General Yuzuru Chat

[Geo1]

4 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

excuse you, they are the Gleaming Pants of Ascension....because fanyus ascend to Heaven upon seeing them grace our boy's beautiful leg lines...

 

They may be the Gleaming Pants of Ascension and Fanyus may ascend to Heaven upon seeing them, but I think it’s because they snugly grace another bootiful part of our boy’s anatomy…

[EisElle]

to the Ballade stans around, there's this streaming party scheduled on Kast in a couple hours (if I did my math right) 

all Yuzuru's Chopin Ballades!

since choreographers&skaters are half-assing their recycling through merely changing background music but keeping choreo and with no PCS development, let's watch how the superior recycling is done! (changing transitions and layouts, upping SS from amazing to otherwordly, polishing PE, deepening IN...)

 

[rockstaryuzu]

9 hours ago, Geo1 said:

 

They may be the Gleaming Pants of Ascension and Fanyus may ascend to Heaven upon seeing them, but I think it’s because they snugly grace another bootiful part of our boy’s anatomy…

Thank you for saying it, @Geo1.  

[Henni147]

22 hours ago, LadyLou said:

ehhhh top3 for every component? Hard to say, so I'm not gonna do an actual top 3 but just top whatever Competition skates only!

disclaimer 1: the more I reread the keypoints the more it's hard to find a Yuzu program that doens't excel in them

disclaimer2: I'm a Ballade stan first and human second, so even when I don't mention Ballade specifically, please add it that to the other picks

Let's go!

[...]

usually with Yuzuru's programs I tend to like his more recent programs/version more. In part it could be some recency bias but also, Yuzuru became an even better skater, so PE and IN always get up a notch with him, even when I still have in my hearth his precious previous versions that could have been skated only by younger Yuzu.

 

14 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

@Henni147 again with the tough to answer questions! Rather than pick a program for each one, I'm just going to go with the one that I think is the best all-arounder on all those points, and that's LGC. Notwithstanding that Yuzu never quite did it clean in competition, it's still the best designed and probably most difficult program he's ever attempted. The step sequence alone is insane.I think if he revisited it now, with the added ability all his training for 4A has given him, not even a judging-bias-boosted certain other someone could possibly touch it in terms of excellence. if he ran it with 4A as the starting jump...just imagine.

 

but in terms of a skate that was perfectly performed by Yuzu in every way, and was everything skating should be, it's Worlds 2017 H&L, and then 20204CC Ballade.

 

Thank you very much for the detailed responses! I definitely agree with you in many aspects. LGC and Ballade No. 1 are frontrunners for me too in most components. It's tricky to compare short programs with free skates, as there are more than twice as many jumping passes in the free, but only one minute more time. So in the free you are really limited with creative transitions and showcasing your skating skills.

 

We always tear the judges apart for the scoring, but I really asked myself - if I was a judge and had to score the components for these programs - what would I give to them?

 

Short programs: detailed comment 

Spoiler

Skating skills: as much as I love Ballade, I think that GPF LGC and COR Otonal are that tiny bit stronger, specially in terms of speed, dynamics and multidirectional skating. One-foot-skating is extremely strong for all four.

Transitions: My only issue with LGC is that compared to the absolute skating madness in the second half, the first half feels a little modest. Same goes for Otonal. Ballade has a better balance of complex continuous transitioning throughout the program. I see 4CC Ballade a bit ahead of the OWG version, because the transitions between the 4S and 4T+3T are absolute god-tier and deserve that extra credit.

Performance: Otonal and 4CC Ballade were great, but the energy and drama in LGC and OWG Ballade is A+++ level.

Composition: Otonal's composition and music cut, especially between the 3A and the combo and also the final spin, doesn't feel right. The ACI cut and distribution of the elements was much better despite the missing 10% bonus. I loved the composition of OWG Ballade with the backloaded combo on the crescendo of the music. That jump truly deserved the label "highlight distribution". It was the most dramatic composition you can possibly get in an SP.

Interpretation: Seriously, Yuzu's impossible 4Lo save in LGC with that irresistible smile right to the lyrics "A world of never ending happiness.
You can always see the sun, day or night" was SO on point, it was peak entertainment and perfectly fit the vibe of the whole program  Overall that interpretation of LGC was the best by a mile. He was on fire from start to finish and really sold that program. I also loved his interpretation of Ballade at 4CC, he was fully immersed into the piece and every finger movement was placed right on the note. Can't be done any better.

