Yuzuru Hanyu: I still have too many shortcomings (Interview)

[YesWay]

1. It's the first time he skated at a formal competition i.e. grand prix SA. And if you say SA is not the debut, then fine it's second time he skated, so what? The second time he skated PW is better than anything DW's two programs could be skated in two years, which leads to

2. No it says more about the quality of DW's choreography than Yuzru's skating. So far, DW is incapable of choreographing something as good and refreshing as Jeff's PW program. When people first saw Notre Dame as early as 2012 they said DW was copying the style of R&J 1.0. DW has had no inspiration and no creativity so far.

Pure opinion.
And I disagree.

This is nonsense. Blame everything on Yuzru, huh? A lot of people don't like DW's programs but they like Abe and Jeff's programs for Yuzru. A lot of people don't like DW's SP for Fernandez either. Is that also Fernandez's problem?

What's "Nonsense" are your illogical non-sequiturs, and assigning "blame" and "problems" where there are none.

Skaters can only do so much, it's up to the choreographer to find something interesting for the skater to skate. Otherwise why bother paying DW all the money for the boring and uninspiring programs? Just because he's Orser's partner? He should be dumped if he still has no inspiration for the THIRD season.

And I maintain that it's more the skater, than the choreographer.

I said almost perfect because I wanted to be humble. I can say Yuzru's SA SP is perfect. This season they changed a lot from last year's program, but that doesn't mean the first version was not good. And a large part of those extra points is due to consistently skating the program cleanly and reputation judging. In fact, the first version was perfect too, something DW's two boring programs, even if skated cleanly, would not be able to come as close because DW the choreographer did not have any inspiration in those two programs.

Just more opinions.

And I disagree. Much as I love Hanyu's PW, and R&J #1, I do not share your dislike of DW that borders on irrational hatred - I liked R&J #2 and also Notre Dame. I still think Hanyu had his hands too full to do them justice. Given time I believe Hanyu could have made them special, and delivered their full potential.

Have a nice life, I wish you well with all future endeavours.

 

[lakeside]

Pure opinion.
And I disagree.
And I maintain that it's more the skater, than the choreographer.
I do not share your dislike of DW that borders on irrational hatred - I liked R&J #2 and also Notre Dame.

You believe it's more Yuzru's fault than DW's fault, and I believe it's the other way around. You like R&J #2 and Notre Dame, while I don't like them as much as you do. And it's not just me. A lot of people don't like them either and wish Yuzru will have the opportunity to work with other choreographers, so I don't think my dislike of DW "borders on irrational hatred."

Ok, like you said it's just different opinions, so no need to argue then. I believe both you and I wish Yuzru will have good programs next season. So I wish you have a nice life too.

 

[nimi]

1. It's the first time he skated at a formal competition i.e. grand prix SA.

Uh... Formal competition? Is Finlandia Trophy an informal competition, then?

Anyway, I was just reading the Rohene Ward fanfest thread (for those who haven't heard of him: a supremely talented skater who always imploded at competitions, did e.g. Jason's Riverdance choreo) and started to fantasize about Rohene/Yuzu collaboration... A girl can dream, eh?

I don't have anything against more Buttle or Wilson choreos, though. Now that Yuzu has already won OGM and Worlds and is serious about improving his artistry, I think - and hope - that the new programs will reflect this state of affairs.

 

[Miss Ice]

I just watched his 2013 GPF SP (never seen him before) and wow, I really love his expression. He was really "Elvis on ice"!! And totally had my mind blown realizing that he is coached by Brian Orser. Orser must be delighted to have recovered two Olympic Gold Medals in a row (the first one gave much cleaner skates though).

Also, hold on, watching his LP Sochi performance.... what? Gold with that performance? A very clean ladies' performances could have arguably beaten that (*cough cough*). I am really surprised. Ugh... fall on 4S, stumble/almost fall on 3flip, weird landing of 4T (would not give high GOE for that), slow speed, etc... Did he have big advantage in the SP or something?

 

[HanDomi]

I hope next season he will have FS to more dramatic, epic music - like R&J 1. I think this style fits him the best. I didn't liked Notre dame too much overall, but I liked R & J 2. I hope they will provide for him something mind blowing for next season. I would be really interested what program would be able Buttle to choreograph for him for FS to "epic" music. Then DW could take SP

 

[lakeside]

Uh... Formal competition? Is Finlandia Trophy an informal competition, then?

