Sota Yamamoto

[synesthesia]

So, I'm in Oberstdorf, but cannot provide any report on Sota just yet. I arrived in the late afternoon, and Google Maps and me were apparently not on the same page today because I managed to get super lost in Oberstdorf. So, going to the rink was out of the question. No sighting of Sota or any Japanese skater as I was bent on locating road signs rather than skater faces, but I recognized Deniss V passing us downtown. A few steps after, I met a Japanese Sota fan I sometimes meet at competitions, and she told me Sota was looking good, happy and relaxed in today's practice, so there's at least that.
My night owl self is done in after getting up at 5AM today, so there won't be men's SP practice for me tomorrow, sadly, because it ends at 8.30, and I need to sleep in to function properly tomorrow. :/ I hope other fans are there for him early enough
May he have a good skate tomorrow! Good luck, Sota

Oh, I only saw now that you went to the Nebelhorn Trophy! Perhaps I could have helped you find your way around Oberstdorf remotely, as I know it very well, having spent many summer and winter holidays in the region. As you now know, of course, the ice rink is relatively easy to find as it's directly opposite the station of the Nebelhornbahn (did you get to go up to the summit?)

Thank you for your on-site report and congratulations to Sota on his win!

 

[surimi]

Oh, I only saw now that you went to the Nebelhorn Trophy! Perhaps I could have helped you find your way around Oberstdorf remotely, as I know it very well, having spent many summer and winter holidays in the region. As you now know, of course, the ice rink is relatively easy to find as it's directly opposite the station of the Nebelhornbahn (did you get to go up to the summit?)

Thank you for your on-site report and congratulations to Sota on his win!

Thanks! If I go again in the future, I won't get lost, I think. I'll keep my paper map just in case - once I got my hands on one, I had no issues finding anything anymore. Curious. ^ ^ Re. cable car, I got halfway up, to station 2. It was nice enough for me.

Okay, so finally, after a busy week, I am back to this thread. The main news of the last week is:
- Sota was congratulated by his sponsor Colantotte
- Shoma & Sota talkshow, organized by Mizuno, will be broadcast tomorrow, as well as a press conference. This fan blog writes in more detail about it, and features pictures - check them out either there, or on Twitter!
- a Nikkan Sports article from last week. Sota speaks of his 4F plans (ugh... don't want!), about how it was a good decision to aim for a clean skate in Nebelhorn instead of difficulty (yes!), and about a long way he has to go to catch up with the boys from Lombardia (well IMO, PCS-wise and GOE-wise, it's the marks that have a long way to go in some cases, rather than Sota).

 

[surimi]

A couple more articles and events:
- here's a video of the conference of select skaters chosen for the GP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-enpo7sLRE
I haven't watched it with sound on, but I'm guessing they had to write down their biggest rivals, and each boy wrote 'Team Japan skaters'. Yuma added Malinin, and Sota added JunHwan It's really curious how JunHwan is at all competitions in the first half of Sota's season! Maybe they'll get a chance to talk about the good old novice days... but Sota would need to brush up on his English in that case

- Sota practice videos from Oberstdorf:
SP , FS, gala

- article by Hochi News: Sota's motto for the new season is 'refinement' (of his overall skating rather than individual elements). He plans to focus on 4S for now as the 4F he practices is not stable yet.

 

[KiraraChin]

Cross-posting from Kazuki's fan fest!

 

[KiraraChin]

Guys, seems that Sota has a new sponsor
Does anyone have more details about it?

 

[surimi]

Yes, they're Sota's new sponsor I'm glad, and well deserved for Sota! As far as I understand, they're an athlete support group, and they have something to do with Unlim (the platform through which Sota holds his monthly fan talkshows, and where fans support him in various ways). Perhaps they're the parent company that runs Unlim? This post has a link to Unlim's website, which can be translated into English.
They must have noticed how popular he is, and how many fans have supported him throughout the years. Myself, I have been cheering for him since late 2017, but there are a number of people who have been supporting him since his junior days. I think it's amazing when skaters have long-time fans.

There's not been many Sota updates in the last few weeks otherwise, but his Skate Canada is coming up next week already. Good luck in the preparations, and I hope he doesn't go overboard with the 4F practising! (according to this post, MeTele TV footage showed him land a nice one in practice in Japan) His ankles and feet need him
In the near future, we can look forward to a new Sota interview by Chunichi (with a bit of luck, it won't be geoblocked):


Also, have we celebrated this being the 100th page of Sota's fanfest yet?

