Axel with Wings

[ENG TRANSLATION] Yuzuru Hanyu x Waseda Sports Part 2 – Excerpt from Medalists Interview

This is Part 2 of 3 of an article from Wasedasports.com published on 24 December 2019 which is a collection of excerpts from different interviews that Yuzuru Hanyu gave after the Japanese Nationals. Part 2 is an excerpt from the medalists interview. Read Part 1 here. Part 3 to come soon.

Translation: @yuzueco
Proofreading: @blueflame4yuzu, @axelsandwich

――今回の結果を受けたご感想は

Tell us your thoughts after you found out the result.

ありがとうございました。ここまでまた全日本で、これだけ死力を尽くして戦える瞬間というのがあって、非常に自分自身も熱くなりながら演技をすることができました。また、今回投げ込みが禁止ということもあって、自分の場合はすごくプーさんを投げていただいたりとかそういうこともあったんですけど、みなさんルールを守って、投げ込まないでとか注意してくださったり。ファン同士の中で色々注意ごとがあると思うんですけど、すごくそういうこと１つ１つ守っていただいて、こうやって最後まで素晴らしい大会になって本当によかったなと思います。ありがとうございました。

Thank you. Up to this point, there were moments when I could fight with all my might in the Japanese Nationals, and I was able to perform while becoming very passionate. Also throwing the gifts on the ice was banned at this competition. My fans have been throwing many Pooh-sans on the ice, but everyone was trying to follow the rules and even reminded the others that throwing gifts is prohibited. I think there are many things to take note of among fans. Everyone was really trying to follow every single one of them, and in this way, this competition became a wonderful one until the end and it makes me very happy. Thank you so much.

――宇野昌磨選手とお二人とも、辛い思いを経験して再び全日本に戻ってこられました。ここに至るまでの道と結果は、ご自身にとってどんな意味のあるものですか

Both you and Shoma have experienced tough times and then came back to Japanese Nationals. The path that you’ve walked leading up to here (Japanese Nationals) and the results, what does it mean to you?

まず、本当に自分もそばで見ていることはなかったですけど、テレビの中で見ていてやはり自分が思ったような体の状態で試合に臨めないとか、僕自身もグランプリファイナルでコーチがいない状態になりましたけれども、どれだけ大変なことかというのはすごくわかっていて。彼（宇野昌磨）自身がコーチを離れるという決断をしたのも、その状態でグランプリファイナルに臨むという決断をしたのも、やはりすごく勇気のいることだったと思います。僕は本当に、素直に彼がこうやってまた自分の道を見つけて彼らしいスケートがまたできていることがすごく嬉しいですし、僕と彼の道はやはり……彼って言うの変だな、ゆづくんって言ってくれてるのでしょーまって言います（笑）。しょーまの、スケートを楽しんだりとかもちろんそのスケートから離れたりって言う時間もしょーまにとってはすごく大事で。僕が多分それをやってしまうと全てが崩壊してしまうときがあって、全部何かしら楽しんでいるときですらも、スケートのために今楽しんでおこうって考えちゃったりするし。でもそれはやっぱり、やっとしょーまがしょーまらしく戻ってこられてよかったなとすごく思いますし、だからこそオリンピックの銀メダリストになれたんだよって僕はすごく思っているので。さっき自分が思った以上の結果が出て頑張ったって言っていましたけど、思ったよりもしょーまは強いですし、弱いところもあるかもしれないですけどそれも含めてしょーまで、しょーまの強さだと僕は思うので。彼から学ぶこともたくさんあるし、僕も、いましんどいことももちろんありますけど、でも、こんなもんじゃねえぞってこれから頑張ります。

First of all, I wasn’t really watching by his side, but watching him on TV, I saw him not being able to participate with the physical condition which he wanted to be in, I myself also faced a situation with no coach at the GPF so I could really understand how difficult it is. For him [Shoma] to decide to part from his coach and aim to get a ticket to the Grand Prix Final in those circumstances, I think it was a very courageous thing to do. I am truly, honestly very happy that he found his way and is able to skate in his own way again. My path and his are over all…hmmm, it’s strange that I call him “He”, he calls me “Yuzu-kun” so I talk about him as “Shoma” (laughs) For Shoma, enjoying skating and of course, the time being away from it are both important. I think if I did the same thing, everything would probably come crumbling down. Because even when I am enjoying something else, I can’t help thinking that I should enjoy this moment now for the sake of skating later. But I really think it’s great that Shoma came back as who he is, I am really thinking that that’s why he could become a silver Olympic medalist. Shoma said earlier that he worked hard and got a result that was better than he expected but Shoma is stronger than he thinks. Maybe he has weaknesses as well but that’s a part of Shoma too and I think that is Shoma’s strength. I have a lot to learn from him, also I have some difficult things I’m facing myself right now, but I’d say this is not my limit, and push myself.

――きょうのFSでよかった点、悪かった点と、点の出方についてお聞かせください。この結果についての感想もお願いいたします。

Please tell us the good and bad points of the FS today, and also how the score came out. And your thoughts on this result please.

