General Yuzuru Chat

[Pamigena]

4 minutes ago, b138oo said:

He does. And it's just ... just ... so beautiful   and I fell in love, then came the realization that he's wearing the boobskirt and ... I lost my mind and meoima cats are about to kill me 

 

 

I got into this whole mess because I accidentally saw PW on TV. Then I googled the space kitten. Next thing I saw was the RJ2 costume, and I literally went "OK boy, I liked you before  but now I'm in love "

Nobody is ever gonna talk me out of my love for the boobskirt  Rationality be damned. He's adorable and he sparkles like a disco ball. Love it!

[Sombreuil]

@beki & liha - think yourselves lucky - I ODed on old YouTube clips last week and now have NDP as an ear worm.

[beki]

So it's tiresomely obvious I'm Team New Programs, but I confess to a little curiosity about an RJ3... he could interpret it so much better now. RJ1 worked for me because he had that genuine teenage impulsiveness. I enjoyed RJ2 at the GPF, but I never got a good sense of "story" out of it. The idea of embodying Romeo AND Juliet, and having that reflected in the costume, is so intriguing, but wasn't quite there for me in the performance at that time.

[Smultron]

2 часов назад , koneko said:

 (cause of death: myocardial infarction due to excessive lack of oxygen resulting from Acute Yuzu Perfectitis Syndrome)

I shamefully admit that I did unspeakable things to the replay button . So beautiful...his turnout on the SEs is goals and shows off his amazing edges when he cuts circles through the ice. I can't possibly marry such perfection...I'm not worthy 

that Russian commentator will be telling everyone "I told you so!" when Yuzu lands that 4A

 

 

Okay, I should probably write this down somewhere because I'm experiencing similar symptoms that might lead to a fatal result. Just so people have an explanation

[Danibellerika]

4 minutes ago, beki said:

So it's tiresomely obvious I'm Team New Programs, but I confess to a little curiosity about an RJ3... he could interpret it so much better now. RJ1 worked for me because he had that genuine teenage impulsiveness. I enjoyed RJ2 at the GPF, but I never got a good sense of "story" out of it. The idea of embodying Romeo AND Juliet, and having that reflected in the costume, is so intriguing, but wasn't quite there for me in the performance at that time.

 

I need something dramatic. Please bring an amazing and dramatic free!! 

[Fresca]

26 minutes ago, Sombreuil said:

I think I would find it harder to perform something as upbeat as LGC if I was feeling 'off'- that is an unrelenting layout that needs selling to the audience.  Even if Chopin 3 ends up equally demanding it would probably be possible to do it in neutral, as it were, on an off day  and for it to be less obvious than with LGC, and therefore less perceived by the judges.

 

From my perspective, both need selling but in different ways- LGC with the rock star character and Chopin with the connection to and feeling of the music.

 

Yes, the tech in LGC is unforgiving but think of it this way. If the tech in Chopin were just as unforgiving as LGC, on an off-day would it be easier for you to play the rock star as in LGC or keep the connection to the music as in Chopin? For me, on an off-day with extremely demanding tech, it would not be possible for me to establish any connection to the music and I'd end up looking as lost as Shoma in his FaOI performance of Vivaldi. Even on an off-day, I'd be able to put some semblance of game-face on if I needed to play a character.

[Sombreuil]

I can see what you mean but perhaps my cynicism re the judging is coming through - LGC hits you over the head so they 'see' the sales pitch - not so sure they are perceptive enough to pick up on the subtle stuff - at least not to the same degree - hence some of the scoring.

[Fresca]

4 minutes ago, Sombreuil said:

I can see what you mean but perhaps my cynicism re the judging is coming through - LGC hits you over the head so they 'see' the sales pitch - not so sure they are perceptive enough to pick up on the subtle stuff - at least not to the same degree - hence some of the scoring.

 

Yes I see what you mean. Figure skating is not judged as dance as Yata said earlier. If the judges will give a dead performance of Chopin high scores but will heavily penalize a moderately energetic vs. highly energetic LGC then Chopin is definitely easier for bad days.

[beki]

13 minutes ago, Sombreuil said:

I can see what you mean but perhaps my cynicism re the judging is coming through - LGC hits you over the head so they 'see' the sales pitch - not so sure they are perceptive enough to pick up on the subtle stuff - at least not to the same degree - hence some of the scoring.

 

Picking between versions of Yuzu is like being asked which of your children you love more—should you really answer that? But I want LGC to be more appreciated. How many skaters are capable of pretending to be a rock star without embarrassing themselves? Plushenko comes to mind, but who else could do it to that extent? Not just a rock-themed program, but actually becoming the star whaling on the guitar? The force of personality to fill an entire stadium? Whereas a greater number of skaters have excelled doing expressive classical numbers like Chopin. Even if you prefer his execution and interpretation, it doesn't stand alone.

