rockstaryuzu

I agree completely! I would also add that I hope Yuzu realizes now that it's enough, for his fans, just for him to be himself on the ice and to show his own point of view.

Has anyone else noticed that Yuzu is looking particularly great in these most recent photos of him? I've been comparing them to photos from before Olympics this year, and it really looks to me like a bunch of stress and strain dropped from his face once he landed the 4A...makes me wonder just exactly how much pressure he was putting on himself to try and get that jump done. Or am I imagining things?

No, I think they realized, because people who were there (like myself) told them. Heck even tge customs agents at YVR knew it was for Yuzu after a few thousand fans all gave the same reason for visiting Canada that weekend. Late-arriving satellites even mentioned it ...getting customs agents asking them, 'Let me guess, you're here for that Japanese skating guy.'

This makes me happy! He looks so relaxed and happy himself, well-rested and just glowing with health. Looks like maybe he's been getting some good fresh air and enjoying life.

New Roman time:

I'm sorry to see him retire so young but it was pretty obvious he's been struggling with his skating, too. Other news: Skate Canada just announced that this year's SCI will be in Mississauga: https://skatecanada.ca/2022/04/mississauga-to-host-2022-skate-canada-international/ That arena is really close to Pearson Airport so perhaps a bit more convenient for those flying in to see it.

It does! What are the little bags? My guess is a type of music box?

I was very surprised to see that Skate Canada listed Gogolev for the Junior Worlds team...didn't realize he was still eligible for Jrs

He's young to be saying that

I know, right? Wish I had clued in at the time...I thought I was talking to just another internet troll. Little did I know!!!

For a country that supposedly doesn't care about outside opinion, they sure seem hungry to know what completely random strangers on the Internet think of them...and you never know

@Pammi

so, Russian Maxim magagzine published their April/May edition featuring Zhenya. the pictures showed up in my Insta feed - and I really wish they hadn't. It's not that I have a problem, per se, with an athlete or a skater doing those types of shoots (which are comparatively tame next to Sport Illustrated swimsuit issue, sometimes), it's that in Zhenya's case, something about it feels off. Like, she isn't this personality at all...and you can see in her face that she's really not sure about it... I don't know. when Liza did Maxim, I thought "Good for her!", but with Zhenya I'm thinking "Jesus, I hope she's okay"... what a contrast.

I'm really loving all the ideas for where Yuzu might go to find inspiration, that people have siggested so far. I especially like the human library thing...that's something I didn't know existed but it's a really cool idea.

I was wondering why we didn't see you. Goodness, that's a lot! Watching competitions live makes for a busy day to begin with but add in work obligations and that's even worse!

While I understand Max's enthusiasm to see this again, if Yuzu did bring it back, I hope he would do so only as an ex or an ice show piece. First of all, Romeo and Juliet were teenagers themselves so 'maturity' doesn't actually fit the theme of the piece, and second, Yuzu probably has other things he wants to say with his skating now, things that wouldn't fit his old programs. I want to know what the Yuzu of today has in his heart and mind that he wants to share with us on ice.

This is more than 267 people! I want to add to my inspiration suggestions : I'd also advise Yuzu to take classes in a dance or artistic discipline he's not familiar with, such as sculpture, or modern dance.

All of the things that have been mentioned so far are great, but I really like this one!

Been a while since I've been on the main chat. I saw the Shae-Lynn interview, and it got me thinking about Yuzu and where he gets his inspiration, and more generally where artists get their inspiration from. For a lot of artists, pieces that they create can comes from multiple inspirations and turn out to be a kind of sum total of all their experiences, distilled and viewed through the lens of their particular medium. Because of this, there are artists who continually seek out new inspiration and new experiences that can then use to inspire their art. For example, a ballet dancer might take some classes in a different dance style, or a painter migh travel to a foreign land to see new landscapes. So, let's pretend: if you were one of Yuzu's 'people', such as a choreographer or a coach or so on, and one day he said to you " I think I need some inspiration - do you have any suggestions?" - what would you suggest? What interesting thing would you point out to Yuzu as a way to feed his artistic soul? I think I would suggest first spending time in nature, then going to a famous art museum to look at things he's never seen before. Anyone else?