General Yuzuru Chat

[mmmrazorz]

Tbh i think yuzu and fanyus are going to be even busier after his retirement. just from these 5 days alone we got so many new contents i even have to neglect my other faves (sergio perez and tom hiddleston lol) just to focus on yuzu. I'm really looking forward to his new era and feeling very optimistic right now. Ganbatte yuzu 🤩

[ImmortalBeloved]

22 minutes ago, lajoitko said:

I really like the overall feeling of this MAD

 

 

This is excellent @lajoitko. Thank you. Made me smile 

[lajoitko]

These little clips of baby Yuzu keeps appearing. Is that Keiji with Yuzu?

 

[NEWS]

[JanMary]

I have a mixed feeling when I see people still think he might practice in ISU's competitive field in the future, when he has made it so clear that he is moving to a new and better stage that he has been dreaming of. And he denied it is "stepping down", like you won't call a pro-tennis player "stepping down" from amateur to go pro. I might be over-sensitive, when people use the word "return", it sounds like he is leaving us to ISU. But to me it's like he finally freed me from ISU, I'm allowed to follow only him. If he's not leaving his fans, why do you use the word "return"? It is a fanyu forum so I dare to write this. What are Yuzu and his skating to you? Really just scores and medals? Under this judging system? 

 

Sorry for ranting, please take your time to think about his words, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna stay with ISU and hoping for his "return". I'm staying with Yuzu. 

[caramelicht]

6 minutes ago, JanMary said:

I have a mixed feeling when I see people still think he might practice in ISU's competitive field in the future, when he has made it so clear that he is moving to a new and better stage that he has been dreaming of. And he denied it is "stepping down", like you won't call a pro-tennis player "stepping down" from amateur to go pro. I might be over-sensitive, when people use the word "return", it sounds like he is leaving us to ISU. But to me it's like he finally freed me from ISU, I'm allowed to follow only him. If he's not leaving his fans, why do you use the word "return"? It is a fanyu forum so I dare to write this. What are Yuzu and his skating to you? Really just scores and medals? Under this judging system? 

 

Sorry for ranting, please take your time to think about his words, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna stay with ISU and hoping for his "return". I'm staying with Yuzu. 

To answer your question, i don't really think he's going to go back, why would he returns to a place that won't appreciate his skating and asking him to leave even if he's working hard to be better.

as you said this new stage is stepping up from the previous one but to call it impossible to return.. i can't say that either as the future is unpredictable. But, if he does return, i think he wouldn't seek the medal and score anymore instead just to "show off" the ideal skating he always love and then back to retire. That's my opinion

 

i'm a baby fanyu who doesn't get a chance to see him compete, i didn't accept that he retire this fast. I was thinking "retire" means i won't see him skate anymore. I become his fan even if he wasn't on podium or making world records, i simply love him and the way his skate. Slowly with all proper translation, i learn that retire doesn't mean that i won't see him less or i won't see his skating anymore.

i feel at ease and instead i love it if it means i can see him skate more and also without rules or boundary, it means his skating can be way more and more. That's my answer for what he and his skating for me. i could write longer for this, but let's sum it to i love him and his skating not because of score or medal.

 

 

[yuzuonice]

6 hours ago, EisElle said:

I mean a further subfolder.

currently the subforlder is just "2022 media appearances", and is gonna have every non-competition non-summericeshows media appearance form January to december 2022.

but IMO there could be a dedicated "media appearances about Yuzuru announcing to go pro-athlete" subfoder too. I don't see such a folder yet? Am I missing somehting? I'm working on little sleeep here XD

yeah, a second subfolder I think is a good idea too. @yuzuangel could you please make one? I don't think I have the mod rights to do that  

 

As for compilations, we already have these categories for Translations and Compilations, so I'd suggest if we make a new thread for Yuzuru's Statement of Determination, we make it in here:

https://planethanyu.com/forum/33-compilations/ 

https://planethanyu.com/forum/32-translations/ 

 

I also really think we should help @kaeryth to continue the following video thread
[Video][Compilation] Documentaries and Miscellaneous Media (2019 - )

 

It stopped being updated in April 2021. There's lots of stuff we've missed since then, so if there are any volunteers that could chip in, I created this google spreadsheet following Kaeryth's design that we can all fill up with whatever else we can find.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JKSc0ZePs4ZimU78R9sAC3SKVYzSY0RZnpXItQRaTac/edit?usp=sharing

 

Just some suggestions where to look: 

 

https://axelwithwings.com/

https://twitter.com/__pino_____

Sarah Sohma's YT Channel

Sarah Sohma's Twitter account

Planet Hanyu's Updates Thread

 

...I'm sure there's more. I know it looks pretty daunting, we'd probably need a separate message group to organize ourselves better, and so we don't spam this General Yuzu Chat that much! xD I suggest that everyone interested in helping out LIKES THIS POST and I'll make a private group chat for organizational purposes!

