axelsandwich

Belated happy birthday to the Planet! What an incredible, distressing, miraculous, fantastic year~ I had no idea what I signed up for when I began posting but I’m just glad I did because being a fan of yuzu is only better when it’s done with more people. Thank you to everyone who’s made this place such a great place to find resources and an oasis of yuzu content during all the Explosions, the Great Drought and Recycled White Tshirt Plague, the TV Asahi Trolling, and of course for all the communal tears, delight and emotion through all the competitions, events, watch parties, live reports and historic moments we witnessed. May there be many more amazing events to come 

Thank you for such a wonderful translation, I’m always so grateful that yuzu had so many thoughtful, considerate and good people who helped guide his way, and I’m glad Shirota-san was also one of them. Looking forward to reading more ( :

Just happened to see this in the front page so figured I should share - I take photographs (all kinds but I love portrait and fashion editorial photography most) and blog about travelling via writing, video and art on Sketch and Run.

Here's my newest blog post on travelling to Norway and also the photos I took from Milan 2018 Worlds~ (not a sports photographer by any means and definitely don't have the lenses for the most ideal shots but it was so much fun). The dream (my only FS related dream now, to be very honest) is to be able to photograph yuzu in person one day ; u ;

2 minutes ago, Esopian said:

Finally caught up with the forum! Such a great suprise that Yuzuru skated at his ice show, even without the jumps it's wonderful to watch him revisit old programs and invite skaters who inspired him, just like he inspires us. Also I really thought he would be satisfied after winning the second gold medal at Pyeongchang, but now that he's planning to continue -it's so exciting!! 

 

Want to share a sketch I did of Yuzu in celebration of all that has happened so far this year:

 

what a lovely drawing, your line use is so dynamic and I like how you got how bright his eyes are : )

Hanyuconomy update! (and PSA to anyone going to Sendai)

18 minutes ago, Whee1000 said:

There is a Japanese saying: A strong/skillful hawk hides its talons.  I’ve seen different translations but I believe the gist of it is, there’s no need to show your abilities until needed, until then be humble. Perhaps this is going on? Pure speculation on my part, just excited to have joined! My first real post!

welcome! and a great saying, love that it really encapsulates yuzuru's competitive style ; )

5 minutes ago, Lilona said:

It's forbidden to take it with you in salon bcs of blades.

Before WC Lufthanza lost Alex Cam baggage and story was ugly

https://twitter.com/alex_kambam

yeah I saw that saga unfold, it frankly surprises me that not more incidents like this happen, but I guess it's usually the biggest problem when you have to make multiple flight transfers. I figure maybe ANA has special procedures for the luggage of their VIP guests, especially in a case like Yuzu's if he indeed has to check his boots -- I mean, they are his entire livelihood and usually the sole reason he's travelling (also tbqh, I'm sure even if anything did happen we would not be told it did and you can bet ANA would prob take care of it much MUCH faster than Lufthansa......)

4 minutes ago, Xen said:

As for arrangements- maybe they allow him to have the more important items as carry-ons? Maybe not everything, but perhaps boots and costume. 

I always thought the skaters carried their boots and costumes in their carry-ons and they always bring a carry-on-sized suitcase to comps -- yuzu definitely seems like the paranoid type who would want to carry his boots if he could so maybe ANA makes special arrangements to allow him to bring boots on board. And yes, almost certainly he'd have access to the business class lounges or whatnot and express lines through customs etc., it wouldn't be too difficult to evade the general public and most people would usually be polite enough not to bother him or share his whereabouts. 

2 minutes ago, MrPudding said:

what if... HE JOINS THE GROUP NUMBER AND DANCE LIKE THAT BUT ON SOLID GROUND ON THE STAGE OMG 

can he just sit in a chair in the centre of the ice and do arm choreo yuzuru please

either a group number or a couple who ALSO do JP meme dances on ice. suddenly I understand SO MUCH about yuzuru 

On 11/04/2018 at 3:02 AM, Erin said:

Sorry for asking for another translation (no one translated the last one I posted) but i hope some kind soul would translate this one: 

 

 

And this one too if it isn't too much trouble: 

 

 

Please and thank you!  

they're the same video from different angles lol tbh I've never seen such a wildin Japanese crowd (and gotta love candid baby Yuzu). I'll just translate the things that weren't already translated

Q for Han Yan: Why do you take selfies all the time LOL (yuzu shaking his head in the background lmao)

The first girl who asked the question to all three skaters: Please give me your autograph

Yuzu answering the question - 'please reflect on your performance'

He started off basically saying what Kevin said in JP (about the support of the fans) using the translator's exact words, which is why they laughed. 'For the SP, I missed the lutz so I'm very kuyashii and then in the FS I popped the salchow so it was like there were only pops this time. It was a very frustrating experience but I thought I absolutely don't want it to end like this so I want to work hard for the World Championships so I can stand on the place beside me (ie. first place). Of course, I think 'Japanese men will not end like this', I will also work with my senpais, accept this result and work properly.'

