EisElle

I think a lot depends on the country...I'm not sure if for the occasional viewers in Italy, for example, Yuzuru's name would be more advertised than Caro's or Plushenko's (who's starred afaik in like A LOT of the ice shows they do here, and always presented as the biggest star along with Caro, when Caro is there too)... I mean, I'm sure if Yuzu went to Verona or Florence (please do, Zuzu, I'd die of happiness...but not before having grabbed first row tickets for all the shows! and then of course I'd resurrect to attend the show and be killed again by your skating) the hoards of fanyus would descend upon the organizers, but the audience who goes to a show but isn't that involved in figure skating might not be that hyped about watching Zuzu skating... or maybe I'm just willfully trying to reassure myself that if, one day, Zuzu goes to Florence or Verona the tickets won't be sold out the moment sales are opened...because having Zuzu so close but not having a ticket would really be the end of me must be what poor japanese fanyus experience when they fail the lottery...so hard If Yuzuru took part in one of Plushy's ice shows in Russia, I suspect Plushy would still be the biggest star... and I'd be very curious to see how he'd be received in Canada or US SOI... tho of course it's possible hoards of foreigner fanyus would rush to grab any available ticket, expecially if there is no lottery hell to overcome... Yuzuru has skated in the Ice (which basically was Mao's show) whan he was younger but iirc last time was 2012, and for sure he's shared some ice-shows with Dai too (last time iirc in 2014 after Sochi, they were probably co-headlining, one as the freshly minted OGM, the other as the veteran who'd written many pages of Jpn men skating and was retiring). Yuzuru and Shoma were in FaOI several seasons, too, but my feeling now is that after Shoma's OSM they (organizers? sponsors? JSF?)are kinda trying to keep them separated because both are skaters with big selling power and it makes sense to "share the wealth" instead of owercrowding a single ice-show with all the big names (as there's a cap at how many tickets a single show can sell, while if multiple shows sell well it's good for all jpn skating economy...H&F was the exception because Nagano celebration). So e.g. now that Mao's retired, it looks like the Ice, where she used to be the main star, is becoming Shoma's show, while of course Yuzuru has been headlining FaOI for several seasons now... For other shows there is also the issue of who organizes them, e.g. IMG does SOI so they'd be willing to pick their own skaters... tbh I've always thought it's a huge waste that Yuzuru hasn't taken part in any ice show outside Japan (the only one I can think of is the one where he skated PW, the first year he was in Canada) but I don't know if it's Yuzuru who isn't willing to go abroad for shows (tho he's hinted that he'd like to travel around the world), or he's not invited 'cause no IMG or such, or it's merely an issue of scheduling: a lot of tours are too early or too late, when Yuzuru usually is back in Toronto to do some serious training (or recovering from injuries and painfully getting back his jumps). I think he doesn't like to have his training schedule interrupted, with the exception of events that hold a particular meaning, like when he did that skating class for children or some of his H24 collabs... even then, he usually organizes his schedule to fit in as many committments so he can go back to his Toronto cave to play with Nessie) tho tbh I've always been a bit jealous at Javi doing the canandian SOI while Zuzu hasn't ETA: sharing some tweets in the dead of the night 'cause why not I wonder when (if) other commentators (BEsp especially) will finally admit that Japanes fans are not the only ones willing to fly across the globe to throw plushies at the GOAT I know, I know, people going crazy for someone from a different country, how inconceivable! I also wanted to share this, it made me laugh

