KatjaThera

As someone who lived through the Great Disappearance of Megaupload some years back, I never take chances and always save everything. Also, content has always disappeared from youtube over time, though I guess now it seems more like a campaign. People often say that once something is online, it will never disappear, but that's not really true. Things disappear all the time, for various reasons, so the safest thing is always to save. I'm always amazed when people don't do that (although net speed is an issue; I sometimes have real issues saving from dailymotion and it can take forever and only works if I'm not otherwise using the laptop). Sadly, I haven't had much time to save stuff lately, but generally, given how anonymous these accounts usually are, they'll be back. Possibly not for long, but they'll most likely be back, under different usernames, until they get found out again. And if not on YT, or at least not until things calm down again, then on other platforms.

Javi has said that if he competes, he competes to win. Given that Spanish Nationals are in between a series of ROI shows, there's no way he'd be competition ready there. He'd probably still win, but I doubt he'd want to win like that. Also, given that he's only going to Euros, he might feel like it's time to make room for a new Spanish National Champion to represent Spain at Worlds. (It'd definitely be a lot less impressive if a distant vice-champion represented them because the champion retired.) As for Euros, he will probably head to Toronto after New Year's. I suspect his programs could be ready, because David and Sandra have been part of the ROI crew and they actually went to Spain about a week before the shows started, IIRC. So it's quite likely they've had time to work on that. Additionally, Jeff was also there, for good measure, in case. I believe Prometo wasn't confirmed as an SP, but it was said it'd be either that or something like it. If nothing changes until Euros - unlikely, though - his greatest rivals will possibly be Michal and Sergei... Battle of the Uncles? (though I still have hopes that seeing them so competitive might make him have some doubts about retiring Though if he knows Yuzu's doing well, then surely he knows about them, too) For now, I choose to believe Javi, that he wants to win and will actually do things in that direction, i.e. go to Toronto and train hard for those few weeks. Maybe by then Yuzu will be ready to start training properly, too, and they'll push each other again, one last time... I do worry about Javi's motivation. He's the greatest sweetheart ever, but he does have a reputation of losing motivation unless challenged and it's been so long since he was last challenged. He might think now that three weeks is enough, but I'm not sure it will be. He might think it's fine to do shows, because they keep him in shape, and train by himself in Spain, to stay close to his family and girlfriend, but training by oneself is so very different to training with a coach, especially in a competitive environment. But like I said, I'll choose to believe him that he is motivated and wants to win... It's all I can do...

Since we're back to discussing the injury and the state of Yuzu's ankle and what Yuzu should do from now on, here's my two cents, that some people might see as negative, but I believe is in line with what we know about Yuzu's personality. Under spoiler, though, just in case.

As these bits from the new Team Brian book make it online, I'm going to say just this: this book is the first time I ever cried while reading a non-fiction book. And more than once...

Well, videos don't get taken down just because people like to mess with fans. They get taken down because of copyright laws and because uploading them is against those laws. If you made a website that hosted videos, especially publicly, easily accessible, that would would only serve to draw the attention of the same entities that claim copyrights to the website as a whole and get whoever is hosting it in trouble with them. (And if we're talking Japanese media, pictures and magazine articles and so on are also copyrighted and technically, sharing them is illegal.) A website just with information and maybe online pictures with credit might be left alone, but if you draw in the attention of TV media, you risk getting into more trouble than it's worth, IMO. (I also think it'd be easier to go after a website than SNS accounts of video sharing platforms, because a website needs to be registered and generally you can find the real person behind it fairly easily.) So, while I have been in favor of a website for Yuzu to compile all pertinent Yuzu information since before the Planet was created, when it comes to videos, video sharing websites are still the best bet. Anything else can lead to trouble.

That reminds me when some people expressed concern that Origin layout with 4Lo and 3Lo was a zayak risk. All I could think of was: "This is Yuzu, he won't zayak. He thinks too much to make a mistake like that. If he pops the 4Lo, he'll replace the 3Lo with something else." He did zayak once, a long time ago, but never again since then, I think.

