Mao Asada

gotoschool · Apr 8, 2016

Welcome back yhma fan. Your English is fine.

My favorite expressions from Mao at the end of her magnificent Madame Butterfly. Mao's performance has the most consummate maturity, but she is still so young and genuine at heart. I am all tears and chills when watching it. The greatest ballerina ever to grace the ice.

http://postimg.org/image/9yszptma9/

http://postimg.org/image/vaoom86xx/

A much better guide for the value of Mao's performance than the absurdly deflated 7th place given by the judges is this. In terms of most watched videos, Mao's Madame Butterfly has more than twice as many views as Evgenia's performance and 4 times or more views than any other performance in the women's competition with the highest likes to dislikes ratio. I believe this empirical evidence from the public obviously shows that either the scoring system, the way it is applied or both is not properly valuing great performances like Mao's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLHt8fsEwG4

I love Mao's comments after her performance. She said that she skated very well and that she was very happy and that she really didn't care about scores. I believe that Mao's continuously deflated scoring has resulted in her skating more to satisfy her own ideal of a performance; and as the big response on youtube shows, when Mao is satisfied, so is the world, no matter what a handful of judges say.

Some news I got from translations. Mao visited the Boston Museum of Fine Art after finishing Worlds. Besides loving art, she says she hopes to get inspiration from her visit. It sounds like she will continue next season. She says that she wants to develop the acting during her performances even more and improve her jumps for next season.

tulosai · Apr 8, 2016

I am glad she wants to continue next year! I think she still has so much to offer the world!

sarama · Apr 8, 2016

Can we keep her around forever? Pretty please! Even if she only did doubles, she would still bring SO MUCH to any competition :love:

anyanka · Apr 8, 2016

I'm going to put this out there because it has bothered me ...

In the FS her technical score was up to 74-75 points. Then when the marks were posted ... 65. She lost 10 points on that upon review but they really hammered her. And her transitions weren't in the 70s as usual despite her being on top of her game.

So, what was up with that? The conspiracy theory I have is that the judges were subtly holding her down because they are not-so-subtly trying to get her to retire.

OK I go now ...

anyanka · Apr 8, 2016

anyanka said:
I'm going to put this out there because it has bothered me ...

In the FS her technical score was up to 74-75 points. Then when the marks were posted ... 65. She lost 10 points on that upon review but they really hammered her. And her transitions weren't in the 70s as usual despite her being on top of her game.

So, what was up with that? The conspiracy theory I have is that the judges were subtly holding her down because they are not-so-subtly trying to get her to retire.

OK I go now ...

Also ... if she had not had all those deductions she would have ended up 4th. Perhaps with higher PCS (hers were in no way lower than Lena's or Anna's or even Satoko's) she might have won bronze.

Barb · Apr 8, 2016

anyanka said:
I'm going to put this out there because it has bothered me ...

In the FS her technical score was up to 74-75 points. Then when the marks were posted ... 65. She lost 10 points on that upon review but they really hammered her. And her transitions weren't in the 70s as usual despite her being on top of her game.

So, what was up with that? The conspiracy theory I have is that the judges were subtly holding her down because they are not-so-subtly trying to get her to retire.

OK I go now ...

But why? they would be stupid, the last time I checked her FP video was the most visited. She is popular. Anyway I prefer people saying she is underscored than people saying she is overscored only because she is MAO ASADA or because she is japanese.

Who has the jumps, win, simple. But in fact, worlds 2016 was a great event, really so many good programs but thinking about it I don´t think that there was a performance really extraordinary or memorable (women). Maybe because I am biased but remember Mao at worlds LP 2007? , worlds 2008, 2010?, Yulia Sochi 2014 , Yuna 2009? those were very spectacular.

Exist this charismatic/star quality that only few have: Mao, Yulia, Yuna, Michelle K, Sasha C.. Unfortunately right now, there is not that kind of skater except Mao. Maybe Marin someday, but at her age Mao was already a star. Mirai had that potential but something happened?

