2021-22 Japanese Women's Figure Skating | Page 2 | Golden Skate

2021-22 Japanese Women's Figure Skating

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I'm excited for Kaori's Gladiator program. I enjoy that soundtrack a lot. I'm curious about Rika's. I heard a snippet of her program, and it didn't sound bad at all. Hopefully she has good music cuts. Although I'm not a fan of her costume.
 
I'm not upset about Rita's titanic program. I haven't heard or seen it yet (just the costume, it was different, from the one photo I thought it was fine) but I'm optimistic. Bell's titanic program in 2015 was great. It's about using the right cuts of music. I think it can be effervescent, and a little exciting. And thankfully it's not a warhorse!!
 
I am neutral on Rika's program. Does it have the cheesiest parts with Dion's singing, and the voiceovers? If not, I am okay with it. Or maybe I could survive Dion, but please no tragic whispering, shouting and other cheesy spoken word. We all know what the movie is about.

Kaori's Gladiator sounds very cool, I look forward to it.

Mai... slightly disappointing, but I know her skating will mollify me.

Rino - could be good. I don't know this 'Moonlight' song. It's not a Moonlight Sonata remake, I hope? Though Rino's skating was so nice last season, I could bear watching her perform that one, too.

Mana - meh.

Wakaba - sounds cool for her. I look forward to it.

Yuhana - could be very memorable, or too big for her. Depends on the songs and cuts. Interesting choice anyway, though Queen is well in the warhorse zone by now.

Satoko- I look forward to her new SP. Not having watched FS while Kwan was competitive, I don't think I have seen Lyra Angelica performed yet. It sounds lyrical, so Satoko should be a perfect skater for it.
 
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From what I saw on Twitter, Rika's program didn't have any vocals. It's just the soundtrack. And this is the opening music:


I think the soundtrack could work well for her. I have noticed she skates well to modern classical music, especially music with some fire and strength. I like this better than the FS last year which has no build.

On a more worrisome note, she hasn't yet recovered from injury. She is getting better but it's not completely healed. She jumped double jumps in her program and says she has been training very lightly.
 
readernick said:
From what I saw on Twitter, Rika's program didn't have any vocals. It's just the soundtrack. And this is the opening music:


I think the soundtrack could work well for her. I have noticed she skates well to modern classical music, especially music with some fire and strength. I like this better than the FS last year which has no build.

On a more worrisome note, she hasn't yet recovered from injury. She is getting better but it's not completely healed. She jumped double jumps in her program and says she has been training very lightly.
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Is it me or does Rika seem to be really injury prone? It seems like she's always recovering from injury or at a competition and something suddenly flares up.
 
Amei said:
Is it me or does Rika seem to be really injury prone? It seems like she's always recovering from injury or at a competition and something suddenly flares up.
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I think she has struggled with injury the last two seasons. Most of her injuries have not been serious and she had been able to continue skating through them with adjustments to her programs. The worst injury was at the end of last season where she was clearly quite injured at Worlds and really shouldn't have participated in WTT since she couldn't even walk after her SP. ( I know she is an adult but I think her coach/ parents should have strong recommended her to withdraw). However, I don't think that is just an issue with Rika. It is something very common for most figure skaters unfortunately. Weren't Anna, Aliona and Trusova all injured last season at various points?
 
readernick said:
I think she has struggled with injury the last two seasons. Most of her injuries have not been serious and she had been able to continue skating through them with adjustments to her programs. The worst injury was at the end of last season where she was clearly quite injured at Worlds and really shouldn't have participated in WTT since she couldn't even walk after her SP. ( I know she is an adult but I think her coach/ parents should have strong recommended her to withdraw). However, I don't think that is just an issue with Rika. It is something very common for most figure skaters unfortunately. Weren't Anna, Aliona and Trusova all injured last season at various points?
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To my knowledge Shcherbakova wasn't injured last year, it was that she got sick with pneumonia, she took off most of November and decided to return early to compete at Nationals which probably led to her basically limping through the rest of the season - at Worlds or WTT it was mentioned that she was still training with restrictions from illness. Kostornaia and Trusova were injured at various points through the year, but they both seemed to have healed at this point and the injuries don't appear to be multiple seasons of injuries like with Rika.

