2022-23 Japanese figure skating - pairs and ice dance

[rabidline]

From today's JSF event, Riku and Ryuichi are awarded the JOC Cup alongside Miho Takagi from Speed Skating. They are also voted by the members of the Sports Press Club as the "Skaters of the Year".

 

[surimi]

With HaruSumi split, I am guessing exceptions to the age rule won't be accepted, and that it will include the ruling JWC. Too bad.
IMO it's a smart choice on Sumitada's part to keep an eye out for a potential partner. He's 21 and AFAIK, doesn't perform quads in competition, although his scores are high and remarkably consistent. But among the current Japanese men, he's looking at Challengers at most. Unless he adds a quad and keeps his consistency, there will be no major assignments for him in the upcoming seasons in singles, which is a pity. I hope they find him a partner. I wonder if Azusa Tanaka might want to try pairs, which only requires the easiest triples? But she seems to have fun in singles ID.

 

[skim1001]

By the looks of it Sumitada would also focus on pairs next season. Another twitter used alluded that the pairs tryout bruno did was for sumitada to find a new partner.

https://twitter.com/skatejapanews/status/1651137015180673024

 

[Sai Bon]

By the looks of it Sumitada would also focus on pairs next season. Another twitter used alluded that the pairs tryout bruno did was for sumitada to find a new partner.

https://twitter.com/skatejapanews/status/1651137015180673024

I really hope he finds a suitable partner. I love watching him - he's so expressive! I know it's all about the elements, but it's great to see a pair team where the guy is also strutting his stuff, not just lifting, carrying and supporting.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

And another loss for the Japanese Ice Dance landscape:

Japanese Ice Dance pair Nicole Takahashi/Shiloh Judd, current National bronze medalists, also seemingly have split, as Shiloh is on Ice Partner Search.

 

[Sai Bon]

And another loss for the Japanese Ice Dance landscape:

Japanese Ice Dance pair Nicole Takahashi/Shiloh Judd, current National bronze medalists, also seemingly have split, as Shiloh is on Ice Partner Search.

Calling Shingo Nishyama...we need a few people to step up here!

 

[skim1001]

According to Daniel Tioumentsev, Sumitada already has a senior eligible partner .

 

[synesthesia]

The setbacks for Japanese ice dance don't stop - Kana and Dai have announced their retirement from competitive skating too :

https://twitter.com/WFS_JP/status/1652946553789902850

 

[mikeko666]

It was not totally unexpected considering Dai's age and right knee, but I'm still disappointed by their retirement. Kana is the best female ice dancer in the history of Japanese figure skating and there was still room for improvement in Dai's skating skills. I believe they could bring Japanese ice dance to another level if they continued.

As for Japanese ice dance, only the Komatsubara's remained.

(From Japanese Nationals)
Kana / Dai -> retired
The Komatsubara's
Takahashi / Judd -> split (Judd is on icepartnersearch)
Kinoshita / Tamura -> split (possibly Tamura retired)
Kikuchi / Ikeda -> split (Ikeda teamed up with Ayano Sakaki)
Yajima / Matsui -> split

 

[rabidline]

Honestly I wish Kana can continue with another partner but let's be real, the financial opportunities and fan support she gets because she's the ice dance partner of Daisuke Takahashi that made him win Nationals and 4CC medal in a different discipline will go away if she ever does that. They had their run and had great programs, I'm glad they retired on a high with memories of clean programs and not the falls and struggles.

 

[mikeko666]

Honestly I wish Kana can continue with another partner but let's be real, the financial opportunities and fan support she gets because she's the ice dance partner of Daisuke Takahashi that made him win Nationals and 4CC medal in a different discipline will go away if she ever does that. They had their run and had great programs, I'm glad they retired on a high with memories of clean programs and not the falls and struggles.

Kana was going to retire in 2019 if Dai had not agreed to skater with her, and I don't think there is a male Japanese ice dancer who can match her.

 

[skim1001]

Ice dance in Japan is looking bleak. Will team KoKo power through until 2026? If JSF keeps giving them dust I don't think they will. Maybe Japan needs whomever the "Bruno Marcotte of ice dance" is that will help them steer that discipline in the right direction. Especially if they're gunning for a team medal in 2026. Japan is competitive in 3 of 4 disciplines right now but South Korea and Italy might be to by 2026.

 

[synesthesia]

Honestly I wish Kana can continue with another partner but let's be real, the financial opportunities and fan support she gets because she's the ice dance partner of Daisuke Takahashi that made him win Nationals and 4CC medal in a different discipline will go away if she ever does that. They had their run and had great programs, I'm glad they retired on a high with memories of clean programs and not the falls and struggles.

Kana said a couple of times that Dai would be her last partner and she can't imagine skating with anyone else after he decides to call it day. Of course she could have a change of heart, but I doubt it. Apart from the difficulty of finding a suitable partner, ideally one with Japanese citizenship, building a new partnership takes time and it's very uncertain/unlikely whether they would reach the same level of success. In the past Kana and Dai have quite strongly hinted at the possibilty of continuing to do shows together and I think this is the most likely thing to happen.

Let's wait for the press conference and ig live tomorrow, in which they will surely clarify the reasons for their decision and their future plans.

