BWOZWaltz

I think us Japanese have strange way to show appreciation... The site is for skating otaku so it must be a otaku trait to have that much passion about something they care about (of course I'm including myself in that)

Yuzu has polite manner and pays so much attentions to his surroundings not just people but also towards things animals, bugs, etc. He is really humble most of the time but when it comes to fs, his passion sometimes takes over. In the past (or even on-going), he's accused for being too arrogant over some comments that he made about competition or fellow skater or so on. Being humble is considered virtue in many countries and in Japan, people almost automatically do so out of social custom or kind of obligation to do with the person's standing within a particular situation. So if someone is expected to be (or act) humble but the person doesn't show enough humility, they get frowned upon. Yuzu's confidence sometime comes across as a kind of arrogant. Fanyus love him for whatever but haters use it to try convincing people to turn against him. Act out of jealousy is the root of these behaviour I believe. I do not actively search but if you do twitter or any of the SNS, you might see some posts from haters. But who cares? I don't. Someone's trash is someone's treasure. I just treasure what I can and when I can for as long as possible. There's always people like that.

Sorry for multi post in a short time. I just want to share this with you guys. It is written in Japanese but I have put rough translation so it should be okay... 羽生にフリル衣装は必要か？ Is frilled costume necessary for Hanyu? ｜ ├　フリル衣装は必要だよ（衣装原理主義） Frills are necessity (costume fundamentalist) │　├　フリルは絶対必要、フリルが無いのは羽生と認めないよ（超急進派） Frills are the must, no frills no Hanyu (extremist) │　├　フリル衣装の羽生だけが表彰台に上がるべき（序列主義） Only Hanyu with frills should be on podiums (hierarchist) │　├　フリル衣装の羽生なら後はいいよ（王道派） As long as there are frills, the rest is fine (main stream) │　├　フリル衣装は羽生の十八番だよ、ロマンだよ（浪漫派） Frills are the best bits, they make it romantic (romanticist) │　├　2009-10シーズンの羽生はフリル衣装だからこその大躍進だよ（懐古派） Frills gave Hanyu a big push in 2009 – 2010 season (old timer) │　├　もっと素敵なフリル衣装が見たいなあ（夢想派） Want to see more beautiful frilled costumes (dreamer) │　└　とにかく自分はフリル衣装が好きなんだよ（利己主義） I just love frilled costumes and that’s final (egoist) ｜ ├　フリル衣装はあった方がいいよ（現状肯定派） Vote for frilled costume (conservation) │　├　だって実際にフリル衣装は似合うじゃん（単純理論） It’s true Hanyu looks good in frills (simple theory) │　├　フリル衣装着ないとモチベが上がらないかもしれないじゃん（悲観主義） What if he doesn’t get