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Had he switched earlier, there's a chance he wouldn't have had gone through what he did in 2011. And he definitely wouldn't have done those 60 shows around the country, using the venues as grounds for practicing. He wouldn't have known what it's like to have lost his rink twice (it'd only be just the one time--not that that isn't plenty already), and he may never have found out what it's like to skate for someone other than himself. Those are all character-building stuff that can't be taught by any coach. Abe helped lay the foundations of his core values as both skater and human being. The way he never stops challenging himself, never being satisfied, staying true to who he really is, the way he expresses himself within his choreography, everything that he's doing now, you can still see very strong traces of her teachings within. Yes he'd have developed differently in certain areas but he is the person we know and admire today not due in small part to all that he's been taught and experienced on homeground so I'm not sure he'd be "better". Also, had he left for elsewhere earlier, that performance in Nice back in 2012 wouldn't have happened. Abe did that with Hanyu. The Olympic win in 2014 was a culmination of his experiences up until then and those include all that he has learned in Japan. He probably wouldnt have won had he stayed in Japan but we also don't know if he'd have won had he not stayed for as long as he did. For all the very good work they are able to do, Orser and his team can only do 30% of it. The other 70% is the skaters themselves and what they have learned in their past. It's heartbreaking what he and those around him went through and no one deserves to have gone through all those but really, knowing who he is today and what he has achieved despite the fact, would you have had it any other way?

About the whole EX thing, I wrote something longer but decided to simply shorten it to the below, which, hopefully, will be the last I'll have anything say of it: I don't know which logic or assumption is right and which is wrong, maybe the truth is a bit of both, but unless we are him, we won't know for sure. But I'm sticking to mine because I don't want to set myself up for disappointment by expecting something he doesnt owe any of us anyway. Because by the logic tangent of some here, if you get down to the bare bones of it, there's no reason at all for him to not skate a different EX which leads one to conclude that if he doesn't deliver an EX other than NS this season, he's basically being lazy or just can't be bothered. But since he doesn't strike me as that sort of person, if he sticks to NS all throughout, I'm going to assume he has good reason for it, and he really doesn't owe it to us to tell us what it is either. So all in all, I'm neither expecting nor hoping for anything else because I won't be disappointed if there really isn't and pleasantly surprised if there is.

Sure, I'll be happy to be wrong on this count. If it really doesn't take a lot of effort like you say, then why not have some fun? He did say before that he skates to some of his older stuff from time to time for fun. So it'd be great if he can find some kind of outlet from all his intense concentration before and after competitions. And it'd be a treat to us fans, as well. But if he decides not to go for it, I won't be disappointed either because all I'm really hoping from him this season is a good showing at the Olympics and nothing more.

Hana ni Nare for NHK is possible, seeing as he last performed it only as recently as back in August. And seeing as he already did NS at NHK a year ago (wow can't believe that was a year ago...still feels like last week to me). Not so sure about Requiem but between that and NS, I'd pick NS if I were him. It seems more in line with WL, like you said, and less obviously raw and personal, which fits better for an event like Olys, if you asked me. Ultimately, it depends on what he feels he's able to put out and with the amount of concentration his SP (since his 4Lo is giving him problems now) and FS seem to require, sticking to NS just seems like a no-brainer to me.

Hmm, I'm not sure how much concentration constantly switching EXes, even past ones, require but I'd imagine for a perfectionist like him, it'd require a healthy amount still. So sticking with one EX, and one that's familiar, seems more practical this particular season. Unlike the 2013/2014 season, he has a lot more on his plate now with just stabilizing his SP and FS alone. I mean, if he does switch it out with another EX that has choreography he's still familiar with at certain events for reasons, or presenting something completely new and sticking to it (though I find it highly unlikely), I'd get it, but doing what he did back in 2013/2014 seems kind of...impractical to me, with all that's at stake this season and the kind of performances he has to present with the kind of programs he has planned. Like if he had that kind of spare concentration, he'd probably have gone for a new short program instead. So as much as I would love seeing him bring back LGC as EX on the Oly stage, I don't think it'll happen. And if it takes away his focus from his SP and FS even a little, I'd really rather it didn't as that monster of a piece requires a shit load of practice even if he were to switch all the jump elements to pure choreographic sequences and seriously, there's not much meaning to skating LGC if it wasn't to nail all the high-level jumps within its highly complex choreography. So yeah...I don't have a beef with NS (though I don't have any special feelings towards it either) but even if I did, I won't have any issues with him repeating this EX all through the season. Maybe that's why Wilson was there on those couple of media days back in August. Could be his way of announcing that he'd be using an EX choreo'd by the man all season. (: I sure hope those delicate feathers on his costume can withstand the extra dose of multiple washings. >_< Speaking of which, if the recent news article were to be believed, its design would have been handled by Ms. Ito. Which means the Requeim one is hers as well. Huh...