よかった点はないです。頑張りました。それ以上はないです。頭も使いました。ルッツが抜けた段階で何が３回転増やせるかなっていうのを考えたり、どこでより高い点数を稼ごうかなっていうことも考えましたけど、やれることは限られていて。それでも食らいついてやろうとはしました。でもやろうとしただけでできなかったっていうのはやはり悪いところですし……悪いところしかないので（笑）。なんて言ったらいいんですか、悪いところ全部あげますか（笑）？多分３０分くらい喋りますよ。まあ悪いところは、そうですね、頭と体を同時にコントロールできなかったかなって思っています。そこが一番今回難しかったところで、これがいっぱいいっぱいだったのかもしれないですけど、でも反省点です。あとは結果については、もちろん２位でしたし点数もすごく悪かったですし、それはもうこの演技だからしょうがないっていうのは元から分かっていて。演技終わった瞬間に、しょーまの点数も自分の中で分かっていたので、あぁやっと終わったなと思って。でも、すごく、僕の演技とか質問と乖離しちゃうんですが、この場だから言いたいんですけど、やっと多分しょーまが心から全日本王者って言えるようになったと思うんですよね。ずっと僕が休んでいて、怪我していて。戦ったらその前に、もっと前に負けていたかもしれないですけど、でも本当にやっと、しょーまがショート・フリーで戦う試合で初めてこうやって負けられたので、これから胸をはって頑張ってほしいと思います。全日本王者って大変だよ（笑）。でもこれから胸を張って、僕も含めて、まあ僕もまだ頑張るつもりではいるので、一緒にまた引っ張っていけたら。しょーま一人に載せるんじゃなくて、僕も一緒に背負って頑張っていけたらいいなと思うので。（宇野に向かって）頑張ろうね。おめでとう

There is nothing good. I just tried my best. Nothing more. I used my brain too. I was thinking about what I could do to add more triples after the popped Lutz, and where I could get a higher score, but there was only so much I could do. But I still hung on and tried everything that I could. But only trying and not being able to make it happen is after all a negative thing.There were only bad things in that performance. (laughs) What can I say, should I list all of the bad points? (laughs) I’ll probably speak for 30 minutes about it. Well, what was bad was.. Well, I think I couldn’t control my mind and body at the same time. That was the most difficult thing this time. I might have been overwhelmed, but it’s still something to reflect upon. And about the result, I ended up in 2nd and the score was really bad, and I knew from the beginning that it couldn’t be helped. The moment I finished my performance, since I knew Shoma’s score already, I felt, “Ahh, finally it’s over.” But I really want to say this here, even though this doesn’t respond to the question about my performance, I think Shoma can finally call himself the “Japanese National Champion” from the bottom of his heart. I’ve not been there for a long time due to my injury. If I were to compete with him before this, I might have lost to him even earlier, but really, finally it was the first time that I lost to Shoma in (the combined scores) in the SP and FS like this* so…I want him to be proud of himself and keep going from now on. It is a hard thing being a Japanese National champion. (laughs) But from now on, I want him to have confidence, and including myself, well, I still intend to keep working hard too and if we can lead together again…It’s not just putting (the pressure) on Shoma only, but I feel that it’ll be good if I can shoulder (the pressure) too and work hard together. (Towards Shoma) Let’s work hard together. Congratulations!

*T/N: This is purely our interpretation because he doesn’t elaborate, but we think he’s referring to World Team Trophy 2017 where Shoma beat him in the SP and the overall score but it was not counted because the two segments were calculated separately, the total score was not added up and they were on the same team.

――いま隣に鍵山優真選手（神奈川・星槎国際高校横浜）がいて、さらにジュニアでもう一人、４回転を飛ぶ佐藤駿選手（埼玉栄）がいます。強力な選手の追い上げが来たことに関して率直な気持ちをお聞かせください。

There’s Yuma Kagiyama (Kanagawa Seisa International High School Yokohama) right next to you, and there’s another junior, Shun Sato (Sakae Saitama), who can do quads. Please tell us your candid feelings about the strong skaters catching up to you.

男子だけじゃなくて女子も含めて、こうやって４回転をどんどん飛ぶようになって。僕らもさっきしょーまも追われる立場という話をしていましたけど、１つ１つのジャンプを見てみれば追う立場であったりもするんですね。僕の場合４回転ルッツはそれだけまだ確率が悪かったりとか。もちろん４回転ループを試合で使うという選手もどんどん減ってきて、まあそれだけ難しいということはみんな分かっているかもしれないんですけど、でもやはりそれぞれのジャンプっていうことを考えてみれば追う立場だし、その技術をもっと身に付けたい、習得したいって思いなので。今回駿くん、フリーでは（４回転）ルッツは跳べていなかったですけど、でも公式練習で綺麗に跳べているのを見ていてやはりああいう風に飛べるようになりたいなって自分自身もやっぱり思いましたし。（鍵山）優真のトーループの精度、高さとか、あとは軸の強さとか、そういうところもやはり、見習うところは僕らにもあります。それぞれ違うタイプの選手だからこそ、見習うところをまた見て、うまくなっていくところっていうのはいっぱいあると思うので、嬉しいことだなと僕は思っています。

Not just the men, but including the ladies, it has come to a stage where they’re jumping quads one after another like this. We, like Shoma talked about earlier, are in the position of being chased but if we look at the jumps individually, actually we are in the position of catching up to the younger skaters. In my case, the 4Lz still has a low rate of success.Of course, there are fewer skaters who use 4Lo in competition, and just from that maybe everyone knows how difficult it is, but if you think about individual jumps, I am in the position where I am catching up, and my desire is to learn and embody it. Shun, this time, did not successfully land his 4Lz, but I saw him doing it beautifully at the official practice and it made me think that I want to be able to jump like that myself as well. Yuma’s accuracy and the height and the strength of the axis of 4T are some of the things that we can learn from. Since there are different types of skaters, I think it’s a great thing that there are many things we can watch again and learn by observation and get better at.

