#this was the program that made me a fan of shoma

[rabidline]

2024 Prince Ice World: Yokohama - May 3, 2024 Shoma Uno → SHOW PROGRAM (No Commentary) Music from "Ladies in Lavender" by Nigel Hess, performed by Joshua Bell: Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra Choreographed by Mihoko Higuchi

[raininyourblackeyes]

i wouldn't call you a shoma hater, probably "not a shoma enjoyer" ( pls correct me if I'm wrong on any and all fronts) and i appreciate that in these times (cause -respectfully- I'm not sad he's retiring. it's about timee)

I feel seen, I feel heard, and I wish you a lovely day ✨

Very true!

My only reaction to his retirement was just "okay." and then I went on with my day. I won't miss him because ever since I was starting to get into the sport and before learning the rules and good vs bad technique etc. his skating did absolutely nothing for me.

Objectively he is a stunning interpretor of classical music and that will be a huge loss for the sport since very few people these days have the skills to translate classical music into a comprehensive program. Subjectively, I don't care at all about his retirement.

Anon, wishing you a lovely day too (a day later because I'm stuck writing the papers for the 2nd midterms)

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

I just hope Shoma has also big fanbase as Yuzuru has, so that even in moments of being underscored or facing challenges, he feels the support and never experiences loneliness. And I want this support to continue even after retirement. Shoma has made significant contributions to this sport and always delivered breathtaking performances. I hope he always feels loved, now and in the future. Of course he does not need anyone's support to feel okay, but I want him to get the appreciation he deserves. I just do not want anyone to forget him and his contributions to figure skating. Today's score made me think about such things.

Shoma has a huge fan base, obviously not as big as Yuzu's (which is basically a once in life occurence and tbh I am not sure that level is desired), and I think and hope that Shoma has long realized that we as his fans love and support him not only for the victories but for who he is. I think already back at IdF he learned that we appreciate him if he's in 1st or last place and NHK's scoring doesn't change that.

Also Shoma survived the disappointments of Worlds 2019, the disaster of IdF19, the disaster that was WTT 2021, he did have his share of unfair judgment over the years even ofc antis would never admit that and he never gave up and he would come back stronger and proof everyone wrong who ever called an end upon him. Shoma may be at a different stage of his career and obviously sooner or later he will quit competing but until then I don't see him going down without a fight. Yes first his NHK comments sounded awful but a day after it sounded like Yuma was actually a motivator to try his best. He also said he wouldn't suddenly quit, so this is all hopeful. Now I just hope judges treat him fairly. Again I am not mad if Shoma's not winning with mistakes or if someone else was clearly better that day but NHK was none of this as he was clearly the best skater at NHK and that's what made me mad and sad.

Shoma also not only has fan support but also the support of his family, his girlfriend Marin, his coach Stephane, his pyhsiotherapist Demi, his friends as Koshiro, Satoko and Keiji and I am damn sure they all tell him how supported he is.

I also think for the future things look bright. He is already the frontliner of The Ice and One Piece on Ice was also very successful, he is invited to many ice shows. I don't think we have to worry for him.

Only time will tell if Shoma's contribution to figure skating will be recognized in the future but it is already while he competes. Yuma just once again confirmed Shoma as the skater he looks up to at NHK. Plenty of junior skaters and younger senior skaters call Shoma among their favorites, some even have copy like costumes of his programs.

Shoma has written his name in the history books of figure skating as 2 time world champion and first to land the quadruple Flip. No one will take away those achievements and NHK scoring also won't take away any of his glory. Yes Shoma may not always come in first place, but that takes nothing away from how special he is to skating.

Inside Skating published some very nice articles on Shoma over the years and each reads not only like praise but also if you track back old articles skaters have admired Shoma from way back when he was just a little junior. This article from today is a recommendation.

He already left his mark in the sport. He's not where he is because of favors and fed politicking as some envious haters say but because his skating is magical - spell binding and ppl inside and outside the skating world appreciate Shoma. I am sure.

[macaroni-rascal]

Montreal Worlds 2024 Day 2&3

HOLY WOW! What a couple days that was. This is going to be a wild ramble and bullet point list of things that I can remember and stick out in the onslaught of skating that I've seen in the past 48 hours. It's also 11:30pm, so bear with me.

MEN'S SHORT

Roman clean program? In front of me and God and all of Montreal? Utterly wild, so exciting in the building.

Aleksandr Selevko is such a force, I enjoyed his skate SO much, what a magnetic skater.

JASON BROWN. What a serve, he is so beloved, you could just tell the whole crowd was so behind him and love him so much, it was such a stunning piece of skating.

The announcer's saying Lukas Britschgi instead of Deniss was so hilarious, and he had a lovely skate to boot.

Speaking of Lukas, LOVED him, he's so fun.

YUMAAAAAAAA. That is all.

Shoma Uno made me cry and he needs to pay for emotional damages, he had such a good warm up I was buzzing and kept excitedly hitting my friend's knee whenever he landed another clean jump. QUAD TOE TRIPLE TOE!

Ilia was there.

PAIRS FREE PROGRAM

DEANNA STELLATO THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE. The fact that she normally has such an intense reaction post good skate, but instead this time she just leaned forward, half crying, going 'oh my god' made me cry too. The roof blew off the fucking place. It was a singular moment in my life. I am just so unbelievably happy for her and all that she has achieved. Max was so good, so steady, so fucking wonderful. I am in awe of this team.

Glad M/K went back to that free program, a shame about her doubling, and wow did she ever take it hard. It's definitely their best program, for the love of God Bruno Marcotte STOP LETTING YOUR FUCKING SISTER CHOREOGRAPH EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM. DON'T ME COME TO OAKVILLE! I'LL DO IT!

So so happy for Hase and Volodin, they had such a lovely skate, a very well deserved medal, they've had such momentum all season.

Moment of silence of Conti and Macii, that was rough.

Pairs in person made me age about 15 years, so if I have grey hair in the coming months, I know who to blame. Holy shit, it's exhilarating but also tense as hell. I loved it!

RHYTHM DANCE

Hannah Lim, you're a fucking star.

Mrazkes are deeply underwhelming, like wow, they skate very small.

Lopareva and Brissaud also skate very very small. I kept looking up at the time thinking the program would be over and it wasn't. Not a fan at all.

Cpom CRUSHED IT and it was so awesome to see.

LAJOIE AND LAGHA MY LOVES! Easily the performance of the night, and not even close. So glad they got here after battling injury, so proud of them.