b-but judges didn't considered H&L the golden standard *still bitterly bemoaning those 97 PCS* btw I wanted to talk about Origin's 'reduced complexity' in Helsinki, I'll do it in more detail in the Origin thread (one day), but imo the most glaring thing was that what was there didn't looked executed with full committment...'cause saving energy to complete the program...but tbh other than sit twizzles gone, arching back gone and the obvious changes in the ChSq due to different placing of elements (what he did between solo 3A and hydroblade is of course gone now) most of Origin's content was still there... sure, what's missing were awesome elements, 'big' elements that stood out and left an impression, but it's not like Yuzu dropped all his steps and did only crossovers...especially in the second half, he's still doing a lot between jumps, before 3F3T and before 3A combo... under spoiler for OT re: T*L under spoiler since discussion moved on his stamina improved but I wouldn't say it's better than skaters who traditionally had better stamina...it probably has more to do with Yuzuru's short set up for jumps. Other skaters still need their long prep before jumps, that's time they can't cut, so the remaining time for everything else is quite reduced, hence they can't take much breath during the program compared to last season (hence the use of ChSq to take that breath)... of course Yuzuru has less time for other elements, too, compared to previous season, but at least he can chip away some precious seconds here and there thanks to his shorter prep. Just check the 10 seconds before the three-jumps combo Shoma and Yuzuru do, 3A-1Eu-triple: Shoma uses those 10 seconds to go up the rink to gain speed, then he goes down the rink as he enters his 3A from usual long backward glide. Yuzuru finishes his kinda-spiral, does some steps, a couple crossovers, and enters his 3A with counter rather quickly...it's still the same 10 seconds but Yuzuru can fill his 10 seconds with more varied skating content (and those 10 seconds look shorter to the viewer)... Yuzuru doesn't need to do many consecutive crossovers to gain speed before and after jumps, he can do other stuff. Maybe Yuzu's mentality has improved too, and in Helsinki he managed to pace himself better than he did for example in COR17 Seimei (let's also not forget he was already dying mid-program in ACI, and as has been pointed out he took his time to recover before getting up in Helsinki, he was spent). All of this leaves the impression that Yuzuru has more stamina, tho in truth I think he probably has pretty much the usual stamina for this time of the year and it's still not his best (as we can see from the lower quality of his jumps in Helsinki Origin compared to those in Helsinki H&L, when his stamina and general condition were likely at its top). It's just that the other skaters' stamina looks much worse because of time reduction everytime I see new Yuzumoticon I swoon a little thank you mods also, I still havent's officially appreciated the new theme, I love it ETA: tho now I have hard time recognizing the logo when switching tabs that PH looks so different

ITAEsp every time Yuzuru lands a beautiful 4S (so, many times LOL... always demanding max GOE) for sure I remember GPF16 FS the solo 4S, I believe there is a subtitled videos of the ItaEsp commentaries, Angelo says "when he lands it like that it's an amazing/awesome jump, wonderful 4S" (emphasis on wonderful). Later during the replay Angelo swoons a little more calling it enchanting aw that particular 4S reminds me of when I was just starting to realize different types of quads existed and that there are nice quads and gorgeous quads...that 4S was one of those I associate with pure beauty I love 4S (when it behaves! And I love all of you, Yuzu's jumps, don't get jealous!) Yuzu's best 4S look so large...I don't mean only the size, but just large as in airy, light, feather-like, suspended in time and space...the sweeping take off, weightless, and the beautiful air position, and the soft, soft, soft landing with free leg unwrapping without any rush, and the back so straight but relaxed... I also love you, 4T, but I'd love you more if you could be back to your faithful self...and 4Lo, I'd love you more if you didn't leave your best self in practice... 3A I love you so much, even if you were kinda unruly in Helsinki I have faith you're get all those +5 in a few days...show them all how a true +5 3A looks like! And 3F please keep that inside edge and keep being reliable and nice, 3Lo and -3T and -3S and 1Eu (you never know, I don't want to see 1Eu< on Yuzu's protocols) keep behaving (expecially you, 3T... and, if you'll be back being nice enough, Zuzu will make you even prettier wih a rippon...don't you want a pretty rippon? but you need to be good first!) 3Lz, my bb, I love you too (I miss 4Lz too, but Zuzu's foot comes first, so I'll survive without it, while watching that collection of last season COR 4Lzs on loop) so...have I covered all the jumps? I'll need to send my usual prayer to spins and steps before comp too... same but 3A in practice isn't suffering that much...I mean, in practice he's landed some of the most gorgeous 3A ever sandwiched between twizzles, that's not what I'd call a 3A suffering from Nessie training IMO Yuzuru's 3A in seq had troubled landing because, while quite good, the landing on 4T wasn't super-perfect (also, jumping that seq is probably harder than 3A from standill as he can't do much to adjust his balance after landing the 4T) and the one in the combo was the last jumping pass...and yet he still managed to do the whole combo... I think in comp his FS 3As are mainly suffering from stamina (and crazy sequences) and the SP twizzle one...well let's remember not long ago he used to creatively save the landings most of the time tbh I'm amazed at how good his 3A is, considering that with Nessie training his 3A got even bigger and he's still doing the craziest entries and exits...(also let's remember last season too Yuzuru had troubles landing 3A as last jumping pass, now he's doing that from counter and in combo with an even more packed program because of the time reduction)

