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- Sep 7, 2023
Mao Asada
- Thread starter tulosai
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
For those who don't visit the ice shows subforum, here is the entire interview with Mao, Dai and Kana + the gorgeous collaboration number "Silhouettes" which ended up to feature not only Mao and Dai, but also Kana and Kazuki (the performance starts at 7:21):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k5uMof2om4te4NGHoPJONOXbIRt3b-En/view?usp=sharing
Interview with Mao (before the shows in Osaka) about how the collaboration came about, her relationship with Daisuke, her attitude towards challenges (in competition) and towards ice shows and what she wants to achieve with her "Mao Rink":
https://the-ans.jp/column/521864/
Machine translation:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k5uMof2om4te4NGHoPJONOXbIRt3b-En/view?usp=sharing
Interview with Mao (before the shows in Osaka) about how the collaboration came about, her relationship with Daisuke, her attitude towards challenges (in competition) and towards ice shows and what she wants to achieve with her "Mao Rink":
https://the-ans.jp/column/521864/
Machine translation:
Mao Asada told about her bond with her ally Daisuke Takahashi, stimulated by the sensitivity that no one else has, and their relationship is like "classmates"
2025.04.05
Vancouver Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada, who will be appearing for the first time in nine years in the world's top ice show "Stars on Ice Japan Tour 2025," which starts on the 5th, gave an exclusive interview to "THE ANSWER" on the 4th. She is scheduled to debut a special collaboration number with Daisuke Takahashi and others. She also talked about her relationship with her ally/close friend Takahashi and the dreams she wants to achieve at "MAO RINK TACHIKAWA TACHIHI," an ice rink she produced in Tachikawa, Tokyo. (Interviewer: Miyauchi Hiroya, Editorial Department of THE ANSWER)
◇ ◇ ◇
--This is your first appearance in nine years. Your collaborative number with Takahashi and others has attracted a lot of attention, but what are the highlights of your performance?
"I'm going to do Bolero as my solo, but when I skated to it previously in 'Everlasting33' the rink was about one-third the normal size, so this time I'm remaking it for Stars on Ice.
The collaborative number came about when I was having dinner with Kanadai (Takahashi and Muramoto Kana) last year and we were saying, 'It'd be great if we could all collaborate someday.' Since we're going to be performing together on Stars on Ice this time, we thought it was now or never."
--It seems like it will be a rare opportunity to perform together with Takahashi, who you have known for a long time since your active days. How do you feel now that the performance is just around the corner?
"It's been so long since we last skated together, I wonder how many years it's been... It's been so long that I can't even remember, but I'm sure this time at Stars on Ice will be very special in my skating career, and there will only be six performances, so I want to skate with all my heart."
--You have often competed in the same competitions and have improved together, but what is your impression of Takahashi-san now?
"I have the impression that Dai-chan is always challenging himself. Even after he retired from singles, he turned to the world of ice dance as an athlete and took on new challenges, and after retiring from active competition he started creating ice shows as a producer. I myself have been creating my own shows since retiring as an athlete, so although we are from the same era but competed in different disciplines, I think it's wonderful that a friend who competed with me in figure skating is creating a show that is different from mine.
Dai-chan's sensibility is something that nobody else has. The way he expresses himself in skating, the timing... I really learned a lot from skating with him this time. Dai-chan is active in his own world, so as someone of the same generation, I'm very happy."
Relationship with Daisuke Takahashi is like "classmates"
--If you had to describe your relationship with Takahashi, would you say he's like an older brother or an ally/friend?
"I don't know. Even though we are of the same generation and I am younger, we often went to competitions together, so I guess we are like kids in the same class, like classmates. We often met through skating. I have known all my skating friends since I was in the second or third grade of elementary school, so I really feel like we are elementary school classmates. There were so many skaters when I was a child, but some of them quit for various reasons, so I am very happy to skate again with skaters who have stayed and worked hard in the same world."
--This is your first time performing with skater Shimada Mao. In a previous interview, Shimada said she wanted to ask you about "how you maintained your mindset to keep challenging yourself even in situations where you could have won even if you skipped out on a big move."