Gilles and Poirier are slooooooooooow. Very slow. Maybe the slowest of the last two groups. It's glaring. How have they not worked on this? They also skate small.

Guignard and Fabbri had a good lift, and a cringe everything else.

I just watched Evan during their performance and wow does he do not a lot. It's the Madi show and he's barely a supporting actor.

Fear and Gibson were there.

WOMEN'S FREE

KAORI KAORI KAORI KAORI.

Besides her heinous jumps, Isabeau created a moment, and it was lovely to experience.

Big ups to Chaeyon Kim for a solid, if boring and slightly cold, free skate. On this night, a well deserved bronze.

Leona, oh Leona. The whole crowd deflated when she fell. Such a shame.

OKAY SO CUTE MOMENT! So Kimmy Repond's dad was sitting ldown and across from me two rows, he was about 4 feet from me. I didn't know he was her dad at the start, but I knew by the end, because he was SO dad about the whole skate. Then when she skated clean, he jumped up, a man below me went and shook his hand and went "Are you her dad?" and he got tears in his eyes, put his hand on his chest, and went 'She is my daughter." I just about sobbed my brains out. So beautiful. He then didn't clap once for the next Swiss skater, which I do not fault him for, major dad behaviour.

Moment of silence for Amber Glenn.

Josefin Taljegard, I love you.

GENERAL THOUGHTS

The people around me and I all started chatting about 30 minutes into the women's free skate, by the end of it, I would go to war for all of them. Camaraderie between skating fans is very fun.

Still a giant fuck you to the woman who asked me if NikS. raped me when I pointed out to my friend he shouldn't be competing, special place in hell for you, you hot garbage person.

I got very cold during the women's free, got a hot chocolate, it wasn't good, but it saved my life, and for that I thank it.

Accidentally got up late (9:36am for a rendez vous at 10am) for breakfast with my brother, still arrived at 10:01am, I am a superhero.

Still fuck the seats in the venue, they need about 4 inches on all sides to be even remotely comfortable, including 4 more inches of leg room. We are humans, not dead sardines, for the love of GOD.

Kaori's speed and power made me gasp a few times.

I can't remember anything else but I know other things happened, ah well, it's almost midnight, I ordered late night pizza take out like a boss, I'm gonna eat that, unwind, and hopefully sleep more than four hours.

GODSPEED!

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #373

Figure skating Life vol. 6, Let's talk more with Kenji!, Guest: Mitsurou Kubo

Part 1.

<In the magazine they are referred to as "Kubo" and "Kenji", so I'm going to use these names, too>

Kubo: How long has this corner been on-going? How many years?

Kenji: It's its 9th year now. It's started after the Worlds that took place in Tokyo in 2007.

Ku: Hyeee~. The time flies so fast, right?

Ke: I've been doing this for 9 years now, but I still don't know how to start.

Ku: For real? The time is cruel, then. It doesn't teach us anything.

<both laugh>

Ke: Hey, please stop that (laugh). My job is to express things with movements, so I'm not that good at talking.

Ku: But you have been entrusted with such amazing projects. This series and also "KENJI's room" - I was watching it thinking: "it must be hard to be in this position..."

Ke: Uch... (laugh).

Ku: For example, episodes with Miyahara Satoko or Uno Shoma. You could feel the invisible distance between you.

Ke: There is no such thing as distance [between me and younger skaters] (laugh).

Ku: Watching you fight to get rid of that distance made me want to cry on the other side of the TV.

<both laugh>

Ku: But that's probably just my imagination. Ah sorry, I continued the conversation on my own.

Ke: No please, I'll be very happy if you just talk about whatever you want.

[Notes: This is a figure skating magazine, published in June 2016. The target readers are a completely different group compared to otaku magazines, so the style of this conversation is more similar to Mitsurou's TV programs than to her other interviews about Yuri!!!

From the perspective of YoI history, It's also interesting that that early on they were advertising the anime to figure skating fans, when earliest interviews for anime magazines are from August/September 2016. I wonder if there is any other TV anime that "dared" to do anything similar - I wouldn't be surprised if not 🤔, bc there is still very strong belief that anime shouldn't be mixed with reality (real people eg.)]

[yuzuandshoma]

Yuzuru Hanyu’s hidden talent?

He shows no hint of focus here-its like he just does it WITHOUT THINKING

You think skaters talents are just doing quads and cool axels, but theres more to what you see. If you do a bit of research then you’ll find there hidden talents!

Some may not count this as a talent, but shoma sometimes blinks first on one eye then the other!

Yuzu can eat 1 full gyoza (known for his favourite food) into his mouth. Yes, a full gyoza.

On shoma’s channel, he and his good friend Kazuki Tomono did a spicy ramen challenge together and i’m pretty sure that Kazuki survived it! (Not many people do…jk) ps, Kazuki went to the nelborn trophy and for the SP he got 11th place, but for the fs he jumped all the way to 4th! I’m so proud of him, jumping all the way 7 places!

I’ll rlly miss yuzu’s competitions…as we know ice show programs aren’t just as good…(they are still good)

Another talent of yuzu is catching balls behind his back. Don’t judge me, but I can’t do that.

I really wish that when I was younger my parents made me start to figure skate because I sometimes envy other figure skaters meeting so many famous ppl, because if I were a figure skater although I am 8 whole years younger than yuzu, I would meet him first. He’s the reason i’m an fs fan!

Ntl i’d love to be that kid behind over there even though I just get to see yuzu, i’d still be thrilled. Someone has told me Yuzuru is pretty childish and a quarter of me agrees-not being mean, but childish by being cute and kind. Most children are like that.

My proof: Look at those cute skate covers!

If you didn’t know, once athletes retire, they get a bunch of magazines followed up before them! They have photo shoots and way more. (Before yuzu retired and before the news were out, he planned so many photoshoots. So if your favourite figure skater is having at least of 5 at a time, watch over them. I’m not saying they will retire, but the MIGHT.)

Yuzu’s magazine AERA has been released! Here where I am I can’t find any (sadly) but i’m sure in japan there are buckloads of those.

I’m so sorry if I keep apologising, but I want to avoid anything negative things.

Hehe sorry if this is too messy and I should make separate posts instead of long ones-but since I just started my account I want to make more and more content for you guys! Byebye, i’ll post again as soon as I can!

[an-odd-idea]

Oh the men <3 </3

Jason and Donovan and Romsky all surprised me a little but made me so happy (I should never have worried about Jason, really, he almost always pulls it together) and I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see Boyang’s score yet, man what happened?

