[Video] 2017/10/16 TV Asahi Interview w/S. Matsuoka

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Is this program Hodo Stn? Has Ichiro Furutachi retired???? Anywho, here's a rush-job translation of Matsuoka's latest interview with him. I'm not used to churning out things like this quickly so the work is rather...shoddy...at best. Still, the gist should be intact. ^^  Will probably be editing it from time to time until I'm happy with it. Anyway, here's the guy dishing out a large serving of awe. As usual. There's also a summarized version by @kaerb here.

 

And I dunno about you all but I'm really getting some full-blown War Boy!Witness Me vibes from the dude. >.<

 

 

2017/10/16 TV Asahi Interview w/S. Matsuoka

 

Video credit belongs to YzRIKO

 

引用

Narration (Not Matsuoka):

Going into this Olympic season, let’s hear from the man himself what his resolve is!

 

Hanyu:

I aim to dominate utterly.

 

Other dude:

And here we’ll let Matsuoka take over the reins. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

 

Matsuoka:

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. The week has arrived where the GPS is finally upon us, with the opening competition being the Cup of Russia and Yuzuru making an exalted appearance right off the bat.

 

OD:

Wow, that’s exciting!

 

M:

This Olympic season is one where we see Yuzuru attempt to defend his title to pick up his second consecutive gold. If we look back on the last one, we’ll see that although he took home the gold, the perfect performance he so badly wanted ultimately eluded him. Which, in turn, fuels his resolve to “dominate utterly” this time.

 

-Interview starts-

 

Narration (Matsuoka):

Nestled in Kobe, in the prefecture of Hyogo, is a shrine called Yuzuruha.

 

Shrine maiden:

(Rites shall be performed now.) Please lower your head.

 

N (M):

This being his second Olympics, he graces us with words full of resolute unlike any we've ever heard before.  

 

H:

I aim to dominate utterly. (x2)

 

M:

……………………………..

 

N (M):

The impact of his resolve was first felt in the delivery of his SP in his very first competition of this season, the Autumn Classic International.

 

-ACI 2017 SP flashback starts-

 

Arakawa:

The 4S. What lovely height and distance.

 

Other commentator dude:

A jump perfectly executed.

 

OCD:

He’s said that the second half of both his SP and FS here are loaded at the maximum capacity (he's able to deliver).

 

A:

And here’s his (signature) counter into the 3A. Beautiful height and flow.

 

A:

4T+3T with a Rippon for those extra GOEs we can never have too much of.

 

OCD:

That’s a combo in the second half, and a bee-yoo-tee-fully executed one at that!

 

A:

He’s maintaining such tight positions while holding exquisite balance.

 

OCD:

Ab-soo-lee-yewtly stunning!!!

Just look at him go, “Hmph. Not bad for a first showing.” That's what his face is telling us.

 

-ACI 2017 SP flashback ends-

 

N (M):

Despite this being the time of the  season when skaters only begin to build up momentum, Hanyu throws down the gauntlet with a brand new WR!

 

M:

So in your head, what you’re looking at is an indomitable victory.

 

H:

Yeah.

 

M:

What exactly does this “indomitable victory” look like to you?

 

H:

Everyone going out there and putting out their best skates and then I do mine and win by a mile and a half.

 

M:

*gawp*

 

H:

I have to tell myself that I’m able to win no matter what others say, and in whatever possible scenario that might unfold, or I wouldn’t be able to accept myself as a sportsperson. 

 

The nearest I’ve ever come to that scenario (I just said) in competition was at the GPF back in 2015. In that competition, almost everyone presented clean skates--I mean, that may not be the case if you factored in the SP as well--but everyone was pretty much in top form and were all able to put out their best skates. And then I went out there and presented what I did and won by a huge margin. What happened that night is basically my ideal scenario.

 

N (M):

The ideal victory that Hanyu has in mind is the GPF two years ago...

 

Commentator:

HE DID IT! YUZURU HANYU HAS BEEN SURPASSED BY NONE OTHER THAN YUZURU HANYU HIMSELF!!!!

 

N (M):

In that competition, he was able to set a new WR in both SP and FS...

 

...in a never-seen-before high-level competition, a night where he saw many of his rivals renewing their personal bests.

 

And now, two years later...

