- Joined
- Dec 8, 2020
I'm baaaaackkkk!!!!! Nobody asked for it, but here are my very long and rambly thoughts on all of the programs because I'm bored and it's the off-season.
Mei Okada's SP: Overall, I like this program, even though it looks quite new on her. The opening does have a lot of crossovers to set up her combo and she looks very focused on choreo right now but I can definitely see the potential, Her combo looks great, and overall her jumps are seeming strong. I love the 2A on the music, that's a real 'wow' moment for me, and she has such height and length on that jump!!!!! I would like a bit more build in the music of the step sequence but overall this is a strong program especially for juniors with a lot of potential to grow. She's really engaging facially with the performance after the opening combo. There are some really nice features in some of the spins too, she's a really underrated spinner.
Mayuko Oka's SP: I had very high hopes for this program, as her programs from last season were two of my favourites, and I think this program can deliver! While it's not as unique on paper as her SP last season, I love the nods to the ballet throughout, and it really shows how versatile a skater Mayuko is. There is so much detail in this choreo, and she is already nailing every moment. I adore the placement of the step sequence right in the middle of the program. There's some edgework in the steps that is really spectacular. I would like to see a bit more work on her final two spins in timing some of the changes of position to the music and increasing the speed, because right now they fall a bit flat on the crescendo of the music, but I'm sure she's working on it.
Mao Shimada's SP: I cannot believe how much Mao has matured as a performer and a skater in one off-season, this program is a perfect choice for her. It feels youthful but not juniorish, I love the music, and there's a lot more nuance in this choreo than with her previous programs. I really appreciate her range of performance, too, as she expresses both intense and lighter moments in the music. This is a great choice for her senior debut, and she is absolutely skating like a senior now. My one issue is the basic stroking into her combo; I'm okay with it into the axel but it's a bit glaring for a lutz-toe she can do in her sleep. I also think the program is a bit similar to the music for her free, but she's shown range on the JGP so I guess it's fine for her first senior season. I really love the step sequence, and I can't wait to see how this program grows throughout the season.
Daiya Ebihara's FS: Yup, that's a junior men's FS all right! I like the opening 4T on the music and you can never go wrong with the Matrix, otherwise it's very junior men-ish. His jumps are looking great, though!
Rio Nakata's SP: I love the shirt! This music isn't nearly as bad as people were complaining about, and the jumps are looking incredible, he has such height on his quads! I like this style for Rio, and he's doing a good job with it, although it doesn't look quite as natural on him; I think he'll look more committed to the choreo as the season goes on. If he goes clean, I think this could be a really exciting program in competition.
Taiga Nishino's SP: He's clearly put a lot of work into the PCS side of things, and I really like the direction this prorgram is taking him in! There's a lot of choreo and transitional content for a junior men's program, and I appreciate him hyping up the crowd. The jumps are very Taiga-esque and the spins still need a bit of work but that step sequence is really good already.
Kushida/Shimada's RD: Ikura was BORN to do a waltz, her posture in this program is very Juulia Turkkila-esque and she is really shining in the program. Their matching looks solid, and they have spectacular line when together. The golden waltz is clearly a work in progress, but I'm going to partially blame that on this tiny rink. My God, though, Ikura is really shining in dance, her knee action is sooooo good already. Their choreo dance element feels quite naturally incorporated into the program and I love the waltz elements throughout. This is a great vehicle for them, and I could see them scoring really well with this program.
Yoshida/Morita's RD: I really like the first half, even as a Danse Macabre purist, the musical placement of the twizzles and some of the elements of their no-touch step are really fantastic, and they have great ice coverage on those elements. The golden waltz looks small, but again I'm blaming that on this tiny rink. I do think that second half needs some serious tinkering, it just feels very generic when this team is capable of doing such unique and fun choreo. While their ice coverage and speed is better than IkuKo's, I'd have to give the latter more points in terms of composition and presentation. I hope we see this program reworked because it has potential but I don't think it's a good representation of how good they can be.
Yuna Aoki's FS: Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, sublime, etc. She is such an incredible skater, and while this program isn't La La Land, it is still really good and lets Yuna show off her range of movement and choreographic versatility. The lutz-loop gave her fits but otherwise she's looking really strong. The second half in particular is really good, I love the bidirectional choreo spin and the choreo in the steps is really reminding me of Wakaba Higuchi (with some different Yuna takes on it, of course).
Mone Chiba's SP: I love the costume and the Kaori tribute in the 2A. I appreciate her trying a different style, and I think the James Bond music works on her in the steps, but I don't think it's choreographed to show off her full range of skating skills and the switch from Skyfall to the main theme feels abrupt. This is another program with a lot of potential where I think the music edit and some of the choreo could be reworked a bit to make it really shine. I'm certainly a lot more excited for Mone's free to Claire de lune, but I will reserve judgement until she's had more time for runthroughs because I could see this program looking much stronger in a few months' time.