Next up: Camden pls dont flop, I’m becoming a Mikhail Shaidorov fan, Nikolaj will do whatever he will do, Deniss- look at me, look at me Deniss- you can land all your jumps with positive goe I Believe In You. Lukas is fun. Judges pls score Nika correctly omg.

Then the last group aaaaaa I don’t even know, just please do well everybody but especially Shoma, Yuma and Jun #teamskatingskillz #teamstepsequence also Adam that program is so cool

[shomagravity]

【Friends on Ice 2022】- Translation of the Uno Shoma / Stephane Lambiel Special || 11.09.2022

The athlete who is super popular with foreign girls. Uno Shoma who's a 2 time Olympic medalist. Narration: 

Fan who couldn't get his signature... She's in tears." (Camera cuts to a girl crying her eyes out)  

Even so, two days later 

(Arrow pointing to fan, "The fan who cried." getting her sign from Shoma.) 

She got his sign and has a smile!

The person who's a support for Uno Shoma is Stephane Lambiel-san who's been coaching him since 2020.

"Coach Stephane Lambiel is a big part of my motivation." Narration: When we watch their practice... He's twirling around Uno Shoma's body...What's this?!

Narration: Uno Shoma who's a two-time Olympic medalist. Winning the World Championship for the first time last season as well, he's in great condition. However he hit a slump 3 years ago as he continued competitions without a coach. In the Grand Prix Series he's participated in, he missed the podium for the first time by making mistakes in his jumps. (8th place)

"I did what I can with what I had, but even so my condition just wouldn't improve and I ended up failing the competition as well. When I felt that I don't know how to practice, I wondered for the first time if I should be walking away from skating."

Narration:

Athlete Uno who was pushed to the point of thinking about retirement. It was Coach Lambiel who reached out with a helping hand.

Stephane:

"Shoma first came to practice in Switzerland. He didn't believe in himself anymore. He didn't enjoy practicing because he didn't know where he's going, so, trust and confidence and joy had to be built up, again. Narration: When we watch their practice... Athlete Uno who collapses unintentionally. Then Coach Lambiel grabs his feet and sways his body. Next he's spinning him round and round. It's like they're just having fun!

Shoma (About Stephane):

He's someone between a coach and, this might be a weird choice of words but, a friend. He talks to me very frankly and he's a big presence who made me realize that figure skating is fun again.

Narration:

 Athlete Uno who realized once again the fun in skating. Next, he's building confidence, in the words of Coach Lambiel.

Shoma:

He's not forcing me to it at all but he has that "let's make you the best in the world" ... He asked me "What do you think is necessary to be the best in the world?" He's that serious, or more like, he believes in my abilities. I want to answer to his expectations.

Stephane:

He became from the moment he found confidence and joy back, he was also more responsible. And more autonomous, more aware of what he needs and what he wants.

Narration:

And the Beijing Olympics they challenged together. The song that he picked for his Free, Bolero, which was choreographed by Coach Lambiel. He got his second Olmypic medal and overcame his slump. Immediately after Athlete Uno said...

"My only regret this time is that I wasn't able to make this performance of Bolero one that Coach Stephane was satisfied with to say "well done". I am still improving, I want to continue to improve.”

[Narration talking about the retirement of Hanyu Yuzuru] Shoma: What he did by staying at the top all the time is not something an ordinary person could do. I think he's been leading the Figure Skating for Japanese men on his own. I just followed behind him. I don't think at all that I can be someone like Yuzu-kun. But what he achieved up until now, I want to do what I can do to continue it for my juniors. [About Padam Padam] Shoma: Rather than a show, it's a program that can immediately be used in competition. Narration: An exhibition that can also be used in competition! Padam padam which is the new Exhibition of Uno Shoma. What is the highlight of it? Shoma: It's something that was first created as a short program, which we changed for an ice-show. It properly has steps added into it. Narration: Pay attention to the detailed steps as if it was a competition. Moreover, it's a high difficulty program which includes quad jumps even while it's an ice show. Shoma: "This is a place for show and it's to enjoy and have people enjoy it but I think I also want to make it a place where I can refine myself. Source Tweets

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap Olympics 2022 - Men FS

Don't know if anyone is interested anymore, but I do it nonetheless. Again this is a personal recap, so feel free to agree or disagree with me. I needed some time to process what happened in the free skate.

I think this free skate as a whole was kinda a bit opposite to the short program. A lot skaters made many many mistakes. Some smaller mistakes, some bigger mistakes. If memory serves me right Jason Brown is the only skater without a single mistake, but ofc he wasn't performing quads while everyone else at least tried one...

First I am beyond proud of Yuzu and Shoma! ❤️ You fought well!

I like to talk about Yuzuru Hanyu first because I think him coming to Beijing was brave. He was and is still dealing with a massive injury (he iced his ankle just right after the skate), he won everything this sport has to offer, he is already in the history books not only as the first to land the 4Lo but also as the first to win a superslam, a thing no other male single skater achieved - there was no need to show up and try to defend his title. And also he knew his name would bring the media attention (his first practice was so full of reporters some had to stay out) and with all eyes on him tremendous pressure (just like Shoma acknowledged in the press con) BUT he took the challenge, he even challenged the 4A - a jump that is deemed impossible - and he was damn close in making it happen in the free. He had a gap from the SP and if he would just have wanted a medal he could have played save, but he didn't. Yuzu didn't come here to be 2nd or 3rd and he said before he knew he could only win with a landed 4A. The 4A was his primary goal, not a medal. And getting the credit for being the first skater to call himself to go for a 4A, this he has achieved. (all other so far tried 4As cannot be called 4A, because they were downgraded) Yuzu didn't go down without a fight. Yes he had two falls, yes it wasn't enough for the podium, but he was 4th in the end. He delivered the rest of his program beautifully. Yuzu had a beautiful costume and I am always in awe of this unusual unique program and music. 😍

Yuzu - I have no words to describe my gratitude for all you have done for this sport for Japan. You are the reason I got to like and watch men figure skating. I will forever be thankful to you. ❤️

Shoma Uno might be the happiest Bronze medal winner you can find at the Olympics.

Congratulations on your Bronze medal! 🥉 The 3rd Olympic medal too! Who would have thought that after all these years of struggle between Pyeongchang 2018 and now? Many ppl thought his career was over after IdF 2019 and even after last WTT2021 ppl counted him completely out of any medal contention or some were even wondering if he would make it to the Olympics. But he fought. He found a new love for skating and he found a new will to fight for the top. This is why this medal is so significant for him.

