Who Is The Best Male Skater In Japan Now?

Who Is The Best Male Skater In Japan?

Last year, Kozuka was showered with this title. This year Takahashi has it. Next year, Hanyu might take it. There is a thread talking about closing gap between Takahashi and Chan. What about Hanyu? Isn't Hanyu the one who has the best technical abilities of all Japanese men? Has Oda past his prime? How close Mura and Machida to the top? Personally, I think Takahashi is the most mature skater of them all, but he isn't the best any more in over all skating.

Dai is the most versatile, that's for sure. Skater as a total being not only competition-wise, he's the best.
Kozuka is gaining some "it" factor and soon can be the best, but not yet.
Hanyu has more potential to be the best than Kozuka but we still have to wait and see.
Nobu, he's having a hard time of his life .... I hope he recovers. His Chaplin at TEB was a gem! At that one instance (though only then) he was the best of all Japanese men... he needs to exceed that performance to make a real comeback.

Kozuka is still my favorite, but he needs more big tricks he can rely on.

Dai will probably place highest at this years worlds, but I sort of feel like he skating at his upper limit technically. Also I think he should lose 1/2 a point everytime he slides his hand along his cheek and then rolls his head.

Hanyu seems ready to break out and he's at the age where he starts adding bulk instead of height. He should get stronger and with better endurance soon. I think he has a complete package of technique and presentation

Oda seems done to me

Mura I like a lot but haven't seen enough to understand his current trajectory

Machida is all about the jumps, don't care his programs usually, seems he'll be a 3 to 6 ranked skater usually, though we've seen skaters break out of that rut before

Right now I would say Dai but by the time we get to Sochi it may be a different story.

This moment I would say Takahashi, but Hanyu is quickly catching up.

Oda is done. He will never make a Japanese World team again. As for his prime, what prime. He never won a World medal of any kind, which Kozuka has already done and Takahashi, Kozuka, and Hanyu will all have done numerous times by careers end.

Takahashi is the best this season. Kozuka could regain that in the coming 2 seasons. Quite likely Hanyu could take it by 2014 though. It will be fascinating to see which of them is the top Japanese by 2014 and that will probably determine who wins the Silver (behind guaranteed gold medalist Chan) in Sochi.

I am unable to respond because I am so biased in favor of Takahashi. He's such a complete skater. I'm sure the others are wonderful--indeed, I hope they are. It's great to contemplate such skating depth in any group of world skaters, and at this moment no other country has it; only Japan does.

But for me, Takahashi is like Lambiel, just so amazing as an artist-athlete, and I can't evaluate him in the cold light of logic.

When he's at his best, Dai. But Kozuka is wonderful as well and Hanyu keeps getting better and better so in a couple years he may surpass them both. He is both technical and artistic and has a very unique style, he just needs more strength and time to outgrow his teenage gangliness/awkwardness. All 3 are superb, though. Oda is def not top 3 anymore IMO.

I was never an Oda fan for skating but wish him well. It looks like Kozuka and Hanyu make soon eclipse Dai as Japan's favorite skatr. But Dai may surprise us yet if he can get his quad back consistently. I like his movement/choreography. MK used to often brush her face with both hands. Dai can do a head roll. It fits with his movements. Chan would look silly, as he has a totally average style at present. I wish he'd develop a style actually.

Daisuke for a million reasons, but that doesnt mean Kozuka or Hanyu are weaker skaters, they are just more newbies. Daisuke has reached the legendary status.
Why is Oda done? I so wished he had more medals already, but he is still young. It is bad Japan has only 3 spots.

seniorita said:

Daisuke for a million reasons, but that doesnt mean Kozuka or Hanyu are weaker skaters, they are just more newbies. Daisuke has reached the legendary status.
Why is Oda done? I so wished he had more medals already, but he is still young. It is bad Japan has only 3 spots.

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Oda has always been on the bubble for the Japanese Federation due either to his personal issues or lack of jump discipline in major competitions. I've heard that some officials still hold a grudge over the moped incident which exacerbated the already bad press the Japanese Federation was facing at the time. However, he's usually done well enough at nationals that he gets a spot at the big international competitions.

Srin Odessa said:

Oda has always been on the bubble for the Japanese Federation due either to his personal issues or lack of jump discipline in major competitions. I've heard that some officials still hold a grudge over the moped incident which exacerbated the already bad press the Japanese Federation was facing at the time. However, he's usually done well enough at nationals that he gets a spot at the big international competitions.

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What bad press was the Japanese Federation facing at that time???

Depends on how you define "best" - in skating skills, presentation, technical ability? I think Daisuke has the complete package, but Hanyu is not far behind. By 2014, Hanyu should be a megaforce

OK, I will be less biased as best as I can for this one.

This season, Daisuke. For sure.
But the gap between Yuzuru/Takahiko and him is already very close.

By next year, however, it goes either way depending on how each of them skate on the day at head to head competition.

In order to surpass the seasoned skater like Dai, who has competed at the top level for so long and with bunch of Worlds/Olympic medals, younger skaters need to clearly OUTSKATE him/her in front of the eyes of judges, and more importantly, KEEP ON DOING IT several times in a row. That will allow judges, and the federation of course, not to worry about being hesitant to give better marks to younger skaters.

For up and comers, it seems easier to catch up with countryman who is front-running on the world stage, and can beat him/her at certain point.
But what makes harder is not only keep doing it, but also have to stay on top at both national stage and world stage for years. That is when younger skaters realize how much pressure, which they never experience just yet, their elder skater faces on daily basis for so long.

I thought Takahiko was starting it (to surpass, I mean) last season, by crashing Dai at the Nationals and got the silver at Worlds, but somehow has failed to keep on doing it this season.
Amodio against Joubert so far is the same.
And this is what Artur has not done yet against Evgeni this year, and needs to do by 2014 if Autur wants OGM at Sochi.

I am now leaning to believe it may be Yuzuru, not Takahiko, to surpass Dai next season at the earliest.

Nobu, idk. I wish he will fully recover from his knee injury. I wonder how severe his injury is, anyone knows? While his skating is not my cup of tea, his jumps are gorgeous and just effortless with that soft knee. For someone with his talent and have been on this top level for years, not winning any color of medal at all is sad thing to happen.

Becki said:

What bad press was the Japanese Federation facing at that time???

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Mostly an embezzlement scandal and cooking the books. It was largely an isolated incident but the media really laid into the federation. Oda's arrest was used as ammunition against them in that the federation was corrupt and lacked oversight of its skaters.

The current best is Daisuke. However, Yuzuru understands what is not enough to oneself and tries for improvement.I will think that Yuzuru becomes best in the near future.

Welcome to Golden Skate, kilyca! Post long and often!

Thank you!
Many Japanese like me are interested in the opinion of all of you.

Srin Odessa said:

Mostly an embezzlement scandal and cooking the books. It was largely an isolated incident but the media really laid into the federation. Oda's arrest was used as ammunition against them in that the federation was corrupt and lacked oversight of its skaters.

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wth? Oda was arrested? total story requested.