kiches

Agreed that it's a mystery at this point as to what he'll do for worlds. Based on his practice footage before his injury I think he was warming up to fully bring back 3F and 3Lz into his layout if needed. I think he's already said in his message to the Big Sports Show award that his goal next season was to do the 4A with the perfect package, so I think he's moved the target on that jump to next season for now.

It’s called “Kakusei no Toki” or “Time of Awakening”. If you search Yuzuru’s name on amazon.co.jp even in English and filter for DVD/Blu-ray it’ll come up. Here’s a link to the Blu-ray: https://www.amazon.co.jp/羽生結弦「覚醒の時」-初回限定豪華版-Blu-ray-羽生結弦/dp/B00ILRUIH4 DVD is Region 2 but Blu-Ray is Region Free. Both have 2 versions, a standard and Limited Edition copy with the slip cover and small booklet, but the actual contents on the DVD and Blu-ray’s are the same.

The dvd/Blu-ray is still available for the documentary, but the limited edition copy with the additional booklet I think is out of print. You can easily find it on amazon.co.jp, CD Japan, and other sites. Those will ship it worldwide. Dont worry too mich about it being in Japanese, the menu is largely Japanese and English and has a lot of performances so you don’t need to understand much to enjoy it. There’s no narrator and is mostly put together using Yuzu’s voice and words over the years, so it’s a bit different than your typical documentary.

We don’t know yet that Yuzu has told them he’ll officially withdraw, so we can’t make the assumption that they’re purposely withholding an announcement if they don’t have anything to announce yet.

I've seen both clips, and the one Salty mentioned from last year on the CBC website and posted to their FB from Rostelecom with the crying Chinese fans was definitely done in a mocking manner and done so intentionally for laughs (it had clown music and all). It really didn't sit well with me. In general I don't think there's anything wrong with crying, nor do I think the video was saying it's wrong to cry over Yuzu or figure skating. What it was doing however, was mocking and insinuating Yuzu's fans at 2017 Rostelecom were crying because he lost to Nathan. Whether that's the real reason for the tears (the girl in the video expressly said it wasn't on her own social media after a lot of negative attention) or not is somewhat beside the point, because the video's goal was to poke fun at the fans, to paint them as petty, and even added insult to injury with the "Oh bother" at the end about the result. This video I did find insulting and in bad taste, and perpetuating a negative stereotype about Yuzu's fans and I expect them to be better than that. As for the new video, I think it starts out fine, there's nothing offensive about it in general up until the point where they talk about some older fans wanting to "comfort him". The weakest thing about the video is there are multiple factual errors, such as showing the wrong Japanese tweet. I can somewhat understand if whoever put this segment together doesn't speak Japanese, although I wish they hadn't included it at all if that were the case and no one could proof it. They also made a small mistake on the number boxes/bags of Pooh's he received in Russia which shows more carelessness than malice. The thing that does bug me is that in a segment that is supposedly about why his fans are great they decided to highlight and end on something they found creepy and questionable about some of his fans. They also mentioned there were 2,000 Japanese fans that traveled to Helsinki for the 2017 World Championships, but failed to mention that the arena could seat up to 13,000 meaning that a lot of the fans there actually weren't Japanese, and many of his non-Japanese fans also traveled to see him. Since this was a brief video maybe we shouldn't expect much in terms of research, but I do think they should've and could've been more careful with the factual information they presented. My other complaint is that Western media channels have a tendency to portray his fandom as solely Japanese and I do find that to be pretty ignorant (though CBC aren't the only ones that do this). I do hope one day they're able to look beyond that and go the little extra mile to better understand and accurately portray Yuzu, and his fans. I think the Olympic channel segments are a step in that direction, even though their translations of his words can be incorrect.

Oh wow CBC REALLY mixed that one up then. They probably just googled his name and found this page and completely misread it. Wonder if they got some intern to put this together and didn't check their work, they completely misconstrued the tweet in the opposite direction.

