was awesome. So this time, I was really excited that I would see the full performance with that beautiful white Chopin top. And wow.... he really took my breath away. Although I have watched him perform Chopin for 2 seasons already, it felt like a different Chopin. It was the same and yet it was different. More beautiful, more powerful, more flow, more speed, more precision.... it was already so perfect, how can it be even better, but it is! (based on my ‘expert’ opinion.) I am so thrilled that he is doing this for the new season! I LOVE Chopin!

After Chopin, he went backstage to dry his sweat and then came out again to do an encore of ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ (his SP for last season). It was funny to watch LGC performed in that sweet Chopin costume. So mismatched, haha.

For the finale, Yuzu came out in a glittery blue FaOI top with a cat ears-hair band on his head. He danced in the group number and even did a cartwheel on the ice! And he waved happily to all of us. It was so good to see him enjoying himself. I am very glad he did not do any quad battles at the end. He just did a side lunge for the 1st show (with one under a set of hurdles, so amazing!), a hydroblade for the 2nd show, and a ‘muscle man’ pose with Plushenko at the last show. And when others are doing their jumps or special elements in the middle of the rink, he would skate from his original position to the space between his idol Plushenko and good buddy Nobu. And he was often talking to Plush. Ahhh... Yuzu, still the cute fan-boy after all these years. :)))

After the finale, when all the other skaters have left the rink, Yuzu took a mic and spoke to thank all of us. He said things like please take care of yourselves, take care as you go home, have a meal, have a good rest, who is staying on for tomorrow’s show? oh that’s quite a lot of you (laughs), thank you for your support, I really enjoyed myself, eh to, eh to, there is still so much that I want to say, but never mind, it is already very late, I should stop here, I really want to thank all of you for today....... And he would end by putting the mic down and shouting as loudly as he could with his own voice “Arigato gozaimashita!”

Listening to him speak was just wonderful.... I was touched by his concern for his fans and also half-laughing at some things he said. He wanted to talk more but he did not want to hold us back as it was already way past 10pm on that 1st night. That dear talkative boy. :) Oh Yuzu, your fans would listen to you all night, if only we could. But then we want you to rest too! You need a good rest and a good meal more than us!

In his speech for the 2nd day, he also thanked the people who made the ice rink. He said the ice was very good to skate on and they all loved skating there. Yuzu and his grateful heart. :)

On that 2nd day, I was seated at the other end, where the stage was. (I took this pic as I was leaving.) When he was speaking, he was standing on the left of the stage just outside the ice. I had a very clear side view of him through my binoculars ( I was halfway up the stands). His face was sweaty but dazzling with happiness as he spoke. How I wish I was sitting this close!

The shows for Saturday and Sunday were at 2 pm and 1pm respectively.

Most skaters performed the same programmes for all 3 shows in Niigata but a few skaters did a different one for one of the shows. Like Marin Honda, for the 2nd show, she performed in a very cute Japan Airlines air stewardess costume. Elladj Balde was the skater before Marin (he did a great Michael Jackson medley) and when he finished his performance, he skated to one end with his chair and just sat there. Marin skated out in her JAL costume, went to him and said in Japanese, “Sir, would you like some coffee or tea?” Haha, that was how she started and I really enjoyed her performance. For the other 2 days, she did ‘Crime Tale’. Javier also had a different one in the 2nd show; instead of his new SP, it was a funny pirate one where he was a cleaner-boy daydreaming. Johnny Weir performed ‘Amazing Grace’ in the 2nd half for the 1st 2 days, then on the 3rd day, he did a song called ‘Creep’. His performance was so heart-wrenching, I almost cried. I can still feel the pain he expressed even now when I think back..... Johnny’s skating is really very special. No wonder he is one of the skaters that Yuzu has looked up to since junior days.

In the 3rd show, which was the last FaOI show for 2017, Yuzu had some surprises for us.