Per your own comment (in response to my question) Rika's been struggling with injuries the last 2 years and here she is in the offseason leading up to the most important season and limping through exhibition skates...I get that injuries happen and I get that exhibitions are likely a source of income for her, but knowing that's she's struggled with injuries for the last few seasons and seems to either have been reinjured or is still injured from what happened at Worlds. It makes me wonder, should they be approaching her healing process differently seeing as how she can't seem to get healthy or stay healthy? If she's going to have a fighting chance at the Olympics she's going to need to be in optimal condition and it seems like maybe the continued pushing through with only modifying her training isn't getting her completely healed or maybe in modifying she's putting stress somewhere else trying to compensate for an injury (I've been there, done that)
 
Amei said:
To my knowledge Shcherbakova wasn't injured last year, it was that she got sick with pneumonia, she took off most of November and decided to return early to compete at Nationals which probably led to her basically limping through the rest of the season - at Worlds or WTT it was mentioned that she was still training with restrictions from illness. Kostornaia and Trusova were injured at various points through the year, but they both seemed to have healed at this point and the injuries don't appear to be multiple seasons of injuries like with Rika.

Per your own comment (in response to my question) Rika's been struggling with injuries the last 2 years and here she is in the offseason leading up to the most important season and limping through exhibition skates...I get that injuries happen and I get that exhibitions are likely a source of income for her, but knowing that's she's struggled with injuries for the last few seasons and seems to either have been reinjured or is still injured from what happened at Worlds. It makes me wonder, should they be approaching her healing process differently seeing as how she can't seem to get healthy or stay healthy? If she's going to have a fighting chance at the Olympics she's going to need to be in optimal condition and it seems like maybe the continued pushing through with only modifying her training isn't getting her completely healed or maybe in modifying she's putting stress somewhere else trying to compensate for an injury (I've been there, done that)
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I think they did approach her previous injuries correctly. She did heal before cancelled Worlds in 2020. Her performance at a Challenger prior to the cancelled Worlds was her best skate ever from a technical reviewpoint.

However, I agree that her teams ( or her) decisions this year haven't been great. She definitely should have rested rather than go to WTT. I does appear that she is being very cautious in the shows though. In previous seasons, she would go for 3As in her show programs, but this year she is doing 2s for all her jumps. I hope she heals completely before next season.
 
Links:

Rika's program



Wakaba's program:



Kaori SP:




In my opinion, Rika's Titanic FS is probably the best arrangement ( in recent years) that I can remember. Really nice pieces were chosen. When she is healed the choreography should grow


I like Wakaba's Step Seq. The rest of the program is ok, but I am sure it will improve as the season goes on.

Kaori's SP is a good music choice for her. She has the power to pull it off. Also room to grow as the season progresses.
 
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Ok, so about rika's titanic program: I like ALL the cuts of music, just not the way they're cut together. Like, there's a piece she uses that's really mystical and foreboding (in the film it's the scene where rose first goes down the ship after telling her mother goodbye and decides to ask Mr andrews for help finding jack) but in 5 seconds it switches to a different piece!
 
cohkaix said:
Rika's performance at the last DOI show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSqbfgthmYU
Mai's 'I dreamed a dream': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riwETY0u2Uk

(It seems that both programs are choreographed by D. Wilson)
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Much better quality. Thank you. This is a huge improvement over the last program that D. Wilson made for Rika. Her Clair D Lune was pretty but didn't have much emotional impact. This program seems to really speak to Rika.

Mai is such a loveable skater. However, I don't enjoy this program. Her previous program was a much better fit. (imho)
 
After watching 3 performances of DOI, I would say the 2 most talented and impressive women were Higuchi and Matsuike. Im hoping they both have great seasons, Higuchi can find some consistency for a change, and they both can get their 3As going. If they do, then Nats won't be just a fight for the 3rd spot, but wide open.(Hopefully the JSF can get over their irrational love of Sakamoto, lol.)
 
