Yuzuru Hanyu: 2016-17 Season

[Altie]

Oh, but she mentioned those skaters and they are somewhat in better position than Yuzu according to the article
"...these other skaters started arming themselves with weapons Yuzuru doesn’t yet have".

"This will, in turn, heighten the resolve of skaters still in their teens like Shoma and Nathan to include even more technical content. Going by age, it would be tougher for Yuzuru to follow the same route."

"What’s scary about Shoma and Nathan is that they are not entirely outdone by Yuzuru in terms of PCS. They aren’t exactly slacking in the skating department either. "

Well, Yuzu doesn't yet have the 4Lz and the 4F, which his competitors have, so it's just stating a fact ?
Shoma is almost on par with Yuzu PCs'wise so it's only stating a fact ?
Nathan and Shoma are not that bad at skating, is also stating a fact ?

What is really bothering you in these sentences ???

 

[unico]

I do feel like Akiko is maybe a bit contradictory in a way because she did say earlier the Worlds FS was the best she'd ever seen. Except maybe not.

Anyways, I do know her sentiments are actually shared by others; I've seen some commentators express that same thing, that Yuzu seemed more focused and less engaged in the performance, even if I may not personally agree with it.

I read a comment on twitter that I think explains the divide on H&L. I'm not sure if I'm recalling it correctly but it sort of said H&L is the kind of program that is more understood by those who are already emotionally invested in Yuzu and his skating, because it's not a program that forcibly tells you to pay attention to it and LIKE IT, GODDAMN, like Seimei or RJ1 did. It's instead a more subtle, calm program, that the common denominator might find more boring or un-engaging.

Perhaps it would be best to translate the entire article , because

王座に返り咲いた世界選手権での羽生選手のフリーの演技は、今できる最高のものでした。

I would translate roughly into "Hanyu-senshu's freeskate performance that returned him to the throne for the second time at the World Championships, it was the greatest that [he? anyone?] could have done right now." I'm thinking she's implying it was Yuzuru's greatest because the rest of the paragraph goes on to detail his struggles this season, but it's up for interpretation.

 

[xeyra]

Perhaps it would be best to translate the entire article , because

王座に返り咲いた世界選手権での羽生選手のフリーの演技は、今できる最高のものでした。

I would translate roughly into "Hanyu-senshu's freeskate performance that returned him to the throne for the second time at the World Championships, it was the greatest that [he? anyone?] could have done right now." I'm thinking she's implying it was Yuzuru's greatest because the rest of the paragraph goes on to detail his struggles this season, but it's up for interpretation.

Well, that kind of changes my initial impression of this part from the other translation.

 

[Altie]

Perhaps it would be best to translate the entire article , because

王座に返り咲いた世界選手権での羽生選手のフリーの演技は、今できる最高のものでした。

I would translate roughly into "Hanyu-senshu's freeskate performance that returned him to the throne for the second time at the World Championships, it was the greatest that [he? anyone?] could have done right now." I'm thinking she's implying it was Yuzuru's greatest because the rest of the paragraph goes on to detail his struggles this season, but it's up for interpretation.

thank you for your translations <3

 

[Hanmgse]

don't know if it's been shared but here's a translation https://speakeasy8.tumblr.com/post/160014817538/010-suzuki-a

Too many fans today remind me of my grandmother and her friends gossiping over afternoon tea. They use other people's lives as their own emotional fodder and yell 'politics and corruption!!' all day long to explain away random, perceived injustices in those lives. I find the same cynicism in this thread just as lazy and unsightly.

Ofc, another side of this is that people are unhappy with any commentary that isn't vomiting rainbows and praise on Yuzuru. Idk how to break it to you guys but our fave isn't *actually* a flawless unicorn god. Will it kill y'all to hear that his interpretation and performance ability aren't always up to par? Or that other skaters can be better in that regard? Seriously, at what point did it become sacrilege to suggest that others have better interpretation than Yuzu? He's the best at a lot of things but not everything.
And why would Akiko mention another skaters 'cheated jumps' or weaknesses at all? The entire focus of the article is on Japan's #1 skater as he goes into the olympic season. She's not eviscerating Yuzu here, just sharing her thoughts on state of his skating. Anyone outside of this bubble would see this as a levelheaded and frank analysis but here it's 'dirty nagoya politics'? Why?

