2019-20 Japanese Men's Figure Skating | Golden Skate

2019-20 Japanese Men's Figure Skating

gsk8

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Country
United-States
Going to be an exciting season! Looking forward to seeing newcomer Kao Miura at JGP Latvia!

Others competing:

Junior
Yuma Kagiyama - 5th at 2018-19 Jr Nats
Sena Miyake - 6th at 2018-19 Jr Nats
Shun Sato - 2nd at 2018-19 Jr Nats
Tatsuya Tsuboi - 2018-19 Jr Nats Jr Champ!

Senior
Yuzuru Hanyu - ^^ we know you Yuzu! ^^
Koshiro Shimada - 3rd at 2018-19 Jr Nats
Keiji Tanaka - 3rd at 2018-19 Sr Nats
Kazuki Tomono - 4th at 2018-19 Sr Nats
Shoma Uno - National Champ
Sota Yamamoto - 9th at 2018-19 Sr Nats

Who else are you looking forward to seeing? What are your thoughts on the skaters above? Predictions on how they'll fare? Share it all!
 
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Dreamer57

Record Breaker
Joined
May 20, 2018
I'd love to see Yuma rise to be one of the top juniors! He is now working on a 4S.

& can't wait to see Shoma's new FS (probably at Japan Open)?

I hope we can maybe see Daisuke Takahashi at an international competition this season :)
 

elektra blue

mother of skaters
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 11, 2018
Country
Italy
honestly i'm curious about Shoma, this season is a big question mark for him. how this coaching situation will turn out for him? also i'm curious about Koshiro Shimada's senior debut, will he take away from Keiji Tanaka the spot of Japan number 3? or Shoma's 2? is there a junior who is a serious medal contender on the jgp circuit and jworlds?
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
I'm curious to see if Shoma and Hanyu will be able to upgrade their tech content (acquiring consistency on their previously landed quads, and even new elements like 3A+4T for Uno) in order to match Chen, and excited to see some new programs too. Sota vs Keiji should also be an interesting battle. So much potential in Sota.. would also love to see Tomono get his groove back.
 

cohkaix

FS data keeper
Medalist
Joined
Mar 9, 2013
Re-posting the information about summer competitions from the JPN ladies' discussion thread. Also adding the men's entries.


[19-20] Summer competition#2 - Kanto Summer Trophy (at Saitama Ice Arena)
Time: Aug 8~11
Starting order: (in Japanese)
Jr. men: Yuma Kagiyama; Shun Sato; Kao Kiura [Jr men's SP on Aug 10th, after Jr ladies' SP]


[19-20] Summer competition#3 - Gen-san Summer Cup (at Shiga Prefectural Ice Arena)
Time: Aug 9~12
Starting order: (in Japanese, updated Jul. 22nd)

Sr. men: Tomono Kazuki, Sota Yamamoto, Yamakuma Taiichiro, Kishina Yuto (moving into Sr.?)
Jr. men: Tsuboi Tatsuya, Sena Miyake, Mitsuki Sumoto

*The Gen-san competition will be broadcast LIVE domestically (by Jsports-on-demand)
 

Dreamer57

Record Breaker
Joined
May 20, 2018
honestly i'm curious about Shoma, this season is a big question mark for him. how this coaching situation will turn out for him? also i'm curious about Koshiro Shimada's senior debut, will he take away from Keiji Tanaka the spot of Japan number 3? or Shoma's 2? is there a junior who is a serious medal contender on the jgp circuit and jworlds?

Shun Sato and Yuma Kagiyama could likely medal.
Tatsuya Tsuboi became the national Jr champion last year.
I think Mitsuki Sumoto is also staying junior (he won bronze at JGPF in 2017), but I haven't seen his name on the subs lists yet. There is only 1 entry in 6 JGP events so some skaters will miss out until Jr nationals comes around.

I've heard Koshiro has been working on his jumps with Ghislain, he plans to put two 3As in his FS.
https://www.twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1152215747872976896
 

Sai Bon

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Country
New-Zealand
I would like everyone (especially Yuzu, Shoma, and Sota) to stay healthy, Shoma to find his way, and Kazuki to get his mojo back and progress.
I hope Koshiro has a good senior debut season.
Thanks for the link, Dreamer57!
 

SnowWhite

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 30, 2016
Country
Canada
Shun Sato and Yuma Kagiyama could likely medal.
Tatsuya Tsuboi became the national Jr champion last year.
I think Mitsuki Sumoto is also staying junior (he won bronze at JGPF in 2017), but I haven't seen his name on the subs lists yet. There is only 1 entry in 6 JGP events so some skaters will miss out until Jr nationals comes around.

