Henni147

Well, if he hasn't landed Nessie until Beijing, the motivation would be probably there. Also, becoming the first man to win 4 olys or the technical/artistic program and force I*U into maximum resignation is surely a reason to go on Just the mere thought that they propped up Nate to have the next poster boy... and Nate actually retires before Yuzu... I would literally laugh my ass off. Imagine Yuzu be like: Well, I skated Chopin for 6 years, because I wanted to save something for the next 16 years

My dream future scenario. Exactly.

White Legend from Sochi Olys is uploaded on OC now (finally!) This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

I get it that they wanted to save some material for the "dry" times, but why waiting until the next waterfall of news? There is so much going on right now that this old segment will probably get lost in the flood of other stuff. What a stupid timing indeed.

Mom and dad believe that Yuzu will arrive on Thursday, 10 minutes before the start of the final group in his private hotel UFO, already wearing his costume under his 100% isolating spacesuit. And he will not spend a single second more in the arena than necessary.

I just talked about Worlds with my mom. We both can't believe that a +320 score doesn't put any pressure on the other skaters. Yes, Nate had some clean skates over the last years, but Yuzu opened the door for him with big mistakes in both programs. Yes, the scoring and blatant PR is unfair as hell, but most of us also thought, they would give Nate the MVS award. In the end it didn't happen. I made a quick calculation what Yuzu's score for two clean skates with JNats layout could be like in absolute worst case: In the GOE column I added the factored GOE from Ayako Shimode, the judge who criminally underscored TenChi. Interestingly she gave better marks to LMEY than the average of the panel (that says a lot about the panel from JNats...) I also highlighted the elements, where he lost levels and the most points at JNats. I refuse to believe that any international panel would score Yuzu significantly lower than JNats panel did, especially in the free. What I did not consider is the freedom of the tech panel to shower him with phantom UR calls and low levels. That can butcher the final score much harder than strict GOE scoring. But I just try to say to myself that the panels learned their lessons from ACI 2019 and JNats 2020. You must not mess with Yuzuru Hanyu, when it comes to rotation. Thankfully, without Lutzes and Flips it's impossible for the panel to give him edge-calls In best case (with lucky starting order, a friendly panel and some crazy twist and turn during the competition) he may get something around 333 in total (111 in SP, 222 in FS). That still would be 14 points lower than the maximum score. I think that's realistic.

I shared my opinion on this topic on Tw already, but I'd like to go a bit more into detail: First and foremost: I bet my salary that Yuzu's absolute top priority next week will be not to get COVID, not to get injured and to save the third spot for the Olympics. I don't know, if he has access to physio therapy already, but heaven forbid that he gets injured again I am sure that Yuzu has learned his lessons from Torino and the past two seasons. It's pointless to violently up your BV and mess up the whole concept and choreo of the program just for the sake of points. What has he won with backloading the combo in Otonal? What has he won with attacking 5 quads in Origin? It killed the music cut, the choreo, the timing and rhythm of the jumps, it sucked out his energy resources and he ended up with more mistakes and less points than before. Sometimes a seemingly lower BV can do miracles to the quality of your program and consistency of your jumps. So it happened with TenChi at JNats and it was glorious. And we all know that absolutely NOTHING is more important in the current system than a clean skate (and the right passport of course). It saves you from the PCS cap and the GOE are much higher than in an error-filled program. Yuzu's last clean free in an international competition was four years ago in Helsinki 2017. He damn needs a clean one again and such a suicidal layout is not exactly the key to accomplish that. Also, I love TenChi in its current form, because it is as airy and effortless as I've never seen any other freeskate before in my life. How is it possible for a human being to fly like this? As if he was riding on a wave across the ocean or floating on a high cloud in the sky. Just otherworldly. The timing and rhythm of every jump is so perfectly in tune with the music and we know how essential this is for Yuzu to skate well. He said himself that edge jumps are lighter, smoother and have much better flow than the hard, aggressive toe jumps. Hence they fit the choreo and character of TenChi much better. (I really think a 4Lz would kill the flow of this program.) Last but not least: I have the feeling that Yuzu wants to share this unique and special moment of conquering the quad Axel with his fans and the people he loves and cares most about. The 4A is not just some strategical weapon for him. It's his dream, the main reason why he continued after PC and skated another three torturing seasons. I just cannot believe that he wants to present Nessie in front of empty seats with no response, with only those ungrateful judges in front of him. He deserves to be cheered and celebrated for that incredible feat. EDIT: For me, personally, 4-2 combos are the ugliest jumps in figure skating history. It looks like the skater comes to a full stop after the quad and pops the next jump. The momentum and flow is completely gone. The current 4T+3T in the second half is so powerful and the back-counter is his trade mark. Perfection and quality is always worth the effort, I don't want him to change that attitude. It just wouldn't be Yuzu anymore. We have so many other BV hunters in the field already, please let Yuzu stay the artist and balanced full package skater that he is. That's why we love him so much (me at least).

