Japanese Favourites in Japan!

The World Championships in Tokyo I think will definately be huge for most of the Japanese Skaters!

Ladies:
Mao Asada, if she could pull of that triple axel here, she could be like Kimmie Meissner winning the gold medal on her first trip
Miki Ando, if she skated to her full potential I think she's in for at least a medal
Fumie Suguri, maybe she'll finally win the world title after a long long career!

I think that we will definately see at least one Japanese World Title won somewhere.

Men:
Daisuke Takahashi i think is up for challenging Joubert or Lambiel for the world title.
Nobunari Oda, maybe after last year just missing the podium this'll finally be his year.

I think that because of the World Being in Tokyo this will not only heat up the competition at worlds but at Japanese Nationals as well. Don't forget that when Shizuka Arakawa won the World Title in 2004 she was only Japanese Bronze Medallist and also when she won the Olympic Gold this past february she was only Japanese Bronze Medalist. So Japanese Nationals are definately like a mini world championship. I think that we are going to see at least ONE Japanese World title here, the last was in 2004 Shizuka Arakawa maybe we'll also get the first man from Japan to finish higher than 3rd which was Takeshi Honda in '02 and '03.

So I definately think that the top 5 in the men will be these not in any specific order though:
Stephane Lambiel
Brian Joubert
Daisuke Takahashi
Nobunari Oda
Johnny Weir

Ladies:
Mao Asada
Kim Yu-Na
Miki Ando
Fumie Suguri
Kimie Meissner

we'll see we'll see only time will tell!

Is the Japanese federation sending Suguri to worlds now? I herd that they were sending Nakano instead because she beat Suguri at nationals.
In the mens I think that both Lysacek and Buttle can beat Weir if they have recovered from their injuries. My pick for the mens is Joubert, women Yu-Na Kim, but it could be Mao Asada. Joannie Rochette will factor into the top 5 if she skates like she did at Skate Canada. The pairs tiltle will go to Shen/Zhao and the dance title probably to D/S again.

They are not sending Suguri to the worlds. She didn't get a podium finish in the Japanese Nationals so as a result they are sending Mao Asada, Miki Ando and Yukari Nakano. Suguri will compete at the 4CC instead.

the women's podium will be a little crowded:
asada, ando, kim, meissner, kostner (euro champ)
Spoilers:
czisny, meier, rochette, nakano

BUT THE MEN: That is a little more than crowded.
Lysacek, Weir, Buttle, Sandhu, Joubert, Takahashi, Oda, Lambiel?
It's a little shocking to think that not all of these guys will make the final flight. It's even more shocking to think that, at their best, any of these men deserves to be world champion. I know joubert has the edge, but Takahashi has been very very consistent (and his program is better overall). Lysacek's nationals LP showed that he has the goods. Buttle's been on the podium before. Oda SHOULD have bene on the podium last year. Sandhu...well...u never know. Imagine if all these men were on...GEEEEEESSS.

I think the mens and ladies are going to come down to these six.

Ladies:
Yu-Na Kim
Mao Asada
Miki Ando
Kimmie
Emily
Rochette

Men:
Joubert
Takahashi
Oda
Lysacek
Buttle
Weir

I think in the ladies list Kostner is being overlooked. I wouldn't count her out. Ando has been a little sporadic with the jumps as well (but I still say top six for her). But Hughes? top six? I doubt it. Maybe #6 the highest, but I don't think she's at the level of top 5 in the world...other folks will have to mess up bad to give her a chance.

My bet:

Ladies:

1. Mao Asada / Yu-Na Kim
2. Kimmie Meissner
3. Miki Ando
4. Kostner

Men:

1. Daisuke Takahashi (he can do it)
2. Brian Joubert
3. Evan Lysacek
4/5. Oda / Tomas Verner

Pairs:

1. Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao
2. Savchenko / SZOLKOWY
3. Pang/Tong
4. Other ppl

Dance:

1. Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER
2/3. Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN
3/4. Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon or Belbin / Agosto

But I'm really bad in predictions.

Go Daisuke!

I think Miki is going to win the whole thing!

Ando is THE definition of a dark horse if I ever saw one. I mean, if she's on, she has just as much chance of winning as the top favorites. If she falls, she may end up stumbling into the top 10.

I think that Yukari could possibly repeat her top 5 finish last year. Her consistency on the triple axel is really iffy but her spins and choreography are really nice this year.

I think Ando is the 2nd favorite for gold.
She usually lose her form when a competition follows another. It's almost three months after Japanese Nationals, she can repeat "Skate America".
Other skaters must pray for Asada and Ando's mistakes.

I agree, Satorare, and I hope they do win gold and silver in whatever order - but unfortunately both do make mistakes, so it's not a sure thing. Many are ready and able to rush in to medal if the favorites melt down.