Japanese figure skating 2022-23 season news & updates

[On My Own]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1608010866817105921

Kagiyama out of Universiade, Yamamoto in. Would have liked Miura or Sato here, I guess.

 

[YukiNieve]

Anybody familiar with Pokemon here ? (I am).

A story about the friendship among YumaKaoShun (as some Japanese fans call these 3 guys, who have been good friends) at Osaka Castle:

Shun invited Kao, who skated a terrible short program (13th place) a day before, to a visit to Osaka Castle, joined by Yuma. There was a gift-shop selling Pokemon plushs nearby. Yuma got Kao a Pokemon plushy, Hogator (Fuecoco), telling him that everything will be all right if you hold this (as a good luck charm). Shun also told him that "I know you will be fine (tomorrow)."

Kao tweeted a picture of the three visiting Osaka castle:

https://twitter.com/kao_miura/status/1607575917320368130

Next day, Kao skated a redeeming free skate that had kept him at 1st place until Shoma skated, which brought Kao up to 6th place (final) from 13th. After the performance, Kao said that "I don't know why, but this Pokemon plushy that I had no previous attachment seemed to have helped me."

Kao mentioned that last two days (after SP) were very difficult but his friends cheered him up and he was able to get up.

And there were cute exchanges among them later:

Later, Kao tweeted "Hogator is cute" about the plushy he said he had no attachment before;

https://twitter.com/kao_miura/status/1607673892033925121

Then Yuma tweeted a picture that all three were holding the plushy, to which Kao asked "Send me that picture" and Yuma replied "OK~."

https://twitter.com/yuma_kagiyama05/status/1607678219825840129

Now, fans in Japan were like, "I'd like to get a Hogator plushy, too."

 

[On My Own]

Now, fans in Japan were like, "What is Hogator?" "I'd like to get one, too."

People in Japan aren't into Pokemon?

 

[YukiNieve]

People in Japan aren't into Pokemon?

Hogator is a relatively new one that was introduced last month (November, 2022).
I am pretty sure everyone knows Picachu, for example, in Japan.

 

[On My Own]

Hogator is a relatively new one.
I am pretty sure everyone knows Picachu, for example, in Japan.

I really loved S/V, so I thought many people would already know I guess maybe there are more Japanese people who watch the anime, than those who play the games? I no longer watch the anime.

 

[YukiNieve]

I really loved S/V, so I thought many people would already know I guess maybe there are more Japanese people who watch the anime, than those who play the games? I no longer watch the anime.

You might be right - I do not live in Japan now and have not played S/V.
I have a feeling that it is men who are more into the game than women who consist of most of the skating fans in Japan, but I edited that sentence since I am not totally sure.

 

[Sylvia]

Mainichi Shimbun's Jan. 1st interview with Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara - 'Rikuryu', what is the secret to achieving the goal? Aiming for a total of 220 points in 2023:

りくりゅう、目標達成の秘策は？　23年は「トータル220点」目指す | 毎日新聞

フィギュアスケートのペアで昨年、日本ペア史上初めてグランプリ（GP）ファイナルを制した三浦璃来選手、木原龍一選手組（木下グループ）が毎日新聞のインタビューに答えた。「りくりゅう」の愛称で多くのファンに親しまれる2人。35歳の私（記者）も、絆の深さに圧倒されっぱなしだった。【聞き手・倉沢仁志】

mainichi.jp

Machine translated excerpts:

　――Mr. Kihara, which one made you nervous, the GP final or the Olympics?
　Kihara: The final was more amazing. The Olympics were calm.
　Miura: Truly, Ryuichi-kun was so nervous that he didn't speak so much that it felt like I was seeing him for the first time. Somehow, I was told, "I'm doing image training, so don't talk to me for a minute."
　Kihara: Even though I was concentrating, I was talking about something useless (laughs).
　Miura: We were on the bus going to the venue on the free day. I usually have a conversation, but I don't have it. I was silent until I arrived at the venue. So I said, "Huh? It's not the usual Ryuichi-kun." It was the first “silence” of the formation.
　Kihara: But I was nervous once, so I'll be fine next time. I expected that the final would be a close match, so I thought that I could never make a mistake. I pushed myself a little too hard.
　Having experienced the final made me feel so much better. I understand very well that you feel this kind of tension.

