KatjaThera

I think I'm adding a new magazine to my acquisition list... this is too priceless LOL

I see your point about being young. Personally, though, I'm more used to selfish and self-centered youth, who, if they ever got that much money, they'd rather spend it for their own pleasures and maybe just give some to family. I'm not sure how many 23 years old would donate that much. But I could just be too cynical lol. (On the other hand, I'm sure someone more mature might think twice before giving money to local authorities, from worrying how it would be used, so there's that as well.) I agree that he's definitely going to want to take care of his parents and sister and probably grandparents, extended family, etc. I don't think his family was ever poor, though, so they might not need that much? But we don't really know. And thank you for that information! a 55minutes version, I think? But it says tomorrow, so... it's broadcasted today? Or tomorrow, depending on the time in Japan when that aired? ^_^; Also, quite a few skaters were filming another episode of Honoo no Taiikukan yesterday in Tokyo. I do think it's unlikely they got Yuzu as well, but it could be fun to see him in variety shows at some point. Especially ones that include physical activities and competing!

I don't think they will ever name Ice Rink Sendai after him. He's not the only top skater to have it as his starting point and Shizuka came first. Considering she was the first FS gold medalist for Japan and played a big part on Yuzu's own career, by helping re-open the rink when it was closed the first time around, I think he would hate being picked over her to have the rink named after him. Personally, I'd rather he helped build other rinks across Tohoku, to give more skaters a chance to practice closer to their own homes, and they can name one of those after him. His loyalty to Ice Rink Sendai is amazing, but I think it would help skating in Japan and especially Tohoku if he helped other rinks as well, but that makes the most sense to do after he retires, rather than now. His influence is huge, so he might actually manage to make a real difference in that sense. Also, just as a point of information, Ice Rink Sendai do not sell Yuzu goods, neither at the rink, nor on their online shop. They sell Irene goods - Irene being the rink's mascot - which Yuzu uses - and not only; several Japanese ladies use them, as does Evgenia. So that helps promote them and I'm sure they make very decent sells from that (I bought a pair online last year, too, and used them throughout winter). But they're not actually Yuzuru Hanyu goods. (They also had special items made to celebrate his gold medal, but still, Irene stuff.) I think they did have a Yuzu calendar and probably other stuff like that, at their booth at some competitions in Japan last year (I completely missed their booth at NHK >_<), but I think that might be collaborating with publishers or so and something that only happens at events. I actually went to Ice Rink Sendai last year mostly hoping to find that calendar, but they didn't even have Irene gloves then. (Their on location shop has very small stock, I guess; they didn't have much when I visited this April, either.)

Good question. I'm not sure they'd be able to afford her always being with him if ANA didn't, though, to be honest... Maybe if she had an official function in his team - as his manager or so - then she'd be an ANA employee and her expenses would be covered, too. But no idea... Or maybe they don't cover her staying there, but if they cover his expenses, her staying there would be mostly just food and such... And maybe they do cover her traveling with him. In all truth, we have very little information and it's all speculation. My guess is overall they live comfortably, while still being able to afford some expensive stuff - like his clothes and earphones, especially the custom ones - but not really traditionally rich? So not sure they could afford the full expenses of his mother following him everywhere without help from ANA... (then again, ANA came in in pre-Olympic season only, I think? I always forget the timeline of that). It also depends on how expensive living in Canada is, because I have no idea. ^_^; I never know: is net worth about how much they actually earn from stuff like that, or about potential to earn? I'm pretty sure Yuzu's potential is a lot higher than his actual earnings.

I have no idea how much he actually earns, but the amount of money he donates is outstanding, IMO. All royalties from his books. All the money from the parade were used to pay for the parade and the rest donated. All his money from winning the Olympics also donated. I guess this new amount might be from sales of the new book? Either way, it's amazing how much he gives away. (For the gift with the People's Award, I guess it would have been considered to ask to either ask for money and donate it or ask for some random gift and auction it ^_^; ) And then you remember how much he gives emotionally as well and how he pretty much dedicates himself to skating and to being "Yuzuru Hanyu", body and soul... how on Earth is he just 23 years old?! And I'm not sure about Takashimaya and the photo exhibitions. I had the impression Takashimaya profits would also be donated, but that could just be information mixed up in my brain between the different events. I think profits from some of the photo exhibitions in Sendai at least are also donations (though most are free entrance and only few have goods for fans to buy). I do tend to think he gets royalties from appearing in magazines, as well as his prize money. And from ice shows. (Also since athletes in Japan are technically employees of their main sponsors, I guess they might also get monthly salaries? Which I'm sure aren't much, but still.) It also helps that, AFAIR, ANA covers all his expenses for training in Canada (and probably generally most of his skating-related expenses), so he probably doesn't have to pay much to skate (as many others do). That alone makes things better for him, financially, I think. But I doubt he has as much money as he could have, given his popularity, if he were greedier.

