General Yuzuru Chat

[Neenah]

 Happy new year to Yuzu and all satellites orbiting the planet 

 

May the new year bring happiness, joy and healthy ankles (back, knees and other body parts are welcome as well) 

 

Spoiler

And may this find its happy home with a skater named Yuzuru Hanyu 

source:http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2017/09/20/pyeongchang-olympic-medals-unveiled/

 

[Sayu93]

From mehr also auch very happy New year and may the sour(With yuzu Juice )  i drank today bring luck to That skater

[liv]

Still over 5 hours until my New Year's....

 

With the new year comes a month of figure skating... although our planet will remain without its dear overlord a while  longer... US Nats this week, Canadians the next,  then I think Euros the week after that and then rounding out January with 4CC.. and then the BIG ONE. May all those events distract us and keep us busy while we await "The Return."

[EisElle]

Happy new year!!!!!

May 2018 be full of joy and lots of smiling and healthy Yuzu, and may we all cry happy tears only

[micaelis]

1 hour ago, liv said:

With the new year comes a month of figure skating... although our planet will remain without its dear overlord a while  longer... US Nats this week, Canadians the next,  then I think Euros the week after that and then rounding out January with 4CC.. and then the BIG ONE. May all those events distract us and keep us busy while we await "The Return."

Yes, we will be occupied but I think we will also see a 'drama' being put out by the media - the Jousting of the Japanese titans (although only one of them is a titan, the other is working on it).  If you go back to 1988 there was the Battle of the Brians - Orser and Boitano, Canadian and American.  The whole narrative was created to generate buzz and interest in a sport which at that time (and even to a certain extent today, but not like it was back then) where the interest was in the ladies and the pairs.  The men's competition was often an afterthought.  Well, this year we have seven possibles for gold at PC - Yuzu, Shoma, Nathan, Boyang, Javi, Patrick and Mikhail.  This is a formidable field, one of the deepest in the men's competition ever.  But the media will try to narrow it down to just two - Yuzu and Shoma.  Their rationale - the 2.28 points separating the victorious Yuzu over the second place Shoma at the 2017 World Championship.  That is a very narrow edge and is truly legitimate grounds to see the two of them as rivals, a rivalry accentuated by the fact that they are from the same country.  My take is that the narrative will focus on the supposed rivalry, with the remaining five being portrayed as potential spoilers but not much more than that (except by the media in the athletes' home countries).  Adding to the narrative is the fact that Shoma and Yuzu have not met in face to face competition since 2017 Worlds.  Thus they are entering the arena with Yuzu essentially unknown (the question being has he recovered his form enough to be truly competitive).  This is really a nightmare situation for the bookmakers, a situation where the one has a lock on the position of Number One in the world, but has not really been tested this season, at least not to the degree that Shoma has.  For Yuzu fans there is this to think about and take comfort in - We have seen that on two occasions where Yuzu found himself at a real disadvantage - 2014 in the season leading up to the GPF,  the season of the collision and the aftermath, and 2017 Worlds, where going into the free skate he was in a situation where it was seen as possible that he might not even make the podium - in those two cases where he was skating not simply to win but to salvage his reputation he came out skating like he has rarely done in his career.  We have a situation very much like those this year.  Yuzu has to win in order to retain his image as the UNDISPUTED number one in the world.  Anything less than gold will have people starting to measure him against others rather than as it has been over these last few years, where Yuzu's only real competition was himself.  We have to remember that since the  2013/14 season, with the exception of 2014's NHK where he finished fourth, Yuzu has not finished under silver in any competition.  He has dominated the  GPF and in those same years has won gold twice and silver twice at Worlds.  When you go and add to that record the records he keeps setting and resetting, his hold on first place in the world rankings is undisputed.  After this season, though, as it has developed, he is entering PC as very much an unknown quantity, particularly to his fans, who have borne with him through this great absence, having to rely on sketchy news leaking out of Brian's organization about whatever progress Yuzu is making in getting back on the ice and back to serious training.  We are like husbands waiting for their wife to give birth and wondering what kind of baby it will be.  We are wondering if the Yuzu we will be cheering will be the Yuzu there was before that fall last fall that started all this or will it be a Yuzu who is just another skater amongst many.  Remember those two other crises where Yuzu answered his fans and his critics by coming out and winning when it was truly his reputation at stake.  Remember also the Yuzu  who battled his way back into skating after the nightmare of the earthquake and its aftermath back in 2011.  He's a fighter who has fought the good fight before and I really think he has the resources to do it again.  As for Shoma there will be the consolation that he hasn't simply lost to a countryman of his.  He's lost to the GOAT.