Actually, I've seen a lot of other fandom hubs promote the video and say how great it is. I just generally tend to believe opinions here more, because the people here generally seem more analytic and less willing to accept any coverage of Yuzu (actually, a lot of the Yuzu fans who aren't as fluent in English, very often seem more willing to accept any coverage of Yuzu as positive). Admittedly, I don't spend as much time on twitter, so I can't say what goes on there, but twitter is really huge, so it's probably hard to see all sides anyway. And like I said, I haven't watched the video - though I might, later, just to have a better basis to comment - but do they cover all sides of fandom? Sure, every fandom has the less positive aspects, but are all aspects shown? Both the positive and the less positive? If they cover everything objectively, I might be ok with it. If however it's superficial and only cover the surface, then that's not proper journalism in my book. Like I said, I can't say, personally. That said, when media presents the less positive aspects of fandom and uses those to represent the whole fandom, then yes, it's only natural fans would be upset. It's the same kind of generalization that the world generally hates. Like all blondes are dumb, all male figure skaters are gay, all Yuzu fans are crazed fangirls who are into him for his looks (not saying that's what they claimed, but it's a common narrative). I have been interviewed by NYT and absolutely nothing I said that had substance was published, while they wrote this grand article about how popular Yuzu is and twisted it into being all about obsessive fans, some of which were more into his looks than anything else. I have also been interviewed by Nikkan Sports and the only thing they published was also a passing comment I made about him, that can be interpreted as being about his looks, that was an answer to a question I was asked. So, yes, media has an agenda, no matter where it comes from and fans know it and of course, if the portrayal doesn't feel accurate to them, they will be mad.

Oh, was that CBC? I remember that, I just did not remember it was on CBC. IIRC, that instance was them showing a Chinese fans in a Seimei costume crying and claiming she was crying because Yuzu lost to Nathan. When in fact, she was just crying because she was very emotional to have seen Seimei in real life. I cried in Helsinki a lot and I cried at ACI and I saw many fans crying during the podium ceremony at CoR this year and showing them is fine. The problem is when you don't bother finding out why they're crying and just write an assumption as if it's a fact, especially when it's not exactly a positive one. I wouldn't mind my crying face being shown on TV (in fact I recently had the chance to tell David that HYK in Helsinki made me cry a lot and he seemed really happy about it, so the artists behind the performances that move people to tears really appreciate it). But I would very much mind if someone claimed I was crying because Yuzu wasn't clean or whatever. If they said: "Aww look how much fans feel his performance and how emotionally touched they are!" that'd be fine to me. And you keep talking about covering up or glossing over reality and I have no idea what you're talking about because I don't think anyone here wants to cover up anything? We all freely admit there are good things and bad things about the fandom and Yuzu is not perfect and we criticize him just as much as we love him.

I admit I haven't watched the video yet, for two reasons. One is the comments on it that put me off, the other is that very often the portrayal of Yuzu fans is very cringeworthy, regardless of who's doing it. As a consequence, I actually don't get why CBC did a news bit on them. You're right they didn't have to and at least from what I heard, it has little to do with his skating, so what's the point? Though I will maybe revise that opinion if I watch the video. I believe an article or video on why Yuzu is so loved would be great, but you'd pretty much have to go into his whole life story to fully grasp that. And also to cover all types of fans. Because there are both those who are inspired by him as a person, impressed by hims as a skater, and indeed, some who are mostly into his looks. (As a side note, in Helsinki, an older Japanese fan asked me what made me like Yuzu. After I told her I loved how graceful he was and how he flowed on the ice, and then that I also admired how strong he is as a person, even though he's younger than me, she asked me what about his looks. I laughed and said that's just bonus. At that point, she took my hand and said "As a Japanese fan of Yuzu, thank you." Made me wonder how many fans she heard gushing over his looks. And also really touched me. By the way, the whole exchange was in English. If Japanese fans want to speak to me in English, I do it, unless it seems like they'd be more comfortable in Japanese.) Although I'm sure you didn't mean it to be so, I do however think that assuming some foreign fans hate on CBC because their English isn't good enough to understand what is being said/written is a tad patronizing. You don't have to be a native speaker of English to have very good comprehension and I'm sure there are many fans who expressed a negative view of this video in particular - because I personally can't remember another time when CBC was attacked; that's usually NBC more - who are fluent in English and understand rather well what is said. As for CBC not having enough money, resources or staff, that's, of course, unfortunate and kudos to them for apparently doing a great job otherwise, but that's no excuse for bad research - if what other fans have said about this video being poorly researched is true. If you can't do it properly, especially if you pride yourself to be an objective news company, then don't do it at all, especially if you don't have to. I've worked very briefly as non-profit media, with no money and only myself as staff and I wanted to write articles on topics I was interested in and believed others would be, too, but when I realized that, for various reasons, I could not do proper research, I gave up. Because I'd rather not write anything than do it based on incomplete or possibly incorrect research. On the other hand, I do agree that sometimes, some Yuzu fans can be a little oversensitive, but I honestly can't remember CBC ever being attacked for anything else. Most people appreciate their commentary and coverage, as far as I can remember. As for Yuzu being in Japan, personally I think that should be indicative that GPF is off. It'd be pretty stupid to have him fly to Japan for diagnosis then send him back to Canada for GPF, when he could have gone straight to Canada. Especially if he stays for treatment. Although I suspect it might likely be more about just diagnosis, probably so he can fully understand it, too. However, the treatment for all of his really bad injuries he always received in Canada. I doubt he has to wait like the average Joe at the door of his local doctor. From what I remember, it's been said that in Canada sports medicine is very well developed and I'm sure Brian and TCC have a lot of great contacts in that field to ensure that Yuzu can get the best treatment available. That may or may not be at the same level as in Japan, however on ice recovery would be very hard to do in Japan - I'd really rather he doesn't do rehab by himself at midnight at Ice Rink Sendai and for that reason alone he's better off in Canada. So, for me, the longer he stays in Japan, the more it means he has to stay off the ice. I'd also prefer he was away from any kind of pressure that he might get in Japan, be it from media or JSF - whether it's to compete or to withdraw. In Canada there is no pressure whatsoever. Yes, it would suck to be away from his family on his birthday and it sucks for his mother, but... I don't know. I guess they'll set their own priorities.