Yeah, there were some VERY dressed up people in the ACI crowd this year. I wondered how some of them didn't freeze while in the rink! I normally run hot and even I was cold in the rink. I also saw a lot of people dressed much warmer than I ever would too . Like @KatjaThera I remember the year before seeing a pair of young Chinese fans also doing their make up while sitting in the stands, sadly it was during the actual competition. We likely have similar experiences in who we see/meet at competitions because I've also rarely ever met or seen Japanese fans at competitions that looked younger than 30. The Japanese tour crowds at least seem to skew toward older - maybe because these tour packages are very expensive from what I hear. I also noticed some Chinese fans at the front of the line since I overheard a few of them complaining outside the entrance the morning the police were called. I do find there are a lot of non-Japanese Yuzu fans (and figure skating fans in general) who can speak Japanese. It makes me wish I could communicate with the other foreign fans too, but sometimes the excitement of competition is all you need to understand each other . ACI audience though is a bit unique as a Challenger event. I personally find the audience for a grand prix more diverse, with the most varied audience typically at Worlds since I think more fans are willing to travel for a Championship competition. As for future show chances outside of Japan, I expect Yuzu to accept an invitation if it's from someone he knows and has helped him as a skater. So if Javi invites him after he retires, I'm sure he'd accept. I think Stephane has mentioned he would like to invite him one day too, and I can't imagine Yuzu declining. I know Daisuke and Mao have also skated in Stephane's show before. In Japan however, he's likely to be the headliner for most shows he's in and he's a bit more selective on what shows he does.

I’ve always had the impression that Yuzu’s Japanese fans, while they span the ages, the ones that travel to competitions seem to be predominately middle aged and older. Many of the younger fans I see at competitions that dress fashionably tend to be Chinese. I’m not sure if the Chinese fans usually do tour groups, but Japan definitely does and you can see their tour guides at the venues quite often. As an aside, I do wish the western commentators would stop lumping every Japanese flag carrying fan or Asian fan as Japanese. It shows their ignorance at recognizing different Asians and paints a very different narrative. I still remember how NBC was doing a fluff piece pointing out Yuzu’s Japanese fans at the Olympics while the group they were filming were clearly Chinese and speaking Mandarin.

Wow! If I remember correctly Brian did leave for South Korea before Yuzu did (maybe a week in advance). I think Yuzu has said his preparations really sort of came together right as he was leaving for the Olympics, so I wonder if within that 1 week that Brian wasn't there if he was able to skate it at least once perfectly.

Every time I see the black from the top of the Haru yo, Koi costume, I think, is that how high up his pants go? I wish it was covered by white or more pink, I think it would look better that way. I also wouldn't mind if he had more than one exhibition this year, a girl can dream right?

I think the verdict is still out for me on lunge in Origin, I think it's marred by the pop. He didn't really do full run-throughs in practice so we didn't really get the transition from 4T3A to spin, I think during competition he was visibly thinking after popping the toe and likely debating if he should try different combos for the last 2 jumps. Maybe with more attack and commitment the lunge would look more natural. The twizzle entrance however - love it.

I'm in the same boat, I'm okay with him keeping a signature move in his program if it's done to the theme of the program. I usually find that Yuzu gives off a very different form of expression during his ina bauer for instance, depending on the program (R&J2 is actually my favorite version of his ina bauer). However, I do think he can drop the hydroblade or limit his signature moves to one per program. At this point I wonder if it's Shae who automatically puts those signature moves in, or if they both expect to have it in there. I think the fact that he dropped the biellmann and is doing different spins this year is showing he's willing to experiment. I don't care if there's a literal story or even a character (in fact, I tend to dislike literal choreography), but I do care that there's a clear intent in the program. That intent can be a feeling or emotion, or something abstract. I think one of Yuzu's greatest strengths is I always feel like I can "see" him in his programs, no matter what program he's doing, whether he's doing a character or not, I can connect with it and him. Maybe this goes to the sensitivity that Matsuoka was talking about, and maybe it's part of why Yuzu has so many dedicated fans. It's very different from a skater like Javier, for instance, who performs outward to the audience. I think the Robin Cousins hit the nail on the head when he said "[Yuzu] needs to know what he wants and he makes them come to him. It's a different dynamic, but it is absolutely is mesmerizing." He definitely has a way of drawing you in. I do think Yuzu's general weakness is stamina still, it's improved leaps and bounds but I think it's also why his spins in his free program are more an 8 rather than a 10. He does overthink things sometime, but usually he's able to move beyond that as the season goes on. He's also extremely stubborn, he has ideals and he likes to stick to them, sometimes at the cost of winning a competition in the short term.