I will miss them terribly, but understand and respect their decision and just want to thank them for what they brought to ice dance - in Japan and internationally. I agree, I'm glad they were able to retire on a high note with two great back to back competitions in front of a home crowd.

Let's see what the new chapter has in store for them. Besides doing shows, I could see them, especially Kana, contribute to bringing up the next generation. Considering that her sister teaches at Kinoshita academy too, maybe she'll join Cathy Reed as a coach at Kinoshita's ice dance program.

 

[mikeko666]

Ice dance in Japan is looking bleak. Will team KoKo power through until 2026? If JSF keeps giving them dust I don't think they will. Maybe Japan needs whomever the "Bruno Marcotte of ice dance" is that will help them steer that discipline in the right direction. Especially if they're gunning for a team medal in 2026. Japan is competitive in 3 of 4 disciplines right now but South Korea and Italy might be to by 2026.

KoKo intend to continue until Milan, but they haven't improved much for the last few years. I was excited when they teamed up and represented Japan 7 years ago, but I'm no longer expect much from them.
There are some young talented ice dancers who are still looking for a partner, Shingo Nishiyama, Utana Yoshida, Nao Kida, Masaya Morita. Azusa Tanaka also looked promising at BOI. If I was a JSF official, I would rather invest on those young ones than on KoKo.

 

[rabidline]

Ice dance in Japan is looking bleak.

I mean, it's been like this for a while. Kana and Dai teaming up is just a temporary band-aid that distracted from the issues.

 

[skim1001]

I mean, it's been like this for a while. Kana and Dai teaming up is just a temporary band-aid that distracted from the issues.

In my defense I only got into figure skating this season and I have a lot of catching up to do with behind the scenes stuff. Also, ice dance as a discipline just confuses me lol.

 

[surimi]

KoKo intend to continue until Milan, but they haven't improved much for the last few years. I was excited when they teamed up and represented Japan 7 years ago, but I'm no longer expect much from them.
There are some young talented ice dancers who are still looking for a partner, Shingo Nishiyama, Utana Yoshida, Nao Kida, Masaya Morita. Azusa Tanaka also looked promising at BOI. If I was a JSF official, I would rather invest on those young ones than on KoKo.

This, I agree with that assessment. I hope JSF can make taller young male skaters interested in ID, too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but apart from age, I think the only thing holding KanaDai back was the small height difference. That might also hold back the similarly talented Shingo. Although, there are elite couples where the male's height is not a problem at all, like Guignard/Fabbri.
But apart from the improvement possibility (IMO to all that follows), what's really hurting KoKo is the lack of star power, and surprisingly for a married couple, a lack of chemistry on the ice. They're very good, but a bit vanilla and not special. They've had a couple of programs that stood out in the field, like the Geisha FD, but again, nothing that makes the audience go wow. OTOH, both KanaDai and Shingo have charisma aplenty, and they're natural dancers that catch one's eye instantly.

 

[mikeko666]

This, I agree with that assessment. I hope JSF can make taller young male skaters interested in ID, too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but apart from age, I think the only thing holding KanaDai back was the small height difference. That might also hold back the similarly talented Shingo. Although, there are elite couples where the male's height is not a problem at all, like Guignard/Fabbri.
But apart from the improvement possibility (IMO to all that follows), what's really hurting KoKo is the lack of star power, and surprisingly for a married couple, a lack of chemistry on the ice. They're very good, but a bit vanilla and not special. They've had a couple of programs that stood out in the field, like the Geisha FD, but again, nothing that makes the audience go wow. OTOH, both KanaDai and Shingo have charisma aplenty, and they're natural dancers that catch one's eye instantly.

I agree with you on KoKo lacking chemistry despite of being married. I feel much more chemistry from KanaDai and RikuRyu. I wonder if that is because of their different background (nationalities, languages, cultures, etc.), but I feel more chemistry from Yuka Orihara / Juho Pirinen.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I might be alone in this, but I personally do not think KoKo inherently lack chemistry or star power.

Their "Une histoire d'amour" (2018-19) and "Memories of a Geisha" (2021-22) Free Skates showed their romantic chemistry wonderfully, or even their "Samba do Brasil" Short Dance (2017-18). And Misato has a lot of moments of star power on her own (Men are just there for decoration in ice dance, aren't they? ), just look at their "El Sol Sueno" RD (2018-19) or their "Loca" RD from this season (Yes, despite the horrible leopard-fringe monstrosity she was wearing).

What I think really hurt them is relocating to Japan, and mainly training there. I know they did it for Tim's citizenship, but it halted a lot of their technical (and to some extent artistic) progress. While many criticise IAM, they do manage to improve the skating of their skaters in many cases, and know how to work around and with weaknesses instead of against them. KoKo really could have benefitted from this more direct guidance of in-person training under the IAM team, "just" remote coaching and occasional visits can't make up for full-time supervision after all.

 

[yesterday]

Besides doing shows, I could see them, especially Kana, contribute to bringing up the next generation.

Me too!

ad KoKo: maybe what feels like "lack" of chemistry is them trying too hard to not (only) appear as the "married couple"?