After performing Chopin, he went backstage as usual, and the rink was dark. As with the previous 2 shows, we waited a while and then started to call his name. “Yuzu, Yuzu....” The MC said we have to shout his name louder because he can’t hear us. So we shouted “YUZU!” as loudly as we could, expecting him to appear for the LGC encore. Suddenly, the sounds of an electric guitar filled the air. There was a guitarist on stage and he was playing ‘Parisienne Walkways’!!!! We recognised it immediately and the fan beside me turned to me with eyes as big as saucers. She grabbed my hand and we started screaming and jumping about, mad with excitement! Yuzu then skated out to all our screams and did his legendary PW wearing his Chopin costume (he did the 2nd half of the usual PW programme). Oh wow!!! What a surprise! What a treat!!! Yuzu's PW with live guitar!!! I felt like the luckiest fan in the world!!!

After that amazing encore, he went backstage and the finale started. The other skaters came out in turns to do the group number. When Yuzu came out again for his part in the finale, we all went hysterical again! Because he was wearing a yellow headband with Pooh ears!! Hahaha...... this guy really knows how to make his fans scream. He looked so adorable! It was wonderful to see him looking so happy and enjoying himself so much. (Later, I saw a Japanese fan on twitter say the Pooh headbands were all sold out. But of course. The Yuzuru-effect. XD)

(2 pics above are fans’ screenshots of a TV news segment on FaOI.)

Then at the very end of the show, when the other skaters have left the rink, he gave a very emotional speech and made me cry. He said that last year he could not do anything (no ice shows at all due to injury), so now he is feeling very happy to be back doing this and he loves skating and he is feeling most blessed and he is the happiest person in the world. (*may not be the exact words but the meaning is such.) And he thanked the organisers and other people and all of us. It was not so much the words he said but the way he said them. There were so much emotions. His voice trembled a bit at the beginning. It sounded like he was tearing and was trying to control himself not to cry. As he spoke, his feelings were just gushing out...... he was just so utterly happy and grateful for everything!

Then he did the usual ending-shout; he put down the mic, cupped his hands near his mouth and shouted "arigato-gozaimashita!", and we all shouted back "arigato-gozaimashita!" And then he bowed and waved and went in through the curtains.

Tears were running down my face. I continued to say softly, "Arigato, Yuzu-kun, arigato." Thank you, Yuzu, thank you. My tears just kept flowing as I thought back. After going through so much... so much..... he is finally where he is supposed to be.......

Seeing Yuzu so happy and healthy is one of the best things in the world.

I met Kay after the show and we talked about how special Yuzu is. And how is it that he can make us fly thousands of miles to watch him perform just those few minutes and we feel it’s so worth our time, money and energy. She would be flying home that night, and for me, my flight home was the next day. As with all good things, it ended too quickly but our hearts were filled to overflowing.

I am very grateful to Kay for her help with tickets and for her fun company. We met up every day and ate some very delicious food together. On the 2nd day after the show, we walked around and found a little ramen shop to have dinner. And again there was yuzu in it!!! (See the little yellow strips on top of the soup?) Kay also ordered a yuzu sparkling wine. I had a sip and it was lovely! Another meal with yuzu.... ahhh life is good. :)

On the last night after the ice show, I shopped for stuff like P&G Bold clothes detergent, Lenor clothes deodoriser and softener, Ghana chocolate and Xylitol gum. I was so happy to find all these things near my hotel, and after I lugged my heavy shopping back to my hotel room, I realised I had forgotten to buy rice! Niigata is famous for very good rice and I had wanted to buy a small bag of rice home. :(( I messaged Kay to lament and she replied, it’s ok, he is not the ambassador for rice. Hahaha..... I love Yuzu-fans. (I did manage to get a bag of rice before I left for the airport the next day. :) )

Yuzu-fans are really wonderful and generous. And just like Yuzu, they surprise me all the time. On the 2nd night, D-chan passed a package to me from a fan that I don’t even know. Inside were some Japanese newspapers and advertisements with Yuzu, and also ‘Weekend Sendai’!!! OMG I nearly fainted with happiness. (Weekend Sendai is a free travel magazine given out in Japan many months back. Yuzu is featured inside recommending food and places in Sendai. 1st pic below, left side.) Gosh, how did she know it’s something I had been coveting for ages now??? I told D-chan to give her my utmost gratitude. And thank you, D-chan, for being a good friend and messenger! So glad I met you on this trip!

Another fan gave me gorgeous photos of Yuzu that she had taken herself at competitions. And she said, “Thank you for the good work that you do in the fan group.” Aww..... I was so touched! Thank you, CL!

