Kazuki Tomono

[KiraraChin]

BTW, here's Kazuki's Winter Universiade SP performance for those who missed it: https://youtu.be/d6ltqfuGW7M
It has commentary by that Canadian lady that AQFS likes

Although I personally prefer the B.ESP uncles, they are more passionate about Kazuki

 

[Tsurara]

BTW, here's Kazuki's Winter Universiade SP performance for those who missed it: https://youtu.be/d6ltqfuGW7M
It has commentary by that Canadian lady that AQFS likes

Although I personally prefer the B.ESP uncles, they are more passionate about Kazuki

Thanks for the link! (I was at work during his performance last night, and I finally watched it.)
I haven't seen much media coverage for universiade figure skating yet, just one piece that only talked about the SP result and a photo of Sato kun.

Can't wait for his Riverdance! (I can finally watch him on the live stream!)

 

[KiraraChin]

Thanks for the link! (I was at work during his performance last night, and I finally watched it.)
I haven't seen much media coverage for universiade figure skating yet, just one piece that only talked about the SP result and a photo of Sato kun.

Can't wait for his Riverdance! (I can finally watch him on the live stream!)

You're very welcome!
I won't be able to watch today AGAIN because of work, so please cheer on him for me!

BTW, another nice tweet by the Olympic Channel!
https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/1103633068819169280?s=19

 

[Tsurara]

I'm sure it wasn't how he wanted it to be, but the audience was very nice and warm, and he responded back to them with a smile after the performance.
I did want to see his clean Riverdance, but I guess I too need to be a bit more patient than Tomono-kun should be (for wanting good results). Now I wonder what kind of music he's considering (or Misha bringing on the table?) to use for the next season!

 

[AQFS]

Even if it wasn't the perfect ending performance of the season but it is not a bad ending either as he finally achieved over 80+ PCs

This was a tough season for him for sure but we still saw his growth and how he keeps improving and working hard even while struggling. I am not sure how much assignments he will get next season (specially since some juniors will be seniors and Dai might also want to try some international competitions) but hopefully, we still get to see more of his growth along with some good results that leave him satisfied.

I really liked his programs this season (it is a pity we didn't see clean versions of them ) but hopefully, we see even better programs next season that can show his potential

Ganbatte Kazuki Kun! You are doing great and we know you can achieve better things in the future :luv17:

 

[surimi]

Now I wonder what kind of music he's considering (or Misha bringing on the table?) to use for the next season!

Maybe it will be discussed in the new 'Quadruple Axel'? There's supposed to be a cojoint interview of him and Misha. I hope you and other Japanese fans will keep the rest of us informed.

I couldn't see Kazuki's LP or any livestream for that matter today, but I hope to see at least him before I go to bed. Good to hear he wasn't sad, that's good enough for me!

 

[KiraraChin]

First of all, here's the Universiade FP link for those who missed it! https://youtu.be/X9c4KPH4U58

It feels bittersweet to see Kazuki finishing the season, but I feel mostly relieved that it ended on a more positive note than 4CC.
Some really good things in this competition: Breaking 80 in PCS for the first time, and those spins! He only got one level 3 spin I think, all the others were level 4. Huge achievement for him!

I agree it's been a difficult season, but he is visibly growing, and his fight and determination are incredible. We know he's been working really hard to improve and I believe it's just a matter of time for things to 'click' together in competition

On that note, apparently he posted a story on his IG thanking everyone for the support and landing a 4T in practice! Will we see the elusive 4T in competition next season? One can hope!

 

[KiraraChin]

Here's the GORGEOUS 4T: https://www.instagram.com/p/BuvjtLkHpCs/


Here's another story he posted today, with Sato-senpai and Nakamura-senpai! I'm glad they managed to have a bit of fun

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bux4zWqHqn6/

 

[AQFS]

Here's the GORGEOUS 4T: https://www.instagram.com/p/BuvjtLkHpCs/

Here's another story he posted today, with Sato-senpai and Nakamura-senpai! I'm glad they managed to have a bit of fun

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bux4zWqHqn6/

Haha, those three dorks!!