　Kihara: Yes (laughs). This season's best is 78.25 points in SP (at the NHK Trophy last November) and 141.04 points in the free program (at the Beijing Winter Olympics). The total is 216.16 points (of the NHK Trophy). I haven't made any mistakes in the free program this season, so if I can put together a good program, I think I can achieve this goal.
　――There will be a world championship held in your country this year.
　Miura: In the past two World Championships, we haven't been able to perform to our satisfaction. We want to do our best so that we can put out our best performances this season.
　Kihara Really. In the past two competitions, I wasn't able to perform as I envisioned. I want to give my best performance.

Born in 2001, from Hyogo prefecture. She switched from women's singles to pairs in 2015. In her 17 years she finished 13th at the World Junior Championships [with Shoya Ichihashi; then 10th in 2018 & 14th in 2019]. From 19 years she formed a pair with Ryuichi Kihara. Her family has three cats, but she is allergic to them.

Today (Jan. 2, 2023) is Wakaba's 22nd birthday:

【樋口新葉〈上〉】勝ちたい気持ちが強すぎて　9歳で突然の「イップス」に - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ・プレミアム

日刊スポーツ・プレミアムでは、毎週月曜日にフィギュアスケーターのルーツや支える人の思いに迫る「氷現者」をお届けしています。シリーズ第6弾は樋口新葉（ノエビア／明大）の登場です。全3回の「上編」公開日となった1月2日に22歳を迎えました。今季は10月以降の試合から休養を選択。来季以降、どんな道に進むのか、そのルーツについて記憶をたどりながら、包み隠さずにその心境を打ち明けてくれました。（敬称略） - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）。

www.nikkansports.com

This machine translated excerpt is not behind the paywall:

A little shy. There is a classroom on the campus of Meiji University. Sitting at my desk in mid-December, smiling.
"I think it's been about two months since I announced that I'll be taking a break, but I haven't skated at all. I'm really going to school, meeting up with friends, and living like that every day."
Short hair and casual jeans. She wore an outerwear with the logo of her sponsor, but she seemed to blend in with the students she passed by outside the classroom, giving a sense of lightness.
"I don't have classes anymore, so I'm in a seminar. Yes, I go to that seminar only on Wednesdays. Because it's a seminar where we write graduation thesis in groups. My department, the Faculty of Commerce, has two seminars. , I feel like I'm in. I'm moving towards graduation."
Just like her fellow fourth-year students, she is busy with his graduation thesis in December, and the rest of her student life passes by.

 

[japanice]

Predictions 2023: Japan's Figure Skaters Poised for Another Banner Year | SportsLook

Ice Time's Jack Gallagher predicts stellar performances from Japan's skaters over the next 12 months after collecting a slew of medals at major events in 2022.

featured.japan-forward.com

 

[Sylvia]

The 20th anniversary of the Nagoya Figure Skating Festival is tomorrow (Jan. 4, 2023) - skaters scheduled to appear ("Yuma Kagiyama has declined to appear due to his injury" as of 12/28/22):

名古屋フィギュアスケートフェスティバル

日本のトップスケーターから活躍が期待される地元のジュニア、ノービス選手らが一堂に会する年明け最初のエキシビション！2023年1月4日（水）16:30より日本ガイシアリーナにて開催！

static.chunichi.co.jp

Shoma Uno https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_4_YHJTh1/
Kazuki Tomono https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_1m4-JzU0/
Kao Miura https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_zw7OpAvW/
Tatsuya Tsuboi https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_x1uAJi7s/
Sota Yamamoto https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_0l0oppiA/
Nozomu Yoshioka https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_u3R2JVip/
Shunsuke Nakamura https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_urXUpe9C/
Sena Takahashi (Novice A champion) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_tj5sJnWQ/

Kaori Sakamoto https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_4EYyJGGY/
Rika Kihira https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_yabvJjxG/
Mana Kawabe https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_yoT1Jtka/
Mai Mihara https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_3V2HJGZk/
Rino Matsuike https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_19lopfW9/
Yuhana Yokoi https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_wyAzJxJ-/
Mao Shimada https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_vErFpIPP/
Hana Yoshida (Stars Wars EX) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_z4zKp_38/
Marin Honda https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_wj2ApvFu/
Rena Uezono (Novice A champion) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_ufVppgiQ/

SPECIAL GUESTS
Shizuka Arakawa https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_vwNbJ-Zw/
Akiko Suzuki https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_voMKpj4c/
Takahito Mura https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_vTsFpbyx/

ETA the 3 local invited skaters (and links to sponichitokyophoto's pics of each skater):

Hiroto HANAI (Novice A Boys bronze medalist) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_tG-9JB4l/
Sara HANAI (Novice B Girls silver medalist) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_tVLjJF7M/
Aoha HOSHI (Novice B Girls bronze medalist) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_swZMJufy/ & https://twitter.com/skatejapanews/status/1610635746595016709 ("She likes Kaori Sakamoto and BTS.")

