axelsandwich

Look, if his pun ability extends to dragging in kanji origins of katakana....... my hats off, we stan a True Intellectual (but I think she's onto something when she says maybe we should rotate the letters... that's the sort of twisty thinking I can totally see yuzu doing lmao)

I'm DYING, someone who follows me on Twitter came up with this incredible conspiracy theory, I don't even care that it's the reachiest reach ever because it's amazing. It's the one linked above but I messaged her and clarified her thinking and she gave me permission to post it as a new tweet (@ yuzuru: WE R ONTO U)

that's when you know she's a true fanyu I even went back to double check and yep, she says '几乎' which means 'pretty much/almost' a year you're welcome!

Also I've done a quick translation of an interview with CCTV's Zhao Jing (I hope that's how you pronounce her name) and her comments on Yuzuru. It's very cute, she seems very fond of him (there were a few lines I couldn't hear quite so well or they jump-cut her sentence but I'm fairly confident I have most of the key points).

I sort of doubt Junhwan or Stephen will be invited to this ice show in particular, which seems to be mostly Yuzu taking the time to thank those who have inspired and influenced him (my money is on Plushenko, Weir, Lambiel, Shizuka, Nobu, Jeff and Shae-Lynn for now), though I do see Yuzu perhaps inviting several of his peers - I would love (and die) to see Misha and Javi there and lowkey Boyang, cmon Yuzu you're the one waving the Boyang-Jin-started-the-quad-revolution flag. I can see him inviting Abe-sensei, but as an audience member or choreographer. I'm intrigued about how he will participate as we've never seen him take a truly MC-esque/interviewer-like role, I wonder if he'll share the MC-ing with Nobu or if he might even invite someone like Matsuoka to facilitate the event, or if he'll take it all on himself. Yuzu's strengths seem to play out best when he's answering interview questions (if the interview with Kanon, the Chopin pianist is anything to go by lol) or bouncing ideas off another person but we'll see. Language-wise, I have no doubt he'll have a translator on hand for any meaty questions. I definitely see this show as a lowkey 'treat yoself' event for Yuzu himself (I mean...he said himself it's a chance to see his favourite skaters skate lol) as well as an opportunity to - as he's been saying since Sochi - properly thank all those who have shaped him as an athlete, and to showcase their skating to his fanbase. I'm always touched by how much gratefulness and giving back to those who've helped him is a central priority.

The literal two colours of royalty, how fitting (and also two of my favourite colours)

I stan being unusually spoiled this off-season (but also....oh my god, I won't have my life back until May..... )

well said, made me think of a quote I saw on Twitter today Yuzuru wouldn't be who he is if he only had title accumulation in mind, it's the greatness of his vision and the blood, sweat and tears he pours into wrenching the impossible into reality that makes him exceptional; the titles are almost a byproduct and I think as long as he's willing and able to keep chasing after that vision, as long as that vision keeps growing and changing as he grows and gets closer to it, we will keep being surprised again and again. For however long it'll be, it'll be a blessing to witness.

I don't mean to drag this on but since you're open to being corrected, I would rather not frame what happened to Nathan in PC as a lesson in 'humility' because that implies some sort of arrogance on his part where in fact, all the obnoxiousness was coming from the US media which the boy had no control over. Nathan was simply doing his best under a lot of pressure, never gave any indication he was buying into the hype being built around him, potentially battling injury and it unfortunately wasn't his day; it can happen to any athlete. Anyway, I would imagine that provided he heals sufficiently, Yuzu would probably be putting himself back into the frame of mind he had at the start of this season, which is pushing his technical content (5 quad program with 4 types of quads, though idk how it'll work with the reduced time) and/or potentially going for the 4A. From a purely practical view and disregarding how dangerous it is to train, 4A may actually make more sense because the takeoff is from his left foot and reduces the strain on his right ankle (which is burdened by both the 4Lo and 4Lz takeoff). I believe he mentioned in some interview the 4Lz may be a jump he has to say goodbye to for awhile. I see potential for there to be a repeat of the summer of 16/17 season where he got the 4Lo because it was the easiest quad to train while recovering from injury. So maybe 4/5 quad with 4Lo, 5 quad with 4Lz and 4Lo, 4 quad with 4A or 5 quad with 4Lo and 4A*...he's got a lot of room to play with if he's healthy, it depends on his capacity. That's completely assuming he's recovered, which may not be an easy feat. I say we let the boy rest though, he's supposed to be on the 2wk NO ICE time right now anyway *if he's really really really recovered and wants Brian to go bald

waking up to be IMMEDIATELY ATTACKED by yuzuru hanyu feelings haven't watched the News Every Clip properly but here's some speed translations