 

Component	LGC GPF 2016	Ballade OWG 2018	Otonal COR 2018	Ballade 4CC 2020
Skating skills	10.00	9.75	10.00	9.75
Transitions	9.75	9.75	9.75	10.00
Performance	10.00	10.00	9.75	9.75
Composition	9.75	10.00	9.50	9.75
Interpretation	10.00	9.75	9.75	10.00
Total PCS	49.50	49.25	48.75	49.25

 

Free skatings: detailed comment 

Spoiler

Skating skills: This one was really tough. For a free skate with 3-4 quads all four performances were very strong skating-wise, but H&L just stands out for me here and is one of very few free skates where I would give a 10.00 for skating skills at all. The other two are Patrick's FS at Eric Bompard 2013 and 4CC 2016.

Transitions: Sorry, but Origin with 4 minutes length, 7 jump elements and yet THREE full sequences (THREE!!!) is the epitome of transition madness and deserves all the credit. I still don't know how this is even humanly possible and I don't think that anything can ever top that.

Performance: All four were awesome, but OWG Seimei exists and that means sorry for the rest.

Composition: I feel that the transition overkill in Origin spoiled the composition of the program a bit. I liked the original design of the second half a little better, when Yuzu presented it at TCC (with the Ina Bauer into the final 3A).
TenChi for me has absolutely brilliant composition, because the elements are ideally distributed both in time and space. The number of jumps in the first half is identical to the second half (if we don't count the Euler), the number of jumps performed at the left and right end of the rink equals the number of jumps placed in the center, and the spins and sequences are also positioned around the center, which illustrates the balance of heaven and earth and man. This is so well done.

H&L was also epic with the final 3Lz at the end of the program. It gave the program extra drama and a badass moment.
Interpretation: Yeah, same here. OWG Seimei and WTT TenChi exist. That is an automatic knockout for the rest.

 

Component	H&L WC 2017	Seimei OWG 2018	Origin SC 2019	TenChi JN 2020
Skating skills	10.00	9.75	9.75	9.75
Transitions	9.75	9.75	10.00	9.75
Performance	9.75	10.00	9.75	9.75
Composition	10.00	9.75	9.50	10.00
Interpretation	9.75	10.00	9.75	9.75
Total PCS	98.50	98.50	97.50	98.00

 

 

Many people would probably say that programs with errors (LGC 2016, Seimei 2018, Origin 2019) must not get such high PCS, but I think that these programs are paramount examples that a performance does not automatically suffer from minor mistakes in the components. In case of LGC and Seimei (and also WTT LMEY) those mistakes even add to the drama and entertainment factor that would be actually missed in a perfectly clean skate.

 

I also experienced that it's almost impossible to perfect all 5 components at the same time. Your skating skills and composition can suffer from very packed choreos with many difficult transitions, while huge speed and a very energetic performance makes it very hard to execute steps and turns cleanly and so on.

That's why I think that LGC deserves the most 10s. Despite the ridiculous speed and transition escalation the skating quality, musicality and performance do not really suffer. That makes the program extra special.

[KendallKlaire]

17 hours ago, YuzuSkating_IsTheTruth said:

At 2021 World Championships, Yuzu was looking healthier and stronger than before and he was leading after the Short program, hence the argument of the asthma attack was triggered by him stressing over Nate did not stand for me. The possibility of sabotaging is not too far-fetched. If Yuzu wins both the 2019 GPF and 2021 World Championships, he will be a three-time World Champions champion and five-time GPF champion, furthering the gap between him and Nate (not forgetting the two-time Olympic champion titles). If Nathan wins, he will be a three-time World Championships champion, three-time GPF champion, closing the gap between Yuzu and him. As ego and pride stand, the scenario of Yuzu winning both titles cannot be tolerated. In fact, it was an opportunity to suppress Yuzu’s scores at the Torino GPF so that Nate will be in a stronger position going into World Championships.

 

Now, the narrative continues with Yuzu regressing in his technicalities when another young skater, his compatriot Yuma Kagiyama beating him to a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships while Yuzu settled for a bronze medal. Nate has been successfully crafted as the untouchable one. Hence, anything that might jeopardize such outcome have been taken care of in advance. These include changing BV of 4A to a lower value of 12.50 (in case someone successfully jumps it at Beijing Olympics?) and delaying the implementation of full BVs of jump sequences after 2022 Beijing.