<< Read Part 1 here.

[ENG TRANSLATION] Yuzuru Hanyu x Waseda Sports Part 1 – Excerpt from Group Interview

This is Part 1 of 3 of an article from Wasedasports.com published on 24 December 2019 which is a collection of excerpts from different interviews that Yuzuru Hanyu gave after the Japanese Nationals. Part 1 is an excerpt from a group interview. Parts 2 and 3 to come.

Translation: @yuzueco
Proofreading: @blueflame4yuzu, @axelsandwich

――FSを振り返っていかがでしたか

What did you think of today’s free program ?

いやあ、弱いなあって。先々週（グランプリファイナルの際）も言っていましたが、弱いなあって。

Well, I feel that I am weak. I said this two weeks before (at GPF) as well, but I feel that I am weak.

――４年ぶりの全日本、ファンの方々もたくさん応援していました

You participated in the Japanese nationals for the first time in four years and many fans were cheering you on passionately.

こんな演技でも本当にたくさんの方々がすごく応援してくださっていて、最後まで力をくださっていて。まあ最後の最後こけちゃいましたけど、歯を食いしばってやれたと思っているので。最後まで見てくださってありがとうございますとしか言えないです。

So many people were cheering me on and giving me power until the end despite my poor performance. I fell on the very last jump, but I think I gritted my teeth and did it. I can only say that I appreciate that they watched my performance until the end.

――次は、世界選手権が控えていると思います

Your next competition is the World Championships.

そうですね……。何に出るのかわからないですが、本当にいまもう、弱っちいのでループもトーループも跳べないようでは話にならないですし、アクセルも跳べないようでは本当に話にならないので。悔しい、悔しいです。次があれば、次に向けてがんばります。

It is…I’m not sure which competition I am going to participate in yet, but I am really weak now. There is no way that I can compete well without landing the quad loop and the toe loop, and also the triple axel, there’s truly no way. I am very unsatisfied with my current self. I’m kuyashii. If there is another chance, I will work hard for the next competition.

――強くなるためにどうしていけばいいとお考えですか

What’s your thoughts on how to become stronger?

わからないです。やれることはやっていたと思いますし、６分間（練習）まではよかったですし、感覚はそんなに悪かった訳ではないので、自分の精神状態と肉体の状態とイメージが全部バラバラって乖離（かいり）していった感じですね。

I don’t know. I think I was doing the best I could do, I felt good until the 6 min warm up, and the feeling was not that bad. It was like I could feel the dissonance between my mental and physical condition

――今回のジャンプ構成についてはいかがでしたか

What’s your thoughts on your layout this time?

冒頭からミスしてルッツ抜けて、色々考えましたね。どこでリカバリーできるのか。そんなリカバリーする体力なかったなって思います。本当、そんなリカバリーするなら意味ないなって思っていました。わからないです。ぐちゃぐちゃなので。でも本当にいま、昌磨（宇野）がやっと戻ってきてくれて正直うれしいです。初めてちゃんと負けたんで。すごくうれしいんですよね。どういううれしさかというと難しいんですけど。でもなんか、ちょっとほっとしています。

I made the mistake of popping the opening Lutz and then I thought of many possibilities. About where I could make my recovery jump. But I don’t think I had the physical strength to make such a recovery. Really, I was thinking it’s meaningless even if I made that kind of recovery. So I’m not sure. I can’t sort out my thinking. But now Shoma is finally back on track and to be honest, I am happy about it. This is the first time that I lost to him properly. I’m very happy about it. It’s difficult to describe what kind of happiness that is. But somehow, I feel relieved.

――ルッツの失敗は疲労が足にきていたことが原因でしょうか

Is the exhaustion in your feet the reason for your mistake on the Lutz ?

何と言うんですかね、イメージと、こう……。うーん……全部言い訳くさく聞こえるから、本当嫌です。何も喋りたくないというのが本音です。

Well…how can I say…what I thought about the image and..Hmm, whatever I say will sound like I’m making excuses for that mistake so I truly hate that. My honest feeling is that I don’t want to say anything.

――氷の感触はいかがでしたか

What was your feeling about the ice?

大丈夫だったと思いますし、やっぱりこうやって最後まで、難しい環境だったとは思うのですがすごくいい氷で、作ってくださった方々に感謝したいです。

It was okay, and I think it was a difficult situation until the end for me but the ice was in good condition, so I want to thank the people who maintain that ice rink.

――負けた羽生選手が、「ほっとしている」というのが衝撃的です。日本人選手に負けるのは久々だと思いますが、その点についてはいかがですか

It is quite shocking for us to hear Hanyu, who has lost, say, “I am relieved.” It’s been a while since you’ve lost to a Japanese skater, how do you feel about it?

昌磨がつらそうにしているのはずっと見ていて、それがね、やっと落ち着いてきてスケートに集中できているな、というのを思うとやっぱりうれしいです。後輩としてこれからも彼らしく頑張ってほしいですし。心から応援したいなと思います。

I’ve been seeing Shoma struggling for a long time, but to see that he has finally settled down and can focus on skating makes me happy. I’d like him to keep working hard in his own way, as my junior. I want to cheer him on from the bottom of my heart.