LOL in the previous rounds I've got at least one podium right but this time pairs didn't cooperate and ID let me down too don't wanna talk about ladies or men even when the names were right the order was wrong...well, Shoma aside! Thank you Shoma!

that is why I wish he/the choreographers (Lori? Kurt?) had chosen a no-lyrics version...clearly they love the music, I love it too and I like that only a little portion of the cut has lyrics (the stsq is mostly guitars). But IMO if there are lyrics, they give meaning to the music and should be taken into account for IN. But Boyang isn't the first doing this, he won't be the last. I guess it's common practice in FS (with the amount of skaters skating to pieces with cringey lyrics. I guess most of the time people just skate to what the music make them feel, regardless of the context that piece belonged to). But I'd wish there was a bit more attention. Anyway, as I said, if I don't think about the lyrics I like that SP a lot, and to me the lyrics are more of a post-performance afterthought When I do think about the lyrics (and the meaning they give to the piece)...idk, I, as audience, still don't care that much. Choreo suits the instrumental part anyway, without exixtential anguish planned in any move, so it isnt' as if Boyang isn't performing the choreo properly, because he is, it's just that the program was choreographed to be cool and kind of free, not a visual essay on whatever was the meaning of the lyrics But I usually prefer when skaters really deeply understand the piece they're skating to. I guess it's because understanding the meaning, lyrics included, implies a deeper level of emotional and intellectual involvement (and committment) I'm remarking on this because I did the same with Nathan's Nemesis, and my soft spot for Boyang and me digging his SP don't change my views

so they can keep working on the 4A while he perfects his programs? or does he make them train his spins while he trains the fun stuff himself? I like a lot Boyang's new SP, and expecially how he performs to it. The only issue I have with it is... how Boyang performs to it It's kinda out of tune with the lyrics, lyrics aren't sassy&cool...there's melancholy in them... (this btw was something I I also felt was a bit off in Nathan's Nemesis last season...he performed to that program in a PW kind of way, but lyrics were a bit dark. This time with Boyang the discrepancy with what lyrics say is even more pronounced IMO). Maybe it would have been better if they had used a no-lyrics version... But if I don't think about the lyrics Boyang really tries to sell the heck out of that program, I love the energy in the stsq where is the guitarist emojis i can't find it anymore sob changing subject, I was thinking about Evgenia's FS layout and I wonder if she'll still go for two Lz in her second assignment... after that video of her 2A3Lo in TCC I had written down a possible layout for her with two 3Lo and two 3F and only one Lz (one of the Lo as 2A3Lo combo). imo it would be good, if she could be consistent on a 2Acombo... of course I have no idea if the combo they filmed was one successful out of 100, and sure, BV with 2x3Lo+1xLz would still be lower than 1x3Lo+2x3Lz, but maybe she could get better GOE and it would be worth expecially if Lz is called. She could still 'train' to improve her Lz edge by jumping one 3Lz... no need to go for a problematic jump two times in the program, IMO 2 Lz across SP and FS would be a good compromise between wanting to fight for correct edge under competition pressure and not risking too many points if an egde call happens... doing a 2A3Lo would also allow her to have only one jump with low GOE multiplier (the solo 2A)... as she improves her 2A, I think it could be a good layout for an edge jumper & 3Lo-lover like Zhenya (tho 3Lo is kinda misbehaving right now...but I guess it's because it's the first time she uses it as the last jump in a new program in a new style). Maybe a 2A3Lo would need to be in first half if she doesn't trust the 2A and wants to have as backup the second 2A to try the combo again if something goes wrong... but then if she messed both 2A she would lose the whole BV of a 3Lo, not only a couple of points of possible edge call she risks repeating the 3Lz... more layout wondering and rambling under spoiler so if you're fed up you can just skip well, to sum it up I'm glad I don't have to plan a layout for anyone, too hard also, maybe, as a supporter of a guy who willingly gave up 20% of BV of a super-hard 'combo' just so he could boast "I have no doubles in my layout Ci", I really shouldn't question other skaters' choices...

