Kazuki Tomono

[DizzyFrenchie]

Yay for Kazuki in LA! Hope he has a wonderful and productive week with Misha

I also feel a lot of joy watching Kazuki and following his shenanigans off-ice has been extremely fun, too. However, as someone who's been following him closely since March 2018, I can't deny there's been some difficult moments.

The 2018-19 season, for example, was extremely difficult. In theory, he should have done well following Milan 2018, but there was so much on his plate: Misha joined his coaching team and introduced a lot of changes, the return of Daisuke Takahashi to competition (who instantly stole his thunder), and the pressure he put on himself to prove Milan's results 'weren't a fluke'. This led to some heartbreaking results such as 4CC 2019, when we saw him fighting tears of frustration in the K&C

The first half of 2019-20 was also difficult, as it took some time to adapt to a two-quad layout. Competition after competition he struggled, and many thought he should give up and go back to his previous layout. 2020-21 was also a difficult season, as not only him but many Japanese men struggled with the changes brought by the pandemic and the fact that the federation had made clear, by way of scoring and politicking, they had already chosen Yuma Kagiyama for the Olympic team.

Of course, it's precisely because I know he has overcome so much already, that I have complete faith he can overcome whatever struggle comes his way now. However, I can also see how some people might be put off by the emotional rollercoaster and would rather get attached to someone that they perceive to be more consistent. I feel sorry for these people and I think they're missing out on so much, but c'est la vie.

In the last years, the skater who, by far, keeps gathering most fans, is a skater who's been opposed by official narratives to supposedly consistent skaters, who were mostly consistent on the paper, and a significant number of his fans like Kazuki Tomono's skating too. A skater who gives his all will never be perfectly consistent, and yes following the best skaters is always a rollercoaster because ice is slippery, the injuries, and all. People who can't bear the rollercoaster, may prefer to follow the best skaters from further, only watching the best competitions in replay and the shows, rather than to inflict themselves the pain of watching boring skates from other skaters?

 

[TallyT]

I believe (or like to believe) that Kazuki is a bit like Nobu or even Jason in the way he might not get the gold to make him one of the the official top names, but audiences are drawn to him which hopefully will make him a regular choice in shows etc for years to come even after his competitive career finishes. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see him win some more - and even gold. we can dream! - before then.

 

[kwanette]

The international skaters who have been in competitions w Kazuki or on tour w him..really like him..Chock and Bates, Vincent Zhou,Jean Luc and Kaitlyn..Matteo, French Adam..Retired skaters like Jeremy Abbott, Ashley Wagney, Polina Edmonds..and the legendary Kurt Browning..to name a few..And then there are commentators like Mark Hanretty, Belinda Noonan, Chris Howarth..they know performance..

 

[KiraraChin]

I agree with all of you! For me, skating and performance quality are more important than consistent results. I'm also confident that Kazuki will achieve his best results yet in the following seasons

Meanwhile, Kazuki has updated his NowVoice! He talked about FaOI and how he's become a fan of DAPUMP. Also, Tomono's Monogatari vol 22 is being published by non-no today at 6pm Japan time (in about 1h30), and we already know it will feature a programme announcement!

 

[surimi]

Also, Tomono's Monogatari vol 22 is being published by non-no today at 6pm Japan time (in about 1h30), and we already know it will feature a programme announcement!

Ohh, make your last minute bets, everyone...

 

[KiraraChin]

Sorry I realised 6pm Japan time it's 11am UK time, 12pm Central European time, 6am Eastern US time. It's still a few hours away! But yes, we should have the announcement soon!

 

[KiraraChin]

OK so... We've been trolled lol
They did publish a new article, but just the first part. So no music announcement yet...

 

[yesterday]

I agree with all of you! For me, skating and performance quality are more important than consistent results. I'm also confident that Kazuki will achieve his best results yet in the following seasons

Meanwhile, Kazuki has updated his NowVoice! He talked about FaOI and how he's become a fan of DAPUMP. Also, Tomono's Monogatari vol 22 is being published by non-no today at 6pm Japan time (in about 1h30), and we already know it will feature a programme announcement!

Is this Kermit doing Bills?