And check out this brief video of Varese camp skaters visiting the Olympic village that's under construction! Sota appears in the opening, and at the end of the video:

 

[KiraraChin]

They must have noticed how popular he is, and how many fans have supported him throughout the years. Myself, I have been cheering for him since late 2017, but there are a number of people who have been supporting him since his junior days. I think it's amazing when skaters have long-time fans.

Yes. I have no doubt that, as a media company, they saw the number of subscriptions, traffic, engagement he gets on his Unlim sessions and the internet as a whole, in addition to the amount of support from his fans at events. IMO, not only Sota himself deserves credit, but also his amazing and dedicated fanbase

 

[surimi]

So, what's new?
First and foremost, Sota is in Canada now! I hope he has a good rest, minimal jet lag, and a successful competition... and stays healthy of course.


Then: Here's a very short video of Sota answering a reporter's two questions after Nebelhorn Trophy - I think he's asked about the difficulty of skating his gala (Teeth) at a rink that has a different camera/audience layout than the rinks the gala was designed for, which results in him posing and performing ('appealu' in the video) in front of the empty short side of the rink sometimes. But I can't be sure I heard right.

And there have been several articles about Sota recently:
- this one is paid, and it discusses Sota as a member of Machiko Yamada's group. Him switching to that center as an adult is unusual, according to that article, as most of their students have been with them since childhood.

- a touching one about Sota helping Yuhana Yokoi's little sister Kinayu, who broke her ankle in the summer, and got a bolt in it... Sota's expertise in the field helped her. I'll share the link later as I cannot find it at the moment.

- this one is about Sota's renowned spread eagles They're my favorite element in Sota's programs and he's just so good at them, that I just need to share the brief autotranslation. It's awesome that Nichol picked the FS so that the eagles would shine. That was a great collab, and more suitable for Sota's style than Richaud IMO.

Sota Yamamoto's signature weapon, "Eagle" - how it became a weapon that allowed him to "express himself", something he was not good at in the past​

It is no exaggeration to say that "eagle" 　is the trademark of Sota Yamamoto (Chukyo University), who placed third in last year's All Japan Championships . This season's free program includes a section that allows him to fully enjoy the eagle, but I was surprised to hear that he actually "couldn't do it at all in the past." We asked Yamamoto about his journey to becoming a major "weapon" that expresses himself.
　The Eagle is a gliding movement in which the toes of each foot are turned outward and the blades are aligned in a straight line. The head is at the apex and both feet are spread out straight, gliding like the capital letter "A." Yamamoto maintains a beautiful line from her back to her feet and glides with the edges tilted deep.
This season, Yamamoto asked choreographer Lori Nichol, who has worked with former world champion Mao Asada, to create her free program for the first time. When she went to Canada to choreograph, Lori's eye was caught by Yamamoto's eagle. She chose the music, saying, "I want to choose a song that suits the eagle." The choreography sequence in the middle of the performance ended up lasting nearly 10 seconds.
　Combined with the grand music, it is a sweet and romantic part that will have you glued to your seat. Yamamoto also commented, "It's a part where I can do an eagle with great feeling. I hope I can show my skating there."
　When I asked Yamamoto during an interview if he had always been praised for his superb eagle shot, he gave me a surprising answer.

　The days of struggling with stiff hip joints​

"When I first started practicing, I wasn't really good at it." She first incorporated it into her programs when she was a novice. At the time, her hip joints were stiff, and she struggled to spread her legs wide. "My butt would stick out and I would lean forward, so it wasn't a very beautiful eagle," she recalls. As she got older, from novice to junior, she had more opportunities to perform it, and "from there I started doing a lot of flexibility exercises. I continued practicing because I wanted to perform it beautifully."
　As a result, he says, "Thankfully, little by little, more and more people started saying, 'Kusa's eagle is great.'" Especially since he moved up to the senior level, more choreographers have started incorporating it into his choreography sequences, and it was one of the highlights of his free program last season, "Exogenisis Symphony No. 3." He feels that it has become a weapon for expressing himself, a selling point for him.
This season, the beauty of the move was conveyed to world-renowned choreographer Lawrie, who created a program that highlighted the eagle. "It's an honor," said Yamamoto, narrowing his eyes. At the same time, Lawrie told him, "I want it to be a scene that will be captured in photos and videos."
　Although it was only a moment in the program that lasted less than 10 seconds, Yamamoto said, "I'm skating with all my strength." It may be a moment that gives us a glimpse of Yamamoto's strengths and charm, who has polished what was never his forte through hard work to the point that it has become synonymous with his skating.
　I'm sure there will be people who will be paying attention to Yamamoto's performance and want to see her eagle. I'm looking forward to her free skating this season even more.

