General Yuzuru Chat

[Dori6886]

On 7.07.2017 at 6:08 AM, Hydroblade said:

[wallet weeps in a corner]

 

On 7.07.2017 at 6:14 AM, Seimei06 said:

same 

(And I just bought the 2015-2016 one...)

I'm waiting for my copy of 2015-2016 too. Now I'm a little regretful that I didn't wait a few more days with my purchase, but at least I won't have problem with choosing a christmas gift!  <- new emoticons are great 

[五十嵐 美幸]

1 hour ago, Yukiko Sakae said:

http://www.hakuhodody-media.co.jp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/HDYmpnews20170706.pdf

This is the source for ranking.

 

Thank you very much!

 

Ichiro of course was to be expected, but it's really amazing that Yuzu follows immediately after, given that even if relatively popular, even in Japan it's still a minor sport.

[Yukiko Sakae]

Yuzuru collaborated with a guitarist Mr. Takeo Konno and showed "Parisienne Walkways"

in a last day of FaoI in Niigata, Japan.  We should say it is a miraculous collaboration.

He is from Fukushima hitted by a big earthquake in 2011.

[gladi]

Part 2 of Keiichi Yano (sound designer)'s interview coming up soon. In the meantime, I set up a thread in the translation area with Part 1 for discussion. Would love to hear all your thoughts  When Part 2 is done, it'll go up on my tumblr and (give and take a little procrastination ) the same thread. 

 

 

[Yukiko Sakae]

Yuzru Hanyu The Moment of Victory in Helsinki

 

I want share with you this YouTube MAD which was made by maimai. 

[yuzuangel]

10 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

to a degree, even Uno, are the most recent proof of that

 

hmm this year, shoma had:

 

SA: 2 falls

CoR: 1 fall

GPF: 1 fall/downgrade

4CC: 2 falls

CdP: 1 fall

Worlds: 0 falls

WTT: 1 fall/downgrade

 

I guess he's a bit more consistent than other top guys, but this isn't really the bastion of consistency either. didn't count UR's or edge calls which he also had (more than most other guys IMO).

[gladi]

 

And part 2 is up. I managed to put this up before I fell asleep  miracles. 

 

Yano-san brings from behind the scenes in ice shows (1) the making of Machida’s prologue in Don Quixote, (2) Hanyu’s surprise collaboration with Fukuma-san on Ballade No.1, and (3) (again surprise…and last minute) collaboration with guitarist Takeo Konno in Parisienne Walkway on the final day of FaOI in Niigata. Together with Part 1, could alternatively be named “the 20 times Hanyu-senshu was a bother (read: lovable brat) with his crazy ideas.” 

 

He also talks about (4) what the job entails and who would be a good fit (Daddy Mura makes an appearance!) and leaves us with (5) a heartfelt message regarding his thoughts on program choice and the treatment of music :')

 

Discuss

[Hydroblade]

7 minutes ago, gladi said:

 “the 20 times Hanyu-senshu was a bother (read: lovable brat) with his crazy ideas.” 

a love/hate relationship with the crazy things he comes up with. 

Thank you for the translation!

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

4 時間前, yuzuangel said:

 

hmm this year, shoma had:

 

SA: 2 falls

CoR: 1 fall

GPF: 1 fall/downgrade

4CC: 2 falls

CdP: 1 fall

Worlds: 0 falls

WTT: 1 fall/downgrade

 

I guess he's a bit more consistent than other top guys, but this isn't really the bastion of consistency either. didn't count UR's or edge calls which he also had (more than most other guys IMO).

 

Yeah, which was why I said "to a degree." Maybe I should've added in the word "lesser" since Uno also had the advantage of leniency (moreso than others). And I did not consider harder-to-spot tech boo-boos like overt PRs, URs, wrong edges, etc. (IIRC Medvedeva had problems along these lines herself, regardless of whether or not she was called for them) as I was only talking in terms of the skates looking more obviously messy to the untrained eye (falls, pops, step-outs, botched landings, etc.) since that seems to be the only thing Hanyu has left to worry about now, when his mind isn't fully aligned with his body. If the last few seasons are anything to go by, he no longer seems to have any problems with the more minute details, like most others do, either by way of having fixed the problems at a fundamental level, or developed strategies that prevent them from happening. (Which means if the guy doesn't make any mistakes, his skates are literally technically textbook perfect, without having to depend on leniency or bias to be considered as such. How crazy is that?)

 

Anyhow, Uno certainly wasn't as consistently clean as Medvedeva was but he was more than skilled enough and, like you said, more consistent than others, at least enough for the judges to be willing to show more leniency and generosity towards him--which is fine, all talented skaters shouldn't be begrudged this momentary privilege at some point in their careers--all of which ultimately led to his momentum building, as can be seen from the more or less upward trajectory of his scores with no huge dips throughout the last season. He may have scored quite a bit less at WTT than he did at WC but he hadn't plunged below 300 once after he's gone past the mark the first time.

