2024 NHK Trophy Free Dance

[Sai Bon]

I'm very happy that Misato Komatsubara has retired. she was one of the most beautiful women on the ice, but also one of the most boring. even then I fell asleep when she was a ghost buster... these Japanese couples (and the juniors) are much, much more interesting

Actually, I found Tim more boring, or rather not quite there with his presentation. At least Misato was selling whatever it was that they were doing. Utana is naturally very expressive and fun to watch. Azusa is more restrained (I think Shingo is gorgeous, but he also comes across as a little reserved). Azusa and Shingo skated singles for a long time (he did both for a few years, and did quite well with Utana, if I recall), which puts them at a slight disadvantage, I guess. We know that Azusa has been injured and they were considering withdrawing from NHK. I hope she heals well for nationals.

 

[Sai Bon]

Finally caught up with the free dance, though the ISU video was odd in chopping it up into individual performances and YouTube telling me I shouldn't use an ad blocker unless I fast forwarded near the end of each performance. Thoroughly enjoyed the baby Japanese teams - they have a long way to go, but so much potential! Loved Yuka and Juho too - really fun to watch and the programme suited them really well. The two French teams were excellent and thrilled to see Green and Parsons going back to what they do best. Caroline has really matured and looks like she owns it! I'm not a huge fan of Allison and Saulius' free, but they performed brilliantly.

 

[Sai Bon]

I prefer to wait until the full competition is released since it's just not the same when it's separate videos. It usually doesn’t take very long

Oh, I didn't know that. Should have waited. Separate videos was super irritating.

 

[fehervari]

Actually, I found Tim more boring

an interesting question is what kind of team Mrs Komatsubara would have been with such an expressive boyfriend as e.g. Richard Kang In Kam. but I think she really liked being the boss, and since the Japanese ice dance wasn't that exciting, this tepid thing was just enough for her. (but probably Muramoto and Takahashi really scared her.) whatever, that's in the past. Azusa and Shingo's Mario is one of the best rds ever. Utana and Masaya... they were my favorites separately as well, but like this, in a team with Cathy Reed... I'm very biased

 

[skatemd1]

Thank you. No, it is blocked for musical rights, which confirms that I will have to wait till ISU clears it. Russians are on, so I'll pick up the dance in a couple of days.

Here is one that is not blocked - Green/Parsons FD NHK