 

[surimi]

Article on Sota practising for SC by Nikkan Sports: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/202410250000075.html

Sota Yamamoto: "I've been practicing... I believe in myself" - last time's winner of Skate Canada, set to perform well this season too​

Sota Yamamoto (24, Chukyo University), who placed third in the All Japan Championships last December, is taking on the GP series with confidence.

During the official practice, he confirmed his quadruple-triple toe loop and quadruple salchow. Looking back on the previous day's practice, which was held at a different venue, he said with a wry smile that "it was almost laughable," but on this day, he landed jumps one after another and expressed a sense of satisfaction, saying, "I'm on the upswing."

The short side of the rink for this tournament is slightly shorter than usual. Yamamoto has been working hard to prepare for the event, not only at his base at Chukyo University in Aichi, but also at the Osu skating rink in Nagoya. "I've been simulating it on a smaller size. I've been working hard on that kind of practice, so I'm going to believe in myself and give it my all," he said enthusiastically.

Last year, she won her first GP title at Skate Canada. Looking ahead to the competition in a place that suits her, she vowed, "I've been practicing, so I'll believe in myself and give it my all until the very end. I want to give it my all until the very end."

It's good for his confidence and spirit to have a successful practice. I'm glad he's been simulating the competition environment, and hopefully it will prove fruitful here.
One more article, this time by Mainichi: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20241025/k00/00m/050/019000c

"It will be the highlight of the SP" - Yamamoto Sota's exquisite steps​

On the 24th, Sota Yamamoto (Chukyo University), a male skater competing in Skate Canada, the second event of the figure skating Grand Prix (GP) series, participated in the official practice at the competition venue in Halifax, eastern Canada. "I hope I can believe in myself and go all out until the end," said Yamamoto. The highlight of this season's short program (SP) is his step.
This season's SP "Split, Postcards from Far Away" was directed by world-renowned choreographer Benoit Richaud. He glides briskly across the ice as if embodying the melody of a piano. In an exclusive interview conducted this summer, he spoke about the highlights of the SP as follows: [the rest is a paid article]

I like the steps best, too, of all the elements in the program! The spins are beautiful, too.

And a 50-second Me-Tele video showing Sota landing quads and 3A, and at the end of the video, he says "I won last year, but this year, I'm still a challenger, so I think I just need to concentrate on myself and show what I've been doing in practice." (Google translated)

***

I'm hoping Sota can place in SC top 5 in the end, but it's such a hard field here, so trying to keep my expectations real. Skate as well and safely as you can, Sota. No 4 flips, please. Good luck!

 

[KiraraChin]

Well done Sota for a good performance yesterday at Skate Canada Lowballed again on PCS but what else is new



I gotta say, I'm really impressed with Sota's mental game recently. He's come soooooo far in this respect even if you compared to, let's say, a couple of years ago. Amazing!

 

[surimi]

Well done to Sota, what a fight! I'd better not say anything on the PCS (especially in relation to other top skaters), because no polite words occur to me currently to describe someone who dares give Sota 7s, not to mention 6s in PCS.
If anything does come to my mind, it's Yuzuru's words on why he decided to retire - basically, he said he was improving, but his scores were dropping. And that's exactly what is happening to Sota. For a near-perfect skate, he's receiving pretty much the same PCS he got in Germany for a two-mistake program. He's not a part of JSF's Golden Trio. It's obvious to me that to JSF, he's just an Olympic sub in case one of their golden boys has a bad season or gets injured - *then* they might actually have his back, and we might see a rise in his scores. As it is, he's always been marked as a B tier skater in big competitions, although almost all commentators praise him, especially for his skating skills which are consistently sooo downmarked. I do not want to hear another word about Shun and his supposed 'low' PCS. Just look at the scores, at the difference between the two across all 3 PCS categories. It's sickening and unsubstantiated, and if anyone's a real victim of underscoring, it's Sota and Kazuki.