Shoma was visibly nervous during his free skate. I think he did better Bolero programs through this season, but I think no one - even if I wished for it - thought he would deliver a clean skate. Especially not with nagging injury and training loss. As you may know I am not the biggest fan of Bolero, but this version is quite catchy and not as boring as the original. Especially the step sequence was lit 🔥 the later cantilever to end is gorgeous! 😍 Yeah he had some unfortunate mistakes, but he did 5 quads! He did miss a combo and yes the free skate was obviously struggld, but there were good elements too. The spins and steps, both 3As, the 2nd 4T, the opening 4Lo. He gave away lots of points, but the high BV saved him from falling further down the ranking. Though he had a singled Flip and a combo missing, he had a whopping 88,53 BV - the 4th highest behind Nathan, Yuzu and Daniel Grassl. This and his SP gap saved him the Bronze 🥉. (and even if we would give his 4S an UR and a little lower PCS, he still would have placed before Yuzu, but ofc the gap could have been smaller, but Yuzu also had the disadvantage of the earlier group and the PCS cap applied for multiple mistakes. And seems like PCS is not applied for pops in this comp or Jason, Nathan and Yuma all would have had one major mistake, but it wasn't seen in their PCS. And Shoma's PCS would have been to be capped at 90 as well.)

Congrats to Yuma Kagiyama for taking Silvee🥈 !

Admittedly I am not the biggest Yuma fan, but I can very well see his basics are phenomenally good. He has very smooth skating just like his idol Shoma and just like his idol Shoma he took Silver at his first Olympics. I think it was one of his best performances of this program. It builds quite well. And he has very clever layout with the 3Lo combo and also adding the 4Lo was pretty gutsy considering he didn't land many of them in practice. I just feel he doesn't emote as well as others to the audience yet. And that's why - especially live in the arena - his skates don't really touch me. I mean Shoma is also small but he just has this presence on ice, ofc in the free Shoma was nervous, so he wasn't as good as he could be, but Yuma is small but also has small presence. He is cute and his reactions are absolutely adorable, but he just doesn't have the same appeal. I think on TV it's better hidden than live in the arena as TV is closer to the skater and can do some of the transport to the audience. Not to be mistaken I think he does it totally fine for his age, just I am a little astounded how high his PCS got in so little time. But I guess delivering good programs over the season helped. His Silver is well deserved. And he is definitely one of the main contenders for the next years if he stays healthy.

Congrats to Nathan Chen! 🥇

I think going back to Rocket Man was the right choice. There is no doubt about his consistency and this is also what kept him a constant frontrunner for the past years. I think his win is totally fine. He delivered two clean programs. And he really looked as if he enjoyed his program even if it only showed in the last minute. BUT wth are those 97 PCS? 😱 This is over the top, just no way justified. My continuous problem with Nathan is the way he is scored. It's not his fault and contrary to some others I don't think his quads deserve no GOEs, so I think apart from the 3A his quads are very good and his TES are mostly deservedly high. I have some beef with his spins as the positions are not pleasing to my eyes. I will never be a Nathan Chen fan as I still find his basic skating rather scratchy and I miss a good knee bend, but we all know PCS are attached to TES and this may not be right, but it can't helped. And anyone thinking Nathan deserves 7s when the last placed skater get 7s is really delusional. I have seen Nathan live couple of times and he is fast on the ice and his performance ain't as bad as some make it out to be, but is this deserving of 97 PCS, just no way. He would have won with 88-90 PCS too. Overall I think the PCS are too high and there is too little difference to distinguish between the skaters.

Junhwan Cha is my newfound love this season. And he continues to amaze me. ❤️ After that awful fall he fought so good. And his Ina Bauer is just so amazing 😍😍😍 the 5th place is a superb finish for the 4CC champ. 👍

Jason Brown - his skate was beautiful. I think it was one of the best programs of the night. But I don't know why only he is able to get sky high PCS with lower TES? And also almost everyone would probably have more transitions and more complex programs if they would skate with triples only and this is probably what gets a bit on my nerves when ppl say "Jason deserves so much better everyone else could also tone quads down and get better PCS then" but yeah only if your name is Jason you get such GOEs for triples and the PCS too. Yes I know PCS and TES should not relate, but how come TES and PCS go together for everyone, but not for Jason? Deniss Vasiljews has an equal amount of beautifully performed triples but neither his TES nor PCS reach slightly the same heights as Jason's? Maybe the passport plays a part? I am glad Jason made it to the Olympics, but he is probably the last person to get away without a quad.

Daniel Grassl moved up quite a lot. He had the 4th best free skate and I think the 3rd highest TES. I think his skating style is aesthetically unpleasing. His jump form is wild and his programs are weird, but you can see his effort. So I applaud the try. And Daniel best European skater. Well done!

Extremely happy for Boyang Jin. I think this was the first free skate in years he was really good. And that magnificent 4Lz is to die for 😍😍😍 I am sad he lost a lot on his consistency, but this is why I am so happy about his 9th place finish and it gives me hope that one day soon we'll have Boyang fighting for the podium again. 👍

The post becomes endless again that's why I will stick to some of my personal highlights:

Adam Saio Him Fa - what a cool unique stunning program full of energy. ⚡⚡⚡If he learns to control some of his energy he could also be a contender for the top!

Kevin Aymoz - maybe one of the most beautiful performers out there. 😍😍😍He seemed to have overcome a bit of his struggles during the season. I think 12th place finish was all he could hope for.

Deniss Vasiljews - such a beautiful program! ❤️ Sadly the 4S didn't happen in the free but still great effort! ❤️

Keegan Messing - he is just such a charming person and skater and he was oldest in the field. He always has very personal programs and I always smile when Keegan skates. ❤️ His baby is so adorable! What a proud dad!

Congratulations to all Olympians! May y'all have a good rest now! 😊

Thank you for reading one of the longest takes! Here is your well deserved cookie 🥠!

[houseofgeeks]

Men's Long Program Warm -up group 4. Once again I am not ready for this. But medals are about to be decided.

Jason Brown (USA) - He's my fav. He did so good. I love him. But damn that popped jump. >< Season's best though. Top 8 Olympic diploma!

Morisi Kvitelashvili (GEO) well he didn't fall. Me to my sister before this starts: He could either be in the top or 24th who knows until he skates. But he did pretty good.