 

[clairecloutier]

A new Miura/Kihara interview from FSGossips (translation?):

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara “We showed our worst performance at Worlds, but it’s precisely because we failed that we decided to continue.”

Interview with Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara. About Olympics, last season's Worlds, winning the GP Final and goals for the season.

fs-gossips.com

They said that their disappointing performances at Worlds last spring have helped motivate them this season. Also, that they were more nervous for the Grand Prix Final than for the Olympics.

 

[Sylvia]

A new Miura/Kihara interview from FSGossips (translation?):

Yes, the original article (Mainichi Shimbun) is linked by me above (post #247).

Miura/Kihara are on their way back to Canada (per their Instagram stories).

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting @Debdelilah2's request here (interview after 2022 NHK Trophy in Sapporo) in case anyone can summarize?

Shoma & Kazuki interview on YouTube in Japanese…I don’t know what they’re saying but this was before the Exhibition at Sapporo. Can anyone here translate?

 

[kwanette]

Re-posting @Debdelilah2's request here (interview after 2022 NHK Trophy in Sapporo) in case anyone can summarize?

I hit the auto tranlate tab..but I never know how accurate it is.

 

[Sylvia]

KAZUKI TOMONO CHASING WORLD MEDAL by Tatjana Flade ©IFS (Dec. 28, 2022):

Tomono Chasing World Medal – International Figure Skating

Japan's Kazuki Tomono is aiming for the podium at the 2023 World Championships following his bronze-medal finish at nationals last week.

ifsmagazine.com

 

[denise3lz]

Re-posting @Debdelilah2's request here (interview after 2022 NHK Trophy in Sapporo) in case anyone can summarize?

(Kazuki loves Sauna) Shoma don't have interest about it, not even invited.
(Ordinary talk) Something like "I'm sleepy". Before shows "what kind of jump you will do ?" Kazuki always lost jump battle to Shoma.
(About each others) Shoma is single-hearted man. What you see is real Shoma.
(GPF, National) I wish I will do better.

 

[Tak]

The TV Ratings for Japan Nationals were reported. It is showing rather worrying numbers.
Dec 25 19:00-21:20 Men Free 7.5% (14.4% Last year)
Dec 24 19:00-21:20 Women Free 8.9% (10.6%)
Dec 23 19:00-21:15 Men SP 7.1% (12.5%)
Dec 22 19:00-21:15 Women SP 5.4% (8.3%)
Somebody else compiled Men Free TV Rating since 2010, and it looks like this.
2010 14.6% (Kozuka)
2011 19.6% (Daisuke)
2012 17.1% (Hanyu)
2013 23.0% (Hanyu)
2014 20.9% (Hanyu)
2015 18.0% (Hanyu)
2016 13.6%
2017 11.8%
2018 13.2%
2019 16.2%
2020 13.2%
2021 14.4% (Hanyu)
2022 7.5%
It is clear that Hanyu and before him Daisuke did have impact on ratings.
This was not an unexpected phenomenon after retirement of legendary skater, but it is a worrying trend.

 

[Frau Muller]

Maybe if Japan would allow the rest of humanity to tune into their skating events live, the numbers would be higher.

 

[On My Own]

The TV Ratings for Japan Nationals were reported. It is showing rather worrying numbers.
Dec 25 19:00-21:20 Men Free 7.5% (14.4% Last year)
Dec 24 19:00-21:20 Women Free 8.9% (10.6%)
Dec 23 19:00-21:15 Men SP 7.1% (12.5%)
Dec 22 19:00-21:15 Women SP 5.4% (8.3%)
Somebody else compiled Men Free TV Rating since 2010, and it looks like this.
2010 14.6% (Kozuka)
2011 19.6% (Daisuke)
2012 17.1% (Hanyu)
2013 23.0% (Hanyu)
2014 20.9% (Hanyu)
2015 18.0% (Hanyu)
2016 13.6%
2017 11.8%
2018 13.2%
2019 16.2%
2020 13.2%
2021 14.4% (Hanyu)
2022 7.5%
It is clear that Hanyu and before him Daisuke did have impact on ratings.
This was not an unexpected phenomenon after retirement of legendary skater, but it is a worrying trend.

