Yes, I prefer the La Vie en Rose Ex too. When he came out in the white shirt instead of the striped shirt, I knew right away he was going to skate to See You Again. He does a nice job with the program, but I still prefer La Vie. He received very warm applause and cheers every time he skated his programs, during practices, after his interview with the translator, when he received his medal, etc. There were many Japanese fans, but he has a lot of Amercan fans too. It was such a shame -- overall, the crowds were very small because there was a big, important Regional competition that weekend (for people trying to qualify for our Jan. Nationals). So none of those kids (along with their families, coaches, etc.) could attend SA. There were a LOT of empty seats.
There are probably more women than men at the competitions, but there are quite a few men. The guy sitting next to me was really "into" the competition, and I could tell by the way he was talking that he was a skater...There was one really annoying "screamer" who could be heard in all the videos!
Shoma seems to have disappeared! I wonder if he would go all the way to Sapporo to NHK to check out the people who will be his competition! It's going to be a great one. Nathan Chen was at SA, no doubt he was looking at his competition! Just in case Shoma was able to sneak out of Japan, I made a phone call to see if he was practicing nearby, but the answer was no!...Maybe he will appear on the Japanese news soon.