General Yuzuru Chat

[makebelieveup]

hmm just in case my previous hidden comment was misunderstood, I want to clarify that I didnt mean to say Yuzu's portrayal of a creator as being a the God of judaism or christianity. As  far as I know, its totally not. The only reason that was brought up was to simply say due to my own religion, I dont like seeing anything else being depicted as a god, any kind of god. Yuzu totally has the freedom to portray anything he wants. It doesnt mean I would enjoy it all but its up to him. Also, I'm Asian and have grown up to watching asian mythical dramas all my life, so this asian mythodology is not at all unfamiliar to me. It has nothing to do with how Yuzu believes in it and how he portrays his image. But even with the way he is trying to convey this idea of creation/a creator, the problem has to do with the expressions he pulled at Helsinki..a bit scary and on top of that, the styling of the costumes and everything, which was meant to pay tribute to Nijinsky, all combined turned out to look quite demonic, not necessarily satanic or anything. Just the power given off is dark. I didnt see it in ACI so I believe it is due to the expressions. If thats the kind of creator he is going for -- cold, distant, and hostile, then maybe he's doing a good job. But if not, my bet is due to concentration or kuyashii. Yuzu had said before that when he was performing Seimei at PC, he shouldnt have shown the joy in the final choreo sequence but he couldnt help it. Maybe its the same here?

[wpisces]

1 hour ago, makebelieveup said:

No, I agree that this program doesnt showcase one strong theme yet. On top of that, we have difficult elements that Yuzu needed to conquer so all the in betweens are further sacrificed. I think maybe there are just too many things that are thrown in the mix here. I think originally, he wanted to just use the music of the program he was inspired as a young child. He wanted to go back to the way he used to feel about skating and thats what the title all about. But because it is also seen as a tribute, he wanted to incorporate some of Nijinsky concepts in it. On top of that, Shae has her own interpretation about what Origin should be about going by the title meaning. I dont think it will change and I agree that unless they throw out entirely Nijinsky (the ballet dancer movements), we have somewhat a disconnect. His expressions/image would have been more suitable if he's trying to depict a villain, I agree and sorry if I offended anyone by saying this. It's just how I felt when watching him performed at Helsinki but I think it could have been the demeanor when he was there. Even Kurt had mentioned it. I really didnt see this at ACI where his expressions were more toned down and simply showed power and will as a creator. 

I strongly agree. I do believe his initial idea was to skate to his favorite program of Plushenko and go back to the times when he innocently enjoyed skating. But in the process, they had Nijinsky-inspired moves, Plushenko-inspired moves, Shae Lynn's interpretaion of music and "origin" theme. Then when he skated to it, he added his own interpretation throught his skating ( arm movements) and expressions. The program got stuck in too many things and it got harder to grasp the meaning/ concept.

 

Actually, when I read Lynn's perception about "Origin",  I was surprised. I remembered when his music choices were released, there were some people criticizing him for using European musics and in my own imagination, both Otonal and Origin would be something nostalgic which would bring back old yet beautiful times of figure skating or his life as a skater. But the theme turned out Japanese/ Asian things ( I didn't mean it in a negative way because I'm fond of Asian culture). So as you said, there will always be somewhat a disconnect in the program itself, as much as we try to connect all of materials.

 

About his expressions, I do hope he can control and project it better next time because I find it too much for the program no matter the program was about. 

[Hydroblade]

5 minutes ago, makebelieveup said:

Just the power given off is dark

I agree with this, and at ACI i got the "cold" vibe, but in Helsinki i felt the "darker" side of what i call "The Force of Nature that is Yuzuru Hanyu".

Combined with the costume, the hair and the music, i assumed he was going for a darker tone. He's always portraying "light" (that's my perception haha) so watching his darker side (Seimei felt "chaotic" in a way, but still "light") is really interesting. It's a different kind of energy but i enjoy it very much

[makebelieveup]

2 minutes ago, Hydroblade said:

I agree with this, and at ACI i got the "cold" vibe, but in Helsinki i felt the "darker" side of what i call "The Force of Nature that is Yuzuru Hanyu".

Combined with the costume, the hair and the music, i assumed he was going for a darker tone. He's always portraying "light" (that's my perception haha) so watching his darker side (Seimei felt "chaotic" in a way, but still "light") is really interesting. It's a different kind of energy but i enjoy it very much

Yeah Seimei was more like fierce but of that kind of a protagonist. He was so dark at Helsinki its like he wanted to eat my soul

[Hydroblade]

1 minute ago, makebelieveup said:

He was so dark at Helsinki its like he wants to eat my soul 

tbf he always looks like he has souls as midday snack when you see the murderface...