"I personally really loved taking on challenges, and challenges were a source of motivation for me. Taking on challenges also helped me to keep my spirits up. I believed that you couldn't succeed unless you tried and failed, and since it's a sport, I really wanted to win."
--People around you have even said, "Maybe it would be okay to take it out." [the 3A]
"I thought I wouldn't regret it if I made the decision myself. I received advice from people around me that it might be better not to try, and I thought I would have less regrets when I tried because I wanted to and lost, than if I didn't try at all and lost. There may have been times when I could have taken it out and won, but this is my skating career, so I really wanted to do it without any regrets. However, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
--Competitions and ice shows each have their own merits, but what do you think is the appeal of ice shows?
"Competitions have rules, so I think the first condition is to perform within the bounds of the rules, but in ice shows you can skate and express whatever you want. I think that's what makes it so appealing, and also the fact that we can use the lighting. Also, as a retired skater looking at active skaters from the outside, I think that in competitions you can't help but see skaters 'putting everything on the line', but in ice shows you can relax a bit and see skaters really enjoying skating from the bottom of their hearts, which I think is the appeal of shows."
An incident that made her "really happy" at "MAO RINK TACHIKAWA TACHIHI" that she produced
-- While you were active as a skater, "MAO RINK TACHIKAWA TACHIHI", which you produced, also became a hot topic. It's been about five months since the opening, what are your thoughts now?
"We built a large window into the sub-rink, and outside there is a row of cherry blossom trees, which were in full bloom just last week. It was my dream to create an environment where people could skate while looking at the cherry blossoms in full bloom. I enjoyed skating while looking at the cherry blossoms myself, and it made me really happy to see the spectators enjoying themselves. There are no other rinks in the world where you can skate while looking at the cherry blossoms, so I think it's a symbolic place.
I also practice at MAO RINK, and the children are practicing hard. I would be happy if MAO RINK could produce skaters who can fly out into the world, and I would be happy if not only skaters, but also people in the Tachikawa area and people all over Japan could enjoy skating at MAO RINK and make good memories.
The kids start skating at MAO RINK, and then they grow up. It's my dream to produce skaters who can win gold medals around the world. I would be really happy if lots of kids would come to MAO RINK and try to become skaters, and it's not just kids, there are so many adult skaters who bring their own skates and try their hand at competitions. In that sense, I really want not only kids, but adults to enjoy skating too."
At a press conference held on the same day, Asada said with a smile, "It's been nine years since my last appearance. It feels really nostalgic." She was looking forward to the performance, saying, "There will be friends of the same generation with whom I have always competed together, and there will also be active skaters who I support on TV. I'm looking forward to skating."
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2013
@synesthesia : thanks for the video of collaboration number from SOI Osaka. That was a lovely and touching performance. I'm wondering if you might have Mao's Bolero from that broadcasting? I've read it was one of the highlights, and have been dying to see a video for that!
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2020
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
I agree, it was one of the highlights and - I also said this in the KanaDai fan fest - I think Mao's Bolero or Silhouette should have been the closing number before the finale. Since Mao's solo was already posted by throw_triple_flip (as Magill said), I only added the group number here, though. However, since I had already cut Mao's part with the intention of posting it in her fan fest, I can of course still do that - at least there's a little added value since I included Mao's interview
:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I0sI1lzk09CEkY6-uU3Wr9cN9j0hSC1e/view?usp=sharing
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2018
The Japanese streaming platform Lemino is running a series on top athletes and the major setbacks they have faced, and the current one (which is free to view until a new one is released) is Mao. The blurb as translated by Google...
"It's been 20 years since Mao Asada, a figure skater legend, first appeared on the cover of Number magazine. She has been featured on the cover more times than any other female athlete to date. The "prodigy" who successfully landed the one and only triple axel rose to become world champion and national star at the young age of 15. However, behind this glorious skating career, there were unknown "setbacks". The presence of her strongest rival who stood in her way on the stage of her dreams, the unexpected that awaited her at her second Olympics, which she took on as the culmination of her career... and the "legendary free skating" that was born from the biggest "setback" of her skating career. Mao Asada herself reveals the truth about her "miraculous four minutes". Mao Asada, the "prodigy" who loved figure skating and was loved by all of Japan. An exclusive interview looking back with treasured photos from Number."
lemino.docomo.ne.jp
It is in Japanese, of course but given it is free I thought people might like to know.