 

I definitely think it's necessary that we do this, and help Planet Hanyu become even better archive of EVERYTHING Yuzu that people can use as their go-to source in the future 

 

[Perelandra]

When Yuzu revealed during interview that Old Man Pooh san had had to be left behind in Canada, this fanartist was super quick to produce a touching little cartoon.

Wishing Satellites good cheer today, hope this lovely drawing helps to heal your heart

 

[Melodie]

Anyone into chess here? I myself just know a thing or two about it so this came to me as a surprise, but Magnus Carlsen also announced he would be skipping the WC, around the same time Yuzu announced he would be moving on from competitive skating. The reason? Both of them are not that motivated anymore. They both would still be heavily involved in their respective sports tho, in different ways. 

 

It's interesting how another chess player, Ding Liren, was the one who pointed out the similarities between these two champions. The one thing Ding does not point out/know, is that FIDE still wants Magnus while ISU doesn't want Yuzu anymore. 

https://www.chess.com/news/view/magnus-carlsen-not-to-defend-chess-world-title

[Fita]

Hello everyone!

It is weird to be a new fan in this kind of situation....but here I am lol. I have been lurking for some time and I thought I would be fine not to join a fandom, but lately there are just sooooo maaanyyyy things i want to say about and idk where to...explode. I truly, really, need to expode  So here I am, yoroshiku~
I'll put my great wall of texts in spoilers so it won't be too crowded, hehe

(My first impression about Hanyu, lol, I start exploding from here. )

Spoiler

First time I knew Hanyu was around Beijing, there was influx of his photos on my feed. It was rare because I blocked and muted almost all Japanese/Korean male idols. All I knew was, he is an athlete, he has something to do in Olympic Beijing, and that something is 'failed' yet ppl still adore him. But he is so...small! His face, his stature, his arms, his waist! It is not like what I had in my mind about 'athlete'. What kind of sport he did? His waist haunted me for several weeks before I gave up and search about him on youtube.

 

The first program I watched, I think, Chopin from PC 2018. I didn't know what 'program' is. I didn't know what kind of sport is this. Once I clicked on what seems 'from official source' (even until now I avoid fans' made compilation of cute videos because I feel it is a lil bit disrespecful to see a proper athlete in that way), I was blown away.... it is beautiful. My knowledge about classical art (music/dance) is limited, but I was so annoyed that ppl cheers loudly and clapping after certain things. I didn't know about the sport, 'kay, let alone what jump is this and that. I just thought they were part of choreography, and that was beautiful dancing, like a contemporary ballet on ice. At certain parts (later i know as, 'hop', i guess), it reminded me to winter fairies of Nutcracker ballet when they were hopping frantically on the ice. And the costume is light blue, too. (listening to Chopin and being reminded to Tchaikovsky, you see how uncultured I am. I just watched too many Barbies when I was young).

 

It was so mesmerizing, I remember when I was pulled back to reality by hearing a score being announced. It has score? Oh yes, i am searching about an athlete before, of course there will be score. But what score, how did they put numbers on something like this?

 

I think Seimei is something I watched after that. I remember that I was surprised with the Japanese nuance. I didn't know Onmyouji, but I follow(ed) some mangas and animes so I at least know what kariginu and its color is. And the taiko drum. Goosebumps all over my body. I was fervently watch his programs after that... but it was kind of in random order and didn't particularly pay attention to what year. I watched the popular ones and ofc they were the cleanest ones. And Hanyu did his jumps so effortlessly. So honestly it didn't yet clicked on me, what kind of sport is this. I rermember I was slightly annoyed at how it seems to be repetitive, that the they have the exact amount of jumps, and after three jumps there are spins, i didn't know the rules yet! It took time to realized that ppl clapping after a jump is done, and those jumps are part of the scores. Let alone to realize that jumps are difficult and it took extra energy to land it. 

