axelsandwich

I laughed when they were showing past footage of Nobu fanboying the hell out of Yuzu He doesn't really say anything new that hasn't already been said - reiterates that it's the first comp and there's no need to worry. Said that the problems (esp the uncharacteristic problems with 3A and 4T which are very reliable jumps usually) were more likely to be caused by problems with the rhythm, even though he did worry a little about the knee. Also because he doubled the 4T after 4S3T, it probably threw his timing off and made him feel flustered/panicked and therefore changed his timing for the 3A as well. I'm glad JP TV is bringing out a line of experts to reassure the public lol. Three is a tad excessive but I'm not complaining

fave version of that photo Source (missed chance for a Skate CaNAHda pun)

Source It.....doesn't end (pure but also...no chill)

lmao he's gonna be so kuyashii he only got 2nd in that news program you're all adorable~ (I'm admiring the pink-haired girl's hair! So bright * A * Is that one of you or taken from elsewhere?)

We may just have to agree to disagree on this one. But just to clarify, I'm only talking about a costume colour change, not any other type of media/PR packaging - no 'stamping out the non-PR sides of him' needs to happen, just a change of fabric (colour...). When I refer to 'packaging', I'm just using it as shorthand to talk about his costumes/visual presentation, not his personal brand or personality/how his personality comes across. I don't agree costumes don't matter but I agree it'll be relatively negligible if he delivers his ideal skates and it definitely won't be the deciding factor if he loses. Like I said earlier, if this is what he needs to deliver, I won't begrudge him for it. I won't pretend that I agree wholeheartedly with the decision though - I think there were better choices they could have made that could have achieved a better balance between remaining true to Yuzu while also not causing him disadvantages from the media side. Especially given his history with costume changes, this is an uncharacteristic decision...but hey, it's not boobskirt 2.0 so it's not going to be a disaster and I'm not freaking out over it being a disaster.* (the boy's a smart cookie, the fact he's very good with the media doesn't surprise me. But branding and media/journalism are different games to play) *this is probably my Yuzu-level perfectionism talking - can't help seeing a more 'ideal' image and being kuyashii that we were so close but not quite there. I'll get over it. He won't read any of this anyway lol I just enjoy shouting into the void...

I guess we approach this issue from different angles because I don't think there's anything inherently fake or disingenuous about packaging something nicely, as long as the substance underneath is there. Which it is in spades. Pretty packaging won't detract from the fact Yuzu skates wholeheartedly and genuinely. Good packaging, I think, only serves to enhance what he has and draw attention to it, making the bright points brighter and, thus, drawing people's attention away from the things the audience tends to fixate on that distract from his skating, whether justified or not. I mean, we're just talking about a colour change here. I'm not suggesting Yuzu suddenly get Shoma-style costumes at all, but I understand that 'home-cooking' style skaters like Yuzu don't always have an instinctive understanding of the influence of packaging. The devaluing of the audience/media narrative is something that happens a lot with skaters (and people tbh) who feel like their work should speak for themselves and I agree that in a perfect world, merits and substance should win over style...but I'm a cynical media student and I know that's not always true. It's not Yuzu's responsibility to play 'the game' but the costume was an easy way for him to at least not be disadvantaged by it and I hope his coaching team are aware of that.

Thing with Yuzu is that I get it. He marches to the beat of his own drum and has a very very set idea of what kind of performance and image he wants to portray, and it's usually very particular. There are some things I am so grateful he takes charge of - the music, for example, which definitively eclipses all the awkward mashups we've seen so far and he's demonstrated repeatedly he is very musically sensitive/gifted. The problem is...he's not media trained, he's not PR-trained and I don't expect him to be attuned to the subtext of fashion and politicking. But where Shoma is malleable and content to let 'experts' take care of things like his costumes/media/PR (which is why his presentation is much more polished), Yuzu's headstrong-ness and individuality can sometimes interfere with that. Someone trained in media would be able to tell him that 'freshening' his visual image would be essential in a year where people are already grumbling about his two recycled programs. Which is why I really don't understand the bolded - if this is indeed his final costume, then his superstition is worrying because he's never recycled his costumes to this extent. I completely see him stubbornly pushing ahead like 'I will let my artistry and skating speak for itself and remain true to my vision' (very much along the Yuna Kim vein of 'I'm just here to skate well and blow everyone away and I have no one to answer to but myself'). And while I can definitely appreciate that, when it comes to the pointy end, things like media narratives, packaging and even just causing excitement in an audience...it can make a difference. And fashion is such a small difference to execute but huge on public perception. It won't matter if he can skate two ideal skates but I'm just saying this doesn't... help him =___=; ANYWAY. CoR. We'll find out for sure.