 

Here’s the choreographer Jeff Buttle, an Olympic medalist himself, in the midst of a choreography session with Hanyu.

 

The programs that Hanyu has chosen to use in his quest to quell the competition at the Olympics are very special ones indeed.

 

For his SP, he’s decided to go back to Chopin’s Ballade No. 1...

 

...and for his FS, SEIMEI.

 

Both are programs that earned him his (currently still standing) WRs two years back.

 

Reusing back-to-back programs this way is an exceedingly rare practice.

 

(In choosing to repeat his programs), Hanyu has chosen to go down the thorny path of having to exceed himself with music that might be seen as stale.

 

M:

On behalf of the Japanese people as well as everyone else around the world, let me ask you this:

You’ve chosen to reuse both your programs from your rather glorious 2015/16 season.

 

H:

Uh-huh.

 

M:

“But...but why????!!!” is basically what everyone’s thinking.

 

H:

Well, SEIMEI, to me, was a lock from the get-go. I already knew that this was the program (I wanted to show the world) at the Olympics right after GPF15, which we were only just talking about. So I'm simply sticking to the plan, really.

 

M:

I’m going to have to beg to differ. I mean, you’ve already performed it to perfection and wrung out all the WRs you could have from it, and with all that you’ve suffered for it and the tears you’ve shed over it, I can’t help but to think if revisiting it is really such a good idea...

 

H:

Aw, really? Because to me, with the skills I have now, I’m pretty certain I’ll be able to put out something even better than what I did before. I’ve thought long and hard since about the things I could still do like the various expressions, interpretations, and the many different kinds of elements as well as ways to deal with things. Adding the fact that I would most certainly improve, I knew even back then that what I wanted was to be able to use everything I have and show all that I am on the Olympic stage in the form of something that’s even more complete than before.

 

N (M):

Pursuing evolution on all fronts from the technical to the expressive just to lay bare to the world the best of himself at the Olympics. Come to think of it, when Hanyu won his first gold at the previous one, it was with a performance that’s been eating at him ever since.

 

M:

And what’s the image of the Olympics that you have now in your head? So much has changed since the last one, what do you think of it now?

 

H:

It’s without a doubt still a competition that stands out far above the rest, of that I’m very much aware. It’s a very special competition of which I’m going into as a title defender and I really do want that second gold medal very badly, and I also know very well that I’ve only got one shot at this. So yeah, the pressure is immense.

 

M:

Could you elaborate a bit the part about only having a single shot?

 

H:

When I won that gold back in Sochi, I wanted really badly to do it over. If I could (go back in time), I would do everything in my power to present the best skates I could and win with those. But I could never go back.

 

What I could do, though, was aim for the same title a second time. That’s an incredible opportunity, and if I don’t use it to show the world everything I've got, when else am I going to be able to do it? It’s with all this in mind that I chose this song again and went through all the training I did (for it).

 

-Interview ends-

 

Everyone:

*shook*

 

OD:

That was...way too powerful for words.

 

M:

This vibe right now is almost exactly what it felt like when I was in that room with him. He was in full-on Olympic mode. In this line of work, I’ve interviewed and met more than my fair share of World Champions and top athletes and each and everyone of them has a clear idea on how they want to win. But coming right out and saying that you want to utterly dominate is really something else. I mean, people think it, sure, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’d have the guts to simply declare it out loud like that. So for me, it’s like a battle of nerves. Yuzuru has already spoken his mind so it’s up to me how to take it and how to convey it. It’s always a losing battle to not feel overwhelmed by his appeal and intensity.  

 

OD:

Just watching him like this, instead of simply listening to him like you said, you kind of get a sense that he’s communicating directly to you.

 

M:

I think there’s a lot he wanted to communicate but every time we meet, the burning question I always have for him is if he truly finds figure skating fun. I just end up asking it every time. I mean, now especially, when he’s facing all this incredibly strong competition. Not to mention the fact that he had a little injury but still went ahead and competed even in a small competition (like ACI) that he could’ve easily skipped. So I asked him if he wasn’t really suffering instead. But he told me he finds it fun. He said, “It’s true that things have always been really tough for me, probably a hundred times moreso than most, but the kind of joy I’ve experienced is probably a thousand times more, as well. I’ve picked a rough path full of tests (that most wouldn’t have picked for themselves) in these three years since Sochi, all in the hopes that in PyeongChang, I’ll be able to experience an equal amount of payout in joy."