 

I watched a lot, but it was in a manner of binge-watching short movies from the same producer - I didn't pay attention to the year, I didn't dig up the actor/actress beyond what s/he give on the performance.

 

The moment of 'I want to know him more, outside of his performance' is World 2012. He was obviously younger and had less experience, but explosive. It truly reminded me to young Japanese idol girls who I adored years ago. Kids are like open book, you just can see clearly what they think and what they want, and they were unabashedly show what they can do on stage in front of adults, they laughed heartily, and they cried when they felt emotional. Adult idols can't replicate that, no matter how strong the kawaii/innocent culture in Japan. The young Hanyu in Nice reminded me for that, and another thing clicked in me: how expressive/confident Hanyu is. I took it for granted before because he looks 'professional' on ice (like, he is being expressive because of work and he would be a normal shy, timid Japanese man off-stage. I didn't yet watch many KnC that time, i didn't even know the term yet), but turned out it was not true! Being expressive is like his nature, and that he would be just that expressive, on and off the stage/ice.

 

But then another question rise in my mind, for someone who is not a kid anymore (yes, Hanyu was around 17 that time? The idol group I followed, they were all innocent until around 13-15 y.o they were slowly became adult) and with such expressiveness (should I say 'cockiness'? lol Hanyu you were so cute), would not he be bullied in school? In his sport? Like, would he get hammered down because his unabashedly confidence sticking out from normal Japanese men? And he was so young, what his seniors would say about him?

 

I really wanted to know, but ofc it was not easy to find young Hanyu off ice when he was young. I remember watch a boring (?) video of, maybe gala practice, and there were maybe Hanyu, Takahashi, and Asada (maybe Asada, I couldn't recognize her well, but it was female at least)... and yes Hanyu looked lonely af but I took that as normal because the other two looked more senior to me.

 

But then, because I kept searching for young Hanyu, I found that short clip of Japan National 2013? when Hanyu got gold medal for his first time.....but he looked so hurt, scared and dejected. As if he was scared to face the audiences, and kept looking down while fighting for tears. The comments were accusing the audience for booing Hanyu, and that the TV station terribly cut Hanyu's medaling scene because it was the time they booed him. A young kid's first gold medal! They just booed him! And they just cut it, because they want to save their face!

 

But some comments said that it was all lies, that there was no booing on stage. I was perplexed how such National-level event just, poof, disappear without any track of which is truth and which is lie.

 

So I googled, and googled... I didn't find desired answer. But I landed on GoldenSkate Fanfest! Because I was like, desperately need answer, I read the whole 2013 season, in which I couldn't find the answer because they didn't talk about that... but i was hooked with their discussion about this young man and I stayed to read more about him.

 

SO I READ ALL SEASONS OF HANYU'S FANFEST IN GS. Please praise me! 

 

So yes, tl;dr: I read all the Hanyu fanfest in GS (except for some off-season). And so, first of all, I have to say thank you for everyone who built this Planet and make this comfortably habitable! And thank you for pouring all loves to Hanyu, and defending him all these times! I only know him for, like, a few months, but damn it what an emotional ride to read parts of his senior career capsulated in fanfest threads. 
I even have some difficulty focusing in works around the Boston 2016 and pre-PC 2018 (eventho I know well Hanyu is still alive and kicking 4A in 2022). I couldn't imagine what fans that follow him competition to competitions had to go through! You guys are so....strong, and loyal.

 

(second explosion, about the previous seasons i know through GS, pls forgive me)

Spoiler

Gosh in 2012 it was such a small community, by the next time it was getting bigger (because of Nice 2012) but Hanyu is getting thinner and easily sick. It is just worrying. There was a poster (username= let's talk) who actively posted in the thread but turned out he was Takahashi's fan? I kinda resent him/her because, maayyyybe s/he was the reason why noone talked about the probability of Hanyu being booed at JNats 2013. Like, y'know, hiding the evidence, and not sharing some info? Gosh how petty I am, i just need a truth goddamnit  That poster also talk negatively about Hanyu's decision to train in Toronto. I didn't remember something interesting in later season, even around the Sochi moment, but I think around that time ppl start to accept Hanyu's training in Toronto.