I'm surprised that Wakaba went for a more lyrical route with Lion King, with only the step sequence at the end being the upbeat section. Out of everyone so far, I've enjoyed her program the most. I think it has a lot of potential to become a show-stopper just like with Skyfall (I've also noticed it's constructed similarly to Skyfall as well so maybe that was their intention?).

I was worried at first when I heard that Rika would be skating to Titanic, but thankfully I enjoyed this one as well (and I'm also glad that it's not cheesy). The music cuts kinda remind me of Soyoun Park's Titanic from a few years ago. I'm glad that Rika didn't reuse a previous program like most of us thought she would.

With Kaori, it was the opposite. I thought that Gladiator would be a great fit for her, but the program she showed here wasn't quite what I expected. She seemed to be rushing at the beginning, which is okay since it's her first time performing it, but I just wish they used a different music cut entirely. It's still very early so maybe I can grow to love it over the season (I was a huge fan of last season's Bach a la Jazz so it'll take a while for this to top that).

Where is Rino's footage?
 
readernick said:
Links:

Rika's program



Wakaba's program:



Kaori SP:




In my opinion, Rika's Titanic FS is probably the best arrangement ( in recent years) that I can remember. Really nice pieces were chosen. When she is healed the choreography should grow


I like Wakaba's Step Seq. The rest of the program is ok, but I am sure it will improve as the season goes on.

Kaori's SP is a good music choice for her. She has the power to pull it off. Also room to grow as the season progresses.
Click to expand...
i am pleasantly surprised by Rika's music cuts. i guess i was expecting a cringey cheesefest like Radionova's, but this was really really nice.

Wakaba's Lion King is growing on me. the music can seem too childish but i think this was an appropriately constructed program for a senior lady. love the step sequence at the end.

at this point not a fan of Kaori's...she did seemed rushed and the music was rather boring until the end. i'm sure it just needs more mileage since it's new.
 
I'm really starting to like Wakaba's Lion King. If she goes clean, it could be such a moment. I hate the inevitable heartbreak associated with Olympic seasons. I wish all 4 could make the team: Wakaba, Satoko, Rika and Kaori. And there's Rino, too.
 
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Looks like I had nothing to worry about with Rika’s music choice. It’s definitely better than that thing she was skating to last season and it’s better than Angel of Peace, too. I think this program, along with her short, may be her best set so far. But she needs to learn to project outward (instead of inward) for this piece. It requires it. She can do it! I can’t wait to see it!

I found Higuchi dull until the step sequence. This is nothing new, though. Business as usual. Additionally, the two falls just took me out it. I thought I’ll enjoy Sakamoto, but I did not. The music doesn’t fit her at all and I keep thinking about how another skater could do a better job.

Mihara is just….non-descript. I’m not even sure if she picked the worst music-it accentuates her snooziness-or the best-being snoozy is in her very core so it fits her like a glove.

Matsuike was gorgeous even with the unnecessary wailing in the background. I thought she was the best out of the bunch and this is definitely an upgrade from the strawberry shortcake programs she had last season. She’s coming for somebody’s podium spot come JNats!
 
YuBluByMe said:
Matsuike was gorgeous even with the unnecessary wailing in the background. I thought she was the best out of the bunch and this is definitely an upgrade from the strawberry shortcake programs she had last season. She’s coming for somebody’s podium spot come JNats!
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I think so, too. She does everything well. (although her toe jumps don't have great technique). I don't like the music for figure skating but she is so musical and makes even boring music interesting. My dream Japanese Olympic team is Rika, Rino, and Wakaba. However, I think the most likely team is Rika, Rino, and Kaori. The Japanese judges love Kaori and they have scored Rino very well compared to her competitors. I think she is a favorite. I will likely be mourning for Wakaba and Satoko at JN this year.
 
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