This. The amount of overreaction and conspirancy theories in this thread

 

[Meoima]

Am I the only one find Akiko's whole article disconnected and doesn't make sense?

So sorry but her logic makes me like

Either her train of thought was very unclear when she wrote that.

Or the editor did a bad job and the article does not sound coherent to me.

Overall it's a weak article not because of her opinions, it's weak because it's unclear, disconnected and ambiguous, and full of "I feel this I feel that".

Should I take such writing seriously? No.

The end.

 

[liv]

Umm, but we saw that hot and intensive side of Yuzu in his Prince SP, didn't we?

Yes, of course, but usually more emphasis is always placed on the long program of a skater. People always focus on the long program more even though many times the sp can be the better vehicle.

 

[alia jackson]

Did you guys ever check the "like"? It is amusing to see ubers of other skaters "like" for certain posts on this heated topic

Omg those jumps photoshop..I can't

 

[YuzusHydroblade]

Perhaps it would be best to translate the entire article , because

王座に返り咲いた世界選手権での羽生選手のフリーの演技は、今できる最高のものでした。

I would translate roughly into "Hanyu-senshu's freeskate performance that returned him to the throne for the second time at the World Championships, it was the greatest that [he? anyone?] could have done right now." I'm thinking she's implying it was Yuzuru's greatest because the rest of the paragraph goes on to detail his struggles this season, but it's up for interpretation.

I was confused about the bashing when i read that too. I think the whole "i want to see his more emotional side" thingy could also mean that it would be very sad/a loss if he focused on just executing the jumps and turned down the artistic part of his programs?

Am I the only one find Akiko's whole article disconnected and doesn't make sense?

So sorry but her logic makes me like

Either her train of thought was very unclear when she wrote that.

Or the editor did a bad job and the article does not sound coherent to me.

Overall it's a weak article not because of her opinions, it's weak because it's unclear, disconnected and ambiguous, and full of "I feel this I feel that".

Should I take such writing seriously? No.

The end.

No, i got the same impression. I felt like it was the editing because i did feel it was disconnected in a lot of places, which could add to the confusion making it even easier to misunderstand and give birth to all this heated debate

 

[riminin]

I do feel like Akiko is maybe a bit contradictory in a way because she did say earlier the Worlds FS was the best she'd ever seen. Except maybe not.

Anyways, I do know her sentiments are actually shared by others; I've seen some commentators express that same thing, that Yuzu seemed more focused and less engaged in the performance, even if I may not personally agree with it.

I read a comment on twitter that I think explains the divide on H&L. I'm not sure if I'm recalling it correctly but it sort of said H&L is the kind of program that is more understood by those who are already emotionally invested in Yuzu and his skating, because it's not a program that forcibly tells you to pay attention to it and LIKE IT, GODDAMN, like Seimei or RJ1 did. It's instead a more subtle, calm program, that the common denominator might find more boring or un-engaging.

She said here "the best he can right now", not "the best she'd ever seen, bar none" Just one of those little things that make the text much more positive as I pointed out before...

 

[Neenah16]

I guess if there is really no ulterior motive behind these articles, then we should expect new articles were she (or others) express their concerns for Shoma as well. Yuzuru is not the only contender for gold at the Olympics after all. Neither is he the only one they should be worried about and have advice for.

 

[shiroKJ]

I don't know about Japanese media, but I have asked professional photographers why they had to use those bad photos. Their answer was: "Figure skating is a hard sport. Skaters don't always show calm expressions on their faces and those faces during jumps can show people how hard the sport is."
I was like, "huh?"...