 

And then CoC 2014...Because I knew something horrible would happen (the collision is like one of the top Youtube search even if you just typed 'Yuzuru Hanyu') and seeing fans being hopeful before competition made me....giggled, with irony. Ofc fans would get panic and anxious nearing the competition, but a poster said, "it is just a competition, what bad thing could happened there?" (paraphrased bcs no way I would dig it up lol), and then BAM collision. The information about his injuries, and his abdominal surgery, was scarce, I really wished that one day they know that he is cherished by ppl around the world too and would provide us with easy-obtained english information...because honestly it feels like how I was following my japanese young idols and singers - heavily relying to fan translator. 

 

The fanbase is getting bigger especially around GPF2015, and everybody was so cheerful and elated. Chopin is really beautiful, and Seimei is groundbreaking. And 330-ish score! Confetti was thrown here and there until.... Boston 2016. LOL. This time I genuinely shocked and in grief along with the fans on the thread because, unlike CoC 2014 when I knew beforehand that something bad gonna happened, I didn't know shit that entailed Boston. Hm, the ability of Japanese athletes to hide their injuries does frighten me, like, 'do I want to invest my heart for someone as secretive as this', lol.

 

And then - Prince! Let's Go Crazy! I myself didn't really like watching it because, while I am impressed with the speed of his skating, the music...is it just me or it has too much noise, like everything is fuzzy and hazy. But gosh, the thread! Invisible talks! PPoS!  lol you guys are so funny. And the Combo of Doom of Hope and Legacy also makes interesting talks, and the marriage-with-what-part-of-Yuzu too. But then... yeah. I just read the fanfest (idk i couldn't open the archived competition thread, maybe it is the best for my heart), so idk the situation outside the thread, and was surprised how many hates a Hanyu fan would receive outside its fanfest thread. I have to say thank you for everyone who made the amazingly informative breakdown of Hope and Legacy video, and feeling sorry for the hate it receives :"(( Honestly up until now I couldn't understand why Hanyu and his fans would get so much hate. And maybe i would never able to understand it, seeing the recent news.....

 

Anw with that suddent event, posters in fanfest GS were declining slowly. Around PC 2018 season it was still fine, there were discussion about what program he will bring (nobody suspect 2 recycled program, lol). I knew beforehand that he was injured going to PC, but i didn't know it was in such extend that he skipped all competitions from NHK. And it was in 'scary' manner? I meant, at first they were hopeful they could be ready for National, but later Hanyu skipped it. Turned out he only had several weeks to be ready into PC and that was under painkiller, what the--

 

Andd the seasons after that, the GS threads were much quieter. Maybe because Hanyu competed less too, in a season, but it is clearly less hype than seasons pre-PC. There were talks about how underscored is he, but again, it felt so fast reading one season thread because there were less discussion. I still followed the Origin/Otonal season, I mean, reading the thread and then watch the related competition, but after that...... Stockholm, right? I still watched LMEY, and boy it was amazing woohoo, but he was robbed there, right? And then Ten to Chi to, he got asthma attack before/after the competition. Dear me..... It is painful to watch the snippets alone, so I didn't watch the performance. I am a coward  

 

After that, i read the threads in daze, didn't watch the competitions afterward. From photos that was there, I felt like Hanyu lost his child-like charm to be happy. I know he is excceptionally smart, he read numbers and data well, and well, yeah. Ah, it hurts just to write thisssss, and I am bad at reading data, can't imagine how hard it is for Hanyu. He must know he was underscored, but couldn't say it out loud. Only his joy dropped significantly,... IMO (and if my memory serves me right) Hanyu was still tad bit excited around Origin/Otonal, like "if I add this jump, would my score rise?" kind of excitement. Yep, my opinion based on reading the threads only. The comments on Youtube in those competitions also talked a lot about underscoring, and so... i ended up didn't watch. And that includes the Beijing Olympic vids. Yes I am a cowarddd  I'm sorry

 

Anyway I am also reading this General Thread from the start! Just started recently, right after finishing the GS threads. You guys talks a lot! 1000 first pages is in off-season! I am now at 1400ish page, somewhere beetwen ACI when Hanyu bombed his FP after world record SP (and honorary mention, I am touched with Hydroblade's swans!) and CoR. I was ready to have a good ride coming to PC in this thread..... until Hanyu's announcement. 

