Wintek

Thanks! I ordered from CDJapan last time, the shipping was cheaper for me as well. Good to know Aoi Honoo I is in stock again. The temptation to buy it plus some photo books

At least the one for Aoi Honoo II still works. I got Aoi Honoo II 2 months ago or so (Aoi Honoo I was sold out at the time), and the translation is very well done! Even the layout is nice and it has photos. And the book itself is beautiful. What are you using to buy the books? I would like to get Aoi Honno I as well.

Thank you so much for this! 🙏🤍💜

We can try machine translation to start feeding our curiosity. And I'm not interpreting that quote of context as anything but the uniqueness of an ice show experience vs a competition (just as you say @Anabel). I just love reading and watching Yuzu's interviews. Plus, he usually drops some hints to connect what he is doing in his performances with his own reflections and live experiences.

Anyone has the pamphlet of Shizuoka? This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

I really want to watch the musical with new attention. I am seeing NDP as the main thread of a story that Yuzu wanted to tell. After all, Quasimodo is a solitary person (Yuzu said that Raison is about loneliness and isolation), judged by people and he has to be careful when relating with them. I took the short road (Wikipedia summary) until I have time to watch the musical but... Does this sound similar to the lyrics and choreography of certain program? From act 1: "Quasimodo endures his punishment [for kidnapping Esmeralda], but cries out for water ("A boire"), a plea that is ignored by everyone. Suddenly Esmeralda appears and gives him a drink of water from her cup, an act of kindness that deeply touches the poor hunchback"" Then, thinking about the lyrics of Raison, this is also from act 1: "Now begins the wild and coloured Feast of Fools, presided over by Gringoire ("La fête des fous"), the climax of which is the choosing of the King of Fools from among the group of people who can make the ugliest face; the King will be crowned by Esmeralda. Hiding in the shadows is a monstrous figure who is dragged out into the light; it is the bell-ringer of Notre Dame, the hunchbacked and facially deformed Quasimodo. By unanimous decision, Quasimodo is chosen and crowned as the King of Fools, but he knows that for all the power he has this one day nothing can make a woman such as Esmeralda care for him" Of course, this is not 100% literal to the musical, it's more as a metaphor of Yuzu's struggles throughout his career, been praised, crowned, to then face endless questioning about his contribution and legacy with unfair scoring. But his love for figure skating has kept him going, not without being wounded and tainted. Also giving Quasimodo vibes, appearing from the shadows, showing an ugly face: Needless to say that my post FaOI coping mechanism is to start overanalyzing everything. But when I watched Raison and then the encore with NDP, something clicked in my head and now I need to put the pieces together. This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

Whether he is competing or not this season is the big question, but wouldn't talk about it had absolutely overshadowed FaOI, what he was trying to experiment and convey, and above all what the other skaters were doing? Yuzu is already the focus in everything, Nobu joked a couple of times about Yuzu's FaOI (I'm paraphrasing). Other FaOIs were not like this one, this was Yuzu's appearance after Beijing, so if he had opened the door to questions about his competitive future, the whole magic we lived through out this beautiful, emotional, and overwhelming FaOI would have been affected. The spell had been broken ✨

He did had a stalker, I think when he was training in Toronto. He also had to keep changing the schedule of his training so that people won't be waiting for him outside his house, on the bus stop, and outside the TCC. He even had to call Brian a couple of times to pick him up because there were too many people waiting for him to go from his home to TCC 😥

He worked so hard and oh he did made us get into a different dimension! He unlocked another skill. This Tsiukiyomi's translation. Also good to check the comments for more details about some meanings. https://twitter.com/tsukiyominoasa/status/1541203887205613568?t=xPl5B4Gv-8XVNYCiwwgBQA&s=09 This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

A written translation of the interview with Nobu and comments on Raison. https://twitter.com/orangesrgd/status/1540807405495123969?t=VOGfM8nsQycyzKvnXTt4bA&s=09 This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

Thank you for sharing. I had my own self indulgent post trying to interpret Raison with the little footage we had at that time 😅. The costume is really symbolic.