Thanks for the numbers. They show that, despite the delusion espoused on various social media, Hanyu's wins didn't matter one bit to keep the numbers particularly high in the past few years, unless we want to pretend that 13.2 and 14.4 are amazingly high percentages. The 14.4 in 2021 is particularly bad considering it was an Olympic year.

2013 was a joint effort between Takahashi and Hanyu. Or, of course, we can use the 17.1 in 2012 to point out how Hanyu's win at 2012 Nationals was a national scandal? Saddening he couldn't retain the "20.9" after the 2014 Olympics despite his supposed mega-stardom, either.

Why does Uno's "16.2" in 2019 matter less than Hanyu's "14.4" in 2021?

Personally, I find it very difficult to watch Japanese Nationals, and usually just wait for someone to upload the videos somewhere. By the way, I won't compile a list of viewership percentages since Mao Asada's retirement to gloat at Rika, Kaori, and Satoko.

 

[Sylvia]

The 95th Japan [University] Student Championship was held Jan. 5-7 in Tomakomai, Hokkaido.

Top 7 Women (FS only) - photos of the top 8 finishers as well as the top 3 teams with Meiji University winning the women's team trophy): https://twitter.com/online_on_ice/status/1611266519027306497
1 Kaori SAKAMOTO Kobe Gakuin University 146.62
2 Rinka WATANABE Hosei University 129.97
3 Maria EGAWA Meiji University 128.19
4 Mako YAMASHITA Chukyo University 122.12
5 Saki MIYAKE Okayama University of Science 118.53
6 Yuna AOKI Nihon University 117.97
7 Rion SUMIYOSHI Meiji University 116.32

NikkanSports' articles on the top 3 plus Saki Miyake (5th in her Nationals SP):

Kaori Sakamoto wins two consecutive university intercollegiate championships.

Kaori Sakamoto [22 = Kobe Gakuin University], who was the world champion last season and won the All Japan Championship last December, scored 146.62 points and won the tournament for the second time in a row. She was 16.65 points ahead of second place, and got off to a good start in the first race of the new year. She brightly recalled, "Even though I was able to spend the New Year holidays slowly, her body movement didn't slow down so much, so I was able to take on the challenge quite easily.''

From January onwards, the Winter World University Games (12-22, Lake Placid, USA) and the Winter National Athletic Meet (27-31, Aomori/Hachinohe) will be held, and this tournament is positioned as a "stopper" to discipline itself. On this day as well, I checked my current location, saying, "I'm full of jumps." Through the intercollegiate, he found improvement points, saying, "I want to improve my other expressiveness while stabilizing my jumps."
It was my first time skiing at Tomakomai. The night before, she enjoyed a Hokkaido dinner with Saki Miyake (20 = Okayama University of Science). “I ate scallops, salmon, seafood.

Rinka Watanabe Intercollegiate 2nd place "Ikiru Genki wo" Bewildered by the representative selection but saved by the voices of fans

Rinka Watanabe (20 = Hosei University), who won her first victory in the second round of the Grand Prix (GP) series this season, Skate Canada, finished second with a score of 129.97.
She fell on the opening triple axel (three and a half rotations), but after that she fixed a loop-toe loop consecutive three-rotation jump and recovered. However, after the performance, she explained with frustration, "I was going to go with a two-[3]axel configuration, but I failed, so I switched to loop-toe."
I can't help but think back to two weeks ago. Although she came in 4th place in the GP final, she finished 12th in the All Japan Championship.
"I was really, really disappointed."
After the short program, she cried in the coverage area.

Under such circumstances, her performance this season was evaluated, and she was selected to represent Japan in the Four Continents Championships (Colorado Springs, USA) in February and the World Championships (Saitama Super Arena) in March.
Although she was selected according to the selection criteria, something like confusion spread in her mind.
"No matter how much (the selection criteria) were met, for someone ranked 12th in the national team to go... (the people around me) were more confused than they were."
I wonder if it's okay with me It was the warm [?] that saved my wavering thoughts.
“There were more voices of support than I thought.”
If you think about it, this season, I was saved by the voices of the fans.
"I fell in love at first sight when I saw the performance of the GP series" "I got the energy to live"
Every time I received a message or letter, I was encouraged.

