KatjaThera

Oh, I agree it's pointless. But I rarely take anyone's opinions as facts. It's not personal. And like I said, maybe it's just me, but putting it like that, sounding all misterious only sparks my curiosity. *shrugs* In general humans are most curious about things hidden from them.

Seriously? Has he drained the fountain of youth again? He looks super young in that! Also I could be in the minority and far be it from me to want crappy tabloid articles spread around, but every time someone says "yea, there's something but it's stupid/fake/tabloid/whatever so I won't share" only makes me more curious (and ever so slightly annoyed, as it reminds me of "don't worry your pretty little head!" narratives). I guess I prefer making up my own mind. But since there are people who do take whatever is written at face value, I also understand not sharing. This isn't really aimed at you, others do it as well (especially Iron Klaus does it a lot and it drives me nuts). As for Beijing, I actually kind of hope it's not Boyang related. I'm one of those happy when he was announced as going to TCC and sad when it turned out he probably will not, but it doesn't seem right to me that with just weeks to go until the new season starts, both main coaches travel halfway around the world for one skater, who may or may not want to go there. Of course, the issue could be more complicated, but even so, it shouldn't require both coaches. On the other hand, there was a comment on a Javi post on instagram some days back saying they couldn't wait to see him in Shanghai. That combined with this made me wonder if there's some event in China, maybe multiple locations... Though I'm not sure what it could be with Javi, Brian and Tracy all involved...

Ok, I'm not sure what is going to happen in Beijing or when, but I guess this means we can relax and be sure there will be no media day until next week at the earliest...

I think the competition for this will be very, very fierce! (I wonder how many stick figures we'll see, though... lol) OK, I get you now I think we're more or less saying the same things anyway lol But yes, he's such a gracious winner - and actually even when he doesn't win, he's usually very gracious in his loss and the kuyashii is entirely self-directed. It really is inspiring, as is his eternal quest to become better and learn from all mistakes.

I pretty much agree, though I don't think that way of developing and competing is necessarily not competitiveness. But, personally, for me competitiveness is most obvious in hating to lose. And he definitely hates to lose. However, when he loses, he never blames others or begrudge them their victories, he just feels he wasn't good enough at that point in time and searches for ways to improve so that that will never happen again. I'm not sure he thinks in terms of better. Rather he just wants to be the best at any given point. He may or may not think he is generally or overall better than all the others, but he also knows it means squat if he can't be the best when it matters, which is during the competitions. So being better doesn't matter, it's being the best when it matters that does. And his biggest rival in being the best is himself - he has to make sure he makes no mistakes, or very small ones, or can try to recover from those he makes, or he has to maintain his focus and not overthink etc. He doesn't count on others making mistakes (although I'm sure in that big brain of his he is aware of the possibilities it will happen) and I really admire that. I'm not sure I'd be able to do that. In a way, that is like not really competing against them, though.

But isn't it generally accepted that Alina and Evgenia are actually friends, too? The issues there seemed to be more Eteri apparently favoring Alina, than their rivalry. I think. I don't actually know much about that, this is just my impression based on what I've seen around. Truth is, although I wasn't happy when Javi said it, I do think the rivalry was tougher on Yuzu at times (and so it would sometimes affect their friendship), because he's just that competitive and he hates losing, even to Javi. He probably hates losing to Javi a bit less than he hates losing to others, but he still hates it. So it could be that it helped that it wasn't just Javi. However, you can be sure that unlike the rest of the world Yuzu never wrote Javi off. He knew better than anyone else what Javi could do and I wouldn't be surprised if Yuzu thinks Javi should have gotten silver, although he'd probably never say it publicly. He and Javi had the best experience with that kind of pressure, plus the skills. He also knew that although he had an extra quad, his physical condition was questionable, so while a clean program would definitely put him above Javi, any big mistake could lead to a loss. So I'm quite sure Yuzu never thought Nathan or Shoma were his main rivals and Javi an underdog. I think he assessed all of them just as seriously. ETA: I remember looking at it and from some angles I could see where they were coming from and it did look like he does sometimes from those angles, but overall, yeah, it's just... no. They could have tried the murder face... Or maybe they'll eventually make another one, with him jumping a 4A lol More seriously, I would love that moment at the end of Chopin at Olys, where he looks all fierce after the ending pose... They'd probably be better off doing that based on pictures, though...