Not as formal as a grand prix event like SA. But that's not the most important thing in my post. Actually even at FT I remember people liked the PW choreography despite the hard fall and most people did not like Notre Dame program even when he skated it almost cleanly at the same event.

Anyway, I was just reading the Rohene Ward fanfest thread (for those who haven't heard of him: a supremely talented skater who always imploded at competitions, did Jason's Riverdance FP choreo) and started to fantasize about Rohene/Yuzu collaboration... A girl can dream, eh?

Haha, I like your dream. Rohene may or may not fit Yuzru, but you never know that before you try. It's definitely worth a try. And I'd like to see Rohene work with more skaters because he could become another successful choreographer, maybe even more famous than DW someday. And I'd like to see Yuzru try different choreographers, Rohene and others. Of course I'd also love it if DW choreographs a nice program for Yuzru, but again trying different choreographers won't hurt, right?

 

[BusyMom]

I hope next season he will have FS to more dramatic, epic music - like R&J 1. I think this style fits him the best. I didn't liked Notre dame too much overall, but I liked R & J 2. I hope they will provide for him something mind blowing for next season. I would be really interested what program would be able Buttle to choreograph for him for FS to "epic" music. Then DW could take SP

My daughter skated to Final Fantasy last year. The whole time I thought about Yuzuru will be great with FF program. It will be epic not just the story but he is kind of fit in the character so well.

 

[arcticwolf]

Also, hold on, watching his LP Sochi performance.... what? Gold with that performance? A very clean ladies' performances could have arguably beaten that (*cough cough*). I am really surprised. Ugh... fall on 4S, stumble/almost fall on 3flip, weird landing of 4T (would not give high GOE for that), slow speed, etc... Did he have big advantage in the SP or something?

Yup, everyone were behind him and Chan by 20 points so the fight for the gold and silver were really between the two of them even if they make mistakes. His TES was still pretty high because of the 2 triple axel combos at the 2nd half of the program so it still beat Chan despite him falling twice.

 

[Ryusa5]

Also, hold on, watching his LP Sochi performance.... what? Gold with that performance? A very clean ladies' performances could have arguably beaten that (*cough cough*). I am really surprised. Ugh... fall on 4S, stumble/almost fall on 3flip, weird landing of 4T (would not give high GOE for that), slow speed, etc... Did he have big advantage in the SP or something?

he set the world record in the short becoming the first man to break 100,was 4 points ahead of Chan and 15 points ahead of anyone else so gold/silver were already decided unless they both imploded,well more than they actually did XD.It was just a bad night in general for the men,they all did mistakes,and while Chan didn't fall he had too many costly errors in his programs(2 step-outs,2 hand down, a pop)plus he had a lower BV,and despite his falls Hanyu still did a clean quad and 7 triples
I think you're mistaken about his 4T, he has one the best in the business,the weird landing was on the second 3A

R&J nr 2 grew on me a lot but I feel Yuzu never did this program justice,he was always too busy on the technical side,the entire program was just a struggle for him and for us too watch.I understand why he did this content on it,he wanted a chance to beat Chan and that was the only way but I don't think he was ready for it, while his stamina improved a lot it was not enough to carry on this type of content+the artistic side.Compared to Nice,his TES in Tokyo was 20 point higher and that is a huge difference in only 2 years and it's even more ridiculous that his 99 was far from his full potential
so I'm OK with Wilson doing the choreography for him again,I just hope they'll pick a theme that he can relate to,preferably with a fitting costume.I also hope he won't try anything harder with his jump layout but I have a funny feeling that he'll do 3 quads in his long

 

[pointyourtoe]

What a humble sweetie

 

[jimeonji]

but I have a funny feeling that he'll do 3 quads in his long

me too.... why am I suddenly scared
and why am I seeing quad loops in my head

anyways. I don't think he'll keep R&J2 - he got a clean performance from it at Worlds, it's a new quad, there's really no reason to keep it even if he could skate it better with another season. With PW, it was clear that he was comfortable with it even at the beginning of the 12-13 season (it was only at GPF when R&J2 started working for him) and keeping it for the Olympic season and tweaking it a bit was the smart thing to do. He already had the program down, and they knew he could get 95+ on it - so they played it safe and worried about the FP instead. Yuzuru will probably be more interested in new programs (having commented on wanting to do new programs before 13-14 season) and exploring different choreography.

and personally I really really really really don't want to watch R&J2 for another season

 

[Ryusa5]

and personally I really really really really don't want to watch R&J2 for another season

oh I don't particulary want it either,a fresh start is what he needs.But I would love to see him do this program in a few years as an EX,when's he's mature enough and physically stronger cus I don't think that the choreo is bad at all,it's just that he's not strong enough now to pull it off

and I don't think he's crazy enough to add 4Lo this year,but I can see him going for 4T-3T in the second half of the SP

 

[arcticwolf]

and I don't think he's crazy enough to add 4Lo this year,but I can see him going for 4T-3T in the second half of the SP

True. I think he's going to up the ante by putting a quad or a quad combo in the 2nd half. But I think he should stabilize the quad sal before doing that. Adding the quad loop will be too risky so he should stick a little bit more to his quad toe just like how his triple axels have saved him a couple of times.