I think it's important to remember that they say it's not as bad as last year. And indeed, everything that happened points towards it not being as bad as last year. Yes, it's really awful and depressing that this keeps happening to him, but he can deal with it. If anyone can, it's him. Now, I was thinking how a lot of people wondered why he still skated the free despite the injury when he doesn't really need to - and the contrast to last year, when he withdrew from NHK after the injury, despite that event also being really important to him, being at home - but also about him saying that he did consider focusing on GPF and Nationals, but that he really wanted to do a good performance in Russia, even if it meant maybe having to give up on those. All this let me to the conclusion that, despite all our joking, this season he really is skating for himself. When forced to choose, he chose to focus more on the events that mean the most to him, instead of the more prestigious ones. (Well, withdrawing from CoR would have meant GPF, but he could have taken it even easier than he did. Not many people challenge three quads on a busted ankle.) I believe Worlds might also be important to him, so, again, if he has to choose, he'll probably choose to focus on that. But, both because it's still some time away and because it's actually still not as important as Olys last year, I don't think he'll be as intense about it as last year. And that's because at this point, I believe it's more important for him to be able to perform at the best of his abilities - and not just the best he can do under circumstances like injuries - than it is to win this or that title. Though it depends on the titles, of course. Only he knows what's most important to himself, but it seems he is staying true to his decision to essentially do what he wants. What this means is that if GPF is really important to him, he'll gun for it, even if it means not waiting to heal properly. If Worlds is the most important for him, he'll do everything he can in order to heal and get back into shape by then. If Nationals is important, he'll focus on that. If neither is as important as healing properly and being able to perform at 100% - and maybe continue training 4A - then he'll just focus on healing, no matter how long it takes. I believe he is now in a place where these are entirely his choices and nobody can force him into anything but what he wants to do. Whether or not it makes sense to us. Because of that, I'm happy he went and skated in the free, even if he will have some regrets about it not being the kind of performance he wanted to do. Because it was important to him. And whatever he'll choose to do next will be the same. So, personally, I'm ready to support him no matter what he decides, regardless of my own wishes.

I still don't really get how people could jump to such conclusions... Also, even the JSF statement isn't a decision. The decision is Yuzu's and his alone. JSF are only saying that if he withdraws, he'll most likely still make the Worlds team and that they would prefer he focus on that, instead of GPF or Nationals, which aren't that important. The decision to go or withdraw from both of those, however, is Yuzu's. Or it'd better be...

When and how do they say she did that? Seriously, Yuzu never reveals his injuries. He is firmly against it. If she had announced it despite that, then people would be right to feel outraged...

