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I'm not implying that Brian didn't know him. But he certainly didn't know him the way he does today. Look, I didn't say it, the man himself did: (Translation credits: @gladi) So the fact that he tried to get Hanyu to be happy about his win when the guy's head fundamentally doesn't function that way just cements the fact (to me, if not to anyone else) that he just didn't know him that well back then. If he'd known him as well as he did today, he wouldn't have even bothered going down that route. The things he's saying about Hanyu now is a lot more in line with what we know of him based on the glimpses he's shown us through interviews over the years. Anyway that's the way I feel about it. Though I can't claim I'm able understand it, it's completely fine by me if you see it differently, or if you want to see it in two or three different ways. I'm not looking to open up another longish debate here. What I'm really only saying is that it's nice to see the progress in their relationship because just by going back and looking at past interviews, you can see it clear as day. That's it. See, News Every is a news program. They have a strict schedule and only announce information that is approved by all relevant parties. I've worked with news broadcasters before. Each second is precious so everything has to be tight and every word said must be air tight and accounted for so there's no room for gray and certainly no room for extras like, "it has been said that Hanyu has also been working on 4Lz and 4A, but since we haven't seen them, we won't take them into account". It's either "yes" or a "no" and until Hanyu officially announces it as part of his layout (which, at the end of the day, despite talks of this or that quad, he hasn't confirmed anything to that degree) and present it for the first time in competition successfully, it's going to be a "no" for news outlets, because they have to regard the information as still in theoretical stage. And unless it's a slow news day or something, they don't report on theories. They just state the facts (or if it's FOX, the "alternative" version of it) and be done with it. If this were not a news piece--a special segment dedicated to FS in PC, but still part of a news program so only cold hard facts can be delivered--but an exclusive on Hanyu, or an entire program focused on FS alone, I would agree with you but it's not. So there's nothing strange about it at all because that's how news outlets work. I get that you like your grays, I love them too, but some things just aren't meant to be that way, nor should they be. Also, even though this seems like a reply directed to one specific user and as such should have been done in PM, I think the subject itself holds some interest to more than just the two of us so at the risk of being labelled a thread hijacker, I decided to post it here instead. Sorry if this disturbs the usual fluffiness and dream-like atmosphere that goes on in here.

I'm guessing Brian has a better grasp now on how Hanyu's brain works. He's not going to accept his 2014 win as something to be enjoyed until he proves to himself that he is worthy of it. It's precisely because he didn't that these past few years have been so exhilarating, as he's been using it as fuel to make damn sure his next one will be something he can wholeheartedly give himself a pat on the back for. If Brian looks back on these few years now, he'll realize how ineffective that angle of thought is in hindsight for someone like Hanyu. Cos I get the impression that in his head, these two performances, especially the FS, don't have just one, but two golds staked on them. And that's likely just the way his mind works. That's some scary pressure. *shudder* Hope his deviant brain chemistry is able to do right by him and turn it into some form of enjoyment for him.

^I bet seeing these pictures that are going to give Hanyu some *really* complicated feelings. And you're all kidding when you say the media is ignoring his undebuted jumps right? Cos I sometimes can't tell between when you are and when you're not. *laughs nervously* Because they are that. Undebuted. And it's clear that that program was only crediting skaters with jumps they've already debuted in competition. See, it's one thing to report on jumps that a skater has on the pipeline (which they did in abundance because we would all never have properly seen him attempt those 4lzes in that gala practice otherwise) and quite another reporting it as an officially incorporated jump before the skater has even officially debuted it. News Every, I believe, has to report based on facts and if they went ahead and put in jumps that Hanyu himself hasn't debuted in competition, I believe a) that would essentially be unethical reporting and b) Hanyu and his team likely won't appreciate it so...yeah.