I'm pretty sure the Sochi PW was at the Takashimaya exhibition, so I'm guessing the Madame Tussauds is a replica. The bracelet I think is really one of his, but I'm not sure. (On the other hand, the Phiten necklaces at Takashimaya were just the same models he wears/wore, and not actually his own, so...)

Isn't it the normal way for journalists to travel to where a story is happening, rather than having the story come to them? Aside from that, I doubt there is any one journalist in Japan who would say "But, Yuzu-kun, Canada is SO FAR! Can't you come to Japan instead?" Last year is actually proof enough that even if Yuzu comes to Japan, media day happens in Canada, on his and TCC's terms. Last year media day was on August 8th and 9th and on August 16th he was in Japan. IF he goes to Japan, he'll go for other obligations, but this Off Season he's probably spent more time in Japan than he has in years, so I think he's good for focusing on the season now. And on the other topic, while I am admittedly a fan of Yuzu and Javi's friendship, so I might not be very objective, I am starting to get annoyed by all the 'Javi's replacement' stuff, both serious discussions and jokes (like those 'replacing Javi with Javi' memes or all the Boyang memes when it was first announced he would go there). Why is it so hard for people to understand that even if the whole FS field moved to TCC, there would be no 'replacing' Javi? What made Yuzu and Javi's friendship special wasn't just that they were rivals pushing each other further. That would have probably happened with anyone even close to Yuzu's level. It's how that didn't really affect anything else and how they continued to support and care for each other, despite that. And the full extent of that happened for the very simple reason of each of them being who they are. Their personalities were just very compatible like that. Something similar can happen with others and I'd be happy if Yuzu continues getting along great with whoever will be his training mates, but Javi is Javi and nobody will replace him. Never mind that he's not even gone yet. He's still going to go to TCC to get ready for Japan Open and Europeans and they'll still meet in the Summer shows and although Javi wants to coach in Spain, he hasn't denied the possibility of coaching in Canada or even Japan. As for Yuzu needing a rival, IMO, he doesn't anymore. Even Javi wasn't that much of a rival after Boston. The only rival Yuzu needs at this point, is Yuzu himself. Back then, he did need to learn from Javi still, and I'm sure the days when he had a bad day and Javi had a good one were motivating. But now, what he needs to learn he can't really learn from others (4A), though admittedly, watching Boyang's 4Lz up close would have maybe been good for fixing his issues with it. But I'm sure by now he can do it even without that, because he has many more tools available, including his own studies. As for motivating, I'm pretty sure he can do that himself now, too. I suspect he will miss the camaraderie, but that, again, is something that cannot be replaced, just changed. Like, he won't have Javi to make him laugh and relax, but he will have Jason doing it in different ways and maybe Evgenia as well; those two - Jason and Evgenia, I mean - seem to have really hit it off and are quite the fun combo right now, if their instastories are anything to go by. Whether that kind of cheering up will work or not, it remains to be seen. Yep, that was it. He was REALLY fired up there and that's actually a big part of why I love that performance 😅

I thought Mao's was really cool, too! And definitely looked more like her than Yuzu's looked like him ^_^; It was quite empty when I went, too (midday on a weekday, killing time before my flight in the evening ^_^; ), but that salaryman was quite the figure. His female partner was fun, too. I quite envied them for their IDGAF attitudes lol. I just took a selfie with the Yuzu statue and I still can't decide which of us looks worse lol

Hmmm favorite performances... Like many others, these are maybe not absolute favorites, but the ones I tend to re-watch the most: Bolero - JWorlds 2009 R&J1 - Worlds 2012 (& of course, CiONTU ) NDP - Worlds 2013 PW - Sochi 2014 (& of course, CiONTU ) R&J2 - Worlds 2014 (though I actually like the Sochi one, too, how he didn't give up, despite the mistakes early on; big contrast to Patrick's performance, IMO) POTO - GPF 2014 (that would be the favorite, actually, though I often re-watch CoC 2014 and JPN 2014 as well and marvel at his ambition and strength) Seimei 1 - GPF2015 Ballade 2 (I virtually never watch Ballade 1) - Worlds 2016 (I love the fierceness of that!) LGC - tie between GPF 2016 and Worlds 2017 H&L - Worlds 2017 Ballade 3 - Pyeongchang 2018 (& of course, CiONTU ) Seimei 3 - Pyeongchang 2018 Ex numbers: HILY - FaOI 2015 & SA 2012 Change - TOI 2014 White Legend - Sochi 2014 (included it here, because this is my favorite version) Requiem - Worlds 2016 Notte Stellata - possibly a tie between CoR 2017 and Pyeongchang 2018... there was some extra drama in Russia that I liked a lot, but Pyeongchang was so beautiful... The others I don't watch regularly enough to have favorites... (I did use to have favorites for Hana ni Nare and Hana ha Saku, but I haven't watched them in a while, so I don't remember now ^_^; )

It does appear to be his size - or rather his size post-Sochi - but it definitely won't feel real, since it's really hard. (I touched the costume and could feel the hard wax underneath) But actually, the face is totally distracting, and not in a good way, so such thoughts might perish on site...