Because of my crazy trip to Malaga, I missed all the stuff going on around here and just heard bits here and there on twitter and such. In a way, I'm happy I had a distraction, otherwise it would have given me a lot of NHK flashbacks. I haven't yet fully had time to dwell on things, but I'm sure it'll hit me eventually. However, this is Yuzu and I know he will pull through. He's just too resilient not to. And he still has things he wants to achieve in FS. Worlds this year is probably the equivalent of last year's Olys for him and he'll be aiming to be 100% there...

A quick clip from yesterday. I didn't want to post anything to avoid spoilers, but this song and performance was great after the day that was yesterday. It was soothing, so I wanted to share:

I have to sleep as I've been awake for 24 hours by now, but I just had to say I had an absolutely awesome night! The show is great - too short lol - the audience is really into it - although obviously new to ice shows - the skaters are awesome, everything is Javi centered, though plenty of room to shine for the others. And the Meet and Greet was awesome, poor Javi took a ton of pictures, gave dignatures and hugs and others hung out, too. Plushy and Jeff ran off rather quickly, though Plush did take a lot of pictures and signed stuff (I'm bummed that I missed Jeff), David is so sweet, I also managed to tell him how much I loved HYK in Helsinki. Anna and Luca and Elladj stayed the longest to chat, take pics and sign stuff. Luca did a bit of promoting for FaOI lol (I had the pamphlet I bought online and asked them to sign it) All in all, it was incredible! PS: Javi is so tiny! Lol

I made it! Currently at the gate, boarding for Malaga in 20 minutes!

He said he'd go after Spanish Nationals, basically... we'll see. He's also left himself the door open to withdraw, though. Mikhaik's current form in his favor, though a lot can change until Europeans. And I think Dimitri didn't have a great outing so far either? It'd be a bit funny if Europeans were fought between Javi and Michal 😅 And for some personal whining

That is almost word for word what GP Helsinki organizers said, too... As for 4A, I, too, think it's impossible to predict when he'll bring it, mostly because we don't know how far along he is with it. In his defense, for 4Lz, he never actually said he wouldn't do it. He just said he wasn't thinking about it, at the times he was asked. Which can simply mean he was obsessing over it. But he never said "I will not do 4Lz in Olympic Season". However, for 4A he did say he wants to bring it and I personally doubt he would say that if he didn't already have a certain level of success with it. Definitely landing without harness. I cannot imagine a world in which Yuzu would say he wants to bring in a jump that he has yet to land cleanly. So it's possible that neither Keegan nor Artur even trying 4A in front of him would do much for Yuzu either way, because I imagine he's farther along than both of them. I imagine maybe his 5% is more about integrating 4A in the program, rather than just being able to jump it. (In the new Team Brian book, I think, Brian talks quite a bit about the difference between being able to land a jump in itself and being able to do it in a program. I think he was talking about 4Lz, but surely that applies to 4A, too. Probably even more so.) Yuzu knows he only has, at most, 3 competitions left after Nationals. He wouldn't talk about putting 4A in a program this year if he would only start practicing seriously after Nationals. That would be very unlike him. So, I suspect, if everything goes according to his plans, we should see it this season...

Actually, one of the things I bought from Sendai were zunda chocolate chip cookies and they're so good! So my first instinct is to agree that zunda and chocolate go well together lol I'm less sure about throwing in cream as well, though... (also I'm amused that someone actually went and prettified the concoction. It definitely didn't look that good when he plopped it all in lol)

