General Yuzuru Chat

[KatjaThera]

I honestly don't get fans, sometimes... like, I understand wanting to show your support and let him know he is loved across the globe, but put yourself in his shoes, ffs. Canada is the one place where he can just be himself, without being a megastar, where he can actually walk down the street and just be a normal 22 year old. And in this safe world, he suddenly finds a billboard with his name and face on it. Like... seriously? If it were me, it'd be far more cringe-worthy and like a slap in the face, than "aww, that's so sweet!".

 

Admittedly, I also don't fully get fans who send him tons of fanart - or well, if it's of him skating, that might still work, because it references his art, but when it's just off-ice, non-skating stuff... - when he's said he finds it embarrassing to look at his own face so much. And I know I definitely would, too. Drawing them is of course no problem, it's the sending to him I don't really get. But at least those he can give to his family, who probably appreciate them more and it sends a message about him inspiring people in their own art form. So I can understand it a bit and he's said he understands it, too. But I'd still rather send him stuff that means something to him rather than stuff that mean something to me. (Or at least try to balance it out.)

 

Or maybe I've just got hangups because I've been accused of bothering a musician I admired, by someone, in a spiteful argument and that hit harder than all the other stuff she shot at me So now I'm extra careful and overanalyze my interactions with those whose fan I am ^_^; (I actually still feel a bit bad about my own letters at NHK and feel a bit like I overdid it, but... I'll never know, I guess.)

 

My point is, he'll never say anything - I'm still a bit surprised he said what he said about fanart - because it'd be rude and he'd seem ungrateful, and of course, he appreciates the intentions. Which is why I think it's up to each fan to control him/herself and support him in ways that he can fully and honestly appreciate, and not feel like "well, I do appreciate the intention...".

[Anony]

Wait I thought someone from the club or something put up that poster  e vhut

[Xen]

I'm torn between shaking my head at the billboard at the TCC busstop, headdesking, and laughing my head off. It's a bit...much. Imagine if he were a female skater, or rather a normal everyday lady. Whomever did that billboard would be accused of stalking on the extreme end, or that better be a "will you marry me" poster.  For now let's just chalk it up as an extreme manifestation of Yuzu withdrawl symptoms.  Maybe they should have made a Pooh poster, and it would have been obvious enough whom the message is for? 

 

@SparkleSalad : I like your avatar. =) But yes, the earphones ad would make a lot more sense, more subtle and definitely inside joke material. Better yet, since he loves earphones so much, think about an earphone giveaway ad inside TCC, where you have to scan the barcode to get your pair with your name engraved on it. Doesn't work for anyone else, but him, and only responds to a request to engrave Yuzuru Hanyu on it. Think that's probably fun and extra enough for him? 

 

@KatjaThera: When did he make this mention of fanart? Was it the asaichi show when they pinned up those fanarts? I think part of the problem is people want to show him that they love him, but we don't actually know much about him-other than pooh and earphones- that it's actually hard to give individually a meaningful gift. Based on what he has taken, it seems collective gifts (scrapbooks, banners) tend to be well received, and well made personal crafts like the swans, the hand-painted fans are also okay because there is a lot of thought and effort put into them. As for fanart...well I'm in the camp of not giving the fanart to the person unless said person asks me for one. 

 

 

 

[axelsandwich]

1 hour ago, KatjaThera said:

I honestly don't get fans, sometimes... like, I understand wanting to show your support and let him know he is loved across the globe, but put yourself in his shoes, ffs. Canada is the one place where he can just be himself, without being a megastar, where he can actually walk down the street and just be a normal 22 year old. And in this safe world, he suddenly finds a billboard with his name and face on it. Like... seriously? If it were me, it'd be far more cringe-worthy and like a slap in the face, than "aww, that's so sweet!".