This made me lol...how are pictures like this suppose to show the difficulty of FS...? :eeking:

Edit: actually I think I get it.... this totally screams "holy crap imma die, why did I ever think this was a good idea?? :hslap:"

 

[xeyra]

Anyway, I think we all need some Yuzu!bow as a palate cleanser right about now?

 

[fishheadanon]

Did you guys ever check the "like"? It is amusing to see ubers of other skaters "like" for certain posts on this heated topic

Omg those jumps photoshop..I can't

I check it all the time it's very interesting. If I see more jump photoshops I'll surely share, because it's some people's habit to mention Yuzu somewhere in an article when they try photoshopping jumps, though his jumps never need any photoshopping...

 

[unico]

Well, that kind of changes my initial impression of this part from the other translation.

I think the original translator went very conversational, which makes for a different reading. Plus, a lot of Japanese is implication and suggestion, so things are up to interpretation. What I'm doing is basically just a very very straightforward, almost word for word translation, which might explain some of the ire sparked.

But a few things
1) We don't know what questions were asked or how this article was editorialized, so I would hope people don't equate this article with everything that Akiko Suzuki is.
2) Always try to get as many translations as possible, just as basing feelings off of hearsay/what x person said can lead to assumptions about the source, so can the translations. (This meaning me too! Please correct me )

And most importantly, if Yuzuru wants to be the best skater ever he will constantly have to address the weaknesses that people poke (and want to poke!) in his armor. Is it an abnormal, almost unfair, standard, yes. But what he's challenging is something that is also abnormal. Mishin once said about Plushenko constantly returning to competition, "why measure an extraordinary skater by an ordinary rulestick?" :yes:

 

[sydney]

This made me lol...how are pictures like this suppose to show the difficulty of FS...? :eeking:

well more like the "horror" of FS :eeking:
p.s: I'm just laughing every time I'm re-watching this program lol

 

[Altie]

Just to lighten the mood, interviews post WTT with new english translations can be found here


ETA : Ah, sorry, it had already been posted.

 

[omurice]

Omurice had the honor of being the 70k post

Woah I didn't even realize!! Woooo :luv17:

 

[unico]

thank you for your translations <3

No problem I thank you for posting that original translation, at least it opened the door to conversation for those who don't understand Japanese/Google Translate mush. It's just sad to see when this fanfest starts fighting with each other and scaring newcomers and long-time posters alike. A lot of it just comes down to the difficulty of communicating (especially across languages!) and how social media spreads emotions faster than it does "facts". I hope we all can debate and disagree peacefully.

 

[YuzusHydroblade]

Woah I didn't even realize!! Woooo :luv17:

Here, fanboy Yuzu for your accomplishment

No problem I thank you for posting that original translation, at least it opened the door to conversation for those who don't understand Japanese/Google Translate mush. It's just sad to see when this fanfest starts fighting with each other and scaring newcomers and long-time posters alike. A lot of it just comes down to the difficulty of communicating (especially across languages!) and how social media spreads emotions faster than it does "facts". I hope we all can debate and disagree peacefully.

I think this is one of the problems/frustrating things about being a Yuzuru fan. So much is lost in japanese->english translation and we're so intense that all those misunderstandings can drive the thread to a bad place. Even though i read the translations of interviews and articles, i always read/watch the original because some things are missing, and i don't feel qualified to give an opinion until i try to get the nuances from the original language. I understand there are lots of members who don't speak japanese, but even with my level i feel obliged to try and read/watch the source to clear things up before speaking. Of course there's nothing wrong with relying on the translation, i do that for parts where i definitely can't understand anything, but personally, unless it is 70+% clear that the articles are being unfair, i don't think we should take them too seriously.

I know i said i wouldn't comment more on the article but i mantain my posture that it wasn't as bad as some people are saying. There definitely was some praise in there, but probably the way it was said was what sparked the debate. Or maybe i am not giving it enough importance.