――グランプリファイナル、そして全日本で敗北を味わい、重圧が減ったということはありますか

You lost at the GPF and the Japanese Nationals, does that experience reduce the pressure on you?

別に日本人だからそれがどうだという話ではなく、相手が誰だからという話ではなく、常に「勝ちたいな」と思っていることは間違いなくありますし。もちろん最大限のことはここではできなかったのですが、でも僕なりに一生懸命はやったと思っていますし。別にプレッシャーから解き放たれた訳ではないです。やっぱり自分の中で確固たる自信とかプライドみたいなものはあって。これからたぶん昌磨が胸を張って『全日本王者』と言えると思うので。ことしは出られたから、僕が。だから、そういう中でちょっと追いかけて脅かしてやろうかなと思います。

It doesn’t matter that I lost to the Japanese skater or whom I lost to, I always think that I want to win no matter what. Of course I couldn’t do my best here, but I tried with all my might. So it’s not something like I was released from the pressure. I have a firm conviction in myself or something like pride in myself. I think Shoma can say that he is the “Japanese National Champion” proudly from now on. Because this year, I competed as well. So I think maybe I will chase him and threaten him a little from behind.

――ＦＳの前、うまくいかない予兆のようなものはありましたか

Were there any signs that things might not go well before FS?

調整がうまくいかなかったです、ずっと。自分の身体がどんどん日に日に劣化していく感じはあって。ショートの前から「変だな」とは思っていたんです。それでもやっぱり、僕は恵まれているので、色んな方に支えてもらって、身体の状態もいまできる最高の状態にしてもらったうえでこれなので。正直言って、僕の実力と技術が足りなかったという感じですかね。でも、死力は尽くせたと思っています。

The adjustment didn’t go well throughout. I felt like my body was getting worse day by day. I noticed something was strange even before the SP. But even so, I am privileged to receive support from many people and I adjusted my body condition to the best that it could be at that point, then it turned out like that. So to be honest, I think my skill and ability was not enough. But I think I gave it everything I had

――ミスが出たあと集中が切れたようにも感じられましたが、どのような状態でしたか

――It seemed that you lost your concentration after you made a mistake, but what was the situation?

びっくりしちゃって、自分の中で。「あれ？」って。感覚と本当に乖離していたんですよ。いまも乖離しているんですけど。自分の言動がどうなっているかはっきり言って全然わからない。気持ちと喋っていることも別々になっているところが多々あるし……。でもやっぱりイメージと自分の身体のキレみたいなものは分離はしていて、体力のあるうち、ショートとかだったらなんとかなったと思うのですが、どうしようもないところが出てしまったのかなという風には思います。でも、はっきり言ってしまえば競泳の選手なんかは何レースもやるわけですし。内容は違うかもしれないけど。そういうのに比べてみたら僕なんか５週間で３回しか試合していないし。それでこのくらいの体力しかないのかって。本当に自分が力使って跳んじゃっているんだなというのと、もっと力を抜いて自分らしいいいジャンプが跳べるようにしないといけないな、というのをいまは考え始めました。諦めてはいないです。本当に、最後まで死に物狂いでやっていました。そうじゃなきゃフリップ（４回転トーループ―オイラー―３回転フリップの３回転フリップ）跳ばないです、あそこ。

I was surprised, in my mind. Like “What’s going on?”. It was really different from what I was feeling. And it still is now. I can’t tell at all what is happening to my behavior to be honest. There are many areas where my feelings and what I am talking about feel like they’ve become separate things. But still, what I had envisioned and the sharpness of my body’s reaction is different. Maybe it was manageable when I was doing the SP and had physical strength left, but there’s nothing I can do about it and it was all shown in my performance (in FS). But if I’ll be honest, for example, swimmers do many races. Though the circumstances might be different. If I compare with those swimmers, I only participated in 3 competitions within 5 weeks. Then I only have this much physical power left. So now I’ve begun to think that I really use so much power to do my jumps and I have to be able to do a good jump in my own style while saving more energy. I didn’t give up. I really fought till the end with everything I had left. If I hadn’t, I would not have done the 3F (4T-1Eu-3F instead of 3S) at that point.

Source: http://wasedasports.com/news/20191224_124725/

[ENG SUB] Yuzuru Hanyu Interview – Beyond The Wall – 191227

Video aired: 27 December 2019

Translation: @yuzueco and @BlueFlame4Yuzu
Proofreading: @axelsandwich
Raw Video: BBI by @aoyuzu205
Transcript: @moonright_yuzu
Sub: @yuzuru_fairy

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Yuzuru Hanyu: A quick video introduction

Glimpse of Yuzuru Hanyu

All Yuzuru Hanyu Olympic Routines | Top Moments

Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) – Gold Medal | Men’s Figure Skating | Free Programme | PyeongChang 2018

Yuzuru Hanyu performs to Chopin’s Ballade No 1 at PyeongChang 2018

Yuzuru Hanyu Breaks Olympic Record – Full Short Program at Sochi 2014

Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) – Gold Medal | Men’s Figure Skating | Free Programme | PyeongChang 2018

Yuzuru Hanyu: an exhaustive introduction (2017 ~ 2018)

Originally posted on Tumblr by Lae (@axelsandwich)

