There's an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher comes along. Maybe in this case, it goes both ways. When the teacher was ready, the student came along. Daisuke is obviously the ideal student for Nagamitsu's aspirations and particular talents. Nice the way that worked out!
I agree with you.
And to the contrary, I have a mixed feeling concerning Mao.
Mao at age 15, she was a made-in-heaven like skater; floating on the ice effortlessly, airy jumps, popping energy which is typical of the youth and that angelic smile!...she was like a cotton candy on the blades, and her love and joy for skating clearly showed in her skating and on her face.
But once she was old enough to officially compete on the senior level, she appreared less enjoying of her skating, more tense, afraid of making any mistakes even before the actual competitions got started... It seemed to me that figure skating became more of the profession, the obligation, the burden sort of thing to Mao. (I feel the same way concerning YuNa. They were too young to shoulder these responsibilities, weren't they?) We got to see her smiles less and less.
It's been 6 seasons since then. While I appreciate Artunian and Tarasova for helping Mao technically, mentally and artistically to go up to the top, (the fact that she is already a 2-time world champion proves so
), I am not sure if they were the ideal or adequate coaches. Mao has been always ready to meet ideal coaches since then, she hasn't met her any yet.
Mao has been adored so much by everyone around her since she was a small kid. But she was, and still is very shy in front of strangers, tending to shelter herself from th outside world. It takes time for her to understand people who were unknown to her before, get along well with them, and start trusting them. Mao resembles Daisuke for that matter.
It was good for Dai he met Mrs. Nagamitsu when he was very young, though. To the eye of Mrs. Nagamitsu, Dai was a nice kid from the beginning to behave well, respect elder people, and do whatever was told to do. But he sheltered himself in his own world and never revealed her his true feelings for a long time, Nagamitsu once said. They had no fights in those days, because they were still reserved with each other, you know. It took 3-4 years for him to start fully trusting his coach (and start fighting!
).
I sincerely hope The Satos are finally her ideal coaches whom Mao can trust, rely upon, and open her heart to, no matter what. :yes:
Isn't the photographer Kishin Shinoyama?
, I wondered and decided not to buy it. 