There, got it off my chest. Sota himself did super well, and good fight on the axel. But it's not over till it's over. Cha at least is very close, and I hope Sota and his team trained for the eventuality that Cha brings the house down in a great FS, and Sota has to skate right after him, and basically skate against the biased, unfriendly panel we see here. Good luck, Sota! Always rooting for you Hopefully, you still manage to hold onto that medal, for your own joy.

Post-SP article:

リンクサイド：山本草太　「山本草太あるあるなんですけど…」　GPカナダSP | 毎日新聞

フィギュアスケートのグランプリ（GP）シリーズ第2戦スケートカナダは26日、カナダ東部のハリファクスで男子ショートプログラム（SP）が行われ、前回大会優勝の山本草太選手（中京大）は92・16点で3位につけた。演技の手応えとフリーへの意気込みなどを語った。演技後の山本選手の主な談話は次の通り。

mainichi.jp

He says he's pleased he believed in himself until the last jump, and managed to land the 3A. His practice didn't go well, but considering practice and competition are often two completely different things, it's alright.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Well done to Sota, what a fight! I'd better not say anything on the PCS (especially in relation to other top skaters), because no polite words occur to me currently to describe someone who dares give Sota 7s, not to mention 6s in PCS.
If anything does come to my mind, it's Yuzuru's words on why he decided to retire - basically, he said he was improving, but his scores were dropping. And that's exactly what is happening to Sota. For a near-perfect skate, he's receiving pretty much the same PCS he got in Germany for a two-mistake program. He's not a part of JSF's Golden Trio. It's obvious to me that to JSF, he's just an Olympic sub in case one of their golden boys has a bad season or gets injured - *then* they might actually have his back, and we might see a rise in his scores. As it is, he's always been marked as a B tier skater in big competitions, although almost all commentators praise him, especially for his skating skills which are consistently sooo downmarked. I do not want to hear another word about Shun and his supposed 'low' PCS. Just look at the scores, at the difference between the two across all 3 PCS categories. It's sickening and unsubstantiated, and if anyone's a real victim of underscoring, it's Sota and Kazuki.

There, got it off my chest. Sota himself did super well, and good fight on the axel. But it's not over till it's over. Cha at least is very close, and I hope Sota and his team trained for the eventuality that Cha brings the house down in a great FS, and Sota has to skate right after him, and basically skate against the biased, unfriendly panel we see here. Good luck, Sota! Always rooting for you Hopefully, you still manage to hold onto that medal, for your own joy.

Post-SP article:

リンクサイド：山本草太　「山本草太あるあるなんですけど…」　GPカナダSP | 毎日新聞

フィギュアスケートのグランプリ（GP）シリーズ第2戦スケートカナダは26日、カナダ東部のハリファクスで男子ショートプログラム（SP）が行われ、前回大会優勝の山本草太選手（中京大）は92・16点で3位につけた。演技の手応えとフリーへの意気込みなどを語った。演技後の山本選手の主な談話は次の通り。

mainichi.jp

He says he's pleased he believed in himself until the last jump, and managed to land the 3A. His practice didn't go well, but considering practice and competition are often two completely different things, it's alright.

While I do believe that Sota Yamamoto and Junhwan Cha have been a bit underscored on PCS, I do wonder why trying to target Shun Sato who deserved his score, and not the one skater who got the higher PCS while deserving the lower? As to Japanese skaters, it's true that there are five of them among the World ten best Men skaters, while only three can go to World Championships; but only one of them is overscored, and once again, it's not Shun Sato. Perhaps you remember him from two seasons ago, but he progressed dramatically, much more than I would imagine he could.
I haven't watched the Free Skating yet.

 

[surimi]

While I do believe that Sota Yamamoto and Junhwan Cha have been a bit underscored on PCS, I do wonder why trying to target Shun Sato who deserved his score, and not the one skater who got the higher PCS while deserving the lower? As to Japanese skaters, it's true that there are five of them among the World ten best Men skaters, while only three can go to World Championships; but only one of them is overscored, and once again, it's not Shun Sato. Perhaps you remember him from two seasons ago, but he progressed dramatically, much more than I would imagine he could.

Because it's not JunHwan or anyone else who gets all too often mentioned here when massive underscoring for Sota and Kazuki is discussed. It's always Shun, ad nauseum. In this sense, I guess we are even now. Frankly, I have never seen any underscoring for Shun, quite the opposite in the last two or so years. No, I do not see this supposed progression. Perhaps, with these uncheerful scoresheets from SC, the 'you know who else is underscored?' chants in Sota's and Kazuki's fanfests will finally cease.

