Thoughts on Ladies' FS at Japanese Nats?

[Myr]

In short: Jnats reminded me of what I love about this sport!

My favourites were Rika, Satoko and Mai. To watch Rika is exiting, Satoko is breathtaking, and Mai brings a smile to my face with her skating, she exudes joy. I felt for Wakaba I love her a great deal and will keep rooting for her.

Also shout out to Kaori for making the judges flinch back when she passed them by with her knife shoe in the air

(edited: spelling)

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Rika was super impressive and I hope internationally judges recognize that she is artistically on par if not better than the Russians (other than maybe Kostornaia).

While some may argue the PCS should have been higher I thought it was balanced out by the 4S not being called (it was UR to me or q if we are being lenient). I hope her team doesn’t take the non-call to heart because an international panel will call that so she needs a bit more work to get that unambiguously rotated. Love this FS though and she is showing maturity beyond her years that needs to be rewarded.

Kaori is exciting to watch but there is still so much refinement that her skating and programs need. I like the attack she exhibits in her FS but it gets very sloppy sometimes. The same in her SP. I thought the judges were quite generous to her PCS-wise. But she was still very worthy as the silver medalist.

Great to see Miyahara again! Shame about the fall but she is truly exquisite and still has it.

 

[Skatefan15]

I'm just really sad that we won't be seeing much of it as there aren't going to be any competitions besides Worlds which is a huge question mark anyway

I really hope she keeps the free skate for the Olympic season, it’s very beautiful

 

[jenaj]

Rika, my baby girl, the love of my skating life, was so effortless and light in her skate.

She's grown so much in terms of jumps and performance. Not only did she land a quad and a 3A, she did it with ease. Her movements are so elegant which is so refreshing considering her arsenal of tech and how powerful she is.

I love that she does spirals in her programs. Both this one and the SP.

I do wonder what transitions they have for the program as imo it does need more transitions but seeing the way she built on her programs last season I think it will be fully developed by the end of the season.

I'm just really sad that we won't be seeing much of it as there aren't going to be any competitions besides Worlds which is a huge question mark anyway.

I love that she does a change of edge spiral in her long program. How many years has it been since we have seen that?

 

[yume]

So much yes to this. JSF never really cared about Mai, so I don’t expect they will suddenly start now.
I get why, if you have a skater, who might get seriously ill any moment, doesn’t have time to build reputation, you can’t rely on them for Olympics.
It just makes me so sad for her. She deserved podium at least a few times, certainly in 18-19 season Nationals.
She deserves a lot more than she gets.

SPOT ON.

 

[surimi]

I'm so sad Fuji TV still hasn't uploaded anything but a few separate videos I would love to see the ladies, even those who didn't make it to the FS! can anyone tell me if Rika Hongo is planning to retire or does she keep going? I have a soft spot for her.

 

[zanadude]

I'm so sad Fuji TV still hasn't uploaded anything but a few separate videos I would love to see the ladies, even those who didn't make it to the FS! can anyone tell me if Rika Hongo is planning to retire or does she keep going? I have a soft spot for her.

I don't have news specific to that, but they said on the broadcast that she came back simply because she loves to skate. So I guess if she can continue she will?

 

[Interspectator]

I'm so sad Fuji TV still hasn't uploaded anything but a few separate videos I would love to see the ladies, even those who didn't make it to the FS! can anyone tell me if Rika Hongo is planning to retire or does she keep going? I have a soft spot for her.

No retirement announcement yet. I have hope.

 

[ladyjane]

I love that she does a change of edge spiral in her long program. How many years has it been since we have seen that?

I loved that too. Made me think of Michelle actually (only for that moment), and in a positive way. But I enjoyed watching her through the whole FS. Actually, I enjoyed watching quite a few skates at this championships. It was good to see Mai again (and I believe that was good for Kaori too as I have always understood they are friends) and skate well, fall or not. I loved Kaori (again), but I was also impressed by Satoko who is always beautiful to watch and remains that way. Very enjoyable event, although I have not seen all of it.