Japanese Ice Shows: 2024 Collection

[synesthesia]

I have accumulated some questions about Kaori Sakamoto and I guess this is the right thread where to place them
What is Kaori's general attitude towards ice shows? Has she talked about it in her interviews in Japan? Also, has she talked about the artistic aspects of her Bob Foss FS?

My opinion about Kaori in ice shows has significantly changed thanks to her Bob Foss FS. Before that, I saw her as an appealing performer who can skate an excellent exhibition and take a part in a Champions' tour or in a similar variety show - but not as an artist who could be cast for a role in an ice musical or in a contemporary circus on ice production. So, one thing is that Kaori is not simply "Kaori the performer" in this program; she is impersonating a character and playing a role. I know that there are fans who have a problem with that but for me, she does it excellently. That's why I'd love to know what she thinks about it. Does she view it as a singular challenge or as an opportunity that she'd like to explore?

The other thing is choreography. Her Bob Foss program has more choreography in it than any other program I have seen this season; actually, more than I have seen in any program in a long time. Every breath, every step, every turn, every jump is tied to the beat. That's how ballet pieces are being choreographed, not modern-day skating programs where the main point is to let skaters get some rest during the obstacle course. I guess Kaori's fans were not excited when she aborted her spin to keep up with music during her performance in the Grand Prix final. It cost her some points. But from me, she got standing ovation for doing so because, to do that, one needs to think as a dancer for whom the performance matters - not as an athlete for whom the score matters. If this is how she feels, she should be cast for a leading role in a dance show hands down.
The truth is though that I don't know how she feels about it. There are also technical aspects, not just artistic; keeping up with the beat can be seen simply as a challenge for an athlete. So it would be interesting to hear from her what she thinks about her new program experience and if she relates it to ice shows anyhow

I looked into it a bit, but couldn't find any interviews of her talking in depth about her relationship with the program or her attitude towards show skating. The best result was this interview from the mixed-zone at Lombardia Trophy:

Kaori Sakamoto: Three-Time World Champion Steps Up To New Challenges

By Hiro Yoshida After creating history at the World Championships in March 2024 when she became the first woman in 56 years to claim a third title in a row, Kaori Sakamoto embarks this season on a …

europeonice.com

(A part of it was also posted by Goldenskate: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_6IR4J...d&ig_rid=afe5868d-20d5-4733-bfeb-9c69771eafd7)

“Yesterday, the short finished early so I watched the film [Chicago], but it only had English subtitles, so I was only able to grasp parts of it,” she admitted. “When I get back to Japan I’ll watch it properly with Japanese subtitles.”​

​

“Marie told me, ‘I want you to do this song next season,’ and that’s how it was decided,” Sakamoto explained. “It’s been a while since I’ve skated such a lively type of song which I don’t often skate to, so I wondered, ‘Can I keep up with this fast tempo?’ But I got used to it as I went along. I think it’s a good challenge.”

“There are elements in the choreography and movements from the musical that are incorporated throughout the performance, so I would like to really show that off. I think it’s something I’ve been able to do thanks to my experience and getting older.”​

​

Here's another quote from a hochi article:

坂本花織「乗り越えられたら、また１個強くなれる」フリー「シカゴ」で演じる“悪女”に試行錯誤中 - スポーツ報知

フィギュアスケートのグランプリ（ＧＰ）シリーズ第２戦・スケートカナダのメダリストが２９日、羽田空港に帰国した。女子で優勝し、ファイナルも含めてＧＰ７勝目を挙げた坂本花織（シスメックス）は、ミスが重な

hochi.news

In the free skate musical Chicago, she plays a bad girl. The choreography is more difficult than ever before, consuming her strength and muscles: ‘Before I get out of breath, my arms and torso get tighter and tighter. There are a lot of parts where I'm dancing other than jumping, so it's denser than ever. There are many parts that I'm still not used to. At the moment, she is still in the trial-and-error stage of expression: ‘There is no place to rest. Physically, I feel like I wanted to do this when I was around 17 (laughs). But (the expression aspect) is a programme that I can do because of my previous experience. If I can overcome this, I think I can become stronger.'​

 

[Anna K.]