Anyhow. SC ended how I suspected it would, and congrats to Sota for giving a good fight against the odds! Onward and forward! He needs to be in his best shape of body and mind for Finland, because the field there is going to be even worse, with Aymoz and Grassl in it. Almost looking forward to Nationals, seeing what Sota gets internationally.

Frankly, I'm getting more and more disgusted with FS's judging, to the point I'm watching less and less. It's not worth the stress.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Because it's not JunHwan or anyone else who gets all too often mentioned here when massive underscoring for Sota and Kazuki is discussed. It's always Shun, ad nauseum. In this sense, I guess we are even now. Frankly, I have never seen any underscoring for Shun, quite the opposite in the last two or so years. No, I do not see this supposed progression. Perhaps, with these uncheerful scoresheets from SC, the 'you know who else is underscored?' chants in Sota's and Kazuki's fanfests will finally cease.

Anyhow. SC ended how I suspected it would, and congrats to Sota for giving a good fight against the odds! Onward and forward! He needs to be in his best shape of body and mind for Finland, because the field there is going to be even worse, with Aymoz and Grassl in it. Almost looking forward to Nationals, seeing what Sota gets internationally.

Frankly, I'm getting more and more disgusted with FS's judging, to the point I'm watching less and less. It's not worth the stress.

Well, I have rewatched Ladies in Lavender (anyway I haven't found the Free Skating yet, I think I'll watch them tomorrow) and I find them both quite as admirable with beautiful edges, pure lines, knee bend... I think that Shun Sato's basic underscoring in Components is compensated by a Quad Lutz bonus, leading to a normal scoring (severe in this competition), which Sota Yamamoto and Kazuki Tomono don't have. As I found it only on Bilibili I didn't try to figure out if his take off technique had progressed too, if they have a modulable speed I haven't found it. But I cannot see where "massive overscoring" can come from and it does shock me because there was in this competition, a skater who WAS indeed massively overscored and perhaps robbed Sota Yamamoto of a medal, who skates like a Novice and gets more Components that Jason Brown (although Jason Brown fell).
As to Sota Yamamoto, I had always guessed more than observed that he had true musicality, not "merely" excellent skating, and now I can see it. He will always be a reserved skater, so I perceive him as a new Patrick Chan.
By the way, you quoted Yuzuru Hanyu and it's true that now that he's a Professional, he speaks more of his underscoring, but in general he was underscored by "only" a few points; the real problem was that his pretended rival was (really) massively overscored, culminating to more than 50% overscoring at Olympics, neither invalid spins nor underrotated jumps nor stiff landings being ever called, and not speaking of Components. It's not by being underscored that he was robbed his deserved medals, it's by overscoring rivals to a level never seen, at least since the IJS was settled. I do hope that some day all clear unfair scoring will be acknowledged, and I'm sure that Shun Sato won't be among the wrong winners.
I agree with you that the stress generated by unfair scoring is hard to bear.

 

[yuumagical]

I admittedly haven't been keeping up with Sota lately, but as a fan of the Civilization video game series, I was pleasantly surprised to hear "Sogno di Volare," the theme song to Civilization 6, as part of his free skate while watching Skate Canada. I'm not sure if this may have been answered elsewhere on this thread, but did Sota choose the music himself and was there any particular reason for choosing it? I'm also wondering if he likes playing video games in his spare time (well, since he's one of Shoma's friends, Sota being a gamer seems likely to me, lol).

 

[KiraraChin]

Frankly, I'm getting more and more disgusted with FS's judging, to the point I'm watching less and less. It's not worth the stress.

Same here. The judging is such a turn-off.

I think that Shun Sato's basic underscoring in Components is compensated by a Quad Lutz bonus

Quad lutz bonus is precisely what's wrong with this sport in the Men discipline. Someone has a beautiful quad lutz? Great. Give this person the points they deserve for the quad lutz. Not overall, and definitely not PCS, which are (or should be) a very different skill.

Also, not directing this specifically at Shun, but the fact that a technician has improved in presentation does not mean that they should automatically be awarded great PCS scores. Improvement is great, but it might be coming from a low bar. There's such a strong judging bias in favour of technicians - they are rewarded for their improvements and efforts, but those with lower tech aren't. It's extremely unfair.

