dodobirdo

Wow, they all have such glowing complexions!! Thanks for sharing Also, do we know what Satoko's doing at TCC?

Wow, I'm quite surprised by the Helsinki and CoR assignments, but I'm just glad that assignments are finally out!!! TBH, when I first opened the link I quickly skimmed down the lists for SC, NHK, and IDF, and when I couldn't find him I was like, 'Is hE nOT GoING?!?' and it took a minute for my brain to realize I'd skipped Helsinki and CoR completely

I've been sitting here all morning, and now I'll need to leave the house in 20 minutes....

Oh dear, what is this. I... kinda dig it??

Thank you for the clarification!!

Ok, I'm going to give translating Brian's interview a shot (but my Japanese is pretty shabby, so I'm just going to paraphrase the key points, and if anyone wants to add/correct anything, please do!): - Interview took place while Brian was in Kobe - About Yuzu's right ankle injury: His condition has improved. He can jump things such as 4T, 3L, and 3A. He's looking/working with the necessary patience towards the long-term. - About increase in GOE range: Men's FS has also decreased from 4:30 to 4:00, which is more difficult. But our team's skaters are strong/focused on building skating skills and gaining speed without much effort, and those will become our strong points. - About new rules affecting Yuzu: It's a good change. He's a very all-round skater, not just a jumper. He has distinctive spins and steps and great technique, and he can handle all types of choreography. - Has Yuzu changed after winning OGM twice?: Nope. He's always 100% motivated, and it's amazing that his motivation/energy hasn't decreased. He loves to skate and to compete. He's matured, and he carries more responsibilities. He always has various goals he aims towards. - About 4A: If he's healthy, there's no reason for him to not try it. He has great technique. Last year he tried challenging it a little, but then he had to focus on the upcoming Olympic season. Now, the situation has changed. Yuzu is ambitious, I can't stop him if he wants to try something. Provided that he proceeds healthily/properly, that is. - About Zhenya moving to TCC: She's an amazingly hard worker. For Yuzu, that's a good thing. I'm very much looking forward to it. ETA: whoops, too slow! better check out Yude's translation linked above!

Looks like Zhenya whacked him pretty good in the stomach

Thank you so much for the links! I was looking everywhere for this, yesterday!

Thanks for the link! They really do know how to tease us!! Kaori has such a sweet voice, and (besides Yuzu, of course) I'm actually really curious to hear Shoma's singing voice With everything else that's going to be happening/broadcasted, Saturday's going to be such a blast!

There are a bunch of inspired edits flying around now, and somehow this one just really spoke to me

...It’s just sunk in for me that we’re going to have 3 days of content each week until the end of June. What a time to be a Fanyu OT but I just noticed this emoji: what is this perfection.

I haven't even gotten to the Yuzu part of the show yet, but I'm already dying at the first 20 seconds of turtle racing

So this is very much OT by now, but I thought I'd share in case there are those who are still interested (plus we're in our off- week season, so anything goes, apparently ): Back at the Emperor's garden party, I was wondering about the different pronunciations for the last name 羽生, 'Hanyu' vs 'Habu.' I was randomly browsing some videos on Dailymotion today, and I found a pretty interesting video (sorry, I don't know how to embed DM vids) of a Japanese tv show that did some research into this very question. There are no subs, and my Japanese is... not the best, but broadly speaking it seems that the pronunciation depends primarily on geography, with 85% of 羽生's pronounced as 'Hanyu' and only 15% as 'Habu.'

I'm sure (or at least, I hope) that I'm not alone in this, but sometimes I find myself spending hours rewatching competitions chronologically with specific commentators, as it's interesting to see how the commentators' opinions have changed over time (and it makes me happy to hear people shower lovely, well-deserved praises upon our boy ). I've already followed through this train with B.ESP and I.ESP (shoutout to my fave Italian uncles), and today it was an abbreviated lookback with CBC. I just finished watching the 2018 OWG SP and FS (Happy 3 Month Anniversary!! ). To be honest, I'm not sure what it was about this experience today that's prompted me to write this post, but I've come away with this feeling of thankfulness for the fact that there are people out there who have witnessed, followed, and supported Yuzu's skating journey for most, if not all, of his competitive skating career and who will continue to do so for as long as he decides to continue. It goes without saying that Yuzu has many, many fans who have also been following him for many, many years and who will likewise continue to do so in the same way, but the interesting thing about commentators is that their experiences with Yuzu's skating are documented and made available for the world to see. Of course, commentating is a job, and some commentators are more informed than others, some more invested than others, but there's something truly special about listening to those who care about and enjoy the sport and its skaters (hi there, all the uncles) and to hear them fall in love with Yuzu's skating (hi there, Max and Angelo). It's especially wonderful to hear them fall in love again and again and again, more and more each time, over all these years (hi again, Max and Angelo ), like many of us have, too. Anyways. There wasn't really a point to this at all, just sharing some thoughts I had today. Also, hang in there, friends! Only a week to go until FaOI!