My point is if Mao retires, figure skating will be losing their only star at women skaters.

ponyface · Apr 8, 2016

I was never a huge fan of Mao Asada. I knew she was one of the world greatest figure skaters, of course, but her skating never moved me. That all changed this Worlds in Boston. Both her SP and her FP made me cry! I've watched her FP several times the last days and the same thing happens everytime! I'm just so overwhelmed with her grace and emotion and the very musical way she moves. It's obvious she loves the music. I guess I just didn't see it before now, but I am now convinced she is probably the greatest of the female figure skaters in the world right now. It's such a shame the scoring system is the way it is, but I am happy she is happy with her performance, because it BLEW ME AWAY!

anyanka · Apr 8, 2016

chapis said:
My point is if Mao retires, figure skating will be losing their only star at women skaters.

I agree. I miss Yuna despite the high level of competition. If Mao decides to call it a day, I may never recover. :'(

- - - Updated - - -

ponyface said:
I was never a huge fan of Mao Asada. I knew she was one of the world greatest figure skaters, of course, but her skating never moved me. That all changed this Worlds in Boston. Both her SP and her FP made me cry! I've watched her FP several times the last days and the same thing happens everytime! I'm just so overwhelmed with her grace and emotion and the very musical way she moves. It's obvious she loves the music. I guess I just didn't see it before now, but I am now convinced she is probably the greatest of the female figure skaters in the world right now. It's such a shame the scoring system is the way it is, but I am happy she is happy with her performance, because it BLEW ME AWAY!

Thank you for this. Mao is my girl.

gotoschool · Apr 8, 2016

chapis said:
But why? they would be stupid, the last time I checked her FP video was the most visited. She is popular. Anyway I prefer people saying she is underscored than people saying she is overscored only because she is MAO ASADA or because she is japanese.

Who has the jumps, win, simple. But in fact, worlds 2016 was a great event, really so many good programs but thinking about it I don´t think that there was a performance really extraordinary or memorable (women). Maybe because I am biased but remember Mao at worlds LP 2007? , worlds 2008, 2010?, Yulia Sochi 2014 , Yuna 2009? those were very spectacular.

Exist this charismatic/star quality that only few have: Mao, Yulia, Yuna, Michelle K, Sasha C.. Unfortunately right now, there is not that kind of skater except Mao. Maybe Marin someday, but at her age Mao was already a star. Mirai had that potential but something happened?

My point is if Mao retires, figure skating will be losing their only star at women skaters.

The Head of the ISU, Speedy Cinquanta, has said that he does not want to have any more Eric Heiden's (famous speed skater from many years ago) or Michelle Kwans. Mao has won Worlds 3 times (and would have won 4 if the value of the triple axel was worth what it is now in 2007) and she has won the Grand Prix Final 4 times and won the freeskate with one of her best ever skates in one of the ones she didn't win in 2007. To me, it seems obvious they don't want her to win or even place above any of the favored skaters because of the deflated scores, and that they don't want her to stay. Otherwise, why would they make the underscoring so obvious, as so many have commented on on youtube and this forum, and why would scores increase so dramatically for so many in PCS and tech when she returned, even if there have been a lot of good skates. Even if Mao has skated great, she has never received anywhere near this rapid an increase in personal best scores, yet she is one of the best skaters ever. But now, many skaters have almost equaled or surpassed her best scores. I believe the huge increases are unjustified and like intimidation. As far as great performances, you can read the comments about Mao's freeskate on youtube to find that many do think is was a very memorable performance.

The tears and chills I got while watching her Madame Butterfly even after multiple viewings were very similar to her Sochi LP. This is proof that I was moved deeply. Even Tatianna Tarasova said it was like the second Olympics (the second Sochi). Emotionally and artistically, it was almost equivalent to me. To be honest, I think Mao's performance in the LP impressed me much more than Yuna Kim's or Yulia's. I even think it was better than Mao's LP performance at Worlds in 2008 and just as great as her LP performance in 2007 and 2010 with even more intricate and expressive artistry, though those are two of my very favorites. As a Mao fan, I honestly don't know what you were watching if you didn't feel it like so many others did, but everyone has their own opinion. I know Mao thought it was really good, and I think she is always right about her performances.

Arriba627 · Apr 8, 2016

noskates said:
Mao was stunning in Boston. I only wish her SP had been more successful. She is class all the way. Had she skated 2 clean programs the podium would have had a different look. I sincerely hope she continues skating through 2018 because the sport (and the fans) would surely miss her. I've seen her on TV numerous times but seeing her in person at practice sessions and then in the competition was magical.