Anyway, back to Sota. I'm really proud of him for delivering two good performances. That's all he could do, really...

 

[surimi]

I admittedly haven't been keeping up with Sota lately, but as a fan of the Civilization video game series, I was pleasantly surprised to hear "Sogno di Volare," the theme song to Civilization 6, as part of his free skate while watching Skate Canada. I'm not sure if this may have been answered elsewhere on this thread, but did Sota choose the music himself and was there any particular reason for choosing it? I'm also wondering if he likes playing video games in his spare time (well, since he's one of Shoma's friends, Sota being a gamer seems likely to me, lol).

Lori Nichol chose it for him. Sota says he likes the song, connected with it, and finds skating to it easy (in the sense he doesn't struggle to express it).

 

[surimi]

Well, I have rewatched Ladies in Lavender (anyway I haven't found the Free Skating yet, I think I'll watch them tomorrow) and I find them both quite as admirable with beautiful edges, pure lines, knee bend... I think that Shun Sato's basic underscoring in Components is compensated by a Quad Lutz bonus, leading to a normal scoring (severe in this competition), which Sota Yamamoto and Kazuki Tomono don't have.

You say it yourself. He wasn't underscored here, and in my opinion, he never was. YMMV. There is therefore no reason to keep bringing him up when the really atrocious and unfair underscoring is discussed, and that is Sota's and Kazuki's.
Like Kirara says, jumps and PCS should be completely unrelated. Yet they're so only for a select few, who are widely acclaimed artists, like Deniss V or Jason.
Sota has never benefited from the PCS he deserves, and with the magic trio in full action, whose PCS/GoE clearly show JSF has their back, he never will. There was a brief moment this year when I hoped JSF finally treats him as an equal to their chosen ones (and he's not the only one who should be treated as one). But that ended when I saw the abysmal PCS in both of Sota's competitions so far, although he himself keeps improving his artistry and upping his tech, going cleaner... and nothing helps, nothing is good enough. Illogically, his PCS keep dropping compared to the days when he was 18-20 and the trio wasn't at their peak yet. There is no other reason but favoritism that one can think of to explain why an improving, maturing skater's PCS keep dropping, to the disgusting lows they hit here, with 6's for a clean SP with two quads.
It's clear as daylight he's expendable to JSF, kept around in case a younger skater is indisposed in the Olympic season.
I hope karma comes to bite them in their backsides for what they're doing.

BTW, it's not the fact that Sota didn't medal that I have issues with. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't. It's how that was done that I mind, and what those nasty, unfair marks will mean for Sota's season. He's on the same path as Kazuki now - no GP medals (he won't be allowed on the podium at Finlandia as long as Cha and Aymoz stay on their feet for the most part), means he'll be underscored to the max at JNats as the one who disappointed them, no matter if he goes clean or messes up. And his Nats placement directly affects his chances of any further competitions, as we can see these days with Kazuki. Skaters who JSF deems young and prospective (including Tatsuya and Nozomu) get opportunities - few but still- while the oldest ones get shut off step by step. And that means fewer chances for a new SB, to get seen before OG... Not to mention the mental toll the unfair underscoring takes on these athletes. The vast majority can compete under incomparably lower levels of stress than the oldest Japanese boys now, because there is zero tolerance for the slightest of flaws, and heaven forbid a fall or pop. They do not get compensated in PCS and GoE on the other elements, unlike boys who are preferred, and unlike what one would expect for a mature athlete. That's a lot of weight on their shoulders. I wish Sota a mind of steel. He's going to need it, against his own biased federation.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Same here. The judging is such a turn-off.


Quad lutz bonus is precisely what's wrong with this sport in the Men discipline. Someone has a beautiful quad lutz? Great. Give this person the points they deserve for the quad lutz. Not overall, and definitely not PCS, which are (or should be) a very different skill.

Also, not directing this specifically at Shun, but the fact that a technician has improved in presentation does not mean that they should automatically be awarded great PCS scores. Improvement is great, but it might be coming from a low bar. There's such a strong judging bias in favour of technicians - they are rewarded for their improvements and efforts, but those with lower tech aren't. It's extremely unfair.

Anyway, back to Sota. I'm really proud of him for delivering two good performances. That's all he could do, really...

