ZuCritter

Happy Birthday, Planet Hanyu! I am forever grateful for this site and the wonderful fanyus who gather here. Long may we enjoy the unfolding miracle that is Yuzu!

1 hour ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Just popping in with a quick intermission post from the arena for today's show:

 

YUZURU IS ABSO-BLOODY-LUTELY SUPERB TODAY.

 

There. Just had to get that off my chest. 

 

He's amazing at all times but this is next level.

 

Hope you're all watching the livestream or the broadcast and enjoying it as much as possible.

 

A note about the projection mapping for the classical music program that culminates in Ballade: it flows across the ice in such a way that it looks like Yuzu is dancing among the musical notes. Not sure if you can see that on the stream so thought I should share

Beyond superb. There truly are no words. The passion, the precision, the musicality, the physicality, the absolute transcendence ... My soul is healed. 

20 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

In regards to the fan art, it reminded me to post this:

 

Does it look to you like some of the personas Yuzu portrayed in the Aera video are based off manga characters? I could have sworn I saw Light Yagami of Death Note in there, among others

Thanks, @rockstaryuzu and @Yuzurella for this discussion. As someone not plugged into the manga world, I have a whole new appreciation for Yuzu's collaboration with Mika Ninagawa and the persona he manifests in her photos. Fascinating!

On 8/3/2024 at 10:54 AM, Yuzurella said:

This is such a nice and creative detail!

[NEWS]

No matter how often I watch this, it makes me grin every time.

Happy Anniversary, Yuzu! The second year of your pro career was even more dazzling than the first. I am forever in your debt.

The three things that left the most powerful impression for me weren't discrete moments but broad markers of his evolution as a professional artist:

1. The brilliant narrative and visual structure of Re-Pray, in which all the disparate elements worked seamlessly to create a true "Ice Story."

2. His collaborations with other powerful, visionary artists (Mikiko-sensei, Daichi Mao-sensei), through which he opened up whole new realms of personal expression. (I'm especially tickled that he likes to collaborate with women.)

3. His recent statement that, over the course of the Re-Pray tour he was able to accept that, as an artist, he is able to deliver something his fans cherish as much as they did his athletic achievements -- allowing him to fully embrace our ongoing support.

All those developments assure me that we have much, much more brilliance to look forward to from the the creator of the new art form known as Hanyu Yuzuru.

Fly on, Yuzu! I will always support you!

19 hours ago, Yuzuwinnie said:

 

 

Oh what sad news and without you@ Madita we wouldn't have known    , I can understand your pain    , because with@Perelandra she was a kind of "pillar" for sending fanart almost every day, I haven't seen her for too many weeks.... alas..... 

Likewise, I corresponded with her with immense joy which I will miss.  

 

My deepest condolences to her husband and family and also a HUGE HONOUR to have been your friend 

What shocking and terrible news. Anni was a blessing to all fanyus who follow this forum and this thread. Now she is one of the shining stars in our collective fanyu firmament. My heart goes out to all those who love her and counted her a friend.

19 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

I just got reminded of something! Raise your hand if you know why  is in the Yuzu-moji section of the Planet's emoji collection. 

 

And if you don't know, say that too, so someone who knows can have an excuse to tell the story 

I won't spoil the suspense by telling the story, but I will observe that the image of the food in question may be accurate, since the person who made "pancake" part of the Yuzu lexicon is a Canadian (but not from Quebec).

ETA: Glad to be reminded, too, of Yuzu's -- and Johnny's -- lovely pancake spins.

8 minutes ago, EisElle said:

Clean!

With a tad of a save on an addition he added out of extraness cuz 3A landing was good😁

ETA:

Last 3S of the 4T euler combo not the cleanest landing, so maybe that's why he wanted to be Extra and add a further toe on last 3A(it was a big 3A!) but really, it was a great performance! Having rewatched Yokohama yesterday, I liked this Dark Messenger even more interpretation-wise, felt richer and more nuanced

And I'm happy he's not kuyashii!!!!

Only a fall in 6min warm up

I wonder if he took advantage of NS to work a bit with Shae-Lynn on the choreo. The arm choreo, in particular, seems more refined and purposeful. Anyhow, love the changes!