I looked into it a bit, but couldn't find any interviews of her talking in depth about her relationship with the program or her attitude towards show skating. The best result was this interview from the mixed-zone at Lombardia Trophy:

Kaori Sakamoto: Three-Time World Champion Steps Up To New Challenges

By Hiro Yoshida After creating history at the World Championships in March 2024 when she became the first woman in 56 years to claim a third title in a row, Kaori Sakamoto embarks this season on a …

europeonice.com

(A part of it was also posted by Goldenskate: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_6IR4J...d&ig_rid=afe5868d-20d5-4733-bfeb-9c69771eafd7)

“Yesterday, the short finished early so I watched the film [Chicago], but it only had English subtitles, so I was only able to grasp parts of it,” she admitted. “When I get back to Japan I’ll watch it properly with Japanese subtitles.”​

​

“Marie told me, ‘I want you to do this song next season,’ and that’s how it was decided,” Sakamoto explained. “It’s been a while since I’ve skated such a lively type of song which I don’t often skate to, so I wondered, ‘Can I keep up with this fast tempo?’ But I got used to it as I went along. I think it’s a good challenge.”​

​

“There are elements in the choreography and movements from the musical that are incorporated throughout the performance, so I would like to really show that off. I think it’s something I’ve been able to do thanks to my experience and getting older.”​

​

Here's another quote from a hochi article:

坂本花織「乗り越えられたら、また１個強くなれる」フリー「シカゴ」で演じる“悪女”に試行錯誤中 - スポーツ報知

フィギュアスケートのグランプリ（ＧＰ）シリーズ第２戦・スケートカナダのメダリストが２９日、羽田空港に帰国した。女子で優勝し、ファイナルも含めてＧＰ７勝目を挙げた坂本花織（シスメックス）は、ミスが重な

hochi.news

In the free skate musical Chicago, she plays a bad girl. The choreography is more difficult than ever before, consuming her strength and muscles: ‘Before I get out of breath, my arms and torso get tighter and tighter. There are a lot of parts where I'm dancing other than jumping, so it's denser than ever. There are many parts that I'm still not used to. At the moment, she is still in the trial-and-error stage of expression: ‘There is no place to rest. Physically, I feel like I wanted to do this when I was around 17 (laughs). But (the expression aspect) is a programme that I can do because of my previous experience. If I can overcome this, I think I can become stronger.'​

Thank you very much!
Although there is no in-depth interview, I think that these excerpts provide sufficient answer. Kaori is currently viewing this program as a challenge for her as a competitive athlete. Which is logical considering her current priorities. But she is also aware of the artistic side of this challenge and is embracing it as a new experience.
Apparently, it is a bit premature to ask how this experience will influence her further development or show skating plans. But I will certainly watch her development with added interest from now on. Will this experience accrue? Where will it take her? It remains to be seen,

 

[Magill]

This is a funny coincidence. When Dai is promoting his February shows in Hiroshima in person, the Hiroshima station is all full of Yuzuru and gets ready to welcome those arriving to the city for his two Echoes of Life shows during the New Year's holidays. Both their shows are more than a month apart, are held in different venues (Yuzuru's in the Green Arena which is a bigger venue than the Big Wave where Kassouya is held, and I guess ticket prices also differ), and they are obviously very different productions. Still there might be this feeling of a friendly competition as they have selected the same city on sort of close dates for their respective shows. I wonder if they were aware of it or it just happened as a pure coincidence. The last time they went head-to-head was 10 years ago in Sochi Olympics, I think.
Anyway, both Yuzuru appearances in Hiroshima on January 3 and 5 are already sold out, at least for now (they often add a tiny handful of tickets within last days preceding the show, often with limited view, when the stage is already set up and they know exactly the space needed). Applying to the official ticket resell is now the only way to hope to get them from someone who had bought them and is not able to attend (applications accepted until tomorrow). Hiroshima is experiencing now a phenomenon known as Hanyuconomy - the city reported the highest year-to-year increase in hotel bookings for the New Year's holiday period in all Japan, attributed to the development of a better hotel base and Yuzu shows actually filling these hotels with guests