I was so happy when I was packing my luggage on the last night in Niigata. I had so many precious goodies in my bag! Thank you, dear Yuzu-fans!!! Hope to see you all again!

Below are pics of my FaOI tee, towel and booklet that I bought on Day 1.

There is so much more that I want to say, but this is already so long, I should stop here now. Dear Yuzu, thank you for everything!!! May God bless you and your family. Always supporting you and hope to see you again soon!

Note: This is written one month after the event due to being too busy at work. If any details of FaOI are incorrect, I am sorry for my bad memory. :P

[Credit: photos are all mine except for the 2 screenshots of Yuzu with Pooh-ears from twitter and the Pooh pics from pinterest - thanks!]

#fantasy on ice niigata #FaOI 2017 #Yuzuru Hanyu #fantasy on ice

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shslshortie · 6 years

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Internationaux de France commentary FS/FD

Hey y'all, it was a football game day on Saturday and my friends birthday so i basically died. And didn’t have that much time to watch skating. But I kept up with scores and as much as I could, but I decided to wait and post this on Sunday after the exhibitions so I could do both.

First off: oh shit at Shoma Uno. I know he has been fighting illness for the last few weeks and hasn’t been training nearly as much as he should be, but I haven’t seen him skate that off in honestly years. It wasn’t even his jumps, which were rightfully downgraded in GOE for his flutz, touchdowns and under rotations… it was his performance. He lacked his normal spark. He ended spins early, added extra ones after Jumps, didn’t fully extend… I’m worried for him. He has obviously claimed his place at the GPF but I have no idea what to expect for him the rest of this season.

Obviously Javier wasn’t nearly as “on” as last night (his quad salchow-double toe, his quad salchow, triple flip, triple Axel and his triple combo), but this is still such an amazing contrast between his showing in China. Even though he will not be advancing to the GPF, he cannot be counted out this season.

Okay so when I saw the results / scores before I watched the programs, I almost SCREAMED when I saw Misha Ge win bronze. But seeing his amazing and clean skate with a new personal best AND a standing ovation?!?!?!?!? I almost cried. (I was in the middle of doing makeup so I literally couldn’t let myself cry). What an amazing show. what an amazing choreographer. What a class act. What a guy to Watch.

Alexander Samarin: honestly this season, out of the “masculine” costumes for the men, his are definitely my favorite. Very fitting and well fitted. Also his interpretation of The House Of The Rising Sun is so much better than it was in Canada. He’s not perfect yet, and still had a long way to go, but he has had a very strong Grand Prix season and that is very commendable among this tough crowd of men’s skaters. Of course he won’t be making the GPF (if anyone with 20 points makes the GPF, it’ll be Javier first and Misha second based on points) but he still has a shot at the Russian National team and I’d love to see him there. Also personally, I wish he had added some scratch spins instead of the overload of sit spins at the end of the program, and I think it would have fit a lot better, but that’s just a personal preference.

Alexei Bychenko: I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR PERFECTLY TIMED JUMPING PASSES AND HIS FIRST 4T-3T was PERFECT AND SO SATISFYING. This is such a strong and hard hitting program, but his transitions and entrances seemed a lot more rushed and frantic than they did in Osaka last week, and by the second half of the program he just looked exhausted and like he wanted to get off the ice. If he hadn’t popped his Loop, his Toe Loop on the 3A combo or his Lutz … he could probably have shaken off Samarin for 4th.

Moris Kvitelashvili: I love the composition of this Imagine Dragons program. It is perfect for his style of skating and very different than every other man in the field. Even though he had some falls and popped some jumps, it was still very entertaining. Especially for only being assigned one GP event (and being added to the rostelecom cup), he really had a great showing this season.

Dammit I was literally like ‘okay I watched 1-5 and I love them, ghats everyone I care about so I can go watch the ladies, right? And then I forgot Max Aaron and Denis ten and Vincent Zhou were in France too and I was so mad cuz I have so much to watch.

Max Aaron: 😭😭😭 this has still been such a great season for him, but I’m a bit upset he didn’t place higher. He popped his salchow and he underrotated his quad toe, but his components were still great, especially his Axels. Even with this score, he has definitely made a case for the Olympic team, and I feel it will be a really tough race at nationals.