I am deeply involved with "Reason". It is as intense to watch as the reports said. Yuzu works so well with the music, the ondulating movements challenging balance while displaying struggle. We can finally learn more about what feelings Yuzu wanted to express and how much effort he put into it. Thanks @LiaRyfor sharing, I was about to post the same link.

I have the same problem. So now I'm just using VPN.

Here, More info about this

I don't know you, but I am ready for FaOI Shizuoka. Here is a post with links and instructions for the streaming, plus a motivational photo

The lyrics are not easy, and then you have the issue of language and translation, and the context where the lyrics where written, the song is performed, etc, and the macro context where Yuzu has been competing and training (reading/watching the interviews provide a lot of info for this). I undusted my anthropological skills, LOL, though I am aware that I am connecting dots with insufficient information but well, it is what it is. Interpretations are interpretations, at the end of the day Yuzu said during the interview for S-Park: "Those things such as I want to express, or the things I am really particular about to the max, are not necessary to be conveyed in the form like "words", but I always think that I want to create a performance as such that (would like to be conveyed in intangible ways, such as to leave a mark in the audience) like, 'Ahh, there was a scene like this int he performance', or like, 'I liked this scene'."

FaOI Shizuoka can't arrive soon enough. The mystery of Raison is more than I can take, I see so many clues and meanings in the few seconds that have been shared so far. In an unusual act of bravery, I have decided to pour some of my inarticulate thoughts here. Please be patient with me. Here I go: 'Raison d'être' -reason for existing (Yuzu's conviction, his 'core')- and other words & sentences in the lyrics resonate with things that Yuzu has mentioned in recent interviews: 'mud' can be seen and imperfection. He mentioned during the interview for Spark: "I won the Sochi Olympics and the Pyeonchang Olympics consecutively, so I wonder if I had a strong image of being a perfect person. If such image of Seimei at the PC Oly was strong, then I feel like Yuzuru Hanyu at the Beijing Oly must have been a completely different person (for those viewed him as strong). Like, even Yuzuru Hanyu has this kind of things happen, or, that working super hard to achieve own dreams, and you can see traces of it, but in the end... couldn'e fulfill his dreams. Like, there are people that because they felt that kind of unsophisticatedness [the kanji can also be read as muddy like smell, uncoolness], that they say are supporting me now" (this also reminds me of Yuzu making a funny -ugly?- face at the beginning of Real Face in Makuhari day 2, he turns and look to the audience, revealing his face after being completely covered by the hood). "The relationship between goodbye and pinky swear" could be about chasing his dream of landing the 4A: a promise to himself and to others, once fulfilled he might be able to let go and move into a new chapter? Or is it the struggle between wanting to give up or push forward and follow his dream? Or is he letting go of his old self/the image of perfection that he spoke about in the interview with Spark? The gesture with his arms, hands and little finger matching the lyrics: "relationship between farewell and pinky promise". And there is a discussion that Yuzu is using sign language there (at least in Kobe Day 1 and 2?). This is what a Japanese fan wrote: "Two fingers with your right hand up and away from your forehead in front of you (It's a memory of you two, goodbye). Left hand to chest as if wrapping with left hand. Right hand on chest, pinky and thumb up in ASL (North American Sign Language), loosely expressing "you". Eyes looking beyond as if tracing a memory." (this again reminds me of Rondo). The costume: the black sleeve that changes into a purple similar to Origin 2.0 purple, which is the program where the underscoring went out of proportion. I see that sleeve as a bruise to Yuzu's efforts and even the role of the media to question his dream and not being supportive when he has struggled, for even spreading rumours that have hurt him (for this I also think about the lyrics: "collective unconsciousness ridicules", "crude words are sometimes sharper than a knife"). The difference in colour in the costume and the vein like pattern of the black/purple sleeve: Yuzu fighting not to be stained, to protect his conviction, his 'core' as he had called it in past interviews. The struggle when he drops onto the ice is the pain, being beaten over and over again, the gesture as if someone is trying to take his heart/soul, but he is still trying to fight back and stand. The lyrics say: "earth shattering, great turn of events, the catharsis is just around the corner." Then he tries to stand up and makes a gesture as if trying to catch something just when the lyrics say "those memories that will never fade". This reminded me of what Shae-Lynne Bourne said about Rondo during and interview with the Quadruple Axel magazine: "he also finds something there. Like light, but not just light, like a memory, like a moment... like a moment in his life so far. It could be fans, people close to him, himself with his coach. Those memories come back to him on the ice. And that joy fills him up. Until the next jump, these memories come back one after the other, and then they disappear." The loose right sleeve that shows his arm and he keeps rolled up, a rolled up sleeve of someone ready to fight. I think it was Marika who mentioned that Yuzu starts and finishes the program with his left hand on the left shoulder. It looks as if he were protecting his wounds from the fight. Interestingly, Yuzu greeted the audience after Real Face in Makuhari Day 2 with an arm gesture that is the same one he uses to start Raison. Real Face costume reminds me of a boxer/fighter. He shows his strength in Real Face, a more physical fight (some elements of the choreography look as if he is punching, kicking, as well as receiving hits). In Raison, he is showing his struggle and vulnerability, he is showing us his wounds. Sorry for this long self-indulgent post. I needed to take this out of my system