 

[Blades of Passion]

Two Quads in the SP will surely be the next technical push. I'm unsure why Javier Fernandez didn't already start doing that. I don't think Quad Loop/Flip/Lutz will be as important. They are a bit undervalued right now anyway.

 

[BlackPack]

Two Quads in the SP will surely be the next technical push. I'm unsure why Javier Fernandez didn't already start doing that. I don't think Quad Loop/Flip/Lutz will be as important. They are a bit undervalued right now anyway.

I thought Javier attempted 3 quads at one point? I think the biggest and silliest mistake Javier made in his career so far was simply breaking the Zayak rule. He pretty much had the Olympic Bronze over D10 who was 9th after the SP.

Regarding Yuz, I actually love his youth-oriented programs like Baz Lurhman's R&J and PW. He has the boyish, rebellious swagger and some very cool moves that youthful programs command. I don't think he should attempt anything remotely and purely classical until he's improved his line, posture, and extension. He wouldn't be as effective at this time. I think this is why his Nino Rota R&J was less successful and was in fact kind of boring and generic at times.

 

[giulia95]

I don't think he should attempt anything remotely and purely classical until he's improved his line, posture, and extension. He wouldn't be as effective at this time. I think this is why his Nino Rota R&J was less successful and was in fact kind of boring and generic at times.

He already performed it and it was Scriabin SP , a masterpiece music and a masterpiece choreo/program with crazy difficult and brand new transitions for a 16 yo teen skater ( watch the insane counter 3A - now something very normal for Yuzu - and the beautiful rotational movement immediately after the 3a and then the spin) . Pure class on the ice, much better posture and arms movements then the last season... If Yuzu had only the chance to develop that artistry...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8C6Wnlcf7c

 

[jimeonji]

He already performed it and it was Scriabin SP , a masterpiece music and a masterpiece choreo/program with crazy difficult and brand new transitions for a 16 yo teen skater ( watch the insane counter 3A - now something very normal for Yuzu - and the beautiful rotational movement immediately after the 3a and then the spin) . Pure class on the ice, much better posture and arms movements then the last season... If Yuzu had only the chance to develop that artistry...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8C6Wnlcf7c

my favorite piece of music he's ever skated to, and favorite costume too!! He did it as his ex at Skate Canada this season and I enjoyed it very much.
and he can't do youthful programs forever - would PW have worked if he was 25 and not 17-19? Perhaps we'll still see him do it as an ex when he's 25 but I definitely want to see some maturity in his skating and more classical pieces I'm glad that he can be objective about his own skating and recognize where he is lacking.

 

[Meoima]

and he can't do youthful programs forever - would PW have worked if he was 25 and not 17-19? Perhaps we'll still see him do it as an ex when he's 25 but I definitely want to see some maturity in his skating and more classical pieces I'm glad that he can be objective about his own skating and recognize where he is lacking.

A poster in FSuniverse said PW is about sexual appeal but Yuzuru has sexual appeal equal to a slice of bread. Poor Yuzuru!

Personally I think he made PW looks cool, it's not a program that oozes sex, and I prefer him that way.

 

[cruzceleste]

A poster in FSuniverse said PW is about sexual appeal but Yuzuru has sexual appeal equal to a slice of bread. Poor Yuzuru!

According to Yuzuru he did Vertigo to show his sex appeal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9N9mvAfpjY

 

[Meoima]

According to Yuzuru he did Vertigo to show his sex appeal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9N9mvAfpjY

One of comments below the clip:

You know, for such a young kid, he is tremendously versatile artistically. The range of expressions he has is just amazing. By the way, he is SOOOOOO skinny!!! If he looks THIS skinny on video, he must be painfully thin in person.

True sexual appeal equal to a slice of bread. Lol! But I prefer the kid as he is right now. He might get taller but not much, 1m75 might be maximum.