Denis Ten: I was really melancholy about his free skate… I love Denis and he is such a beautiful and graceful performer, but he no longer has the strength or stamina for the jumps he is attempting. Even his spins were off axis, and I was worried he would fall on choreographic elements and spin combos. I really wish he had taken a page out of Misha Ge’s book and focused on what he knew he could do well. even if it wasn’t as technically difficult. He did perfectly fine on his triples, but his quads and his Axel were what messed him up to get -2.0 in deductions and -9.67 in GOE. It is a gorgeous program with Stunning music, but he will just keep falling in ranking and scores (and hurting himself) if he keeps this up.

Vincent Zhou: yikes I really wish he had a different costume. Like I know he is trying to compete and prove himself a competent enough skater as Nathan Chen, but with his jumping style AND his costume, he literally looks like he is trying to copy him. He did a lot better than in his short, but I really really wish he had gone a little easier on himself for his senior debut since he doesn’t have the maturity of movement enough to fill the music or the transitions in between technical components. I really hope he uses the tine in between France and nationals to work the kinks out of his programs… because if you are attempting 4 quads, but fall on 2 with another under rotation, as well as downgrading 3 other jumps… it is way too difficult of a program for you.

Alina Zagitova: from her short to her free skate, Alina was literally a different skater. A complete 180°. This is what we saw at her debut that I was so enthralled with, and what makes her a contender not only for foe GPF gold or the Russian national team, but for an Olympic medal. Well deserving of her gold and her personal best. I am still genuinely worried after her short program, because of consistency issues… as well as praying and hoping that what happened with Yulia Lipintskaya (and many other Russian ladies) doesn’t end up happening with Alina.

Katelyn Osmond: even though she obviously fell from 1St to 3rd with her free, I think this skate was better performed than her short. Her first jumping pass was phenomenal, what a Triple Lutz, and her 3S-2T-2Lo was so quick and crisp. The problem was after her fall on her Triple Loop, her face and energy immediately fell like 2 notches; which left her with not nearly enough power to fully perform the high of the music to the best of her ability. I feel like even with her fall, if she hadn’t popped her Axel, she probably would have walked away with silver.

Maria Sotskova: very graceful skate. With her costume, movements and hair, she reminds me of another classic ladies skater but I can’t out my finger on who. Not the most entertaining or engaging from an audience stand point, but a very quality skate deserving of 2nd. Personally, I would have given her her transition score for her performance score on PCS, but she wasn’t heavily overscored. Very quality jumps and extension.

Elizabet Tursynbayeva: I still love this program for her. Pure and innocent while still powerful and graceful. Amazing improvement since Canada. She absolutely deserved her 3rd place free skate score. Especially while competing against such powerhouses. Beautiful jumping technique and fluidity. I legitimately almost cried at her 2A-3T-2T because it was so crisp and clean. Immediately followed by another 2A-3T with arms aloft in the second half of her program is such a strategic use of her strengths and I absolutely commend Brian Orser for these components.

Yuna Shiraiwa: her dress is gorgeous on her, and I’m not a huge one shoulder fan, but it makes her look mature and athletic and it is a great fit for her. Not the best I’ve seen her skate, but outside of her fall I honestly think she was underscored (yes I know she had an edge call and an underrotation, but they were not large GOE deductions). Sure, she needs to work on her flexibility if she is going to include extensions, beilmans and split leaps, but it was still a very strong skate.

Nicole Schott: I originally wasn’t gonna watch her free UNTIL I SAW THAT A GERMAN SKATER WAS SKATING TO SCHINDLERS LIST. AAAAH.

Is it bad that since I’m not a huge fan of pairs that I decided to watch their Frees just because the silver and bronze medalists had amazing costumes??

Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres: what a program. The vulnerability of the music combined with their dynamic and chemistry was perfect. I am absolutely obsessed with Vanessa’s jumpsuit too. Their jumps and tosses aren’t the best in pairs, but their lifts and spins are TOP NOTCH. What a great showing they had at home and on their way to the GPF. Their final spin and choreographic sequence was so in sync I literally said “wow” probably 4 times. Absolutely phenomenal. Absolutely deserving of 1st place.

Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise: I am OBSESSED with their costumes. Completely matching outfits with such drastic color blocking and even matching hair works so well for this piece. I originally wasn’t sold on their performance for the first half (although part of it was definitely being disappointed with Matteo’s fall on the combo) but the change in music brought such an interesting element to it, and it was completely different from start to finish.