[Sombreuil]

I don't dislike LGC - I like it when it's performed close to what he's envisaging- I just think his off days are more obvious with it than they are with a more reflective programme like Chopin or White Legend, and more likely to be hammered by the judges.  So a reflective programme is a safer bet in Olympic season.  

[VieObsolète]

Sorry for being off topic, but today I rewatched worlds 2017 competition while looking at the protocol of the top 6 skaters. I don't want to seem hateful toward any skater, or acting like a Yuzuru fanatic, but he was too much underscored, I mean even if people keep saying that judges are giving him these marks because he's Yuzuru and they have big expectations, but this is a sport, not an artistic competition, they have criteria that the skater fulfill in order to get GEO, I don't get why Yuzuru didn't get big geo for jumps or components that other skaters got without having the same ease for their execution. I'm really afraid for the coming competitions (This is so frustrating that I couldn't not to write about it)

[Fresca]

16 minutes ago, beki said:

 

Picking between versions of Yuzu is like being asked which of your children you love more—should you really answer that? But I want LGC to be more appreciated. How many skaters are capable of pretending to be a rock star without embarrassing themselves? Plushenko comes to mind, but who else could do it to that extent? Not just a rock-themed program, but actually becoming the star whaling on the guitar? Whereas a greater number of skaters have excelled doing expressive classical numbers like Chopin.

 

I love LGC but for different reasons than Chopin. I love the choreography, the impressive tech, the musicality, the energy of it and I love the rock star persona that Yuzu shows on the ice. Also, it's his only program where he directly engages with the audience (flying kisses! "I can't hear you" hands by the ears!). It's a lot of fun and his most entertaining program in my opinion.

 

I love Chopin too again because of the choreography and musicality but also because I feel it's the program where Yuzu is at his most free, his most honest. He's not selling a character or persona or a narrative. There is only the music, himself and his skating. Yes there are others who have skated expressive classical numbers but I don't think I've seen anyone express as natural or as deep a connection to a piece with the same ease as Yuzu to Chopin not even Yuna to Danse Macabre or Gershwin (I notice she loses a bit of that connection in her crossovers and jump setup because she's mechanical while Yuzu is musical even in that). In the beginning where he closes his eyes, breathes, and rolls his head, it looks as though he's surrendering himself to the music and then never lets go.

[Sombreuil]

I like and admire LGC - I can't love it because I'm really not a fan of Prince - if he'd picked Bowie it would have been a different matter- and I agree with what you say about it.  Just wish I liked the music better.

I love Chopin as a composer and Chopin 1 was being skated when I first became a fan.  I have an irrational conviction that all the compromises of the season horribilis and the injury in the one that followed mean that it was never skated to his satisfaction, Even if 2 did get the WR. So I am fine with a third programme in a way that I can understand others aren't.  I don't have a problem with him refining it.  It's special.

 I don't mind if he revisits previous themes in the FP if he does it in the way he did R&J 2, with different music cuts and a different theme- I have jokingly suggested R&J 3 with Prokofiev utilising the POV of Mercutio on another thread.  I think he has strong views about the music he chooses to skate to and am interested to see what he picks, and what he does with it. 

But the bottom line is that it's Olympic season, he's an athlete and he wants the medal, and he's probably got a well considered strategy for getting it.

[beki]

1 hour ago, Fresca said:

In the beginning where he closes his eyes, breathes, and rolls his head, it looks as though he's surrendering himself to the music and then never lets go.

 

I do love that. I remember when I first saw it, it really struck a different tone to dare to enter the program that way. (=Wow factor. But—tbh I feel that element of surprise has worn off, so that's one of my issues with 3.0.)

 

36 minutes ago, Sombreuil said:

I like and admire LGC - I can't love it because I'm really not a fan of Prince - if he'd picked Bowie it would have been a different matter- and I agree with what you say about it.  Just wish I liked the music better.

 

Also my fave. I would have died and come back to life many more times if he had done that.

 

My feeling right now is that LGC and H&L are his best programs, simply because his abilities keep getting higher. So the most recent ones are the best. I get that people are excited for him to apply those skills to Chopin 3.0. I think for me, revisiting it is like times when I have eaten incredibly rich foods—at a certain point I've had enough and can't bear to have any more. Like Liha, Ballade playing in my head prevents me from falling asleep!

[Yatagarasu]

30 minutes ago, Sombreuil said:

I like and admire LGC - I can't love it because I'm really not a fan of Prince - if he'd picked Bowie it would have been a different matter- and I agree with what you say about it.  Just wish I liked the music better.

 

That's interesting to hear! For example I really, really don't like LGC and when it comes to Prince in general, it's touch and go for me. And strangely enough, I still don't like the song but I love the program. I think Yuzuru's performance takes over the music and as a whole it carries me off, so I must congratulate him on that, I never thought it'd be possible when I first heard the music he had chosen.