2014 GPF is also another case of Yuzu doing very well when cornered, though. He already had stomach pains then and was probably particularly fired up after just barely making it to GPF. I do think staying somewhere in the area would make the most sense with those two events so close together, but where would be best we'll see, I guess... Going back to either Canada or Japan would be a potential recipe for disaster... I haven't followed very closely who goes where from TCC, but I'm guessing Brian will travel to all of them, but otherwise each event will probably have another coach assigned... like Gabby's events will probably have Lee, Yuzu's will probably have Ghislain and such... I'm pretty sure leaving Yuzu with Ghislain is what they're going to do. Isn't anyone else from TCC at CoR? They could train together somewhere... (It's also possible the deal to ship Yuzu off to these events included the federations ensuring he'll have a place to stay and train in between the two events, I guess?) It is weird, though... (If only it was further South, then Yuzu could go to Spain and train with Javi :P)

While they're wearing just what they went to sleep in? Frostbite could be more brutal than ISU judging...

That I remember, too. It was 1am or so in Japan then lol And the hotel wi-fi worked miracles for Milano tickets (too bad they ended up not used...)

I remembered FaOI started several weeks earlier last year, but yes they came out during that. I had no idea CoR was that bad... I only NHK was traumatizing, in more ways than one >_<

Last year they kind of caught us by surprise, I think. They came out in mid May or so. But it was soon after that that the madness began, I think... I don't know about longer term fans, but it was later on last year that I realized just how crazy trying to get tickets to a Yuzu event is. (Well, especially if it's in Japan...)

I wonder how the Yuzuconomy would work if he went to SA... not as many Japanese fans might be able to go there as elsewhere, because of strict US visa regulations? Unless they're not that strict for Japanese citizens... (That's the main reason I'm not considering it either... I had a US visa once upon a time, but simply trying to get one now is too much of a pain) So the number of fans usually following him might be somewhat reduced there... Personally, I took a leap of faith and got a SC ticket. I can't really go elsewhere anyway, due to timing reasons, so... *fingers crossed*

Somewhat OT, but I've been wondering why ISU changed the definition of jump sequences... it would have made sense if they also changed the scoring (to be like combination jumps at least, and get full points), but from what I understand, that's not the case. They only changed what counts as a jump sequence, right?

That is the conclusion when you compare the new BV with previous BV for the same skater. When you compare the new BV of a skater with the new BV of another skater is the bigger issue, IMO. A skater who can do all the quads, can technically do 2x4Lz, 4F, 4Lo, 4T, 4S and 3A (plus combinations) and it won't require much effort (I don't think 2x4Lz and 2x4F was that common, because of the effort involved). A skater who can only do 4T and 4S, will, at best do 2x4S, 4T, 2x3A and then 3Lz, 3F, 3Lo (not to mention that combinations further complicate things). So I think it's not just what quads you remove, it's what you can replace them with. Add to that GOE depending on the BV, hence quads GOE will be much higher than triples GOE, and the difference can grow even more. It's 6 out of 7 jumps being quads, vs 6 (since nobody has done 7) our of 8 jumps being quads, and 3 out of 7 jumps being quads vs. 4 out of 8 jumps being quads. But I think we'll only know how the new rules are until we see them at work. Who they'll favor depends on too many factors to really draw conclusions. However, 4A getting such lower points so soon after Yuzu said it's his next goal - and after there have been reports he has been training it and could bring it to competition soon - is a bit too much of a coincidence, IMO. Why lower the points of a jump nobody has even landed yet? How much would a quint be then? Shouldn't be much higher, I guess. By the previous logic, it should be 14 points (4T is 1.5 points higher than 3A, so 5T should be 1.5 points higher than 4A, no?). That's less than a 4A was previously... They should have just made a BV for quints then, too, if 4A that has never been jumped is now considered not that difficult anymore. Surely quints aren't either, then? It's just another half a rotation, anyway. (Sorry, I'm still annoyed nobody defended 4A's honor...) That actually includes my concern. We all say it doesn't really affect Yuzu because we assume he's going to get all his quads back. But there is a chance his health won't allow that and then it wouldn't be quite so easy anymore. Even a perfect Yuzu might have a hard time fending off a Nathan who lands all his jumps decently, if he doesn't have all his quads. (Though I could be wrong, because I haven't actually done the math.) And then yes, there are the judges...

