I was at Lombardia and ended up being thoroughly charmed by his skating & presence on the ice. You never notice how tall or not he is because he skates with his whole body. And I know that he gets regular critique regarding the amount of crossovers he does, but, to me, they are so satisfying to watch, honestly. Something about the way he shifts weight from left to right. Just... nice.
He also seems to have a lot of Italian fans, and the public in general was very enthusiastic.
With regards to programs, I think there are parts of STH that need improvement as he is not fully commited to them yet, but after seeing it live I am sold. As for MS, and I know that this program seems to be not for everyone's taste, but I just adore the subtle mucisality in it here and there, and it has so much room to grow and improve. I am really excited about upcoming season.
The interesting thing is that first couple of practices before SP were really good for Shoma, he landed some really nice jumps, and then after SP there was the struggle. But I am really impressed he did not fall on 4S in competition as I did not see him land it even once in practice (maybe missed it, of course, but...). He has great competitive spirit. The free skate though was quite stressful to watch live, by the end my hands were kind of shaking. So this is what it feels like to watch Shoma live, I guess. All in all, he seems like a really lovely & loveable human being and I am glad to be supporting him. Mihoko-sensei is really smiley, too. I am not the type of person to ask for a photo (especially because I do not speak Japanese), but there were plenty of opportunities as the venue was really small & cosy. Great experience! Hoping for a wondeful season ahead for Shoma.