[makebelieveup]

1 minute ago, Hydroblade said:

tbf he always looks like he has souls as midday snack when you see the murderface...

lol so true. we need a top 10 moments Yuzu sold his soul to the devil for his skating talent. that moment when he took off his earphones and smirked tho i got chills

[ranran]

To be honest I never watch Yuzuru's first GP performance when it was aired because I don't feel it will be what it supposed to be like, the first GP of R&J 1.0 did not look anything like R&J 1.0 performance at NICE 2012 and Seimei first performance at SC or ACI did not look anything like Seimei at NHK or GPF, it's that pattern with Yuzu because he seems to need a competition or two to get the hang of his program which is why I am so surprised with the quality of Otonal and Origin at GP Helsinki because this level did not usually come this early for Yuzu, I supposed due to his maturity now that he is calm and less aggressive in pursuing his usually perfectionist self and it is scary to think how much better he can improve his program and that is what echoed by most commentators I think. Usually his first GP or perf are bland but this level of blandness this season has up its ante a bit from previous seasons  outings XD

 

As for the story of Origin, I don't get any mythical vibe at all from it but instead felt like its more straightforward like I'm watching Yuzuru telling his story of his growth in FS using his idols music, why he started and why he is willing to endured the hardship that came with his passion and the people that inspire him that help him go through past that challenges. He first got interested to do FS seriously after watching Plushenko, and refine his style of skating after watching Weir hence translate into SP and FS. Especially when he bring back that signature illusion spin that he last did in Etude in 2012. As others said the stoicness could also came from him being cautious with the ice. So that's another testing water(ice? XD) for him. A lot of thing he can improve on definitely but I think I understand the perspective if commentators who praised him to the moon and back, its not always you get a two time olympic champion who wanted to compete again and see what else he wanted to bring to the table and that thoughts itself is an exciting thing to see and that could have been a factor to overlook the flaws in the program. The benefit of having low expectation but was given more XD

[Bilge]

10 minutes ago, wpisces said:

About his expressions, I do hope he can control and project it better next time.

I actually like that expression in helsinki. He looked commanding, declaring his win as in worlds 2017. I liked it.

 

5 minutes ago, Hydroblade said:

tbf he always looks like he has souls as midday snack when you see the murderface...

Please eat my soul hanyu kun (lol kaneki incidentxD)

[makebelieveup]

All in all, I'm fascinated by the fact that Yuzu broke 3 records at Helsinki with a 40 pt margin, landed 4T3A, highest TES AND PCs so far. But here we are debating about the praises from commentators and how the programs are still not there yet lol The standard for Yuzu is sure different and fanyus are surely special

[Xen]

25 minutes ago, Hydroblade said:

I agree with this, and at ACI i got the "cold" vibe, but in Helsinki i felt the "darker" side of what i call "The Force of Nature that is Yuzuru Hanyu".

Combined with the costume, the hair and the music, i assumed he was going for a darker tone. He's always portraying "light" (that's my perception haha) so watching his darker side (Seimei felt "chaotic" in a way, but still "light") is really interesting. It's a different kind of energy but i enjoy it very much

Hmm, I get where people are getting the "cold" and "darker" vibes. Though I thought it wasn't "dark" enough.

 

I generally don't really pay attention to skaters facial expressions when skating and only concentrate on what "mood" they are trying to show with arms//feet/leg and relative to the open practice, I thought his movements in Helsinki were not strong, forceful or "dark" enough. I was waiting for that epic struggle and uphills emotional/dramatic battle to be shown, and it kind of went softer than I thought it would-his movements were not big enough, relative to the open practice. 

[vanadiezz]

2 minutes ago, makebelieveup said:

All in all, I'm fascinated by the fact that Yuzu broke 3 records at Helsinki with a 40 pt margin, landed 4T3A, highest TES AND PCs so far. But here we are debating about the praises from commentators and how the programs are still not there yet lol The standard for Yuzu is sure different and fanyus are surely special

 

When you know he can reach 110 for SP and 220 for FP, this current world record is just like a walk in the park. I am curious how many WRs will be broken during the next month. 

[4Nessie]

18 minutes ago, Bilge said:

I actually like that expression in helsinki. He looked commanding, declaring his win as in worlds 2017. I liked it.

 

Please eat my soul hanyu kun (lol kaneki incidentxD)

EXACTLY! Both! 

[MarthEmblem]

26 minutes ago, makebelieveup said:

lol so true. we need a top 10 moments Yuzu sold his soul to the devil for his skating talent. that moment when he took off his earphones and smirked tho i got chills

 

Do you have a picture of this? Purely for research reasons and nothing else, I can assure you 

[Hydroblade]

1 minute ago, Xen said:

Hmm, I get where people are getting the "cold" and "darker" vibes. Though I thought it wasn't "dark" enough.

 

I generally don't really pay attention to skaters facial expressions when skating and only concentrate on what "mood" they are trying to show with arms//feet/leg and relative to the open practice, I thought his movements in Helsinki were not strong, forceful or "dark" enough. I was waiting for that epic struggle and uphills emotional/dramatic battle to be shown, and it kind of went softer than I thought it would-his movements were not big enough, relative to the open practice. 

I'm not talking about his facial expressions, though. The "flow" and his movements seemed less ethereal and light. They felt "grounded" in a way, which made think about  power, raw strength and an aura of darkness that isn't violent or destructive. It's kind of hard to describe, and i too think he can improve that, but it does feel different to what he's done before.

 

I'm actually thinking about a thousand sentences that can give me the feeling of Origin but they're weird ahahahahaha

[MarthEmblem]

Just now, Hydroblade said:

I'm not talking about his facial expressions, though. The "flow" and his movements seemed less ethereal and light. They felt "grounded" in a way, which made think about  power, raw strength and an aura of darkness that isn't violent or destructive. It's kind of hard to describe, and i too think he can improve that, but it does feel different to what he's done before.

 

I'm actually thinking about a thousand sentences that can give me the feeling of Origin but they're weird ahahahahaha

 

I mean we're all Yuzu fans here. Anything weird you say has already been topped by the meme king himself