[Pammi]

[Sammie]

Happy New Year everyone! Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2018! 

 

[Maleko]

I don't write much in this community but I love you all and I wish you the best in 2018.

And I hope Yuzuru be healthy and make his dreams come true.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

[axelsandwich]

3 hours ago, micaelis said:

Spoiler

Yes, we will be occupied but I think we will also see a 'drama' being put out by the media - the Jousting of the Japanese titans (although only one of them is a titan, the other is working on it).  If you go back to 1988 there was the Battle of the Brians - Orser and Boitano, Canadian and American.  The whole narrative was created to generate buzz and interest in a sport which at that time (and even to a certain extent today, but not like it was back then) where the interest was in the ladies and the pairs.  The men's competition was often an afterthought.  Well, this year we have seven possibles for gold at PC - Yuzu, Shoma, Nathan, Boyang, Javi, Patrick and Mikhail.  This is a formidable field, one of the deepest in the men's competition ever.  But the media will try to narrow it down to just two - Yuzu and Shoma.  Their rationale - the 2.28 points separating the victorious Yuzu over the second place Shoma at the 2017 World Championship.  That is a very narrow edge and is truly legitimate grounds to see the two of them as rivals, a rivalry accentuated by the fact that they are from the same country.  My take is that the narrative will focus on the supposed rivalry, with the remaining five being portrayed as potential spoilers but not much more than that (except by the media in the athletes' home countries).  Adding to the narrative is the fact that Shoma and Yuzu have not met in face to face competition since 2017 Worlds.  Thus they are entering the arena with Yuzu essentially unknown (the question being has he recovered his form enough to be truly competitive).  This is really a nightmare situation for the bookmakers, a situation where the one has a lock on the position of Number One in the world, but has not really been tested this season, at least not to the degree that Shoma has.  For Yuzu fans there is this to think about and take comfort in - We have seen that on two occasions where Yuzu found himself at a real disadvantage - 2014 in the season leading up to the GPF,  the season of the collision and the aftermath, and 2017 Worlds, where going into the free skate he was in a situation where it was seen as possible that he might not even make the podium - in those two cases where he was skating not simply to win but to salvage his reputation he came out skating like he has rarely done in his career.  We have a situation very much like those this year.  Yuzu has to win in order to retain his image as the UNDISPUTED number one in the world.  Anything less than gold will have people starting to measure him against others rather than as it has been over these last few years, where Yuzu's only real competition was himself.  We have to remember that since the  2013/14 season, with the exception of 2014's NHK where he finished fourth, Yuzu has not finished under silver in any competition.  He has dominated the  GPF and in those same years has won gold twice and silver twice at Worlds.  When you go and add to that record the records he keeps setting and resetting, his hold on first place in the world rankings is undisputed.  After this season, though, as it has developed, he is entering PC as very much an unknown quantity, particularly to his fans, who have borne with him through this great absence, having to rely on sketchy news leaking out of Brian's organization about whatever progress Yuzu is making in getting back on the ice and back to serious training.  We are like husbands waiting for their wife to give birth and wondering what kind of baby it will be.  We are wondering if the Yuzu we will be cheering will be the Yuzu there was before that fall last fall that started all this or will it be a Yuzu who is just another skater amongst many.  Remember those two other crises where Yuzu answered his fans and his critics by coming out and winning when it was truly his reputation at stake.  Remember also the Yuzu  who battled his way back into skating after the nightmare of the earthquake and its aftermath back in 2011.  He's a fighter who has fought the good fight before and I really think he has the resources to do it again.  As for Shoma there will be the consolation that he hasn't simply lost to a countryman of his.  He's lost to the GOAT.