Madison Chock/Evan Bates: beautiful. Perfect. You look like Linda evangalista. Your smile is wonderful. No words.

Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron: you can never go wrong with Moonlight Sonata and you can never go wrong with then, so it was of course amazing. Also their medal ceremony was so adorable and the crowd ROARING was amazing.

#figure skating #shut up dani

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speakeasy8 · 7 years

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[010] Suzuki, A.

Just to clear the air, this is what Akiko Suzuki said. So before you all start raising your pitchforks and burning the poor lady at stake (I see some on forums, here and Twitter already attempting it) why doncha all read and be your own judges:

What Akiko Suzuki thinks Yuzuru Hanyu should work on next season: Strive for a more emotional performance

I think Yuzuru Hanyu, while hailed as *the* Champion and having lost the last two WCs, probably has a lot of pent-up a frustration over the losses. This is because he’s not the kind of guy who only wants to win, he’s the kind of guy who wants to win by a mile.

He put up another record-breaking score in his LP at World’s. At 4CC back in February, from what I could tell of the expression on his face before his SP, he seemed to believe that there was still a gap between himself and younger competitors like Nathan Chen and Shoma Uno. He’s been able to afford a mistake here and there and still win so far but after that comp, he must’ve felt that that’s no longer the case. Something just seemed to have clicked within him after the end of the men’s SP that night. The final result saw him getting beaten in terms of combined total by Nathan and that’s likely what brought about his WC win. 4CC was the turning point for Yuzuru.

Ever since Yuzuru became the Olympic Champion in Sochi 2014, other skaters must have been thinking, “How do I beat Hanyu?” And the answer they apparently came to was, “Why, do all the jumps Hanyu can’t, of course!” So these other skaters started arming themselves with weapons Yuzuru doesn’t yet have. Skaters like Shoma, Nathan and Boyang, who podiumed at WC, are using these new quads to close in on Yuzuru, which is why we see them attempting all those flips and lutzes out there.

Yuzuru’s comeback performance of his free that led to his regaining his title was probably the best I’ve ever seen, bar none the best he’s able to put out for now (TL: read this part wrong and didn’t do a tl check when I posted. Sorry bout that. Good thing someone pointed it out in the forums). In the various things he has attempted during this 2016-2017 season, he must have come to a solid conclusion of what to include and what to exclude, so it’s only a matter of polishing the things that remain and tweaking them to as high a quality as he can get them. And that would likely be the base he’d be using going into the next season.

Yuzuru has a competitive streak that goes above and beyond so I’m guessing what he really wants to do is to put out a performance that is far beyond even what we have just seen. Maybe he’s even putting a lot of thought into the 4A and perhaps being the first to land it. But he’s also aware that he could end up hurting himself, and getting hurt never helps. So I’m sure he’s calmly studying what’s going on around him and thinking, “What’s my best strategy now?” Before, he would’ve been all gung-ho and just gone, “Imma do it!” but he’s now able exert a calm control that translated very well into his performance.

The instinct of an athlete and the calm of a competitor–being able to strike a perfect balance between these two was what enabled him to win at World’s. This will, in turn, heighten the resolve of skaters still in their teens like Shoma and Nathan to include even more technical content. Going by age, it would be tougher for Yuzuru to follow the same route. If Shoma and Nathan’s weapon is to arm themselves with even more firepower, Yuzuru will answer their challenge by sharpening his own even more, and raise his own level to heights unknown. With Yuzuru, it’s a matter of how one enhances what they have and how they use it.

What’s scary about Shoma and Nathan is that they are not entirely outdone by Yuzuru in terms of PCS. They aren’t exactly slacking in the skating department either. Which is why Yuzuru has come to perceive them as real threats.

After his SP at 4CC, Yuzuru was very clearly burning on the inside. And his barely-contained irritation after his SP at World’s was a good sign. When I saw that look on his face, I couldn’t help but think, “Now, /that’s/ an athlete.”

