I'm Japanese. I'm absolutely sure that Japanese will forgive Mao even if she does not get a medal. Disappointed? Yes. But would not mad at her. Mao is well loved. The reason why Miki was treated cruelly was (partly, at least) because she was not in good shape in that season, unfortunately coinciding with the timing when Mao emerged from nowhere with the astonishing performance. But the the points she accumulated in the previous year(s) allowed Miki to go to Torino, while Mao could not enter the competition due to the underage issue. Japanese felt so disappointed in the fact, despite the Olympics rules. If there were no Mao, (sad to say as a Japanese though) Miki would have been treated better even after the failure in the Olympics. In addition, Miki is not good at expressing herself and tends to give a wrong impression. In contrast, Mao has a lovable personality and is a very hard worker. Japanese just love her no matter what. Don't worry. Mao would not be treated like Miki. But my favorite is Miki. All the pressure lifted, thanks to Mao, I hope she delivers her best performance in FS.
