Geo1

You guys are really making me laugh today!

Thanks for giving me a laugh!

I change the channel whenever he shows up.

Of course, there are no guarantees, but Yuzuru has always said that he wants to continue challenging himself with more difficult things and he will be only 23 years old at the end of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. That's still pretty young. I'm no mind reader – just saying.

An early start to the new season with the announcement of his SP and GP assignments. The 2017-18 season officially starts on July 1.

Cheer up and stay positive! I am sure that Yuzuru has very good and valid reasons for picking Chopin Ballade No. 1 as his Olympic season short program, if this is true. We have to trust his judgment. He may very well surprise us with some neat changes in the program and I am looking forward to seeing what his costume will look like. In any event, there is nothing we can do about it. You may have a chance to see Yuzuru at the 2018 Worlds in Milano or at the 2018 Grand Prix Final in Vancouver, Canada (where I live – such a beautiful city!) I have a feeling that he will continue competing even if he wins his second Olympic gold medal. He will still be young and has so much more to offer!

I first heard of Yuzuru Hanyu from my Dad after the 2013 GPF in Fukuoka when he beat Patrick Chan for the first time. The name did not stick with me because I had no interest in figure skating at the time. Being a history buff, I was more interested in the fact that the third-place finisher, Nobunari Oda, was a descendent of a famous historical figure, Nobunaga Oda. He was the most powerful samurai feudal lord in his day. I first saw Yuzuru Hanyu during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics when he was performing "Parisienne Walkways" in the team event. It was just by happenstance that I caught his performance. I was channel surfing, looking for some event I might be interested in when I saw that he was about to skate. I was immediately taken by his dynamic performance. I had seen figure skating in the past, but nothing like Yuzuru performing PW. I also saw Yuzuru during the men's individual short program when he broke the his own world record as well as the 100 point barrier. When I saw Yuzuru just before the beginning of the free skate, I was taken aback by his appearance. Having never seen Yuzuru except in his PW costume, I had assumed that he would be more or less similarly dressed. When I saw him wearing the Romeo & Juliet II costume and sporting a different hairstyle, he seemed a different person to me and it took me a moment to refocus. Like everyone, I was disappointed for him with the results of the free skate since I had expected him to be perfect as he had been in the short program. I was feeling sorry for Yuzuru and expecting Patrick Chan to win when Chan stumbled and bumbled and managed to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory. I was very happy for Yuzuru. Yuzuru's comments and attitude following his victory regarding feeling helpless and not feeling that he had really accomplished anything considering the plight of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami victims really touched me. He struck me as being very humble, sensitive and mature. I truly became a fan of Yuzuru after his come-from-behind win at the 2014 Saitama World Championships. Third after the short program behind Tatsuki Machida and Javier Fernandez, he landed every jump in the free skate to beat Machida by 0.33 points. So it was a combination of Yuzuru's athleticism and skills as a skater plus his personality and character that won me over as a fan. That is when I started to search for all his videos and stories. The further I dug, the more I came to respect him. The way he has handled himself since Saitama through all the obstacles presented to him have only deepened my respect for him. Yuzuru Hanyu is not only a complete skater, he is a complete human being.

The only costume that I dislike is "Story/Hana wa Saku". Others that I am not crazy about are "The Final Time Traveller", "Requiem" and "Believe". I like all the others (at least the ones that are listed) in varying degrees. It's difficult to pick just five, but these are the five that I have chosen: Seimei Hana ni Nare Phantom of the Opera 2.0 (gold, white & blue) Let's Go Crazy 2.0 (Purple) Chopin Ballade No. 1 2.0 (with golden details) I really liked POTO 1.0 (red, gold & black) and it had more of a connection with the story of the Phantom, but POTO 2.0 (gold, white & blue) is the costume that I associate with Yuzu when I think of him skating to Phantom during that season. I like both Chopin 1.0 and 2.0, but I chose version 2.0 because this is the one that he wore when he broke the short program record twice. I like both LGC White and LGC Purple, but chose Purple over White because it was easier to see when he was skating and also because this is the one that he skated in for most of the season. Seimei and Hana ni Nare are probably my two favourites because of their Japanese themes and are uniquely suited to Yuzuru.

Now you have me curious about your 69th post!

I remember someone (whose name or face I cannot recall) saying that if you asked big masculine NHL professional hockey players to skate full speed the length of the rink and then jump in the air to rotate four times, they would look at you like "Are you out of your f**king mind?" (I think the words actually used were, "Are you crazy?")