I was surprised seeing him posting about that 4T while still in Krasnoyarsk!! Hope things go well with it and he can add it next season

Also happy seeing him performing his cool Daft Punk EX again, here are videos from the Olympic Channel Twitter and on Youtube as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTDZ_9slXJA
https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/1104364452923744257

He also updated his Twitter after the Ex, I think he mentioned that the Ex is the program he could remember doing this season without mistakes (Translation might not be correct, only used online translators)

https://twitter.com/naniwatomono/status/1104364824492859392

 

[KiraraChin]

Haha, those three dorks!!

I was surprised seeing him posting about that 4T while still in Krasnoyarsk!! Hope things go well with it and he can add it next season

Also happy seeing him performing his cool Daft Punk EX again, here are videos from the Olympic Channel Twitter and on Youtube as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTDZ_9slXJA
https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/1104364452923744257

He also updated his Twitter after the Ex, I think he mentioned that the Ex is the program he could remember doing this season without mistakes (Translation might not be correct, only used online translators)

https://twitter.com/naniwatomono/status/1104364824492859392

Thank you! I must say, I'm not prepared to see this EX go... I love it so much! :sad21:
I'm curious to see what EX he'll do next, but I hope we'll still get to see Daft Punk at the ice shows over the summer...

 

[khtmyzr]

I don’t know much about jump techniques but somehow I feel less anxious watching the 4T thank the 4S

 

[KiraraChin]

I don’t know much about jump techniques but somehow I feel less anxious watching the 4T thank the 4S

Hahahaha To be fair to him, this season was atypical in the sense he struggled with his jumps more than normal - he even had issues with his 3A which used to be an extremely reliable jump for him. This is normal for skaters who are going through changes in their training and/or re-working their basics.

An interesting exercise that I did the other day was to watch his Nat's FS from 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 in succession. You can see very clearly how much he has been improving year-on-year, as well as steadily upgrading his BV and performing more complicated choreo. Yes, last year he made mistakes on jumps, but his overall skating is now so much better, with more speed, more flow, and he's looking a lot more polished. He's absolutely amazing IMO to be able to improve so much, in such a short amount of time :luv17:

Here it goes:

2015: https://youtu.be/sMIG2NKdecQ
2016: https://youtu.be/6roKNS9m5k4
2017: https://youtu.be/6_PCY2trpes
2018: https://youtu.be/H-IWfQ2eTOE

 

[khtmyzr]

Whoops,I meant to type “less anxious watching the 4T than the 4S” but I guess it came across as “less anxious watching the 4T thanks to the 4S” instead because of the spelling mistake
I think he also may be going through a change in mindset with the added expectation and pressure from himself and from others this season?
Changes don’t come that quickly so I’m looking forward to see what he’s got for us next season. Onwards and upwards!

 

[AQFS]

Thank you! I must say, I'm not prepared to see this EX go... I love it so much! :sad21:
I'm curious to see what EX he'll do next, but I hope we'll still get to see Daft Punk at the ice shows over the summer...

This is my very first time to follow a full FS season from the beginning so the programs I loved this season and especially from Kazuki are quite precious to me and I am not prepared to let any of those go and prepare myself mentally for new programs yet. Not sure how I will do that but hopefully it won't be very hard for me!!

And actually who knows, maybe Kazuki will reuse that EX next season as well

 

[KiraraChin]

Whoops,I meant to type “less anxious watching the 4T than the 4S” but I guess it came across as “less anxious watching the 4T thanks to the 4S” instead because of the spelling mistake
I think he also may be going through a change in mindset with the added expectation and pressure from himself and from others this season?
Changes don’t come that quickly so I’m looking forward to see what he’s got for us next season. Onwards and upwards!

Hahaha don't worry, I understood what you meant! I agree with you, the shift in expectations after his 5th place finish at Worlds definitely contributed to his inconsistency. It was a tough season but hopefully the experience will make him better and stronger from now on!

This is my very first time to follow a full FS season from the beginning so the programs I loved this season and especially from Kazuki are quite precious to me and I am not prepared to let any of those go and prepare myself mentally for new programs yet. Not sure how I will do that but hopefully it won't be very hard for me!!

And actually who knows, maybe Kazuki will reuse that EX next season as well

Same here... I love this season's programmes so much! I can only hope next season's will be equally good

BTW, Kazuki appears on the 9th pic on this post! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu0oP9cBStn/
It's him having a meal with his Japanese team mates and a couple of skaters from Hong Kong. As usual, he has the biggest plate!