Since @kaerb seems to be busy (haven't seen her and her lovely speed translations for a while now), I'll just step in for a bit here. According to Noto, the memorial book is not a photo book. It's more a compilation of about 100ish posters (together with photos that are part of the exhibit) Sendai Broadcasting have made of him over the years, which are what's going to be exhibited. So the memorial book is basically the exhibition shrunk into the size of a book that people can purchase and take home with them. It's kind of like those guides they sell at exhibition or stage show venues. Only limited copies available, of course. The whole thing is basically a showcase of a city's labor of love throughout the years made in tribute to their hometown hero. Admission to the exhibition is free. As for what Arakawa said in that News Every program (they're going to be doing a special like this every month leading up to PC), in summary, she explained who has how many quads and why despite having only 3 that we've seen (as compared to Uno's 4 and Chen's 5), Hanyu is still the only one breaking his own records for now (which, I think, is pretty much general knowledge here by now; ie: maximizing GOEs and putting quad combos in second half and ripponing the smaller half of the combo). She also explained how these positive GOEs are gained (the points that need to be checked which led to her explaining why Hanyu likes adding a rippon to one of his combos).

I don't think there's any one move that's exclusively done by him. A skater at some point has done it or is doing it. I get the impression that the blade is more synonymous with Shae Lynn than it does him, and even she didn't originate it, just popularized it. He just happens to be the only one (that I'm aware of) who incorporates it as a regular move in his repertoire (since his collaboration with SL? And I think it only started with SEIMEI. He only did it in an EX previously, IIRC) but he does so with a lot of other things as well. The leg over head spin...I dunno...it doesn't seem to shout Hanyu to me, even if it's the one move that's unique to him. But his impressive blending of tech and art...I think he's the only one doing it at such a near-complete level. I'd give Chan and Fernandez credit for being in the complete category as well but they're not quite on the same level as Hanyu. So my vote goes to calling the successful blending of tech and art (with high tech difficulty that includes his signature airy jumps and intricate performance elements), or rather whoever who chooses to go down the same route (re: obsessing over everything to become a jack of all trades, master of each and every one) Yuzuru's Path. Or something along those lines.(:

Removed from gen yuzu thread and reposted here: If Chen and Uno are graded fairly based on their most difficult layouts, as in they get points where they deserve and deductions where they should, I can't help but wonder who would place higher if they both skated clean in the same comp. If we're going by personal preferences though, I would go with Chen, especially after seeing him skate his SP at CoI and seeing for myself what he is truly capable of artistically when he isn't hampered by setting up for his huge elements, simply cos I prefer his overall style, his jumps, his bigger interpretation capacity and his programs. Well, program. It's just his SP that really made me sit up and see his skating with newfound appreciation this season. So if he's able to not make them both seem super duper empty (which would be such a shame for his SP considering how lovely it is with triples...and there's really only one anomaly in the field who can make their quads look like triples) I'm inclined to root for him over Uno. And speaking of the Bielmann (in that other thread), I find Martinez's one really nice-looking. The best, in fact, out of the very small handful of men doing it now. Really hoping he gets to go to the Olys.

Bringing this over from the gen thread: It has to be this way, though. Japanese, or oriental Asian traditional clothing (as in ancient traditional..not belonging to more recent history) in general, as far as I know, are layered and don't show off the physique. So long as he is going for wa, keeping to that would serve the program better. A body-hugging costume, no matter how nice, would cause a disconnect between costume and program. Especially for men, who, aside from a select few that includes Hanyu, mostly look odd in contour-showing costumes anyway. To me, I mean. Also, he's portraying an actual historical figure here, who's portrayed in traditional garb in all depictions, so being overly adventurous on costume choice would be The fact that he loosened the front of it even more this time, to make it resemble the traditional style of suikan is a great stylistic choice and an even more awesome tribute...although I hope it doesn't lower the practicality by causing more resistance...though one could say it's good for training upper body strength. Lol.