I've heard Koshiro has been working on his jumps with Ghislain, he plans to put two 3As in his FS.
https://www.twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1152215747872976896

I had read that Mitsuki was moving up to seniors.
 

die Wolke

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 25, 2019
Most of all - interesting, how Shoma will handle the situation and whom he wil choose as his new main coach.
Also there will be Daisuke, Keiji, Koshiro, Sota, Kazuki... A battle for 3 spot promises to be interesting ;)
 

tsuyoboogie

"Dedicate your heart" & Slay like an Ackerman
Record Breaker
Joined
May 4, 2014
Shun Sato and Yuma Kagiyama could likely medal.
Tatsuya Tsuboi became the national Jr champion last year.
I think Mitsuki Sumoto is also staying junior (he won bronze at JGPF in 2017), but I haven't seen his name on the subs lists yet. There is only 1 entry in 6 JGP events so some skaters will miss out until Jr nationals comes around.

I've heard Koshiro has been working on his jumps with Ghislain, he plans to put two 3As in his FS.
https://www.twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1152215747872976896

Though Mitsuki is still competing as a Junior in certain domestic summer events he has officially announced his decision to debut as a Senior in the upcoming season.
He's currently assigned to Nepela Memorial.
After a challenging season plagued with injury and other inconveniences beyond his control I wish him a smooth, enjoyable and successful Senior debut.

Hoping to see the 3 Kanto crows (Yuma, Shun and Kao) KICK A$$ in their JGP events.
Going the extra mile by lighting candles and crossing fingers and toes for my favorite wild child, Kao. May he keep his chaos in check.

As for Kazuki, determination has always been his greatest strength.
Though he was often dismissed for not being "good enough", not given the opportunities a lot of the other boys had when they were younger,
he continued to persevere, develop and bring satisfactory results to the point where he could no longer be ignored.
For all that he's had to overcome he is the skater I am most proud of.
After a full season of reworking most of his technique (ss, spins, jumps) I'm confident he'll now be able to perform showing much improved basics while regaining some of his jump consistency
Praying for his success with the new programs and upgraded jump layout.
Bold prediction: This coming season Kazuki will medal at both of his GPs (1 silver and 1 bronze) and will finish on the podium at Nationals.

Good Luck to all the Japanese Men!
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Among the juniors, I'll cheer for Sena Miyake the most as I find him the most charismatic. I've seen Shun and Yuma, but their skating hasn't won me over so far.
Among the seniors, my top favorites are still Yuzuru and Sota. I hope they have a successful season. Too bad there aren't more spots for major championships, as I am a big fan of Kazuki as well. I also like Shoma, Keiji, Ryuju, Mitsuki and Hiroaki. I hope they all stay healthy, and hopefully this season goes better for Ryuju and Mitsuki who were very unlucky with their injuries last season :pray: If the battle for the third spot on national team takes place between KKKS aka Koshiro, Keiji, Kazuki and Sota, I'm all ready for it. That's not a dig against Daisuke btw who also has a big chance to become Japanese Nr. 3, but with his PCS the battle would become much less thrilling for me.
Very curious how Shoma does on all levels. Since he's already given us a major surprise, maybe he can even become an outgoing person this season?
Someone said Hiroaki is hanging up his skates after this season, so extra cheers for him, and fingers crossed for his good results and an international assignment for him in the course of the season.
I'm eager to hear info about Gensan Cup. That competition should give us a sneak peek at the condition of some of the boys trying to challenge Keiji's/daisuke's position.
 

Gabby30

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Though Mitsuki is still competing as a Junior in certain domestic summer events he has officially announced his decision to debut as a Senior in the upcoming season.
He's currently assigned to Nepela Memorial.
After a challenging season plagued with injury and other inconveniences beyond his control I wish him a smooth, enjoyable and successful Senior debut.

Hoping to see the 3 Kanto crows (Yuma, Shun and Kao) KICK A$$ in their JGP events.
Going the extra mile by lighting candles and crossing fingers and toes for my favorite wild child, Kao. May he keep his chaos in check.

As for Kazuki, determination has always been his greatest strength.
Though he was often dismissed for not being "good enough", not given the opportunities a lot of the other boys had when they were younger,
he continued to persevere, develop and bring satisfactory results to the point where he could no longer be ignored.
For all that he's had to overcome he is the skater I am most proud of.
After a full season of reworking most of his technique (ss, spins, jumps) I'm confident he'll now be able to perform showing much improved basics while regaining some of his jump consistency
Praying for his success with the new programs and upgraded jump layout.
Bold prediction: This coming season Kazuki will medal at both of his GPs (1 silver and 1 bronze) and will finish on the podium at Nationals.

Good Luck to all the Japanese Men!