Agreed, and I think it's a byproduct of becoming the favourite/chasee and maybe also just losing a bit of that reckless invincible fire of youth as he matures tbqh. His comment that the opening jump is crucial worries me as well and it's the lutz that he's struggled with. That being said, 4CC and WTT FS did show he can recover programs...but he has much less room for error because a larger error won't win against a clean skate or minor error from the sQuad. But I have faith in his skating. Costume...not as much

I think a lot of criticism aimed at him is often unwarranted but I do think this decision is something that is worth criticising - it's the first ball he and his team have truly dropped for the season and it annoys me because it would have been so easy to fix, he just needed someone with the right advice to convince him. It also...I don't know, I'm slightly worried if he feels like he has to basically replicate the exact conditions that led to the WR last time. Maybe its not actually the case but from a fashion interpretation perspective, it feels like he's clinging hard to the past. That degree of superstition is a bit concerning. Hopefully it was just...no one on his team thinking from a PR perspective (from what I gather, TCC aren't really about that life). I'm refraining from wailing too much until we know for certain at CoR so I'll stop now but I have a bad feeling this is the final Seimei costume (and also that he's not gonna change much of Chopin either. Lol I'm a natural pessimist). Please prove me wrong Yuzu

I'm a very visual person so the costume issue bothers me much more. And to clarify - it's not so much that I have an issue with the costume itself, it's beautifully suitable (though I wish he went tighter and not looser with the cut). I didn't think Seimei was at risk of getting a RJ 2.0 treatment. But it's a mistake to think fashion and packaging doesn't matter and fashion is often the biggest way to make a statement or reinforce a message. For Yuzu, a new costume was his biggest weapon against the recycling narrative - it was the easiest way to at least create the illusion of freshness and not give people that doubtful 'haven't I seen this before??' feeling (and a way for long time fans who are not Yuzu supporters to at least not roll their eyes and close the tab immediately). Because if even his die hard fans had to do a double take before they realised it was a different costume...then you haven't changed the costume, no matter how many small details have been changed. In this, I really wish he would take a leaf out of Shoma's book because Shoma's team are doing right by him when it comes to packaging. Sigh. Well, we can only hope and pray for CoR.

ohh, Planet Hanyu poster in the first pic!! (do any PH attendees see themselves??)

I mean........I'd flaunt that body if I had it

yuzu: my chest grew so I'm getting my costumes adjusted also yuzu: wears tightest training clothes he can find

I get wanting to keep the white colours of the 'good' side but for the sake of recycling discourse and just plain media coverage (news reports showing old footage can be confusing now), I wish he would at least change the accent colours so it says 'new costume, new program'. Showing some first time viewers both programs (ACI and GPF), they absolutely can't see a difference - it's only fans who care who notice the updated details. I'd wager most commentators also wouldn't care to know the difference - white, purple and green = same costume to them =__= Still holding out hope for CoR but can't imagine why he'd invest time and money into making an updated and new costume just for one Challenger competition. I do like that it's shorter so we can see more leg movements) and the updated embroidery but not a fan of the shade of green at all. But hey, if he needs this to skate his best, then I won't begrudge him this. (Also lol he clearly doesn't know about the Olympic superstition which is hilarious considering how superstitious he is).