motivated without frills? (pessimist) │　├　どうせ来シーズンもフリル衣装だよ（楽観主義） Frills are in for the next season anyway (optimist) │　├　羽生もフリル衣装を着たいと願ってるはずだよ（心情派） I believe Hanyu is wishing to ware frilly one (sentimentalist) │　├ 「フリルを着た阿修羅」が使えないじゃん（世俗主義） No frills? No “Frilly Asura*” then?! (commoners) │　├　フリル衣装なら他の選手を油断させられるよ(戦術論派) Frills can divert competitors’ attention (strategist) ｜ ├　フリルはどっちでもいいよ（中道派） Don’t mind frills or not (middle way) │　├　フリルでもスケスケじゃない衣装もあるし（懐疑主義） There are frilled one without see-trough material though (skeptic) ｜　├　ビジューがシンプルならいいよ（要素主義） Frills but with simple bijous are okay (elementalism) ｜　├　フリル衣装が似合うのが羽生の特長だよ（個性派） Looks good in frills is a part of Hanyu’s character (character builder) ｜　├　それよりUAの話でもしようよ（練習着重視主義） Let’s just talk about UA instead (UA-list) │　└　とにかく美しい衣装が見たいんだよ（審美主義） Just want to see a beautiful costume (aesthetic judge) ｜ ├　その前に衣装を検証してみるよ（実証主義） Should analyze costumes first (analyst) │　├　フリル衣装のクワド確率はこうなってるよ（確率論） Stats for quad success rate in frills are here (probability theory) │　├　フリル衣装を人類で最初に衣装に取り入れたのは羽生じゃないよ（古文書学派） The first frilled costume in the history is not worn by Hanyu (paleographer) ｜　└　ビジューをいかにして落とさないように止めるか（ステファニー・ハンドラー） The key is how to glue bijous securely (Stephanie Handler) ｜ ├　フリルの衣装を着るには…（指導論） How to wear frilled costumes (guidance) │　├　デザインはまたジョニーに依頼すればいいよ（保守派） Let Johnny design it again (conservative) │　├　フリルに似合う少し長めの髪型がいいよ（板前反対派） Longish hair suits better with frills (no chef’s hair cut) │　├　セパレートよりツナギの方がジャンプ跳びやすいよ（ケヴィン派） Jumpsuit is better for jumping than separate one (Kevin fan) ｜ ├　フリル衣装は必要ないよ（フリル衣装否定派） No frills necessary for costume (anti-frills) │　├　とにかく絶対必要ないよ（超シンプル主義） No frills what’s so ever (super simple life) │　├　お金がかかるからいらないよ（節約主義） Frills cost money so no (budget conscious) │　├　フリルだけが衣装じゃないよ（ポストモダン派） There are more to costumes than frills (post-modernist) │　├　他にすることあるだろう（演技原理主義） First things first (performance fundamentalist) │　├　フリル衣装見てても面白くないよ（快楽主義） No frills give me thrills (epicurean) ｜　├　だってゲイだと思われる（差別主義者） They will judge it as gay (biased) ｜　└　フリルの話したら荒れるもん（2ch依存症） Frill talk cause thread to burn! (2ch addict) ｜　└　パリ散はフリル無しでも100点数超えたじゃん（功利主義） PW exceeded 100pt without frills (utilitarian) ｜ └　羽生にはこれからも期待しているよ（変衣装友の会） Looking forward to Hany’s future costumes (wired costume enthusiasts) └　しかしママン衣装のクオリティは凄かったね（古典派） Indeed, the costumes made by mum were awesome! (antiques lover) It looks like Yuzu with frills is something that Japanese fanyus are intrigued about for some time. But in the end, you gotta love him as a whole