Hmm...as this is for the purpose of education, I think they needed a protocol that shows both negative and positive GOEs, and with Hanyu both being a household name in Japan and that protocol having both a maximum deduction and some pretty impressive positives, it serves the purpose perfectly. Expounding on what @xeyra has said, from what I'm able to tell professional athletes and skaters are paid to do what they do. They don't necessarily have to win per se (which is why you get things like match fixing, which is illegal but it happens). When you're competing, you get sponsored to compete and preferably to win but you don't actually get paid directly for competing, winning or losing, which makes you an amateur. The concept of professional athletes only work for things like team sports, wrestling, boxing (and all other variations of ring sports), racing, etc. where the leagues and/or matches/competitions itself are organized by big corporations and the prizes are all given by them. Skaters are only considered professional when they're paid to show up to specifically skate, but they're no longer really considered as athletes. Which was why skaters who were still actively competing didn't use to be able to appear on ice shows. Necessity and practicality have since made them possible to switch between the two statuses, though, which is why we all get to see active competitors on show ice presently.

@Joey: So all that ugliness happened, huh. Things get pretty...heated in Japan, don't they? And so complicated...I've heard snatches of it in passing but your account of it is the most at-length one I've ever come across (for me). I have been wondering why a number of his fans seem so eager to paint him as the eternal victim but with a history like this, I guess I could see where it all stemmed from... Also, for the record, I wasn't thinking as deeply as I should have and as such wasn't as careful with my words. This has happened a few times here already, people taking something I said wrongly because I worded it poorly. The words chosen this time were especially poor but I didn't actually mean what those words implied. I had meant something else altogether. ^^; As for everything else, yeah, I mentioned them because you mentioned JSF's actions being unjustified and we were basically still on the same thread of conversation. And I know this wasn't what we're talking about but I'm just going to slip this in here simply due to the fact that it's convenient. I'm still not too sure about the magazine thing but I figure 50% of a magazine content being about him when it technically isn't exactly supposed to feature him exclusively is still a good deal. I'm pretty much on the same boat as @katonice about this. I mean, they've got to start featuring other skaters somehow so the void left by Hanyu wouldn't be as bad as it would get if these publications were to suddenly no longer be able to have Hanyu grace their pages. If JSF wants to avoid the situation Russia's men's field is facing after Plushenko's retirement, or at least curb it a bit so the degree of slump wouldn't be quite as bad as that (Uno still being around is irrelevant because he alone won't be able to sustain the kind of interest in the sport the way Hanyu is doing) and these are one of the early steps that they are taking towards it, I find it hard to begrudge them the action they're taking. They've got to keep the sport and the field going somehow...

*mulls your words over* Okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said the last bit about Nats and ACI. I may have gotten a bit carried away with my line of thought there. It wasn't what I meant to imply but I see how derogatory it could come off to fans, and hypocritical seeing as I'm a fan myself. So I'll take it back. And I did some more thinking on the whole issue. I see how bad it looks for JSF from the perspective of Hanyu fans and how it can be taken as a slight against them what with the host being Nagoya and they have a horse in the race themselves that they desperately want to prop up against Hanyu's overwhelming popularity and support. And yes, it's quite likely there's a fair bit of that, as well. They want to give Uno as much home ground advantage as possible, and given that they *are* the FS capital of Japan, perhaps JSF is letting them have their way. Anyway, yes. I concede that the whole GPF organization thing does stink of politics but there really isn't anything jaded fans aren't already expecting, I don't think. If the latest fiasco is not allowing gifts to be thrown and banners to be put up, it stands to reason that these apply to not just Hanyu, but the other 5 as well. Which means Uno fans will also have to refrain, right? And say if some alternate reality takes place and neither Hanyu nor Uno make it to the finals, the rules would still be in place, right? Cos it'd be blatant double-standard otherwise to which even my natural penchant for giving the benefit of the doubt won't be able to hold out against. But so long as they are keeping it fair across the board and not just apply them to Hanyu fans, I still don't see the point of complaining. Because as long as these rules apply to everyone, I still don't perceive what JSF is doing as unreasonable. I'm not advocating for them, but it hasn't crossed the threshold into blatant double-standardry yet. As for the magazine/periodical thing, I have thoughts on it as well but don't want to carelessly share them in case I'm missing some facts and end up stepping on some innocent toes like I did earlier. Is the embargo happening only for this season or is it a rule of thumb from here on out, even if Hanyu were to decide to go on another season? Like, is it something that applies to all skaters: no featuring more than 50% of just a single skater?