 

Admittedly, I also don't fully get fans who send him tons of fanart - or well, if it's of him skating, that might still work, because it references his art, but when it's just off-ice, non-skating stuff... - when he's said he finds it embarrassing to look at his own face so much. And I know I definitely would, too. Drawing them is of course no problem, it's the sending to him I don't really get. But at least those he can give to his family, who probably appreciate them more and it sends a message about him inspiring people in their own art form. So I can understand it a bit and he's said he understands it, too. But I'd still rather send him stuff that means something to him rather than stuff that mean something to me. (Or at least try to balance it out.)

 

Or maybe I've just got hangups because I've been accused of bothering a musician I admired, by someone, in a spiteful argument and that hit harder than all the other stuff she shot at me So now I'm extra careful and overanalyze my interactions with those whose fan I am ^_^; (I actually still feel a bit bad about my own letters at NHK and feel a bit like I overdid it, but... I'll never know, I guess.)

 

My point is, he'll never say anything - I'm still a bit surprised he said what he said about fanart - because it'd be rude and he'd seem ungrateful, and of course, he appreciates the intentions. Which is why I think it's up to each fan to control him/herself and support him in ways that he can fully and honestly appreciate, and not feel like "well, I do appreciate the intention...".

Lol maybe my perception is skewed a bit because, coming from Kpop, fans regularly pitch in to buy ad space on subways to celebrate their faves' birthdays. It doubles as a way of promoting the group/celeb to the general public. As long as he doesn't have like...fans hiding behind the billboard ready to pounce, hopefully it's just a largely innocuous gesture, if a bit embarrassing (tbh if Yuzu's friends are anything like my friends towards a 'famous' mutual friend, they'd send him photos of his face on billboards in Japan whenever they see him lol it's not like Yuzu has never seen his face in public).

 

It's very sweet and considerate that you want to send him stuff that means something to him and that you're careful about how you express your appreciation - I wish more people would do that (esp people commenting shipping stuff on Javi's insta for example would stop and actually think about the fact he reads that stuff )

 

I thought that, as a fanartist myself, I would perhaps share my thoughts on your second point. I agree it's always tricky because while you do want to draw stuff that skaters will personally appreciate, they're also performers and understand the audience loves them for what they present, aka. themselves. It's not like an author of a novel who can appreciate fanart of her characters - the skaters and their performance are the subject so it's hard to separate the two. And as an artist...the emotion when you draw a photo of someone to give to them is more like 'thank you for inspiring me to draw this'. Sometimes, it's stuff that you can't quite put into words so you spend the time to carefully try and capture every detail in your art -- the effort poured into creating the art, I think, is often where the love and the appreciation goes, and if that's your main way of expressing yourself, I can understand why people would send Yuzu fanart of himself, because that's where they pour their heart and soul. It's probably particularly overwhelming for Yuzu because he gets so much but I know Jason Brown, for example, was so excited to get fanart of himself, so I don't think it's inherently a bad thing. 

 

I agree that crafts and paper fans that don't put his face as the spotlight tend to be much better presents though (which is why I'm soo glad for the Chinese fan who designs the costume fans... I said it when it was posted but it's really the ideal balance between expressing love for Yuzu's skating while also being a present they can display in the home without making Yuzu look like an egotistical narcissist). And I agree with @Xen that, not knowing much about him, it's kind of difficult to find personally meaningful presents.  

 

Maybe when I do prepare an art present to give him, I'll give him a detailed sketch of his favourite earphones lol. 

[Anya]

Are they republishing the Yuzuru Method with new pictures included? That's what I get from Bing translate...

 

 

[Xen]

10 minutes ago, kaerb said:

Lol maybe my perception is skewed a bit because, coming from Kpop, fans regularly pitch in to buy ad space on subways to celebrate their faves' birthdays. It doubles as a way of promoting the group/celeb to the general public. As long as he doesn't have like...fans hiding behind the billboard ready to pounce, hopefully it's just a largely innocuous gesture, if a bit embarrassing (tbh if Yuzu's friends are anything like my friends towards a 'famous' mutual friend, they'd send him photos of his face on billboards in Japan whenever they see him lol it's not like Yuzu has never seen his face in public).