As much as I look forward to seeing the perfect performance of two days ago, I think the performances where he has to save a jump are actually fabulous. The added tension is almost a bonus! So dramatic!

52 minutes ago, fuzz_ball_21 said:

 

 

[NEWS]

I'll actually be in Kobe at that time (visiting from the US), and I like all the skaters who will appear. But I won't be trying for tickets, even though they'll probably be much easier to get with Yuzu absent. I can only hope that he'll announce another installment of the Re-Pray tour for June/July, and I can join the ticket bloodbath for that!

1 hour ago, TallyT said:

Who would have thought the boy who couldn't fix his own tie would end up Gucci ambassador?

The boy whose ill-fitting suits were a running joke!

(Don’t worry, Yuzu, we were laughing with you, not at you. Mostly.)

6 hours ago, TallyT said:

Today is the anniversay of the Super Slam in 2020, folks.

Yes, that is one of my all-time favorite performances. It always brings me close to tears.

But was it really just four years ago? Impossible. In those four years, other skaters have lived seasons; Yuzu has lived lifetimes. (And we, alongside him.)

1 hour ago, Pammi said:

https://x.com/02ma7/status/1742013612967989270?s=20

 

 

I don't quite understand what Matsuo san is saying here, but I know it's something nice about Yuzuru so that's what is important!  

 

Translation (twitter)

For the past seven years, I've been listening to it with earphones every March 11th, without anyone knowing. The truth was known only to the family and coach who quietly skated ``Requiem for Heaven and Earth'' with prayer. Thank you, Hanyu-kun. 2024/1/2

I recall Yuzu saying at Notte Stellata last March 11 that it has been his custom to skate Requiem each year on that date, but without anyone being aware of it. He used earphones rather than having the music played for everyone to hear. So only his coaches and family would probably have been aware of what he was doing. I’m glad  Matsuo-san acknowledged his gesture. Very touching. 

11 hours ago, Yuzu_legend said:

Hi everyone

 

If you haven't sent your b-day wishes, please do take 15 minutes of your time and send or post it. We're receiving wishes till this Wednesday!

 

 

 

Dear fellow, fanyus,

I, too, have struggled with sadness, anger, and even despair over the past few days. But in my spiritual tradition, which is prominent in Japan, I am taught to focus not on what happens in the world but on how I relate to it. That is where I can exercise choices that bring me closer to the peace I seek not only for myself but for all beings.

Yuzu has limited control over how others treat him, but I think we can rejoice in the fact that he has met this onslaught with impeccable grace and resolve. For my part, I am determined not to let the pain of these events cast of veil between me and Yuzu. I want to take just as much joy as I ever have in his beauty, his artistry, and his strength of character. I will not let greedy and misguided people cast a pall over my love for him.
 

In that regard, this birthday project came at exactly the right time. For those who choose to, it is an opportunity to reflect the joy he brings us. Then we can continue to cherish, support and love him even more fiercely than ever before.

Thank you,  Planet Hanyu, for this birthday project.

I’m absolutely gutted. After all he has suffered and sacrificed, and all the beauty he has brought to the world, it seemed that he was finally finding some solace and happiness. I knew it would be hard for them, but I never imagined it would be so ghastly that they would be driven to this. 
 

This is, literally, a crime. May those responsible pay the price. 
 

ETA: At this moment, I wish he would quit skating and go somewhere where he and his partner can live in peace. The pain of seeing him suffer like this feels worse than the pain of losing the joy his performances bring. I know not every fanyu will feel that way, but, for today, I do.

4 hours ago, Yuzurella said:

Yuzu reading a part of a story about snow

[NEWS]

It sounds like it’s also a book about acting in ways that reduce the threat of climate change, which makes me love it even more!
🌏☃️🩷

21 hours ago, DancingFeather said:

By the way, @ZuCritter It might be time to bring back your first profile picture.

Thanks, @DancingFeather for the shout out. I'll admit that I do miss old Nessie, but she almost came to feel like a jinx. Just for old times' sake, I've decided to let her out of the closet of "dreams that must someday die" for a quick appearance. Here's to Yuzu's continued quest. May the skating gods protect his ankle and grant him success. He certainly deserves it!

