rockstaryuzu

I though it was. Gabby Daleman seemed to think so when she mentioned it in one of her YouTube vlogs. Someone asked her what she thought of Evgenia's arrival and Gabby was just all giddy and excited about having all of them at the rink, and mentioned Boyang by name.

Come on, Skate Canada! Yuzu-baby needs a new gold for his collection!! It has nothing to do with me having tickets, no sirree Bob.Not why I'm rooting for it at all :p.

So, is Brian planning to encourage competition between them then? And how come no one ever asks about how Boyang's presence will affect Yuzu? Inquiring minds want to know!

I vote for Celestial Maiden. I like TCC raccoon too. and in light of the recent conversation, I think we need one called 'Sparkle Explosion" too. You know he's going to do a costume like that sooner or later.

I'm agreeing with you, and going one further, in that, as I've said before, I think him being that person is exactly what enables him to portray what he does on the ice, and also what allows him to share his emotions as part of the performance and in interviews, with his skater friends, etc. I'd even go so far as to say he's a great example of what modern, positive masculinity can be, but if I say that, then I'm delving into gender politics and getting a bit too heavy for this forum I think. Regarding the term 'fey' - the first time I ever saw the word, it was being used in a book I was reading to describe someone who had the power of 'second sight' - i.e. could see prophetic visions. So for me the term has overtones of 'unnaturalness'. And I find Yuzu to be very natural * in his performances, so that's why it doesn't feel like a good fit to me. *Natural for him. I'm pretty sure half the jumps and steps he does would never come naturally to anyone else... I still feel sorry for Mura...

Tbh, I'm not sure you're entirely wrong... I think at least one of the H,ILY costumes was sparkle-free...but then it did have shiny black patent leather pants so, still shiny... IMO, Hanyu's the type of person who would look sparkly even if he wasn't wearing any. He'd sparkle even in a burlap sack I think.

@BWOZWaltz that's exactly what I was trying to convey. That OP said it better than I ever could.

Oh, I gave up wondering about that a long time ago. When I make reference to his masculinity or femininity, I'm talking about his identity as he presents it to us in performances. I'm firmly of the opinion that his sexuality, in the sense of who he'd be attracted to, is not our business. That being said, the thing he's shown repeatedly in interviews etc is that he LOVES gold. So I'd say he'd date it if he could.

I'm sorry, going without sparkles is the one thing of which I'm 100% sure the boy is incapable...

...do it with the women. Imagine the battle between Alina and Evgenia being described in terms more suitable to lions on the African savannah...

Some blessed, wonderful soul posted this on Youtube: Shoma's Shae-Lynn Bourne-choreographed piece, Great Spirit, starts at 1:20. I've been dying to see it, and it does not disappoint. It really looks like Shoma wanted to challenge himself with something very new and different and, well, hard. I hope we see lots of it this season, either as an ex or (maybe?) an SP...

Brian mentions it in an interview I think. I'll see if I can find the link... Ah, here. It's a translation from an Ice Jewels interview: https://wherespacepooh.tumblr.com/post/161490922159/brian-orser-interview-ice-jewels-vol-6-may Read the paragraph beginning 'After the SP, any special discussions or...?'

Is this your very first post? If so, great start! To clarify, for me, and in the strictly scientific sense of the term: Alpha male = Top Dog in the pack. No one can deny that this is Yuzu. The negative and sexist connotations that have been baggaged on to the the term in recent years have absolutely zip all to do with it's actual meaning. To me, Yuzu is able to express himself on ice the way he does because he's secure in his identity as a man. There's no self-consciousness, no affectedness (contrast this with Johnny Weir, who I find is a very self-conscious performer). It's something that flows naturally from the core of his personality. My theory is that he would not be able to do that without being confident and secure in his masculinity. That doesn't mean there's something negative in him being any other way, it just means that this is what I perceive sets him free to be beautiful, graceful, and elegant. And it reminds me of old, old ideals of what gentlemen were supposed to be like. You'd have to be quite a student of history to see where i'm coming from here, but there was a time when beauty, grace, and elegance were considered positive signs of good character in a man.

Yes, no argument. If you mean alpha in the sense of "strongest wolf, the one who leads the pack." I'm saying it's precisely because he's that, that he can make some really typically feminine artistic choices and get away with it.

Heh, considering he wanted to unite Japan, he'd be delighted that it was someone Japanese doing it.