 

It's very sweet and considerate that you want to send him stuff that means something to him and that you're careful about how you express your appreciation - I wish more people would do that (esp people commenting shipping stuff on Javi's insta for example would stop and actually think about the fact he reads that stuff )

 

I thought that, as a fanartist myself, I would perhaps share my thoughts on your second point. I agree it's always tricky because while you do want to draw stuff that skaters will personally appreciate but they're performers and understand the audience loves them for what they present, aka. themselves. And as an artist...the emotion when you draw a photo of someone to give to them is more like 'thank you for inspiring me to draw this'. Sometimes, it's stuff that you can't quite put into words so you spend the time to carefully try and capture every detail in your art -- the effort poured into creating the art, I think, is often where the love and the appreciation goes, and if that's your main way of expressing yourself, I can understand why people would send Yuzu fanart of himself, because that's where they pour their heart and soul. It's probably particularly overwhelming for Yuzu because he gets so much but I know Jason Brown, for example, was so excited to get fanart of himself, so I don't think it's inherently a bad thing. 

 

I agree that crafts and paper fans that don't put his face as the spotlight tend to be much better presents though (which is why I'm soo glad for the Chinese fan who designs the costume fans... I said it when it was posted but it's really the ideal balance between expressing love for Yuzu's skating while also being a present they can display in the home without making Yuzu look like an egotistical narcissist). And I agree with @Xen that, not knowing much about him, it's kind of difficult to find personally meaningful presents.  

 

Maybe when I do prepare an art present to give him, I'll give him a detailed sketch of his favourite earphones lol. 

Or can you imagine what would happen if he ever revealed he liked something? He'd get a truckload of it, so much that it'd stretch his ability to love it. Like kendama-didn't he get a lot of kendama from fans? 

 

As for fanart, I'm wondering if certain types would work better? The issue of his face might be more due to him wanting to be known as an athlete and not an idol-and focusing on his face makes him more idol than athlete. So if that is the logic behind not liking some fanart, then wouldn't the more anime/manga based fanart of say runrun's style, be better? Maybe a comic strip showing him and all his "friendly" jumps might be appreciated. 

 

(I wonder why no one gave him a ceramic tea cup set yet. You know, those really really stoic asian types that have paint on the inside of the cup instead of the outside, and can be inspired by his programs. The only fanart I've given out were ironically, speed sketches I did while waiting in the autograph lines-usually they're amazed that someone managed to capture their image while they were not standing still, and in under 5-10 mins per person.)

[SparkleSalad]

25 minutes ago, Xen said:

 

@SparkleSalad : I like your avatar. =) 

 

As for fanart...well I'm in the camp of not giving the fanart to the person unless said person asks me for one. 

 

If you stumble across a higher res version, do let me know. Such rodential beauty deserves more pixels.

 

Giving him fanart is such a waste when there are so many other people who'd appreciate it (gimme.) Still waiting for runrun to publish her fairy picture book.

 

[axelsandwich]

7 minutes ago, Xen said:

Or can you imagine what would happen if he ever revealed he liked something? He'd get a truckload of it, so much that it'd stretch his ability to love it. Like kendama-didn't he get a lot of kendama from fans? 

 

As for fanart, I'm wondering if certain types would work better? The issue of his face might be more due to him wanting to be known as an athlete and not an idol-and focusing on his face makes him more idol than athlete. So if that is the logic behind not liking some fanart, then wouldn't the more anime/manga based fanart of say runrun's style, be better? Maybe a comic strip showing him and all his "friendly" jumps might be appreciated. 

 

(I wonder why no one gave him a ceramic tea cup set yet. You know, those really really stoic asian types that have paint on the inside of the cup instead of the outside, and can be inspired by his programs. The only fanart I've given out were ironically, speed sketches I did while waiting in the autograph lines-usually they're amazed that someone managed to capture their image while they were not standing still, and in under 5-10 mins per person.)