 

[synesthesia]

This is a funny coincidence. When Dai is promoting his February shows in Hiroshima in person, the Hiroshima station is all full of Yuzuru and gets ready to welcome those arriving to the city for his two Echoes of Life shows during the New Year's holidays. Both their shows are more than a month apart, are held in different venues (Yuzuru's in the Green Arena which is a bigger venue than the Big Wave where Kassouya is held, and I guess ticket prices also differ), and they are obviously very different productions. Still there might be this feeling of a friendly competition as they have selected the same city on sort of close dates for their respective shows. I wonder if they were aware of it or it just happened as a pure coincidence. The last time they went head-to-head was 10 years ago in Sochi Olympics, I think.

I think some people just can’t stop pitting certain skaters against each other for some reason – even in retirement.

That's not to say that all entertainment productions, and more specifically in the same general genre, don't fight for market share - of course they do, but if you're suggesting that a small-scale experimental ensemble show is actively trying to compete with a big-budget mainstream production with a solo performer and, frankly, a very different target audience, I have to disagree. If anything, the closest equivalent to Yuzu’s solo shows would be Hyoen and even those two are in completely different subcategories. (I don’t think either of these shows has a real equivalent in Japan or anywhere for that matter – they’re both unique.) The aspects they have in common is that they are performed on ice, operate on a big budget and are held in large multipurpose arenas. I’m being blunt here, the majority of (Japanese) Yuzu fans unfortunately wouldn’t attend a Dai show and vice versa.

I also don’t think they were aware of the circumstance that they were both planning to hold their shows in Hiroshima, unless you think whoever is in charge of booking the venues in Hanyu's team and USM coordinated their respective negotiations (which usually take months)? I don’t know about Echoes of Life, but it seems the initial plan was to hold Kassouya in Hiroshima much sooner after the shows in Fukuoka, but the schedule didn’t work out going by the hints Dai gave in interviews months ago – remember, he has to plan his shows around the skaters’ schedules, he intends to invite. Also, Kassouya and Echoes of Life are held more than two months apart, not one (as I wrote in the overview above, Kassouya takes place in early March, not in February as some skaters would then be unavailable due to multiple competitions that month).

The fact is that there are a gazillion ice shows in Japan today (when Hyoen was first held in 2017 that wasn't quite the case yet, and at the time there was no other show that deviated so significantly from the standard formula either), meaning they are inevitably held close to each other pretty frequently – Everlasting33 and Hyoen literally happened at the exact same time in venues not that far apart (only 36 km), which I’m sure was also a coincidence, because honestly, they would have tried to avoid this situation if possible as there is a significant overlap between Mao’s and Dai’s target audiences.

Not to mention that shows are basically held in Yokohama only weeks apart all the time.


Hiroshima doesn’t often have ice shows, so it’s actually cool that two very different productions have chosen this location. The good thing about the diversification of the newer shows is that there should be something for every taste – be it mainstream or niche. If you’re already a figure skating fan and perhaps a fan of one or more particular skaters, you'll naturally want to check out the show(s) they're participating in. If you’re casually interested in seeing an ice show (maybe even for the first time) and don’t know much about any skater in particular or if you are a general fan of the sport, you either go by what concept appeals to you the most and/or by budget. Not everyone can or wants to afford the expensive tickets of Hanyu’s Ice Stories or Hyoen.