YUZURU HANYU IN 8 SECONDS: A SUMMARY

the weird goat noise crying at the end is yuzu himself basically going ‘nooo no way, no I don’t want this, that was scary, so scaryyy’
THIS IS ALSO YUZURU HANYU IN 8 SECONDS
YUZURU HANYU JUST BEING HIMSELF (PART 2)
choose your fighter

he’s happy a lot
- basically the embodiment of the n__n emoji
- and cute
- the cutest
- ever
- loves nature on the rare occasions he goes outside
- bees are cute, not cool, they’re good kids
- hitting his coach with a fan
- scaring his other coach and then running away
- adorable w kids
  - loves teaching
but also falls down a lot. very cutely.
- sometimes in a stupidly beautiful way

factual info you could probably Wikipedia but are too lazy to do so: Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater from Sendai, born 7 December 1994 who competes in the men’s singles discipline.
PSA: YUZURU HANYU IS NOT THE MODEL FOR YUURI KATSUKI FROM YURI ON ICE (yuuri katsuki is canonically based on tatsuki machida thank u)
japanese media (especially in sendai) basically filmed him growing up and called him a young prodigy so we’re lucky to have footage of chipmunk-cheeked yuzu with his (flying) mushroom hair from all the way back then
- look at this tiny bean
- he was interviewed in ice rink sendai with japan’s other figure skating gold medallist shizuka arakawa. to quote, when asked “can you become a gold medallist too?”, he said “probably”. and then he went and did exactly that.
- he would get into fights with his rinkmates, used to ball up skate rink magazine flyers to hit like a baseball and basically had a 5min attention span after which he would get bored
- get you a man that loves you like the entire city of Sendai loves yuzuru
  - yuzuru held 2 victory parades after his two Olympic gold medals in which he stood on a bus and waved at a crowd of 80k in 2014 and 100k people in 2018, honestly it was the most amazing thing, and then also the streets were CLEAN AS HELL after, we stan respectful fans!
  - the 2018 parade generated $1.86 BILLION YEN economic impact or $16M USD (!!!) and he donated $22M yen profit to support the local skating federation
  - their cheer video for sochi and pyeongchang for him
  - there is an unspoken rule when he goes home to sendai that people will treat him like an ordinary person and not a celebrity and though paparazzi etc. still happens, it is mostly respected and we should 10000% keep it that way.

memelord mc memeface (no, I am serious)
- literally can’t control his face
- I could go on………
- for a long time
- (this is my fave)
- the duality of man
- 10 expressions for the price of one
- ‘yuzuru will also respond in english’

‘Pooh rain’ is the cutest damn thing you’ll ever see

single-handedly keeping the winnie the pooh soft toy industry alive.

you’ve probably seen this exhaustively covered in the media, especially Western media during the Olympics because that’s all they ever seem curious about, which is partly why I wrote this intro post because there is so much more to yuzuru
but Pooh rain is really amazing to witness live, an experience like no other
this is because he’s had a pooh tissue box cover since he was young, given by his parents and he calls Pooh-san his friend and comforting to him because his expression is always calm and never changes. You will see Pooh-san on the boards at every competition, loyally watching over Yuzu
why do people throw Pooh bears at him? there’s a tradition to throw flowers and toys as a gesture of appreciation after a skater’s performance in figure skating and…well, lots of people appreciate yuzuru ; )
(but also consider throwing things like pokeballs, tokyo ghoul plushies, GOAT plushies and earphone plushies at him people, let’s get some creativity in this house!)
Disney-senpai finally noticed him in 2018
he donates all the toys he gets to local orphanages and charities
here’s an account from a doctor who witnessed the donations coming in!

little flower collections smiling at all the Poohs is one of my favourite things

You thought your favourite TV show was dramatic? Welcome to Yuzuru Hanyu’s entire life

yuzuru was a victim of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami and lived in an emergency shelter with his family for about four days after. he spent the summer afterwards skating 60 different ice shows to raise money for the victims. he lost his home rink because of the earthquake and so would go to the show rinks early to use the ice to practice ):
- it’s heartbreaking that he’s still very affected by the memories. he’s said he doesn’t take anything for granted and is always grateful to have a rink to skate on, and the impact he had on the survivors had a profound effect on his skating
  - he mentioned it in his post olympics interview
  - if you feel like crying really really hard today, watch yuzuru visiting sendai’s disaster affected areas and where he stayed initially in the days after the disaster
- he donated all his olympic winnings to helping tohoku recover
- and has continued to donate profits from various campaigns to helping tohoku recover and support his original ice rink
- the only regular TV appearance he does every year is 24hr TV which is a charity marathon to raise money for various causes, especially for areas in Japan affected by natural disasters
- “If it is because I visited them that those who suffered from the disaster can forget about their hardships for even just a moment, to me that would be something very meaningful. Therefore, at that moment, I thought that I wanted to get another Gold medal at the next Olympics.”
  - this is one of the reasons he’s going for a second olympic medal. cry with us

he also remained top 5 in his class academically while competing internationally during high school and does online education at Waseda University, which is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan (this kid was away the day God handed out laziness and procrastination I s2g)

he’s studying Human Informatics and Cognitive Sciences (ie. basically a massive maths nerd) and incidentally did his entrance exam while competing at the Grand Prix Final 2012
my favourite in-depth and extended interviews with yuzu are his press conferences with the foreign correspondents club in japan, he really lets his intelligence and thoughtfulness shine here in particular:

gets on with nobunari oda like a house on fire and carries out shenanigans whenever they meet
nobu and ex-tennis player matsuoka shuzo have been his most zealous and purest hype men since he was sixteen, it’s the cutest thing in the world, they’re regularly worried about him, stunned by him and moved to tears by his performances
here they are reacting to his olympics programs
here’s yuzu thanking shuzo for his support by putting his gold medal around shuzo-san’s neck
yuzu’s interviews with them are some of the best things ever and I recommend you watch ALL of them
has the cutest bromance ever with training mate javier fernandez (eg. when he cried bc he didn’t win but was also super happy for javi, and when he watched javi’s free skate)
- gives the best hugs to javi
- iconic™
- just before the Olympic medal ceremony, yuzuru cried after javi told him this would be his last olympics and saying ‘no I can’t do it without you’ wow I didn’t need my heart or anything today

has the cutest interactions with all skaters including his direct competitors
- here’s boyang jin giggling about how he got a hug from ‘the guy who likes Pooh’
- nathan chen commenting on yuzu & both of them complimenting each other
- dodges media attempts to pit him against shoma uno as bitter rivals bc they are NOT ABOUT THAT LIFE
- olympic gold medallist checking to make sure the olympic silver medallist has his jacket on straight and teaching shoma to wave bc he is actually just a mother
the only person who has the ability to make him lose focus: his forever-idol evgeni plushenko (now in motion)
- probably the only asian boy who willingly opted for a bowl cut
- who he shamelessly cheers on during ice shows
literally not capable of not being extra as fuck
- here’s his pre-competition rituals aka. lipsyncing silently at a wall
- he does it a lot
- where every other male skater is in sensible shirts and pants, you will find yuzu standing there BEDECKED IN SEQUINS AND FEATHERS
- he don’t give a fuck about your gender norms
- and looks excellent while doing so
- here he is, single-handedly destroying toxic masculinity
- here he is just generally being Extra, with the rest of the men, bullying junhwan, bullying boyang… speed skating
- being lifted at galas, just because he can
- tbh his milkshake seems to bring all the boys to the yard…seriously. and obviously most of the girls…
famous for his death glare murder face of hyper-competitive intensity
- scariest thing is how quickly he can switch it on
- watch the switch in action
- there’s literally a collection of photos of yuzu – from when he was a bb to presently – eyeing the gold medal from another podium position like ‘my precious will be mine soon’ (here’s another one)

Literally says ‘Hanyu has NO CHILL WHATSOEVER’

but also for being the sweetest kid ever
- he is truly SUPER polite wherever he goes
  - hugging his competitors at the 2018 pyeongchang olympics
  - staying behind to answer all questions from media at the competition
  - CRAWLING ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES behind competitor shoma uno so he doesn’t get in the background of shoma’s interview
- mr worldwide (he thanked reporters at the Olympics in five languages)
  - watch him say thank you in korean
- JP TV basically had entire TV segments where they were like ‘OBSERVE HIS GOD-LIKE BEHAVIOUR’. It continues to this day
- he has three shrines in Japan that his fans make pilgrimmages to, because of their unintentional connections with him – yuzuruha shrine in kobe because it shares 2 characters with his name (almost 3), the seimei jinja in kyoto and abe no seimei shrine in osaka
- oda nobunari visited one and basically all the ema wishes were for him (yuzuru himself also visited the shrine to pray as well)
- helping people repair the rink after competitions (he regularly does this, even now)
- a kind fan even put together a list of places to visit for yuzuru fans wanting to make a pilgrimmage
gives his fans regular heart attacks
- watch him save jumps that shouldn’t have been physically possible
- changing program halfway through when he failed a jump to accommodate #emergencyquad and #yolotripleaxel
- casually breaks world records because he was annoyed with himself
- casual jump combinations during practices
- casually says shit like wanting to jump hithero impossible jumps when frustrated
- jumped new quad when pissed off at the world team trophy
It is REALLY IMPORTANT to know that the main reason for fan heart attacks is because he’s dealt with a distressing number of injuries, illnesses and misfortunes in his skating life but has somehow managed to come back and succeed in spite of them
- a really scary accident happened at cup of china in 2014 where yuzuru collided with fellow competitor Han Yan in the 6min warmup before his Free Skate and he decided to skate anyway because he wanted to qualify for the Grand Prix Final and felt responsibility to do so as the newly minted Olympic champion and while the debate rages on even now about whether he should have done so, he did indeed go out and do…that > <;;;
- he then came back a month later to win the Grand Prix Final for the 2nd year in a row
he then had abdominal pain and surgery right after winning Japanese Nationals in 2014
- and after spending a month recuperating, still managed to win a silver medal at worlds 2014
this is why we don’t talk about boston worlds 2016 – he skated while hiding a lisfranc injury that he thought – at the time – could end his career and that entire summer afterwards, no one knew whether he would ever return to competition…but he did
- important to note he skated his iconic chopin/seimei 2015 grand prix final programs WITH THAT INJURY
- he came back at the start of the 2016-2017 season, became the first in the world to land the quadruple loop in competition and went on to win the world championships in Helsinki in 2017 after being 5th after a mistake in the Short Program, breaking the Free Skate world record along the way. yeah. being his fan is always a roller coaster
he missed almost the entire 2017-2018 olympic season he severely injured his ankle while practising the 4Lz in practice at the NHK Trophy, while recovering from a fever
- is making his comeback from injury either at the pyeongchang team event or potentially yolo-ing it and going just for the individual event, we have no idea, we just know heart attacks are imminent
- 2018 update: he skipped the team event and made his COMEBACK SKATE FROM INJURY after 3 months of no competitions and 1 month of prep at the individual mens event of the pyeongchang olympics…. AND FRIKKIN WON HIS SECOND OLYMPIC GOLD (more down the page)
2019 update: he then…injured himself again for the 2018-19 season, went out and skated anyway, won the event and showed up to the victory ceremony on crutches. he made a comeback at the world championships 2019 on painkillers yet again and still managed to get a silver medal. after months off the ice.
is proficient at disappearing like a ninja and subjecting his fans to radio silence for months on end, usually bc he injured himself ))):
- so his fans made him a banner
- (he has some ridiculously talented fans tbh)
- a helpful guide to stanning yuzu (warning: you may feel Attacked)

