Marin Honda moves to Rafael Arutunian

[hanyuyuzuru1207]

Well the thing with the media exposure is with the Hondas are that:

a) Miyu is an actress, so she would natural get more attention than most figure skaters her age in her competitions.

b) Marin is a former (2016) world junior champion at the age of 15. She is also the only non-Russian female skater to win junior worlds since Kanako Murakami in 2010, which is 8 years ago, or an eternity in figure skating. It also doesn't hurt to be one of the more popular female athlete in Japan.

The thing is in the TV industry, the only thing that matters is what drives ratings, and advertisement. An 1 hour documentary about the Hondas or Marin's season will definitely drive ratings, advertisements and sponsors.

Now, the question is will the media coverage on Marin be similar this year now that she is in the US rather than in Japan.

Rather the media coverage will have died down cuz she failed to make it to the olympic team.

But I think the Japanese media will follow her as much as they follow Hanyu in someways because they both are good looking and have star power etc. (Hanyu has results and GOAT status as well so more so than Marin).


I jst feel this intense obsession with the Japanese Media of pushing Marin intensely while not so much with other female skaters who had better results than her. And this is what fueled my disappointment with Japanese media in Japan.



Gracie Gold was pretty and had star power but her hype was justifies in my opinion. She had skills. She was on top on US nationals. (Not now).

But Honda sisters they are not the top of their level anymore, both nationally and internationally.

 

[oatmella]

Is the Japanese media really going to be following Marin Honda very closely in the US?

I may be wrong - but I would think she would be able to be far more under the radar in the US. Maybe I'm underestimating the interest in her - but it's not like she is Shohei Ohtani? (who is actually not that far from her)

I think less media attention could be a positive thing for Marin

 

[Mango]

Rather the media coverage will have died down cuz she failed to make it to the olympic team.

But I think the Japanese media will follow her as much as they follow Hanyu in someways because they both are good looking and have star power etc. (Hanyu has results and GOAT status as well so more so than Marin).


I jst feel this intense obsession with the Japanese Media of pushing Marin intensely while not so much with other female skaters who had better results than her. And this is what fueled my disappointment with Japanese media in Japan.



Gracie Gold was pretty and had star power but her hype was justifies in my opinion. She had skills. She was on top on US nationals. (Not now).

But Honda sisters they are not the top of their level anymore, both nationally and internationally.

I think you've kinda missed the point of this thread with your last sentence there.

Marin is moving to the USA to improve. She knows she's got to better herself.

As was previously pointed out: Sara Honda won the Novice B title in Japan this year. So she is at the top of her level. Here is Sara's profile on Rink Results for you to confirm this detail: http://rinkresults.com/skater?skater_id=24578

Miyu isn't doing as well, but still qualified for the junior championships. But Miyu has a growing career as an actress so it's understandable she has less time to focus on training.

Marin's comment reminded me of Jeremy Ten and some other male skaters back in 2015 when Yuzuru broke 300 points. They said they were happy they retired when they did. Maybe that's what Marin meant - that I never want to compete as a senior against my talented sister. But in the mean time Marin is uprooting her life in the pursuit of excellence. Give her a chance.

 

[hanyuyuzuru1207]

I think you've kinda missed the point of this thread with your last sentence there.

Marin is moving to the USA to improve. She knows she's got to better herself.

As was previously pointed out: Sara Honda won the Novice B title in Japan this year. So she is at the top of her level. Here is Sara's profile on Rink Results for you to confirm this detail: http://rinkresults.com/skater?skater_id=24578

Miyu isn't doing as well, but still qualified for the junior championships. But Miyu has a growing career as an actress so it's understandable she has less time to focus on training.

Marin's comment reminded me of Jeremy Ten and some other male skaters back in 2015 when Yuzuru broke 300 points. They said they were happy they retired when they did. Maybe that's what Marin meant - that I never want to compete as a senior against my talented sister. But in the mean time Marin is uprooting her life in the pursuit of excellence. Give her a chance.

Yes I will watch how she does next season. [emoji4] I like Marin, its jst the media reaction I didnt really fancy.

 

[yude]

I'm also curious how Marin will have the connection with media from this season. Is Rafael media friendly in general? What was it like when he coached Mao, did he talk with Japanese media a lot?