Cha Juhnwan (KOR) - no. :( He's done so well all season. He's such a good skater. I want all the best for him. The rest of the program was so good. season's best even with the fall.

Uno Shoma (JPN) - (Another favorite) not a fall. Also, I really love this arrangement of Bolero. Popped jump. oh no. So fun to watch. Sucks about those jumps. Guaranteed a medal!!

Kagiyama Yuma (JPN) - (Quickly becoming a favorite). Me: Is that supposed to be armor? Sister: It looks like it was made by a bad cosplayer. That's mean to bad cosplayers, at least they're trying. - she changed her mind once she saw the close up... apparently she didn't see the rivets. People who have to wear glasses confuse me.

Anyway he did great!

Nathan Chen (USA): someone teach this kid to dress. It’s really just the fit for me. Some of his jumps are so well timed. Other than that one popped jump, great. He gets his redemption in 2022. And I really do like that step sequence.

Ok, maybe I’m a lot biased, but Nathan’s PCS should not have been higher than Jason’s. Or frankly Hanyu’s. And I’m not a Hanyu fan.

PCS should not be connected to TES at all. ><

Fall: :( (II) ok, so honestly the amount of falls was not very high overall! That was great! There were really enjoyable skates.

Congratulations to all the skaters!

[liquidblue]

my (totally unasked-for) thoughts on worlds.

i'm not nathan's biggest fan (don't come at me, nathan stans... i don't hate him, he's just not my fave) but i really like his free. he skated it basically perfectly, and an attempt was made at a costume. he totally deserved his gold.

yuma also absolutely earned his silver. i'm not saying he's going to be the next yuzu, because there will never be another yuzu, but yuma is the future of japanese figure skating, and i'm really excited to see what he'll do next year.

yuzu... was not on form today. i know this whole thing has been very stressful for him, so i'm going to say that's what it is. also, yuzu skating to a basically empty rink is just WRONG. he loves his fans and i think having them filling the rink when he skates really helps him skate his best, but honestly, even if he'd skated clean i'm not sure that program is strong enough to win against nathan's free. we know he's been working on his 4a and that always seems to throw his 3a off, which is what i think happened today. i don't think his second 3a was an attempted quad, i think he was going to make it a combo (3a + 3t, maybe?) but over-rotated it and couldn't or just didn't try for the second part.

i'm so happy to see shoma looking so happy! i said three years ago that he'd do really well with stephane as a coach, and i'm glad he finally got there! they're so cute together and stephane seems to give shoma the emotional support he needs. i'm eager to see what shoma can do with a hopefully full season next year.

jason! jason landed his quad sal! i don't care that it was under-rotated, it was a landed quad! moving to cricket was the best thing he could have done! i'm so happy for him!

[sugar-petals]

I see that lately you’ve been reblogging the ice skating guy. Could you introduce him to us in the caro way??👀

i see, i see. you are falling for the beautiful ice skating guy. with delight do i talk about him. ♥︎ who are you asking about, then?

shōma uno (22) of nagoya, japan, the dreamiest ice angel you will ever see:

lucky newcomer stans: shoma is extremely easy to spot. 5′2, soulful, sparkly, and always headed for the podium because his artistry fucking slaps. this angel is the latest olympic silver medalist ✨

if you see a petite, serious-looking guy with thighs for the gods and impossibly elegant upper body work, you can be sure it’s him.

off the ice, look for this: the supreme doe face. dark uwu eyes, wide baby cheeks, 100% shook. needless to say: it’s over when he looks at you like that. 

something else to watch for when you want to spot the angel. his primary hobby is sleeping lmao! shoma naps everywhere. once, he was so exhausted, he was found cutely slumbering before his olympic press conference. 

meanwhile, his presence on the ice? expressive, alluring, aptly sensual start to finish. sometimes feisty, even. he saves all his energy and then delivers. it’s ballet on blades. the guy puts so much passion into his choreo. 

most well-known are the moments when he ends his program and switches back to his normal cute mode. that’s when you see the puppy gaze return.

bc the thing is: you won’t see shoma’s feistiness elsewhere. the japanese are already very reserved and shy, but he’s made an art form of it. his voice is quite light and high, that contributes to the effect. i have not seen one interview where he tries to stand out or embellish his answers. shoma stays true to his unobtrusive character, you’ll see him spaced out 90% of the time.

shoma is often freightened by social settings and fan service. if you didn’t know how he’s on the ice, you can easily get the impression that he’s avoidant or insecure. but it’s just this: he’d rather be gaming or eating than get animated and play celebrity. you have a cozy introvert here. he’s in the game since he’s 5 years old but still doesn’t show himself off, he’s in his own sphere. 

you might see him look overwhelmed pretty often, but the flipside of the coin is, shoma is humble and doesn’t act out of arrogance. for a skater this great, his ego is minimum inflated. he doesn’t like putting himself in the center. legend has it he could always win gold but takes default silver out of politeness 😂

what he does like and respond to is getting direct praise. shoma lives for encouragement. that shit flusters him immensely, and it’s something he accepts. when he’s uneasy in crowds he doesn’t smile very often. but to this day, fans shouting ‘shoma, you’re so cute’ before he starts to skate has proven to lift his spirits effortlessly. last time it happened, he immediately cracked a smile:

now, there is plenty to compliment. 

i mean, look. the sheer athleticism of this man. god knows how high he jumps.

from facial expressions to hand postures, everything captures the music. he looks fantastic. 

shoma has great sense of dramatism. what you’re seeing is always art. 

shoma’s infamous signature move is the cantilever. you can see why. the audience is losing their minds every time.

what else to praise? the absolutely beautiful costumes. 

shoutout to satomi ito who designs these.

the #1 shoma praise bot is skating god yuzuru hanyu (aka current reigning olympic gold medalist) himself. imagine this: a baby is babied by a fellow but slightly older baby. yuzu said this about shoma: “he is like a puppy!” what you see is what you get, shoma is as adorable as he looks. 

so, yuzu takes good care of him and makes sure smol shoma is always included even if he’s getting shy. even since the early days:

if you ask me, team japan couldn’t be any more handsome and princely. the sheer combined power of cuteness and skill. you’ll hear from these lovelies.

shoma and his younger brother itsuki are also pretty much inseparable. goals, this is the softest sibling insta you will ever see. once again, with sleepy shoma.

baby photos included. faith in humanity restored. 

he also has wholesome interactions with his idol and fellow skater daisuke takahashi. dai is a funky, bubbly personality and complements shoma’s introversion really well. 