 

It makes me fuming with anger the more I think of it. No doubt, Nate is talented in technicalities but it is far from the truth (based on TES and PCS scores) to suggest he is a more well-rounded/complete skater than Yuzu. I am praying fervently for Yuzu’s happiness and good (physical and mental) health. May all the forces of the universe be with him, all the stars are aligned for him to reach his biggest dream of landing 4A.

I love reading lengthy posts! (Forgive me for mine) I definitely agree and see a lot of the points your are making because the last three (four?) years of the Nathan-Yuzu "rivalry" has been infuriating to watch. 

 

Nathan absolutely has the technical prowess, but the narrative directed by the scores he receives from the judges, ESPECIALLY in regard to PCs, is just suspect. No American figure skating commentator/journalist points this out because they are completely on board with Beijing 2022 redemption story for Nathan. I remember someone had made a chart/graph documenting how scores and PCs had changed season by season for the last few years and the dramatic improvement of Nathan's PCs between the 2016-2017 season to the 2017-2018 (the Olympic season) is simply baffling. From that I believe it was clear that US Figure Skating wanted that 2018 gold medal for Nathan because at the time he was their best hope and Nathan really seemed like he did not wish (or care) to continue skating after the 2018 since he was going off to college to become a doctor (or whatnot). 

 

After Nathan bombed his SP the media turned on him, but when he landed 6 quads in the free skate they pretty much boasted about that for the rest of the Games as his "redemption" which I thought was complete overkill. He landed 6 quads so he had nothing to lose, he rose in the ranks from 17 to 5 place because all the competitors in-between weren't landing a ton of quads to get the points, and even with that many quads he didn't beat the world record score Yuzu had with just a 4 quad layout. If anything the whole 2018 Olympics proved Yuzu had the stronger mentality for the Games and didn't need to land all the quads to get high scores. Yuzu is the complete package while Nathan is not. 

 

I do believe that after the 2018 Olympics Nathan did find some more passion with skating than he had before so I am not nearly as put off by him as I was before. But the narrative that he dominates over Yuzu by the media is really misleading. While it's true that he has beat Yuzu in all their matchups, the scores do not reflect reality. In addition, Yuzu has been hindered by injuries and even his asthma since 2017 and I don't believe he is in his top physical shape (ankles and knees can only take so much). The American media would NEVER mention any of this since Nathan gets ridiculous scores that crush Yuzu's. 

 

2021 Worlds and the fallout honestly was just painful to watch. Yuzu crushed the short program, but was underscored by at least a few points. Nathan, despite a FALL still got third. WHAT? Then, despite what Yuzu has claimed, I do believe he probably suffered an asthma attack the night before the free skate. Brian knew something was up because he was late and he sought the attention of a Russian doctor. The backstage footage of him really just hammered in that something was wrong. Did the American media say anything? Nope. Instead they said because Nathan crushed his free skate and Yuzu was seemingly so affected by Nathan's performance that Yuzu had "settled" for bronze. Ugh. 

 

As much as I have loved seeing Yuzu continue competing after 2018, it's hard to watch how the ISU and the federations just push him down. They know that he aims for the 4A so they lower the BV. Why not do that to all the quads since so many young skaters are sacrificing their bodies for them? I also believe the JSF is oblivious to what Yuzu brings to figure skating since it is obvious that they are pushing Yuma to be his successor (if the skating show pamphlets and promos are anything to go by). The JSF and ISU are just dumb if they think anyone is going to replace Yuzu's charisma and popularity in the sport anytime soon. 

[YuzuSkating_IsTheTruth]

21 hours ago, hananistellata said:

If this makes anyone feel any better about this God forsaken season, there is a Russian YouTube channel called 'Sport Tarot' which basically does tarot card readings for athletes of different sports. Many of you might not believe in that stuff but I find it pretty intresting and I somewhat believe in it too. The "tarot lady" as some of us call her, has done a reading for Yuzuru. I don't remember too many exact details but all of his cards were pretty good. Meanwhile, another skater's cards... didn't seem so good. Apparently her readings have been scarily accurate in a lot of cases so I'm betting my sanity on this lady right now. 

 

I'm joining you

4 hours ago, KendallKlaire said:

I love reading lengthy posts! (Forgive me for mine) I definitely agree and see a lot of the points your are making because the last three (four?) years of the Nathan-Yuzu "rivalry" has been infuriating to watch. 