I...really don't think you need to worry about that. Japan will always come first but he is also a big picture person with a wide open mind so I *really* don't think he'd be the sort to confine himself to simply Japan. Not when he can do so much good on a global basis. He may want to give a bit more focus to Japan, or mainly his hometown of Sendai, but ultimately, he's mind is too big to force himself into one small corner of the world. And Sendai is too small a place to accept all that he has to offer. Before long it'll overflow and he'll have to bring his talents to the world. Sides, if his professional services (and I don't just mean performing) are required outside of it, he'd be too generous to not provide it. If Orser and TCC had been that way, Hanyu wouldn't have been the skater he is now. I'm sure he'll be taking a page of their books. =)

Well, it *is* best to keep your expectations on the down low. This way you won't be too disappointed if you don't get your wish and be very pleasantly surprised when you do.

Ahhh. The guilt-tripping bit was a joke. Especially since no one would have do it to him. He'd do it to himself first, if what he's shown of his character is anything to go by. >_< I think he's probably the sort who needs to have some sort of expectation hanging over him at all times to function so if noone's going to put any on him, which is unlikely, he'll put it on himself. So really, I don't think you need feel bad for wanting what you do. ^^ But it's good that you do. Though, if the guy knows that he has fans feeling like you, *he's* gonna feel bad and the cycle will be endless. Best if he just does a few international shows and gets paid for it. He doesn't even have to do too many of it. Just a few here and there and the rest of the time, he can stick to the Japanese ones. He knows and acknowledges his international fan base. If he's the Yuzuru Hanyu we all know and love, he's going to want to make these fans happy as well. And he'll do what he can to make that happen. Because then he'll be happy, too, I'm sure.

Oh man, you're so sweet. Thing is, the guy has everything to gain from it. And the showman in him lives to please anyway. I genuinely think he finds happiness in making others happy. And this isn't going to be like competitions. People are there to be entertained and see him have fun, not win (though chances are high he'll probably make a competition out of *something* somewhere in the show). And when he has fun, he puts on the most amazing shows. He usually enjoys himself like a gregarious puppy at shows. Plus, let's not forget the guy thrives on attention when he's on the ice. He craves for it. Where's he gonna get his fix of it from internationally like he did at competitions other than foreign ice shows? Which btw pays big bucks. And he has something a lot of other established Japanese skaters would kill to have: a huge loyal international following. His probably eclipses Takahashi's, whom Ive noticed has a considerable one as well. These things often happen over the summer anyway so when he's married with kids, he can take the entire Hanyu bunch with him like a sort of vacation. This guy has it made. It's not very likely a big piece of skin off his nose to show up in some of them. And being the sensible fellow he is (when it doesn't come to training and jumping anyway), I'm sure he knows it, too.

Lol. I'm sure he'll want to look into investing. Especially since he's a numbers sort of guy. Seems to enjoy crunching them a lot. There are property investments and business ventures he could look into that would occupy some of the space in that big brain of his. There's also charity and he'd also be looking to fully provide for the family he seems keen on starting. And nah, rather than guilty, the guy would just turn on us and enjoy the effect he has on his audience. And he may agree to do it since, well, a cult figurehead has to appease his followers. >_<

Lol..I'm sure just ka-ching would work. Lots of it. And a lot of guilt-tripping (but...but...you'd be doing your fans who don't get to travel abroad a whole lot a chance to see you a great service! You know, the ones who sold their kidneys to travel to see you back when you were still competing despite not being Japanese? They've only got one left, you know, thanks to you, are you really asking them to sell the only other one they have left? And let's not forget the ones who only get to see you through a computer screen and was happy when you're happy and sad when you're sad? *sad doggy eyes* Take responsibility, man!) in case he's willing to turn away truckloads of money for whatever reason.