 

Interesting, I don't feel like Yuzu vs Shoma will be the dominant narrative at all, going into PC. This entire season's media narrative has been ruled by a general feeling of uncertainty because of so many 'unknown quantities', missing top skaters and a sense that even the current 'leaders' are yet to deliver completely triumphant programs. There really hasn't been enough material to base a huge 'rivalry' narrative between Yuzu and any skater and last season is 'old' news in the media cycle by now. JP media is the only one that may do so, but their approach is to be quite generalist or focused on each individual skater at a time. 

 

I actually think the media will kind of balance out going into PC, much like WC17 because we have the US Nats and the US Olympic media machine in general for major Nathan hype (especially if Nathan can deliver his planned content at US Nats), the winner of Euros will get attention (Javi, or Mikhail who will get a small avalanche if he manages to upset), the winner of 4CC will also have buzz (Shoma, I expect, unless Patrick/Boyang go and win, which again will be quite a newsworthy media story). There's not enough about Yuzu this season for the 'official' Olympic channels/intl channels to justify putting the spotlight solely on him + another - the intl media will likely concentrate on this season's results so there's no way Nathan will be cast off as a 'potential spoiler' to focus on Shoma vs Yuzu lol - more likely the focus will be on Nathan vs Shoma if anything, with a blazing asterisk on Yuzu's name. Yuzu's in an unique position because he's in complete stealth mode but at the same time, it's impossible for the media to simply ignore his presence since he sells headlines and still holds the major 'key cards' (WRs, WC) unless a WR gets broken before PC. After what happened at WC, I think the usual commentators may be less ready to write him off completely, but they simply don't have enough content to justify anything more unless his team releases new info. So I think he'll go into PC under the media radar in that I doubt many media will have him as the 'favourite' to win even if many will likely acknowledge he's got the capability and is pretty much the darkest horse, which is a position that will - hopefully - fire him up. Essentially, very similar to Yuna's situation. 

 

We will, however, see a huge media tide shift depending on what happens at the SP. It'll definitely become a '#1 vs #2' thing at least via official channels and they'll drag in past comps, but you can bet that as long as their own skaters have a fighting chance, US/Canadian/JP media won't abandon their own either. 

 

(WC is kind of a way for whoever wins the OGM to 'solidify' their win so it'll be interesting what happens there too).

[Shayuzu]

I haven't been posting or visiting lately because of sad yuzu feels. I'm coming out of ninja mode (hopefully yuzu too) to wish you guys a happy new year! HERES TO 2018, A YEAR OF HAPPINESS AND GOOD HEALTH 

[Hydroblade]

OK so uh,... i never thought about putting a picture of myself here but this is a very special ocassion.

It's still 2017 for me but i will go and stuff myself with pozole in a moment and i won't be available so i want to thank all of you for this amazing year:

From the other place, to here, i am very grateful of all the people i got to know, and how we could get here together to get through this nightmare of a season.

Shout out to @Xen, @ruruzest, @kelly, @Yuzuextra, @BrightonDogwoods, @Geo1 and i am sure i am forgetting more people at this moment, but thank you! It was amazing to meet all of you and thank you @Xen and @ruruzest for your support after the SP at ACI.

I am really  happy with the good things that have come out from this site and i hope we can continue having this small galactic corner as a safe haven for Yuzu fans.