(also omggg it's the NHK 2017 translator! I didn't realise she was working for JSF so far back, I like her a lot! ; u ; )

(also the poll closed with Nathan winning over shoma by 2% literally at the last minute - they were both at 37% when my friend screenshotted it 1min before closing... lmao.....poor shoma....)

3 minutes ago, SparkleSalad said:

Does the poll really matter? He has the WR with Chopin, not to mention his second Olympic gold.

it really doesn't, I'm just amused lol

4 minutes ago, Xen said:

The people they forgot is amazing, a list that includes the likes of Vincent Zhou, Jason Brown, Adam Rippon from the US, Kolyada and Aliev of Russia were left off, and nevermind smaller fed skaters like Cha, Bychenko or Deniss V. 

to be fair I think they only had 4 spots : P It'd be less obvious if Icenetwork had said something like 'new programs this season' but they included recycled programs in the other discipline's polls so I'm just particularly amused by this. Just admit you're excluding him to give others a chance and stop pretending there's any legit basis to exclude him (I'm madder about boyang tbqh because yuzu does win every poll)

3 minutes ago, SparkleSalad said:

 

Long skirts cause spin blindness.

 

 

 

lowkey would love seeing yuzu in a cabbage dress (seriously, that thumbnail...)

lmao @ US media (not only for yuzu but c'mon, boyang won the only other mens major title this season and they just ignored him as usual. it's a dumb poll but stillll)

( :

Forreal though, I would legit consider paying any PH member going to CiONTU to buy me one of those t-shirts ; u ; (there's a viable business you have hereeee)

Actually, just found a great example of Yuzu's 'manly speech' patterns in this interview with Matsuoka by coincidence on t-list -- you notice he says ねぇぞ (neezo - eg. dekineezo) instead of ない (its polite/'proper' form) a lot, which is a very masculine/casual thing and this entire interview is littered with moments of Yuzu's really dominating/confident side coming out. The part starting 6:37 where he says 'Congrats but I'm gonna win next time' to Patrick after Skate Canada 2015 and also how he described himself thinking '学習しちゃえ (I'm gonna learn!), 盗んじゃえ (I'm gonna steal [the title or Patrick's skill, it's not quite clear])' in 2010 is actually both a reflection of how much confidence/will to dominate he had even as a teenager ('alpha male' tendencies tbh) and also a good example of how I imagine he'd probably talk casually with his friends ( : Frankly I'm surprised he said it like this in front of Matsuoka (who even says 'wow....you actually (dared to) say that ['I'm gonna win next time' to Patrick] to him' but it shows how comfortable he is around Matsuoka actually, and also the playful nature of the interview - maybe riding the high of post NHK ( :

(lowkey also loving how when he realised all of boyang's power had come out in the NHK, he was like 'OSHAAAAA' (hell yeaaah) and 'KITAAA' (it's here) in excitement (around 9:30))

1 hour ago, lazuliblade said:

All this talk of Yuzu's pronouns and manliness reminds me of the same questions 4-ish years ago. There was an interviewer who asked Nobu who was the most manly of Team Japan, and he said "Yuzu" which shocked the interviewer (I think they were expecting Daisuke to be the answer). The interview cut to a scene where Yuzu half-way bridal carries Daisuke when they're introduced on stage during Fantasy on Ice 2014. That's also the interview where Nobu says that Yuzu is a do-S type of person which is why he works well with Nobu since he admits to being do-M.  To put it in the simplest way, Yuzu is the type that enjoys teasing/making-fun-of friends, whereas do-M enjoy being teased or making the comeback remark. Basically, he would be the dominating one in a relationship.
I seem to remember other skaters agreeing on Yuzu being the most masculine in Team Japan despite being the youngest... I should go dig up the interview.

