Yuzurella

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...

And who knows, the Maestro himself might very well crown his glorious and unique competitive career with a third Olympic gold medal in Beijing 2022. Just imagine all these youngsters moving up into seniors now or in the next few years and being able to compete on the same ice with their idol. An absolute dream come true... His ice shows will be completely sold out all the time with people only being able to get tickets via lotteries. Meanwhile, in non-Yuzu ISU competitions...

This is indeed the season of Yuzu tributes. For these young skaters, Yuzu is clearly their hero and idol. This is a part of Yuzu's legacy, a result of all the love, heart, passion, hard work and perseverance Yuzu's put into his skating and his art. It's so touching. I'm proud to be a Yuzu fan.

Autumn is here. Haru-chan and Pooh are collecting nuts and being watched by ToshI and Yoshiki in the background. ToshI's even holding a pudding. How cute!

This is so much better. I hope she will be able to perform like this many more times during the season.

Whaaat?!? I'm totally surprised. Let's see what they can come up with. It should definitely generate more interest in ID in Japan. I have to say that it's a good thing Daisuke keeps on trying out new things and going new ways.

Translation of Yuzu's interview in the Ajinomoto recipe book. All the food in this book looks delicious.

The OP says that this is a bookstore outside of Tokyo promoting the new Yuzu DVD. They're really taking marketing seriously and giving Yuzu the attention he deserves.

Interesting analysis of both Yuzu and Sasha Trusova's latest free skates. https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/d7ze5t/the_scoring_of_the_junior_ladies_event_at_baltic/ And this is an analysis of the ladies' even at the latest JGP, especially Alysa Liu's free skate. Something is rotten in the state of the ISU.

Awesome! She is admirable!

Ice King Yuzu in all his glory. He looks like an otherworldly, magical creature on these pics.

Wooow! It's hard to believe that these pics were taken by a fan during ACI practice. They look better than most professional photoshoots I've ever seen. Yuzu's sooo beautiful and photogenic!

According to Google Translate, Daily Sports will start a new series with large-scale Yuzu features that spread over two pages starting from October 1st.

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that. I never saw anything crossed out on score protocols...

This looks like a fair and reasonable solution. It would make direct comparisons possible and create accountability... And that's exactly why the ISU would never even consider it! And this would also require highly developed technical equipment and such. You know how the ISU doesn't have the money... blah, blah, blah... One very simple solution to get rid of the most biased scoring and judging would be to just delete the highest as well as the lowest scores among all the scores given. This way, you can achieve a more even and fair score in an easy way. Extreme outliers would be eliminated. This would be simple, effective and not create any additional cost. Many judged sports introduced this successfully many years ago. So, why not figure skating, one has to wonder? To be honest, I think the ISU doesn't even want judging to become more transparent, accountable or fair. After all, that would take away their power to, let's just say, steer the results in the right direction.

Warrior Yuzu getting ready for battle. And yes, @4Nessie, we definitely need a murder face Yuzu emoji!