Old Cat Lady

Personally, one of my favorite things about Yuzuru is that he's a bit eccentric - actually, a lot of the things he gets criticized for are my favorite things about him. I think it's believable that he's never gone downtown. I can be more of a hermit than he is and generally get bored going out by myself so if a friend doesn't convince me to go, I don't (and even when they try, they usually fail even if it's something I like doing. I lived in a town for many years without really seeing anything and when I finally did, it was because a boyfriend wanted to go. I find my hermit tendencies get exponentially more powerful when I'm immersed in something that I'm interested in - my friends are currently complaining about me not drinking with them for many months(apparently it was a big topic of discussion at the most recent social event). I was obsessed with a game for several months then saw Yuzu at the Olympics. I haven't really socialized with anyone other than my boyfriend except for game nights at my house, work, and my friend's birthday (and only because it was his birthday). And when I went to New York, I had no interest in seeing the Statue of Liberty or any of the other tourist traps - I find a lot of these things are a big hassle to get to and are underwhelming when you get there. Between the fact that he said he has no close friends in Toronto, has never dated anyone, has said he's always been uncomfortable in public settings, likes to do indoor activities, seems to get a lot of social interaction in his workplace (i.e. TCC, galas, commercials, interviews, etc.), and his all consuming passion for skating, it's not all that surprising to me that he doesn't really get out much.

I was thinking the same thing. Ultimately it's Brian's business so his decision but I interpret this as he wanted to bring in Jin and is just hoping hanyu won't object. My guess is that he doesn't want to be beholden to someone who might retire at any moment

No, no, no, that's not what I'm trying to say at all. I don't think Yuzu should drop ANY of his moves. They are all great when it's their moment - even the butt spin has its place. What I'm saying is that they should be saved for the right moment rather than added because they are a signature Hanyu move. When I think about his choreographers, his strongest programs were made by Jeff Buttle. Don't get me wrong - Semei is possibly my favorite LP of all time and H&L was great, but I think the difference between Buttle vs Shae/David is that Shae/David sort of string known elements together in a way that works with the program whereas Buttle adapts the moves to the music. He uses Yuzu's highlight moves sparingly, only when it is absolutely right for the nuance in the music that he's trying to highlight, and often adjusts it in a way that better suits the program or outright creates a new move. When I look at LGC, not only is the knee slide unique to that program but with only one program, it's become an iconic move. In addition to that slide, there's a leap in the step sequence that perfectly matches the music and is unique to that program. That kick at the end of the axel - once again, so distinctive and perfect for the program. It's the same with Parisian Walkways and Ballade - there are all these little moves that are special to those programs and make the programs special. It's not that I don't want Yuzu to use his other signature moves, it's that by reserving them only for the most perfect moment, it allows room for all these other possibilities while making his signature moves even more glorious when you do get to see them. It's not about how well he does the Ina Bauer/hydroblade/Biellman or whether he does other things better than these or about how well anyone else does these moves, or even that I think they are a bad choreographic choice. It's that they often aren't optimal choices. I would miss them if any of them went away completely but I don't find them necessary. He has the best hydroblade in the business and it was great in Semei. Actually, he doesn't really use it that much so I mis-wrote earlier. His Ina Bauer is fantastic to highlight long dramatic moments in the music - I love the change edge Ina Bauer to the sweeping parts of the music in R&J1. The softness of the Biellman was perfect for Notte Stellata and H&L. However, I also think there were several times that they were used where there was a better choice. Yuzu can do almost anything well and Jeff has proven that with all the innovative details in his programs which we wouldn't have gotten to see if Jeff always tried to cram Yuzu's signature moves into the programs. Ah, that's what I figured. Between the lowered BV and the loss of GOE, it wouldn't be worth doing in the short unless Yuzu is even more amazing than we imagine. I think this program is beautiful but it never even occurred to me that, that was supposed to be a hydroblade. I'll give this one to you ... THAT is the worst hydroblade I've ever seen, if that's what she was going for

I would agree that none of the other men do the Ina Bauer better and he's certainly does the best Bielmann of the top guys and 2nd best overall. What I meant by that comment is that I don't think they're so spectacular that they absolutely have to be in every program and he has so many other options that he does well that I'd rather see him mix it up As for the hydroblade, I guess I just don't like the move as much as others do though he does it well