"It's been 20 years since Mao Asada, a figure skater legend, first appeared on the cover of Number magazine. She has been featured on the cover more times than any other female athlete to date. The "prodigy" who successfully landed the one and only triple axel rose to become world champion and national star at the young age of 15. However, behind this glorious skating career, there were unknown "setbacks". The presence of her strongest rival who stood in her way on the stage of her dreams, the unexpected that awaited her at her second Olympics, which she took on as the culmination of her career... and the "legendary free skating" that was born from the biggest "setback" of her skating career. Mao Asada herself reveals the truth about her "miraculous four minutes". Mao Asada, the "prodigy" who loved figure skating and was loved by all of Japan. An exclusive interview looking back with treasured photos from Number."
「NumberTV特設サイト｜Lemino（レミノ）
雑誌『Sports Graphic Number』がLeminoと共同で制作するドキュメント番組『NumberTV』を独占無料配信！各話豪華ゲストが「挫折地点〜あのとき前を向いた理由〜」をコンセプトに、アスリート本人が「挫折と復活」を語る。
It is in Japanese, of course but given it is free
I thought people might like to know.
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2020
And here's a part of it posted on the Number TV official YouTube channel where you can also use the subtitle tool easilyThe Japanese streaming platform Lemino is running a series on top athletes and the major setbacks they have faced, and the current one (which is free to view until a new one is released) is Mao. The blurb as translated by Google...
"It's been 20 years since Mao Asada, a figure skater legend, first appeared on the cover of Number magazine. She has been featured on the cover more times than any other female athlete to date. The "prodigy" who successfully landed the one and only triple axel rose to become world champion and national star at the young age of 15. However, behind this glorious skating career, there were unknown "setbacks". The presence of her strongest rival who stood in her way on the stage of her dreams, the unexpected that awaited her at her second Olympics, which she took on as the culmination of her career... and the "legendary free skating" that was born from the biggest "setback" of her skating career. Mao Asada herself reveals the truth about her "miraculous four minutes". Mao Asada, the "prodigy" who loved figure skating and was loved by all of Japan. An exclusive interview looking back with treasured photos from Number."
「NumberTV特設サイト｜Lemino（レミノ）
雑誌『Sports Graphic Number』がLeminoと共同で制作するドキュメント番組『NumberTV』を独占無料配信！各話豪華ゲストが「挫折地点〜あのとき前を向いた理由〜」をコンセプトに、アスリート本人が「挫折と復活」を語る。
It is in Japanese, of course but given it is free
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
Cross posting from the Hyoen thread - Mao-chan watched one of the Hyoen performances in Yokohama on Sunday:
A one-of-a-kind piece of entertainment that goes beyond the boundaries of an ice show!
Dai-chan has really evolved and his acting and singing are amazing!
All the other performers were also amazing!
It was spectacular!
This is so lovely!
Last year she couldn't come because Hyoen overlapped with her own Everlasting33, but I remember she also attended one of the performances of "The tale of Genji" in 2019.
Now I want her to join the Hyoen cast next time to keep her promise from 2016 when Daisuke asked her, if she would join forces with him for a new kind of theatrical ice show. Let her be the heroine!
A one-of-a-kind piece of entertainment that goes beyond the boundaries of an ice show!
Dai-chan has really evolved and his acting and singing are amazing!
All the other performers were also amazing!
It was spectacular!
This is so lovely!
Last year she couldn't come because Hyoen overlapped with her own Everlasting33, but I remember she also attended one of the performances of "The tale of Genji" in 2019.Now I want her to join the Hyoen cast next time to keep her promise from 2016 when Daisuke asked her, if she would join forces with him for a new kind of theatrical ice show. Let her be the heroine!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2019
I had never seen the whole of this video, only extracts of a second or two, it was so lovely! I wonder at which show or Gala it was?
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2019
And here's a part of it posted on the Number TV official YouTube channel where you can also use the subtitle tool easily
The whole interview is free, just today April 30th (Japan time):
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