ETA: I think that's not from the exhibition, it's from Madame Tussauds, where you, indeed, can touch the costume, the bracelet and the statue. (When I was there a middle-aged salaryman had a picture taken while crawling on all fours between Yuzu's legs... )

I agree. There are people who forget that 4A is not like the other quads, just like 3A is not like the other triples. That there are skaters who can do quads and still have trouble with 3A should be a big indication. I guess since Trusova apparently landed 4Lz - just saw Jackie's tweet - now people are jumping to conclusions. Landing 4Lz doesn't mean one can land 4A. And yes, then there's quality. Though also, quality isn't attained by jumping as much as possible. It requires analyzing the jumps and finding where improvements can or have to be made. Yuzu is an expert in that, since he's documented every jump he's ever done. I'm not aware of other skaters being so detailed in their quest for improvement. On the other hand, I sometimes wish people wouldn't be so adamant he'll be the first to land it. Simply because he won't bring it until it's got high enough quality. However, I do agree he will most likely be the first to land it properly, with quality. (And if he's not the first, we might get some Japanese documentary on his journey to 4A and find out he's actually been landing it in practice since 2015 or something LOL)

It seems this weekly magazine - which is basically a tabloid - has this series on (interesting?) people. And although usually it's not much special, this time it seems the content comes from Kikuchi-san himself (they interviewed him?). It seems it mentions the NHK injury - which was worse than the poster thought - post Sochi times, the Sochi experience, other competitions, as well as about young Yuzu (ever since he was 8). Now I'd be really curious to read this article (though I'm still taking it with a grain of salt; this particular magazine has written about Yuzu before, but knowing a weekly once hurt him a lot, I can't help but be cautious). ETA: from a previous post on this topic, it seems the picture with the two of them was taken by Yuzu's mother, in a hotel room in Pyeongchang (which made that poster wonder if it means Yuzu gave his ok for this)

I'm not sure how indicative this will be this time, if it was indeed all filmed in between ice shows, before he left Japan. But you can be sure whatever he reveals about his new programs will not be the final versions lol (And 24HTV last year had nothing to do with the earthquake, so you might be remembering an older one? Last year was the asthma one.) I remember that, too, but not the interview itself... I think was it maybe in Asaichi that he at least said he wanted the costume to be more feminine (which also implied he was more Juliet)? I'm not sure, though... The original POTO costume I think was also supposed to be both the Phantom (the red part) and Christine (the white part). The second one seemed mostly the Phantom, though. And only slightly related, but I remember about H&L he said he asked Shae to teach him more lady-like moves (I guess since the music required that kind of grace). So Yuzu cares little about gender boundaries and I love that about him. And I'm surprised by the reactions to TFTT costume... the flowers are a bit much - I'm female and wouldn't wear that, but to be honest, I wouldn't wear some other of his stuff, either, including HYK lol - but overall, I like it... I think it hugs his body really nicely, though admittedly, I haven't watched the program as much as others. However, it does seem he's skated to it in the white shirt, too, so you might get lucky lol

That news clip today uses The Final Time Traveler as BGM quite a bit, so I guess it's very likely he'll do that...

Yep. That's him. Yuzu mentioned him by name in Aoi Honoo. Thank you for that clip! I hadn't seen it before! And I knew Suzuki Mari sounded familiar! She was in this alongside Yuzu, too:

Actually, the sempai skater Yuzu was with when the earthquake struck and who helped him get out of the building is also with Disney on Ice. It'd be really nice and sweet and special if he had been among those who did this show (though we'll probably never know, because I don't think they are allowed to reveal themselves...)