another important person to shoma, if not the most decisive recently, is retired world champion stéphane lambiel. yes, this handsome swiss glamazon.

shoma went through a highly distressing period of being coachless last year. he parted ways with machiko yamada and mihoko higuchi (below) who were his coaches for 16 (!) years. they were a dream team.

so that he decided to go for something new ended up as the most heartbreaking shit. he lost his inspiration and will for skating and kept dropping to lower rankings. he broke down in competitions because his fans were cheering for him even if his skating deteriorated and he felt undeserving. 2019 was shoma’s existential crisis. he went to several camps to try out coaches, to no avail.

enter coach stéphane! who started to work with him last winter. oh thank god. lo and behold, shooms has been consistently improving and getting very smiley (!) ever since. these two go together like fries and ketchup. 

so, guess who is currently training in switzerland now. whole new world for the little guy 💕

stéphane is eccentric, cheeky, and bold enough to uplift and inspire him but also “so friendly!” as shoma described him. he praises genuinely and knows how to foster shoma’s talent. their language barrier is also no problem, lambiel is a polyglot. i think that stéphane is off ice what shoma is on ice, this is the perfect exchange. i love this song. 

the ice angel has quickly recovered from his misery thanks to the amount of positive feedback. on youtube, you find multiple fancams of stéphane getting very invested in uno’s performance from the sidelines 😄 shoma adores him and stéphane is a protective ice dad. just look at these two.

there’s no better coach he could have. stéphane’s choreographies perfectly cater to shoma’s poetic interpretation. so satisfying. so impeccable. as dostoevsky said, beauty will save the world.

last japanese nationals in december, shoma even took gold and cried from relief on the podium. he’s improved so much. stéphane will make him go far. 

what convinced him to coach uno was simply this: “his eyes sparkled!”. and yes, there’s hardly anyone who won’t be impacted by this.

this puppy has all of our hearts so let’s send out compliments to him. fingers crossed for shoma’s upcoming competitions and the next olympics where i am sure he will stun the world. i mean, he won gold in the baby boy hall of fame already. he’s a really great artist and soft person who deserves everything. thank you for attending my ted talk.

[figureskatingandrainbows]

This was so much better than the ladies’ free skate! Everyone in the last two groups did so well, and this event was honestly so much fun to watch! Anyway, here are my thoughts on the top ten.

Nathan Chen

Honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of his programs this year, but his free was way better than at Nationals. His jumps were excellent, his spins were good, and he seemed way more confident than in the short. His program was a little lackluster until after he landed his 3A, and then we got to see the best of Nathan. He literally exploded off of that landing into his choreo sequence. If he gave all of his program that much energy and fire, he would set a new world record. He’s made loads of improvements in his spins and skating skills, and while he’s still not the best at either, his improvements are all super positive.

Yuzuru Hanyu

After the event, Yuzuru commented on how he felt “off balance” and that’s why his jumps were so mediocre. There are theories that he was late to the rink, had an asthma attack, was working too hard on the 4A, bombarded by ISU-hired hitmen, threatened, and/or had a nightmare about giant Winnie the Poohs, but in reality, he just had a bad day. Everyone has a day where their jump axes are off and they just don’t feel nearly as confident. And Yuzuru is hindered by these new programs. His free has loads of potential, but programs like Seimei are incredible in part because Yuzuru has perfected the choreography. His Heaven and Earth program needs more practice to be incredible. His performance here was also not nearly as good as in the short. Again, bad day, new program, bad jumps, no audience. I’m not worried for him, and I would love to see his free skate again with even better choreography.

Yuma Kagiyama

I’ve been on the Yuma train since October, and he really didn’t disappoint here. His skating was really good. His quads were beautiful, his programs well-executed, his spins and step sequences all level-4. He has such good speed and flow across the ice, a beautiful knee bend, and excellent edges and basic skating skills. I think the only thing I can say his how impressed I am. Yuma had a really difficult program with three quads and two 3A, as well as a tricky 3Lz-3Lo combination. He made two errors at the end of his program, but they weren’t detracting at all. It was his Worlds debut, and he posted all personal bests.  He went into the free after Nathan Chen, who just skated a clean, incredible free skate, and had no nerves in his skating at all. And he attributes that to Yuzuru’s pep talk after Japanese Nationals. (: 

I know many people say Yuma is the future, but I will second what Nathan Chen said. He is the future and the now. He’s consistent, confident, and a tiny little ray of sunshine. 

Shoma Uno

I don’t care about the mistakes in the short or the free. He got all his quads off and skated beautifully. He made his return at the international scene and placed fourth. He’s bounced back so much, and it makes me so happy. There’s so much joy about him now, and I love watching him skate now. Shoma really needs a bit more fixing in his sloppiness, and he’s right back as an Olympic medal threat. As long as he keeps fighting for the triple toes, I think we’ll keep on seeing improvement. 

Mikhail Kolyada

Again, another brilliant comeback. He also got all of his quads off. His free skate is a masterpiece, and he skated really pretty well. It wasn’t as amazing as some of his other performances, but Mikhail has proved he can hold up under pressure. His bounce back from obscurity to another potential Olympic medal contender is fantastic. 

Keegan Messing

So proud of Keegan! He was under the most pressure here. He had to secure two spots for the men of Canada, and he did. He put out two clean skates, both of which were emotional and enjoyable. His quads were gorgeous, and his skating skills are always something to behold.

Jason Brown

Jason wasn’t at his 100% best here, but he’s still show-stopping no matter what. His jumps were a little bit rough, but he got the quad salchow landed only on the quarter. That’s a huge improvement for him. His short program is a masterpiece, and his free is really good as well. Watching him skate is a pleasure and he was as amazing as always. He should be sent to the Olympics. A fan favorite who usually finishes in the top ten? Where can you go wrong?  

Kevin Aymoz and Junhwan Cha

Kevin had several mistakes on his jumps, but he refused to fall. His choreography was as wonderful as always, and even though he had some problems, he was still a pleasure to watch.

Junhwan just needs a little more power in his jumps. Borser has instilled him with good technique at the expense of rotation, and once he fixes his UR problem, he’ll shoot up higher in the men’s ranks. He’s always very relaxing to watch, and another well-rounded skater with so much potential. 

Evgeni Semenenko

He didn’t fall apart! He wasn’t a bad choice at all from FSR. His skating isn’t that impressive to me, but his quads are solid. He needs a lot more time to develop as an individual skater and work on his PCS, but going to Worlds and doing so well will do wonders for his confidence and I think we will be seeing a lot more of him. 

