General Yuzuru Chat

[Old Cat Lady]

56 minutes ago, IceWings said:

 

I had a link to that YT video. Unfortunately, that video and the user's account have been deleted. Probably part of that YouTube purge of figure skating videos and accounts. 

Hopefully it will get reuploaded on YT or elsewhere.

 

The instructor also said that Yuzu has an androgynous look, which is popular in shojo manga. I would add that his heart-shaped face gives him a "pointy chin", which is also typical of manga characters!

 

That explains it.  I went to look for it too but over half of my library is deleted.  I think I downloaded it before most stuff got purged but it's always a pain to look for anything in the hard drive - I downloaded everything in a hurry so none of it is organized.  Seems like a weird video to get deleted since it doesn't compete with anything but he uploader probably posted more current videos that got the channel deleted. I never thought about the pointy chin but I'm watching Bleach right now and, you're right, all the major characters and most of the secondary characters have the pointy chin. The ahoge and hair in the face are really common as well.

 

I've been thinking about beauty standards in other countries and it's effect on popularity. 

 

From the conversation in the WTT thread and some articles I read, it looks like the Chinese admire extreme slenderness in both males and females, which surprised me.  I knew about the females and all the crazy challenges like the sheet of paper challenge but didn't realize that the guys are also held to this standard.  It seems pretty common in Asian countries to want pale skin and the higher nose bridge and height for men.  I thought the big eyes was a pretty common beauty standard as well but Yuzu doesn't have that.  Is Boyang also considered very attractive in China?  He seems to have a lot of the same physical characteristics as Yuzu but doesn't have that more feminine body shape. Is this androgynous look also prized in China?

 

Korea has similar beauty standards right? But my understanding is that he's not popular there, though largely because of social/political tension in the 2 countries' histories.

 

Is this golden proportion/mean/ratio thing more of a Japanese thing or a general principal of aesthetic?  I tried to look it up but got a math thing and some explanations on how to use it in design.  What about the "small face" thing?  

 

Is it fair to say that Yuzu and Yuna Kim are the 2 most popular skaters in the last 30 years or so (the only skater I can think of that would rival them is Sonja Henie, maybe Witt)?  Mao is pretty popular too but not quite as famous as these two?  Michelle Kwan is probably the most famous American skater but from everything I hear she wasn't very popular outside the US - do you think winning gold would have changed that or do you think being more average looking would have held her back from attaining the fame of the other 2 no matter what? How much of Yuzu and Kim's popularity is due to their physical beauty - before each of their second Olympics they were very successful but not more than a lot of other champions.  How much of Alina's (and Masaru's) popularity is due to her being so beautiful? 

 

around here, I don't think it's as common for people to find Yuzu's look attractive, but I keep to a pretty small circle of friends.  Most of the time the reaction to me looking at his photos has been "that's a guy?" and he's not nearly as famous here as everywhere else, but I think in the US that's true of every foreign athlete except maybe Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova.  

 

ok. sorry for the rambling, lol. That's a lot of really shallow questions.

[Anki]

I think aesthetic sense are actually pretty similar between China, Korea and Japan, because their entertainment industry in some way cross-pollinate each other?

 

White skin, big eyes with double eyelids, small heart-shaped face,  high nose, skinny long limbs and androgynous and youthful looking features are prized in all three countries. Yuzu ticks all the boxes other than the double eyelid. His eyes are only small when he smiles, they are not small when he is serious and not smiling. I actually think Yuzu's looks are more closer to China and Korea taste than Japan though? I can actually name some Chinese and Korean celebrities that I think Yuzu resembles, but not so much Japanese ones (despite I watch more Japanese dramas).  But then his golden proportion body is rare.  Most people have a 5:5 torso to legs proportion, some you might even have 6:4. Having a 4:6 proportion is already considered extremely good proportions.

 

If you look at that that picture in the tweet, Yuzu is '8-heads' tall even without the skates, which means he is almost "9-heads tall' counting in the skates. His torso is only '3-head' long, which means he has a 3:7 body proportion when he is on the ice. That sort of proportion really only exists in mangas and few high fashion models. You know the famous manga drawers "Clamp" that love to draw really long limbs and crazy proportions? I used to think such proportions can't exist in real life until I saw Yuzu, he reminds me of a "Clamp' character 

[Geo1]

On 4/16/2019 at 1:09 AM, Old Cat Lady said:

Is it fair to say that Yuzu and Yuna Kim are the 2 most popular skaters in the last 30 years or so (the only skater I can think of that would rival them is Sonja Henie, maybe Witt)?  Mao is pretty popular too but not quite as famous as these two?  Michelle Kwan is probably the most famous American skater but from everything I hear she wasn't very popular outside the US - do you think winning gold would have changed that or do you think being more average looking would have held her back from attaining the fame of the other 2 no matter what? How much of Yuzu and Kim's popularity is due to their physical beauty - before each of their second Olympics they were very successful but not more than a lot of other champions.  How much of Alina's (and Masaru's) popularity is due to her being so beautiful? 