Thank you, thank you i can't begin to express how thankful i am for all your generosity, your kindness and just... everything.

Here is an actual picture of me outside my house, in a festive mood, waiting for the New Year, posing with my copy of Aoi Honoo2

[Sammie]

A pick me up for the day or night.  

[axelsandwich]

5 minutes ago, Hydroblade said:

OK so uh,... i never thought about putting a picture of myself here but this is a very special ocassion.

It's still 2017 for me but i will go and stuff myself with pozole in a moment and i won't be available so i want to thank all of you for this amazing year:

From the other place, to here, i am very grateful of all the people i got to know, and how we could get here together to get through this nightmare of a season.

Shout out to @Xen, @ruruzest, @kelly, @Yuzuextra, @BrightonDogwoods, @Geo1 and i am sure i am forgetting more people at this moment, but thank you! It was amazing to meet all of you and thank you @Xen and @ruruzest for your support after the SP at ACI.

I am really  happy with the good things that have come out from this site and i hope we can continue having this small galactic corner as a safe haven for Yuzu fans.

Thank you, thank you i can't begin to express how thankful i am for all your generosity, your kindness and just... everything.

Here is an actual picture of me outside my house, in a festive mood, waiting for the New Year, posing with my copy of Aoi Honoo2

Are......are you actually a cactus? am I missing something LOL

 

Thank you for all your hard work this year, especially the map and the swan project, it was an absolute delight to read your reports and live vicariously through your wonderful ACI experience ( :

 

And thanks to the entire PH team of admins and mods that keep this place running, organising viewing parties and reaction threads, it's an amazing and generous act of love for Yuzu and skating in general to do so and I am very, very grateful and hope to give back also, in any way I can  Happy New Year from the future where it's already 3PM on 1 Jan 2018 lol ;;; may this year be healthy, happy and triumphant for all (for this guy in particular ---> )

[kelly]

12 minutes ago, Hydroblade said:

OK so uh,... i never thought about putting a picture of myself here but this is a very special ocassion.

It's still 2017 for me but i will go and stuff myself with pozole in a moment and i won't be available so i want to thank all of you for this amazing year:

From the other place, to here, i am very grateful of all the people i got to know, and how we could get here together to get through this nightmare of a season.

Shout out to @Xen, @ruruzest, @kelly, @Yuzuextra, @BrightonDogwoods, @Geo1 and i am sure i am forgetting more people at this moment, but thank you! It was amazing to meet all of you and thank you @Xen and @ruruzest for your support after the SP at ACI.

I am really  happy with the good things that have come out from this site and i hope we can continue having this small galactic corner as a safe haven for Yuzu fans.

Thank you, thank you i can't begin to express how thankful i am for all your generosity, your kindness and just... everything.

Here is an actual picture of me outside my house, in a festive mood, waiting for the New Year, posing with my copy of Aoi Honoo2

ACI was an experience I'll never forget  Happy New Year!

[Hydroblade]

9 minutes ago, kaerb said:

Are......are you actually a cactus? am I missing something LOL

 

Thank you for all your hard work this year, especially the map and the swan project, it was an absolute delight to read your reports and live vicariously through your wonderful ACI experience ( :

 

And thanks to the entire PH team of admins and mods that keep this place running, organising viewing parties and reaction threads, it's an amazing and generous act of love for Yuzu and skating in general to do so and I am very, very grateful and hope to give back also, in any way I can  Happy New Year from the future where it's already 3PM on 1 Jan 2018 lol ;;; may this year be healthy, happy and triumphant for all (for this guy in particular ---> )

Of course I am a cactus🌵 I told you guys I turned into one after this prolonged drought.

I wanted to talk more about ACI, I intended to absorb as many details as I could to try and make those who couldn't make it, feel a bit of the atmosphere in there. But I got too squishy and failed, the post was too long and emotional and I'm sure you guys were tired of me already 

I hope we can keep on getting along like this this year💖