 

[Magill]

Oh, maybe I was under an impression the shows were closer in time than they really were, but that's an easy mistake to make when they are being promoted simultaneously, and take place in a location which is not an obvious host for an ice show, like Yokohama is. Otherwise, of course, it is a commercial market, and as such it is competitive and the paying audience plays the role of the ultimate judges. I am also pretty sure that apart from devoted fans some portion of the potential and target general audience obviously overlap, being just interested in figure skating or ice shows in general, and not partisan devoted fans of just one skater or two, and in a location not oversaturated with ice shows yet. In this sense, I think all the ice shows in fact compete with each other to a certain degree for a portion of this market, and are trying to put a foot in it and secure a piece of this cake for themselves. IMHO, comparing shows and wondering about friendly competition between former rivals staging and producing them is not "pitting them against each other". Actually, I am pretty sure this is what their marketing teams do all the time. And, of course, Yuzuru's turning away from competitions and towards ice shows shook the Japanese ice show market, putting pressure on the others, as he entered it as such a huge and important player, and I do not think anyone could have imagined otherwise, knowing how popular and creative he is.
Otherwise, thank you for listing differences between these two productions, it was interesting to read.
BTW, I never said it was not cool for Hiroshima to host them both. Of course, it is. Diversity is cool, too. Still, it is a commercial branch and some shows are just more popular with audiences than some others, and again, no need to hide this simple fact of life when discussing them. Having acknowledged that, there is no reason they could not both find their audiences and a cosy place under the sun.

OTOH, I am truly awaiting with awe to see Echoes of Life performed in Hiroshima as there is probably no better place in Japan from which to make its anti-war message sound to its fullest.

 

[synesthesia]

Oh, maybe I was under an impression the shows were closer in time than they really were, but that's an easy mistake to make when they are being promoted simultaneously, and take place in a location which is not an obvious host for an ice show, like Yokohama is.

I guess it is without knowing the context, so here’s some context:

It’s pretty obvious why Dai chose Hiroshima: First of all Hiroshima Prefecture directly borders on his home Prefecture of Okayama where there are no permanent rinks that are suitable to hold an ice show in, so this is the closest opportunity for him to hold a show “at home”; in 2023 he already chose another location, which was not an obvious host for an ice show (Fukuoka / in fact, Ice Explosion was the first ever proper ice show to be held there), which may have been inspired by PIW, which started doing the same thing prior; he has ties to people residing in Hiroshima City, helping him to promote his show there. For instance, here is his childhood friend and fellow Kurashiki native, popular soccer player for Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Toshihiro Aoyama (who just retired from active duty), joining him during his recent pr tour:





I don’t know what Yuzuru’s ties to Hiroshima are, but you suggested he might have chosen the location due to his show’s anti-war message, which is of course a very valid reason too.

_______________________​

On the topic of shows coincidentally taking place simultaneously: after the announcement of Notte Stellata, we now know that it’s held the same weekend as Kassouya – obviously on the opposite end of Honshū, so each is performing in their respective home region at the same time.

In this sense, I think all the ice shows in fact compete with each other to a certain degree for a portion of this market, and are trying to put a foot in it and secure a piece of this cake for themselves.

I agree with this aspect and have said so (they all fight for market share). However, marketing campaigns focus on direct competition – in our example between shows that are close in content, scale and target audience. It would be pretty pointless and a waste of pr efforts and money to position a show like Ice Stories as a direct rival to Kassouya or vice versa. I would rather say Kassouya is closer to independent dance theater productions, which is choreographer Yuma Suzuki’s background and a genre Dai himself is a fan of and has taken inspiration from.

IMHO, comparing shows and wondering about friendly competition between former rivals staging and producing them is not "pitting them against each other". Actually, I am pretty sure this is what their marketing teams do all the time.

Maybe Yuzuru’s marketing team does this – I don’t follow his campaigns closely. (Does it?) Imo he doesn’t need to rely on such narratives or comparisons, considering he has the biggest market share anyway due to his popularity (which, as far as I can see, nobody here is denying or hiding, as you put it). In fact, I would say he doesn’t even need much promotion at all.

