General Yuzuru Chat

[robin]

  On 3/16/2018 at 3:36 PM, MrPudding said:

 

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Oh so it's not confirmed, yet

[VyVy99]

Just a liiiitle more and I'll be over with this pile of work and jump into an April full of our Overlord talking non-stop  Even if some amount of embarassment and facepalming might await ahead of us, but it'll be SUCH a reward and a breathe of fresh air for me 

[axelsandwich]

  On 3/16/2018 at 10:38 AM, kaeryth said:

 

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

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The literal two colours of royalty, how fitting (and also two of my favourite colours) 

[axelsandwich]

  On 3/16/2018 at 3:09 PM, micaelis said:

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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 an 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.

 

 

 

 

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I sort of doubt Junhwan or Stephen will be invited to this ice show in particular, which seems to be mostly Yuzu taking the time to thank those who have inspired and influenced him (my money is on Plushenko, Weir, Lambiel, Shizuka, Nobu, Jeff and Shae-Lynn for now), though I do see Yuzu perhaps inviting several of his peers - I would love (and die) to see Misha and Javi there and lowkey Boyang, cmon Yuzu you're the one waving the Boyang-Jin-started-the-quad-revolution flag. I can see him inviting Abe-sensei, but as an audience member or choreographer. I'm intrigued about how he will participate as we've never seen him take a truly MC-esque/interviewer-like role, I wonder if he'll share the MC-ing with Nobu or if he might even invite someone like Matsuoka to facilitate the event, or if he'll take it all on himself. Yuzu's strengths seem to play out best when he's answering interview questions (if the interview with Kanon, the Chopin pianist is anything to go by lol) or bouncing ideas off another person but we'll see. Language-wise, I have no doubt he'll have a translator on hand for any meaty questions. 

 

I definitely see this show as a lowkey 'treat yoself' event for Yuzu himself (I mean...he said himself it's a chance to see his favourite skaters skate lol) as well as an opportunity to - as he's been saying since Sochi - properly thank all those who have shaped him as an athlete, and to showcase their skating to his fanbase. I'm always touched by how much gratefulness and giving back to those who've helped him is a central priority.  

[axelsandwich]

Also I've done a quick translation of an interview with CCTV's Zhao Jing (I hope that's how you pronounce her name) and her comments on Yuzuru. It's very cute, she seems very fond of him (there were a few lines I couldn't hear quite so well or they jump-cut her sentence but I'm fairly confident I have most of the key points). 

 

 

[Hanmgse]

How cool if Yuzu does the lecture! Hope he does!!.

[xeyra]

  On 3/16/2018 at 4:36 PM, kaerb said:

Also I've done a quick translation of an interview with CCTV's Zhao Jing (I hope that's how you pronounce her name) and her comments on Yuzuru. It's very cute, she seems very fond of him (there were a few lines I couldn't hear quite so well or they jump-cut her sentence but I'm fairly confident I have most of the key points). 

 

 

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While I sympathize with the feeling that it felt like a year since we last saw him before the Olympics, it was only 4 months, Zhao Jing. 

 

Thank you so much for translating this! 

[axelsandwich]

  On 3/16/2018 at 5:08 PM, xeyra said:

 

While I sympathize with the feeling that it felt like a year since we last saw him before the Olympics, it was only 4 months, Zhao Jing. 

 

Thank you so much for translating this! 

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that's when you know she's a true fanyu  I even went back to double check and yep, she says '几乎' which means 'pretty much/almost' a year 

 

you're welcome!

[liv]

She didn't mention Autumn Classic which is very small and nowhere near the GP series in importance....but the very significant 112 for sp was achieved there... so it was a very memorable and important competition... ( as our satellites who went can attest to)...

[GreatLakesGal]

I don't think even Yuzu knows what his future plans are at this point. Whether he decides to return to competitive skating is probably dependent on a multitude of factors including (but not limited to) his physical health, the new scoring changes, and the wishes of his immediate family.

[wpisces]

  On 3/15/2018 at 9:11 PM, 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!