 

[kwanette]

友野一希連載「 #トモノのモノ語り。」1周年企画★ ロゴステッカープレゼント＆お悩み募集！

集英社のファッション＆ビューティ誌「non-no（ノンノ）」の公式サイト。 好感度が高くて、可愛いおしゃれが大好きな女子のための情報が満載！ 人気モデル・最新メイク＆コスメ・トレンドの髪型や、 気になる恋愛・モテ・占いまで毎日更新！

nonno.hpplus.jp

 

[kwanette]

友野一希「スケートときどきサウナ」 第10回／「信じられんくらい最高の姿」って!? - SAUNA BROS.WEB | サウナブロスウェブ

世界を舞台に活躍するトップフィギュアスケーターにして、大のサウナ好きでもある友野一希選手にさまざまなお話をうか

saunabrosweb.jp

 

[kwanette]

and lots of new Instagram pics..

 

[Figskater23]

The international skaters who have been in competitions w Kazuki or on tour w him..really like him..Chock and Bates, Vincent Zhou,Jean Luc and Kaitlyn..Matteo, French Adam..Retired skaters like Jeremy Abbott, Ashley Wagney, Polina Edmonds..and the legendary Kurt Browning..to name a few..And then there are commentators like Mark Hanretty, Belinda Noonan, Chris Howarth..they know performance..

The skater I mentioned meeting earlier who skated with Kazuki in the past was Mariah Bell. She came to a competition of mine back in March this year. When I told her Kazuki and Shoma were the two skaters I looked up to that’s when she told me how nice and down to earth they were. I never doubted it but to hear it from her was nice. She even said she got a little starstruck skating with them. Just goes to show how Kazuki’s energy and smile make peoples’ day.

 

[Figskater23]

I agree with all of you! For me, skating and performance quality are more important than consistent results. I'm also confident that Kazuki will achieve his best results yet in the following seasons

Meanwhile, Kazuki has updated his NowVoice! He talked about FaOI and how he's become a fan of DAPUMP. Also, Tomono's Monogatari vol 22 is being published by non-no today at 6pm Japan time (in about 1h30), and we already know it will feature a programme announcement!

For me it was never about the results when watching skaters. I like watching them compete and tell a story with the music and their body out on the ice. Sure, it’s exciting when they win and we are happy and excited for them because we want them to succeed at their dreams, but at the end of the day every skater is just a normal person. When I look at Kazuki, I see a man who goes for what he wants. He may be afraid at times but everyone is when they fight to make things happen. I see a man who seeks adventure and loves it especially when he can share it with friends and family. I see a soft spoken, gentle, kind, passionate, loving man who knows how to make others smile when they are down. If Kazuki or his team looks at our thread I want to say ありがとうございます かずきさん thank you Kazuki

 

[rabidline]

Hmm I don't know. Maybe it's just a Twitter thing, but I do see people who seem to enjoy his skating, but they get annoyed by the fact that he can't deliver results/clean skates all the time (some have clearly said so).

I gotta admit, being a Kazuki fan is an exercise of patience, because his development has been relatively slow and non-linear, and as he says himself, he makes people nervous at times when he skaters For me it's worth it, because I have faith in him, but other people don't really have the same patience/faith and would rather stan skaters who produce more consistent results.

Personally I always find it weird when fans say they enjoy skaters' skating but get annoyed about the results and consistency. The most important thing is you do love the skating, right? I feel like when the skating resonates with you so much, the roller coaster is part of the journey. It's sweeter when you see Kazuki reaches peaks that he's never reached before or gets opportunities he's never had before, since the roller coaster is more chaotic and the valleys are lower.

And I think with Kazuki that's the thing: since young he may not have the best basics and the ability to capture fed's support and attention immediately, but the core of his skating and performance spirit has always been there even when his jumps and overall polish aren't there yet. I'm glad that even though other people get annoyed at his inconsistency, that's starting to not be the case with the sponsors and media and organizers and shows in Japan, with the opportunities they are giving Kazuki to reach out to more people and let people know him more. While Japan still have ways to go about paying attention to and supporting people who don't win gold medals, hopefully the wider exposure such as in sports columns and women's magazines let people know who Kazuki is and follow his skating and performances.

(PS. This discussion is reminding me of Tiktok and Instagram fans who are worse than Twitter fans since they're very lookist. Won't even spend any time talking about them since they're not worth talking about).