Ami Nakai's SP: This is another good program, Ami is doing an excellent job performing it and it really highlights her speed. She definitely is skating with more maturity in this program, and I like a lot of the choreo in the steps.
Kazuki Tomono's FS: This is a great music choice and a fantastic program, it has a lot of the subtlety of Halston but has way more drive and energy, which Kazuki really sells, and it reminds me of his La La Land FS that was so successful. Would I choose to listen to this song on my own? No. Does Kazuki make me like it? Yes. The beaming smile on his face really sold me on this program, as did his speed and crazy Kazuki energy in the steps. This program is definitely a winner in my books, although I do think a few more runthroughs are needed to help improve his stamina
Sota Yamamoto's SP: I am obsessed with emo drama king Sota, and I love this program for him, it's exciting yet lyrical, and Sota's transitional content has improved so much over the past couple years. Some of his edgework in the steps is really sublime; this is quite possibly Sota's best program maybe ever? It's giving Daisuke Cyber Swan: Sota Edition.
Kao Miura's SP: OMG the Japanese men are DELIVERING with these programs, he sold the ever-loving Jesus out of this program!!!! He looks like a pink highlighter and doesn't care, his speed works so well with this music but he's also showing off that more lyrical, emotional side we saw in Beauty and the Beast and Umbrellas. His spins still need a six-month long intensive with Valter Virtannen but otherwise I adore this program so much!!!! This might be Kao's best program ever too.
Shun Sato's SP: This is another amazing short from Shun, his quality of movement has improved so much and his performance is shining through more in this program as well. He has such nice delicacy and this program is really playing into that, and he is doing a great job of finishing more of his arm movements. That being said, though, Shun really said "You can pry my warhorse FS out of my cold dead hands", he's done Romeo & Juliet, the Four Seasons, Malaguena, Phantom, Firebird, and now Poeta. It's getting kind of ridiculous at this point.
Final thoughts: the women need to step it up, their programs (save Mao and Mayuko's and of course Yuna) were a bit bland. The men are DELIVERING, though, I enjoyed every single one of their programs so much!!!!!! Also Japanese ice dance is gonna be
this season!!!!!
Mei Okada's SP: Overall, I like this program, even though it looks quite new on her. The opening does have a lot of crossovers to set up her combo and she looks very focused on choreo right now but I can definitely see the potential, Her combo looks great, and overall her jumps are seeming strong. I love the 2A on the music, that's a real 'wow' moment for me, and she has such height and length on that jump!!!!! I would like a bit more build in the music of the step sequence but overall this is a strong program especially for juniors with a lot of potential to grow. She's really engaging facially with the performance after the opening combo. There are some really nice features in some of the spins too, she's a really underrated spinner.
Mayuko Oka's SP: I had very high hopes for this program, as her programs from last season were two of my favourites, and I think this program can deliver! While it's not as unique on paper as her SP last season, I love the nods to the ballet throughout, and it really shows how versatile a skater Mayuko is. There is so much detail in this choreo, and she is already nailing every moment. I adore the placement of the step sequence right in the middle of the program. There's some edgework in the steps that is really spectacular. I would like to see a bit more work on her final two spins in timing some of the changes of position to the music and increasing the speed, because right now they fall a bit flat on the crescendo of the music, but I'm sure she's working on it.
Mao Shimada's SP: I cannot believe how much Mao has matured as a performer and a skater in one off-season, this program is a perfect choice for her. It feels youthful but not juniorish, I love the music, and there's a lot more nuance in this choreo than with her previous programs. I really appreciate her range of performance, too, as she expresses both intense and lighter moments in the music. This is a great choice for her senior debut, and she is absolutely skating like a senior now. My one issue is the basic stroking into her combo; I'm okay with it into the axel but it's a bit glaring for a lutz-toe she can do in her sleep. I also think the program is a bit similar to the music for her free, but she's shown range on the JGP so I guess it's fine for her first senior season. I really love the step sequence, and I can't wait to see how this program grows throughout the season.
Daiya Ebihara's FS: Yup, that's a junior men's FS all right! I like the opening 4T on the music and you can never go wrong with the Matrix, otherwise it's very junior men-ish. His jumps are looking great, though!
Rio Nakata's SP: I love the shirt! This music isn't nearly as bad as people were complaining about, and the jumps are looking incredible, he has such height on his quads! I like this style for Rio, and he's doing a good job with it, although it doesn't look quite as natural on him; I think he'll look more committed to the choreo as the season goes on. If he goes clean, I think this could be a really exciting program in competition.