*shrug* Maybe the ones calling the shots this time have a thing for grandpa smurf. Or maybe Asics just put in the most "work" this time. Either way, it's cute and quirky enough, and the color scheme, even if the shades are different (the red is kinda like the color of fire, although it could just be a trick of stage lighting) does reflect the flag colors of the host country, kinda like they did back in 2014, only now you see them all in the same outfit. xD Hanyu'd look like some kinda quirky Xmas elf in that get-up, if this is anything to go by. Nope, not bad at all. Even better with beanie on than without. It's really the other athletes who have a hard time making quirky work we should feel sorry for. These are only for the opening and closing ceremonies, right? Gotta wonder if the ones athletes will be wearing at other times in the Village would have a more subdued color... As far as shades of red go, Canada's red in Sochi was awesome, imo.

They probably won the design bid this time around. Sportswear companies tender their proposals and the powers that be pick the one they want to go with the most. Or at least, that's what I know of how these things work, especially when the authorities are involved.

Whoa, there. And a merry Xmas to you too, laddy. xD Wow. That's some seriously inspired cinematography. Maybe the fact that they have the perfect subject for it has something to do with it. I do wonder if it was planned from the get-go, or they just looked at all the BTS footage they happened to have shot and realized they could build something like this. And gotta love how they just get him to speak honestly when talking about his mom instead of scripting it. IIRC, this has always been their concept. As in they script the bits where he has to push the product but to my memory, the bits where he talks about his mom, or what he thinks of moms, has always been ad-libbed. ...nice shirt and belt combo.

This can be seen from whichever perspective we want and I'd be the least surprised out of us if the man himself shares yours. But as far as I'm concerned, it can't be further from the truth or in the word you chose to use, "objective". While winning with a perfect skate is the ideal, it isn't the only way to prove one is deserving of victory. Rallying the way he did back then despite the earlier mistakes is testament of true grit. Even though he opened up nicely with a quad-triple combo, Chan messed up the next quad, which he shouldn't have had any issues with and made a few other mistakes right up to his final jump, and a relatively easy one at that--the 2A. Which means, the guy just fell apart after that first mistake he made. While Hanyu? He messed up in his very first jump but only let it bother him up to his third one, the 3F. And even then, he managed to pull off his second quad right after his first error beautifully. And if one were to tune in from the second-half onwards, you'd never be able to tell that he made those mistakes he did in the first half, thanks mostly to his prowess in the 3A (since he did mess up his 3Lz combo, which is harder to spot unless you knew he planned for a combo there). He didn't stumble into his victory. Calling it that discredits his other strong points as a competitor. That Olympics wasn't a test of who skated the cleanest or made the least mistakes, it's about who has the stronger mind to hang on despite the shock of making a mistake and knowing full well right then and there that their chances for gold have greatly decreased. And who has the better 3A. Hanyu proved all that better than anyone else that day on the ice. It's not just a matter of him having a higher BV than Chan. It's a matter of delivering tough elements in the latter half despite a rough start. And even then, he only barely managed to eke past Chan to win in the FS segment as well.* So, even if the setup of Plushenko withdrawing (thus removing home-biased scoring from the equation altogether in the men's event), Chan falling apart and him being able to rally in the second half all seem to be signs of the gold being meant for him and him alone, I think it's clear that he fully deserved his win and he should feel absolutely no guilt or shame about it. That he does anyway only cements his worthiness of it. To quote Shizuka Arakawa, "There isn't a more amazing sporting talent than one who's able to go into the Olympics while still in the early developmental stages as a skater, and win it." But because he's done it once this way, I do hope that he's able to put out a set of clean skates this time, not because he'd already won with an imperfect skate once, what I said above stands for all competitions, but it seems to be what he badly wants, and the only way he can convince himself he deserved that win back in 2014. So whether or not it results in the gold, I only hope he's able to achieve that. If not for both programs, then at least just his FS. *If it wasn't for that accursed 2A, Chan would likely have won the FS segment at least. But he'd still have lost the gold because his SP scored behind Hanyu's so even if Chan were to have managed to salvage that last bit of his skate, the gold would've still gone to Hanyu simply because he skated the best anyone had ever seen in the SP. So 'stumbled' into his win, he did not. P/S: I didn't become a fan of him nor figure skating itself from his Sochi SP. Or from his Nice FS. I became one only after I saw the contrast between his mistake-riddled skates and his perfect ones. The fact that his perfect skates are milestones in a journey full of struggles to keep one-upping himself, is what drew me to him as both a skater and a person.