 

Yuzu's fame and popularity is not due just to his physical attributes. If he was just a pretty face and a beautiful body but was an airhead with no personality, he would not be loved the way he is.

 

I was watching the British Eurosport coverage of Yuzu's "Origin" at the Saitama Worlds and Simon Reed was saying (again) that he has been covering sports of all kinds for decades and he could not name any other athletes that has or had whatever Yuzu has other than Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Mohammed Ali. I think he was referring to popularity, charisma, fan following, the "it factor", whatever.

 

In a piece and video entitled "The Legend of Yuzuru Hanyu", CNN's Coy Wire said that he had played nine seasons in the NFL and had covered sports as a journalist for many years but had never witnessed the passionate fan reaction that Yuzuru receives.

 

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/02/19/cnni-japan-figure-skating-megastar-wire-pkg.cnn

 

The reason for Yuzu's fame and popularity is due to his athletic ability, natural talent and, of course, his looks, but it is so much more than that. It is his personality and charisma. People are unable to describe what it is that they find charming about Yuzuru. People tend to ramble on and on when they speak of him. Basically, he is an incredibly good human being. He is sympathetic and empathetic. He is humble, modest, full of humility. He is honest and person of pure integrity. He has a natural charisma that cannot be faked. At the same time, he has a "hate to lose" personality. He never makes excuses and owns his failures and shortcomings and credits others for his successes. He welcomes challenges and has an incredible ability to overcome obstacles. In short, he has all the qualities that people admire, regardless of which culture you belong to. We all aspire to be like him.

 

I'd better stop because I'm rambling....I know that I am preaching to the converted! (I'm sure other satellites can ramble on ad infinitum for me.)

 

PS: Did I mention that he is exciting to watch? Others may occasionally get more points than he does, but they don't excite me and make me passionate the way Yuzu's skating does.

[Marte]

2 hours ago, Old Cat Lady said:

 

That explains it.  I went to look for it too but over half of my library is deleted.  I think I downloaded it before most stuff got purged but it's always a pain to look for anything in the hard drive - I downloaded everything in a hurry so none of it is organized.  Seems like a weird video to get deleted since it doesn't compete with anything but he uploader probably posted more current videos that got the channel deleted. I never thought about the pointy chin but I'm watching Bleach right now and, you're right, all the major characters and most of the secondary characters have the pointy chin. The ahoge and hair in the face are really common as well.

 

I've been thinking about beauty standards in other countries and it's effect on popularity. 

 

From the conversation in the WTT thread and some articles I read, it looks like the Chinese admire extreme slenderness in both males and females, which surprised me.  I knew about the females and all the crazy challenges like the sheet of paper challenge but didn't realize that the guys are also held to this standard.  It seems pretty common in Asian countries to want pale skin and the higher nose bridge and height for men.  I thought the big eyes was a pretty common beauty standard as well but Yuzu doesn't have that.  Is Boyang also considered very attractive in China?  He seems to have a lot of the same physical characteristics as Yuzu but doesn't have that more feminine body shape. Is this androgynous look also prized in China?

 

Korea has similar beauty standards right? But my understanding is that he's not popular there, though largely because of social/political tension in the 2 countries' histories.

 

Is this golden proportion/mean/ratio thing more of a Japanese thing or a general principal of aesthetic?  I tried to look it up but got a math thing and some explanations on how to use it in design.  What about the "small face" thing?  

 

Is it fair to say that Yuzu and Yuna Kim are the 2 most popular skaters in the last 30 years or so (the only skater I can think of that would rival them is Sonja Henie, maybe Witt)?  Mao is pretty popular too but not quite as famous as these two?  Michelle Kwan is probably the most famous American skater but from everything I hear she wasn't very popular outside the US - do you think winning gold would have changed that or do you think being more average looking would have held her back from attaining the fame of the other 2 no matter what? How much of Yuzu and Kim's popularity is due to their physical beauty - before each of their second Olympics they were very successful but not more than a lot of other champions.  How much of Alina's (and Masaru's) popularity is due to her being so beautiful? 

