Yuzurella

Oh, nooo! Poor Mai. Her health issues must still be really serious then. I hope she will recover soon.

At least his face looks beautiful, natural and normal in these pics. And this costume isn't even that bad compared to the old pink and blue-green monstrosities. Without the frills, it would actually be a quite nice, form-fitting costume.

A few months ago in Lotte headquarters marketing department. Marketing person A: "Yuzuru Hanyu is so beautiful! He always looks great, no matter what situation, no matter what outfit." Marketing person B: "I bet 1000 Yen I can make Yuzuru Hanyu look terrible."

I'm convinced that this, as well as that pink monstrosity, are artificial CGI images. When Lotte asked Yuzu for a photoshoot for a new campaign, Yuzu was probably like, "Nope, busy jumping quints and such. I'm sure you'll come up with something". And then Lotte just hired some interns at a graphic design agency to come up with some cheap CGI...

This is just a screenshot... How can a human be so beautiful...

All of this sounds pretty obscure to me. I'm sure there must be something much deeper and more serious going on for Nobu to react the way he did.

4A+3A+SEQ shall be called "GOAT Axel".

And the number 1 is... the GOAT!

Apart from sacrificing sleep, the thing that really bothers me when there are competitions in the middle of the night for me, is that I can't scream and cheer and applaud loudly and jump up and down wildly... I have to cheer Yuzu quietly and that's really hard...

Daily Sports has started its special Yuzu series with large scale two-page features. This is such a beautiful pic of Yuzu! 4A is his big dream. I really hope he will achieve it and, most importantly, stay healthy!

And the winner is... the GOAT!

At least more and more people are coming forward and dare to speak the truth. This also creates more public awareness and a safer environment for those people who have the courage to speak up.

Remember the moment when Yuzu seemed to have seen something on the ice during ACI practices and bent down to pick it up and remove it from the ice? This pic shows that moment. Only Yuzu would notice something like this and put in the effort to keep the ice clean. (And maybe save a bug? I don't know if it's a bug or just a piece of garbage.)

Sweet Yuzu...

Nobu is such a wonderful, kind and sweet person. I'm shocked and saddened that he's had to experience such terrible things. I think it was the best decision for him to come forward and make everything public. Posting about this whole issue in English was also a very smart move. This way, these things can't just be ignored and swept under the rug. It's great to see the outpouring of love and support for Nobu from fans all over the world. I hope he can now recover and leave all this ugliness behind him. I wish Nobu and his family all the best in the world.

At least some justice is happening.

I agree. One of the greatest things about sports, in general, is that it's exciting and unpredictable. And this is why people follow sports and buy expensive tickets and travel just to see their heroes in real life. And especially with this year having no media day, people were probably over-excited to see Yuzu, especially since most fans didn't expect a new costume. Figure skating federations and fans should be grateful that this sport has a superstar like Yuzu who has the power to basically single-handedly fill entire ice rinks and stadiums and create such a level of excitement. I think this is pretty unique in the history of figure skating. There have always been stars, but no one with even ten percent of the star power of Yuzu. That's why even Western media call him a rockstar on ice. Let's enjoy it as long as we can because once Yuzu doesn't compete anymore, I'm afraid the stands in figure skating competitions will be pretty empty except for the ones in Russia and Japan. Just look at the non-Yuzu challenger competitions. The only comps that were a full house this season so far were ACI, Russian Test Skates and the JGP in Russia. And we all know why ACI was full. I've been watching the Athletics World Championships in the last few days and the absence of Usain Bolt is so obvious. There's no one who can even nearly fill the huge hole that he left after his retirement. Sports aren't half as interesting or exciting without such superstars that can draw the masses in. That's why it's even more of a mystery why the ISU and skating federations treat Yuzu more like he's a nuisance instead of worshipping the ground he's walking on. To be honest, I wasn't at ACI myself, but I watched lots of fan cams and to me, it feels more like the audience was just super excited and happy to see Yuzu and also other skaters. That created a great atmosphere also for the other skaters. I think no athlete enjoys to perform in front of empty stands or a quiet and unresponsive audience. It's an important part of sports competitions. Of course, all the cheering and clapping should be respectful and not disturb any athletes, but that was certainly the case at ACI. It's part of being an athlete to be able to shut out distractions and focus on one's performance under any circumstances. We shouldn't underestimate Yuzu and other skaters and speculate that they couldn't handle that kind of thing. And again, let's enjoy all the excitement and shenanigans, the Pooh-rains, cheering crowds and full stadiums as long as we can.

Koshiro has grown so much in the last few years!

Hopurega brings flowers to a new friend. The butterfly welcomes him.

Yeah. He could do a 3A from a standstill as his opening pose.

What?!? When did he say that? That's madness. I suppose the 3A is for him no more than a jump exit... or entry... it's like the Yuzu equivalent of scratching one's ear for a mortal.

I suppose 4A+3A Seq landed successfully is what Yuzu would consider 50% according to his standards. And a twizzle sandwich 4A? Well, maybe 55%...

Aaaaw! Yuzu coaching a young girl and giving her a Pooh mascot... I'm getting all soft and melty and gooey...

This is really awesome! Thank you!

Yes, empty. And US Classic was pretty empty as well. And Nebelhorn Trophy this weekend also seems to have rather low attendance. I always feel sad for the skaters having to skate in front of empty stands. I can't imagine that we fans are the only ones who notice these extreme differences in attendance numbers. The ISU and national skating federations must be completely blind to not see the difference. Unless they delude themselves into thinking that figure skating is really still that popular in Canada and that's the reason for a full house at ACI... I think that it would be really awesome if Yuzu would be so pissed at how he was robbed at ACI that he won't participate in it next season and decides to come to another challenger... say, Nebelhorn Trophy... I'm totally thinking of my little self being able to travel to Oberstdorf in a couple of hours with the train. In that case, Nebelhorn (or any other challenger that Yuzu decides to compete in) would be completely sold out within a day of ticket release and at ACI...