Of course I agree that a Quad Lutz bonus is unfair, I hope it was clear in my post. But so is the basic underscoring he's under, along with Sota Yamamoto and Kazuki Tomono! The difference is that, all in all he got fairly scored given that the judges were "severe", or rather, two judges gave very low Component scores, and I agree that for Sota Yamamoto and this program, a score in the 6s in any Component is a sheer scandal.
I didn't have time to seek and watch the Free Skating, I don't know when I will have it.
This being said, I don't think that a clean Junhwan Cha, with two Solo Quads, or a clean Kévin Aymoz, with a Solo 4T and a 4T+2T, in the Free Skating, and both one Quad in the Short Program, would beat a clean Sota Yamamoto, with three Quads in the Free Skating and two in the Short Program. Any of them clean would score higher than a Sota Yamamoto with a fall or a pop, this I agree.
No, the real unfair threat at Finlandia, the only Japanese skater really overscored in spite of his Components not deserving the same high Components as Sota Yamamoto, Kazuki Tomono and Shun Sato and having some uncalled faulty jumps (although I didn't check his Lombardia skates) I don't see mentioned here, and he was also much overscored in the past against Yuzuru Hanyu... is it possible to mention his name? I never saw it mentioned here, it's "the elephant in the room". The other, bigger "elephant in the room" is the skater of whom I don't know if he should have medalled at all at Skate America and Skate Canada... yet I see all complaints targeting Shun Sato??? How can it be? Sorry. I'm sure that Sota Yamamoto knows it, just as Yuzuru Hanyu knew it, although the "American pretended rival who's in fact far from the same level but massively overscored" wasn't the same person. They are all three "in the same galley" as we say in French, along with Kao Miura. That of a general underscoring along with a massive overscoring of an American skater and a big overscoring of the JSF pet, Japanese judges seeming to score said American skater to high heavens and get their pet overscored over better, non-pet Japanese skaters: is there a link? The pattern repeats, alas.

 

[KiraraChin]

Of course I agree that a Quad Lutz bonus is unfair, I hope it was clear in my post. But so is the basic underscoring he's under, along with Sota Yamamoto and Kazuki Tomono! The difference is that, all in all he got fairly scored given that the judges were "severe", or rather, two judges gave very low Component scores, and I agree that for Sota Yamamoto and this program, a score in the 6s in any Component is a sheer scandal.
I didn't have time to seek and watch the Free Skating, I don't know when I will have it.
This being said, I don't think that a clean Junhwan Cha, with two Solo Quads, or a clean Kévin Aymoz, with a Solo 4T and a 4T+2T, in the Free Skating, and both one Quad in the Short Program, would beat a clean Sota Yamamoto, with three Quads in the Free Skating and two in the Short Program. Any of them clean would score higher than a Sota Yamamoto with a fall or a pop, this I agree.
No, the real unfair threat at Finlandia, the only Japanese skater really overscored in spite of his Components not deserving the same high Components as Sota Yamamoto, Kazuki Tomono and Shun Sato and having some uncalled faulty jumps (although I didn't check his Lombardia skates) I don't see mentioned here, and he was also much overscored in the past against Yuzuru Hanyu... is it possible to mention his name? I never saw it mentioned here, it's "the elephant in the room". The other, bigger "elephant in the room" is the skater of whom I don't know if he should have medalled at all at Skate America and Skate Canada... yet I see all complaints targeting Shun Sato??? How can it be? Sorry. I'm sure that Sota Yamamoto knows it, just as Yuzuru Hanyu knew it, although the "American pretended rival who's in fact far from the same level but massively overscored" wasn't the same person. They are all three "in the same galley" as we say in French, along with Kao Miura. That of a general underscoring along with a massive overscoring of an American skater and a big overscoring of the JSF pet, Japanese judges seeming to score said American skater to high heavens and get their pet overscored over better, non-pet Japanese skaters: is there a link? The pattern repeats, alas.

I didn't want to start bringing up other skaters (and even said I wasn't directing my criticism specifically at Shun), because this is a thread about Sota.

The fact is, we're always going to feel more for the skater we're invested in, and it's tempting to consider underscoring/overscoring in absolute terms, when in fact it's relative. As such, you might feel particularly sore about the way Shun Sato is scored relative to, for example, Kao and Yuma. But for us, who are more invested in Sota and Kazuki, when we look at the way Shun is scored and the opportunities he's given, we can't help but feel jealous. Hell, as a Kazuki stan I feel jealous of Sota, who at least was given a challenger this season