My only gripe with Yuzuru's Biellman is that he loses so much speed on it. I find that it detracts from the program in his competitive skates. However, when he used it to gracefully float to the end of his program in Notte Stellata it was beautiful. If he can either maintain speed better or only use it situationally, I think it's great. I've started to warm up to Yuzuru's butt spin. It looks okay when it's a transitional spin and I loved how he used it to accent the nuance of the music at the Olympics. I think Shoma and Alina's more horizontal A-spins are actually nice - well, as nice as a butt spin can be anyway To me, both his Ina Bauer and hydroblade are overused. They're nice enough moves but there's more impressive Ina Bauer's out there and I just don't think the hydroblade always fits - they don't need to be forced into every program. To me, he has much more interesting moves that are not only uniquely his but he does better than anyone else. He has so many signature moves now - I'd much rather see more of a mix of the delayed axel, the Zusa (or other slide like element since I think I'll always tie it to LGC), the skid he does in Parisienne Walkways, as well as some moves he doesn't generally do like split jumps or spirals. Though I have to say, I've always underestimated the hydroblade until I saw Boyang do it - you don't realize how hard something is until you see it done poorly. Does a delayed axel count as a jumping pass? I've also always loved that Artur Dmitriev leap and would love to see someone do that again. I was also wondering if the 4 axel can be used for the short program. I'm not sure if the wording is double or triple or if it's any axel type jump - though the latter doesn't make sense since singles don't count. Just imagine the monster sp score if Yuzu could use it in the short - with that in mind, it makes the most sense of all the jumps to learn since there's a huge difference between a 4axel and 3 axel but minimal difference between the different kinds of quads

Thanks! Makes things so much easier. Now I just have to remember to find my place in the old spot before trigger happy clicking on the new stuff

Are you guys able to add a feature where you can jump to a specific page in a thread instead of having to scroll through every 10 pages? I've been trying to catch up on old general Yuzuru chat threads and normally just keep the thread permanently open but it takes forever to find my place when I accidentally close it

If the council doesn't finish until June 8, is any of this official? I was going to wait until the new rules were official before commenting on them but I dread having to catch up on 100 pages of rule discussion My understanding is that the 30 minute shorter programs and +/-5 GOE already passed in a previous council. I'm surprised that the shorter programs passed considering that I haven't heard anyone that's in favor of it - aren't these changes voted on?

oh. woops, one of these days I'll learn how google works Kei Nishikori was the most popular last year. Hanyu, and I think a few others, passed him in the most recent poll. Makes sense - Kei's been around a while without winning anything major and his career is on the downslide.

hmmm. Do Japan Novice Champs happen in Nov? Only thing I see that happened in 2004 unless it's a different Yuzuru Hanyu. I wonder why it was pointed out - doesn't look any more remarkable than a lot of the other blips. Dec. 2012 - Grand Prix Final, 1st Japanese National Championship Feb. - Sochi Olympics Nov. 2014 - COC crash Dec 2015 - 6 (?) world record scores - Wow, weirdly I never thought of it that way. That was quite a month. Apr 2017 - another world record Feb 2018 - Pyeongchang Olympics He really makes news every time something interesting happens in his career. I've been wondering lately for those that live in Japan - we know he's the most popular athlete there. How famous are he and Shoma compare to other public figures in Japan or Asia?

I've always thought that his arm position in his jumps were odd because they seem rather loose. He could continue clasping in the middle and just bring his elbows tighter to his body. But then it occurred to me that maybe he would rotate too fast for most of his jumps and he would lose control or over rotate. I imagine it would be really difficult to adjust the timing of a delayed rotation between quads and triples and I don't think he wants to lose the size of his jumps which are the only options I can think of. Maybe that's one of the things they're looking at when he was talking about rebuilding the axel though it seems like his strategy is to build more muscle so he can get more height and distance.

I remember seeing him talk about that at one of the Sochi press conferences. I find that very strange because I find that soup actually suppresses hunger. Whenever I'm trying to drop a few pounds I go on a soup, fruit, vegetable and tea/coffee diet. You would think the easiest way to put on weight would be to chug protein shakes or something. Even when I'm not at all hungry it's easy to spend a minute drinking a shake.

I'm late to the party but, lol, these articles are great! Makes Yuzu sound even more mysterious and interesting.

Does the heart good to read this. Just watched the British Eurosport broadcast of 2018 worlds on Youtube and was rather appalled by some of the comments. They couldn't figure out why Aliev didn't get points for his 3T in the short and lady commentator said that Nathan will be the greatest skater ever. It's fine to have a differing opinion but it's rather disheartening to hear anyone in the skating community to praise someone so highly based on jumps. Male commentator also called a quad flip as a triple loop and predicted a new world record based on Nathan's free skate

"When we are done with this skating stuff, are they keeping in touch? Probably not," he added. "They're friendly, they respect each other. Javi is (four years) older. He lives on his own, does his own cooking and cleaning, he has a cat. Yuzu lives with his mom and lives and breathes skating, and that's fine, too." http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/09/26/256166594

I wouldn't describe him as "handsome" either. I think he alternates between cute and "pretty" and sometimes beautiful but I personally like that more androgynous look. I really only find him sexy when he's skating which has more to do with his command and charisma and that killer instinct that you only see when he's competing. But I think what's most attractive is his expressiveness and goodness.