 

Thinking back on it, all this makes the feat Hanyu pulled off at WC all the more astonishing considering he had a lot less momentum going into it than most of the others in the top 6 and then had it decreased even more after his SP. He could still have lost despite his monstrous FS score (which apparently was only the bare minimum within the range he could've gotten with that quietly astounding performance) but instead was able to utterly subjugate an incredibly strong field (that saw the 4th place finisher also scoring above 300) with it and wrested the gold medal back from the stunned hands of the rest. All without the benefit of leniency and generosity brought on by momentum. He did it just by pure mindbending skills, dogged determination and total dominance. Of the strongest field the world has ever seen yet, no less...

 

...buuut there's no guarantee this scenario will happen again so it's best to assume clean skates from everyone else, which means devising a strategy that will allow him a better chance at building momentum via cleaner skates is likely his best bet going into the Olympic season if he is looking to widen his chances of both being able to bring his best to the table come the Games as well as secure the middle position on the podium.

[robin]

Hey everyone!!

Sorry for the short notice but we will have our first Planet Hanyu exclusive LWOFYPP in about 4 hours and a second one in 12 hours.

 

Make sure to stop by if you're around!

 

 

[kaeryth]

2016-2017 season all done! Waiting anxiously for the 2017-2018 season competitions and wishing Yuzu all the best. As usual, please try not to comment on the thread. While I'm hoping for a few more seasons after this one for Yuzu I don't want to jinx it by prematurely reserving a spot on the thread. hehehe

 

I will be updating the links from time to time if I see (or if anyone sends me a link) better versions.

 

Personal thoughts:

 

• Hmmmmm... what to say? I think everyone already has said their thoughts on this season.
• Re: Let's Go Crazy - it's really a complex program but at the same time it's actually very limiting (Every move is precise to the music and if he falls behind even a second, he begins to play catch up) so I understand why he didn't choose to continue using it even though it hasn't been skated to his standards of perfection.
• Re: Hope & Legacy. I must admit that I didn't get this program when the season started. I appreciate the music (It's Joe Hisaishi! Duh!!) but I couldn't connect with the choreography. It wasn't until I watched the CBC commentary for NHK 2016 that it clicked. When Carol Lane said that it was a program that "needs to be clean" I realised how ambitious this program was because she was right. And I'm glad all his struggles this season came to a glorious and stunning fruition at Worlds. If you listen to different commentaries or read different reviews, even people who are not his fans will attest that it's a performance without flaws - they may nitpick about everything else but they cannot deny it's perfect execution.

 

[Emzie]

Just a reminder: we have first 4CC streaming party tomorrow!

Comment here

ETA: jesus, J Sports and fuji.tv have different dates for 4CC. I'm terribly sorry for the confusion!

[Lyyli]

13 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

...buuut there's no guarantee this scenario will happen again so it's best to assume clean skates from everyone else, which means devising a strategy that will allow him a better chance at building momentum via cleaner skates is likely his best bet going into the Olympic season if he is looking to widen his chances of both being able to bring his best to the table come the Games as well as secure the middle position on the podium.

These comments of mine are about your last two posts here.

 

First I must say that I am not sure if I understood everything correctly. There were quite a few words and expressions that were new to me. My English is far from perfect and using the vocabulary does not always help because words can have many different meanings. I do hope my post is understandable. Anyway, this is what I want to comment:

I think it is always relevant to discuss about the scoring in figure skating because personal opinions of individual judges have an effect on GOES and PCS. As we know from the same element a skater can get for example GOE 1 or 3 from different judges. In tough competitions PCS can have a significant role in the final results.  

 

Yuzu very often talks about the importance of clean performances so there is no fear that he counts on other skaters mistakes. He has not been satisfied even if he wins when he has made mistakes. Like in Sochi. In Helsinki after the victory he said he has to practice harder.

 

I have understood from Yuzu´s  interviews during all his senior years that he wants to go clean not only because of the scores but because of his respect for the audience and his will to represent his country Japan in the best possible way. He loves to skate but he does not skate only for himself. He skates for the audience, Japan and for figure skating as a sport as well. For example he has said many times that he wants to "skate together with the audience". 

For me it is totally ok for sportsmen to want success also for their individual ambitions. They work hard, use lots of their time and money in training and expose themselves to possible injuries, heavy disappointments and public criticism. For the top athletes the Olympic gold is naturally the biggest dream. Not the medal itself, but the greatest victory of all and the title Olympic Champion.

About consistency: Yuzu has suffered from quite a few injuries after Sochi tough he has not wanted to talk about them much. Because of the injuries he was not totally ready for Shanghai and Boston worlds. There was also the collision in CoC 2014 and an abdomen operation after that. The latest injury on his left  foot, lisfranc joint ligament injury, was a

serious one. He was suggested to skip the last season totally. If I have understood correctly this injury bothered him really already in Shanghai worlds. It got worse during the next season and finally after Boston he had to take a long break. At the same time he was supposed to keep training the quads. The quads are decisive for his consistency.

