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Sofia, in my personal opinion there is an element of systemic racism in the notoriously corrupt structure of the competitive FS world. The largest and most powerful skating federations--the U.S., Russia, and Canada--have so much influence that they are often able to swing judging decisions in their own favor. You sometimes hear bitter comments about the "passport privilege" enjoyed by skaters from those countries, who are likely to be awarded "candies" in scoring and have their mistakes overlooked, at the expense of skaters from less powerful federations. This could be seen as nationalism rather than racism, but I think it is no coincidence that the big guys are all majority-white countries. Of course, not all the skaters from those countries are white themselves, but IMO they are likely to be treated as honorarily white because of "passport privilege." So I think that our favorite has indeed experienced discrimination (as has Yuna Kim) for being Asian-Asian rather than, say, Asian-American; but it's subtle and hard to pinpoint. Just my opinion; you may disagree.

And not just the face--the body is very important too, I think, with proportions about as close to a manga hero as a real human being could be. The superb skill, displayed by an ideally shaped body AND with the stunning, expressive face, is just a mind-blowing combination.

A historical note: I just want to mention that an actual sword that once belonged to Uesugi Kenshin will be exhibited in Tokyo from Jan. 21 to March 25, as part of this show at the Mori Arts Center Gallery: https://macg.roppongihills.com/en/exhibitions/heroes/index.html Most of the show is swords and woodblock prints on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, but they have also added a few works from Japanese collections, including the Kenshin sword. If you miss the show in Tokyo, it will travel afterward to Niigata (4/23-6/19), Shizuoka (7/2-8/28), and Hyogo (9/10-11/20), according to the MACG website. I wish I could see it, but alas, I probably won’t be able to go to Japan at all this year.