 

around here, I don't think it's as common for people to find Yuzu's look attractive, but I keep to a pretty small circle of friends.  Most of the time the reaction to me looking at his photos has been "that's a guy?" and he's not nearly as famous here as everywhere else, but I think in the US that's true of every foreign athlete except maybe Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova.  

 

ok. sorry for the rambling, lol. That's a lot of really shallow questions.

 

I find this very interesting, being good looking can be a plus, but if they were mediocre skaters they would certainly not have become what they are today....

Kim and Yuzu (him in particular) changed the sport in a way that Kwan (for example) didn't (Kim and Yuzu are still very different cases for me). Personally Yuzu was like no other skater in history even before his second OGM, and not for the number of titles he won but for the things he could/can do on the ice (I remember max and angelo saying something like this once😂). I think, in term of his apparence, what attract people is his courage to do what he has to do for the sake of the performance, not giving a danm about the stereotypical "masculinity", his being "androgynous" falls within the totality of his performance, it is a factor just like the choreography, the jumps, the transitions, etc. In those 4 minutes (or less) he tries to create a complete experience where all the elements that compose it come together harmoniously. (I'm waxing too much poetic😅😂 and I think I went OT😂) 

I believe that it's also a cultural thing, european/american culture is very different.

But even then..... there are people who are their fans mostly for their physical appearance 😂

 

[quadaxelwin]

23 hours ago, sallycinnamon said:

 

We had ca. 2900 members a year ago in April. Apart from the period when the Planet was born (end of April-May 2017), we had the most registrations after the Olympic Games, especially in April when we had hundreds of new satellites within a month. 

The Olympic Games brings huge attention and many people who don't follow the sport - or just watch it every four years -  watch figure skating at this time and they discover skaters as well. With Yuzu winning the gold back-to-back it was a whole different level then, because he was already extremely popular before, but his second OGM brought many new fans to the sport as well.

 

Wow! Thanks for the info! I think if he lands 4A for the first time in history, that would also bring more international coverage and hopefully more fans!

Media Coverages and press internationally are what brings new fans the most I guess.

Also I think new Yuri on Ice fans from the new movie may bring a new wave of fans into the sport and for Yuzu too 

[Anki]

I think Yuzu became popular for all the reasons listed above,  but all of them come together for, what I think is the (or one of ) main reason, and that is he naturally induces in people a strong feeling of..wanting to protect him? almost like a "motherly" feeling, and there is no stronger feeling than that in the world.  Remember that commentator who said to "wrap him up in cotton wool" when he was young? that is basically how to describe it. And of course after you get to know more about him as a person, including his strong will, injuries etc.  that feeling becomes even stronger.

 

There are many athletes in the world that makes you admire or be in awe of them, and Yuzu is the king of doing that, but he has this juxtaposition of being the strongest of the strongest in his field yet there is an air of fragility that makes him more endearing than your typical top athlete. 

[IULIANA]

40 minutes ago, Anki said:

I think Yuzu became popular for all the reasons listed above,  but all of them come together for, what I think is the (or one of ) main reason, and that is he naturally induces in people a strong feeling of..wanting to protect him? almost like a "motherly" feeling, and there is no stronger feeling than that in the world.  Remember that commentator who said to "wrap him up in cotton wool" when he was young? that is basically how to describe it. And of course after you get to know more about him as a person, including his strong will, injuries etc.  that feeling becomes even stronger.

 

There are many athletes in the world that makes you admire or be in awe of them, and Yuzu is the king of doing that, but he has this juxtaposition of being the strongest of the strongest in his field yet there is an air of fragility that makes him more endearing than your typical top athlete. 

 

I think that the "wrap him up in cotton wool" thing should be a reference to a precious jewel more than to the protective instinct, but that could be only my  perception. What impresses me the most is the exquisite quality that Yuzuru puts in everything he does. On ice and off ice, too

[Sombreuil]

I find the preference for the “double eyelid” odd- is that a long-standing phenomenon or a recent one?  I believe some people have cosmetic surgery to achieve it?  For me the scrunchy eyed smile is very endearing, not just with Yuzuru, look at Kaori 

[Ashley2162018]

When I first saw him via photos from a friend, thought to myself this guy is slimmer than I will ever be but he is cute. Then I saw him perform chopin in pyeongchang and went like that is so much power for a slender guy. The smirk at the end made gave me "I am not just a pretty face vibe".