Exactly, which is probably why he refrains from sharing what he likes LOL (I think he mentioned on Asaichi he got about 8). though I bet if his fandom pitched in to get him a $$$$$$ custom earphone voucher, he'd be pretty happy  But really, my biggest wish is for everyone to pitch in to get him a custom suit fitting session with a local tailor c'mon, let's kickstart this. 

 

Yeah, I get that he's uncomfortable with being seen as an idol. Anything that I guess isn't just ~I made an intricate study of the beauty of your face~ would probably be better - I think funny manga-style panels with a point of view/message might give him a laugh. Then again, how many does he look at/read, given how much he gets? Most fanart is inevitably more for the artist to just get their feelings out -- tbh I only expect him to keep a small handful that are truly wonderful. Fanart of his jumps is an idea! Maybe something for me to work on : P (honestly homewares and house items indirectly inspired by his skating that they can display/use would be my preference... I'm 10000% about practical gifts over decorative lol). Tbh I would probably make fanart of him to give out to other fans more than throw at him.  

[Xen]

1 minute ago, kaerb said:

Exactly, which is probably why he refrains from sharing what he likes LOL (I think he mentioned on Asaichi he got about 8). though I bet if his fandom pitched in to get him a $$$$$$ custom earphone voucher, he'd be pretty happy  But really, my biggest wish is for everyone to pitch in to get him a custom suit fitting session with a local tailor c'mon, let's kickstart this. 

 

Yeah, I get that he's uncomfortable with being seen as an idol. Anything that I guess isn't just ~I made an intricate style of the beauty of your face~ would probably be better - I think funny manga-style panels with a point of view/message might give him a laugh. Then again, how many does he look at/read, given how much he gets? Most fanart is inevitably more for the artist to just get their feelings out -- tbh I only expect him to keep a small handful that are truly wonderful. Fanart of his jumps is an idea! Maybe something for me to work on : P (honestly homewares and house items indirectly inspired by his skating that they can display/use would be my preference... I'm 10000% about practical gifts over decorative lol). Tbh I would probably make fanart of him to give out to other fans more than throw at him.  

I have a pooh and hamtaro series idea...>_< And I still have to draw out his jumps harem court, but I think that's more for us than for him (think he'd be horrified). 

I think most of the stuff I'd do artistically as a fan, would be for other fans, like @SparkleSalad since I am no Da Vinci. 

[SparkleSalad]

Have any famous mangaka done his portrait, yet? If not, why not, and when will they?

[SparkleSalad]

2 minutes ago, Xen said:

I think most of the stuff I'd do artistically as a fan, would be for other fans, like @SparkleSalad since I am no Da Vinci. 

 

Depending on how far south of Da Vinci you are, he might just assume it's from a cute kid. Everybody wins!

[KatjaThera]

30 minutes ago, kaerb said:

Lol maybe my perception is skewed a bit because, coming from Kpop, fans regularly pitch in to buy ad space on subways to celebrate their faves' birthdays. It doubles as a way of promoting the group/celeb to the general public. As long as he doesn't have like...fans hiding behind the billboard ready to pounce, hopefully it's just a largely innocuous gesture, if a bit embarrassing (tbh if Yuzu's friends are anything like my friends towards a 'famous' mutual friend, they'd send him photos of his face on billboards in Japan whenever they see him lol it's not like Yuzu has never seen his face in public).

 

It's very sweet and considerate that you want to send him stuff that means something to him and that you're careful about how you express your appreciation - I wish more people would do that (esp people commenting shipping stuff on Javi's insta for example would stop and actually think about the fact he reads that stuff )

 

I thought that, as a fanartist myself, I would perhaps share my thoughts on your second point. I agree it's always tricky because while you do want to draw stuff that skaters will personally appreciate but they're performers and understand the audience loves them for what they present, aka. themselves. And as an artist...the emotion when you draw a photo of someone to give to them is more like 'thank you for inspiring me to draw this'. Sometimes, it's stuff that you can't quite put into words so you spend the time to carefully try and capture every detail in your art -- the effort poured into creating the art, I think, is often where the love and the appreciation goes, and if that's your main way of expressing yourself, I can understand why people would send Yuzu fanart of himself, because that's where they pour their heart and soul. It's probably particularly overwhelming for Yuzu because he gets so much but I know Jason Brown, for example, was so excited to get fanart of himself, so I don't think it's inherently a bad thing. 