Guy's orbiting around the top 6 for sure. He's the only one in the rest of the men's field currently close enough to do that. Though I'm not sure how things will change with Zhou on the horizon. Anywho, Kolyada's definitely not too far off compared to the rest of the field but he crashes and burns a wee bit too often to really be able to assert himself and land among them so far. >_< But with the way he suddenly rose to where he now is, certainly not writing him off at all. Edit: If we go by official world standing though, he's actually in the top 6 and Chen isn't. xD Unless that's changed with this victory, of course. I dunno how to calculate these things.

Lol. If you can remember, Hanyu was hopeless with jumps way back in his junior days, as well. He was more the bendy lil' spinner, like Brown. It's a wonder how things have developed, and how you should never write off those with glaring weaknesses when young as unable to do a complete 180. Like they could always be that kid who's always been the shortest class but comes back this tall stranger after summer vacation. xD

@golden: Your reasoning made sense though, which made me realize I shouldn't have lumped SS and performance together. See, when your performance game is strong, you can mask weaknesses but when it's not, it gives an impression of having weaknesses that aren't really there. I've amended my post to properly separate the two in Jin's case. @WinForPooh: Hmmm. I'm also considering it from the angle of how well they're blended in with the program, though. So while great on their own, and better than the other younger two in general, which is why I called them nice-looking, they still stick out like sore thumbs in his programs. Like I'd put Chan's 4T, Fernandez's 4S and Hanyu's 4 everything (except for the 4Lz--for now) well and beyond his.

My judgment doesn't go into so much minute detail, it's only based on the current standard, like I said right off the bat. I lumped skating skills and performance together somewhat and performance-wise, my eyes and my mind are telling me Chen is way stronger and more developed.I won't pit Chen and Uno against each other here because they both strike me as decent in this department although style-wise, I personally prefer Chen's. EDIT: Hmm I realized I probably shouldn't have lumped them together in the first place. Will go back to edit accordingly. EDIT 2: Done! Sorry, kinda got the two melded with one another when they really should be separate in my generalization.

LoL, Hanyu must be like some kind of Pooh santa to these kids. xD

Based on my own observations, here's how I'd sum up the top 6 in terms of performance and jumps (in comparison to the current high standard): Uno, S.: Has good performance and skating skills, has decent 3A, has a good variety of quads but all of which are lacking in true quality still (Consistency level of clean or cleanish skates: High) Jin, B.: Has decent variety of good-looking quads and a decent 3A, has decent skating skills but somewhat lacking in performance ones (Consistency level: Medium to low) Chen, N.: Has all quads in decent quality but a bit of a wonky 3A, has good performance skills and decent skating skills; lacking the ability to marry the two in a single performance (Consistency level: High) Chan, P.: Has lower level quads in great quality (but is better at one than the other), a wonky 3A, and performance and skating skill for the ages; is able to combine them all nicely in a single performance (Consistency level: Low) Fernandez, J.: Has lower level quads in great quality, a nice 3A, and great performance and skating skills; is able to combine them all nicely in a single performance (Consistency level: Low) Hanyu, Y.: Has a great variety of fantastic-looking quads, a 3A that's even more fantastic than his quads, superb performance and skating skills; is able to combine them all seamlessly into a single cohesive performance with very little room separating the performance and technical aspects (Consistency level: Low)

Sounds to me like her brain and heart know when something is truly beautiful and magnificent but her mind just can't accept it yet.