If you feel driven, by all means. I'd pay to go just to show my support. I'm sure @Hydroblade would, too, if it means the show gets to keep going for a long time and can afford to keep asking Hanyu to headline. >_<

Really, think about it. It'd be the ultimate project of love that extends beyond his competitive career. And show existing organizers what they're missing out on by pretending he doesn't exist...although it could very well be that they extended invitations and he declined them all due to training schedule and other sensibilities--I mean they want money and this guy brings in spades of them, they're not stupid. I find it incomprehensible and frankly, impossible, that they wouldn't have even considered him. So @meoima could be right, and NA/European audience may get to see more of him when he turns pro. Just looking ahead to the future. It's not really all that far ahead. I mean it's been nearly four years since Sochi, to which many still feel like it's yesterday...

Lol, I'm aware of that. Sorry for oversimplifying but what I meant was, he doesn't care much about publicity gimmicks and all that. Judges trend and pattern of scoregiving and what goes on in their heads when doing it and whatnot probably go hand-in-hand with skating. He's a psychology fan so it's all a single package to him. He's been counting scores like talented gamblers count cards since he was in middle school so this game he knows how to play and knows how to play well. I hope you get to see him again. It seems so magical for you the way you put it. And it's always nice when someone gets to experience a magical moment like that that others can experience vicariously through. Me, I don't have the stomach for live competition so if I ever get to see him live, it'll probably be at one of the ice shows in Japan. Funny how that is with their products circulating the world. Their entertainment industry, other than the anime one, seems rather confined domestically due to the language barrier. Koreans didn't let that stop them so they could learn a thing or two from them. Lol, maybe an NA fan or European one could look into event organizing--or more specifically, FS event organizing. >_<

That sounds like a fair evaluation. Hanyu fans are legion. It's unlike anything the FS world has ever seen. On top of giving other skaters more visibility instead of getting eclipsed (and this being in Nagoya, I'm sure the want to raise Uno the rising star's one as much as they can), so they want to try curbing it a bit to give casual supporters or Nagoya ones a fair chance at getting tickets and cheering their favorites without being drowned out and other skaters not having to navigate a sea of poohs after Hanyu's skate. This will ultimately segue into a future where Hanyu is no longer competing. This is probably new to them since there has never been someone like Hanyu. So whatever "games" they may be playing, this sounds like the ultimate goal and doesn't seem all that unreasonable to me. They didn't have to do this for Takahashi because Hanyu already proved to be a gigantic force before he retired. But the problem with phenomenons is, they only come once in a blue moon, so it'd be hard to adjust back to the norm after they've shone their light. The Hanyu era is like the bubble economy of figure skating. So either way, Hanyu will leave a gaping void that's never seen before and they have to get people to start getting used to that. Missing Hanyu or not, people have to move on. And anyway, Hanyu himself might not be opposed to this as, as much as he appreciates his fans, he may feel a bit bad about overwhelming others with the very visible love his fans shower upon him. Not that this is the fault of the fans or Hanyu, seeing as this is a very natural occurrence when you've got a phenomenon like Hanyu out there, and fans have every right to be miffed at being thwarted from expressing their love, but I think organizers have a right to do what they feel is right by other skaters. This might also create an illusion that he's simply one of the skaters instead of THE skater. That must bring back some nostalgic feelings for him. He seems more the type than the "without me, you people are nothing" sort. Guy's not a diva like that. He doesn't think he's the be all end all to skating, so he'd want others to shine as well, especially when many of them are the future. Guy may want to win and calls himself selfish because of that but at the end of the day, he's proven to be a person with a big heart and infinite wisdom. It's another big reason why he's so loved. ^^ I mean, I get that fans feel affronted on his behalf but he just doesn't strike me as the boycotting sort. It's just not who he is. So if he doesn't go to 2019 World's, it's not going to be because of this. Wonder if they'll do the same for Nats. They should. So the rest of the field don't feel like nobodies and get a fair chance to shine. I mean they'll probably still get outshined but at least it won't be exacerbated by a crowd who's only there to see one person. Would not want them to be queuing up all night and then leave as soon as their favorites are done, and when the crowds are skewed towards one or two skaters, with one probably owning 2/3 of the crowd, it can get pretty disheartening. At the end of the day, Hanyu really only wants to skate (edit: and win). He's probably not too concerned by anything else. It's how he's always done things.