Just my opinion but if she really wants to concentrate on her figure skating life, the way Yuzuru and TCC deals with the media might be ideal for her, too--after finishing ice shows in Japan, go back to USA and keep training. And before participating in the competitions, hold "media days" for about two days to reveal her programs and current conditions, taking photos, videos and interviews, and that's it and block all the other stuff after that. If she has any obligation to do for the media, it would be better to finish everything before coming back to USA. But to do all of these, she will need cooperation of her coach and the team since there might be many arrangements with Japanese media. I hope she'll be able to find her best way.

 

[oatmella]

I’m not sure about media friendly - but Raf seems willing and gives interviews. And he doesn’t seem the type to protect his students from the media

He is also not really shy about ‘criticizing’ his students to the media - he gave a rather questionable and too revealing interview re: Nathan at the Olympics to a Russian reporter. And he’s certainly made it clear that he has to push Ashley and if she doesn’t work hard enough. He is certainly not shy about putting the blame on his students if things don’t go well (Nathan and Ashley - he may have done this with other students as well, but I don’t follow them all)

Raf certainly does not coddle his students - in the media or otherwise - and he can be quite blunt

 

[vitamintea]

+ I got salty when there was no 1 hr documentary on an olympic contender while national 7th Marin got two 1 hr documentary before and after olympics. Marin didnt even go to PyeongChang. Where is Kaori?


If there was one I could not find it.

I totally agree with your comment. While it's great that figure skating gains exposure through the Honda family's popularity, it is a little annoying that the top contenders receive minimal publicity compared to her. I think it's pretty analogous to Anna Kournikova's popularity as a tennis player, which was 95% because she was beautiful and 5% because of her actual ability. From the level of media coverage and sponsorships Anna got you would have thought she was the next Serena Williams, but in reality she was a good, but not amazing player.

This Amy Schumer sketch is pretty relevant to me here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPPqE-MA7Mo

I definitely wish Satoko and Kaori got more exposure for all their hard work and achievements!

 

[composer]

I think the relevant question should be: would there be more coverage of other skaters without the Honda sisters? The assumption seems to be that the media will devote a set amount of attention to figure skating, and the Honda sisters are taking more than their fair share of the pie. Could it be possible that the pie wouldn’t be a lot smaller without the Honda sisters? That their attention is not coming from the figure skating pie only but also the acting pie as well, and if not the Honda sisters, the attention would shift to some other child actresses rather than some other figure skaters.

 

[yude]

I’m not sure about media friendly - but Raf seems willing and gives interviews.

That's good to know I don't know how big the media attention is going to be for Marin from this season, but he may have to be surrounded by many reporters, journalists, photographers from Japan at some point. Personally, I don't worry about him making harsh comments very much because some Japanese coaches in the sports are also like that.

I admit that I was not a fan of "hype" in Japan for Marin as I stated in Japanese ladies' thread before. However, now she left home and changed school, which I think she is determined and serious to improve herself. The good result might not come so fast, but I really hope she can make the most of this chance for the next Olympics.

 

[combinationspin]

Rather the media coverage will have died down cuz she failed to make it to the olympic team.

But I think the Japanese media will follow her as much as they follow Hanyu in someways because they both are good looking and have star power etc. (Hanyu has results and GOAT status as well so more so than Marin).


I jst feel this intense obsession with the Japanese Media of pushing Marin intensely while not so much with other female skaters who had better results than her. And this is what fueled my disappointment with Japanese media in Japan.



Gracie Gold was pretty and had star power but her hype was justifies in my opinion. She had skills. She was on top on US nationals. (Not now).

But Honda sisters they are not the top of their level anymore, both nationally and internationally.

I think both Marin and Yuzuru are media gold. Young Yuzuru was very bubbly and open towards the cameras giving them great material to work with. Many others skaters are more shy and reserve.

What do you mean by “other skaters who had better results than her”? Marin just came from the junior ranks last season. She had the most successful junior career of a any Japanese female since Kanako Murakami. Kaori was under most people’s radar until Skate America, Mai and Wakaba didn’t make it to the Olympics, either. Marin used to beat these girls on international ice. Clearly, Marin’s results at Nationals we’re disappointing and the media hype died down almost completely. The long documentation about Marin that aired after Nationals was about her one year long preparation for the Olympics. The had already started the production much in advance to the Olympics.

And talking about Gracie Gold who “had skills” as you put it: Gracie had outstanding athletic skills but many felt her artistic skills were one dimensional and lacking. Marin might lack athletic skills but most fans like her for her artistic abilities. Insinuating that Marin doesn’t have any outstanding skills is wrong imo.