I can absolutely see that - for me, when you pare all the 'window dressing' on Yuzu down (his media polish, the misleading cuteness/'pretty' packaging), I think he's fuelled by that fire and drive to both succeed and dominate (the Do-S side) - and that has nothing to do with age. Where others might fold or self-doubt or back down, he charges and has a thirst to be on top; it gives him confidence and fierceness and I guess that is what you would traditionally associate with the 'alpha male' type masculinity - in some ways I think of it as how 'loud' your personality/presence is - can you dominate the room and be the one influencing others instead of being influenced? To use Daisuke as an example for contrast, he has described himself as a 'herbivore' (which in Japan is - correct me if I'm wrong - used to describe a man who is more sensitive/soft inside). For all Daisuke is good at performing that sexy, extroverted masculinity, the fact he has revealed he regularly struggles with confidence, self-esteem etc. is what distinguishes him from Yuzu (I don't doubt Yuzu struggles w/ confidence at times too but he would never show that to the media and I don't think it's the same brand of self doubt that Daisuke shares -- for Yuzu it's always about 'can I do this given my injury/circumstances' and not 'am I even capable of doing this?'*). but that's what's always given yuzu an inherent, unmistakeable 'masculinity' for me; the fact he's also equally confident to show his cute/soft/feminine side to me is actually a reflection of how strong his inner confidence is, because it's like 'I know who I am, I don't really care what others think and I do what I like'. And it's intriguing that side of him - soft, almost childlike love for things like Pooh/children/strawberry shortcake, with a very traditional feminine elegance in his performance - exists and is displayed almost equally with his fierce demon 'on-ice' side. It's a really rare blend!

(actually I can also totally see how Narumi would be the most 'masculine' of all of Team Japan - she gives even fewer fvcks than Yuzu lol I can easily see her dominating them all)

*again, a caveat that he may just be really really good at managing his media image. But the fact yuzu even says stuff like "basically I feel like I have no limits" either reflects what he truly believes or he's overcompensating. but I don't get a sense of the latter tbqh so...

1 hour ago, BWOZWaltz said:

 

When he interacts with fellow Japanese skaters, he's quite playful, frank and relaxed. The way he calls people with "chan" or "kun" (like Nobu-kun or Shizu-chan) indicates they're his friends or someone who's very close to him. But when he's at a press conference, he's very polite and considerate as well as very diplomatic with the words & phrasing he choses to use. I can tell he's wearing suits of armour to withstand the media scrutinies. He is articulate and speak very well over the variety of topics that he's interested in. In fact, I'd love to read his honors thesis when he finishes studying human informatics and cognitive sciences at the uni. He seems an intelligent person so maybe he finally finds more suitable words to describe how to do quads, not shuu, or gun gun gun for spins Funny thing is, those words like gun gun gun or zuzaaa is easier to understand and I can tell exactly what he's talking about. If you're a manga reader, you'd know what I mean!

 

I am not really sure about how frills/lace are viewed in Japan but when you're talking about fs men's costumes, the usual judgement are not so obvious? Don't know any men into men's fs around me so I can't tell, sorry. But if you look at some of the Japanese male figure skater's costumes like Nobu, Daisuke or Mura, there are some varieties and some are quite unique to say the least.

 

 

ETA: I've seen quite a few Yuzu press conference after PC and from what I've seen, when Yuzu speaks in those situations, he is quite manly. His speech reminds nothing of his frilly costumes:D Also he refers himself as "boku" (males) or "jibun" (self) usually but I think when he was in junior high school (Y7-Y9), he was using "ore" (male, musculine). You can find some of the Japanese pronouns here

 

Sometimes when you listen to him talking to people he’s comfortable with behind-the-scenes like casual interviewers or other skaters like shoma, he actually does use pretty boyish/manly language. Like っす , みてろ. Listening to him you’d have no doubt he’s your typical young man talking. I was just struck by when he’s talking about his kuyashii esp at TCC during that one docu where he was describing how he felt after Javi won the WC (actually said kuso like goddammit/shit while describing his inner frustration) or during GPF15 he was like ‘俺だぞ’ (ore dazo!) i know he was half joking but it feels like his inner dialogue is quite typically masculine and even above average levels of...hm. Domineering/intense. But yes, he reverts to politeness like armour in front of the media.

Re: costumes, it’s interesting I guess because frills/lace definitely does get a pass on manliness when they’re ‘costumes’, but if you look at western skaters skating to ‘period’ pieces (eg. Les Mis, POTO...though admittedly I can’t think of too many recently who have done it), their costumes still tend to reflect the current trends (ie. relatively clean cut suits/no frills). I think Japanese ‘takes’ on these pieces tend to be slightly more traditional (mostly thinking of Mitsuki Sumoto’s costumes).