As far as I can tell, the campaigns of most shows I follow try to emphasize their unique selling point in an effort to differentiate themselves from other shows in the same sub-category as much as possible.

Otherwise, thank you for listing differences between these two productions, it was interesting to read.

You're welcome, I suppose...

 

[Anna K.]

I wonder what's happening to One Piece on Ice. Will there be more shows? Are there any updates?

 

[Wynter]

I wonder what's happening to One Piece on Ice. Will there be more shows? Are there any updates?

No info for One Piece on Ice.

HYOEN has just announced their 2025 show.

 

[synesthesia]

HYOEN has just announced their 2025 show.

That's a wonderful surprise, thanks for posting the info here, Wynter!

They used to hold it about every other year, but I guess since it has been such a well received success and now that Daisuke is retired for good they might aim to make it an annual event. And they timed the announcement with this year's production's cinema screening, which people on my timeline are tweeting enthusiastically about! (One person even spotted Koshiro with his mom in the cinema: https://x.com/ryokalv15/status/1873265537729679492.)

Sorry, this is rather fanfest material, but it's so cute I can't resist - a fan drew this adorable illustration of the two main characters Tokio (portrayed by Takuro Ohno) and Kakeru (portrayed by Daisuke) watching Hyoen - The miracle of the Cross in the cinema, moved to tears, just like the fans:

 

[Wynter]

(One person even spotted Koshiro with his mom in the cinema: https://x.com/ryokalv15/status/1873265537729679492.)

Sorry, this is rather fanfest material, but it's so cute I can't resist - a fan drew this adorable illustration of the two main characters Tokio (portrayed by Takuro Ohno) and Kakeru (portrayed by Daisuke) watching Hyoen - The miracle of the Cross in the cinema, moved to tears, just like the fans:

That’s cute (About Koshiro and the artwork).

Those who love technology and theatre should love HYOEN. I like Shizuka’s part (the red battle ones) from this year’s show.

 

[Anna K.]

Those who love technology and theatre should love HYOEN. I like Shizuka’s part (the red battle ones) from this year’s show.

Oh, that one was a bit scary!
Sorry that I bring the conversation back to One Piece, but... Why couldn't One Piece battle scenes be like this? No, please, no excuses this time like "production costs will be high" or "tickets will be expensive". Productions of the highest level do not get their revenue selling tickets. They sell television/streaming rights and/or downloads/DVDs. One Piece is a top manga and its anime adaptions also have decent ratings. It could do better than that and it deserved better than that.

As for Hyoen, my favorite was the scene from the part one where skaters created an illusion of skating into the graphics and out of it while building an image and atmosphere of a busy big city.

 

[Wynter]

Oh, that one was a bit scary!
Sorry that I bring the conversation back to One Piece, but... Why couldn't One Piece battle scenes be like this? No, please, no excuses this time like "production costs will be high" or "tickets will be expensive". Productions of this level to not get their revenue selling tickets. They sell television/streaming rights and/or downloads/DVS. One Piece is a top manga and its anime adaptions also have decent ratings. It could do better than that and it deserved better than that.

As for Hyoen, my favorite was the scene from the part one when skaters created an illusion of skating into the graphics and out of it in a scenery of a big city.

It’s a cool song and the lady singer got great singing voice. Or perhaps I just like scary things? My fave part from Yuzu’s RE_PRAY is Gate of Living (has red and black theme ) as well.

I cannot comment much about One Piece since I haven’t watched the show, sorry. I cannot find any video of the show.

Ah, I think I know which scene you described. As for me, I am currently watching Eclipse/Blue from Yuzu’s Echoes of Life repeatedly. I really like the concept of skating to his self-wrote poem.

 

[Anna K.]

It’s a cool and the lady singer got great singing voice.

I noticed her voice, too. It was pretty much the vocal highlight of the show. Well, just like the decisive battle should be.
I wonder who the composer of the music is. Was it composed specifically for the ice show or adopted from another production?