Thanks for the video! I remember a similar video to this where he was talking about how he was self conscious about the fact that he was so slender. Strange how someone with so many women (and men) fawning over him can think so little of his looks. I was reading a while back about various beauty standards and for Japanese men, it said that they are categorized as either Kuwaii or "Cool". I know Kuwaii is "cute". Does "Cool" mean more masculine? And does "clean and fresh" mean wholesome? Also, are beauty standards for men similar to those for women: slim figure, white skin, small face, large eyes, double eyelids, curled lashes, high nose bridge. I think his squishy eyes make his smile look even more radiant. And I love how delicate his lips are - I watched that parade press conference video over and over. Seeing how playful and affectionate they are makes me completely understand why they get shipped so hard - it's almost flirtatious. Brian said that he didn't think they'd stay in contact with each other after Javi retired. Hard to believe that they could be so warm toward each other but mean so little

LOL. Maybe Yuzu has become so influential that he'll start changing Japanese beauty standards. As an Asian with monolids myself, I've always hated how East Asians overwhelmingly favor the double eyelids to the point of being the number 1 plastic surgery. Didn't Yuzu say in some interview that he didn't consider himself attractive partly because of his eyes?

I'm totally with you. I'm trying to keep an open mind since Yuzu said he might want to try it and so many seem to support it. I'm not sure what even all qualifies as jazz but every program I'm seen skated to anything that might qualify has always seemed rather soulless to me. If he goes with something fun and upbeat, I'm hoping for pop or rock (as long as Kurt Browning doesn't choreograph - worst program Yuzu's ever done). I see no reason why he couldn't skate to a song from one of his favorite bands. Was it in the interview with Shae in Ciontu where Yuzu says he doesn't do sexy? I was thinking of that forward Ina Bauer that he does in Ballade and was thinking he could do something soft and sensual for one of his programs - a lot of fans seemed to respond well to that and I think would suit his skating style while still stretching him artistically.

Just curious for all those hoping for jazz, what kind of pieces were you thinking? I personally can't think of any jazz programs that I love. Even Parisienne walkways is my least favorite of Yuzuru's short programs as a senior, mainly because I don't like the music though I appreciate the choreographic nuances. SP: Jeff Buttle - JPop - Jeff normally picks the SP music so who knows. LP: Shae - Tokyo Ghoul soundtrack Ex: Kenji Miyamoto - some Japanese ballad If he goes with a warhorse, I love Carmina Burana and Rach 2 Has anyone skated to Ode to Joy? I would think it would be good music as he transitions into the next phase of his life. I'd like to see him skating to something kind of dark and grungy - it's getting into warhorse category but I think Disturbed Sound of Silence is great skating music - really love the version they did on the Conan O'Brien show. I also really like the Game of Thrones soundtrack. Part of me wants him to skate to whatever Nathan picks Judges won't be able to ignore the difference then! also wanted to add that I want to see him skate to a program choreographed by Misha Ge or Tarasova or do another one by Bestemianova/Bukin/Abe

His hair really only looks good when it's styled but I think he has difficult hair to work with - super thick, straight, and a difficult head shape to work with. He kind of has a little boy's haircut. I'm hoping that this long bangs phase is actually him growing his hair out so his hair will be forced off his face. LOL, I frequently mistake the years of his photos unless he's in costume or there's something distinctive in the background. Looks like he's finally losing some of the baby fat in his face - his second chin isn't as full and his cheek bones are more pronounced.

Yuzu has a surprisingly poor record (for him) in the Grand Prix. I just realized recently that he's only ever won NHK, Rostelecom (only once), and then, of course the final 4 times. I'm hoping one of his goals for his career is to win all the competitions that he's never won - that means minimum of 2 more seasons. I'm guessing that he mainly just sees these as a way to fine tune his programs and make the final though

I just watched the medal ceremony/press conference for this competition. It's good to see him smiling here. I was thinking that he looked more miserable than I've ever seen him. It's weird - he seemed to take the loss at 2015 worlds in good spirits, but he seemed absolutely crushed by this loss. Wasn't sure if he was feeling depressed from his injury and was already worried that it might be his last competition, or if it was the idea of losing 2 years in a row, or if it's the idea of losing such a big lead, or if he was so outstanding earlier in the season that it was a harder fall when he skated poorly. p.s. sorry for consecutive posts. can't figure out how to edit to include this quote

As far as the Ciontu comments, I wouldn't be surprised if Yuzu himself wanted it cut. I feel like people have become so hyper focused on it that they've missed the bigger point of the show and that entire week. It's supposed to be a celebration and a display of joy and gratitude for all the support he got over the years. I don't think he had any intention of starting a big social crusade. And as fans, you have to be careful of how you react. Overzealous fans will turn anyone on the border to the negative: neutrals will dislike him, people who already dislike him will start hating him. As a fellow fan, I get embarrassed/annoyed by the crazies. Personally, while I don't necessarily dislike a celebrity because of their fans, annoying fans will turn me off from following a celebrity that I'm not already invested in. And as previous posters said, people seem to be determined to feel how they want to feel and then look for excuses to justify that feeling. I will correct things that I think are factually wrong, but it's a waste of energy to tell someone to quit being crazy. And very often real trolls are literally psycho/sociopaths so reason and empathy doesn't work on them either. The best thing you can do is just be a positive and supportive fan. as an aside, i've been binge-watching The Skating Lesson. Anyone else think this show is absolutely terrible? Some gems so far: Hanyu hates Uno, you need to "save room" in the marks for later in the season/other skaters, GOE should be based on bad/good/really good. I honestly thought that this was just a fan reaction/gossip series until I started seeing the videos about GOE's and high profile skating community guests.