Eurosport has officially uploaded Yuzu's Olympic FS....if only the Olympic channel would hurry up and do the same for his SP and FS....

of all the genres he hasn't recently skated to, I can see yuzu going for some bombastic big band show tune with a bit of a sparkle in his eye (it's perhaps easier to picture than him doing anything latin/spanish lmao). or maybe more Japanese/Asian-inspired music. and just a reminder that we stan the king of efficiency and god-level strategic peaking:

LOL I think Australia is actually comparatively cheap to fly to from Japan, I think Europe/USA may be more expensive : P (I mean, he's VERY WELCOME TO COME TO DENMARK BEFORE JUNE 2018 TOO, I'M JUST SAYING YUZURU)

it's all good, I would've been in Europe anyway and I'm still looking forward to seeing the men~ yep, time to save up so you can go all ~rich Japanese obasan~ on next season's tickets with a vengeance (or even to ice shows!) Look, if he wants to go somewhere with lots of beautiful nature where no one will be mobbing him for autographs and run into me so I can show him around, I'm just saying Sydney is the perfect place (but he can't swim so like...maybe don't go to our beaches lsakjas)

The responsibility to get 3 spots is split between Shoma, Keiji and Kazuki, not just on Shoma personally tho >_> (and even with two spots, assignments are dependent on J-Nationals and other considerations)

Ahh Sparkle )): you'll get him one day soon!

))): oh zhenya...I hope she can heal properly

No doctor would have the power to restrain Yuzu if he really wants to compete but I'm referring more to the scenario where the prognosis is severe to the point where they're strongly advising him not to (and he's a smart person, I assume he'd generally follow his doctor's advice esp if exacerbating the injury will lead to long-term consequences). I think (if I'm assuming you're reading this on twitter) that some (perhaps native? or Australian? LOL) English speakers like myself do use the word 'allowed' more loosely as in 'his doctor gave his full blessings and encouragement because his health and circumstances were positive', not like 'his doctor has the literal ability to allow/prohibit him from competing'. I should be more precise with my wording though lol, my apologies for causing any confusion. So in this circumstance, I would highly doubt his doctor would be giving full support like 'go ahead, you're recovered!' simply because of how he was talking about the injury post-Olympics. But, as they say, never underestimate Mr Hanyu and if I did get to see him at Worlds, provided he is fully capable of competing, I would literally have no regrets ever lmao.

8 years between me and my own baby brother (who, ironically, is very similar to yuzu in terms of personality and physicality -- he also has a giraffe neck and they're about the same height -- but alas not with the same laser focus and opinionated goal-setting tendencies): yes, though strangulation and worry is generally predominant and the protective feeling may arise more often in a more gentle older sister - I'm much kinder towards yuzu than my own brother, I should probably take a leaf out of Sayu Hanyu's book and be a better older sister : P Anyway, I don't doubt Yuzu wants to compete at Worlds if he's able to - no doubt he's kuyashii about missing the GPF and just barely managed to claim back his World title last year; I don't see him withdrawing for any reason other than his health (esp since he worked so hard to get himself back into competition condition for Olys so I potentially see him not wanting to 'waste' that) but tbh I would be very surprised if the doctor allowed him given how uncertain the injury seems to be. I'll just trust that his doctor and team will make the decision best for his long term health -- and we'll know soon enough anyway.

There's someone who will provide English translations of Aoi Honoo I if you show proof of purchase and the second one has been sort of semi-translated by yuzusorbet on Tumblr. I think the first solution is best but the thought of having to translate an entire novel is not one I can do, sadly, but props to the Herculean effort if any fan manages to attempt it ;;

No, I was referring to my later reply when I clarified what he actually said, the context of the racial/cultural bias discussion and concluded with the fact that this wider debate was not what he was referring to. Maybe you missed it? I don't think he talked about the cultural bias in this interview (he did talk about artistry based on foundation/technique but I can't find where he talks about cultural bias and the history of FS' development), I think it was in the Japan Club one actually (I mentioned in my original comment I wasn't sure if it was the JP or Eng presscon where he mentioned it). Anyway, irrelevant - I don't believe the translators are translating the FCCJ one. The interpreter was fine.