Maria Egawa 3rd in her first intercollegiate appearance "I was able to skate without losing my concentration until halfway through"

This season's Tokyo Championship champion Maria Egawa (19 = Meiji University) scored 128.19 points and finished in 3rd place. She was energetic in her first appearance in the Intercollegiate, and the difference between the second place and the second place was 1.78 points. [...]
After the performance, she nodded and expressed his response.
“I was just trying to stay calm and skate, and even though I made some mistakes at the end, I was able to keep my concentration until halfway through, so I’m glad I did.”

22nd place at the All Japan Championship two weeks ago. The tension on the big stage was reflected in her performance, and she did not reach her goal of placing in the top 10.
"Even when I saw the footage of myself later, I was like, 'Oh, I'm nervous.'"
How do you show "showing acting" while feeling the pressure? I'm trying to get some hints from my MF academy mates. [...]
The Winter National Athletic Meet (27-31, Aomori/Hachinohe City) will be held in late January. He uttered each word carefully and was enthusiastic with a serious expression.
“I want to practice again so that I can complete both short and free at the National Sports Festival.”

Saki Miyake 5th place Free 118.53 "I'm glad I practiced" Intercollegiate with a sense of stability

Saki Miyake (=Okayama University of Science), who finished 15th at the All Japan Championship last December, scored 118.53 points to finish in 5th place.
The performance with a sense of stability shined. Calmly landed the opening triple flip and the second triple Lutz. I slid wide on the rink and stepped on my steps. "I'm glad I practiced," she said with a smile.
All Japan Short Program (SP) she finished 5th and was skating in the final group. However, in the free skate on the 24th, she dropped to 16th due to a jump mistake and a fall.
Her score did not improve, and she finished 15th overall. Before and after the free skate, the coach told me, ``Let's become a player worthy of the final group.'' There was also a men's free skate on the following day, the 25th, but I didn't watch the game and started practicing immediately.
“It was frustrating, but the season will continue.

After a week and a half of adjustment, I welcomed the intercollegiate. From the all-Japan free skate, she increased her score by nearly 10 points. "I'm the type to practice right away if I'm frustrated." The voice that confessed so brightly resounded in the coverage area.
In May of last year, she moved from Okayama to Kobe and studied under Sonoko Nakano, who coaches Kaori Sakamoto and Mai Mihara. With her solid growth in mind, her new year begins.
“This year, I want to improve my personal best every time I skate, not in my ranking.”
In order to make the vow a reality, I will devote myself to practice this year as well.

Intercollegiate competition top 9 men (FS only):
1 Shun SATO Meiji University 181.28
2 Sumitada MORIGUCHI 162.87
3 Tatsuya TSUBOI 150.10
4 Nozomu YOSHIOKA 142.53
5 Takumi SUGIYAMA 134.97
6 Takeru Amine KATAISE 133.90
7 Kosho OSHIMA Meiji University 132.34
8 Kazuki HASEGAWA 131.79
9 Taichiro YAMAKUMA Meiji University 131.04 (his final competition)

Meiji University won the team trophy - photos: https://twitter.com/online_on_ice/status/1610994854179504128
1st & 3rd pics show Yamakuma holding the team trophy & a larged stuffed owl (I was informed that the purple owl is Meiji University's mascot, called Meijiro ) with Sato & Oshima; top 8 finishers are in 2nd pic, L to R, Sato, Moriguchi, Tsuboi, Yoshioka, Sugiyama, Kataise, Oshima, Hasegawa.

5 men's articles:
Shun Sato's quadruple Lutz success, 181.28 points, "well done", GOE is also 4.60 points
All Japan Pair [champ], Sumitada Moriguchi Intercollegiate 2nd place, all jumps "leads to confidence"
Tatsuya Tsuboi Disappointed with 3rd place in the intercollegiate competition "I was surprised even myself that the accelerator didn't fit"
Kazuki Hasegawa No Miss 131.79 Points
Haruya Sasaki 126.04 points "Simply bad" In the second half, I could not perform satisfactorily due to lack of stamina

 

[Deleted member 80234]

(Kazuki loves Sauna) Shoma don't have interest about it, not even invited.
(Ordinary talk) Something like "I'm sleepy". Before shows "what kind of jump you will do ?" Kazuki always lost jump battle to Shoma.
(About each others) Shoma is single-hearted man. What you see is real Shoma.
(GPF, National) I wish I will do better.

