dheu

Welcome Pasta! But as a member who has been lurking myself for a long time before finally coming back here just to vent my anxiety for this Olympics, I honestly can't give you much advice. I guess we're all in this together? I just hope he achieves everything he wants to achieve with this Olympics and I'll be cheering him on from the other side of the world.

Just the highlights for me in where the new programs rank, I won't include everything. Sorry for the wall of text. Once I got started, I couldn't stop myself. FS Seimei -- I love the power and thrill of his skating in this program, and the choreography is really interesting. This was the first program of his that I really, deeply fell in love with. The step sequence at the end always gets me fired up. Favorite performance: Olympics 2018. It may not be a flawless performance, but this is the one I feel the most, with the way he fought for it and the beauty of all his movements. Romeo & Juliet V1.0 -- I like the choreography and the music for this program a lot, and I love his sit-spin twizzles. Favorite performance: Nice 2012. The raw passion and talent is so obvious, and this particular performance was so mesmerizing. The first time I saw this, I gasped out loud at that moment he fell, because I was so lost in his skating it was almost a shock to the system. And then his scream before the step sequence... chills! Hope and Legacy -- H&L is an opaque program to me. What that means is that it feels undefined, there is no obvious story or emotion to it, and when he skates it he seems remote from the audience. Some of his other programs draw you in, but H&L does not for me. Instead, it feels like a dance he is performing for himself, like a mad skating god dancing on a hidden pond, and we just happen to be hiding in the bushes watching it. It is captivating and beautiful, and yet distant somehow. I don't know how to describe how I feel about this program; hopefully that makes sense. Favorite performance: Of course Worlds 2017. Origin -- Origin is brilliant and fascinating and full of fiery power and remote fury, maybe like that mad skating god raging at us for spying on him, lol. I love what we've seen so far (although I mourn the loss of the sit-spin twizzles...). But particularly the 4T-3A, which may not give him the most points from a technical standpoint, but damn it looks beautiful and I love it! I would put Origin higher but I just don't feel like we've seen it to the full extent of its beauty yet. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I would like to see it come back next season just so he can perfect it. Although I will still stand by what I said in the other thread: that it feels like it should be a performance piece instead of a competition piece. Favorite performance: Worlds 2019. SP Otonal -- My new favorite SP, and maybe my favorite program of his ever. Every movement is important to building the overall feeling of the performance, and the step sequence is gorgeous, particularly the movement from low hydroblade to soaring ballet jump. That is my favorite moment of choreography ever. Favorite performance: Rostelecom 2018. While I like the music cut from ACI better because it generally fit the choreography better, I think I like the overall performance at Rostelecom the most. He is beautiful and so smooth in his presentation, and the step sequence has been changed slightly into one that flows much better. Chopin Ballade No. 1 -- This one is almost up on the same level as Otonal, just not quite. What more can I say about it? It is just... breathtaking. The choreography might as well have been created at the same moment as the music itself, it fits together so well. Favorite performance: Olympics 2018. I love how frenetic he is during the wilder moments of the music, during his step sequence. It's like he just becomes the music. Exhilarating! Parisienne Walkways -- I love this because he doesn't do enough of this kind of program: swaggering, rock-star-level charisma over the ice and over the audience. It's just awesome. Favorite performance: Olympics 2014. He looks like he is having so much fun. I can't help but grin like an idiot watching this performance, and it's just flawless from beginning to end. EX Notte Stellata -- I cry watching this one. It is truly beautiful. His delayed axel is so gorgeous! Enough said. Favorite performance: All of them. Haru Yo Koi -- This one is just below Notte Stellata for me. It is also truly beautiful and touches my heart. My favorite moment is the ice thrown into the air, although the super-low hydroblade is lovely too. And the delayed axel! Favorite performance: Helsinki 2018. Something about this performance is special to me. The lighting is gorgeous, and he floats across the ice like a cherry blossom fairy. The only thing is I wish they had drawn the camera back a bit more for when he throws the ice into the air, but that detracts nothing from his joyous and ethereal performance. Just look at that expression on his face at the end!

The most amusing thing about this is that he has so many gold medals that he can accurately detect gold content by just smelling them...

I feel the same way, Wonn (your pictures are exactly how I am feeling!!). I've been looking forward to seeing him in person since I bought the tickets in February, and now.... I'll still go to GPF, but it just won't be what I was hoping for. I don't have a lot of spare cash, so flying somewhere to see him will probably be out of reach for now. That's why I was ecstatic that he was going to be coming to a place only a few hours away from me. I should have known it was too good to be true!!! Now I'm trying to figure out where I could possibly see him compete live, and I've got no clue. He'll probably be at Worlds in March, right? But that's an expensive plane flight away and I'm sure all the tickets for that have been snatched up. Will I have to wait until next season? Ugh, it's so tragic, his season was shaping up to be another 2014-2015 record-breaker, and I wanted to be there for it. I also really wanted to see Otonal live...... Crying bunnies everywhere!

See, my story is the opposite. If it wasn't for Yuzu, I wouldn't be spending hours scouring Youtube for any and all old performances I may have missed (meanwhile avoiding housework)...

I think the shocked girl from the second photo is the girl with the black hair cover in the third photo. You can kind of see it peeping out in the second photo. She probably saw the boy and, after Origin, thought "screw it, I'm going for a hug too!!" Smart girl! EDIT: Whoops, someone else already noticed that.