Yikes, Boyang and Vincent

22 and 25, two of the most unexpected placements of the event. These were some seriously rough skates. Vincent didn’t make the free and Boyang cost his country two Olympic spots. As always, in figure skating, you will have the one person who splats, but no one expected a favorite for the bronze and a favorite for the top ten to both finish so near the bottom. 

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

Do you think you'll ever feel the way you felt about yuzu or shoma about another skater? I've been a fan since the last olympic season (which isn't that long tbh) and while I like a whole bunch of skaters and always found myself finding a new skater to root for with every competition I watched, nobody comes close to how I feel about shoma, how much I wanted him to do well, how my heart would race when he was on the ice, how happy and sad I felt for him. I'm worried I'll never feel that way about another skater even though I really fell in love with the sport...

I thought about this question a lot actually and answering it feels like a closure to being a fan of these two - and they are retired not gone - , so I didn't answer when I first read your ask...so pardon me for answering late...and this isn't the end of being emotionally super invested into my "super favorites" even if it feels like the end of an era as a fan for me...

Yuzu and Shoma will always have a special place in my heart and both have contributed to my love for figure skating greatly. Yuzu is the reason I started to follow men figure skating and who made me interested in rules and fs technique. Shoma is the skater that made me go to figure skating competitions (where I met so many wonderful ppl who became real friends) and Shoma is also one of the reasons for a happy interaction with fans (bc truth be told I always felt much more welcomed by the Unoverse than by Fanyus). Then ofc there are all their skating programs and competition moments I loved to witness. In a way I don't think that I will ever find other skaters I will love as much and who make me as active in the fs fandom as Yuzu and Shoma did. I mean they are essentially the reason this blog exists and I even get to answer your question at all. I will probably most definetly not put as much work and thought into a blog for another skater (also partly bc I have grown up and I am now at a different point in my life than when this blog started. And tbh I value the fandom experience much less than years ago. This fandom was too much at times and also toxic occasionally and bc I am who I am I found myself thinking way too much about fan discourses and a detox from this way of interaction in fandom is what I strive for in the long run. Which doesn't mean I will disappear just that sharing will be less.)

I also do have experiences with my favorite skaters retiring (and even disappearing completely) I went through this with a lot of gymnasts that I stanned years ago since 2007 and also in figure skating with Yuna Kim and Mao Asada. Yuna Kim was and still is my alltime favorite female skater. And no other female skater that came afterwards I loved as much. She is the reason I fell in love with skating in the first place and imo the rivalry with Mao Asada is unparalleled up until today. This was such a great time in women skating era. But Yuna Kim quitting and later Mao too, made me not like the sport any less and this way I discovered new skaters - Yuzu first, later Shoma.

What I am trying to tell is that it's possible to find new "super favorites" AND I think as long as you like watching a sport you will watch the sport regardless if you have a personal "super favorite" or not. Just don't worry if you will ever feel the same about someone else. Because watching fs should bring you joy not worry. I don't think you can tell atm if you will EVER find someone else. Maybe you won't, maybe the feeling will be different but not less intense. It's always hard to tell what you will like and do at an "end" of something. Just never say never. I never imagined myself to go to competitions without Shoma or Yuzu in and for the last years I did that on a regular basis and intend to keep it that way (GPF 2024 in France anyone???). And maybe it's also nice for a change to not be so stressed about competitions with no "super fave" in them though maybe that's a lie to myself as I do still have favorite skaters I root for 😅.

I am not really sure where I am heading with any of this or if anyone can take anything away from my answer. Just "you do you"!

I just want to tell you that there is no right and wrong way of being a fan of this sport or a skater whether it's a skater you feel intensely about or you just like a skater enough to root for them, whether you actively take part in the fandom or not. In all these years I learned that feelings are feelings and you should live in that moment. The feelings may change over time, you may lose interest in a sport or a person, but just always do everything that suits the way you live your real life. And tbh the way I lived this fandom was too extreme at times, so maybe a little less emotional investment in a sport/skater is maybe not for the worst.

If there is one good thing to take away from Shoma's retirement it's that I will definitely not go to Boston Worlds and my bank account says "thank you Shoma" for that. Lol

Giving everyone who feels a bit sad or lost or at a crossroad with figure skating because of Shoma's retirement a virtual hug! 🫶

[figure-skating-watch-party]

Program reveals

I decided to dedicate a post to some special reveals of new programs. Well, special meaning reveals by skaters I like very much or announced programs that made me curious about the music. Some of these reveals also happened kinda “outside” the competition.

Sara Hurtado/Kirill Khaliavin - Beyonce RD I love them. And I think this dance more than fulfils all the requirements. The moves, the energy, everything is there. (I’m not that excited about this season’s RD as a whole but that’s another matter, I’m really trying). They presented this program as guests at Moscow junior open championships. They said in an interview that they wanted to keep their music and programs secret and present them straight out in a competition. I suspected that they didn’t skate the FD there after they found out the RD video made it on YT... And then hieloespanol revealed the next day that their FD is to Led Zeppelin :D Sara has so much energy, it occurred to me that she’s like Madison Chock, no matter how skilled their partners are, the ladies always steal the show. But look at him! Kirill is performing so well.

Mikhail Kolyada - Nutcracker SP This was a reveal in a gala exhibition after a summer camp and Misha appears in the video as a small 3cm figure shot from a weird angle and it’s a work in progress... but it’s Misha and it’s Nutcracker and that’s alll I need 😍

Ashley Caine-Gribble / Tim LeDuc - The White Crow SP  Maybe I shouldn’t say this but if there’s a team or a skater I absolutely cannot connect with in any way it’s them. So, I was shocked to learn they’d use Misha’s sacred music (no really, Misha’s White Crow makes me cry real tears every single time I see it). They were set to debut it at Cranberry Cup but unfortunately Ashley got covid... So, on the day of the comp Jordan Cowan from on ice perspectives presented the video he filmed earlier.  And I’m shocked until now. It looks so good and so natural and it’s just great. One of the main points of the choreography is to show their long long lines and it works so well for this program. Not joining the fanclub yet :p but they certainly do the music justice.

Shoma Uno - Michael Jackson medley Shoma and the many outfits. Shoma and the many programs. He debuted this program in The Ice show and he doesn’t know if he’ll use it as a SP or maybe an exhibition? What I read on Twitter every fan has a different opinion about it :D I’d never thought I’d see Shoma skate to Michael Jackson and here we have moonwalking!Shoma. 