**did I mention he happens to be pretty good at figure skating?**

he’s broken the world record 16 times and counting (the video is his reaction to the first 11 (most of them are his own records)
he’s the first man in 66yrs since Dick Button to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in mens figure skating (sochi 2014 and pyeongchang 2018)
holds all 3 historical figure skating world records for Short Program, Free Program and Total Score under the +/-3GOE system (the rule system was changed in 2018 and records reset). He was the first to break 100, 200, 300 points barrier in the new +/-5GOE system as well
remained at number one in the world standings for the entire olympic cycle since 2013 despite aforementioned heart-attack-inducing injuries and illnesses
do you want to aww? here’s a short compilation of other figure skater and other sportsmen his programs have inspired

I cannot emphasise HOW FRIKKIN #YOLO HIS 2018 OLYMPIC SEASON WAS. LIKE STOP. WALK WITH ME HERE.

so yuzuru has been wanting this medal literally for ENTIRE LIFE, which he has planned since he was a novice skater and had seriously begun planning since right after he won the gold in Sochi. this plan had to be adjusted along the way due to the truly distressing number of injuries, illnesses and misfortunes he sustained during the last quad from 2014 – 2017 (his Olympic athlete profile has PARAGRAPHS dedicated to all his injuries – and note these are only the post-2014 ones).

but yuzuru started the 2017-18 olympic season with a plan to basically break all 3 of his WRs at the olympics by recycling his iconic Chopin and Seimei programs but upgrading the layout and introducing a new quad – the 4Lz – which he had been preparing for years. he trained so hard during summer that his coach Brian Orser remarked he would have been ready to go to the Olympics right then and there. he landed his 4Lz for the first time in competition at Rostelecom Cup and seemed poised to fight for momentum during the 2017-18 Grand Prix season.

and then this plan was, once again, thrown out the window when he sustained an ankle injury in practice right before the NHK Trophy in early November, which was much more severe than he first thought. he sat out of competition for 3mths, literally disappearing from all news and the public eye, despite hoping to return first at Japanese Nationals and then to the Pyeongchang team event, but pulled out of both as well.

yuzuru made his comeback from injury debut at the individual men’s event, aka. the BIG DEAL, after marching into the airport like a BOSS. we were told he had only recovered his triple axel 3 weeks ago and his quads 2 weeks ago, but post-Olympics, he slowly revealed that it was even more dire than that. he skated the entire Olympics on painkillers that were not working 100% which meant every jump landing hurt, accepting the risk he may permanently damage his ankle or worsen his injury because they didn’t actually know the extent of his injury at that point.

and he. frikkin. WON. by doing this. and this.

(it was also the 1000th medal in Winter Olympics history because destiny rewards those who are Most Extra)

But WAIT, you say, what is it about his skating that you love so much?

some of his iconic moves ; _ ;
edges. have you seen anything more ridiculous
iconic program alert: romeo and juliet 1.0 at worlds, less than 1yr after the tsunami disaster, after he spent all summer training sporadically at ice shows. after flying under the radar for his senior debut, this really launched him onto the international stage
iconic program alert: sochi olympic short program (the thing that won him the gold lbr)
- sub point: his reaction to gold
- sub point: his reactions to BOTH HIS GOLD MEDALS
VERY iconic program alert: chopin and seimei at Grand Prix Finals 2015/16
- His skates for the two programs at NHK Trophy only a fortnight prior smashed the World Record.
- Under enormous pressure and expectation going into the Grand Prix Final, he skated last, skated perfectly and achieved the WR for highest short program and total program score, beating the silver medallist Javier Fernandez by almost 40 points
- he’s brought them both back and try to surpass them for the Olympic season because he wasn’t already under enough pressure……
seimei is arguably one of the greatest masterpieces of skating programs and yuzuru was involved in every step of putting it together
more iconic program alert: hope and legacy FS at Worlds 2016/17 where he came back from 5th place in the Short Program to win the free and break his own world record yet again (annotated version so you can appreciate just how difficult and insane the layout was)
broke his 12th WR in the first event of the 2017-2018 Olympic season at the ACI Challenger event with a sore knee and downgraded jump layout
- hilariously, his coach brian orser was – uncharacteristically – warning everyone that his first skates of the season are like ‘first pancakes’ and to not expect too much from him before the SP
- his fans, needless to say, were amused
- he did go ahead and die in the free skate the following day though, and finished with his obligatory Canadian silver
Jumped and landed his first 4Lz in competition at the Rostelecom Cup 2017 (watch it clean – it’s a THING OF BEAUTY) and now has landed 4 types of quads in competition (4T, 4S, 4Lo and 4Lz). Has now said that being the first person ever to land the 4A – his childhood dream – is one of his key motivations.
- note from 2019: he uh….tried it. on the last day of being 24 (please remember MOST SKATERS HIS AGE HAVE RETIRED BY NOW AND THE QUAD AXEL HAS NEVER EVEN BEEN ATTEMPTED COMPETITIVELY EVER)
just go watch all his programs lol
has a majestic jump face. it’s art. literally.