 

[KiraraChin]

Personally I always find it weird when fans say they enjoy skaters' skating but get annoyed about the results and consistency. The most important thing is you do love the skating, right? I feel like when the skating resonates with you so much, the roller coaster is part of the journey. It's sweeter when you see Kazuki reaches peaks that he's never reached before or gets opportunities he's never had before, since the roller coaster is more chaotic and the valleys are lower.

THIS!! This is exactly why I feel sorry for people who are dismissive about him because of his inconsistency, the lows are low but the highs are so, so sweet

The skater I mentioned meeting earlier who skated with Kazuki in the past was Mariah Bell. She came to a competition of mine back in March this year. When I told her Kazuki and Shoma were the two skaters I looked up to that’s when she told me how nice and down to earth they were. I never doubted it but to hear it from her was nice. She even said she got a little starstruck skating with them. Just goes to show how Kazuki’s energy and smile make peoples’ day.

Thank you for sharing this story! It's really nice to know that fellow skaters can also see what we see.

 

[KiraraChin]

Sooo... no music announcement yesterday, but there's been quite a lot of new content

First of all, he updated his NowVoice with his impressions of FaOI. It seems that he's become a fan of DAPUMP, which made the band's fans happy on Twitter!

Then, we had new articles from non-no and sauna bros, thank you for the updates @kwanette

The non-no's article link is this one: https://nonno.hpplus.jp/article/107753 (Part 1)
To celebrate the 1st anniversary, non-no commissioned a new logo and banner, which looks super nice! They're holding a contest on Twitter and they will be sending stickers with the new logo to fans (Japan-only, sigh). They also opened for applications again for people to send messages for the 'Tomono's counselling room worries'.
This first part of the article is all about Kazuki visiting Koenji which is, according to Kazuki, 'a paradise for vintage clothes'. The pics are really cute and, as usual, he shows so much knowledge! It made me laugh that even the non-no photographer ended up buying clothes too

The Sauna Bros article talks a bit about skating, and he says he's aiming for difficult in both the SP and FS, 'including technology'. Hopefully he means difficult choreo, not more difficult jumps, otherwise it'll be difficult to keep his promise of more stability

In any case, he's been working on his basics with Misha, which is always a good idea!

 

[KiraraChin]

Kazuki updated his NowVoice again, this one is entitled 'SOI review'.

He also posted a picture of a massive In-N-Out burger with chips (French fries for the Americans). He says he got it 'as a reward after the last practice' so maybe he's going back to Japan soon

 

[yuumagical]

The Sauna Bros article talks a bit about skating, and he says he's aiming for difficult in both the SP and FS, 'including technology'. Hopefully he means difficult choreo, not more difficult jumps, otherwise it'll be difficult to keep his promise of more stability

I hate to break this to you, but the word for "technology" in Japanese (技術) is also used when referring to the technical elements score (技術点, with 点 referring to points or the score). I couldn't find the exact portion you were referring to in the original Japanese version of the article (as it's quite long), but I suspect that Kazuki wants to improve his technical side. Please hang in there!

 

[kwanette]

Kazuki updated his NowVoice again, this one is entitled 'SOI review'.

He also posted a picture of a massive In-N-Out burger with chips (French fries for the Americans). He says he got it 'as a reward after the last practice' so maybe he's going back to Japan soon

Last practice of the week? or the day? It is hard to tell.

 

[KiraraChin]

I hate to break this to you, but the word for "technology" in Japanese (技術) is also used when referring to the technical elements score (技術点, with 点 referring to points or the score). I couldn't find the exact portion you were referring to in the original Japanese version of the article (as it's quite long), but I suspect that Kazuki wants to improve his technical side. Please hang in there!

Thank you for the info and support This is the original bit in Japanese:
「ショートも作り上げたばかりだから、まだぜんぜん出来ない（笑）。そもそも、今お話ししたように、ちょっとレベルが高いことにあえて挑戦したいなって思っているんで、テクニック的なことも含めて、よりスケーティング技術も何もかも難しくしてるんです。いや、これはやりがいがすごいなって（笑）」

Meanwhile, we had two very wholesome updates related to Kazuki coaches. First, Hiraike-sensei received JSF's silver pin, which he said it was one of his lifelong goals (did you see this @Giu)


Then, Misha-sensei posted this IG story. Not clear whether Kazuki is still in California or not, but from the smiles, it seems they had a great time