When I first saw this video and heard the music, I even toyed with the idea of sending an email to Erin d'Eon at the Cricket Club attaching the link and asking her to forward it to Brian and Yuzuru, with a Japanese message for Yuzuru. I had the same thought when I saw the wonderful annotated video of Yuzuru's record-breaking free skate at 2017 Worlds produced by members of this forum (and which caused such a ruckus at GS). I was really tempted to send the link to Erin d'Eon with a request that she forward it to Brian and especially Yuzuru, along with a Japanese message to him explaining what the video is about and how much he is loved by the people creating it and his supporters here. BTW, I really like your avatar. Smiling Yuzu!

I really like the "Empire of Angels" (Thomas Bergersen) music and the fan made video of Abby Zhang which is one of the videos listed by the50sperson above. This video kind of got lost in the mix because so many videos were listed. I will reproduce it here for the sake of convenience and reference. I find the music and the video very uplifting and inspirational, like Yuzu. It starts out softly and builds dramatically, softens again and returns forcefully. I would love to see him skate a free program to this music.

I wanted to respond to this by relating my experience, but it is off-topic and way too long, so I have sent you a private message.

Oh yes, I remember that and me thinking WTF, where have you been between February 2014 and April 2017? Like winning 2014 World Championships, being the first male skater to win the Grand Prix Final four consecutive times, and breaking all the records twice in one season at 2015 NHK Trophy and 2015 GPF.

Yes, Yuzu is always an active participant in his CMs, often making suggestions to the director and production crew.

I think the main point that yuzuthebest was making is that in similar circumstances, Yuzuru would never discuss who Javier had lost to. We do not know why Javier did not know about Yuzuru withdrawing from the Japanese Nationals due to flu and, like you, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt; but we do know for a fact that he talked about Shoma beating Yuzuru. IMHO, Yuzuru would never talk about who had beaten Javier. He is always respectful of other skaters.

During the 2017 Helsinki World Championships, Robin Cousins and his BBC female co-commentator kept saying that Shoma Uno had beaten Yuzuru Hanyu to become the Japanese national champion. I think that they simply made the assumption that Yuzuru had lost to Shoma because Shoma is the national champion. I found it really irritating hearing this, especially from a commentator that I respect. I kept thinking that these "expert" commentators should know that Yuzuru had to withdraw from the national championships due to flu. Even Andi Petrillo of CBC knew that Yuzuru had to withdraw due to flu.

Perfect! Thank you!

I love the banner and I understand your rationale, but if I can make a suggestion: What about editing "2017 World Champion" to read "2014 & 2017 World Champion" like the plaque in the Cricket Club? That would not detract from your theme of "Road to Pyeongchang". Nothing else needs to be changed. Everything else is just great – you people have done a fantastic job on this site. Thank you for creating it. If you do not agree, it's no big deal. It is not necessary to reply to this post. Like I said, it is just a thought.

Sorry if already posted. Is this 2016 worlds? If so, sorry for posting. Such a nice picture though. I don't know the source of this picture. If anyone knows, please let me know.

Has this been posted before? I have not seen this one before. Credit: gettyimages

I believe that Yuzuru has scored over 280 points a total of 13 times. Speaking of others who have been around the block as long as or longer than Yuzuru, Patrick Chan has scored over 280 points a total of 5 times and Javier Fernandez has scored over 280 points total of 6 times.

While we are on the subject of Japan and the Japanese people and culture, I thought that I would bring to everyone's attention that the word "Jap" is considered extremely disparaging and offensive and a contemptuous term used to refer to a Japanese person or things Japanese and is a racial slur. I bring this up because I saw one example of the use of this word in the "When/How did you become a fan of Yuzu?" thread. I am sure that the person using this word was not aware of its disparaging, offensive and racially charged connotations. Therefore, please do not use this word. It does not take much more effort to type "Japanese".

In my case i fell in love with Japan a long LONG time ago. But it is so obvious how much he loves his country, that my own love for it reignited and burns brighter than before. I feel a weird sense of pride when i see what he has accomplished, like, i feel that some japanese must be really happy to know that that athlete, that incredible skater and person is representing their country... (Maybe because that's something i don't think i am going to be able to feel about my own country in my lifetime. So sad haha, but Japan feels like the home to my heart so i am really happy too.) Hydro, what caused you to fall in love with Japan? Or is that the deep dark secret?

Interesting montage that I found on Pinterest: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a3/c0/1c/a3c01c64f0f2d9a977cdf329472b034f.png