Hahaha, I think I like that announcer. "A bombardment of flowers and cuddly toys"! And when Yuzu was shaking Pooh around 8:21: "Even Pooh Bear's getting a little overexcited". I love it.

For me, Origin feels primal, not evil. While performing it, Yuzu is like a distant, cold but passionate force of nature, like he is wrenching the land from the sea or lightning crackling down, and the intensity of his expression mirrors that kind of power. That's why I have no problem with the darkness of his look, because for me it goes perfectly with the tone of the piece. Any kind of softness, I think, goes against the whole feeling he is trying to portray. He's got plenty of other softer pieces. Heck, he performed two of them in the same weekend as Origin. I actually really love the difference in tone of Origin. It makes my pulse race a bit, even more so as he keeps improving on it. I think when he reaches peak form, I'll be completely breathless the whole 4 minutes.

It can be a struggle sometimes with people who typically watch figure skating as a "eh, whatever, let me see if there is something else better that is on" kind of thing. I tried to sneakily introduce them to Yuzu, and then show some videos, and then try to explain just why I find him so inspiring. The response was a casual "well, that's nice, let's watch a movie instead", and meanwhile I'm thinking "can't you see how amazing he is?!" I think they just think I am crazy for spending my weekend watching figure skating competitions, or for taking vacation for a few days in December to go to GPF, or for even having saved videos of his performance on my computer in the first place (that got the biggest reaction of all: "Why do you have videos of some random skater?"). It's a little disheartening. I've never been one to push my likes on other people, so I've stopped mentioning it to them. Luckily this forum exists!

But.... why does she look so bored?! I would be grinning like an idiot the whole time! Hmmm... on second thought, probably best I am not in her position.

I'm so sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you and your mother were able to share the joy of Yuzu together. Hopefully you will be able keep those moments in your heart even through your grief. I understand what you mean. My appreciation of Yuzu is also a very private thing to me. Partially because my family is still at the point of thinking I'm crazy....

This is kind of how I feel today too (although I haven't seen him in person yet). I have the music from HYK going through my mind, and it is giving me such a peaceful and happy feeling (so rare for a Monday) because I can remember the beauty and joy with which he skated. Thank you Yuzu for bringing us happiness just by being you. (And that's enough emo from me too!)

They're not saying to not cheer him. They're saying that there is a time and a place to cheer for a favorite skater, and that time is not when a completely different skater is on the ice trying to compete. Scream your heart out when your favorite is on the ice, and then give the next skater their time in the spotlight, because that next skater is probably someone else's favorite and they should be cheered too.

Oh. Wow. I only just now realized that he has gloves on and he didn't at ACI. In my defense, his skating was so good I wasn't even paying attention to the costume...

Okay, I want sheet music on that, and I want about three weeks with no work or school or unnecessary things like eating and sleeping so that I can learn and master that.

Ooo, which spin of his would you want it to be? Bielmann? I have a little Christmas-themed music box that has a mirrored surface and a skater that "skates" around the mirror while the music is playing. They should have something like that for Yuzu. He could be doing an endless little hydroblade around in circles while the music plays. EDIT: You know, I was joking when I said that, but now I kind of really want one.

I think you're right, it's probably both. I have a heart monitor that straps across my chest for workouts, and it has a much slimmer profile. I would think that there is probably more going on in that box for it to be that much bigger than the cheap version I have.

I love both of his new costumes. The blue in Otonal is just gorgeous. I actually like the V-neck in this case, just because of the slight collar. His necklaces look good when he's wearing V-necks, I think. I wouldn't mind if the top was just a bit longer either, but I think the fabric in his arms is better for this program. I was impressed by the delicacy of some of his arm movements during Otonal. I think a bigger sleeve like in Chopin would conceal some of that. The Origin costume is awesome and fierce. It looks like he's taking no prisoners. I actually love the tiny touches of purple in there. The whole effect is very primal and organic, like a phoenix rising from the ashes (of his formerly Zen mindset? ). And since I'm coming to this thread late, I'll just mention just a few more of my favorite costumes: Seimei is one of my absolute favorites. It is so different and so iconic. My favorite version is the one he wore at the PC Olympics: the clean crisp white with just a hint of texture and design in it, the shade of blue in the ribbon on the sleeves and neckline, and the more minimal and distinct sparkly touches. Some of the earlier versions of Seimei were a bit too busy for me; the PC one was perfect in my eyes. H&L is so gorgeous too. It's another favorite, although I still find myself disliking the floppy shoulder piece. But the rest of it is so beautiful it overcomes my petty dislike! The color transition on the body and sleeves is just breathtaking to me, and soothing like a calm ocean. It goes perfectly with the understated but powerful music for H&L. Etude in D-Sharp Minor... Wow, the colors were spectacular and the design was so flowing and beautiful. Again, it has the floppy shoulder piece, but again, the rest is so beautiful that I can't help but love it. Darn you, Yuzu, for challenging my sense of what a good costume is. I mean, just look at the detail on it! Like makebelieveup said, I think only Yuzu could pull off these costumes.

Not silly. I find it fascinating. Thanks for posting this!

Are either of them close enough to it? I don't follow them that much. I think it was Keegan who was practicing 4A in harness?

I wish I could like this post more than once!

In the ACI Men's FS section, I mentioned that maybe he doesn't need to include the hydroblade in the FS, but no. You're right, that flourish is so small and so spectacular. The hydroblade does need to be in there. I love his hydroblades!!!

I said Rostelecom, but I really wanted to say GPF because I would die of happiness if he managed such a feat at an event I got to see live!