That was great! I'm more and more growing into a Nathan über, he's so fun, and I'm more and more
over his FS from last year. Can't take more of that. (His SP was
though). I need kick-ass programs from him this year, he's THAT GOOD!
Uh huh, but do you want Nathan to pull back on his mucho macho multiple quads in the fp? Hard choices have to be made these days in the men's discipline, for anyone looking to beat the competition and land atop the podium. There is not enough energy, time and mental focus available for any skater these days to accomplish what John Curry did technically
and artistically at the 1976 Olympics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z79TMsYRnEc
Curry had much more time and freedom to do all the state-of-the-art technical feats of the era, but also to uniquely focus on elevating the sport artistically and performance-wise. Curry's performance, IMHO, is much more memorable and significant as a contribution to pushing the sport/art further than is Hanyu's best recent performances. I think Hanyu's best performances are more personal achievements in terms of his not falling or making major mistakes with crammed-in tech content and a fairly well realized artistic concept. Both Hanyu and Javi have contributed mainly in the 'beauty and effortless' of their quads, when they are at their best. Their attempts to improve artistically have not been groundbreaking.
Meanwhile, Jin Boyang will go down in the record books as the first man to successfully land quad-lutz/triples, but with skating and presentation skills that still needed a lot of work. Jin has done work to improve, but he's still far behind in having a distinctive feel for the music or any unique expressive, interpretive skills, although Jin does display an appealing personality. Nathan is still writing his story, but he's already made extraordinary history in landing 5 quads cleanly in a bare bones of a free program but with great technique, budding & capable artistic sensibilities, and a definite feel for the music. As well as 7 quads total over two programs in two back-to-back events. What Nathan accomplished last season changed things in ways we can not decipher because it's still in the process of happening.
A lot of people feel that Hanyu did come close to achieving something similar to Curry a couple of times when he broke through to land all his jumps cleanly and complete a relatively artistically satisfying program two seasons ago. Here's the recording-breaking NHK 2015 performance by Hanyu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j07i-cqZgg
Hanyu was unable to sustain that form and consistency over more than a couple of events though. And at that point, Hanyu was performing 2 quads in the first half of his free program (maybe he was building up to attempt 3 back then). It was an extraordinarily well-paced program and an amazing feat of athleticism mostly.
I love the music and artistic concept, and Hanyu has great flow, quickness and effortlessness on his jumping passes. However, he is really not the best at interpreting, feeling and expressing the music. His flow and athleticism seem to make up for his weaknesses which include lack of full attention to detail, lack of meaningful artistic depth and failure to utilize much stretch. I also do not feel much of a personality from Hanyu. He does not display great expressive range, nor does he exhibit any intensity of full body awareness (such as graceful tension, expansion and variety in his movement qualities). IOW, Hanyu is not a masterful artist, but he receives PCS scores out the wazoo which anoint him as being such. For me, Hanyu is mesmerizing mainly in his athleticism, and in possessing a frame that allows him to rotate with amazing speed and remarkable suspension and precision when he's in-the-zone. Obviously, there is an over-focus on rewarding rotational talent these days in both men's and ladies disciplines.
Of course, I am only speaking for myself. I know that others see what Hanyu does differently. He just has a loosey-goosey quality on the ice that is not appealing to me, despite the fact I was attracted to him when he first came on the scene. I haven't seen significant growth from Hanyu artistically as he has matured. He has also lacked consistency and endurance at times, though he's worked hard at improving in those areas. And he has always been amazing in his fight, determination, and love for the sport. He is an exemplary person and athlete. There was no one better in the fp at 2017 Worlds. He wanted his title back. Still, his scores should better reflect where he has things to work on.
I guess we will see what the entire world thinks eventually, but carry on. I'd be more worried about the jumps than his programs.
and Max Aaron 
We outnumber most of them, and there are many big competitions ahead that are much more important than July. #onlythestrongsurvive #sticktogetha
I'll just have to shut my mouth because my choice is clear 
I was talking about the program itself. I want him to keep doing all his quads, and as he gets more experience, more training, he will be able to incorporate them more smoothly into the programs, not like last year where I felt he was skating back and forth. But I understand, he is young, and it was his first senior season. Of course, being on the top is demanding these days, 4 or 5 quads and stellar choreo. Hanyu proves it's possible, his quads are just blending in, but not everyone can be Hanyu, he's something else. 
)