Oh. In that case, I think we can take it as a compliment.

SEIMEI didn't work? I'm beginning to think her idea of girly is non-traditionally masculine aka Fernandez, Chan etc. I don't think her mind can be changed unless she sits down and gets to know his character. I mean, I only really found him to be just as manly as others, more so in fact, after I realized what his character is like. But I'm guessing her sitting down and studying the character of some guy with a girly face and a slender figure to match doing a sport that isn't reputed to be the most testosterone-fueled isn't something that's going to happen. Take one more shot with COC 14 FS and see what she says? If she still stubbornly refuses to see it, then let her wallow in her blindness and ignorance, I say. >_<

That's if he's skating this EX all through this season...which given how much he wants to focus on his comp progs, he may very well be. I'm not sure which I wanna see less, the forehead tattoo or the lovechild between a flamingo and a swan...

@Xen But...his hints are not subtle at all? He's basically skating the entire season in PC OGM cosplay...

...the only thing that'll make his message more obvious now is if he tattoos the PC OGM onto his forehead.

It's coming across to me as, "Sometimes I wonder to myself if this boy is really one of us but then he still laughs at some of my jokes so I know his sense of humor is intact and at least somewhat in the same realm." And it's not incredibly difficult to see why the guy would think that. I do wonder, if either one of them were able to speak the language of the other fluently, would Brian still think the same. But then I remember all the stupefied expressions on the faces of a lot of the Japanese people I've seen interacting with him and I get the feeling that they're probably thinking along those same lines themselves. >.<

?? Hasn't the ship for his prog choices sailed aeons ago? I thought it's already been established that when he delivers them perfectly, he'd be wiping the ice with everyone? I mean it could be any program, old or new. With his planned layout and current skill level, he's untouchable so long as he skates clean. If he skates clean. Isn't that the only real issue here? And with that in mind, he feels the programs that give him the best chance of skating clean are these two. Not any other ones. If there were any other ones through which he felt he could deliver clean skates with improved everything in the Oly season, he would have gone for those and not these two. But I get the feeling that whatever choices he could've gone for, people will still likely debate over it. And when he finally succeeds, voila! Minds changed. Best prog choices evah!! So, while it's certainly true that people are free to talk about what they want, I fail to see the point in debating his choice of programs for this season at this stage other than repeatedly beating a dead horse over and over? Unless that's a thing that people like to do here in which case, I shall bow out and leave you all to it. *snickers* I highly doubt tonight would have turned out any different even If you hadn't watched it. If you keep at it, eventually you'll see one where he nails it. Not saying you should if the hours are odd, as you *do* need your rest. Besides, weren't you there when he skated his SP flawlessly at ACI last month?

Not exactly a buff but he's bombed both progs in varying degrees of devastation in a lot of comps. There was his very first CoR, his first CoC, and all his Canadian comps in past seasons. Didn't do too hot in both segments in his very first NHK either, although it was in his FS there that he tried a quad in comp for the very first time--and landed it. He basically bombed all his performances in all his GP assignments in his debut senior year. Also, this year's ACI actually marks the first Canadian comp that he completely aced one of them. LoL. He's participated in two CoRs before this one, the first of which he hadn't exactly left the strongest impression, and the second of which he took home the gold. His most recent case of double-bombing would be...last year's SC, I suppose. I mean he didn't do too hot in both parts in last year's WTT either but his FS there had a lot going for it despite that failed 4S so I wouldn't count it as a bombing as there were redeeming qualities to it. I mean, it still doesn't say much for tomorrow in terms of prospects but it's not impossible that he may deliver a redeeming--even if not perfect-- skate, despite the odds. So I think it's at least safe to hope. (:

Yoda looks more to me like he's flipping the bird, tho. >_<