ouch the bonus questions (and Men) killed my Helsinki score I should have trusted Yuzuru more but if this is what was needed to have Zuzu gold, I'm glad I've sacrificed this round to you, Yuzu! also with the WD and messy podiums I've already bombed hard the GPF predictions....skating gods, you know what to do now! gimme moar Zuzu gold all Zuzu gold pleeeease kudos to the satellites who didn't bomb, I have sincere admiration for your Cassandra powers

last season we had to pick 4th and 5th too...such dark times... I hope this season won't get that bad (for "bad" I mean skaters dislocating shoulders and busting ankles during comp ) ok, I kinda submitted and in the end I'm sacrificing poor bb Rika in my predictions despite the highest BV... I don't trust her nerves... Rika, dear, please ruin my predictions! Mai, you do NOT ruin my predictions instead You deserve one darn GP podium, after missing out on them last season (but you can upgrade the placement, of course) My ID predictions are WILD. I feel like my men predictions are WILD too, Shoma aside...after Misha and Boyang bombing themselves out of podium really anything can happen...(imagine if Vincent URs that were called in SA aren't called in NHK...RIP my predictions again, but this time for not trusting the panel to overlook the URs...). As for the additional question.......

Nooooooo Getting to finally watch P/C again was one of the things I was looking forward the most this week just like for Caro, after P/C missing out on the challengers I had the feeling they would WD...so sad I hope they will come back in second half of the season, with Sui/Han and Carolina... now who to pick for predictions, tho? (how many WDs this GP? I guess that's universe trying to balance out the unbelievable blessing of Yuzuru being still around and kicking after his 2ndOGM...) and we're still waiting to see what will happen with Wakaba right? I had my predictions already laid out but now gotta re-do a bit of calculations...yes, I love to have universe mock me and my efforts I also need to decide who to predict for ladies gold...if jumps are good and panel is nice then it would be Satoko, and I don't trust Rika to be clean...but Mai is consistent and I've already underestimated Liza before...ahhhhhhhh too many decisions, and who should I leave out of podium? (well, almost guarantee the one I'll leave out will spoil my podium...mmmmhhhh...maybe I'll leave out bb Mai or bb Rika, after all, and pray to have my prediction ruined...)

contrary to ACI, this time I had no issue, all pages loaded fast and I could post, no Planet being offline and making me panic (well, sometimes on mobile after a while spent typing super-long posts it gets stuck and I have to open a new page, but that's me being a snail and using way too many emojis + my phone being...well, a mess but Planet works fine on phone most of the time anyway)

well, no past patterns and statistics can persuade me to ever bet against Yuzu*, so I'll fly or sink with him skating gods plz at least let him be healthy plz a lower level of post-scores kuyashii than after ACI would be nice too Except for Alina, predictions this time are gonna be totally wild..but it's not like trying not to be wild helped that much in the past LOL * well, except for spin levels...sorry Yuzu, I think JunHwan will get more level 4 you're free to make me feel kuyashii for my lack of faith tho