She is a goddess. Unbelievably beautiful. So glad I was there. I'll never forget her performance.

nguyhm · Apr 8, 2016

I'm so happy to have seen Mao in person. She is so tiny and absolutely beautiful. Her performances took my breath away and I was not the only one, the audience was on their feet - so was I and Mao looked very happy with the reaction that she received. I was happy to see her smile, no matter what the scores turned out to be. I just wanted to see Mao happy and I'm glad she was - she looked happy.

yhmafan · Apr 8, 2016

Thanks gotoschool

, coz Mao looks really stunning even with that low qualities.)

More pictures will come later.

Danibellerika · Apr 8, 2016

Did anyone post this new golden skate interview with Raf as he talks about Mao?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkLLwgvT1jE&feature=youtu.be

I actually was in the same stairwell with him after the men's free. He definitely had some pep in his step.

largeman · Apr 8, 2016

anyanka said:
I'm going to put this out there because it has bothered me ...

In the FS her technical score was up to 74-75 points. Then when the marks were posted ... 65. She lost 10 points on that upon review but they really hammered her. And her transitions weren't in the 70s as usual despite her being on top of her game.

So, what was up with that? The conspiracy theory I have is that the judges were subtly holding her down because they are not-so-subtly trying to get her to retire.

OK I go now ...

I have no view one way or the other on the possibility of such a conspiracy. However I will say that the UR call on her 3A was blatantly wrong and egregious. It is clear as day that the 3A was not UR, just look at the trajectory of her blade on the ice.

In the past I have at times questioned why the panel went particularly strict or harsh on her when the landing was borderline. But I always gave the panel the benefit of a doubt and trusted that their video must be better quality :sarcasm:. This time there isn't even any question they got it wrong. Especially when they gave the 3S to Ashley! What kind of standard is that?

I can't really defend the other two jumps where she got < though

Anyway I quickly chose to look past the scores and instead of dwelling on what marks she should have received, dwell on what an incredible performance she actually delivered. The judging was bad, but it takes away not one bit the extraordinary athleticism and artistry she put out on the ice.

hurrah · Apr 9, 2016

So nice to see Mao looking so ravishing and enjoying herself! :love:

Yes to having more photos! Please?

gotoschool · Apr 9, 2016

largeman said:
I have no view one way or the other on the possibility of such a conspiracy. However I will say that the UR call on her 3A was blatantly wrong and egregious. It is clear as day that the 3A was not UR, just look at the trajectory of her blade on the ice.

In the past I have at times questioned why the panel went particularly strict or harsh on her when the landing was borderline. But I always gave the panel the benefit of a doubt and trusted that their video must be better quality :sarcasm:. This time there isn't even any question they got it wrong. Especially when they gave the 3S to Ashley! What kind of standard is that?

I can't really defend the other two jumps where she got < though

Anyway I quickly chose to look past the scores and instead of dwelling on what marks she should have received, dwell on what an incredible performance she actually delivered. The judging was bad, but it takes away not one bit the extraordinary athleticism and artistry she put out on the ice.

After watching Mao's 3F / 3L and 2A / 3T in real time many times, I still don't see any urs. What I see are jumps with beautiful symmetry, excellent flow and posture, and wonderful expression in movement on entrance and exitl. Maybe the urs are there. Maybe there is a holding penalty on every other play on a lineman in NFL football if the referee wants to look closely enough with slow motion replay at every play. Maybe every skater would get a lot of urs if they were scrutinized as closely as Mao. The ISU doesn't even seem to look at the total rotation in the air anyway. They only look at the landing and rarely give the benefit of the doubt to Mao as they do to preferred others. Because of this and the ISU's decision to completely ignore pre-rotation no matter how severe it is, if often happens that Mao gets ur calls on jumps she rotates more than skaters who are not called, even though they rotate less. Scoring in this way is very unjust and contradicts the real definition of a ur.