I think that's what he said, because he follows up the story with "but the competition was coming" and that he never really tried it much after those 5 days.

Here’s my personal take on Otoñal, after seeing it in person at ACI and watching it quite a few times on video. I like the deliberate succession of the jumps and the section of the music they’re choreographed too I think is perfect. I’m not sure if the frontloading was an ode to older programs, but I think placement of the elements was done to highlight the explosive step sequence and to give him time to focus on it. It actually reminds me a lot of Mao’s free skate programs, like Swan Lake and Rach 2, where the highlight is obviously the step sequence toward the end of the program. I also appreciate the minimalist movements in the first half, I think it makes the movements he does do more effect and highlights it. The little shoulder movement in the spread eagle always makes me think of a sudden “tugging” of the heartstring during a moment of calm. I think the major issue at ACI was - the spins. I think going into the combo he lost a bit of concentration, had a messy combo and then the trip/hop into the spin which disrupted the flow of the program. It sort of drained the energy that had been built up in the program to that point and Yuzu had to build it up from zero at the start of the step sequence. I expect better outings of the program later on and some minor adjustments. Watching the practice videos again I think it was much better skated there.

Yes he did 3F and 3F2T in practice. His intention was to place 3F2T where he previously has the 3A2T and replace the 4T1Eu3S with the 4T3A, but he popped so he didn’t do the flip in competition. He didn’t actually practice 4T1Eu3S at ACI so I think this is his actual planned content.

A clear file is basically a folder, but it seems this type of folder is much more common and standard in Asia. I've never seen these types of folders in the US for sale (unless in an Asian stationary shop) and I really like them. I remember as a kid with the paper folders those would always break apart in my backpack, but these clear files are much sturdier (and prettier to look at). I have my clear files stored in a clear file binder, but I have a few plain ones that I like to use to hold papers when I travel. As for clear files as bonus items, I think in Asia they're very cheap to produce and they take up very little space within the actual store and are probably cheap to ship and distribute to various markets, so it's an easy promotional item to have.

I always thought Brian said “You’re a brave man”?

I don’t scream either, although I do cheer if he lands his stuff On that that topic I did think the screaming was a tad excessive at ACI this year compared to the past. I have this fancam I recorded of the Otonal costume reveal and the scream go on for a while after he unzips his jacket and you can hear me say “okay, that’s enough now, you can stop”. That type of screaming I think is more suited for concerts than figure skating, the athletes are trying to concentrate during practice still after all.

Honestly I was by that comment from Orser. I think it came some time after Boston but if you look at Javi’s track record, he doesn’t seem to have a great record of competing very well/evenly (Boston being the exception, and perhaps the 2017 Worlds SP - but we all know how that ended). I do think Yuzu was pretty intense this last quad as he threw everything into winning that 2nd OGM. I also hope he’s been released from that burden now and can skate without any sense of desperation.

I feel this a tiny bit, but I feel like it’s going back to his roots as a skater and his style. As I watched the practice footage from media day I felt I was seeing a bit of the younger Yuzu, a little closer to his R&J and Etude days, so a program like Origins seemed apt.

I think that's a new uploaded video, but I'm not sure when it was taken. It was posted about 30 min ago and it's 3 AM in Toronto. I assume she had this clip from when she was a the club and is maybe sharing it now, because I thought she left a couple weeks back. To answer @Geo1 the ACI streams in the past were not geoblocked. It could be that a Japanese TV station purchased full broadcasting rights, maybe that's why the change this year. It's unfortunate. The stream wasn't always high quality but it was legitimate and fairly stable from my memory.

I do remember after Sochi when Yuzu was going to compete at Finlandia a Japanese broadcasting company (can’t remember which) bought the rights to broadcast the competition but I don’t remember if it geoblocked the steaming. Didn’t matter much anyway since Yuzu withdrew but maybe the same happened again for ACI.

During World Team Trophy 2017 Yuzu watched the ladies compete (since he was cheering for Team Japan) and said he learned a lot watching them compete. I believe he said something along the lines of it being important to consistently skate clean and he learned a lot.

I was actually thinking the 3A looked higher and farther throughout all the practice clips.

Ok now that music info has dropped, I want to know how the ankle is doing!