 

[Tsurara]

Sorry I couldn't find much, but here is a short interview response.
https://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20190308/spo19030801370004-n1.html
友野一希の話
「あと２０点は欲しい。でも失敗してこれだけ点数を出せるようになったので、そこは成長したかな。来シーズンに向けていい課題の見つかる試合になった」
"I want/need 20 more points. But I managed to earn points this much with mistakes, so I guess that means I've improved somewhat. It was a good competition where I found good homework for the next season."

And here's Uni-san uploading a video segment on 4CC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9j1NhPUnWg
Tomono-kun's part starts at 2:30
「トップの選手は本当に強い思いを持って、たくさんの練習を重ねて、やっぱり自信を持って試合に挑んでいて。やっぱり強い気持ち、強い心があるからあれだけの成績が残せるんだなとすごく感じていて。僕はやっぱりまだまだそういった覚悟や自信や、積み重ねてきたものや思いというのがまだまだ、もしかしたら少なかったのかなというふうに思いますし、自分に勝てなかったというのが、それが失敗の原因かなというふうにも思いましたし。ひとつひとつ、一歩一歩成長していきたいと思います」
"Top skaters were facing their competition with a strong determination (feeling/thought/will) and confidence built from loads of practices/training. So, I strongly feel that they can achieve those great results because they have strong hearts (mind?). I'm afraid that perhaps I might have still lacked in such determination, confidence, and/or things and thoughts I've piled up/accumulated. And the fact that I couldn't defeat myself, might have been the cause of my failure. One by one, step by step, I'd like to grow/improve."

btw, it's quite rare to find Tomono-kun's photo on Ehime Shimbun, a local newspaper from Koshiro's hometown. (though it's just the same one bought from Kyodo and I prefered this photo better.)
They do have photos of top medalists (and Koshiro ofc), but Tomono-kun didn't podium this time and yet someone decided to have his photo up. They usually just have summarized results only.

 

[KiraraChin]

Thank you so much, Tsurara! :luv17:

His attitude was definitely more positive after Universiade... I like the 'lesson for next season', that's exactly the right kind of attitude :agree:

Also, great to know he's getting press coverage even though he wasn't one of the medallists! I agree with you on the choice of photo

 

[AQFS]

Thanks a lot, Tsurara for the news and translation :thumbsup: He has quite a nice fan base in Japan now so maybe that was also a factor why he is getting more press coverage despite the results.

I really hope he grow from here and step by step we can see him able to perform with confidence under pressure and achieve the balance and consistency he needs

Photo for the 3 men of team Japan from Hiroaki's twitter

https://twitter.com/Heroaki06/status/1105280012658204674

Also, we finally get a picture from the Quadruple Axel interview with Kazuki and Misha Ge

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6EEQ1BfIK/
https://twitter.com/AxelQuadruple/status/1105374696667701248

 

[KiraraChin]

Photo for the 3 men of team Japan from Hiroaki's twitter

https://twitter.com/Heroaki06/status/1105280012658204674

Also, we finally get a picture from the Quadruple Axel interview with Kazuki and Misha Ge

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6EEQ1BfIK/
https://twitter.com/AxelQuadruple/status/1105374696667701248

Thanks! It seems Kazuki had a great time at Universiade, I'm glad!

Aaaaahhh Quadruple Axel! I reaaaally want to read this interview!
I've seen these pics as well, which I really love: https://twitter.com/MishaGe_JP/status/1105412888657768448
The first one, especially, with Kazuki signing his autograph and Misha looking at him. It has such a soft, adorable, loving energy :luv17:

 

[Tsurara]

Just a reminder, his Ice Show schedule (just the ones I know)

Kyoto festival on March 31 in Kyoto
https://twitter.com/KSU_official/status/1104547594452140035
Last year's Kyoto festival was broadcasted in May, but I have no idea how it'll be this year.

Prince Ice World in Yokohama on May 3-5
https://www.princehotels.co.jp/iceshow/cast/
and
https://twitter.com/piw_in_yokohama/status/1098178601214590976
It says TV Kanagawa (local tv network in Yokohama) is airing last years piw vid with shoma, keiji, tomono's parts on March 21.