But also what else?

Yuzuru is known for a seemingly endless appetite for improvement, evolution and continually challenging himself
- his favourite word: kuyashii (ie. frustrated)
- one of my favourite interviews of him ever was right after his broke all 3 world records and went over 200 and 300 for the FS and total competition score for the first time at NHK 2015.
  
  “[On losing to Patrick Chan at Skate Canada & the fact he was practising during gala rehearsal where everyone else was chilling] I thought I want to improve, even here right now. Patrick was nearby and it was a really good motivation. It’s like, ‘Watch me.’ I will definitely practise all kinds of jumps and I will grow for sure. I will win the next time for sure, I have been practising with that in mind.”
  
  Then 3 weeks later, at NHK Trophy, he had a different layout.
  
  Yuzu: This is not related to Patrick anymore. I was really fired up this time. Boyang Jin got 95 points in SP, right? When I saw that score, I thought, wow NO MISTAKES!! He gave the best of his abilities! OH YES!!!!
  
  Shuzo: You didn’t think OH NO!!! You thought OH YES????
  
  Yuzu: I thought “It’s here!!!“ Since I was a child, I have never liked winning a competition when others made mistakes. Everyone skates to their best, but I still come first, above all. That is what I like. I like pushing myself to the edge—.”
  
  (translation cr: yuzusorbet)
  
  it says volumes about his competitive mentality.
- this is also iconic AF. ‘In your mind, what do you mean by wanting to win with a commanding lead?’
  
  yuzuru (no hesitation and immediately): after everyone goes clean, I go clean and win.
  
  (matsuoka shuzo’s face is a MOOD)
- he actually has a published quote book of cool things he’s said in interviews since he was a newly minted senior. here’s a partial translation series I started doing in Olympic season
  - there’s a chance some of these are inspired by anime protagonists
oh, also he’s had asthma since he was two
- he talks about it here and also participated on 24hr TV in 2017 to help out another young skater with asthma
- it was referenced in a movie
- he got an asthma attack 2wks before the World Championships in Helsinki 2017 and still went out and Did That

lowkey kinda sucks at finding suits that fit him. because he needs one imperfection
- questionable fashion sense in general (generally remains stuck at ‘japanese teenage boy circa 2005′)
- he wears toe socks and has been seen wearing crocs once, ho n e st l y
- Good Guy Yuzuru: doesn’t wear fitted suits often because he knows it’ll kill his fans and/or will only do so if he gets paid for it tbh
- unless he’s wearing under armour
- he can keep wearing under armour
- seriously, why isn’t he being sponsored by under armour
- why
he’s really obsessed with earphones and has like 50 pairs, many of which are custom-made and cost over $1000. he gets really excited about sound quality & bonds with sound technicians over their headphones. basically it’s the only thing he talks about when interviewers want to know what he likes to do in his spare time
- that and play games in his room by himself
- he’s hyper-competitive about games too
- is this a surprise at this point
- he got really obsessed with kendama and now has like 8 of them
- can’t dance but has no shame (yeah) (YEAH. you’ve been warned). werq it boi
he watches anime and has asked kaneki ken’s voice actor from tokyo ghoul to eat him on national television. y-yeah.
he got turned into an anime character in collaboration with Tour de Tohoku #goals
made his japanese film debut in a bald cap, playing the young lord of Sendai which he SORT OF BASICALLY IS
other than this, he keeps his private life pretty damn private (hence: cryptid), we have not seen his father or sister make any official appearances in media and his mother never speaks to the media but accompanies him to all his competitions. they’re very low key and private
as of originally writing this intro post in 2017 – he was part of the top six men in figure skating right now. probably possesses the Most Lack of Chill, being world champion, olympic champion and holder of all 3 figure skating records. we’re all drinking heavily this olympic season, not in the least because Olympic season has been a Pretty Big Disaster So Far
- BUT HE WON THE GOLD MEDAL AND THE MENS EVENT WAS – FOR THE MOST PART – PRETTY DAMN BRILLIANT, especially given all the disasters that happened this season……. ; __ ;
- 2018 update: alas Patrick Chan and Javier Fernandez have now retired ;;

he’s also b e a u t i f u l
- um excuse me, rude
- VERY RUDE
- apparently not interested in sex appeal………
  - ‘acting’
want to research more?
- here’s a recommended watchpost
- here’s a feature article on his skating journey called ‘Spin the Dream‘ translated (ad hoc, sorry) by me
- the new york times did a long feature on him and it’s a pretty comprehensive article if you want an overview and intro to Yuzuru, but English/American media as a whole don’t tend to cover him in depth or tend to do it poorly, or are straight up offensive about it (if I hear one more poorly researched journalist question making it all about his Winnie the Poohs, I will scream), so I recommend Japanese interviews where you can really get a feel for his way of thinking
- a compilation of interesting interviews by tsukihoshi14

gif cr: balladestorm

in conclusion, thank you for reading and I hope you know more about this special, brilliant boy ( :