Japanese figure skating 2021-22 season news & updates

Status
Not open for further replies.

jenny12

Well-Known Member
Messages
8,239
I think if Kaori lacks something in the presentation side of her skating, it’s attention to detail—things like toe point, turnout in laybacks, hand positions, refinement in arm movements, facial expressions, framing a position for a moment and holding it and looking at the judges to call attention to it. Things like that. And, although her speed and flow can interact with long notes or crescendos to create excitement, I’ve never found her to be a very musical skater in the sense of expressing smaller but interesting moments in the music.

Looking at her presentation from a sort of traditional gender-normative standpoint feels a little uncomfortable to me (although I acknowledge that is how many people will see things).

Agreed completely. I think Kaori can improve things like her posture and the movement of her arms but I hate using terms like un-feminine to criticize her. In addition, sometimes skaters with “traditionally feminine” body types get away with having bad posture since they fit the traditional physical mold of a figure skater.
 

Karen-W

Checking Senior Bs for TES mins...
Messages
36,134
I'm so impressed by Mai this season, beating both Kaori and Wakaba! I wouldn't be at all surprised if she medaled in her next GP.
Kaori scored nearly 20 points lower in her FS at Asian Open where Mai beat her by just over 1 point than she did at Skate America a couple weeks later.

Here's some numbers to look at:

Mai Asian Open SP - 67.83
Mai Skate Canada SP - 67.89
Kaori Asian Open SP - 76.70
Kaori Skate America SP - 71.16
Wakaba Skate Canada SP - 69.41

Mai Asian Open FS - 135.75
Mai Skate Canada FS - 142.12
Kaori Asian Open FS - 125.58
Kaori Skate America FS - 144.77
Wakaba Skate Canada FS - 135.86

Mai Asian Open Overall - 203.58
Mai Skate Canada Overall - 210.01
Kaori Asian Open Overall - 202.28
Kaori Skate America Overall - 215.93
Wakaba Skate Canada Overall - 205.27

As far as Mai's medal hopes at her next GP - very strong, agreed. After Shcherbakova and Kostornaia, there is Hendrickx, Kim and Lim and not much else. Right now, I put Miyahara and Samodurova in the tier below the four vying for, in all likelihood, bronze.
 

Holy Headband

chair of the Lee Sihyeong international fanclub
Messages
1,654
Re. Kaori, I didn't realise conforming to gender stereotypes was part of the rulebook, but I suppose that explains why the vast majority of the women's field is such a snoozefest. I for one can't stand the 'floaty delicate Tinkerbell toe-hammering and pre-rotating her way through a mediocre song from a Broadway musical' concept everyone seems to be going for right now, but I guess that's ~femininity for you, if a very juvenile take on it. Cool and unique programs like Kaori's Matrix FS or Wakaba's Lion King FS are much more appealing in my view. (I also don't see how Kaori is any less 'feminine,' which I read to mean graceful, than Trusova, but that's neither here nor there.)

In other news, this is Kao Miura's SP from the recent Junior Sectionals:


He's still listed for NHK Trophy, so it's unlikely he'll be JSF's choice for the JGPF wildcard, but I expect to see him at Junior Worlds.
 
Last edited:

Alilou

Ubercavorter
Messages
7,300
Re. Kaori, I didn't realise conforming to gender stereotypes was part of the rulebook, but I suppose that explains why the vast majority of the women's field is such a snoozefest. I for one can't stand the 'floaty delicate Tinkerbell toe-hammering and pre-rotating her way through a mediocre song from a Broadway musical' concept everyone seems to be going for right now, but I guess that's ~femininity for you, if a very juvenile take on it. Cool and unique programs like Kaori's Matrix FS or Wakaba's Lion King FS are much more appealing in my view. (I also don't see how Kaori is any less 'feminine,' which I read to mean graceful, than Trusova, but that's neither here nor there.)
THIS THIS THIS All of this! In the arena for SC I was so bored - with the endless parade of pretty princess dresses and the uninspired music choices, the OTT makeup and yeah the toe-hammering and pre-rotation.

ETA: And oh yeah, who thought it would be a good idea to have Alison Schumacher skate to All the Lonely People? Depressing much? Imagine listening to those lyrics day in and day out. So inspiring and uplifting! NOT! Poor girl, no wonder she can't skate with any lightness of being when that's all she's been listening to. SMH
 
Last edited:

ЭPiKUilyam

Banned Member
Messages
1,333
I just saw that Yuzu posted this on Twitter: "Yuzu: "'I want to land a 4A at the NHK Trophy', this feeling is the strongest." "I aim for the techniques that surpass my limit and I want to give the performance that people can feel something from."

I'd love to see a 4axel, even just once!
 

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love! Not LatinX!
Messages
22,098
What’s the protocol this year about throwing Poohs 🧸 onto the ice? Assuming that the arena will allow spectators.
 

Fairuza

Well-Known Member
Messages
371
I just saw that Yuzu posted this on Twitter: "Yuzu: "'I want to land a 4A at the NHK Trophy', this feeling is the strongest." "I aim for the techniques that surpass my limit and I want to give the performance that people can feel something from."