12 hours ago, fuzz_ball_21 said:

Not sure why my links won't embed anymore but the twt says:

 

Miya said about his song 光(Light) on TwitCasting, “Btw Yuzu-kun was the 1st person I asked to listen to the demo.”(2:17~) When asked why he sent it to Yuzu 1st, he said really fast, “Why? Cuz I wanted Yuzu-kun to listen to it 1st! Kya~Don’t make me say it!!”(9:15~) So cute

 

https://x.com/marika_yuzu/status/1702492236431372399?s=20

 

Miya-san always makes me smile. Of all Yuzu's musical collaborators, his music draws me in most powerfully. I hope they'll find a way to collaborate on a full-length show someday!

4 hours ago, Sammie-s said:

Yuzu looking like a 28 year old man. 😆😆

 

 

 

OK, maybe it's my imagination, but he sure looks mature, relaxed and, I don't know, settled, in recent days. Wonder what could have happened?

8 minutes ago, Beatrice said:

 

Alas, that's true       

 

But I think I should refrain from reading it, coz it would give me "such tremblings, such flutterings, all over me, such spasms in my side and pains in my head, and such beatings at heart, that I can get no rest by night nor by day" (who recognizes the quote ?) and my high blood pressure would surely cause me an apoplexy   

 

Alright, I'm joking (not!)   - but honestly, I'm half glad that I didn't get to watch the competitions live in all those years of shameless underscoring, I'm generally very sensitive to and intolerant of unfairness and injustice, even when I'm not so emotionally invested as in Yuzu's case. Beijing was quite enough for my nerves, I broke down crying so that my daughter came running, worried that sth serious had happened - well, it WAS serious for me  

Got the quote: Mrs. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice.

45 minutes ago, Martina said:

 

The fact that he left competing not because he wanted to leave it, but because they made him understand that, no matter what he did, they would never let him win anything important again, will always remain an open wound.
I can't help but think, in addition to the medals they stole from him, the suffering they inflicted on him, to all the masterpieces we will never have. If he had left when the situation was now clear, in December 2019, we would not have had masterpieces such as Ten to Chi to and Introduction and Rondo capriccioso. Yuzu has shown tremendous strength going all the way to Beijing, and even more amazing strength going through the competition, and everything that happened during that time, in the way he faced them.
I will always support all of his decisions, the one to leave the competitions like all the others, but the wound remains open, even if he is happier and if I'm happy for him and with him.

My sense is that his desire to compete was a complicated matter, with many conflicting impulses. I'm not sure even Yuzu himself understood at the time why he chose to continue after PC. In part, I think, it was the only life he knew, and, for all its demands and heartaches, less scary than turning pro. If he had mastered Nessie at any competition during that last quad, I think he might have quit the next day.

As for the Infernal Skating Union, hell is too good. I still hope it will go bankrupt and all the dirty laundry will get a thorough public airing. One of the greatest joys of the Hanyu Pro Era has been seeing him tick off the boxes in the old fogies' wish list for their ideal skater: thoroughly contemporary, check; masculine image (ie, not gay), check. The corrupt system will wither away while he continues his global conquest, which is right and just. I am satisfied, as I hope he is.

2 hours ago, Perelandra said:

 Bonus: carrying the viewer around the rink

Yuzu is very considerate. 

Yes! I had to catch my breath every time. Gives new meaning to the phrase “in good hands.” Hehehehehehehe.

7 hours ago, fuzz_ball_21 said:

He looks tanner.  Just came back from vacation?

He does -- which is strangely disconcerting. I don't know which is more : the thought of Yuzu married or the thought of Yuzu lying on a beach. He's really testing all our (OK, my) baseless assumptions about his life. A good thing, I know, but the man could have just a shred of pity for my poor spinning head.

24 minutes ago, Henni147 said:

Hi everyone! I have exciting news!

I finally managed to set up a website where I will publish old and new analysis works about Yuzu's skating. It will probably take some time to transfer all my analysis threads from twitter to the new site, but I hope to be able to build it up bit by bit:

 

Yuzuru Hanyu Legacy (wordpress.com)

 

It's still a fetus website, but the index page should give you a rough idea what it will be like when completed. I hope you like it 

What wonderful news. Thank you!!!!

@Henni147created this video of some of Yuzu’s most amazing YOLO jumps: