Tatsuki Machida

[Sandpiper]

Congratulations, Tatsuki, on your graduation! I hope he finds fulfillment in his further studies.

 

[Crossover]

As the World championships is coming near, I rewatched Tatsuki's firebird covered by CBC and felt again it is such a well choreographed work by Phillip Mills. The attack, speed, transitions and arm extensions are really great and well-balanced. I can see that the jump layout is designed to get a sizable point with his consistency on quads and triples, so Tatsuki could make a big breakthrough in his career with the program along with the East of Eden. Kurt said he also did a firebird program for competition, but Tatsuki had more fire than himself and praised Tatsuki's performance at the Worlds. I watched Kurt's firebird in 1994 which was interesting to watch, but due to the time difference and my personal preference, I like Tatsuki's one the most among all firebirds performed by several other skaters from all disciplines that I've watched so far. My second best one is Anna Pogorilaya's and third is Brian Orser's punky firebird (surprising to see Orser's slim appearance and youth back then). When I first saw Anna's firebird this season, I felt the music edit is quite similar to Tatsuki's program, and later some of the posters here mentioned about Anna getting an inspiration from Tatsuki's firebird.

I found this short discussion just after googling Kurt's firebird and some of them highly valued Tatsuki's firebird although Tatsuki even didn't make a big name at that time during the 2012-13 season. I'm glad to know that there were people of insight to detect a beauty in his program.

 

[ioanna]

As the World championships is coming near, I rewatched Tatsuki's firebird covered by CBC and felt again it is such a well choreographed work by Phillip Mills. The attack, speed, transitions and arm extensions are really great and well-balanced. I can see that the jump layout is designed to get a sizable point with his consistency on quads and triples, so Tatsuki could make a big breakthrough in his career with the program along with the East of Eden. Kurt said he also did a firebird program for competition, but Tatsuki had more fire than himself and praised Tatsuki's performance at the Worlds. I watched Kurt's firebird in 1994 which was interesting to watch, but due to the time difference and my personal preference, I like Tatsuki's one the most among all firebirds performed by several other skaters from all disciplines that I've watched so far. My second best one is Anna Pogorilaya's and third is Brian Orser's punky firebird (surprising to see Orser's slim appearance and youth back then). When I first saw Anna's firebird this season, I felt the music edit is quite similar to Tatsuki's program, and later some of the posters here mentioned about Anna getting an inspiration from Tatsuki's firebird.

Firebird was a very well choreographed program, but people (including myself) often overlooked it due to the piece being overused and his feathery costume. This program brought Tatsuki and Phillip Mills together in 2012 after Tatsuki watched Ashley Wagner's Black Swan and "couldn't get it out of his mind". He personally contacted Mills and wanted to do a similar program so they went for Firebird.

His Worlds Firebird was probably the best he ever did, both technical and performance wise and I think it's underrated due to East Of Eden. I've heard Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir complain about him not connecting to the music or just "not being there" in Sochi but his Firebird at Worlds had a lot of speed and attack, like you said. It had the same level of energy from start to finish and he was a blur of red, actually giving the impression that he was enveloped by flames.

 

[ioanna]

Inside Skating posted this picture from Fantasy On Ice 2010 in an Antonio Najarro article. The picture belongs to Najarro and he's with Shizuka, Haruka, Yuzuru and Tatsuki
http://www.insideskating.net/wp-con...mai-Yuzuru-Hanyu-Tatsuki-Machida-2010-FOI.jpg

And here's Tatsuki listed as a guest on the Dreams On Ice website along with Evgeni Plushenko, Liza Tuktamysheva and Duhamel/Radford.
http://www.onice.jp/DOI15/guests.html

 

[Crossover]

Inside Skating posted this picture from Fantasy On Ice 2010 in an Antonio Najarro article. The picture belongs to Najarro and he's with Shizuka, Haruka, Yuzuru and Tatsuki
http://www.insideskating.net/wp-con...mai-Yuzuru-Hanyu-Tatsuki-Machida-2010-FOI.jpg

And here's Tatsuki listed as a guest on the Dreams On Ice website along with Evgeni Plushenko, Liza Tuktamysheva and Duhamel/Radford.
http://www.onice.jp/DOI15/guests.html

Oh, these are great photos and new information! I'm glad that he is invited to another show to promote Japanese talented youngsters, so I get it now about your prediction on Tatsuki's prospect as a prolific show performer. I thought he shall focus on his study, so seeing him on ice in a near future seemed to me too far reaching when he announced his retirement, so I was devastated. However, as the weather is getting warmer, good news on his schedule have been heard, I feel really great for him. Not only could he expose his presence to the public and his fans but also keeps in touch with people related to the figure skating world. Of course he could earn money for his study.

The first photo taken in 2010 is for the first time that I feel Tatsuki is "hot". The style is very flamboyant and doesn't look like Tatsuki's usual or recent appearance, maybe because his acne and his philosopher image block me to recognize him as a "sexy young man" as someone praise before here. I haven't had an opportunity to watch all of his earlier performances yet, so don't know whether Tatsuki tried that kind of programs before. I would not like to rush into watching them soon though, because I want to reserve "something new" to me even though they are past ones.

 

[Maria Victoria]

I found this short discussion just after googling Kurt's firebird and some of them highly valued Tatsuki's firebird although Tatsuki even didn't make a big name at that time during the 2012-13 season. I'm glad to know that there were people of insight to detect a beauty in his program.

Thanks for the link to the thread. It's gratifying that people appreciated the program then despite the mistakes.

I've heard Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir complain about him not connecting to the music or just "not being there" in Sochi but his Firebird at Worlds had a lot of speed and attack, like you said. It had the same level of energy from start to finish and he was a blur of red, actually giving the impression that he was enveloped by flames.

I watched the BBC stream for the men's FS in Sochi (despite an academic deadline) and remember Sir Robin Cousins marveling at the richness of the nuances/details of Tatsuki's Firebird. I don't think he would have noticed those had Tatsuki not been in synch with and feeling the music.

I agree that Worlds was Tatsuki's best performance of Firebird. Proud of how he dealt with the pressure of skating in the lead in front of his home crowd and it being his first Worlds. His first and as it turned out his last Worlds as well.

Inside Skating posted this picture from Fantasy On Ice 2010 in an Antonio Najarro article. The picture belongs to Najarro and he's with Shizuka, Haruka, Yuzuru and Tatsuki
http://www.insideskating.net/wp-con...mai-Yuzuru-Hanyu-Tatsuki-Machida-2010-FOI.jpg

And here's Tatsuki listed as a guest on the Dreams On Ice website along with Evgeni Plushenko, Liza Tuktamysheva and Duhamel/Radford.
http://www.onice.jp/DOI15/guests.html

Thanks for the links ionap. Tatsuki looks like a dreamboat himself in the DOI website.

 

[ioanna]

Stephane Lambiel gave a short interview about Tatsuki in this magazine
https://instagram.com/p/zoXizDL_iS/

Would have loved a translation because Stephane has always been a big supporter (even fan, dare I say) of Tatsuki's and has praised his skating on more than one occasion. I remember an old interview from the beginning of the previous season where Stephane could not stop talking about Byakuyako and he thought it was a stunning program.

Editing to add a few more parts from Phillip Mills' interview in IFS - he said he was surprised to hear about Tatsuki's retirement because apart from the GPF his season had been going pretty well. He is happy to have seen him develop as an artist in the 3 years they've worked together and describes him as calm, obedient, ambitious, devoted, very polite and ready to take challenges.

But what's probably the most important part of the whole interview can be read in this tumblr post.
http://tatsuki-machida.tumblr.com/post/114510679142/tatsuki-and-i-both-share-a-habit-of-tapping-our

 

[Sandpiper]

After seeing the men's SP today, and what happened with Team Japan... :hopelessness: I am once again struck by how much I miss Tatsuki. Sure, he may bomb the jumps in the LP, but all season long he's delivered the SP with no more than one mistake. He'd at least keep himself in contention instead of crashing out before the long even starts. *sigh*

And here's Tatsuki listed as a guest on the Dreams On Ice website along with Evgeni Plushenko, Liza Tuktamysheva and Duhamel/Radford.
http://www.onice.jp/DOI15/guests.html

Great guest list. If only we had that here... (Way too early, but requesting SBS 3A, 3Lz, with Tatsuki, Plushy, and Liza!)

 

[Meoima]

I feel so worried about Japan 3 spots. And I'm afraid maybe some folk on Japan Time will put the blame on Tatsuki for pulling out again.

 

[ioanna]

Somebody will always blame Tatsuki for retiring and I've also seen a bunch of Russian articles writing the same things as Japan Times.

In reality, Kozuka and Mura can only blame themselves. Kozuka is perpetually injured but I am very disappointed with Mura. 23rd and almost missing the free? Really? I honestly never saw this coming, I thought he would do better even if he made some mistakes. Those were shameful performances and the only thing left for them is to get it together to save the spots with dignity. Just look at Yuzuru and maybe learn a thing or two about how to fight against all odds.

As for Tatsuki, what can I say. Maybe now he realized he did deserve his Worlds spot and can't count on Mura to do the things he should have done. He told Mura he had faith in him and that he would always be cheering for him, he told him to keep competing and achieve the things he couldn't (if he was referring to a Worlds gold medal that seems like a complete joke right now).

On the other hand with the way JSF has been treating Tatsuki, I really can't blame him for feeling unworthy. Those 3 more points they didn't give him in the SP at Nationals were crucial and I was right to feel upset at the time because I knew he'd struggle with the free again. Praying for Kozuka to perform a Nationals-like FS and move up because let's face it, JSF knew their best team would have been Yuzuru, Shoma and Tatsuki. They gave Kozuka another chance because Shoma was already worn out and had Jr Worlds to focus on but Kozuka (Mura as well, even if he wasn't even in talks for this team at first) need to prove they deserved to be here.

 

[Meoima]

I have heard that Mura over trained himself and ended up with sprained ankle in both of his legs. so it's not entirely his mind is weak, but his condition is not ideal. Poor Mura. I hope he will have a talk with Tatsuki about this.

 

[ioanna]

I have heard that Mura over trained himself and ended up with sprained ankle in both of his legs. so it's not entirely his mind is weak, but his condition is not ideal. Poor Mura. I hope he will have a talk with Tatsuki about this.

When you pop a 3A into a 1A there can only be a weak mindset at fault. I'd understand shaky landings but that pop had nothing to do with his ankles. Tatsuki had a week to get it together from GPF to Nationals and he was ill with a fever and still did better than Mura.

 

[Yuzusan]

On the other hand with the way JSF has been treating Tatsuki, I really can't blame him for feeling unworthy. Those 3 more points they didn't give him in the SP at Nationals were crucial and I was right to feel upset at the time because I knew he'd struggle with the free again.

I did not follow his news, in which way JSF has been treating him ?

 

[ioanna]

I did not follow his news, in which way JSF has been treating him ?

Declining his request to withdraw from the GPF would be a good example. He told them he had no time to train, was mentally and physically exhausted and had sprained his ankle. They made him attend anyway and then underscored him at Nationals.

 

[ioanna]

0.3 is what it took for Tatsuki to lose the gold last year, 0.3 is what it took for the Japanese men to lose their 3rd spot today. He kind of left a disaster behind but it happened and there's no use blaming anyone anymore. Mura probably felt a lot of pressure to compete on his behalf and it didn't turn out well. Better luck for next season.

 

[Crossover]

Even thought the whole event is not wrapped up yet, but I'm really glad that this season is finally ending. I will have a time to trace Tatsuki's past performances and interviews. I feel his absence deeply in the men's event.

 

[Sandpiper]

I feel like a horrible, selfish person, but the thought crossed my mind: If even 1% of his decision to retire is due to feeling unworthy for Worlds... man, JSF were totally right to name him to the team. Not to be mean to Kozuka and Mura--I like them and wished them the best of luck--but Tatsuki's retirement was clearly a huge blow to Team Japan. Even more of one than they realized at the time, perhaps.

Well, hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

I still have a dream of him returning next year and finally winning Worlds. I wrote Javi off and look what happened. :shocked: A fully trained, somewhat healthy, very motivated Tatsuki could do it. Even his marks from Skate America would've gotten bronze, and that's with early season PCS and watered down LP content.

 

[ioanna]

I still have a dream of him returning next year and finally winning Worlds. I wrote Javi off and look what happened. :shocked: A fully trained, somewhat healthy, very motivated Tatsuki could do it. Even his marks from Skate America would've gotten bronze, and that's with early season PCS and watered down LP content.

The winning score (273 I think) was definitely within his reach and looking back it's a bit sad he lost the gold with a 282. Even if he didn't win I think he would have made the podium but his life, his decision I guess.

I think any chance for him to return next year has gone away along with the spot they just lost. Barring injuries or other similar circumstances I think the 2nd spot is kept for Shoma, which is very unfortunate for Mura and especially Murakami who was just starting to do well. 2017 Worlds seems even less likely at this point but who knows, the Japanese team has been way too unpredictable to say something for sure.

All in all it's been tough to follow the men's event this year watching the Takas crumble and missing Tatsuki's skating. I'm just glad he'll be back in a month and we'll see him on the ice again, if only for a little while. I'm also hoping for an interview or a press conference because I'd like to know his thoughts on everything and just how he's doing in general.

 

[ioanna]

Looks like Tatsuki had a farewell party at his skating club, the Rinkai Sports Center. It took place on February 25 but the club only published some pictures recently. The juniors gave him a bouquet of flowers but the most important thing was Dai Takahashi surprising him by showing up and congratulating him for his achievements. Tatsuki looks extremely touched and happy and you can tell how much he loves and respects Dai.

http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P104s.JPG
http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P108s.JPG
http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P143s.JPG
http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P147s.JPG
http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P171s.JPG
http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P165s.JPG
http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P163s.JPG
http://rinkai.rocket3.net/images/20150329machida/P181s.JPG

More pictures from the event and also from the past couple of years here.

Update: A well known website that's already been mentioned here before has published a horrible and extremely offensive article about Tatsuki, blaming him directly for Team Japan losing a spot for Worlds 2016. It's worse than the one they wrote when he retired so just a warning, in case you find it don't waste your time reading it.

 

[firal]

He has opened an official website! Yes, on April Fool's day, but I'm thinking it's legit...

Oh and in one entry he mentioned that he will not be receiving any gifts, letters, flowers, etc from now on since he is just a student (I hope my Japanese is not wrong). Wow, I know a lot of fans are preparing to see him in ice shows and thinking about giving him things.