rockstaryuzu

Well, from where I was sitting in the crowd at ACI, I heard far more Japanese than Chinese. The two languages sound nothing alike and are quite, quite easy to distinguish from one another so there was no mistaking it whatsoever. But maybe I just got lucky and happened to be sitting next to a cluster of Japanese ladies. The woman in the kimono was unquestionably from Japan. My point being, it was quite an interesting crowd and very different from what you would normally see in the stands at a Canadian arena, and dressed very differently too. Typical arena wear here would be jeans and sweaters and puffy coats. No one would ever wear a Chanel suit. So I was quite intrigued.

I know the difference between Japanese and Chinese. There were Chinese fans there but the Chanel girl ( young woman, more like, in her 20's) spoke Japanese. As did the majority of the girls camped out in the line up.

I know, right? I spotted a girl in gold sandals and full-on Chanel from top to toe. 😄 Very beautiful, and so not rink wear....and the old ladies in kimono. So interesting!

Well, in Javi's case, where else is he gonna go? The only ice show in Spain is the one he does anyway. Whereas Yuzu is spoiled for choice.

I suspect it would be much like ACI: busloads of miniskirted fanyu girls camped outside the arena waiting for him and bemused Canadians looking on whilst entering the venue and proceeding to their seats. At least in the bigger markets. In some of the smaller, harder to get to places, there might be no foreign audience members at all. And then there'd be me, trying to go to every show....😃

The main North American show these days is Stars On Ice, which is run by IMG Entertainment, who is also the talent agency for a lot of top name American skaters. But there's usually not one main headliner: it's a collective. (And in Canada, at least, how would you choose? The last edition of SOI Canada featured 9 World Champions, all Canadians except for Javi!) There used to be Ice Capades, but I think they've gone belly-up. And the currently running Thank You Canada Tour was Tessa and Scott's idea, backed by Canadian Tire, who are the main sponsor of the Canadian national team anyway. Elvis Stojko had his own show for a while, and he always invited skaters who were just as big names as himself. And he's the last one I know of from here.

No, I disagree. I think even PChan would see the benefit in doing a show with Yuzu, and I can't for the life of me imagine why Mao or Yuna, who are massive stars already, would have an issue sharing the ice with him just purely on a skating basis. I just don't get the impression that egos are all that big in the skating world. I know Shoma and Yuzu do different shows in Japan, but I always put that down to their respective contracts. I don't know who Yuzu's agency is but I know Shoma has one that is associated with the shows he does. I can't picture either of them not wanting to work together, they're always supportive and respectful of each other in interviews. And I do believe Nathan was already in Heroes&Future with Yuzu this past summer. In fact, the only one who might (but probably wouldn't) refuse is Daisuke, and I base that assessment on old news stories that may no longer be relevant. Also, personal ice shows probably have a harder time all around because they don't have a big organization like IMG behind them doing marketing and stuff. I imagine the headliner star of a show like that would want to get all the star power they could muster to sell tickets.

Nah, come on. who would ever be dumb enough to not want to share the spotlight with him? Not only would it guarantee your show to be a success, but think of the learning opportunity that comes from observing him up close. No skater worth their salt would ever pass that up. But what shows Yuzu will get to do in future most likely will depend on what kind of representation he has and the contracts they sign. He's unlikely to be free to just go skate any show he wants.

Just ask yourself what's more like Yuzu: telling us what he's going to do and then following that plan, OR doing something different than what he said and surprising us all? When I think about that, trying to predict when he'll bring 4A out is really a pointless pursuit. Because he'll do it whenever. And flatten us all.

Cripes. I hope GP Final organizers are paying attention.

I know this discussion's done, but:

Okay that was just unfair ...such beauty to hit me unawares...

Now that he's said he's not focused on it anymore, watch him go and drop a perfect 4A on us at Rostelecom, all unsuspecting-like.

Another moment with Ice-chan...when will the cameras remember to look away?

Yeah. They make you sit through an hour of pointless gossip just to get ten minutes of analysis. Ain't nobody got time for that. But what you said here about Shoma having charisma and using his charisma to cover his errors: I'd say the problem is the opposite. To me, Shoma skates like a textbook, and shows about the same amount of soul as one, in his competition pieces. I actually prefer when things go a little off in his performances because then you get to see something of his character. It's not that I want him to make errors, exactly. It's that I want to see his character shine through all the perfect skating. Right now it doesn't. And I don't really get T*L's viewpoint on him. They have a distinct preference for bland, personality-less skaters. Not just in men's. I mean they like Bradie Tennell, for crying out loud.

That's a bit surprising, tbh. And if he doesn't fix it this season, then under the new scoring, it's going to come back to bite him in the backside.

It's very unlikely that the guys at T*L don't know better than to use an athlete's image without permission. Either it's not an issue or they don't care. Whether they told Aljona's husband is another issue.

Part of me wonders if all of the athletes involved are aware of this. And yeah, this is the very definition of irony, considering how b****y T*L are about almost everybody. Frankly I'm tired of the 'being b****y is so hip' thing, would love to see it end.

So according to that, Shoma wins by the skin of his teeth, if he skates clean. IMO, Yuzu's more likely to skate clean than Shoma is.

I've always wanted to see a GoPro view of someone doing a quad jump. It would be so cool!

His records, break records. Yuzu might be the Chuck Norris of figure skating now.

I hope she got the bag back...

It's just proof that only Yuzu knows what Yuzu is really capable of.

Hence why I say we're in for a great season... actually a great couple of years. The depth of talent is amazing. As for Jun, I'm basing my opinion of him off what I saw at the practices at ACI and Skate Canada. Right now he's the only other skater in the men's that moves even remotely close to the way Yuzu does. It stood out to me. He may be young yet but he has the potential for sure.

I hope it works well for him.