My view exactly! Yuzu's performance is breathtaking, beautiful, elegant, and his earlier ones are also energetic but never "girly"!

I'd say Japanese fanyus are mostly women/girls and middle aged men are haters because Yuzu is so popular. But they (middle aged men) themselves prefer young girls so we're only doing the same thing as they're doing:D

Thanks for your insight. I think Japanese and Chinese both share some aspects when it comes to beauty in men/boys or men playing women role I think I can understand why Yuzu is popular among Chinese. It must be very odd for western countries that somehow the border between men and women in performing art is not so clear. Masculine aura or attitude is definitely in Yuzu but at the same time, he can be so elegant and soft. I just think Yuzu likes frills for his costume is like his love for Pooh. It may be odd but I get it. It's perfectly harmonious in Yuzu world:D

Yes. He could be a perfect 女形 (onnagata but pronounce "oyama"). Yuzu is a perfect "bishonenn" 美少年 (beautiful boy) in Heian era when Abe no Seimei was alive. He's fair skinned and slim with slit-eyes. Beautiful!!

Not sure if you guys have already settled with this topic and moved on to something else as I haven't finished reading the rest of the pages (I'm still at 3244...5 more pages to go at this point). But I may be of some assistance for providing a Japanese person's view on this as I am Japanese born & raised there until I finally left home to live overseas. The tumbler author made one major mistake at the very beginning of the article. It is to do with the understanding of the word "wa" (和). In Chinese character (probably both for Japanese & Chinese), the use of this word ”wa” means "peace or harmony". That is correct. However, for Japanese, "wa" also means Japanese way, flavour, style or whatever the subject you're going to associate the "wa" word with (like food, house, clothes etc) NB means something Japanesy. For example, Japanese kimono, we call it "wa fuku" (Japanese clothing). So when Yuzu said he is pursing "wa" programs, he didn't mean "harmonious" or "peaceful" program but he meant "Japanese" style/feel/taste program. When he listened to Seimei OST, he liked the sound of "fue" and "wa-daiko" (Japanese flute & Japanese drum) and that got him thinking about a concept of Japanese program. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FEMININITY. I think many of fanyus in Japan (I'm not necessary included in them as I am out of the country for too long), they don't think Yuzu as a girl or too feminine. They (and I) think he is a boy when he's off ice but when he's on ice and I mean when he's really "on", he can be definitely "阿修羅" or "鬼" (demon or Asura) for his fierce competitiveness. That is definitely not associated with femininity. It is interesting that Japanese fanyu sometime calls him "フリルを着た阿修羅”. English equivalent would be like not "Devil wears Prada" but "Devil wears frills". Do you get a picture? I could be wrong but I know from internet that lot of Japanese girls prefer slim or skinny built men with not too much muscles. I for being shojo and shonen manga reader for many years, prefer men to be not so macho when it comes to admire their figure. For many years, when I occasionally watched men's FS (I mostly watched women's), I always felt somewhat uncomfortable with their costumes. I couldn't figure out what it was but when I discovered Yuzu, I think I've found the answer. Yuzu wears costumes with frills and bijou. He looks good in them too. He also skates beautifully as well as wildly (LGC, Hello I Love you, Vertigo, etc). Notte Stellata is a knock out program for me. It is beautiful, elegant, moving and a touch of femininity. I think that perfectly suits him and his slim built with boyish look does help to include that femininity. A beautiful being can be a boy or a girl or both, if you'd prefer:D So yes femininity in performing art is definitely accepted among Japanese culture especially. As a matter of fact, there is an all-girl theatre company/school called "Takarazuka" where women play role as men. In more traditional performing art like "Noh" or "Kabuki", all-men theatre have to have men play women role. Both are perfectly accepted though latter (traditional ones) are considered more sophisticated or high class (like musical to opera). I can carry on but I'll stop it for now. If anyone is interested a bit more, please let me know.

I can't decide wether I should be at Stéphane or at the cameraman. [admin edit: inappropriate] I think Okita souji is a good choice as some of samurai hair style involves "boldness" on the top but many of the images of Okita is not the bold one. However, Yuzu previously referred his face as "kuge" (aristocratic class) face so his face is not really a warrior but more an aristocrat. Abe no Seimei was a spiritual adviser kind of position to many of the nobles and emperors at the time and I think Yuzu definitely suits that kind of profession more than samurai. Having said that, in the making of the CM for Monster Hunt, Yuzu said he likes using axe as his chosen weapon so he likes to be a warrior with power. Also we have to consider about his hair type before any hairstyle change can happen. His hair looks really thick and straight so it'd be difficult for him to grow it really long...tons of wax or mousse to control it. He said his out-of-the-bed hair is like antler beetle with hair sticking out here and there... I love to see that!!

The actual show starts 12 noon so I'd say the extra time is to allow for sponsor adv. It would be a recorded live not live streaming so they would edit some of the contents and that's probably where commentators (Nobu?) do their bit. And his love for GOLD is already obvious...

I agree with you both. But when Yuzu is asked about Pooh, at least he doesn't have to think too much about what to say unlike when he's asked about the quads... The podcast had no substance relating to Yuzu because it was not really thought through. It's more like they happened to be in the same place as Yuzu and decided to throw some random questions at him for the sake. I really felt for Yuzu as he was struggling to make sense in English. Poor bb... I understand those people expected Yuzu to speak English because he's spent the past 6 years at TCC training in Canada. Of course he had to communicating in English there but the people at TCC did speak the other language which was common to Yuzu and that is figure skating. When you have a common subject, it'd definitely help them understand each other much better. I was rather angry after listening to the podcast as it did not show any of Yuzu's quality and his eloquent ways of talking about many things. I'd say to them to dig deeper next time and get an interpreter like the one at FCCJ press conference!!