To me, the extremely heavy emphasis and penalties on qualities that usually can't be see in real time, while largely ignoring far more visible qualities, is kind of like missing the forest by looking at a single tree in it. Or hunting for a needle in a haystack. Or focusing on a minuscule mole on the face of a beautiful woman. Besides, I saw urs and edge issues on others in slow motion that weren't called again at Worlds on certain skaters. Evgenia skated well, but an edge call was overlooked on her and a harsh e was given to Mao for what should have been a ! or called good. Besides the extremely harsh ur and edge rulings, Mao usually gets low GOE on her jumps as well, despite all the highly aesthetic qualities I mentioned above which make her jumps so beautiful. The fact that all the preoccupation with and huge deductions for edges, urs, two footing landings and the relative reduction in the value of the triple axel compared to 6.0 all came with Mao's arrival on the professional scene is quite a coincidence, and the event that caused these changes to be made in the first place is as well. So, is the fact that when I have watched slow motion replays of questionable jumps by other skaters going back many years, Mao has been called for urs while other skaters have not. Honestly, i didn't believe this idea of a double standard in scoring until I started to look closely.

In terms of PCS, Mao should have the highest PCS score by a significant margin in the LP because of her superior skating skills, compelling expression of the choreography in her presentation, and because of the big standing ovation in the US and because she received by far the most views and praise on youtube which is a good sign of public sentiment. But, Mao received 3-5 points lower PCS scores than two skaters whose top scores last season were 64 and 58, even though Mao's top score in her last season was 72. Basically, the PCS scores in the Worlds 2016 LP should have been switched based on the past scores and Mao's compelling performance, and even then Mao's PCS score advantage would still be half (or less) than what it was.

I love Mao's skating first and foremost because of how deeply she moves my emotions with her consummate mix of beauty, artistry and athleticism. In addition, another reason I am so compelled by her skating is because of the idea of a great artist and athlete battling against a system that treats her unjustly and doesn't properly value her artistic and technical efforts. It is common in history for acts of discrimination to happen, and the big outpouring of praise on youtube shows the great disconnect between the love of Mao's performance and the unjust scores and placement.

gotoschool · Apr 9, 2016

daphenaxa · Apr 9, 2016

Mao looks so regal in all those pictures :love:

thanks all of you guys for posting

As for the conspiracy theories, I personally don't believe ISU wants to push Mao to retire. I think they are aware of the popularity of Mao and that she brings a lot of fans and money to the sport.
However my take on her scores is that:

- judges don't do their job properly in general when it comes to PCS and sometimes even GOEs. For PCS, Mao is particularly penalized and she is imo the most shocking example but she is not the only one whose PCS are not accurately evaluated (some people are very overstored and some people are underscored too).
Judges put scores it seems only taking into account speed (which Mao has btw but less than someone with no transition and bad posture+crossovers) and over the top theatricality (think Wagner, Chock and Bates, Duhamel and Radford). I don't personally like this kind of interpretation but I understand it can be good for some programs and hence should be rewarded. However, subtle, deeper more organic interpretation like Mao's is very often overlooked or considered less strong which is ********. It is actually the most moving and impacting kind of interpretation and should be rewarded in the marks but it isn't.

- I actually think Japan doesn't play the game of influence as well as USA, Russia or Canada. It is ironic because a lot of the biggest stars in recent year (Yuzuru, Mao, Daisuke) have come from Japan and it is the love from the Japanese fans that keeps ISU afloat financially. But still, when you watch the score of Mao or Daisuke over the years, considering their status as world champions and legends of the sport and their popularity, they have always been marked very conservatively compared to other stars like Yuna, Patrick or Javier or even Evgenia now (she is not a star yet but seems to be on the path I think). In the case of Mao, some of her UR calls or edge calls over the years have been super harsh and I am positive if she had been Russian or American she wouldn't have got called, as Evgenia's E lutz non-call all season seems to prove or Wagner's non UR calls or Gold's non E flip call. So there is something behind the scene that Japan isn't doing as well as other big nations in the sport.

gotoschool · Apr 9, 2016

Thanks to cohkaix for posting this information: A 'funny' incident happened when Mao performed the M. butterfly program at SOI in Osaka: upon finishing the program, she skated to one side of the rink, and only by then realised she got to the opposite of the exit. So while the audiences were immersed in the touching performance by Mao, everyone broke into a laughter in the end as Mao finally figured out where the exit is. Here's the video clip of the incident:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4392aq_soi-照れ笑いの理由は_sport