 

Honestly, I intended to just lurk until i finished reading all these 7300ish page of this thread (and see if I still have the power and desire to be his fan, lol), but now that Hanyu had announced his decision... a part in me want to explode. I went binge-liking all posts (that I like, ofc)about his announcement in Twitter, something I never had done before (because I didn't want too much Hanyu in my feed lol, but now, my desire to support him is much bigger than that).

________________

 

At first, I was happy. I didn't catch it on time because I was battling with deadline at work that time, and when I was able to sit down and stomach things, the short translation were already there, and he sounded positive. Maybe because I only know him for a short time, so for me, as long as he still have positive view about things and not succumbed into too much depression after what they had done to him in this past few years, I am happy and didn't ask for anything more. Photos of Hanyu in Beijing, compare to Hanyu in FaoI, you can see in FaoI Hanyu shines much brighter, and I believe this is the best for him. I even feel relieved because he didn't have to go to cycle of "practice hard -> go into competition -> underscored -> practice even harder" anymore. Of course I had a little pang in my heart, like "Imagine what he could get if he stay in the competition for a little bit more. 4A with + GOE? Competition against Malinin?" but it was just a small dot, the happiness and relieved feeling is much more bigger than that.

 

Skaters and english media's words toward his decision are also beautiful, at least those that I read, and I don't read much media's coverage... But they are a lot, right? Unusually a lot, for a Japanese athlete. The skaters words are also sweet, I like Shibutanis' tribute the most, they dig Hanyu's old stuffs and I am touched with that.

 

I remember the first time I want to cry because of negative feeling is--

Spoiler

--when I watch Fernandez' video. Like, what..............everything on my screen was sakura and confetti until I read the translation of his speech. How could he set a camera on his face, set a speech to be spread around the world, and didn't do a simple fact-check first? It is basic manner of commenting in internet! Ask Google? Ask a friend? Search on twitter?? No media (that I read) and no skaters, mention the reason of Hanyu's going pro. Maybe they watch Hanyu's presscon, or maybe not.

If they watch Hanyu's presscon, they were kind enough not to write 'Hanyu is going pro because his heart is nearing empty' (or maybe they are saving themselves, for writing that equivalent of acknowledge that there is mistreatment from ISU/JSF to Hany, altho it is obvious from the score, lol).

If they didn't watch Hanyu's presscon, they were kind enough not to speculate things and just write good things about him to say goodbye. And what Fernandez did? Dear me, I was so soft before that, even Chen and Malinin wrote beautiful words, and then, sigh, that Spaniard............

 

I think right after that, I read more and more translation (and some of that fast-translation, or snippets) of Hanyu's coverage, and whoa, the tea spilled here and there, and i feel even more......sad. It feels like being punched in my gut. Yes I am proud of Hanyu to finally put his feeling into words and share it with the world, and I wish him to speak more and more! Spell their names, if needed! But truth does hurt, more because it is Hanyu himself who voiced it. Maybe because I only know him for a short time, and all I know are only fans who voicing the unfair judgement. Noone official stop this, nothing was done to stop the unfairness. So, once Hanyu himself spilled the teas.... it finally feels 'real' to me.

 

Ah, he is truly mistreated. He truly saw his score. He was truly hurt. And how many years he bottled his feelings? How many times he felt 'let me practice this, if I do this, my score may rise' before being dejected and crushed? And now he is spilling things calmly and dignifiedly (?), after 'crying without reason, unable to eat, heart nearing empty', not pointing names and accusing others - how steep his road is, how big his heart is? And after all these mistreatment, he still has competitive spirit in his words. If only there was some kind of attempt from those official to be more fair in judging, would Hanyu stay a little bit more in competition? Would it ease his heartache?

And hmm maybe it is just me, but somehow I became cynical with those english medias. Are they saying good things about Hanyu, to 'bribe' him not to spill any tea? To calm/elate the fans so they won't voice loudly whatever Hanyu gonna spill later? IOC even gave statement that 'Hanyu is the true Olympic Champion', and I was happy with that before, but now.... could they do something before this mess happened? Don't they have enough power to enforce fair judging to ISU? Ah, maybe I stay in twitter too much, that my salinity goes rocketing  

 

I know Hanyu talked all these in calm manner so that his fans won't get too distressed, but still, maybe because I am still new, I thought too much and worry too much. Also because, unlike the damned hole in Beijing 2022 that is part of fate, unfair judging and underscoring is something preventable, if only they had a bit of dignity in how they live their life. So I couldn't help but thinking 'what if' many times....