Thank you for all the footage! I'd say this definitely seems pre-recorded (it could be just partly, but that makes little sense)... so still no idea when media day will be lol Now it could be at any point between now and ACI... Actually, they showed him the picture the boy took and Yuzu brought up the bad pictures championship tag lol Twitter lurker extraordinaire... (even the interviewer was surprised he knew about it)

Actually, this makes me wonder again, if he might have already filmed everything... The visit to Naraha obviously happened already, or else it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. And that picture of the same Disney on Ice characters mentioned in the picture, with young skaters in a fancily arranged rink definitely makes me wonder if the ice show also already happened and was filmed and will just be broadcasted on those days... The rink doesn't really look like Ice Rink Sendai, though... I haven't seen any reference to live performance, but I might have missed it... Ah, I should just sleep and look at proper translations tomorrow lol The only thing was that if by some chance everything 24HTV was already filmed before Yuzu left Japan, then it will not in any way affect media day. If not, he'll have to fit media day around the trip to Japan...

Skating with young skaters and characters from Disney on Ice? Also visiting refugees from Naraha, that he's visited before. I'm too tired to properly make sense of it, but... why no Pooh on Ice, then?

I think we expect less an announcement and more a leak of information from Japanese media about when the mass exodus to Toronto will take place lol And I'm not sure Yuzu knows how to kick back and relax lol At least not in August. But I hope he goes along, too. I actually still like to think he might have gone last year, too, and they were just careful he wouldn't show up in any pictures. He went back to Toronto when everyone was in Muskoka, so practicing was pretty much out of the question. He could have stayed in Japan another day or two, until everyone got back to Toronto, instead of hurrying back. So I like to think he hurried back and joined them for a day or two there, too. Of course, there is absolutely no proof that happened, so for now it's an alternative universe story lol

We know Yuzu can do soft. After all, he's done H&L, NS, HYK and so on. His versatility is one of Yuzu's great points. Watching some of that LP, with the sound turned low, my first thought was that it looked like any other Shoma program and I would have never guessed it was Moonlight Sonata. Admittedly, I'm not one of those people who can easily get the message of songs through choreography and so on, but I think it's not ok when that program looks so... not dependent on the music. The SP costume actually made me think of Yuzu's HYK for a moment because of that black going up on the torso, but on a side, instead of the middle. Unlike HYK, it looks very weird and the overall design very unflattering imo. A black shirt and red tie - I think he did wear that at one point? - would have worked better, even... (Two costumes that appear somewhat Yuzu inspired is a bit... >_< for Shoma, though... He's an Olympic silver medalist, not a Yuzu fanboy). For the program, I've only seen a short twitter clip. It did seem a bit more in tune with the music than at H&F, but hard to say for sure. (That was my biggest complaint then.) I'm not really excited enough about any programs to really look them up, though seeing Boyang in Helsinki should be fun. The only programs I'm actually excited to see, aside from Yuzu's, of course, are Evgenia's. And I'm not even a fan, but it'll be nice to see what looks like a new beginning for her. As for Boyang, didn't The Ice air on TV? Or was it just on local channels?

Ah, was it? My bad then lol It's still Sunday, so... but who knows. News would be great!

It's the 5th in Japan Also it being Sunday might make it unlikely to hear any news. On the other hand, Javi Raya posted something about going to Muskoka, which made me wonder if it's just him or maybe there's that group trip to Muskoka again. And maybe Yuzu will join them this time... But either way, if Brian and/or Tracy aren't in Toronto, Media day won't happen until they go back. (I also don't know if that ice show they do is an yearly thing... though last year both the ice show and group trip were at the end of August, right as Yuzu went back to Toronto). Regarding PCS, I think if Nathan and Shoma can get the scores they get, then Daisuke might easily get as much as or even more than Yuzu. I've spent quite some time lately going over old competition threads on GS and seems Daisuke was considered by many to be more or less in the same category as Patrick (if not for the actual skating skills, then at least for interpretation and artistry). So it wouldn't be surprising if he took Patrick's spot as having high PCS, with lower TES. After reading those posts I've kept telling myself to watch some of his programs and see what all that adoration is about, but I can't really make myself do it... But what puts me off has little to do with his skating ^_^; I guess I'll see him this season at some point anyway. I've heard some comments here about the first uses of the new system, but to be honest, I'm too scared to check it properly lol The one bright side for me is that I'm sure Yuzu and Brian and his whole team know he gets underscored (compared to others). And that also means they likely take it into account in everything they do. And Yuzu will always work hard to not let them underscore him too much. Like Helsinki Worlds, where he set a World Record, despite the underscoring. Of course, at some point it'll still be out of his hands, but he knows these things and I'm sure he prepares with this knowledge in mind. And because he is Yuzuru Hanyu, that only makes him stronger.