OMgggg this girl!! Her designs took my breath away. I'm so happy it was personally received by Yumi-san and Yuzu. What a gorgeous gift T u T

si g h. I'm torn because I genuinely want the JP pairs and dance teams to skate on Olympic ice and of course it'd be a delight to get to see the skaters twice but....... strategically, is it worth tiring out the mens/ladies? That being said, maybe it's a good way to acclimate to the Olympic ice. knowing Team JP though, they'd go all out for it either way. (this is why you schedule the team event after the individuals ughhh Olympic organisers......)

Yep, Russia and Canada according to Wiki, based on their Worlds placements. Figure Skating Asks explains Nebelhorn in quite a bit of depth if you're confused about how it works (it's pretty confusing but also dramatically dire as an event). Pumpkin King is the true Olympic hero we need but don't deserve T u T

What are Team JPN's chances of actually medalling at the team event, assuming they qualify dance or pairs? As much as I want more chances for them to skate on Olympic ice...I won't lie, the scheduling of the event makes me nervous (also kind of seems to be an advantage for the skaters who don't have to skate at the team events, no?) (actually who's most likely to win? I feel like Team Canada right now?)

retrospective programs only (actually I should be overseas on exchange when Olympics happen so that's a good sign!)

Part Two! Usual disclaimers apply: This was a hard one to translate (I think the last parts took me the same time as the previous section combined T__T) so I really welcome people correcting me if I make a mistake on the last parts especially... I hope I got the general gist right. Key takeaways I'm so glad Yuzu picked Seimei, no matter what his naysayers say about repetition. His connection with the program and mythology is truly incredible... he's being quite metaphorical about the shikigami but I think it shows he's really internalised the entire mythology of the program and its connection to his own cultural background and history (and rightfully so). He's also really careful about paying his respects (which is why he visited the Seimei shrine). I'm also really grateful that he emphasised GPF was calculated. It showed him that he could achieve and even surpass himself even when he's in a mythical 'zone' through calm and calculation. I think it taught him he was capable of calmly and consciously achieving that performance, not just relying on chance/lightning striking/magic happening (even though it would very much help). ((at the same time.....my dude....wouldn't be yuzu if he wasn't nitpicking an imperfect landing amidst smashing three world records.....)) Pt 1 here:

duty calls

this is just one of those tweet exchanges where I can only raise my hands and give several dozen kudos and golf claps to

okay, I'm reviving this to just note that there are some people with cursed eyes, aka my parents. The two times I've asked them both to watch Yuzu's programs with me live (in my hope to convert them to figure skating fans), one was 2017 WTT Short Program and the other was today.... both were his worst scores in literally years. And then they didn't watch his FS at the WTT which was marginally better and didn't watch his short program yesterday. So anyway, they're definitely not watching the Olympics with me lol.

(forgive me for linking my own tweet, I don't have an imgur to upload pics otherwise). But yes, things were off from the start. I'm sure the 1Lz made things worse but I don't think it was the cause. I wonder what he was thinking at this point. Maybe just thinking too much? (looks distracted)

This is going to have to be a two parter because the last bits really defeated me (I got the general idea of what he's trying to convey but am struggling with the kanji and precise wording and he also gets really metaphorical) and I have assignments to finish but I just wanted to speed translate the key part of Yuzu reacting to Seimei. Usual disclaimers apply: I'm only translating the main gist of things so people more proficient in Japanese are welcome to correct me, especially the parts where I marked. Also if anyone can think of a more elegant translation for 世界最高の自分, that would be great because there kind of isn't really a good way to translate in English and they use it a lot. I'm going with 'the version of himself that stood on top of the world' but it's pretty damn unwieldy. Key takeaways This program is brutal for showing ACI at the start lol #TOOSOON Yuzu has an incredible will to dominate and command the spotlight but works best against adversity/when pissed off and is extremely sensitive to nerves (even if he doesn't appear so on the outside), which is likely why he struggles so much when he's leading after the short and in a situation like today. It's true, he needs to skate last or immediately after a rival who's performed beautifully/perfectly and ideally when everyone's ignoring him His attitude to injuries......... .. .. .. please have learned from it yuzu Landing the first jump is crucial to the program Kill me three times over with the sealing gesture (HQ multiple angle shots of the sealing gesture after Seimei!) Under the spoiler because it's kinda long.