With all due respect, but Kazuki profited the most from Sota’s injury. When Sota broke his ankle, it was Kazuki who was send to junior worlds in his place. Sota literally missed his senior debut, looked for doctors in whole Japan, had 3 surgeries, rehabilitation and after almost 2 years away from ice and competition, had to re-learn all of his jumps. He didn’t only got his quad back, but recently learned a new one, despite the bolts in his right ankle. That's determination.
Kazuki didn't go through that much
 

Sai Bon

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Country
New-Zealand
With all due respect, but Kazuki profited the most from Sota’s injury. When Sota broke his ankle, it was Kazuki who was send to junior worlds in his place. Sota literally missed his senior debut, looked for doctors in whole Japan, had 3 surgeries, rehabilitation and after almost 2 years away from ice and competition, had to re-learn all of his jumps. He didn’t only got his quad back, but recently learned a new one, despite the bolts in his right ankle. That's determination.
Kazuki didn't go through that much

I don't think we need to have a "who was the most disadvantaged as a junior" competition... if we did that with the Japanese ladies, Mai Mihara would win hands down.

I like both Kazuki and Sota - they are very different skaters - and hope we get to see them perform their best.
 

Giu

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Country
Italy
With all due respect, but Kazuki profited the most from Sota’s injury. When Sota broke his ankle, it was Kazuki who was send to junior worlds in his place. Sota literally missed his senior debut, looked for doctors in whole Japan, had 3 surgeries, rehabilitation and after almost 2 years away from ice and competition, had to re-learn all of his jumps. He didn’t only got his quad back, but recently learned a new one, despite the bolts in his right ankle. That's determination.
Kazuki didn't go through that much

I'm sorry but I disagree. I can't see how Kazuki could have "profited" from Sota's injury. His achievements are the results of his hard work, his perseverance and also of his talent, that not everyone had seen before.
He ranked fifth at Worlds and got a bronze medal at one of his GPs and this has nothing to do with Sota's injury.

Like Sai Bon said, they're different, let's just hope they can give their best next season.
 

tsuyoboogie

"Dedicate your heart" & Slay like an Ackerman
Record Breaker
Joined
May 4, 2014
With all due respect, but Kazuki profited the most from Sota’s injury. When Sota broke his ankle, it was Kazuki who was send to junior worlds in his place. Sota literally missed his senior debut, looked for doctors in whole Japan, had 3 surgeries, rehabilitation and after almost 2 years away from ice and competition, had to re-learn all of his jumps. He didn’t only got his quad back, but recently learned a new one, despite the bolts in his right ankle. That's determination.
Kazuki didn't go through that much

I'm a huge supporter of Team Japan, particularly the Japanese Men.
I support and cheer for all of the guys including many who will never have the opportunity to compete at Nationals, let alone an international event.

Sota is no exception.
I've been a fan of his deep edges and gorgeous spins since I first saw him skate in 2014 and was absolutely heartbroken hearing about his injury and withdrawal from WJC 2016.
I’m fully aware of the struggles he's had to endure.

I'm not sure how much you know about Kazuki or if you even care but like all other skaters he's had many personal challenges to overcome. (not going to elaborate too much on this)
Rather than benefiting from Sota's injury, I’d say Kazuki did his best to help his team persevere in a difficult situation.
Given only a day’s notice before leaving for Debrecen, he decided himself to accept the responsibility of having to help save WJC and JGP spots that most expected Sota would be able to secure.

Kazuki didn't possess the quality basics and/or sound jump technique seen in many of the boys considered to have potential, so wasn’t viewed as being particularly promising until very recently.
Correcting his awkward technique and developing these skills continues to be a work in progress for him.
Still, he sets his goals high to challenge himself, managing to improve on his PB scores in all three major international events he was fortunate enough to have received as a substitute,
helping to save precious spots at both WJC 2016 and WC 2018 in the process.

Kazuki and Sota have experienced a lot together.
Kazuki was one of the skaters who expressed support for Sota and encouraged his return to competition when he was ready to give up on skating altogether.
As a fan of both, I have absolutely no desire to pit these two against each other.

I’m in no way trying to trivialize Sota's injuries. I admire his determination to recover and surpass his pre injury form.
However, I also want to acknowledge Kazuki (who's story is still likely less known) for his tenacious nature, his ability to make the most of the opportunities he was given
and bring results when it was most necessary.
 

TallyT

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 23, 2018
Country
Australia
With all due respect, but Kazuki profited the most from Sota’s injury.

That's a rather unsporting thing to say. You could as easily claim that Shoma benefitted from Yuzuru's injuries, which would be totally unfair to his own achievements including national gold medallist and discounts the pressure he - and Kazuki, and all of them in Japan - were and are under.