I cannot comment much about One Piece since I haven’t watched the show, sorry. I cannot find any video of the show.

I haven't seen the whole show either. I have no idea if any official filmed version exists; the production looks too cheap for that tbh. So I'm judging from fancam recorded fragments that have emerged on YouTube. It's fancam of course, but if you compare the fancam material from One Piece on Ice with fancam material from Kassouya, I'd say that Kassouya looks better even though it is officially budget class.

Talking about Yuzu shows, I have always had dual feelings regarding his aesthetic choices; so I am a bit reluctant to go for a full show. I'm not convinced that it will be my cup of tea But I'm certainly reading the posts about it with interest.

 

[Wynter]

Thanks for the links! I got your point about One Piece on Ice and Kassouya. However, I find the Kassouya opening to be a bit creepy. It is scarier than the Hyoen part!

I laughed when I read about the aesthetic choices part. After all, with Yuzu you can get classical medley AND rap dancey boy in a span of 20 mins or so. I love both, of course.

 

[Anna K.]

I laughed when I read about the aesthetic choices part. After all, with Yuzu you can get classical medley AND rap dancey boy in a span of 20 mins or so. I love both, of course.

Well, thanks for reacting in a positive way. I admit I felt a bit scared for my life when I posted it All right, I'm kidding, I wasn't really scared for my life but it's a relief that our conversation has remained positive.

Thanks for the links as well. It's not my cup of tea (I will not get into the details, don't even ask) but I love staying informed.
Oh, and from the production point his show looks expectably solid. I indeed have to say that!

 

[Wynter]

Well, thanks for reacting in a positive way. I admit I felt a bit scared for my life when I posted it All right, I'm kidding, I wasn't really scared for my life but it's a relief that our conversation has remained positive.

Thanks for the links as well. It's not my cup of tea (I will not get into the details, don't even ask) but I love staying informed.
Oh, and from the production point his show looks expectably solid. I indeed have to say that!

If I cannot stomach some genre of music I can’t really expect others to enjoy all types of music/genre.

With that being said, the production quality for Echoes of Life is indeed excellent. As you said several posts above, it is TV/Stream/DVD worthy (and Yuzu’s Ice Stories give all those, his fans are lucky).

I was at the venue for all three shows in Saitama and am in awe even now. Will definitely write more about it once the Mods make a separate thread for each show. But for now, this Edit can show you some of the VCRs.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Well, thanks for reacting in a positive way. I admit I felt a bit scared for my life when I posted it All right, I'm kidding, I wasn't really scared for my life but it's a relief that our conversation has remained positive.

Thanks for the links as well. It's not my cup of tea (I will not get into the details, don't even ask) but I love staying informed.
Oh, and from the production point his show looks expectably solid. I indeed have to say that!

It's perfectly natural that Yuzuru Hanyu is not everybody's "cup of tea"! For instance, whatever the style of a program, his glide, steps, edges flow "like water" (which was also said of Chopin's way of playing piano) while the other best skaters skate "like in butter", and of course each of us will have a preference.

 

[Anna K.]

It's perfectly natural that Yuzuru Hanyu is not everybody's "cup of tea"! For instance, whatever the style of a program, his glide, steps, edges flow "like water" (which was also said of Chopin's way of playing piano) while the other best skaters skate "like in butter", and of course each of us will have a preference.

How about you starting an edge flow comparison thread? With a little editing, this could work as an OP.

The show thread has been moved and divided so apparently we need something else to discuss in the Edge

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

How about you starting an edge flow comparison thread? With a little editing, this could work as an OP.

The show thread has been moved and divided so apparently we need something else to discuss in the Edge

Thank you! If it's in The Edge I won't participate, but it's really an interesting subject and I will certainly read!

 

[Anna K.]

I won't participate, but it's really an interesting subject and I will certainly read!

Same here. Let's hope that a third party may read this and start the thread... with many video examples... We can dream a bit, can't we