On a more positive note: Mom has finished the good-luck charms for Yuzu By the way: She said to me, the eggs whispered to her that something very good will happen to Yuzu soon. And we all know, how good her predictions used to be...

Yeah, the last three years Yuzu wasn't able to skate two perfectly clean programs in one competition. So the judges could comfortably rely on the new PCS cap and harsh GOE punishment. 'Hanyu made mistakes, NC didn't, end of story.' No more explanation needed. But what if he skates clean? We saw what happened at JNats. The tech panel and the judges tried so damn hard to rob him that they put themselves in an incredibly precarious situation (especially with the invalidated spin, which was the absolute peak of insolence). Even the usually silent Japanese media and people like Jackie voiced up. We can almost safely say that with two clean skates not even international judges can score Yuzu any lower than the Japanese panel did in December. He can only get higher from there. This is not exactly a reason to jump up and down from happiness, but it's not bad news either.

Well, I always wish that all athletes perform to their absolute possible best, so that my favorites get the chance to triumph against the hardest competitive field of all time. That makes their win extra special and unforgettable. What's the point of winning a splatfest? Even if Yuzu had skated a clean free in Sochi, it still would have been a mess of a competition overall that I wouldn't like to rewatch as a whole. My favorite competitions ever were the men's free in Barcelona 2015, the short and free in Helsinki 2017 and Pyeongchang 2018 and the men's short at 4CC 2020. Why? Because the overall quality of the field was incredible with many clean skates and Yuzu still managed to outshine them all. His performance was the cherry on the finest cake. That is what makes him the GOAT. Of course, the current scoring is bullcrap, but if Yuzu manages to skate two squeaky clean performances with highest quality and still doesn't win, the ISU can prepare for the biggest shitstorm of all time.

In Yuzu's case "none" probably means: no ordinary needs espied. Extraordinary throughout

Mom is painting easter eggs while watching the YT playlist of Yuzu's performances (this is such a mood...) She just called me to take a quick look at his SP at NHK 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg_boqreUA8 During the step sequence he smiled to the flower girls at the rinkside and you can see how their faces light up, when he skates past them. So lovely! Also, after the performance when he put his blade guards on, he clenched his fist! In my memories COR 2018 was the last time that he really skated Otonal with satisfaction and joy. Now looking back at NHK, I think he was very happy and pleased here, too. It's just that the scores killed the mood at the end. I can't help, but that fist made me so emotional, in a very positive way I'm still so full of fear and worry about Worlds, but I pray that things will go well for him. After all these setbacks and misfortunes the last years it's long overdue that Fortuna shows a bit of mercy with Yuzu.

Thank you very much for the details. So 13 and 28 are the crucial numbers. Sorry for my rant post, but this whole madness around Worlds and the spots makes my blood boil. To think that Yuzu has to put his health at risk for this superfluous nonsense. Again... I wish with all my heart and soul that - if he has to take the risk anyway - he skates two unbeatable programs and sends the entire ISU to hell and Mordor and Azkaban and the Underworld and wherever there is some place left for these greedy criminal sh*theads. @SitTwizzle Yes, I wish that US and RUS fed lose everything. I'm very sorry for Jason and Steph/Buk, but I'm so done with these political power plays. I cannot even put my rage in words anymore. EDIT My wish for the podiums this year (sorry not sorry):

Well, I pray that Yuzu neither gets injured nor infected with COVID19, that he can save the third spot for team Japan, so that the risk of travelling was not in vain, and finally that US and RUS fed lose all additional spots and ISU can sulk in their own shit. In that order.

I just tried to catch up with all the news. So many TV news and newspaper articles! It's such a sad occasion, but so heartwarming to see what a pillar of hope Yuzu is for society, especially the affected areas. This is not just empty words. Whenever Yuzu talks about 3-11, it has substance and weight. In the letter he said something about child-like words, but I think, his wording wasn't childish at all. It was more mature than what most experienced adults could ever pull off.

I have to share this, before I say goodbye for today: I've been working in my room for quite a while. Suddenly mom comes in and says: 'You did so much today. Do you not want to take a break and watch a bit Yuzu with me in the living room?' ... how can I say no to that?