 

As much as I have loved seeing Yuzu continue competing after 2018, it's hard to watch how the ISU and the federations just push him down. They know that he aims for the 4A so they lower the BV. Why not do that to all the quads since so many young skaters are sacrificing their bodies for them? I also believe the JSF is oblivious to what Yuzu brings to figure skating since it is obvious that they are pushing Yuma to be his successor (if the skating show pamphlets and promos are anything to go by). The JSF and ISU are just dumb if they think anyone is going to replace Yuzu's charisma and popularity in the sport anytime soon. 

Thanks for your kind words. I was worried I would bore everyone with such a lengthy post (promise I won't do it again). Yuzu was in the way of a fabulous US narrative once he decided to stay on competing instead of retiring. His superstardom overshadows everyone else.

Yuzu bares his heart and soul on the ice when skating to his programs, emotionally engaging and connecting the spectators. This rare and unique ability, together with his fusion of athleticism and artistry, allows him to weave stories and magic on the ice, transforming sport to an art form, gifting us masterpieces. Many of us are drawn to him after setting our eyes upon him on the ice, making Yuzu the Piped Piper of Figure Skating. I’m so glad his magic ontinues to work on others as @Henni147 pointed out he had conquered social media and drawing in new fans.

Have a great day!

[Geo1]

11 minutes ago, hananistellata said:

I have an... intresting story. 

 

I've been trying to make my mom a fanyu for a while. At first she was 100% uninterested and would get really bored every time I talked about Yuzuru and she would barely listen. Recently though she doesn't seem to mind him so much. Maybe she is in the stage of denial, lol.

 

I always talk about how much I miss him to the point where about 60% of my daily speech consists of "I miss Yuzuru". Recently her constant reply to that became "Sent him a DM then" to which I painfully reply "He doesn't have social media" (not that I would have the guts to DM him even if he did have a public account).

 

Today, her reply was "Well why don't you send him a letter then? Make sure to give him my regards too". At first at thought she was joking but apparently she was serious.

 

Realistically I am way too much of a chicken to send an actual physically fan letter to Yuzuru but uhhhh... just for future reference... does Ice Rink Sendai accept fan letters for Yuzuru?

 

This is a bit embarrassing... 

 

I don’t know about Ice Rink Sendai, but fans used to send letters, etc., to the TCC and they would end up on Brian Orser’s desk in the tiny skating office that he shares with Tracy. That does not appear to be an option at this time since Yuzu has not returned to the TCC. If he does return, I would suggest that it be sent to him c/o Erin d’Eon, Skating Coordinator, The Toronto Cricket, Curling and Skating Club. Alternatively, you could send it as an attachment to an email to Erin d’Eon: [email protected]

 

I don’t see any harm in sending a letter to Yuzu c/o Ice Rink Sendai.

 

I thought that there was an address with the JSF for fan mail. Does anybody know anything about this?

[rockstaryuzu]

1 hour ago, Geo1 said:

thought that there was an address with the JSF for fan mail. Does anybody know anything about this?

I thought so too. My understanding is that they're officially responsible for receiving fan mail for their skaters. 

[fyere0]

On 9/10/2021 at 7:57 PM, hananistellata said:

To be honest I don't like thinking about Beijing because I never know if I should think optimistically or realistically. Either way both scenarios leave a bitter taste in my mouth knowing that if Yuzuru does try for a third Olympic gold he will get SEVERLY underscored and God am I not emotionally stable enough to see that happening for the 2583th time.

 

If this makes anyone feel any better about this God forsaken season, there is a Russian YouTube channel called 'Sport Tarot' which basically does tarot card readings for athletes of different sports. Many of you might not believe in that stuff but I find it pretty intresting and I somewhat believe in it too. The "tarot lady" as some of us call her, has done a reading for Yuzuru. I don't remember too many exact details but all of his cards were pretty good. Meanwhile, another skater's cards... didn't seem so good. Apparently her readings have been scarily accurate in a lot of cases so I'm betting my sanity on this lady right now. 

 

 

I watched this and it was fun! The question was: "who will dominate in the upcoming season, Yuzuru or Nathan?" Then for Yuzu she proceeded to pull: A man on a throne (The Emperor).....a man on a throne (The King of Swords).....and a man on a throne (The King of Wands).  