 

OD:

But still, the 330 score he achieved back in 2015 is a huge wall to scale over. And he’s basically saying he’s aiming to do just that, isn’t he?

 

M:

He’s no longer simply aiming for it, though. He’s going to do it.

 

OD:

He is?

 

M:

He totally is. Because he knows if he does, he wins it all. Competitions are meant to be won. With that kind of mentality as base, it’s not hard to see why sports is so appealing.

 

OD:

It’s so exciting just thinking about the kind of spectacle that would unfold in PyeongChang.

 

M:

It sure is. But first there’s the Cup of Russia and how things will unfold there. Stay tuned cause I’ll be there to witness it for myself.

 

OD:

Will definitely be looking forward to your report. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

 

M: 

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

 

-FIN-

 

 

[SparkleSalad]

Thank you so much! I zoned out when they went back to the desk but reading that part gave me chills!

 

It’s war, isn’t it? He gives me the impression of a young prince who’s ascended the throne and who’s intensely determined to prove himself on the battlefield. Is this really the same smiley mushroom? 

[Sammie]

30 minutes ago, SparkleSalad said:

Thank you so much! I zoned out when they went back to the desk but reading that part gave me chills!

 

It’s war, isn’t it? He gives me the impression of a young prince who’s ascended the throne and who’s intensely determined to prove himself on the battlefield. Is this really the same smiley mushroom? 

He is out for blood. I'm here for it. 

[Gaby]

I won't even try to describe my feelings. "Too powerful for words" - it's exactly what  it is. He is going to slay our existence this season. 

[EisElle]

Thank you @¯\_(ツ)_/¯ for the translation

now I feel *shook* too, I blame you for that

 

19 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

H:

When I won that gold back in Sochi, I wanted really badly to do it over. If I could (go back in time), I would do everything in my power to present the best skates I could and win with those. But I could never go back.

 

What I could do, though, was aim for the same title a second time. That’s an incredible opportunity, and if I don’t use it to show the world everything I've got, when else am I going to be able to do it? It’s with all this in mind that I chose this song again and went through all the training I did (for it).

 

Yuzuru isn't saying anything really new, but somehow I always kind of push all of this out of my mind (for sanity, you know) for a while until he slaps it again in my face. I'd rather have him take it easy for once, but he doesn't work that way and as a fan I can only resign myself (oh, I can see what was left of my peace of mind packing and bidding me farewell for the season)

If putting this kind of insane pressure is what he needs to perform like he wants, then I'll just increase my stash of chocolate and alchol and bite my nails wait. Though I hope Brian and all the team will help Yuzuru find some kind of balance, so that his self-imposed pressure doesn't end crushing him

19 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

It’s always a losing battle to not feel overwhelmed by his appeal and intensity.  

Matsuoka-san I feel you

19 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

He’s no longer simply aiming for it, though. He’s going to do it.

this reminds me of mushroom Yuzu declaring he was going to be an OGM. And he was true to his words.

19 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

M:

I think there’s a lot he wanted to communicate but every time we meet, the burning question I always have for him is if he truly finds figure skating fun. I just end up asking it every time. I mean, now especially, when he’s facing all this incredibly strong competition. Not to mention the fact that he had a little injury but still went ahead and competed even in a small competition (like ACI) that he could’ve easily skipped. So I asked him if he wasn’t really suffering instead. But he told me he finds it fun. He said, “It’s true that things have always been really tough for me, probably a hundred times moreso than most, but the kind of joy I’ve experienced is probably a thousand times more, as well. I’ve picked a rough path full of tests (that most wouldn’t have picked for themselves) in these three years since Sochi, all in the hopes that in PyeongChang, I’ll be able to experience an equal amount of payout in joy."

In a way, being his fan is a bit like that, going through some very low "downs" and then get very exhilarating "ups" that more than make up for the downs. 

I'm so happy that Yuzuru can still have fun when skating and competing, I'd hate to see him come to dislike/fear competitions like it's happened to Yuna and Daisuke. And I hope he can smile from the bottom of his heart in PyeongChang