@Kat @Umebachi Yes, I remember that full translation and I think, it's a great solution to show your Japanese copy and get the translation in return. I fully agree that this person should be consulted before we take any further steps. Also, whoever the potential publisher might be, a part of the proceeds should go to the Tohoku region as it happens with the original Japanese version as well. This will probably lower our chances to find a publisher, but anything else would be a betrayal of Yuzu and his efforts. I have not purchased Aoi Hono myself yet (mainly because I've never bought anything on Amazon in my life and I never will, voluntarily). The other reason is: as much as I'd like to support Sendai with my money, I don't want to purchase a book that I can't read. Just to put it on my shelf and occasionally flip through the pictures... It's a bit too expensive for that, indeed. I think, Aoi Hono I+II and the quotation books would be quite successful in English, if I look at the sheer size of Yuzu's worldwide fanbase and the absolute lack of products related to Yuzu in American and European stores. I'd like to share a story from last year (I think, many western fans can relate) I went to the local Mayersche bookstore and checked every single shelf about sports, art and people. One of the employees looked quite compassionately and asked me, if I was looking for something specific. I told her about Yuzu and she asked me to follow her to the info center. She searched for 'Yuzuru Hanyu' in the database of the bookstore and there were exactly three entries: the annual Guiness Book of World Records (Yuzu was mentioned in the WR tables and a small textbox), a book about the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and one about Pyeongchang. No bios, no magazines, no photobooks, no merchandise. Nothing. Not even orderable from overseas. I bought the book about Pyeongchang, 152 pages (with Yuzu mentioned on page 68), and went home. Smiling.

I had an interesting talk with a good friend today, who is working in a local bookstore. She said that the English book market (especially eBooks and paperbacks) is growing very fast here in Germany and there are many excellent professional translators of foreign books into English, Japanese included. I asked her, if it's possible to get Aoi Hono or other books about Yuzu translated into English and she said, if the interest is huge and the licensing not too complicated, it might happen. Especially now that it's the 10 year anniversary of Tohoku 3-11, which fits the content of Aoi Hono, and that we are heading towards the Olympic season, some publishers might be very interested. But we have to take the initiative and suggest the books ourselves, ideally with a quick resonance of general interest (maybe per likes on twitter or some sort of petition). Do you think, it's worth a try?

"only 16 years" But yeah, I can totally picture Yuzu pulling a Salchow:

Never underestimate the Snake It's such a shame that Yuzu's average SP score in this Olympic cycle is an incredible 104.60 (Nationals and notorious underscoring included), but his two lowest scores were both against ykw in Saitama and Torino... thank you, Snake and Tulup. However, all good things come in threes, so I'm confident that - if he has to compete at Worlds in three weeks - this time it will work out. I mean... it's the third month of the year, in this cycle it's the third season, the third competition against ykw, LMEY is the third SP, H&E the third FS and LMEY is also Yuzu's third program of the cycle with slicked-back hair (after Origin and Masquerade). Would fit a third world title... it's probably all in his calculations, I guess... To be clear, I still pray for a miracle and hope that - somehow - the event will be cancelled BEFORE the athletes arrive. But if there is no other way out of this mess, I try to stay positive and wish for the best.

This is a bit OT, but I uploaded the second part of #FigureLegends. This time it's Ulrich Salchow's story When I was writing this post, I just couldn't stop laughing. Seriously, I thought NOTHING can top Yuzu's rollercoaster career, but Salchow's is the ultimate level of flex I celebrate him so much for his unshakable will to defend his Olympic title. How bitter it must have been for him that in 1912 figure skating was not part of the Olympic program, 1916 the Olympics were cancelled because of World War I and he had to wait f*** 12 years to even get a chance... and then the Snake betrayed him... I feel so happy for Yuzu that he got his chance and made the absolute possible best out of it!

I have to post this quickly, before my break ends, because I feel like crying: Todd Eldredge has retweeted my table with the top multiple World medalists and added this lovely comment Thank you, Todd!!

Woow! Right at the end of the Olympic flashback marathon Seimei has reached 15 Mio views! Congrats!

It's ready! Here is the first part of the history post series

I would love to do that, but sadly my current video editor is not capable of doing any overlays or SBS frames Another issue is that it's very hard to find video footage for all historic markers. I definitely need help with collecting the material. However, as soon as I have a proper editor again, I will try to do a video. Thank you very much for the idea! I keep that in mind