Wow, this is seriously some next-level stuff. You know, it seems that as a community we have witnessed endless instances of such... creativity, to the point where I feel that surprise should be suspended indefinitely. AND YET I am still surprised---amazed, even---every time. In this instance, specifically, there are multiple points of amazement/confusion: 1. The fact that this relatively ordinary (let's be real, guys) hairstyle is now the Yuzuru Hanyu hairstyle. 2. The fact that there's this diagram in the upper right displaying... what, exactly? the strengths and weaknesses of said hairstyle? 3. The fact that on the the lower right point of the diagram, they assigned 'かっこよさ’ or 'coolness/handsomeness' only a 4/5 I wonder what the other points of the diagram say, it's a little too blurry for me to make out... I also wonder what the figures on the bottom left (the circles with 'POINT') are supposed to be pointing out...

Ditto that! I hope she's able to do an ice show or something with Yuzuru this summer (although as far as I know she's not in the cast for FaOI, unfortunately), if only to cleanse herself of the cringe of sneak-attack-'Yuzurenai'

So, I found myself watching some bits and pieces of 2015 Japan Nationals today, and a question suddenly popped up: did Yuzu ever compete in regional or sectional competitions in order to qualify for Nationals, whether on the novice, junior, or senior level? From my limited understanding, normally, skaters first compete in regionals to qualify for sectionals to then qualify for Nationals; however, I was under the impression that in Yuzu's case he had been invited to Junior Nats based on his Novice Nats placements, then was later invited to Senior Nats based on Junior Nats placements, and then as a 'seeded skater'(not sure of technical term, but basically 'skater who placed well enough') was able to advance directly to Nationals ever since. And that's how my question popped up, because if I understood things correctly then that means that Yuzu's never competed in any regional or sectional competitions... unless he did so as a novice (please do correct me if I'm mistaken)? If this is true, how often does this happen for top skaters in Japan? And, while I'm 100% confident in the assumption that Yuzu won't need to attend any qualifiers to go to 2018 Nationals, can anyone explain/direct me to the official rules that would enable this, especially as he's missed the last two Nationals? Also, if anyone has a better understanding of domestic competitions in Japan (ex: which ones there are, if/how the results are used by JSF, what kinds of skaters might participate, etc.) and/or the qualification system for Novice/Junior/Senior Nationals in general, I would love to hear it! Or, please direct me to some sources, and I would love to read up on it!

Thank you for the proxy recommendation! It is indeed expensive, but actually less so than the other proxy services I was looking into when pre-orders were initially released... so... I might actually make some purchases this time... goodbye, dear contents of my wallet

Just received my parade T-shirt today! The shipment was delayed due to a payment snafu on my end, but I'm still super stoked at the arrival of my very first 'admittedly extravagant but it's Yuzu so bye money' purchase! It feels like I've been officially inducted into the realm of fanyu-ness, or something, it's pretty great In any case, even though the parade has already passed, to me it's still special as it commemorates this wholesome celebration of his achievements (and, to many like myself, who he is as a person), and I like the thought of having contributed to it even from halfway around the world. I think I ordered a size too large, but it's extra comfy as a pajama shirt, and I'm planning on wearing it to sleep whenever I need to fortify myself with a boost of Yuzu-inspired strength/spirit for the following day imagine waking up like this: booyah.

Happy Belated 1st Birthday, Planet! A huge to all the mods and admin for finding and caring for this haven, as well as to all fellow satellites who make the orbit so much fun!

Thank you for the link and especially for the translation! Unfortunately I don't understand Italian at all, so I'm very glad for any and all translations that may come my way

You're very welcome, I'm more than happy to share the love! They're absolutely my favorite commentators, with their articulate technical analysis, genuine appreciation, and oftentimes hilarious reactions. Their committed support for Yuzu outside of commentating always warms my heart, too (like half of Max's twitter is dedicated to fanboying over Yuzu, I love it). I've spent many a good hour watching (and rewatching) and learning from their commentaries, so hopefully this will tide you over the few days until the parade! The paraaaade!!

...and if you would like to take the plunge, the-a-factor-fs on tumblr has an archive of their past commentary, with subs! Plus translated transcripts of Max Ambesi's podcast "Kiss & Cry"

Hello! Does anyone know where I can find the press con of 2017 4CC? I've seen clips of it (probably post-FS, with Nathan + Yuzu interactions) floating around but never the full video. While I'm at it, here's another ask: did anyone record the pre-CWW segment with Mitsuki Sumoto? I want to see his collection of Yuzu clear files Thanks!

Thanks for all the thoughts re: ninja!Yuzu. I’d had thought that with all the brouhaha surrounding him these days that it’d be almost impossible for him to travel incognito (esp to/from Japan), but I’m happily surprised that he’s able to travel in relative peace even now. I hope that whatever’s contributing to his success as a teleporting ninja continues to hold up from here on out!