 

The Emperor: authority, wisdom, expertise, organization, orderly and systematic approach to solving problems

The King of Swords: authority, insight, mental clarity and intellectual power unaffected by emotion, impartiality

The King of Wands: authority, vision, energy, clear long-term goals, decisiveness, enjoying challenges

 

And while she was shuffling, just as she said his name a card with a winged being on it sprang out of the deck: Temperance (balance and harmony in life, balance between masculine and feminine, patience, remaining calm under stress, long-term vision). That one didn't count but I think it should 

 

So, if you believe in tarot.....it sounds as though Boss Yuzu will be enthusiastically tackling a big challenge in a systematic and emotionally balanced fashion, while thinking with a clear head about his long-term goals.  

[sweetwater]

7 hours ago, hananistellata said:

I remember how it was announced that on September 13th we're getting a Yuzuru documentary about Worlds 2021. Do we know any details about it? Do we know when exactly it's gonna air?

It's a new content of FOD (Fuji On-Demand), not a TV program.

The video will be added to this page  at 00:00 tomorrow. (JST)

https://fod.fujitv.co.jp/s/genre/sports/ser1202/
The website is available only in Japan, so you need a VPN and a subscription.

[Melodie]

8 hours ago, fyere0 said:

 

I watched this and it was fun! The question was: "who will dominate in the upcoming season, Yuzuru or Nathan?" Then for Yuzu she proceeded to pull: A man on a throne (The Emperor).....a man on a throne (The King of Swords).....and a man on a throne (The King of Wands).  

 

The Emperor: authority, wisdom, expertise, organization, orderly and systematic approach to solving problems

The King of Swords: authority, insight, mental clarity and intellectual power unaffected by emotion, impartiality

The King of Wands: authority, vision, energy, clear long-term goals, decisiveness, enjoying challenges

 

And while she was shuffling, just as she said his name a card with a winged being on it sprang out of the deck: Temperance (balance and harmony in life, balance between masculine and feminine, patience, remaining calm under stress, long-term vision). That one didn't count but I think it should 

 

So, if you believe in tarot.....it sounds as though Boss Yuzu will be enthusiastically tackling a big challenge in a systematic and emotionally balanced fashion, while thinking with a clear head about his long-term goals.  

Now I'm intrigued! How do I find this Tarot lady and said video? 👀

[Anni]

Maybe a new Yuzu content for us?
Tv Asahi will broadcast a new Figurepedia episode on 17th October, 14 p.m

 

 

DeepL automatic translation

 

Quote

In this issue of Figurepedia we'll be looking at what the athletes have been working on this summer and their enthusiasm for the upcoming season. Let's take a closer look at the profound charm of Figure Skating.

 

 

On 9/10/2021 at 1:50 PM, Henni147 said:

If I got it right, the entries for the Asian Open Trophy must be submitted until today 10th September, 20:00 Beijing time. That means in 10 minutes 

They will probably be announced on the event page within the next few hours. Do you think, a certain someone will go? 

 

 

The US federation was quick and has already announced their skaters for the Finlandia Trophy and Asian Open. Regarding your question I also think, that Yuzu will not participate in a Challenger, maybe Japan Open... (but I don't think so).

 

By the way .... According to the article the quarantine time in Japan is reduced to 10 days for vaccinated people from the end of September

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/133671791c06afffb7d96021766f7cfb696cd9fa

 

[Henni147]

9 hours ago, fyere0 said:

The question was: "who will dominate in the upcoming season, Yuzuru or Nathan?"

 

This is a rhetorical question actually. At the end of the day every show with Yuzuru Hanyu is the show of Yuzuru Hanyu.

As long as Yuzuru Hanyu competes, he will dominate by default. The harder others try to fight it, the more dominating he will be.

[Guest Mary_kyo]

12 hours ago, hananistellata said:

I remember how it was announced that on September 13th we're getting a Yuzuru documentary about Worlds 2021. Do we know any details about it? Do we know when exactly it's gonna air?

More information is here. It's continuation of documentary series on Japan's top skaters for the past season. We already got Yuzu one from JNAT sometime ago.

https://www.fujitv.co.jp/fujitv/news/20210514.html

 

We can access it on 13th from the link below but it's a paid content:

https://fod.fujitv.co.jp/s/genre/sports/ser1202/?_ga=2.192849898.1500281757.1631446517-1705677789.1631446517

 

[Anni]

This is a voting, who is the most representative celebrity in Sendai?

 

 

Yuzu is currently on the 1th place with 41 %.

 

 

Here is the English translation

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsendai-tushin.jp%2F2021%2F09%2F12%2Fpost-198606%2F