Thanks so much Umeko for the honest description. Also thank you for trying to describe Raison. I have been reading different translations of the lyrics to have more context to enjoy Yuzu's new choreography. Love has many forms and can be directed to people, ideals, or even ourself, so it sounds that we will need to carefully watch and sort out our own interpretations once we watch the performance. It's funny that many fans mentioned they lost their memory and cannot provide more details about Yuzu's performance The effect he can have on people! I cannot wait to watch the show next weekend!!!!

Thanks for the demographics :-) Ah! The eureka moment... it does explain so many things. Beyond the fan service (and my first responders' hormones are very thankful for it), it also puts into perspective Yuzu's program, which seems to have more nuanced meanings woven in the selection of music and interpretation through new movements.

A couple of hours ago some fans started a petition to ask for international livestream by Pay-Per-View of FaOI. Even if nothing can be accomplished now for Kobe, it can help to send a message to FaOI to make the shows more accessible in the future and above all to not collaborate again with Fuji TV.

Not sure if this translation is part of the interview with Yuzu that is published in the FaOI Kobe booklet, but I found extremely interesting and inspiring how he is using FaOI to experiment new things and growth his skills in different ways. I love that we are part of his creative and discovery process! That's truly a gift. This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

The FaOI booklet also includes interviews with the skaters, and Yuzu has expressed there his thoughts about the choreos (as he did for Real Face). Not sure if Kobe booklet has that though as it seems that the interview focused on Yuzu / Javier interaction. We could also expect for Yuzu to comment on the choreography in one of the after show interviews. Of course, we will have to wait for this for another week thanks to Fuji TV. I would love to learn more about how Yuzu interprets the song, even if he doesn't give us all the shades of meaning. Like @caramelicht, I also think that the white/purple/black costume has a deeper meaning. The purple is so similar to Origin 2.0 purple, the costume he used when the scoring issues became beyond scandalous. Yuzu has commented in old interviews about accepting that dualities can coexist. The costume can represent the coexistence of opposite, yet complementary feelings, that are helping him to growth? Anger, sadness, disappointment vs passion, hope, happiness.

So I have a new hobby, I submit the request forms to the TV stations and encourage people to do it. I might also be going overboard with the hashtags. Even if Kansai TV and Fuji do nothing, it provides me a strange sense of accomplishment knowing they will have to sort out twice or thrice the number of request they usually get

A Japanese fan shared some links to request broadcast to different TV stations. Google Translator does a very descent job translating the online forms so it's quite easy to access the links and submit the request o broadcast FaOI Kobe. I just did it! Also, many of us have been posting our request @Fantasy_on_Ice on Twitter with these hashtags #BroadcastFaOI #LivestreamFaOI #FaOI2022 #FaOI神戸 . Even if we cannot get a live broadcast, perhaps we can get a re-broadcast right after the show? or a longer re-broadcast instead of the 1-hr special?

A fan started an online petition to have live viewing in Singapore Although I am not in Singapore, I shared it on Twitter to support them. Plus, I added #FaOI神戸 and #FaOI2022 with a line of if not live viewing, at least live broadcast for international fans. I can at least dream, right???