Next big Japanese lady? Sochi?

[☆Genie]

We all know Japanese's deep field of ladies, but who do you think will be the next 'big' one?
I'm voting for Kanako Murakami. She has a presence and a charismatic charm to her that we usually don't see from somebody so young. I love her skating and the only flaw she has is the flutz.
She has 4 years to fix it, should do it quickly until it gets too late. (Mao).
I would also say Yukiko Fujisawa is a promising skater, she doesn't have the best jumps, but she's like a Caroline. Hit or miss.

Sochi
If Mao continues then I think she might have a chance at a gold medal if she fixes her lutz and works on those 3-3.
Kanako
Yukiko Fujisawa


Who do you think will be the next big lady from Japan !?

[silverlake22]

Kanako for sure! She has speed and elegance and is too cute!

[Moxie]

Well, it's too early to count Mao out. Although she needs to work on keeping her stamina up because it usually goes down once you reach the advance age of 23.
And Kanako is one to watch, for sure. But I don't really have any confidence in Yamada, her current coach.
Is it wrong for me to bring up Mirai in this thread? :o

[zizi31]

I think Kanako is too unpolished - she didn't hit a single position that I found beautiful in her grand prix performances. She's energetic, but she's just all over the place in terms of her spins, and even her jumps look uncontrolled. As for her expression, I'm not a huge fan of "cute" or "spunky". At 15, mao had significantly better jumps, and I think that mao was more graceful too. As for presentation, Sasha at 15 had perfect lines and a very polished style. Kanako still has a long way to go toward fixing those things; I think it's too early to say much about her. However, I can tell that Mirai is almost there in terms of technique and expression - I think she may be at her peak in Sochi. But really, 4 years is too far in the future. There may be some 13 year old who nobody's heard of yet who will win it all in 2014.

[silverlake22]

Mao was not all that polished when she was 15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS-JGt7X60E. She did so well at most competitions because she did 3f-3lo and 3a. I actually think Kanako is more polished and has better spins than Mao did at her age.

[miki88]

I think Kanako should get a new coach if she wants to go further, because Machiko just doesn't teach her students the cleanest of techniques and unless you're a phenomenal jumper like Ito was, which Kanako is not, then you're going to have problems down the line. She does have a presence on ice but not as determined as Mao was when she was 15. I feel she has a more carefree attitude similar to Akiko (which can be good or bad thing), because I am not sure how Kanako will handle the pressure if it falls upon her.

[Tinymavy15]

I think Mao is still the "big one" and will be for the next four years. At least I hope she can hold out and improve during that time.

[zizi31]

I suppose it's a matter of opinion. Watching that clip, Mao strikes me as much more graceful than Kananko. Mao may not have been fully polished, but she had that fluttery, dancy quality to her. Kanako seems more clunky and awkward in comparison. Also, I prefer Mao's spins in that clip to Kanako's in the GPF. Kananko's spins were quite off centered. It's probably not a fair comparison - IMO, Mao is one of the most talented skaters of the decade. Not every young Japanese lady star can be as good as she was.

Overall, I do agree that Mao wasn't extremely polished at 15. That's why I used Sasha Cohen as an example of a skater who had unusually good polish and presentation at a young age. Sasha's lines and Mao's jumps and lightness would have been an ideal combination.

ETA: I meant to quote silverlake22, but for some reason the quote didn't work.

[silverlake22]

I think Kanako should get a new coach if she wants to go further, because Machiko just doesn't teach her students the cleanest of techniques and unless you're a phenomenal jumper like Ito was, which Kanako is not, then you're going to have problems down the line. She does have a presence on ice but not as determined as Mao was when she was 15. I feel she has a more carefree attitude similar to Akiko (which can be good or bad thing), because I am not sure how Kanako will handle the pressure if it falls upon her.

I think Kanako's freedom is an appealing aspect of her skating. Some of Mao's grace I think come from her long body lines, which Kanako does not have as she is short (though that could change, but Mao was a lot taller at her age). She seems very musical though and really gets into her programs which is good, plus her PCS are much higher than all of the other junior ladies which is promising for the future. She actually reminds me a bit of Yukari sans leg wrap.

[volk]

What about men?

[bekalc]

I think Kanako's freedom is an appealing aspect of her skating. Some of Mao's grace I think come from her long body lines, which Kanako does not have as she is short (though that could change, but Mao was a lot taller at her age). She seems very musical though and really gets into her programs which is good, plus her PCS are much higher than all of the other junior ladies which is promising for the future. She actually reminds me a bit of Yukari sans leg wrap.

I really like Murakami. My only question is some of the jump technique in general isn't great. Then there's the lack of a loop, and that horrible flutz. Her only 3/3 is a 3toe/3toe so far. I feel all of this may hurt her.

[Bennett]

I think Kanako's freedom is an appealing aspect of her skating. Some of Mao's grace I think come from her long body lines, which Kanako does not have as she is short (though that could change, but Mao was a lot taller at her age). She seems very musical though and really gets into her programs which is good, plus her PCS are much higher than all of the other junior ladies which is promising for the future. She actually reminds me a bit of Yukari sans leg wrap.

She has some mule kick. But does Kanako have leg wrap? I feel that Kanako still does not have the champion mentality. She was avoiding all the other ladies in 6 min practice at Nationals so as not to disturb others who were fighting for the Olympics. At her age, Mao was also in the same situation and she wanted to accomplish 2 3As and she did. If she gets that champion mentality, I think that she has greater presence on ice.

[RumbleFish]

How about Haruka Imai?
I saw her during the 4CC and thought she has nice qualities.

She seems confident going into her jumps, and possesses a bread and butter jump, which is 3Lo.
Her speed across the ice is decent and she shows nice musicality through her whole program.
My favorite part was her positive attitude, displayed before her routine and during the kiss & cry, a la Akiko Suzuki.
Kudos to her for a fine senior international debut. (5th overall)

BTW, did she have a rough season on junior circuit?
Don't remember seeing her in the JGP.

[silverlake22]

I really like Murakami. My only question is some of the jump technique in general isn't great. Then there's the lack of a loop, and that horrible flutz. Her only 3/3 is a 3toe/3toe so far. I feel all of this may hurt her.

She could get better as she gets older though. I mean in some ways I think it hurt Mao being so good at 14. Yuna only did 3t-3t when she was 14 and then added more difficult combinations later as she grew up. Murakami I think has the potential to be really good, and her speed on the ice will help her out when she starts trying harder combinations.

[bekalc]

She could get better as she gets older though. I mean in some ways I think it hurt Mao being so good at 14. Yuna only did 3t-3t when she was 14 and then added more difficult combinations later as she grew up. Murakami I think has the potential to be really good, and her speed on the ice will help her out when she starts trying harder combinations.

Yu-na was doing 3flip/3toe by her second Junior season at Kanako's age. But the difference betwee Yu-na and Kanako/Mao is that Yu-na had text book jumping technique, something Mao and Kanako do not have. That's whatI think has really hurt Mao is the jumping technique.