Happy October! Kenji no Heya w/YH Ep 4 *new* Note: Lots of fast talking here so if you are a subtitle reader, you might need to pause at certain points to allow yourself time to process. Past episodes: Episode 3 Episode 2 Episode 1 Feel free to discreetly share but kindly do not upload onto streaming sites. Thanks a bunch! 11/26/17: Subs for all episodes have undegone minor revision and reuploaded 02/04/18: Reuploaded to another file hosting site cos Google has ruled Hanyu unsafe for public consumption and his ass 03/04/18: Reuploaded to another file hosting site

I'd collect two decks of these. One for safekeeping, and one for playing.

There's a lot of nice MADs online, no doubt, but there are only a small handful that really hit me between the eyes. I find that these make for awesome FS music, too. Have skaters ever look to online artistes when choosing music to skate to? There's such a breadth of work... If they haven't yet, I reckon it's only a matter of time before they start to.

Haha wow. You can totally see two clear and different batches of skaters in the domains they excel in. Hanyu and Fernandez are the only two who make appearances on both (proof that Brian and his team are doing something right and he doesn't even make it seem like winning is everything and skating is the only thing that defines his athlete's lives) with one reigning supreme in absolutely everything, and not even close to done yet. Also this bit: If I may be allowed a bit of the Extraness™ that Hanyu runs on daily, this is what it looks like on a closer perspective: All 3 of his PCS scores in the top 10 are in the top 5, forming a double-decker sandwich with Chan and Fernandez as the different filling on each layer and him as the bread: ...what? You have to admit, it's a pretty amusing image. >.<

I dunno about the minute specifics of the technical aspect of giving scores but as far as subjectivity goes, if the circumstances required all line up and Hanyu skates SEIMEI clean in typical Hanyu fashion, I think the nature of the program itself, as well as that of the SP, may help nudge the judges into trusting their heart and senses and simply take the plunge. If he gets high pcs for Chopin, which is a western piece, there's a good chance seeing the same skater perform an asian piece as the LP with a commanding percussion line to enforce the image of majesty into the minds of even the most culturally ignorant, and with the double treat of the skater also actually hailing from the same foreign culture, will make them feel that if there's ever a perfect time to go all out, it'd be now. Because if they hold back, they may very well find themselves regretting it later as the decision they should have made when they had the chance as a judge lucky enough to experience that once in their tenure where so many never get to in their entire tenure as judges. It would have been such a perfect YOLO moment for them. But only if Hanyu manages to skate both his programs clean at the Games, that is, 5 quads or no. I say this because he's the only one for whom the 4T and 4S need so little prep and have so many transitions going into and out of them they look like triples* so if he only uses those two and a 4Lo to build a 5-quad program, the performance will be very much less likely to suffer. I mean, he probably won't go for it but I'm just saying if he wanted to build a 5-quad program without sacrificing any aspects of his performance, he can. *I enjoy everything Ambesi says because I find his words enlightening. But I disagree with him when he says Chan looks as good as Hanyu when he manages to execute his 4T perfectly. I don't mean Chan's quads, when done well, are less perfect than Hanyu's, but due to differences in body structure and jumping techniques, their jumps just don't look the same. I'd more readily compare Chan with Fernandez, since the latter also has beautiful jumps, because to me, they have the same kind of visible heft/power to their lift during take-off and heavier feel to their landings so when they jump their quads, you cannot mistake them for triples. Which I suppose why some find that their overall style more traditionally "masculine" than Hanyu's. Because more visible effort = more show of power to the naked eye and the less experienced mind. Hanyu is the epitome of less is more in his final presentation but doing so much more behind the scenes to achieve that effect. If anyone can do a 5-quad program and still earn full pcs, it's gotta be him. Soy sauce before the egg. Make sure to mix it well enough to coat every grain of rice before pouring the egg over. That's the golden rule. Thou shalt not break it lest thou suffer the misfortune of a mediocre experience of a simple but most hearty meal.