What a gorgeous analysis! After I read through it the first time, I had to rewatch the program (not a chore by any means!) and follow along your words with the timestamps; it really enhanced my viewing and I feel like I can appreciate the structure more. Also, your conclusions with the nature imagery and parallels between the program with his own journey were phrased so nicely
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad it enhanced your enjoyment of Yuzu's H&L. That program needs more love! As I was doing the analysis, I was amazed at how artistically avant-garde it was in terms of narrative structure. The first half, I suspect, was probably what threw people off and made it "less appreciated", and second half was (as mentioned in the post) much more similar to a typical 'warhorse' with the drama, yet the program never deviated from its purpose of representing Yuzu's journey. It was about growth and taking flight and feeling hope, and then repeatedly seemingly losing hope but regaining it despite all odds, and then it was finally about his dominance and his legacy. Overall, it is a RISE, evident from the post. The overall big picture structure is still within the 6 traditional emotional arcs (see: https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/www.the ... le/490733/) , but because Yuzu chose to embellish the growth part very much, it is so rich in content that people can't see the forest for the trees (AHAH forest imagery) and get so hung up about 'how hard to grasp'/'how seemingly unstructured' the first part was.
Tbh, I think he is actually doing a very intimate act by sharing his life and journey and all the bitterness and joys accompanying it. It may sound presumptuous and prolly I am overthinking it and assuming something that doesn't exist, but wouldn't only fans be able to appreciate it fully since we know deeply about his history? That might also be another reason why judges only see the surface and do not have the contextual knowledge for true enjoyment.
Good grief I can't seem to shut up, can I?
Please don't shut up!! I really like your perspective
I agree 100% with the intimacy of the program; it's clearly something that is more appreciable when you have emotional investment in the subject (like we all do!!). And the contextual knowledge definitely has affected the way the judges perceive it. Seimei was easier to appreciate because of the driving nature of the music, and despite it having its own fascinating context with the onmyōji, it wasn't necessary to know the entire background for it to appeal to the audience. HL is so very beautiful, but introspective which is why the full impact was experienced when he went clean.
Regarding your analysis, your allusions to the literary structure are fascinating, especially in relation to the rise and fall in the emotional arcs that you linked. I wonder if he would have chosen to do a program like HL (a redemption program, as you said 'losing hope but regaining it despite all odds') had Boston 2016 not happened? I personally think his situation after worlds was so unique ('a fall' of sorts) that had he won the FS, we would have seen something completely different this season.
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