Thanks!

 

[ShuPa]

Thanks for the numbers. They show that, despite the delusion espoused on various social media, Hanyu's wins didn't matter one bit to keep the numbers particularly high in the past few years, unless we want to pretend that 13.2 and 14.4 are amazingly high percentages. The 14.4 in 2021 is particularly bad considering it was an Olympic year.

2013 was a joint effort between Takahashi and Hanyu. Or, of course, we can use the 17.1 in 2012 to point out how Hanyu's win at 2012 Nationals was a national scandal? Saddening he couldn't retain the "20.9" after the 2014 Olympics despite his supposed mega-stardom, either.

Why does Uno's "16.2" in 2019 matter less than Hanyu's "14.4" in 2021?

Personally, I find it very difficult to watch Japanese Nationals, and usually just wait for someone to upload the videos somewhere. By the way, I won't compile a list of viewership percentages since Mao Asada's retirement to gloat at Rika, Kaori, and Satoko.

The exact numbers in fact show what a megastar Yuzu is in Japan and that he has a big impact on the ratings. The 13.2% and 14.4% are average viewerships for the whole Men's FS in 2020 and 2021 but the peak ratings showed different numbers. At Nationals 2020, the peak rating over the whole FS was 21.6% when Yuzuru skated to his free program (source: https://hochi.news/articles/20201228-OHT1T50046.html?page=1) and in 2021, the peak rating was 27.0%, also during Yuzu's performance (https://twitter.com/OTsmXxv5cC1kj88/status/1475264863882874881). These numbers speak for themselves.

In the past years, the average TV ratings showed that the Japanese viewers became less interested in watching competitions except for Yuzu who of course remained very popular and people tuned in whenever he skated. This year for the first time since over a decade the numbers have dropped to a very low level - the fact that the ratings are now less than 8% is more than alarming. More empty seats in the arena than before is one thing, people aren't even interested enough to turn on the TV is another.

 

[leilaofpaper]

I think it’s also worth noting that it’s a lot easier to catch performances online after the fact, and live TV numbers are becoming less and less valuable measures of popularity. Yes, there’s a drop given that Hanyu has retired but that doesn’t mean the numbers are literally half as much. Also, more people were probably home during the day during COVID lockdown so that might account for more live TV viewing.

I also think it’s dangerous to rest the success of a sport on one person.

 

[tony]

There's no denying Hanyu had star power to sell seats (think of the competitions in Canada that sold out almost instantly just because he was on the roster, for example) and to get large followings not only in Japan but all around the world. Anyone who argues against that is.. not paying attention?

But the trade-off to this apparent lull in Japanese skating is that some (a lot?) of the Hanyu fandom consisted of people who only followed him, only cheered for him, didn't know anything about the rules or other skaters except when trash talking them behind a computer, creating scandals and screaming judging corruption when things didn't go Yuzuru's way, and going crazy on Twitter over every move he made while telling others to die or wishing them unwell in the process. I can live with getting rid of that segment of lunacy.

 

[mikeko]

TV rates have been dropping in Japan regardless of Hanyu. The media have been shifting from TV to the Net in general. Fuji TV, who owns the broadcast rights of Nationals and ISU Championships, also has the web broadcast service called FOD (Fuji on Demand). You don't have to own a TV set to watch Nationals. Fuji TV also has uploaded some of the notable performances from the Nationals in their YouTube channels (probably geo-blocked outside of Japan).

 

[On My Own]

TV rates have been dropping in Japan regardless of Hanyu. Media have been shifting from TV to the Net in general. Fuji TV, who owns the broadcast rights of Nationals and ISU Championships, has also the web broadcast service called FOD (Fuji on Demands). You don't have to own a TV set to watch Nationals. Fuji TV also has uploaded some of the notable performances from the Nationals in their YouTube channels (probably geo-blocked outside of Japan).

I also imagine promotion of the TV broadcast of competition this year had an impact, which someone who actually lives in Japan would know about, how it was different this year compared to the last.

IN GENERAL, people are using TV sets less and less around the world, and are defaulting to online streaming websites.

But the trade-off to this apparent lull in Japanese skating is that some (a lot?) of the Hanyu fandom consisted of people who only followed him, only cheered for him, didn't know anything about the rules or other skaters except when trash talking them behind a computer, creating scandals and screaming judging corruption when things didn't go Yuzuru's way, and going crazy on Twitter over every move he made while telling others to die or wishing them unwell in the process. I can live with getting rid of that segment of lunacy.

