Perelandra

Just going to throw out something contentious. Mark was commentating at John Wilson trophy. Shun appeared and Mark mentioned that Shun is another promising skater, also Junior champion, 4th junior champion from Japan and hails from Sendai. Sendai being the home of YH, so far so good, then ..... cover you ears if you did not already hear what he said next and cover your eyes if you prefer not to see

Still young then, or very much young at heart. Perhaps you have also been partaking of Sendai mizu !! We will sit together at an ice show one day. Pxx

Maybe it was wishful thinking on the part of the announcer. BJ Olys - the host nation gave Yuzu a very warm and lovely welcome

That is true and possibly there might have been a clean sweep of the podium for Japan, in a fair world. Was hoping for this as my birthday wish, but it cannot come to pass now.

Thank you for sharing these lovely recollections. You look great in the photos with Yuzu, Emiko and the TCC coaches. It would be truly wonderful if one day you will meet Yuzu again and see him skate live. Pxx

Yes correct and well remembered. Number 3 is san and number nine is kyuu. (39 should technically be san juu kyuu, three times ten being thirty then nine.) It is a very sweet way of Yuzu once again letting everyone know of his gratitude to fans, san kyuu. Thank you to you Yuzu for confirming the channel as official.

Oh dear, maybe Pooh san had one too many tots of mead and his paws were extra clumsy !!

Sorry to add to the mayhem: This YT channel that has appeared - would it not have been incorporated into the channels feature of the Official Hanyu Yuzuru channel if it was genuine? 'Real or not real?' to quote Mockingjay. Hopefully, Pooh san / staff san just clicked the button preemptively before 11:11 JST and it will turn out to be a misunderstanding. Admins and Mods, Please delete if the discussion is not appropriate for the current situation

Yuzu moved to senior circuit before 2013 ( 2010-2011 season ), JNats 2012 -2013 season, as a competition was a landmark date because it was at that competition that Yuzu beat Dai T, on home soil in front of a huge crowd of Dai fans. Previous competitions in which they had appeared together, for instance World's 2012, Yuzu won the Bronze medal to Dai's silver, Patrick Chan was the 2012 World Champion. This is why Yuzu's win surpassing the favourite at the time was exactly as described, an event which turned the FS world on its head. Nobody expected the youngster to have made such massive strides. There may also have been considerable resentment that Yuzu's rapid progress was attributed to his move to TCC, which for some people would have been regarded as an act of downright disloyalty. It had not been encouraged by some FS factions, even though other prominent people felt that moving to TCC was absolutely right for Yuzu's development at that time. It is widely known and accepted that there was controversy and in fighting within the FS community at that time within certain organisations, an interesting story in its own right, but not for this thread.

Yuzu and Pooh san and programme chans

Heavenly host

Concur Many Fantasy/SciFi genre works have the main protagonist becoming a hero endowed with super powers - either from having come form a superior race from another planet, born with genetic mutation which confers super/magical powers or being exposed to some other substance which causes development of enhanced nature. Hence the comparison of these augmented humans who possess 'super powers'. Yuzu has displayed such prowess in the skating arena and also high intellect and other seemingly greater than average human traits that his genius is described by many as 'alien'. It is a marker for Yuzu as a top end of the bell shaped curve compared with the majority of humanity. If one occupies the part of the graph of 99th centile or above then by definition 99% of the population are below in terms of skill, talent, ability etc what ever the graph is representing. For many people this can only be explained by attributing these traits to be super human or magical. Yuzu is the mythical unicorn/ alicorn, nigh on unique, some are entranced by this and admire him. Those who do not wish to acknowledge this may descend to the consumption of sour grapes or worse as @Dreamermentioned. The latter situation could be easily remedied, it is a matter of making more positive choices rather than being mired in the past.

Back in the olden days, before Yuzu moved to senior circuit, Dai T was immensely popular. He was regarded as a skating hero, many fans adored him as much for his good looks as well as the skating and his medals. He was touted by many as being very masculine and we all know the story of certain fans who wanted to closely involved with him. Closely, being the operative word. Foolishly, many FS fans most likely regarded Yuzu as a rather cute novelty, a successful junior who would skate in Dai T's shadow, until the former was ready to move to professional and Yuzu might be one promising young skater to grasp the baton and continue to represent Japan's interest on the ice. That was most likely what was expected. It is doubtful that anyone truly entertained the possibility that Yuzu would surpass his senpai so emphatically and at such an early stage following his debut in the senior circuit. The result at 2013 JNats was akin to the world being turned upside down. The die hard Dai fans loathed this competition outcome to the point where the usually etiquette respecting Dai fans actually vocalised their displeasure in the despicable fashion which was later deleted from official footage, because it was a huge embarrassment for the TV network to have recorded this behaviour. The rest of the story is well known. The signs were completely apparent in Yuzu, even during his novice and junior years. Someone even spoke about a 'genius Mushroom in Sendai'. Yuzu was always destined to surpass the entire competitive field, it was perhaps the meteoric rise which gave everyone a complete shock. Sadly, people who live in denial never want to recognise or acknowledge the signs, their bitterness is all pervasive and even more sadly, they allow that bitterness to fester and taint every activity in their lives. Once again the retribution exacted on Yuzu has been appalling and clearly some people have continued in their campaign to attempt to destroy all of Yuzu's triumphs, achievements and aspirations. Some people are too entrenched in the past and are stunted with their fear of change, so much so that rather than accept or embrace the fact that the world turns and things change, they would prefer to cling to their beliefs and just continue to spoil anything good for everyone else. The number of people who support Yuzu far outweighs the naysayers, they can be drowned out by sheer numbers and one day they might be able to discover and enjoy the brilliance. Yuzu as we know is like the warrior of the poem "I am the storm" One can only imagine what the aftermath of such a storm might be. One last thought to ponder for today: Let's face it, there is a 'Flat Earth Society' so it is possible to question whether the beliefs that some people choose to cling to have validity or not.

The Th

Omedetou Have a wonderful time. The arena is relatively small so you will be really close to Yuzu during the performance, that will be fantastic.

Dear Geo1, Thank you for sharing these delightful memories. Your accounts are always warmly recalled and entertaining. May you have chance to see Yuzu live in the near future, as may we all. Pxx

"To thine own self be true" Yuzu maintaining integrity of character will be the ultimate champion. People should never bend to corruption and certainly not in order to win. Somehow or other there will be a reckoning for the cheats, liars and those that stood by in complicity. As people flock to Yuzu's shows, the bitter truth of what beautiful figure is and what fans want to see will become increasingly evident. The corrupted sport has ruined itself and it relevance will diminish. Without spectators willing to spend money to view something that is without merit, the sport will wither away. Sad, but possibly also some kind of prologue for figure skating as a whole. To start again, refreshed and with clear values and ideals, perhaps figure skating might then recapture some of the disenfranchised fanbase and be worth watching again. People really want to see fair competitions, that is part of the thrill and enjoyment of any sport, that the best performance on the day will win out. Hopefully this message will eventually penetrate the thick heads of those in charge. It could be a long wait though, so best not to dwell on bygones and ignore these folks whilst they sort themselves out into some semblance of organisation and governance.

Happy Birthday Ghislain Happy Birthday Keiji

The Emperor is on the Ice

One of the Muses was the symbol of inspiration for scientific study. Yuzu is a modern Muse.

Cosy cuddles for bedtime