LOL I like this, something to look forward when we bomb This time around ladies really sank my predictions, but men weren't much better

That technology looked good and it's surreal to think casual audience was probably watching a more reliable video than the people who had to judge and decide the placements I don't know why they can't have access to such technology when it's already avaliable on the rink thanks to broadcasting(it couldn't probably be done by ISU itself because of cost and maybe also need of specilized operators I have no idea about how it works). It looked quick enough to me, but even if it wasn't, it could still be used as fine-tooth-comb tool when the usual feed still leaves doubts. Still, using additional broadcasting feed looks like such an easy and ready-to-use solution (I bet jpn TV has higher video definition than the ISU camera). I suspect it's more matter of burocracy and regulations if this doesn't happen... And ISU congress has refused to even re-discuss split panels a few months ago, I have 0 hope they'd want to reconsider that proposal in the next few years, despite the wilderness in the scores...and in a few years they're probably going to split programs into artistic and technical, so panels won't have to focus on judging both sides of a program in detail all at once. It's a smart solution, if I think about that, to bypass the problem if you can't solve it. Tho it's not the type of solution I'd particularly like

We can all agree that Tech panel and judges should be provided with the best video feed possible Actually, it's something so obvious that it's a joke there is even the need to raise this point Now, MrLakernik, I hope something will be done (after all, it' is US complaining) and ISU can finally let go of its allergy to technology. I'd add to this that I'd like for the official video feed they use to be made accessible after a comp, so at least we can all see what the panel sees (so we can stop cutting slack to panels with all the "maybe they had different camera angle"...except maybe ISU doesn't wish for that type of transparency). I also wish they provided many visual examples of what is to be considered an underrotation and how to count rotations, because commentators and skating fans are watching the exact same footage and apparently still can't agree if a jump is rotated or not, so, unless some people has serious problems with maths, we probably can't agree on what to check and when. Also, I really want the new guidelines for calling lips and flutz to be shared, because honestly there have been many puzzling calls and we're still at the beginning of the season 😑 I always tell myself: enjoy the skating, what do placements even change for you? Just be happy watching the programs and be chill about the scores. But after all, scores do matter for the skaters, for their placement and self-satisfaction and career, and I do care about many of them, not only about their programs. So I always end checking protocols and being I suppose that, once accepted the fundamental unfairness of certain current scoring, one could stop worrying, like it's pointless to worry about things out of our control. But I can't stop thinking about skaters as people with hopes and dreams and feelings that are in the hands of those judging them, too, so the very idea that status quo is unchangeable makes everything in me wanna rebel

Thank you @Joey for this new round! Aaaaaand I've just submitted my predictions and I'm already itching to re-do them Anyway, ladies predictions are always hard...so I kinda went with those I wish to see on podium the most But Lilibet, Mako and Daria (if she's clean) could all podium and I feel at least one of them will...I really hope for no Marin/Polina sad faces from any skater In pairs I have confidence in only one pair I'll be really shocked if J/C won't medal but all the other spots are wide open, so do your best, skaters! I'm sacrificing reason to root for faves for ladies so for men I'm sacrificing my wish to see both Kazuki and JunHwan on podium to try and go with a (slightly) more reasonable guess and for ID I'm rooting for G/P and Wang/Liu the most but I still want the points, so predicting H/D for gold I'm in a hybrid state between the chill-"I'not thinking about the scores"-Hanyu and the burning-in-kuyashii-"there's no point if I don't win"

Whoa, somehow I managed to grab and hold onto the podium by one point what a nice start! 3 disciplines and the Tech panel tried to sink my predictions but ID saved me nice! But Satoko has probably already ruined my gpf predictions and I am not even sorry now, can I please get 4 jpn ladies in the final? 5 would be better but I'm trying to be realistic...almost