They said that reports from twitter said that Mao skated to Madame Buttterfly in the first show and Puttin on the Ritz in the second. For the FS, she did the layout of: 2A、3F2Lo、3Lz、2Aso、3S、3F2Lo2Lo(tano)、3Lo

The full post can be found at: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...er-beauty-is-her-biggest-weapon.95911/page-26 Number 761

yhmafan · Apr 10, 2016

Here are many pictures from the EX at the worlds.

arty:

EX practice
https://41.media.tumblr.com/890289262c56c5b492b05a461922fdf4/tumblr_o542duNsnR1uf9g8fo1_540.jpg
(haha I can see they are Mao and Yuzu.)

https://40.media.tumblr.com/e8656f4b62fa9244e15600b63372c0d9/tumblr_o542axlQCb1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg

It’s sweet. Yuzuru introduced Mao.
https://40.media.tumblr.com/a686bfedda1616abc17260c07c9198a6/tumblr_o542d3CohJ1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/4cddfbc13e40972c967ac8e20f2ee732/tumblr_o542d3CohJ1uf9g8fo2_1280.jpg
https://36.media.tumblr.com/d4df1eca7cde6b349b500af23f5e2134/tumblr_o542d3CohJ1uf9g8fo3_1280.jpg

Mao EX performance
https://36.media.tumblr.com/5b2ad0be5bfa992ae0b356233e562fc2/tumblr_o5433nBGZj1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg
https://40.media.tumblr.com/90d13450be3b5bea63ec43c664736a11/tumblr_o5be3jDM3E1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg
https://40.media.tumblr.com/2d5443383eb4f8669d649b6f93f9f309/tumblr_o593y0f6IZ1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg
https://40.media.tumblr.com/8505d8c1a066d48a2027b577f29e164f/tumblr_o5bdngFRjl1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg

https://40.media.tumblr.com/fba9a3dc1811c0dbb1a99bf6910566a6/tumblr_o55ulnDPM01uf9g8fo1_500.jpg
https://36.media.tumblr.com/26ef8eb2e7c8bdae969383257766054d/tumblr_o55tq47FbP1uf9g8fo1_500.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/b511383d0e39c919a0518da546580c67/tumblr_o5ejaiNwUq1uf9g8fo1_540.jpg
https://40.media.tumblr.com/ae2bf4917b1ba71c3736ce835b7d5795/tumblr_o5ej9oUNd11uf9g8fo1_540.jpg

Performance with Yuzuru (They both look too lovely. :yes

https://40.media.tumblr.com/60bc3c33f05d856719c1256dd035fd0f/tumblr_o54115iUcs1uf9g8fo3_r2_1280.png
https://40.media.tumblr.com/7caaa0d9f830ccc04035b4016e23676e/tumblr_o54115iUcs1uf9g8fo4_r1_1280.png
https://36.media.tumblr.com/7414153723e23821beecf30e618b1777/tumblr_o54115iUcs1uf9g8fo2_1280.jpg

https://40.media.tumblr.com/f62a15e4cc92101be1c44fafe8d9a570/tumblr_o55sw3lU8p1uf9g8fo1_500.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/c21165b57fa62c4a791c073850be7ee5/tumblr_o55tdhfh3J1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg

With Yuzuru and Satoko.
https://41.media.tumblr.com/5bac547f9a94d4493e2b3ba7064ce23f/tumblr_o541j9uZNS1uf9g8fo1_1280.png
https://41.media.tumblr.com/0e1d613cc9a7ab35696d9d4df77d6dfc/tumblr_o593skVpRh1uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/8a28f24efdfc2be2c53104eea6c693e4/tumblr_o541mcWjQ31uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg

Fanarts
https://41.media.tumblr.com/cd56113fc9bdc7178f2ad730aab0f52f/tumblr_o55t6iKnb81uf9g8fo1_1280.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/3d9fad21c390d4ac6f5a0108cd2e45b0/tumblr_o5emqigRg41uf9g8fo1_540.jpg

Hope you guys enjoy

Mao Asada

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