It really sucks that even someone like Kikuchi-san gets targeted by media... but those people are obviously missing a huge point: Yuzu is a two times Olympic Champion, so obviously, his trainer must be doing something right... >_<

I'm more with @robin on this. I understand people find the topic fascinating, because I'm not sure how many people like Yuzu are around, but, in the same time, I personally wish we'd stop using labels whatsoever. Does it even really matter how much he's masculine and how much he's feminine? (Plus, in a world that has by now so many different gender identity labels to try to make everyone feel like they belong, limiting all over again to just these two seems like a bit of a step backward.) My bigger issue - not just with this debate and definitely not just with Yuzu; maybe even less in Yuzu's case - is opinions stated as facts. At the end of the day, we don't know Yuzu and we don't know other people we are fans off. We don't know what their thoughts and feelings are, or, when discussing genders or feminine/masculine aspects of behavior, personality etc., we don't know what exactly they identify as. While I personally also believe Yuzu is very comfortable being male, I also believe it's important to leave room for possibilities beyond personal belief. That doesn't mean I doubt him, it means I don't know him, so can I really say anything about him with 100% certainty? No, I can't. None of us can say anything aside from what our personal impressions and beliefs are. Which may or may not be 100% correct, but we can't know that. I wonder if this makes any sense... Anyway, my point is, it's best to add an "IMO" even whenever you state anything you are absolutely convinced about Yuzu, to remind also yourself, that that's just what you think and others might think differently. (I believe it's also when people forget to mention that and state personal beliefs as facts that arguments really start.) Whether it's about his masculine/feminine sides, etc. or even about what he might think, feel etc. At the end of the day, the information we work with in these debates is actually pretty limited if you think about it.

Maybe with how delicate Japanese nuances are, that is what they meant lol That's why we need a native speaker to clear it up lol (But it's past midnight in Japan, so it might have to wait...)

Ah, in the video, it says "New exhibition number" above the song title. But I guess it depends whether they use the term just for season exhibitions or just any show number, because then we're back where we started... (ETA: The voice over says show number, that's what threw me off)

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't want us to get all excited only for it to turn out not true... Hopefully someone can clear it up soon. I want him to do it, too... But I'd be kind of surprised if he confirmed it so early on, especially since everyone seems to want to keep the impression that it's just a show number. (Though Shinya's post today that he and Yuzu keep talking about it also hints at a longer term project, IMO)

I might be missing some nuances of Japanese, but they don't actually say that in there? They say it's a new show number and it's a step forward/starting point for the new season, but I don't think that means he confirmed it'll be his Ex. ETA: which doesn't mean it won't be, I just don't hear any confirmation in there... Would be happy if someone with better Japanese skills would prove me wrong lol

There have been several arrangements that have been skated on, although none really like this, or like you suggest. Personally, I love Sashida Fumiya's version the most, which also got a PV/MV with Yuzu skating to it (it was in the making of that that we heard Yuzu very softly sing the first line). The PV: (the making of was shared recently here by someone else, I think) Also, he did sing it before, at Kouhaku 2015-2016. But that was everyone singing together, so it's hard to pinpoint his voice (although last time I heard it, I thought I could maybe, just maybe hear him... but no idea, I might have imagined it)

I actually cried a bit, first on the talk about the three-way hug, then seeing that girl cry and Javi be so sweet to her!

Anyone can sing off key at times... maybe his bathroom has bad acoustics Just kidding, obviously lol it's cute there are things he can't do; reminds us he is human after all

He sounded so soft in that Hana ha Saku PV making a few years ago, I thought they'd have him sing the whole chorus by himself at the end and blow us completely away with an angel voice to fit his angelic everything else these days...

I think everyone did it for Rio, but maybe some regretted it, so this time they were given choices lol (I don't think he'd refuse if everyone else was doing it)

The evil mastermind strikes again! True Hana ha saku spoiler alert