And lying about how they didn't do it, afterwards.

I also think it’s dangerous to rest the success of a sport on one person.

I would go so far as to say, that if the ISU and JSF really were resting on the laurels of one person all these years, they deserve what they are supposedly getting this year. It doesn't apply to just the Russian girls. You reap what you sow. Hopefully they'll come up with a different more robust model to sustain the sport.

 

[ShuPa]

There's no denying Hanyu had star power to sell seats (think of the competitions in Canada that sold out almost instantly just because he was on the roster, for example) and to get large followings not only in Japan but all around the world. Anyone who argues against that is.. not paying attention?

But the trade-off to this apparent lull in Japanese skating is that some (a lot?) of the Hanyu fandom consisted of people who only followed him, only cheered for him, didn't know anything about the rules or other skaters except when trash talking them behind a computer, creating scandals and screaming judging corruption when things didn't go Yuzuru's way, and going crazy on Twitter over every move he made while telling others to die or wishing them unwell in the process. I can live with getting rid of that segment of lunacy.

Some cleary don't pain attention and try to claim so often that Yuzu isn't even that popular, even if the opposite is proven of the thousandth time.

His fandom is huge so it's always easy to target a few of them because they are more visible. There are plenty of biased comments, trash talking, screaming etc on Twitter or on all other skating-related platforms from fans of other skaters as well. What about such comments here and here, for example? Many don't notice them or in worse case, they pretend such comments don't exist.

Maybe you are relieved that you got rid of many Yuzu fans, but Japanese TV stations and sponsors can have a lot of worries when it comes to the future of figure skating. And this is what really matters in the end.

 

[angi]

Some cleary don't pain attention and try to claim so often that Yuzu isn't even that popular, even if the opposite is proven of the thousandth time.

His fandom is huge so it's always easy to target a few of them because they are more visible. There are plenty of biased comments, trash talking, screaming etc on Twitter or on all other skating-related platforms from fans of other skaters as well. What about such comments here and here, for example? Many don't notice them or in worse case, they pretend such comments don't exist.

Maybe you are relieved that you got rid of many Yuzu fans, but Japanese TV stations and sponsors can have a lot of worries when it comes to the future of figure skating. And this is what really matters in the end.

Can you please take the fanyus rhetorics back to Twitter where it belongs? As a skating fan, FSU is truly the one place mostly clear of that BS and it would be great if we can keep it that way.
As for the rest of your comments, they are truly laughable. No one is arguing that Hanyu wasn't popular, but plenty of venues were sold out in his absence and plenty of TV segments had good ratings in his absence. The decline we are seeing might be partially related to his retirement, but I'd argue it's much more related to many other world trends that impact TV viewership, financial stability of skating federations, financial abilities of skating fans, and so on. These are trends that have been in the working for years, and their impact is increasing.
Not even all-mighty Hanyu managed to get skating popularity to the level it was in the 90s so it should tell you something. As for his fan base, It's not just a few rotten apples, the most popular fanyus on Twitter are also the most toxic, abusive, and deranged fans so it's safe to say it reflects on the whole fandom and most people will definitely gladly watch them move on since as others noted, they might have bought tickets, but their main contribution to skating was a negative one and the sport will be much better without their toxicity. The skaters themselves deserve better.

 

[On My Own]

LOL. @ShuPa come back to me when this proud achievement of Hanyu's makes its way to his wikipedia page so it can then make the featured article section on his next birthday. Until then, he and his fans are all talk about "humanity" and "racism" and "ethnocentrism", as the lot of you refuse to acknowledge the sick rumours his Chinese fanbase was spreading about Chen and his Chinese-American family. I better see the inclusion of him being well-loved by the Chinese government, and it better be written in the same way as the section on Hitler and Nazis is on Sonja Henie's wikipedia page. Until then, don't be too shocked people are happy to be rid of psychopaths, it's a normal human reaction.

 

[kwanette]

(Kazuki loves Sauna) Shoma don't have interest about it, not even invited.
(Ordinary talk) Something like "I'm sleepy". Before shows "what kind of jump you will do ?" Kazuki always lost jump battle to Shoma.
(About each others) Shoma is single-hearted man. What you see is real Shoma.
(GPF, National) I wish I will do better.

Here is one time that shoma lost the jump battle..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNuCwnBomOw (see below)

 

[kwanette]

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