Regarding ice shows, I think sharing a show with Yuzu is a bigger issue in Japan. While skaters themselves might not mind, their teams - managers, promoters whatever - might, because it essentially leads to comparisons: with Yuzu and without Yuzu. Shows with Yuzu will definitely sell out right away. Shows without Yuzu will maybe sell out, eventually. That's good for cashing in, but bad for the star skater's image. An example from JRock: Luna Sea, one of Japan's top rock bands, had a festival a few years ago, called Lunacy Festival. Among others, they invited X Japan - whom many consider to be THE biggest Japanese rock bands. The day X performed on was sold out. The other was not. So there were people saying that Luna Sea only sold out that day because of X. With these bands, it doesn't matter so much, but for a skater looking for endorsement contracts, it's not good to have it be known that they don't really sell that well. So I would be very surprised to ever see Yuzu on Mao's show again. Shizuka might say screw it and invite him anyway, because they go way back. Yuzu and Shoma will probably also be kept separate as much as possible. I mean, we have Heroes & Future. Despite Shoma, Javi, Plushy, and many other top skaters, including the Nagano legends, H&F Day 1, without Yuzu did not sell out. The days with him did. That's not great for Shoma's selling power - especially given that Plushy is really popular in Japan, too. So it's best to avoid comparisons. Outside of Japan, shows are rarely about one skater. If a show in Korea centered around Yuna, they might not want her sharing the spotlight with Yuzu, simply because of her star status, but aside from that, I don't think anyone would care that much. In Javi's case, selling out is more important now, I think. Although getting Yuna is actually quite perfect. She's a lady skater, so she won't steal his spotlight. Plushy is also a different generation. I do think he will invite Yuzu eventually, but for now this is actually better for him. (Although if he wanted to sell tickets, he should know who to call...) I'm pretty sure the skaters themselves want the best skaters to share the ice with. But for marketing purposes, all these other things need to be taken into account and also it depends on whether they think things short term - sell out a show - or long term - build up reputation to sell out more shows in the future. So for that reason, inviting Yuzu can be tricky. However, he does now, essentially, have his two ice shows. And I suspect it might be Continues he'll try taking abroad some day... As for fans, while surely there are some young Japanese fans, as well, the grand majority of young fans traveling to competitions are Chinese or even Korean, from what I've seen. In fact, in both ACI and Helsinki I don't remember seeing even a single Japanese fan that looked under 30 (and we know Japanese people often look younger than they are). I admit I sometimes still have trouble differentiating between different types of Asians - mostly due to lack of exposure; not that many around here until more recently - without staring at them and I avoid staring at people in principle. I also know most people at the front of the line at ACI were Chinese (since a person of Chinese roots told me ^_^; ). But I'm not sure about the Chanel girl. I remember seeing some very made up girls, including one who was doing her make-up on her seat in front row during practices, but she was definitely Chinese. (Also, many Yuzu fans speak Japanese by now, so it's not necessarily an indicator. I speak Japanese even to myself nowadays, though admittedly, nobody could mistake me for Japanese ) Maybe more than nationality or race, the difference between fans comes more with age... many of the younger fans possibly come from other fandoms as well, like KPop or JPop, so they're probably more used to supporting idols and act accordingly. The older fans often have a longer history of following figure skating and are more familiar with the dos and don'ts of attending a figure skating competition. They like Yuzu, too, and want to see him up close and so on, but I tend to believe they wouldn't intrude that much. But of course, there are always exceptions.

It's awesome anyway, even if there are tickets available. From what I remember, Pamplona was actually the smallest venue - or so it seemed when choosing tickets - so it wouldn't be that surprising if other venues would be harder to sell out. That said, I've bought my tickets for Malaga months ago and can't believe it's already this Saturday!

While I agree what we see is mostly because of judging, I don't think it's fair to blame it just on judging. Or even just on Shoma's team. It's entirely possible for the athlete himself - or herself - to seek to improve and become better, even if the judges give candy. Admittedly, not everyone is Yuzu, but imagine how incredible the sport would be if more skaters were like him, in wanting to improve for the sake of improving and for the sake of becoming the best version of themselves that they can be. Even if judges run out of points to give them as reward (though maybe then they'd realize how wrong it is to reward skaters too early and would prevent it from happening again; though that's probably a naive hope ).

But, according to wiki at least: So it should still count lol With the way it's worded, it's like the Origin of the Axel (or the quad axel >_>)

Yes, but the more the quads, the higher the risk, too. And theoretically, this isn't Yuzu's final layout, either, since he still plans for Nessie, some day. It remains to be seen how Nathan will do, considering his circumstances as well. As for Yuzu and Shoma, I based it on their score sheets for Skate Canada and Helsinki. Shoma's was 87.91, Yuzu's was 85.84 In a way yes, but I think this is also because last season and the end of the previous one left people with this impression that Yuzu doesn't keep up with the technical stuff and only counts on GOE and PCS to win, because the other skaters are piling up the quads. Personally, I think this is slightly skewed. Yuzu has always aimed to push the technical difficulty boundaries as well as develop the quality of his elements and while he might not do 4F and 4Lz right now, he does other difficult things. That's why his BV isn't really much below the others while his GOE and PCS are still fearsome. It is sad that most of the difficulty he adds isn't really reflected in the scores, though. I'm not sure any other skater could skate Yuzu's layout even close to how he did, given everything else between the elements. Anyway, my point was rather that increasing the difficulty makes mistakes far more likely. And Origin is an increase in difficulty, even without new quads (for now :P).