Ulrinis

Thank you! These clips are all so beautiful! Sorry in case this has already been answered, but can we watch the complete behind the scenes video anywhere? On YouTube maybe?

I happened to watch this video almost immediately after seeing the results of this year’s mens SP at Worlds. And couldn’t help grinning when I saw the score this reactor has given Yuzu. Yes, my impression when I first saw BOW AND ARROW had been: Wow, this SP would have the potential to win any competition! And after watching some of the men at Worlds I felt the strong need to treat myself with some high-quality figure skating, so I rewatched Yuzu’s BOW AND ARROW, which he has probably named “Short Program” for a reason. 😁🤔 I wonder if we’ll get to see a new program named “Free Program” some time soon … Don’t get me wrong, this is not about returning to competition, but I enjoy how Yuzu keeps the distance, competing with his own high ambitions and delighting us with some real amazing figure skating of another level.

“He has the potential to return to competition at any time, but by keeping the distance, he can feel the colours of life.” This one sentence says it all, couldn’t have described the situation any better. 👏👌

Yuzu keeps inspiring people all over the world, and more physics students who read this PhD thesis in the future (and are not necessarily interested in figure skating itself) will find him and will be fascinated.

I wonder if live viewing in cinemas in Europe will also be an option one day. They have livestreams from the Metropolitan Opera at times, so why not Echoes or Yuzu‘s next programs? I guess fans would travel within Europe to attend such venues …

This is so great! In 2018, after discovering Yuzu, my family ordered the Onmyoji DVD to understand what Seimei is about. Seeing them collaborate is just a dream come true. What wonderful performances, Bolero and Seimei!

Thank you for this wonderful livestream! I had so much fun watching it live and rewatching it with a family member. So many wonderful wishes, personal stories and ideas! After today’s show (I hope I’ll still manage to get a ticket for the archive) I hope Yuzu will find the time to watch the video and enjoy our birthday wishes. 😊

Exactly. This year when I learned that they had turned Finlandia Trophy into a GP event I couldn’t help missing 2018 Helsinki GP. Although it would have fit perfectly with my schedule this year and I have free accommodation now that my daughter has moved to Finland, I would never consider going to the arena anymore for a GP event.

Yuzu is a person who is extremely skilled in choosing the right words. So why have I never thought of him as a potential fiction writer? Silly me …

Tbh, I have been thinking a lot about the unlikely chance of Yuzu competing again at the next Olympics. (Didn’t a skater from Sendai win in Milan already? 😉) I had to think of two-time Olympic Champion Kati Witt who came back from her pro-skater career to represent reunited Germany at the 1994 Winter Games. However, that was a different situation and Yuzu already competed at 3 consecutive Games. And I’m convinced he would have won with his unmatched high quality if there hadn’t been all these efforts from many sides for years (not only I$U) to prevent his triumph.

So even at Waseda University itself Yuzu's thesis is being regarded as something special. I'm curious what effects it will bring and when. IMO it's too important to remain in a drawer, so to say.

Since we probably have some Yuzu off-ice time in front of us, l’m coming back to the very satisfying fact that fanyus were shown on Japanese TV. This really made me emotional (especially when the distance from Germany was shown 😊). I’m glad Yuzu sees how much love he gets from all over the world. And now also the media have come to admit this fact. When he was still competing, commentators mostly focused on the Japanese fans traveling to every competition - which of course was worth acknowledging - but failed to mention his international fan base. I’m glad Yuzu is aware. Many of us have tried several ways of sending him our love: in fan art, YouTube videos, birthday messages, comments in live streams, virtual Pooh rain, social media posts and sometimes letters. I confess in Turin in 2019 I did not only throw a plush bear onto the ice but also a letter, signed by my daughter, her dad and myself. We had asked our Japanese teacher to help us with the Japanese words during the class we had the evening we headed for the airport. I don’t know if it ever reached him but I hope it ended up in one of the big bags reserved for Yuzu next to the rink. And I’m happy that by opening up his YuzuTube channel he has provided us a more direct way of sending him our thoughts, support and love.

Thank you so much for sharing this translation! This interview made me aware of something I had missed so far or not payed enough attention to: As a teenager you normally have so many puzzling thoughts, mindsets and feelings to struggle with, maybe meeting your family’s expectations, working hard for best possible school results, plus maybe anxiety about the future. 16 year old Yuzu already HAD found himself in the limelight with his amazing results, so this probably already WAS a certain burden. However the additional burden of being seen in connection with the Big Earthquake, being “identified” with it, must have been almost unbearable for such a young person. Being asked permanently about it probably makes one feel a certain responsibility which could lead to feeling guilty if you think you don’t have the correct answers. Understanding this, I can understand even less those who used to roll their eyes at Yuzu skating to Notte Stellata, like he would exploit the disaster for his own popularity. I can always just admire Yuzu for his wisdom: Visiting the ladies in the shelter years ago and meeting them now as visitors of his show, making the public aware of still uninhabitable houses by interviewing a man who showed him his house, and demonstrating how rescue teams work (just before another bigger earthquake strikes), all in addition to donations - my greatest respect!

Interestingly I got to know Haku only recently when my daughter made us watch some famous anime movies on German TV which I hadn’t seen before. One had the German title “Chihiros Reise ins Zauberland“ and the first piano sound made me recognise: Yuzu! 😃 So my family was eager to see which character Yuzu impersonates. We really liked it.

So true! Helsinki 2018 was my first try, too. How could I even have expected to take decent photos with my phone? Does anyone remember the video showing so many spin-off photos from the 2018 Sendai parade? Unfortunately I couldn’t find it on YouTube anymore. It was so much fun …