When Yuzuru is able to flawlessly execute his 3 types of jumps (TL, Sal & Lp) over 4 passes (like this), he’s in a whole different league altogether. So if there’s anything else he needs to aim for, it’s probably the ability to express more of his emotions. Had he been able to express them more on top of those jumps in the perfect performance he gave at WC, I think it’d have been even better than what it is now.*

Packing all those quads in is no cakewalk. That’s a given. What he put out on the ice at World’s is something I won’t hesitate to give him a standing ovation for. But Yuzuru’s emotions are a sight to behold and it would have been even greater if we could have seen more of them (that day). He has beautiful jumps while also being an emotional skater. Yuzuru has it in him to combine both. I know he does.

These three years, Yuzuru has been assailed by more than his fair share of health issues and like any other human, he has his ups and downs. But it’s precisely because of those, he has become even stronger than before. Anything and everything he could grow, I’m willing to bet he has. His mind and body have grown stronger, his abilities have increased. The Yuzuru Hanyu that we saw back in Sochi and the one we’ll see in PyeongChang will be two separate entities, I’m sure of it.

In Sochi, he was but a single challenger. In PyeongChang, he’ll be going in as the defending champion. The pressure that will surely be set upon him will be totally different than the one before. No doubt it’ll be extremely tough on him but it’ll be exciting to see the kind of performance he’ll present when he’s in his absolute zone devoid of others. That moment of release will be epic to behold.

–Akiko SUZUKI

[SOURCE]

I gotta say, I agree with the lady. The dude was maxed out putting out a clean and foot-perfect performance that he wasn’t able to manage the capacity for the more overt emotions like the ones we experienced from his H&L performances at NHK and GPF. Of course, if those had to go to make way for that lovely precision performance to be born, it’s well worth the sacrifice.

But now that he’s already done it, perhaps he can work on increasing his capacity so as to be able to fit both precision despite high difficulty and those beautiful emotions he’s so famed for? I mean it’d definitely be growth if he manages it, which is what he wants so much himself. He always seems to want it, no matter how far he’s come. And that’s one of the major things I really admire about him. If he manages it, he’d finally be the kind of complete skater no one in their right minds can naysay as well as one that’s, just as Suzuki has said, epic to behold.

p/s: Incidentally, my perfect rendition of H&L woulda been the NHK one with all its quads and its Bielmann replaced by the ones from WC.

pp/s: And I get why people are exasperated since all they apparently see and hear are people saying what they want to see Yuzuru improve on but never others. But get this. I feel Yuzuru’s unique drive is what’s inspiring people to give their two cents about his skating. I dunno about the other people who are being whinged about now but Akiko’s comment seems friendly and helpful. Like, she’s invested in him. Just like I am. So really, I simply don’t care about what the others’ flaws and strengths are. I only just care about Yuzuru’s, both his flaws and strengths. Because the kind of ideal performance he’s been making us dream about? That’s something only he, with his skills and physique, can deliver. Not others.

When she said PCS and SS, I got the impression she meant based on the protocols, because according to the judges, that’s indeed the case and unless Yuzuru is completely clean in both his short and long, or deliver something so scarily and inarguably beyond others even at their very best that their (the judges) hands are tied, it’s also up to them in the end whether or not he wins over the rest. What she seems to be doing, imo, is suggesting stuff that would give him the edge.

What I don’t agree with her is the age thing because it’s not due to age he’s not packing them in, it’s idealism, which she’s also addressing here so it makes that bit about him not packing in stuff just cos he’s a little bit older a tad contradictory. But to be fair, it was also a logic Yuzuru himself subscribed to once upon a time. He mentioned to the press right after Sochi that he intended to try as many quads as he could while still in his teens cos he didn't know how spry he'd still be once he hits his 20s. It's only now that he feels it's more a matter of sense than it is age. Still don’t find what she said offensive tho.

*Just realized I actually accidentally skipped an entire paragraph. It’s in now. Sorry bout that cos I did the whole thing on an iPad. And yeah I tend to translate based on context and nuance I perceive rather than direct when it comes to opinion pieces like this cos Japanese is a language that can sometimes seem rather cold and straightforward when not taken in context (where you’ve gotta read between the lines for the deeper layers and meaning the words may represent) with the context itself not translating well into English. So I do the next best thing and put it in way in actual words instead of subtle implication. Take my translations with a pinch of salt if you will but this is just how I do things when they are opinion or literary-based. (Not so much on hard news and facts, tho.)

#yuzuru hanyu #akiko suzuki #figure skating #men's figure skating

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