48 minutes ago, BWOZWaltz said:

Spoiler

Not sure if you guys have already settled with this topic and moved on to something else as I haven't finished reading the rest of the pages (I'm still at 3244...5 more pages to go at this point). But I may be of some assistance for providing a Japanese person's view on this as I am Japanese born & raised there until I finally left home to live overseas.

 

The tumbler author made one major mistake at the very beginning of the article. It is to do with the understanding of the word "wa" (和). In Chinese character (probably both for Japanese & Chinese), the use of this word ”wa” means "peace or harmony". That is correct. However, for Japanese, "wa" also means Japanese way, flavour, style or whatever the subject you're going to associate the "wa" word with (like food, house, clothes etc) NB means something Japanesy. For example, Japanese kimono, we call it "wa fuku" (Japanese clothing). So when Yuzu said he is pursing "wa" programs, he didn't mean "harmonious" or "peaceful" program but he meant "Japanese" style/feel/taste program. When he listened to Seimei OST, he liked the sound of "fue"  and "wa-daiko" (Japanese flute & Japanese drum) and that got him thinking about a concept of Japanese program. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FEMININITY. 

 

I think many of fanyus in Japan (I'm not necessary included in them as I am out of the country for too long), they don't think Yuzu as a girl or too feminine. They (and I) think he is a boy when he's off ice but when he's on ice and I mean when he's really "on", he can be definitely "阿修羅" or "鬼" (demon or Asura) for his fierce competitiveness. That is definitely not associated with femininity.

It is interesting that Japanese fanyu sometime calls him "フリルを着た阿修羅”. English equivalent would be like not "Devil wears Prada" but "Devil wears frills". Do you get a picture?

 

I could be wrong but I know from internet that lot of Japanese girls prefer slim or skinny built men with not too much muscles. I for being shojo and shonen manga reader for many years, prefer men to be not so macho when it comes to admire their figure.

 

For many years, when I occasionally watched men's FS (I mostly watched women's), I always felt somewhat uncomfortable with their costumes. I couldn't figure out what it was but when I discovered Yuzu, I think I've found the answer. Yuzu wears costumes with frills and bijou. He looks good in them too. He also skates beautifully as well as wildly (LGC, Hello I Love you, Vertigo, etc).

 

Notte Stellata is a knock out program for me. It is beautiful, elegant, moving and a touch of femininity. I think that perfectly suits him and his slim built with boyish look does help to include that femininity. A beautiful being can be a boy or a girl or both, if you'd prefer:D

So yes femininity in performing art is definitely accepted among Japanese culture especially. As a matter of fact, there is an all-girl theatre company/school called "Takarazuka" where women play role as men. In more traditional performing art like "Noh" or "Kabuki", all-men theatre have to have men play women role. Both are perfectly accepted though latter (traditional ones) are considered more sophisticated or high class (like musical to opera).

 

I can carry on but I'll stop it for now. If anyone is interested a bit more, please let me know.

 

Thank you for such a fascinating perspective esp from the perspective of a Japanese person and I’d love to know more! 

I definitely get the sense that in the eyes of his East Asian audiences yuzu’s fierceness in competition offsets the ‘femininity’ of his looks (and when he’s off ice, I agree that its less femininity as boyish playfulness). His mannerisms and way of talking in Japanese are quite manly when he’s not being impeccably polite? 

I’m intrigued about how frills/lace are Western femininity signifiers - any idea how they’re viewed in Japan? Because I think frills on a man in Japan is associated (perhaps due to shoujo manga’s French influences) with ikemen/nobility/refinement/prince-like ideas that Western culture largely grew out of. 

58 minutes ago, Mineeal said:

Hi, beautiful people, im new over here and i don't know if this is the right Place to ask, but.... i have been looking for a video of the Olympics presscon right after SP,  where there is Yuzu, Javi and Shoma, but i havent find it so, can a kind soul help me?

thanks! 

As far as I know the full presscons w three skaters both after SP and FS hasn’t been released - it’s not on the thread @ruruzest linked. Which is a crime tbh. Jackie Wong’s livetweet thread of what was said is the best record we have (do Twitter Advanced Search and find jackie’s Tweets on that day)

Does someone remember which was the most hardcore ‘spotted yuzu in background of skater’s video’ identification? I swear there was one where it was a 2sec nyoom or something in the mirrors of TCC (Gogolev’s? Or Javier Raya?) 

Does someone remember which was the most hardcore ‘spotted yuzu in background of skater’s video’ identification? I swear there was one where it was like 2sec (Gogolev’s? Or Javier Raya?) this summer