I'd love to see a 4axel, even just once!
Yuzu can’t have posted anything himself, you know.,,
 

Marco

Well-Known Member
Messages
15,262
Re. Kaori, I didn't realise conforming to gender stereotypes was part of the rulebook, but I suppose that explains why the vast majority of the women's field is such a snoozefest.
I don't think all women skaters should be princessy at all. But Kaori's problem has been that she doesn't finish her moves or have that precision, so while she skates lightning fast, it all looks a bit out of control. And personally I never felt she was connected to the music or its tone. It's all mechanical.

Wakaba for me strikes a much better balance between power, finesse and musicality. She skates organically. A little less exciting to watch perhaps, but much more enjoyable (for me).
 

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love! Not LatinX!
Messages
22,098
I don't think all women skaters should be princessy at all. But Kaori's problem has been that she doesn't finish her moves or have that precision, so while she skates lightning fast, it all looks a bit out of control. And personally I never felt she was connected to the music or its tone. It's all mechanical.

Wakaba for me strikes a much better balance between power, finesse and musicality. She skates organically. A little less exciting to watch perhaps, but much more enjoyable (for me).
Agreed. Anybody who saw Wakaba’s electric free program to The Lion King at SkCan last week couldn’t help but be moved by her performance factor, emotion and “face” that she gave throughout! (The tech elements, including 3-axel, are almost secondary to me.) I’ve rewatched Wakaba’s Lion King about ten times since Saturday. It never gets old. Music, choreography moves, costume/packaging, makeup, etc. THE ideal woman skater. If it weren’t for Team Russia and “The Great Wall of Eteri,” I’d have Wakaba as my first bet to win Oly gold, with Mai, You and Alysa not far behind.
 

Karen-W

Checking Senior Bs for TES mins...
Messages
36,134
Many say he wastes loads of opportunities to make money. But whatever, no social network presence. So it wasn’t him making the announcement, it was in fact Japanese television.
And, of course, they want eyes on their broadcast so why else would people tune in? It wouldn't be to see Shoma or Vincent. No, it's to see Yuzu attempt the 4a.
 

tony

Throwing the (rule)book at them
Messages
17,679
Yuzu can’t have posted anything himself, you know.,,
I am quite sure that whatever Erik was referring to was a quote posted by a skating outlet on Twitter, because Hanyu did tell NHK broadcasting that this is his goal. They aren't going to quote something he didn't say-- it wouldn't fly with him or his team. He's said for a long time that the reason he's staying in is to land it, so if it's close-- why not try?

 

Fairuza

Well-Known Member
Messages
371
I am quite sure that whatever Erik was referring to was a quote posted by a skating outlet on Twitter, because Hanyu did tell NHK broadcasting that this is his goal. They aren't going to quote something he didn't say-- it wouldn't fly with him or his team. He's said for a long time that the reason he's staying in is to land it, so if it's close-- why not try?

No, it wasn’t posted by a skating outlet, it was broadcast on television and posted by Yuzu fans on Twitter.
Why do we keep splitting hairs? All I said was Yuzu could not have posted anything on Twitter. He is not officially on Twitter or any other SN.
 

ЭPiKUilyam

Banned Member
Messages
1,333
I swear Hanyu is always injured at this time of year. What is he doing to himself to always be injured is he trying the 4axel?
It's just like four years ago.... uggh, another test of my stomach ulcer for the next few months... He was four years younger with four years less mileage when he did the impossible and WIN the OGM. Can he really recover in time this time around? That might make a medal prospect for Vincent even higher now. Too bad.
 

kittyjake5

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,529

ЭPiKUilyam

Banned Member
Messages
1,333
Mai has now beaten all the top Japanese women except Rika, who hasn't competed yet. I know, higher scores from the women in other competitions, etc. -- I still think it's an interesting data point.
If both of Wakaba Higuchi AND Mai Miahara are left off the Japanese Olympic team I will be upset. As far as I can determine, only Kaori has established herself amongst the World team. Satoko Miyahara is lovely to watch but is not Olympic athlete worthy anymore IMO. She might have the grace of a prima ballerina, but even prima ballerinas don't have distractingly small and unimpressive jumps. If Rika Kihira is out for the season, I want the other two to be from Wakaba (first), Rino (second) and then (Mai). It's just so sad that Rika has been the face of Japanese ladies skating for the whole quad and now it appears injuries have ruined her chances. But that's sport.
 

tony

Throwing the (rule)book at them
Messages
17,679
Yuma Kagiyama IMO already is one of the best all-around skaters the sport has ever seen. His jump technique is amongst the most perfect if not the absolute most perfect, and he has that rare deep-knee easy landing and runout that a Japanese skater once in a decade seems to have. One of my favorite skating 'traits' is the speed on a perfect deep outside edge out of a jump, and it's so rare these days.

His free skate ranks right up there as one of the best overall performances I've seen. Seriously, it's that good, and he still has room to grow in the points with more secure quad landings and a more developed program. All of the jumps are very clearly rotated, even the triple loop as the second jump in a combination, and his spins are all excellent as well. The 4T+3T was as easy as anyone has ever made it look, too. Late in the program, he did the 3F+3Lo and then with full energy, got to the other side of the rink and landed a perfect 3A with zero preparation.

He really was on fire in this free skate, but we all know he still can be wildly inconsistent. I said during Worlds and earlier in the season that I think he's the one that really could be the spoiler in Beijing, and this performance makes me believe it even more.

I think it's the first program across any discipline I've seen this season that has me energized. If you haven't seen it, go find it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Top
Do Not Sell My Personal Information