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Besides his injury, which I'm worried about the most, I also worry that he has lost his motivation. One thing we can be sure about him, what motivates him to keep competing the past four years against all odds and despite all the obstacles is not only his love for skating but also his desire to remove the bad image in Sochi when he won with 2 falls ( as many said it wasn't an Olympic Champion's performance). While we all know he won deservedly, he always feels he has to accomplish more to prove himself. And then he took 4 years to prove that he deserves the gold in Sochi. Yuna almost lost her motivation after Vancouver 2010 and of course she had reason to do so. She won with 2 stunning programs and three world records in a row. She had had Olympics title, World title, world records under her belt. Sometimes, I wonder if Yuzuru had won gold in Sochi with two clean performances, would he had retired ? But I found the answer: Absolutely NO. One Olympics title is never enough for his ambition. At that time, he was young and so ambitious and he hadn't won World tittle yet. There was no way he would retire even if he had won with 2 clean performances. This time is different he won his second gold medal with 2 performances he was satisfied with and reached his biggest dream. He doesn't have to prove anything from now on.

He admited there was a time he thought about retiring, when he felt he had done enough, when he found it so hard to deal with horrible injuries.  But he continued and won his second Olympic title. It's no doubt an amazing journey. He has done much more than anyone can expect. Will he continue ? What he is thinking ? What he is planning? We don't know, we will never know and he himself probably doesn't know either. As I said last summer,  it's only after PC we can know about his intention and I won't count anything out including the possibility of his competing in Beijing. Unfortunately his injury made it even much more difficult to assume or expect anything right now. We just have to wait. This summer may be a very long summer for all of us considering a lot of uncertainty still remains. But who knows what is waiting for us next season ?

[KatjaThera]

What's with the sudden gloominess?  He said he has no intention to retire. The injury requires three months rehab and that's pretty far from career ending. Even if it ends up longer, it's not career ending. He wants 4A and there's a bunch of 'quad kids' whom he may think are the future, but just like he's not done teaching Shoma how to behave off ice (put very flippantly, don't take it too seriously), he's also not done teaching him and the rest what figure skating is really about. Hint: it's more than just jumps.

 

He may not have the crazy drive that made him skate through injuries or worse, situations like CoC14, but he's a guy who hates losing and that's his personality and all the gold medals in the world won't make him lose that. And yes, he probably doesn't feel he has to prove himself to anyone anymore, but he loves skating. He lives and breathes skating. He will continue skating until he can't anymore.

 

Or at least that's what he said. Why can't we try to trust him on this and be happy for him and be happy that he's finally taking care of himself? Cheer up! We're probably in for another Yuzu full month or possibly months! And he'll be happy and talking our ears off. Let's enjoy some worry free time and leave the worrying for when he'll be in ninja mode again, shall we?

[VyVy99]

People, we're gonna have a talking machine Yuzu the very next April   Good luck stopping him then. I imagine the show to be pretty much like the kingdom our beloved admins wrote in the Daily Spread Eagle. Like a celebration of the Overlord for his own greatness   

Here. Have a sassy Yuzu. https://allyuzurustuff.tumblr.com/post/159653930391/can-you-see-m-can-you-see-me-look-mah

 

 

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[Hanmgse]

  On 3/16/2018 at 7:26 PM, VyVy99 said:

People, wer're gonna have a talking machine Yuzu the very next April   Good luck stopping him then. I imagine the show to be pretty much like the kingdom our beloved admins wrote in the Daily Spread Eagle. Like a celebration of the Overlord for his own greatness   

Here. Have a sassy Yuzu. https://allyuzurustuff.tumblr.com/post/159653930391/can-you-see-m-can-you-see-me-look-mah

 

 

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I never saw that pic before. I'm shocked 

[Sammie]

  On 3/16/2018 at 7:26 PM, VyVy99 said:

People, we're gonna have a talking machine Yuzu the very next April   Good luck stopping him then. I imagine the show to be pretty much like the kingdom our beloved admins wrote in the Daily Spread Eagle. Like a celebration of the Overlord for his own greatness   

Here. Have a sassy Yuzu. https://allyuzurustuff.tumblr.com/post/159653930391/can-you-see-m-can-you-see-me-look-mah

 

 

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Is there a video of this?