I know it's the wrong time period but I vote for 4A being Oda Nobunaga...as both represent great ambition. And if we using Lord Of The Rings as a reference, 4A would be the One Ring because it rules all other jumps. So I've had some time to read back through the last several pages and satellites, I want to apologize. I never dreamed my joking remark about Dory would trigger such an avalanche of disputation and I'm sorry that happened. However, I'm very glad to see so many satellites support free exchange of opinion. I do think this is one of the more positive forums on the 'Net, not just in Yuzu fandom but overall. So I felt that I could speak my mind a bit.

This. Exactly this. I don't think it's 'dragging' to have and express an opinion about Yuzu's many sometimes unexpected artistic choices. After all, that is precisely what 'art appreciation' means. And there is also the side of that discussion where people talk about whether or not his costume and outfit choices suit him or look good on him. In my opinion that's harmless. We wouldn't be talking about it if we didn't like him or find him interesting. I don't think comments, joking or otherwise, about an athlete's health or training choices are appropriate though, unless it comes from a place of genuine concern ( for example, when people worry that Yuzu is trying jumps he shouldn't while recovering from injury. That's ok to worry about.) On the flip side,though, I find it strange that some people think that in order to be a fan, you have to unquestioningly adore and cheer on every single thing about him, and never ever utter a critical word. To my way of thinking, this is actually a little dangerous, because it implies that people shouldn't think for themselves and that there's only one way to be a fan. To my mind, that's on the same level as fans who write to Brian Orser scolding him for "making" Yuzu do jumps he fell on...when any fool can clearly see that no one "makes" Yuzu do anything. In short, there are many ways to appreciate Yuzuru Hanyu, and if someone is appreciating him differently from you, it doesn't mean they're less of a fan, so just enjoy the fact that you both like the same thing and leave it at that.

'Dory' is what satellites other than myself called the costume. I'm well aware of the actual program name Wings of Words; I even used to watch the anime Yuzu was inspired by for that program. His performance was fine. The costume choice remains questionable when you see it in certain photos.

Eh, I dunno...Dory can hardly be termed anything other than 'dubious'...

It's also a time-honored tradition in kabuki and Noh theatre, which are done by all male performers.

See, I wouldn't say that. I would say it about Weir. But for me, with Yuzu, it's more like the grace and beauty is the feminine side of his masculinity. Like, only the most secure, most confident, most alpha of men could express those feminine traits so naturally, without self-consciousness, fear, or embarrassment, because it just never occurs to them that any one could see them as anything other than masculine. I think it's beautiful, but it's also very old-school. There was a time 200-300 years ago (in the West anyways), when it was the natural place of a gentleman to be beautiful, graceful, and elegant. Yuzu reminds me of that.

That, and acting cute is a bit of a Japanese thing anyway. Are you familiar with other Japanese celebs (actors, singers, etc?) ? If you watch the Japanese entertainment world, you'll see a lot of 'cute' behaviours from both men and women, some much much older than Yuzu. I think it's important to make a distinction here: acting dominant, as Yuzu often does, is not really related to being either masculine or feminine. It's a social trait that can be expressed by both genders.

Yes. Although he does have some cutesy-girlish behaviours IRL too. As for his off-rink style, I've heard it described as 'early Japanese teenager'...which seems about right. My point was that, whatever style he wears/genderness he exudes, it all comes from the same place: within himself. And I don't attach any particular meaning to it; I'm old enough to understand that a mature personality always has traits that may not normally be associated with a person's gender. in my opinion, it's impossible to be a fully developed male or female personality without having and being comfortable with traits of your opposite gender within your own psyche. So what I'm saying is, I see in Yuzu a man who knows himself well and has come to terms with every aspect of his personality, and because of that he's able to pull off things like Haru Yo Koi and Etude and H &L and still not be too girly.

You can't be a top athlete without that characteristic; it's literally impossible. I have to agree that Yuzu is one of the most...integrated... human souls I've ever seen. That is, he is always wholly and completely himself - he's never trying to be something or someone else for the sake of pleasing others (I mean, look at the footage of him at the Emperor's Garden Party...talking up a storm with someone who's supposed to be descended from a deity, no less, and he looks as if it's just a regular day in the park!). He's self-contained in that regard. And I think that characteristic is what makes it possible for him to appear as a lovely celestial maiden, or as a total testosterone-driven rock god (as in LGC), and not seem at all out of place in either role. Because it's still the same Yuzu, who knows who he is, on the inside. Both of them are Yuzu, and more importantly, both of them are him at the same time. It's not either/or with him when it comes to masculine/feminine...it's 'and'. And it's 'and' all the time.

Is it just me, or have they made the costume more pink? Now all it needs is more sparkles.