 

OKAY i finished exploding. Thank you for coming to my TED talk! And I am sorry for writing too much here, i don't have friend 

_________

44 minutes ago, JanMary said:

I have a mixed feeling when I see people still think he might practice in ISU's competitive field in the future, when he has made it so clear that he is moving to a new and better stage that he has been dreaming of.

 

 I am still a baby and take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I interpret the same way as yours, that Hanyu won't go back to ISU. (Maybe later if he can properly tame his own style's 4A well, he will show it off to ISU competition just to have fun, swag a little, and say goodbye for real. Hanyu loves showing off, lol).

But maybe, because Hanyu seems to be still in competitive spirits, based on how he brought himself in interviews, ppl may interpret it as 'would go back to ISU competition'. Because tbh I still have hard time imagining how is Hanyu going to be 'always on competitive spirit' if it is on regular ice shows. Whom he will be compete with? I don't know anyone who is as unabashedly competitive as Hanyu, especially those who are already retired. (it is not like I follow know any skater beside Hanyu)

But Hanyu seems to have his own idea about how to bring his competitive spirit in shows, it is just not concrete yet. I just hope it can grow into realization properly as what Hanyu envisioned!

 

34 minutes ago, yuzuonice said:

yeah, a second subfolder I think is a good idea too. @yuzuangel could you please make one? I don't think I have the mod rights to do that  

 

As for compilations, we already have these categories for Translations and Compilations, so I'd suggest if we make a new thread for Yuzuru's Statement of Determination, we make it in here:

https://planethanyu.com/forum/33-compilations/ 

https://planethanyu.com/forum/32-translations/ 

 

I also really think we should help @kaeryth to continue the following video thread
[Video][Compilation] Documentaries and Miscellaneous Media (2019 - )

 

It stopped being updated in April 2021. There's lots of stuff we've missed since then, so if there are any volunteers that could chip in, I created this google spreadsheet following Kaeryth's design that we can all fill up with whatever else we can find.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JKSc0ZePs4ZimU78R9sAC3SKVYzSY0RZnpXItQRaTac/edit?usp=sharing

 

Just some suggestions where to look: 

 

https://axelwithwings.com/

https://twitter.com/__pino_____

Sarah Sohma's YT Channel

Sarah Sohma's Twitter account

Planet Hanyu's Updates Thread

 

...I'm sure there's more. I know it looks pretty daunting, we'd probably need a separate message group to organize ourselves better, and so we don't spam this General Yuzu Chat that much! xD I suggest that everyone interested in helping out LIKES THIS POST and I'll make a private group chat for organizational purposes!

 

I definitely think it's necessary that we do this, and help Planet Hanyu become even better archive of EVERYTHING Yuzu that people can use as their go-to source in the future 

 

If you don't mind a baby helping, I would like to help! There may be more ppl who fell to Hanyu the Professional Athlete in the future 

[LiaRy]

@Fita Your dedication is astounding. I became a fan of Yuzu's shortly before the Beijing Team Event happened, so I had about a week to cram as much info as possible about Yuzu into my mind. I tried later on to read the general thread from start to finish, I couldn't do it, waaay too much stuff and too many feelings. You have my admiration!

 

It's amazing how many new fans Yuzu attracts and the fact that he has chosen to become pro and people who now discover him don't say "Oh, then it's not worth following him anymore", but they are curious to see with what Yuzu comes up next - that speaks volumes about the kind of presence he has on and off the ice. To me it's impressive the impact he has on people like you who had no idea of what the sport is about prior to seeing Yuzu.

 

I don't remember who posted, but there was a tweet from a Chinese Fanyu that said something like "We can now all say (old and new fans) that we have known Yuzu from the beginning" - meaning that his pro athlete career is just starting and that's a new start for us, too.

[Ulrinis]

On 7/2/2022 at 8:22 PM, birnasan said:

Continuation of the Yuzu-Javi interview in the FaOI Shizuoka pamphlet, automatically translated with deepL. The first two questions are the same as in the Kobe pamphlet, the rest is new. I have enjoyed this interview very much. 

As always, I don‘t speak Japanese and this is not a proper translation.

 

! Do not repost outside of Planethanyu !