 

So I started checking his videos. R&J1 in nice was so passionate felt his desperation and sincerity to win, I wanted to give it to him. 

 

Let's go crazy came next and wow he is a rockstar. He knows it and flaunts it when needed. His confidence is amazing but there is no sense of arrogance.

 

So after all this blabber I can say Yuzu is popular because he can move people's emotions. He can make us feel that we want to see these performances and never regret doing so. Which ends up as us wanting more and he is always the mood willing to comply. Because I honestly believe he likes to see people happy even in just small moments.

 

Thanks for everything yuzu.

 

[makebelieveup]

Just want to touch on the topic of beauty standard in Asia a little. I think the conventional beauty standard across many parts of Asia are big and double eyelids, small face with pointed chin, small and flat forehead, tall straight nose, and most importantly fair skin. But even so, these standards still vary from country to country and from era to era. The standard I mentioned above is what's commonly perceived as classic beauty standard. It means that if you have these features you are sorta universally regarded as beautiful. However, as south Korea pretty much sets the trend for beauty standards over time, the concept of beauty becomes more trendy. For example, there was a period when oval face shape, aeygo sal eyes, small cherry lips were very popular. Then there was a period when V-line and "joker lips" were the most beautiful things out there...etc. This isnt to say that any of these features are no longer considered beauty. but it goes to show how beauty standards can change over time in Asia. I think to vary from these some of these features is totally fine as long as your features harmoniously blend together. In fact, to have one or two distinctive features add to a person's uniqueness. Even among the three popular east asian countries like China, Japan, and South Korea, there are varied preferences in beauty standard. I think it is fair to say Yuzu is universally good looking man by today's current beauty across these countries and other southeast asia countries. His androgynous looks are more accepted now to viewers who have been exposed to kpop. His non double eyelids are actually perceived as beautiful since his eyeshapes are long, distinctive, and large and not to mention those crescent like eyes when he smiles, which is still a thing asian people love. I think had he been Korean, Korea would have praised his looks to the high heavens. His looks fit korean standard down to a T. Due to political reasons I think they sorta deny it. But at least I know his looks are acknowledged by Chinese and Japanese.

[mercedes]

4 hours ago, Marte said:

 

I find this very interesting, being good looking can be a plus, but if they were mediocre skaters they would certainly not have become what they are today....

Kim and Yuzu (him in particular) changed the sport in a way that Kwan (for example) didn't (Kim and Yuzu are still very different cases for me). Personally Yuzu was like no other skater in history even before his second OGM, and not for the number of titles he won but for the things he could/can do on the ice (I remember max and angelo saying something like this once😂). I think, in term of his apparence, what attract people is his courage to do what he has to do for the sake of the performance, not giving a danm about the stereotypical "masculinity", his being "androgynous" falls within the totality of his performance, it is a factor just like the choreography, the jumps, the transitions, etc. In those 4 minutes (or less) he tries to create a complete experience where all the elements that compose it come together harmoniously. (I'm waxing too much poetic😅😂 and I think I went OT😂) 

I believe that it's also a cultural thing, european/american culture is very different.

But even then..... there are people who are their fans mostly for their physical appearance 😂

 

 

4 hours ago, Geo1 said:

 

Yuzu's fame and popularity is not due just to his physical attributes. If he was just a pretty face and a beautiful body but was an airhead with no personality, he would not be loved the way he is.

 

I was watching the British Eurosport coverage of Yuzu's "Origin" at the Saitama Worlds and Simon Reed was saying (again) that he has been covering sports of all kinds for decades and he could not name any other athletes that has or had whatever Yuzu has other than Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Mohammed Ali. I think he was referring to popularity, charisma, fan following, the "it factor", whatever.

 

In a piece and video entitled "The Legend of Yuzuru Hanyu", CNN's Corey Wire said that he had played nine seasons in the NFL and had covered sports as a journalist for many years but had never witnessed the passionate fan reaction that Yuzuru receives.

 

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/02/19/cnni-japan-figure-skating-megastar-wire-pkg.cnn

 

The reason for Yuzu's fame and popularity is due to his athletic ability, natural talent and, of course, his looks, but it is so much more than that. It is his personality and charisma. People are unable to describe what it is that they find charming about Yuzuru. People tend to ramble on and on when they speak of him. Basically, he is an incredibly good human being. He is sympathetic and empathetic. He is humble, modest, full of humility. He is honest and person of pure integrity. He has a natural charisma that cannot be faked. At the same time, he has a "hate to lose" personality. He never makes excuses and owns his failures and shortcomings and credits others for his successes. He welcomes challenges and has an incredible ability to overcome obstacles. In short, he has all the qualities that people admire, regardless of which culture you belong to. We all aspire to be like him.