 

Med is truly a very consistent skater because all the jumps are easy for her kind of talented and well trained skater. She does not challenge herself for example with 3A because she does not need it to win. She has not suffered from injuries as far as I know and she has said he does not feel disturbing pressure when she skates. The top men are learning new things and taking steps forward with the quads so it is understandable that they struggle more.

[axelsandwich]

Thank you @kaeryth for completing such a monumental task of compiling all the clips, it's really really appreciated! 

 

1 hour ago, Lyyli said:

Yuzu very often talks about the importance of clean performances so there is no fear that he counts on other skaters mistakes. He has not been satisfied even if he wins when he has made mistakes. Like in Sochi. In Helsinki after the victory he said he has to practice harder.

 

I have understood from Yuzu´s  interviews during all his senior years that he wants to go clean not only because of the scores but because of his respect for the audience and his will to represent his country Japan in the best possible way. He loves to skate but he does not skate only for himself. He skates for the audience, Japan and for figure skating as a sport as well. For example he has said many times that he wants to "skate together with the audience". 

I think what the other poster (@¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - sorry, I can't tag your username, the forum won't let me) was saying - and what I agree with - is that a season of clean skates is a strategic move as much as it is about a matter of pride/perfectionism as an artist. You see this in other sports too but judging tends to favour those who have been able to establish 'momentum' of success, going into a competition. Subconscious bias will tend to favour skaters who have shown consistently clean skates, who can establish the impression they are 'on the rise' and 'due' to peak at the right time. Doubly so for judged sports because judges are humans and, as humans, we respond to stories that 'make sense' like they're out of a novel or movie (even if it may not be the reality). 

 

The media and PR stories going into the Olympics will be a potent weapon in any politics being played, which is also why I'm anxious about Yuzu's Chopin 3.0 and very anxious if his FS is a repeat and/or Seimei 2.0 -- he's taking a strategic hit from the start by triggering a narrative that he's not pushing himself, even though it's not necessarily the truth. But I agree that if he can skate consistently cleanly with these program choices, it might benefit him more. Because there aren't many small issues to nitpick, the mistakes Yuzu tends to make are on the jumps and they tend to stick in judge's minds more than an UR, a wrong edge or a shaky/risky landing. 

[Neenah]

1 hour ago, kaerb said:

Thank you @kaeryth for completing such a monumental task of compiling all the clips, it's really really appreciated! 

 

I think what the other poster (@¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - sorry, I can't tag your username, the forum won't let me) was saying - and what I agree with - is that a season of clean skates is a strategic move as much as it is about a matter of pride/perfectionism as an artist. You see this in other sports too but judging tends to favour those who have been able to establish 'momentum' of success, going into a competition. Subconscious bias will tend to favour skaters who have shown consistently clean skates, who can establish the impression they are 'on the rise' and 'due' to peak at the right time. Doubly so for judged sports because judges are humans and, as humans, we respond to stories that 'make sense' like they're out of a novel or movie (even if it may not be the reality). 

 

The media and PR stories going into the Olympics will be a potent weapon in any politics being played, which is also why I'm anxious about Yuzu's Chopin 3.0 and very anxious if his FS is a repeat and/or Seimei 2.0 -- he's taking a strategic hit from the start by triggering a narrative that he's not pushing himself, even though it's not necessarily the truth. But I agree that if he can skate consistently cleanly with these program choices, it might benefit him more. Because there aren't many small issues to nitpick, the mistakes Yuzu tends to make are on the jumps and they tend to stick in judge's minds more than an UR, a wrong edge or a shaky/risky landing. 

 

I am curious what you mean by the media and PR, which media are we talking about here? I think that since Yuzu is the favourite and the man to beat means that he will be the target of all media trying to alleviate the other men and improve their chances. At this point I don't think there is anything that Yuzuru can do that will not be dissected and analyzed to find faults. 

 

The argument I keep seeing is that he will be accused of playing safe, but what if he did get two new programs, will he really be left alone? no, the narrative will just shift into finding a problem with whatever choice he made. Is it a warhorse? he is also playing it safe. Is is it new music? you can repeat all the negative comment H&L got here. Did he keep his layout? he is not pushing himself. Did he include a new jump or change the layout? He is afraid of the young ones, he will never be clean because it takes him much longer to incorporate new jumps.etc.

 

Everything I wrote above are real comments I have seen and I can keep going if you want. The thing is he is under the microscope and is the person to beat, so he will be attacked left and right no matter what, and the best thing he can do for himself is to ignore it all and go with what he and his team thinks is better for him.

 

PS:Sorry if I am coming too strongly here and it is not in any way my intention to attack anyone or belittle your opinion, but I do know first hand what it is like to be in a situation where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't like Yuzu is right now.