 

  Hide contents

YUZURU HANYU & JAVIER FERNANDEZ

 

 

Fantasy on Ice has not been held for the last two years due to the spread of the new coronavirus. This time, there were already three stages, starting with the Makuhari shows from 27 May, and Shizuoka will be the final venue for the event. The two of them have been thrilling audiences with their wonderful performances at this year's shows. We spoke to Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernandez, who have participated in previous Fantasy shows as main performers and have been inspiring each other to work hard since the summer of 2012, when they became teammates as athletes, about the attraction and difficulties of ice shows.

 

Q: It's been three years since Fantasy on Ice. You have already finished the shows in Makuhari, what was your impression of the start of this show?

 

Hanyu: Fantasy on Ice is a long tour, from the first performance to the last day, but this time, from the very beginning, I could feel the enthusiasm of the audience, to the point where I was like, "Is this the last day already?". So I was happy about that. It wasn't just about my performance or everyone else's, it was more about the feeling of togetherness that only Fantasy on Ice can bring, and I felt that in the connection with the audience.

 

Fernandez (hereafter Javi): I agree with what Yuzuru said, the energy coming from the other skaters and the audience was amazing. Also, I thought there was a lot more excitement in the air than usual, because we haven't had a chance to skate in front of an audience for a long time and we haven't had Fantasy on Ice for a long time. And I think for a lot of skaters, it's also challenging in a way. I hadn't skated like this for almost three years, so it's taken me a while to get back into it and of course I'm tired. But I think it was a good experience and a good comeback.

 

Hanyu: I heard that the corona situation in Spain was very tough and difficult, how was your life, Javi?

 

Javi: The situation in Spain was not good for a long time, so I couldn't skate as much as I wanted to, and we had to do a lot of things to fight infection... I had to deal with many complicated things in my daily life and in my practice sessions, so it was really difficult. But I am very happy and excited that life is gradually returning to normal. I feel like I finally have my life and what I used to do back.

 

Q: Having experienced such a situation, I'm sure you were both really looking forward to Fantasy on Ice for the first time in three years, but I would like to ask you about your thoughts on ice shows. How did you both feel the difference from competitions when you performed in ice shows for the first time, not only in this Fantasy? How have your impressions changed as you have gained experience, and how do you feel this has led to your personal improvement?

 

Hanyu: To be honest, I liked ice shows more than competitions from the beginning, and I was very happy that people would watch me. So when I skated in this spotlight for the first time, my memories of having fun are more intense than my feelings of nervousness.

However, as I gain more and more experience, I realize that I have to give a good performance, or if it's a collaboration, I have to make sure it's perfect. In that sense, I think I don't enjoy it as much as I used to. But that has also led to good performances. I don't skate just for fun and for myself, but I also need to connect with the audience and skate with responsibility for what I want to express. Now I feel that I can skate with a strong sense of responsibility as a skater in an ice show.

 

Q: Are those feelings, techniques and expressions transferable into competitions?

 

Hanyu: Of course they are. But the tension during a competition is quite different from the tension during an ice show. Of course, there are limitations, such as the small size of the rink, but more important is how to communicate to the audience. In a competition, the main thing is communicating to the judges, so there is a big difference. So, it is important for me to convey my feelings in all directions, 360 degrees at the same time. Of course, in the past, I didn't think to that extent (laughs).

 

Javi: I don't remember my first ice show. My first ice show was probably a small show in Spain, because the kids in the skating clubs are still doing small shows now. But to add to what Yuzuru just said, I was really looking forward to it because the show has a different atmosphere from the competition. There are special effects like the lighting, so I think it's great to be able to enjoy that.

However, the lights always flicker in a show, so I had to get used to that and there were many things I had to learn. But I think it's a great experience for all skaters to perform in a show. Everyone wants to be seen by a large audience. We want people from all over the world to see us and fall in love with figure skating.

 

Hanyu: Also, in an ice show, you have to show your uniqueness, something that only you can skate, something that will delight the audience because you are the one who skates it. I think ice shows require a lot of that. I think I have learnt that through ice shows, what do you think, Javi?

 

Javi: I think the best thing about ice shows is that we can be playful and do what we want to do. For example, we can try different things that we wouldn't normally do, such as the style of the music or the program we choose. On top of that, there is no need to do very difficult technical things. We don't have to complicate the steps, we don't have to put in a lot of spins, we can be really open and focus on 'entertaining the audience'.

