General Yuzuru Chat

[Anya]

1 minute ago, kaerb said:

I stan being unusually spoiled this off-season (but also....oh my god, I won't have my life back until May..... )

 

Who told you that you will have your life back by May?  The Overlord might be planning more stuff.  There's still the interview thingy for  the FOI shows, which does not entail skating? Kekeke 

[xeyra]

17 minutes ago, Floria said:

He can wear this to imitate his idol. A truly ice king 

 

source

 

I've accepted RJ 2.0 and other less popular sartorial choices in Yuzuru's career... but I have to draw a line somewhere. 

[kaeryth]

Someone uploaded the entire gala (in 1080p quality) on youtube!

Spoiler

 

 

[kaeryth]

 

Loving all the purple/gold motif (it really does go well with his costume)

[xeyra]

A fascinating look at Yuzu's Olympic Seimei and K&C from rink-side level through a VR headset.

 

[sallycinnamon]

2 hours ago, Anya said:

 

The previous one was livestreamed, right? I hope the 4 Sendai girls will join him again in the parade, but I think not both of the Steward sisters are still in Sendai?

 

I could't wish for a better birthday present, yay  

 

8 minutes ago, xeyra said:

A fascinating look at Yuzu's Olympic Seimei and K&C from rink-side level through a VR headset.

 

 

It looks awesome, I'd like to watch the whole free skate with this!

[freeyafanfan]

48 minutes ago, sallycinnamon said:

 

I could't wish for a better birthday present, yay  

Omg was thinking it's the best belated birthday present that I could receive this year!  my birthday is on april 21st  will be a great birthday this year for us for sure!

3 hours ago, MrPudding said:

great now thats stuck in my head and I have a 2 hour lecture in 30 min.. how do I unseeded this 

this is entertaining in a whole other way  

[sallycinnamon]

15 minutes ago, freeyafanfan said:

Omg was thinking it's the best belated birthday present that I could receive this year!  my birthday is on april 21st  will be a great birthday this year for us for sure!

 

And the SP at the Olympics was on my name day...I feel so spoiled. I'll enjoy the day of the parade with a nice piece of chocolate cake and maybe a glass of champagne  

[Floria]

hace 1 minuto , sallycinnamon said:

maybe a glass of champagne

OT My friends gave me two bottles of Veuve Clicquot last year. I opened the first one on the 1st of April ( WC 2017). The second one was waiting for the next Yuzu's gold. And it  happened at the Olympics . 

 

 So maybe now I have to restock

[Sammie]

They meant 2020. 

[yuzuonice]

 

[Forcefield]

20 minutes ago, yuzuonice said:

 

 

So cute! I can see this happening. He's gotten better from Sochi but his embarrassment and blushing does still show through sometimes (like swan 2017 WC gala).

 

 

 

[robin]

28 minutes ago, Sammie said:

They meant 2020. 

 

 

This summer is going to be filled with Yuzu talking more and skating less He's at least as good at talking as he is at skating so this isn't too bad. I think I need to learn Japanese already

 

[micaelis]

20 hours ago, qactus said:

But! It did get me wondering—so we obviously know that yuzu not only enjoys skating competitively but just genuinely enjoys skating in general to the point that being on land feels "unusual" LOL, so I wonder if whenever he gets a lot of time off, does he eventually reach this point where he gets bored when skating isn't filling his time?? Does he miss the ice or is that time very much appreciated as a resting period that he enjoys as just a resting period bc he knows he'll be back on the ice eventually?? Is there a good balance there?? I know it's yuzu, but I kinda wonder just how far his love for skating extends in this regard, not limited to a competitive sense, especially now that he's reached his biggest dream? It might just be an obvious and simple answer, but I'm curious what you guys think!

Without Yuzu competing I think we are all now seeing Yuzu post-retirement (don't panic, he's not going to, just practicing for when the real retirement comes).  I've often speculated as to what Yuzu's life looks like after retirement.  Will he coach?  Will he skate shows?  Just what awaits him after leaving competition?  This talk show thing may be a trial balloon for him.  I think though many are looking at this thing from the wrong angle, thinking he'll do a talk show, since unlike Shoma Yuzu's really comfortable in a talk-show format and at least in Japan he'd be very good doing something like that.  I've thought for a long time, though, that one of his options after competing's done would be to organize an ice show, one that might perform internationally.  The money would be there, you can be sure.  Yuzu's one of the most bankable athletes there is, at least in Japan, and I think his exposure in this Olympics, as opposed to Sochi, has truly expanded his fan base.  At Sochi he was the new kid on the block and easily overlooked by the average sports fan.  At PC he was the king defending his castle and all the skating commentators (except perhaps the American) spotlighted that aspect.  Add to that the news coming out after his win that he was skating through an injury, that only reinforces the impression all of us knew already that Yuzuru Hanyu is one tough cookie.

 

As for this particular ice show, I think all of us want to know who's coming.  I don't think anybody will pass it if invited.  We will have, of course, the usual suspects - Plushy, Nobu leading the list.  Brian and Tracy will be there, though I'm not sure they'll perform.  I think Misha might be there also, not so much as an influence but with him being a bit older than Yuzu, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that he provided some welcome companionship to Yuzu on the international circuit.  I am thinking also about two people who might be invited but who reflect the future influenced by Yuzu rather than the past influencing Yuzu.  The first is Junhwan Cha, the Korean lad training at TCC.  I watched the PC gala last night and I was struck by how much, at first glance, he actually LOOKS like Yuzu.  I think it was the hair-style and physique that initially struck me but then I watched his skate and I was struck by how much his style resembles Yuzu's.  Definitely Brian's gotten another headliner (though still in the future) in his stable.  The other one who is influenced by Yuzu, but not in appearance or skating style, would be Stephen Gogolev, that young fellow doing all the quads.  He's doing them because he's been able to see Yuzu (and to a lesser extent, Javi) doing them all the time.  Stephen is still an uncut diamond, though, and looking at videos of him skating it is easy to see there is a great deal of improvement required (particularly in PCS elements) but his jumps are clean, particularly when taking his age into account.  I think it's been fortunate for Stephen that he's had ready access to two very different stylists, Yuzu and Javi and that Brian has been his coach since age seven.

 

Another person who I'm sure will be there will be Nanami Abe, Yuzu's coach through his junior years and his initial senior year.  She is definitely one of his very major influences since she was doing not only the training but also the choreography of his programs and she should be thoroughly commended for the better than excellent job she did there.  She not only designed his programs to spotlight his skills but I think she also observed how versatile Yuzu is in skating to different styles of music and really exploited that.

 

The one difficulty Yuzu might have here is the language problem.  Yuzu's English is functional, but just barely.  I don't think he's dreaming in English.  Yet English would almost certainly be the common denominator when looking at the language skills of the various invitees.  Will he have a translator on hand or will he try to wing it?  I'm sure something will be worked out.

 

Actually, though, in the end I think this will be for Yuzu a means of recapping his career thus far, a means of taking stock and using that to focus on what the next few years should be.  I don't think that even Yuzu, going back to his junior days, had any inkling that he would become a living legend, a skater who would become a definer of the sport rather than just an example.  We see in Yuzu a skating icon, a reference point when comparing skaters.  I think, in fact, that Yuzu's becoming an icon of a different sort, an icon of the athlete who pursues his dream through all the barriers that competing and just life in general (ie, earthquake) are encountered.  There aren't really medals given out for those who are simply great human beings, but if there were Yuzu would get one.

 

[MrPudding]