I hope both Kazuki and Sota - and Shoma and Yuzu for that matter - have a great year.
 

yume

🍉
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 11, 2016
The top 3 i want to see at senior nats: Yuzu-Shoma-Sota
The top 3 i want to see at junior nats: Shun Sato-Yuma Kagiyama-Kao Miura.
I hope that Sota will be more consistent. With more consistency he has a shot for the third spot. Keiji or Kazuki are not more consistent (though Keiji like usually perform good enough at nats to get spots) or more talented to necessary finish above him. THE darhorse of the season is imo Koshiro Shimada. Imo he's more dangerous than Keiji and Kazuki. He gets high pcs, with more consistency on jumps he can get very good scores.

Sure Daisuke is there and he wants to compete in international competitions. No way he will finish off podium if he lands his jumps. But, can he land them?

I hope that Shun will win junior nats because i don't see judges give him respectable pcs at senior nats, even if he improves. Wining jnats will give him a spot for JWC. Last year he almost did it, finishing behind the gold medalist by less than 1 point.

And IF there is someone who "profited" the most from Sota's injury imo it's not Kazuki but Keiji. Sota could have competed at olympics. Not saying that he would have necessary got the spot, but he had a shot. But Keiji fought well for his spot anyway. Without hard work i don't think that someone can "profit" from anyone's injury.
 

Sai Bon

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Country
New-Zealand
By sheer coincidence, an interview with Kazuki is in Asahi digital! He talks about his new programs. I'm working today and don't have time to translate (and I don't have a paid subscription, so I can't read the full article), but here is the link:

https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASM880D69M87PTQP01Y.html?ref=mor_mail_topix3_6

A quick translation of the interview answers:
The word written on the card is sunao, which (in this context) means accepting his own weaknesses and feedback. He wants to work on his weaknesses and accept criticism where warranted, and use it learn and improve. This year he is focusing on exploring different kinds styles of artistry/expression. His SP has elements of contemporary dance, with new, strange, and difficult moves. The FP brings out the "deeper and more powerful" aspects of his performance that were lacking before. He is working on doing 4S and 4T. He wants to take on new challenges without fear of failure.
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
A quick translation of the interview answers:
The word written on the card is sunao, which (in this context) means accepting his own weaknesses and feedback. He wants to work on his weaknesses and accept criticism where warranted, and use it learn and improve. This year he is focusing on exploring different kinds styles of artistry/expression. His SP has elements of contemporary dance, with new, strange, and difficult moves. The FP brings out the "deeper and more powerful" aspects of his performance that were lacking before. He is working on doing 4S and 4T. He wants to take on new challenges without fear of failure.

Thank you for that! This is actually the last article in a four-part series that Asahi Shimbun did with Kazuki.
You can find the translation of the first three articles on Kazuki's Fan Fest. Well worth a read for anyone interested in learning more about Kazuki and his journey so far! (There are also pictures of baby Kazuki which are super cute :biggrin:)

I said this in this FF, and I'll say it here. Since last season, Kazuki's been doing A LOT of groundwork for Beijing. He's been re-tooling his basics, working on his SS, expanding the range of his interpretation, while at the same time working on upgrading his BV. He started a new coaching relationship with Misha Ge (and Misha himself said he introduced a lot of changes to Kazuki's training regimen), while also undertaking more responsibility in managing his own training and making his own career choices (including layout). In addition, more recently he's been doing a huge amount of off-ice training, including re-modelling his body to get more strength, and also ballet classes to be able to perform more difficult movements. (Sidenote: I don't know where he finds time for all this, he's also a good student and pretty involved with his university's figure skating club).

This is A LOT to take on, so no surprises if he's been a bit inconsistent. I actually think that, all things considered, it's actually impressive that he still managed to medal at one of his GP assignments and finish 4th at Nats last season! For me, it's just a matter of time until all his hard work pays off and things 'click' together in competition. If it happens this season, I'll be super happy but I'm also willing to wait for a bit longer because I think when it happens, it'll be amazing :luv17:

As for the other boys, I really don't count Keiji out. I have the impression after the success of his Jojo EX, he's going for fun programmes, which might actually suit him better. He's also planning three quads in his FS! So I still think he'll be a strong contender for the 3rd spot.

Sota, the expectations are high, so I think the challenge will be managing these expectations while also remaining healthy. I completely understand he wants to 'catch up' but I hope he doesn't push himself too far.

Koshiro, again a strong contender, especially if he manages to land the 4lz in competition. I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops as a senior.

And of course, last but not least, Daisuke. I'm curious to see how he will gain form for Nats, as he doesn't need to do the regionals and sectionals anymore. Will he do challengers instead?

Overall, I think it will be a really interesting season for Japanese men, with lots of really talented skaters with different styles and strengths.
I can't wait to see how it all plays out!
 
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