And then, with the music too, we can choose songs that we want to skate to, or that we think will be really exciting for us to perform. Of course, a show is meant to be for the audience and spectators, but it can also be 'useful for us'.

 

Q: Hanyu, you have said before that you "push yourself very hard in practice" in preparation for such ice shows, but is there a difference in the way you push yourself for the competitions, or is it more mental, like pushing your mind or raising your spirits?

 

Hanyu: This time, for this Fantasy, I have been practising very hard, and I have actually lost about three kilograms of weight, and I think I have gained a lot of fitness. But when I'm practising... if I'm practising for a normal competition, I always do the same pattern, like I said earlier, "I think about how I'm going to present myself to the judges". I focus on the same direction in front of me.

But when I was practicing for this Fantasy, I was also thinking about what it would really look from the back side. Then I thought, "Am I really expressing this properly?", I thought about it. It's obvious that it's expressive when you look at it from the front, but I was thinking about how it would look when you look at it from the back. I gave a lot of thought to whether the silhouette was beautiful or not. In that sense, I think it is necessary for an ice show to practice each and every aspect in detail, so it takes a lot of time.

In addition, of course, it is meaningless if I don't jump well, so I am practising how accurately I can perform my jumps, which I learned at the competitions, while also working on small details, such as jumping from the opposite position.

 

Javi: We were talking about a training program to prepare for shows, weren't we?

 

Hanyu: Yes.

 

Javi: Yuzuru is the type of person who prepares very carefully for both competitions and ice shows (laughs). I'm not like that, but in a show, you are closer to the audience than in a competition, and you perform right in front of them. The good aspect of this is that you can sell your character and yourself to the audience, or rather, they can really connect with you. But the negative aspect is that you are right in front of the audience, so you can see their reactions. If the audience's reaction is not so good, I get very scared (laughs). In a competition or an ice show, I just give it my all, but it's different in that way, so it is both fun and scary, which is something that is unique to ice shows.

 

We have now all FaOI 2022 pamphlet interviews on the Planet, at least as deepL translations.

 

(Again, please don‘t post any Javi negativity as a direct response to my post. Thank you.)

[NEWS]

 

 

Sorry in case similar thoughts have already been discussed meanwhile. Having been away for a few weeks I’m catching up  browsing through 100 (or so) pages. Reading this from today’s perspective, could we have guessed? Yuzu asked Javier how life changed, becoming a professional skater. And he admitted that he had liked shows more than competitions which I personally wouldn’t have believed. I always thought Yuzu loved competing.

[Anni]

The 2nd International consumer products expo in China starts on 26th July 

 

Here also a article about it (English)
https://english.news.cn/20220720/b0a467de1cea4be5817cc5856c1b582d/c.html

From Citizen WeChat 

Composer Yasunobu Matsuo of
"Requiem of Heaven and Earth"♪posted this picture with Yuzu's signature from 2015

[NEWS]

[SummerMemories]

7 hours ago, meowmeownyan said:

a coach will also need to play by ISU rules with politicking. I don’t see him doing that and my heart want him to be as far away from ISU as possible. They don’t deserve him even spending 1 second on them.

 

So in another interview (sorry I forgot which .... as I watched too many LOL), he did mentioned that he is willing to teach new skaters who are passion about FS, offering his advice to contribute to their success, but he is not going to train anyone to become another Yuzuru Hanyu (and of course no one can beat him or even approach his honor!!). 

 

My understanding is, given how much Yuzu love FS, he would be more than willing to offer his advice and experience to anyone who asks for, maybe even without any charges, but he is not going to be a "real coach" whose goal is to have their students stand on the podium. I mean, whoever want to stands on the podium probably will eliminate Yuzu as an option as well LOL

[YuzuSkating_IsTheTruth]

9 hours ago, EisElle said:

Would it be possible to have a thread only compiling the news from this week? Even just as a copy-paste of the related section in the News&Updates thread.

When we had Media Day, there was a dedicated thread where people coul go and read the discussion.

I second this. Yuzu's announcement to the pro stage is a major milestone in his skating life, together with the flurry of media contents that follow warrant a new thread for easy reading. 

[YuzuSkating_IsTheTruth]

@Fita, welcome to the planet! I'm amazed at your commitment to reading all the posts on the General Chat thread. I admit I have to skip many of them, especially the ones before I joined the planet. I take my hats off to you! Enjoy your stay here.