 

I agree that crafts and paper fans that don't put his face as the spotlight tend to be much better presents though (which is why I'm soo glad for the Chinese fan who designs the costume fans... I said it when it was posted but it's really the ideal balance between expressing love for Yuzu's skating while also being a present they can display in the home without making Yuzu look like an egotistical narcissist). And I agree with @Xen that, not knowing much about him, it's kind of difficult to find personally meaningful presents.  

 

Maybe when I do prepare an art present to give him, I'll give him a detailed sketch of his favourite earphones lol. 

I think in Japan, or even elsewhere would have been fine and fun. But that it's right next to the place where he feels safe and safely away from that kind of attention is what bugs me.

 

And I understand what you mean re: fanart, I mentioned it, too, though it was more of an afterthought. I probably don't fully understand, because I don't do it myself, but somewhat, I do. I just think it's better if it's about skating. like, fanart of him skating. (I have in my head the image of a fanart of just his smiling face from Asaichi, that was nice, indeed, but...)

 

Anyway, I don't necessarily mean focused on the stuff he likes, but just to think more about him. And of course, his favorite thing is skating, which brings me back to fanart of his skating being ok, especially if it's full body (by my standards, which might not be worth much lol).

[kaeryth]

15 minutes ago, SparkleSalad said:

Have any famous mangaka done his portrait, yet? If not, why not, and when will they?

 

Lotte did a Yuzu x Tatsuki Fujimoto (Fire Punch Manga Artist) for the 20th anniversary of Xylitol.

 

 

Source with article on the collaboration [X]

 

[SparkleSalad]

1 minute ago, kaeryth said:

 

Lotte did a Yuzu x Tatsuki Fujimoto (Fire Punch Manga Artist) for the 20th anniversary of Xylitol.

 

 

Source with article on the collaboration [X]

 

 

Ohhh, now I remember (why I forgot about that. :P)

[axelsandwich]

13 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

I think in Japan, or even elsewhere would have been fine and fun. But that it's right next to the place where he feels safe and safely away from that kind of attention is what bugs me.

 

And I understand what you mean re: fanart, I mentioned it, too, though it was more of an afterthought. I probably don't fully understand, because I don't do it myself, but somewhat, I do. I just think it's better if it's about skating. like, fanart of him skating. (I have in my head the image of a fanart of just his smiling face from Asaichi, that was nice, indeed, but...)

 

Anyway, I don't necessarily mean focused on the stuff he likes, but just to think more about him. And of course, his favorite thing is skating, which brings me back to fanart of his skating being ok, especially if it's full body (by my standards, which might not be worth much lol).

Hmm...I get what you mean about Toronto being a 'safe' space. idk, I feel like perhaps that's overstating the impact of a poster that is (hopefully) temporary and passive, and probably only here because he's been missing/injured so 'legit' representatives of fan love eg. Japanese TV, might not send him well-wishes on our behalf like they usually would? (tbh better than the people who visit TCC to try and get in to see him - iirc Brian mentioned them in passing on JP TV). I definitely hope this is a one-off thing though, and you're absolutely free to feel the way you do. I suppose I'm just curious about the gap in our perceptions and the reason for it ( :

 

Quote

And of course, his favorite thing is skating, which brings me back to fanart of his skating being ok, especially if it's full body

I agree for sure - albeit, frankly speaking, not everyone has the skill to do full body fanart (even I usually find it more relaxing to just focus on face/upper body). I do hope there is a better balance though ( :