Hence why I said this isn't where the racial discussion should happen - I've edited my post to clarify what I meant. And sure, YMMV re: interpretation of body language/nuances, like I said

No, I didn't take it as a dismissal, it was more like 'no he explained it clearly enough' (she and others laughed when he said 'I'm alive' so it seems like she definitely got the joke). Just rewatching it, she says 'that's okay, continue' and then 'that's okay [inaudible]', which I think you can also interpret as 'nah he's fine it doesn't need translating' (though sure, you can also make a case for 'oh god idk how I'd translate this'). Actually initially I interpreted the moderator's comments as 'did you want to translate it [more clearly] into English' and was like 'he was clear enough!' (perhaps assuming the interpreter was mostly doing JP -> English bc I assumed most media were foreign). And lol I guess I don't import the same amount of serious kuyashii/cringe to his expression, personally I see him more as just laughing at himself in the way of like 'oh god I could have phrased that better'. YMMV, essentially, which is pretty quintessential of translation. And no, I suppose I meant cultural bias, though race and culture are pretty intertwined - Yuzu mentioned the history of figure skating originated out of European countries so therefore the difference in the development of Japanese and European traditions of expression means that sometimes Asian skaters aren't perceived as good performers, hence why it was meaningful he won Olympic gold with Seimei music (paraphrasing). I'd wait for gladi and tadaxkid's translation to comment more on this but this is definitely not a new debate when it comes to Asian performance and Asian involvement in the arts in general, not just in FS (I also consider stuff like Weir's 'wilting flowers' comment to be a part of it), but that discussion isn't what he focused on in his response and he was not referring to any wider debate, so I don't think this is the place for it.

Interesting. I didn't like the quad explanation question at all. To me, it's like inviting a famous architect to explain how houses work. He can probably explain it, but why waste that valuable time asking an 'expert' in his field about something so basic? Your job as a journalist is to do the explaining (or the research to find someone who can explain. Go to a skating teacher or a researcher if you want a scientific explanation you know? Would you ask Roger Federer to explain how tennis racquets work?). The boy alluded to a history of cultural bias in expressionism, presented a new opinion abt quads/artistry (ie. abt foundations tho I can't remember if that was the JP presscon or the Eng one) and heck, seemed excited to talk about his fellow competitors... ask him about his creative process, the early schedule in PC, his awareness of the inaccessibility of figure skating to many fans...why not ask him about literally any of that?? The diet one would have been nice if they haven't already asked him that in multiple past interviews but to cut the journalists some slack, I'm not surprised they didn't have time to research that much. Then again, at least they didn't get him to explain Pooh again or ask him why he's so popular... Yes, the interpreter was great (and Australian I'm pretty sure! though with some funny American-accent slips in some of her language), absolutely nothing against her for doing a great job. The living/dying part was a joke lol, the delivery just needed...a bit of work. Like he had put his life on the line for the medal but...don't worry, he's alive! I actually interpreted it as a good thing she didn't seem to see the need to translate (ie. that it came across clearly enough), I didn't consider perhaps she was being asked to translate into Japanese lol, I think she assumed he'd do it himself if he wanted to. I think it's endearing he's starting to joke around a bit with the press in English, it's a bit clumsy but I think everyone gets it. Yes, there were a few repetitive questions in JP media but the overall quality was much higher. Then again, I was listening to it while cooking so I may have missed some of it. Can't wait for translation.

Apparently @gladi and tadaxkid on Tumblr are jointly translating that and also the NHK Road to Gold docu and I'm so excited to both check my understanding and so everyone can understand it. That was a wonderful presscon, and I was glad the JP media actually asked him thoughtful questions after the newbie mess that was the Foreign Correspondent's Club (seriously, I really liked their Sochi presscon because they asked some interesting, new questions but this time....you waste your opportunity to question the Olympic champion with a question like 'can you explain the 4A for people who don't know about FS....' and 'what's your favourite food' )