Takahashi sold his program. He was the program. He reminded me of Yagudin, who could also sell most programs - even if the program itself seemed a bit generic. And the arm movements could have looked ridiculous and overly wild - but in my opinion they just didn't because they were so in character with the program, with the conviction and power Takahashi had on the ice. It also helped that every jump looked perferct, amazingly incorporated in the program - I was blown away...
I especially loved the one moment before the final step sequence, where Takahashi relaxed a bit and the music was very quiet, but I was full of expectation, I just knew that everything that followed would be incredible - and then Takahashi burst into these final steps - love it!!! And that moment isn't really about choreography, you can't choreograph that moment - you can help to prepare it, but the skater has to have the conviction, the self-confidence and the understanding for music and program to really create and live that moment.