I can't find the post but someone had mentioned that if Yuzu had an accent when he speaks Jpns. In this doco, bb mushroom did have an accent (or used a word that's considered as dialect). He sure sounded like a little Sendai native. He's so cuuuuute! In general, Yuzu does not have any obvious accent in any sorts but when he interact with his local ppl, I think his accent does come out eventually. In his earlier footage during his school days, his speech has some kind of twine but I am not familiar with the actual Sendai accent, I cannot tell.

You mean 158cm right?! Lol I'm the same height!

Oh well..Otani (the guy on the right) is 193cm so most of the average height people would look small standing next to him. It's okay, Yuzu is much taller than me so I can live with it

Sorry! So sorry but I couldn't resist...

It said that the original manga was published as one-off which was received well by many readers. That is why they've decided to publish as on-going sports manga series. TBH, the publisher is making a huge mistake for altering the original version to somewhat more suitable for the magazine's target reader (for this case, boys in general - young and old). I recon the publisher didn't do their research well enough before hand. I think the one-off version was read by both boys and girls but the people voiced their appreciation probably were mainly girls (like fanyu) and the publisher misread that. When I was growing up, I used to read these magazines though I'm a girl (well.. once was ). This particular one - weekly shonen magazine has great history of spo-kon (sporting spirits??) manga including "Ashita no Joe", "Yakyukyo no Uta" and "Kyojin no hoshi". Just because the magazine is called "shonen (boys) magazine", it doesn't have to be exclusive for boys. It won't hurt to have more regular reader base regardless of the gender. I'd say it's a typical Japanese oyaji-thinking. They just have this rigid way of thinking that they cannot get in touch with their feminine side. By them changing things around to beef it up, the original essence will probably be watered down so much (or added more BBQ sauce?) that the people who liked it in the first place probably won't even look at it again. I know blood, sweat and muscles don't go with sequins for those oyaji editors but us girls can have them all! Why can't they accept it? I know people are willing to invest into something boldly different as long as the story has its legs to stand on.

I've sent 20 Euro for now through gofund site In hindsight, my bank may charge me foreign transaction fee!? Oh well, it's for the good cause!!

A pro competition sounds great. Unlike other professional sports (tennis, golf, etc), professional figure skating doesn't involve competitions between skaters. Ice shows are great opportunity to watch star skaters from different times but to me, those shows do not have the edge and the electric atmosphere of the competition. I guess we all need anything to help pass the drought season - Mr G included!?

Or tampering chocolate count as cooking?

I couldn't find the definite source but the rumour has it that Yuzu has had hidden brace / braces behind teeth. I could find several Japanese blog posts suggesting that he's had it done though I couldn't find a post confirming the source. Also I've noticed in one of his documentaries that his words pronunciation wasn't clear unlike other interviews and later found in someone's twitter post while I was following #ぴょん落ちのみんなへ that the person found Yuzu's words pronunciation rather cute due to having the braces. I don't know but it looks like "a matter of fact" among Japanese Yuzu fans that he has had his braces done.

Me too! Let's take a walk on the wild side...

It was not me that I requested a media link but thank you to Floria as I've been looking for this in YT for a while. The documentary's really interesting. Seeing 17yr old Yuzu talking like a real teenager, I was remembering Orser coach's interview, the part he was talking about the teenage gang - Yuzu & Javi. Fast forward 6 years and just look at him now, what a brilliant young adult he has become! PC podium photo is the best family photo ever, mama Brian:D I can see Yuzu's sprits hasn't changed but he has matured so much especially over this olympics. Wherever he decides to go from here, I trust Yuzu 100% and follow wherever he takes us. His own ice shows? More competition years? (or triple OGM?) Taming Nessie? Mentoring younger skaters? As long as that is what Yuzu wants, I'd take anything!!