Taiga Nishino's SP: He's clearly put a lot of work into the PCS side of things, and I really like the direction this prorgram is taking him in! There's a lot of choreo and transitional content for a junior men's program, and I appreciate him hyping up the crowd. The jumps are very Taiga-esque and the spins still need a bit of work but that step sequence is really good already.
Kushida/Shimada's RD: Ikura was BORN to do a waltz, her posture in this program is very Juulia Turkkila-esque and she is really shining in the program. Their matching looks solid, and they have spectacular line when together. The golden waltz is clearly a work in progress, but I'm going to partially blame that on this tiny rink. My God, though, Ikura is really shining in dance, her knee action is sooooo good already. Their choreo dance element feels quite naturally incorporated into the program and I love the waltz elements throughout. This is a great vehicle for them, and I could see them scoring really well with this program.
Yoshida/Morita's RD: I really like the first half, even as a Danse Macabre purist, the musical placement of the twizzles and some of the elements of their no-touch step are really fantastic, and they have great ice coverage on those elements. The golden waltz looks small, but again I'm blaming that on this tiny rink. I do think that second half needs some serious tinkering, it just feels very generic when this team is capable of doing such unique and fun choreo. While their ice coverage and speed is better than IkuKo's, I'd have to give the latter more points in terms of composition and presentation. I hope we see this program reworked because it has potential but I don't think it's a good representation of how good they can be.
Yuna Aoki's FS: Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, sublime, etc. She is such an incredible skater, and while this program isn't La La Land, it is still really good and lets Yuna show off her range of movement and choreographic versatility. The lutz-loop gave her fits but otherwise she's looking really strong. The second half in particular is really good, I love the bidirectional choreo spin and the choreo in the steps is really reminding me of Wakaba Higuchi (with some different Yuna takes on it, of course).
Mone Chiba's SP: I love the costume and the Kaori tribute in the 2A. I appreciate her trying a different style, and I think the James Bond music works on her in the steps, but I don't think it's choreographed to show off her full range of skating skills and the switch from Skyfall to the main theme feels abrupt. This is another program with a lot of potential where I think the music edit and some of the choreo could be reworked a bit to make it really shine. I'm certainly a lot more excited for Mone's free to Claire de lune, but I will reserve judgement until she's had more time for runthroughs because I could see this program looking much stronger in a few months' time.
Ami Nakai's SP: This is another good program, Ami is doing an excellent job performing it and it really highlights her speed. She definitely is skating with more maturity in this program, and I like a lot of the choreo in the steps.
Kazuki Tomono's FS: This is a great music choice and a fantastic program, it has a lot of the subtlety of Halston but has way more drive and energy, which Kazuki really sells, and it reminds me of his La La Land FS that was so successful. Would I choose to listen to this song on my own? No. Does Kazuki make me like it? Yes. The beaming smile on his face really sold me on this program, as did his speed and crazy Kazuki energy in the steps. This program is definitely a winner in my books, although I do think a few more runthroughs are needed to help improve his stamina
Sota Yamamoto's SP: I am obsessed with emo drama king Sota, and I love this program for him, it's exciting yet lyrical, and Sota's transitional content has improved so much over the past couple years. Some of his edgework in the steps is really sublime; this is quite possibly Sota's best program maybe ever? It's giving Daisuke Cyber Swan: Sota Edition.
Kao Miura's SP: OMG the Japanese men are DELIVERING with these programs, he sold the ever-loving Jesus out of this program!!!! He looks like a pink highlighter and doesn't care, his speed works so well with this music but he's also showing off that more lyrical, emotional side we saw in Beauty and the Beast and Umbrellas. His spins still need a six-month long intensive with Valter Virtannen but otherwise I adore this program so much!!!! This might be Kao's best program ever too.
Shun Sato's SP: This is another amazing short from Shun, his quality of movement has improved so much and his performance is shining through more in this program as well. He has such nice delicacy and this program is really playing into that, and he is doing a great job of finishing more of his arm movements. That being said, though, Shun really said "You can pry my warhorse FS out of my cold dead hands", he's done Romeo & Juliet, the Four Seasons, Malaguena, Phantom, Firebird, and now Poeta. It's getting kind of ridiculous at this point.
Final thoughts: the women need to step it up, their programs (save Mao and Mayuko's and of course Yuna) were a bit bland. The men are DELIVERING, though, I enjoyed every single one of their programs so much!!!!!! Also Japanese ice dance is gonna be
this season!!!!!
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that would definitely explain a lot, her final two spins did look like they were missing a few positions and I remembered her spins being amazing last season. Hopefully she gets healthy before the season starts 