 

I'd better stop because I'm rambling....I know that I am preaching to the converted! (I'm sure other satellites can ramble on ad infinitum for me.)

 

PS: Did I mention that he is exciting to watch? Others may occasionally get more points than he does, but they don't excite me and make me passionate the way Yuzu's skating does.

I agree with everything you both said but I think most of all he has that quality that makes you want to watch him ...he's just so pleasing when he moves,so elegant that you simply cannot stop.(And I'm not talking about a sexual attraction here he's too young for me,just he's so aesthetically  pleasing when he skates that I love just to watch him cooling down after practice for example).

 

Last but not least he has a wonderful high working complex brain,really I'm old enough to be his mom but sometimes I read what he says and I'm like "look at this kid teaching me a lesson"LOL

there are many sportmen and women ,many medals won but so few of them have something to say,Yuzuru has a lot instead and it's very interesting.

 

 

[twitwi]

9 hours ago, Old Cat Lady said:

 

From the conversation in the WTT thread and some articles I read, it looks like the Chinese admire extreme slenderness in both males and females, which surprised me.  I knew about the females and all the crazy challenges like the sheet of paper challenge but didn't realize that the guys are also held to this standard.  It seems pretty common in Asian countries to want pale skin and the higher nose bridge and height for men.  I thought the big eyes was a pretty common beauty standard as well but Yuzu doesn't have that.  Is Boyang also considered very attractive in China?  He seems to have a lot of the same physical characteristics as Yuzu but doesn't have that more feminine body shape. Is this androgynous look also prized in China?

 

 

so it is true western can't tell the different looking of Asian?

not to offend, but IMO yuzu can get a mark of 8-9/10 (i have turned off my fangirl filter) and boyang is 5/10.

My friends don't  follow figure skating at all, but most of them (even men) love yuzu's look and none of them prefer boyang (or even didn't notice him....at all）

even a pic of him without mentioning who he is can go viral on sns ... 

 

As I  have his posters post full of my cube, most of my teammates (men or women) will drop by and appreciate those, some men even say if they had a face like that, maybe they don't need to work at all. And then I would answer, actually he works harder than you. And all of them agree Yuzu is the guy who can just make a living from his face, but he chose to make living by his talent and hard work.

 

 

[makebelieveup]

27 minutes ago, twitwi said:

so it is true western can't tell the different looking of Asian?

not to offend, but IMO yuzu can get a mark of 8-9/10 (i have turned off my fangirl filter) and boyang is 5/10.

My friends don't  follow figure skating at all, but most of them (even men) love yuzu's look and none of them prefer boyang (or even didn't notice him....at all）

even a pic of him without mentioning who he is can go viral on sns ... 

 

As I  have his posters post full of my cube, most of my teammates (men or women) will drop by and appreciate those, some men even say if they had a face like that, maybe they don't need to work at all. And then I would answer, actually he works harder than you. And all of them agree Yuzu is the guy who can just make a living from his face, but he choosed to make living by his talent and hard work.

 

 

I agree with the marks there. While both have single eyelids, Yuzu's eyes are large and long with defined shapes. Boyang's eyes are typical and small. Yuzu has relatively more dimension in his facial structures and a heartshaped faceshape while Boyang's facial structures are more flat. Boyang's face shape is also rounder and chubbier. While both have straight noses, Boyang's nose is slightly downward pointed and his nostrils are a bit wider, giving me an impression of a hooked nose. Yuzu has straighter teeth and a more beautiful smile, a golden facial proportion, and delicate, refined features overall. 

 

I think China would actually agree Yuzu is the more good looking athlete while Boyang is rather average. 

 

But I think it is understandable for western people to not be able to distinguish facial anatomy as much as asian people tend to do. Many asian people I know, like myself, love to dissect a person's visual because this is one of the most common topic of discussions we see in celebrity news. Also, I think as a westerner @old cat lady was trying to ask for opinions from the eyes of asians. It's fair to say many Asians would also not be able to distinguish between what makes a celebrity attractive in American pop culture just by looking at a couple of different people.

[Kim Nhung]

I realize the real dry phase when we are chatting about appearance, face etc 

[makebelieveup]

1 minute ago, Kim Nhung said:

I realize the real dry phase when we are chatting about appearance, face etc 

April 20!!! look forward to it