@Joey in my IceDance warm-up round just please change Chock/Bates into Guignard/Fabbri for me

all these WD... ETA: though I'm happy that both Angela and Starr are getting a 2nd assignment now, with P/C in unknown condition (last I heard Guillaume had some pain/injury, I guess that's why they skipped challenger...tho it looks like it isn't serious), Wakaba with her foot and Caro with her issues, I'm really worrying about more bad news please skating gods, be kind

@Joey I need to change my ID prediction for GPF in the warm-up round, because of course Chock-Bates can't be there how can I do that?

thank you @Joey for the new round of predictions! I've finally steeled my heart and made my choices I'm too much a STEM girl to just go for random picks, so I did all my pretty researches...and I KNOW the Universe is gonna laugh at my efforts all the louder tbh I just hope I'm not jinxing anyone btw six spots aren't nearly enough for the ladies. Heck, IDF alone could be another whole GPF, for how staked the field is gonna be and on a side note, I hope there won't be any more WDs

Zhenya's article was really good - it shouldn't come as a surprise from a professionist, but we know sometimes there have been 'bad' articles from professional journalists too (tho I'm kinda meh about a couple pointsIMO historically inaccurate, but those are minor issues in an overall good interview). I love Zhenya's mindset. The hints at the hard, hard period she went through last season were to be expected but it still make me sad And while I'm sad that she expected the backlash for her coaching change (tho, at least she was well-prepared), I'm relieved and glad that she felt loud and clear all the support too. Interesting that Libertango was her own choice. She does look as if she's enjoying the FS stsq, so maybe that's why. Hopefully the rest will come as the season progress. She's always classy too. Some 'adults' should learn from her... sidenote: has the official transliteration of Zhenya's name changed? Isn't it still 'Evgenia' on all the ISU stuff? Why NBC goes with Yevgenia? I just want them to choose one transliteration and stick with that, they get me confused re: Liza I didn't know she had been ill and of course champions can't just stay in bed and heal properly, they always need to rush she did really well! Good to see her so confident. And I love her tweets too, she's brilliant!

I'm excited for now when it will be Yuzuru's GP I'll be back to in no time

another fanyu successfully converted to the Greatness of Change EX! wait, Noemie and Noah are listed as TCC? Does Stephane have a long term collab with TCC? I know he's often been there but I thought it was for summer camp or something for the satellites who were there when those dolls were a thing how to unsee? this is a couple days old, but if I were to chose only one Yuzu program up till last season... I suppose I'd go with OWG Swan, it's the first that came to my mind...the way he moved his hands and the smile, and the meaning It's such an healing program, so serene But I'm also a Ballade supremacist, I can't betray that program (tho I'd struggle choosing between GPF14 and OWG...or Boston roar). And OWG Seimei, I can't betray that either or HYK in all its declination or young Romeo or PW that made me a fan and the glorious 4Lo and stsq of GPF LGC and argh how could I forget Requiem and Worlds H&L...that's such a heavenly program, would be very apt to keep it Ok, I can't choose. If I really have to, I'll cheat and take Otonal I love it already, messed spins nothwithstanfding and a program about looking back and reminiscence it's perfect to sneak the memory of all Yuzuru's programs wherever I go I'm a greedy fanyu

omg, what is it this season with chinese skaters? I'm worried hoping the skaters still in GP will be all right and the others will be better for the second half of the season... I miss S/H

I love that many comments mirror my very first tought: he's alive! Sometimes, when he disappears for long, he almost feel unreal, but then we get footage and he's so real again. Tho we're lucky this season the toughest* drought was while we were waiting with bathed breath for media day...(there was the h24 show, but it was pre-recorded, so no 'up-to-date Yuzuru'). Just this morning I was thinking: ah, I miss Yuzu (negl, I was already missing him not even a week after ACI) on a sidenote (whops, sorry Joseph) I'm happy to see Joseph in good form, too *skating gods, I'm not challenging you to give us a tougher drought. The black tee is awesome but I don't want a repeat of what's happened with that white tee last season. I'd like to have new shots of costumes and UA from many competitions, please and thank you