But I still can’t get over Oboe exhibition and am hoping against hope that this will be his new SP. (I was unsuccessfully hoping for three years Javi would use his Danny Boy ex - which is the best program in the world, maybe together with The White Crow - as a SP and never got it so “Oboe for SP” is my new project.) 

Angelique Abachkina / Pavel Drozd - Puddit by Al Jarreau / Four seasons  I’ve just randomly came across them because they also skated at the Moscow open championships and because their story is so interesting (and also wt*), so I included them. Angelique is a French-Russian skater, she represented France in juniors but in 2018 she wanted to switch to Russia (who would want to do that? brave soul) to skate with Pavel but the French federation being the French federation didn’t release her. She retired and they released her after three years (I repeat three years!) and she unretired and went to Russia to skate with Pavel in the end. 

BONUS: Vasilisa Kaganovskaya / Valeri Angelopol - Ave Maria FD This is not a program reveal because they already presented it at jr. test skates but it’s a costume reveal! And there’s never enough of their skating ;) 

[geckomoon]

Yuri!!! on ice as irl skaters (part 1???)

Its 2020 and I miss yoi so here are my personal headcanons about which irl skater the you cast skate &/or act like because why the hell not.

(photos at the bottom of the post because I couldn't get the format to work the way I wanted it to)

Yuri Katsuki ➡️ Boyang Jin (China)/Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)

Yes, 2 people because PARALLELS.

So my reason for saying Yuri is like Boyang is because, his step sequences are always gorgeous and his jumping power, oofttttt, and that one scene where Yuri tries a jump and lands in the wall, you know the one. Boyang Jin is known for jumping super close to the boards and scaring the hell out of us all, seriously, just watch one of his skates, it's amazing and terrifying. Also Boyang is a bit of a nerd and Yuri is canonicaly pretty into video games, nuff said.

Boyang is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2016, 2019), the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, and a five-time (2014–2017, 2019) Chinese national champion.

Evgenia however, this is more of a parallel in how her 2018/19 season went and how Yuri kinda flopped. Zhenya had a crappy start to the 18/19 season, she'd just switched coaches and mover halfway across the world, for the 1st time in her senior career she didn't make the gpf. However by the end of the season she had bounced back and won bronze at worlds and my god what a skate that fp was. Remind you of anyone huh???

Evgenia has a lot of medals (and actually made a cameo in the end credits of episode 10) She is a two-time Olympic silver medalist (2018 ladies' singles, 2018 team event), a two-time world champion (2016, 2017), a two-time European champion (2016, 2017), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (2015, 2016), a two-time Russian national champion (2016, 2017), silver medalist at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships and bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships. Also, she is a huge Anime fan and has a sailor moon exhibition program and its adorable.

Victor Nikiforov ➡️ Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)

I know a lot of people compare Yuri to Yuzu but I think Victor is a better fit.

Yuzuru has a legion of super duper dedicated fans, they are pretty scary at times. If you watch the 2018 Olympics, the ice literally was covered in Pooh bears after his skate. People love this man, and rightly so. Clearly Yuri isn't the only one who loves Victor, he's very popular in the yoi skating world and almost everyone loves and looks up to him.

His skates are almost immaculate every time. Not only is his technique amazing but his artistry is what really sets him apart from other skaters who may have higher bv on jumps etc. Not that he dosent have high bv, seriously he tries combos that are super wierd just for the bv (see the wierd 4t-3a combo thing he does idk). Plus he's dead set on doing a quad axel. See Victor's super high bv with all the quads and also the fact everyone goes nuts over how his skating is 'like no other'.

Also his medal collection is absolutely mad, he is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), two-time World champion (2014, 2017), four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), Four Continents champion (2020) and three times silver medalist (2011, 2013, 2017). Just like how Victor is canonicaly an Olympic champion and 5x world champion and probably many time euros champ.

Also, he's a sweetheart, he literally crawled behind Shoma Uno because he didn't want the attention taken away from Shoma. I love him.

Victor Nikiforov gives big Yuzuru Hanyu energy.

Yuri Plisetsky ➡️ Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia)/Alexandra Trusova (Russia)

Again, 2 people.

It's canon that Yuri P was modeled after Yulia for the flexibility and artistic portion of his skates so I feel like I don't need to elaborate much in it however his determination and his wanting to back load with quads reminds me a lot of Sasha Trusova.

Sasha only started juniors the year after yoi came out (she had a Makkachin tissue box which was given to her by Evgenia M which is adorable) so she was not really that popular when the show was being made but she really made a statement when she became the 1st woman to land 2 quads in 1 program (4 salchow and 4 toeloop) at the age of 13 at 2018 junior worlds.

She has just started senior and this season she had 5 quads in one program and I think I cried. She now has a quad sal, toe, flip and lutz and is apparently working on a loop. On top of that she can land a 3 axel but has yet to do so in competition. Did I mention SHE'S 15 AND I'M TERRIFIED.

She currently holds the world record for the free skate (166.62 points). She is the 2020 European Bronze Medalist, the 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela champion, the 2019 Russian national silver medalist, and the 2020 Russian national bronze medalist.

Her determination to win and high TES reminds me of Yurio a lot.

Phichit Chulanont ➡️ Nam Nguyen (Canada)

This one is fun.

I love Nam with all my heart, he's actually my favourite male skater and not just because of his skating. However his skating is great. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medalist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2015, 2019). He has placed as high as fifth at the World Championships, in 2015. He's not the best skater ever, kinda like Phichit but his personality shines through so much when he skates and I love it.

My main comparison to Phichit is the fact that Nam Nguyen is a huge meme. His Instagram is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen (@ namnamnoodle). I can't explain it with words seriously just go look at it, he makes memes using professionnally taken skating photos of himself and honestly it's just a giggle. He's almost always posting on his story and half the videos he takes end up on fan twitter and everyone freaks out.

Also he's good friends with Evgenia, thought I'd mention that seeing as who I compared her to :)).

Yeah, Phichit and Nam are memes and I adore them both.

Jean-Jacques Leroy ➡️ Nathan Chen (USA)

Jj is definitely more of a technical focused skater. He tends to put all his eggs in the '800000 quads' bucket and isn't as artistic, in my humble opinion.

Just like Nathan surprisingly, though Nate isn't as egotistical (not a dig, just an observation).

Nathan is compared to Yuzu a lot, and had actually scored higher than him a few times in competition. He is an amazing jumper and is the first skater to have landed five types of quadruple jumps in competitions: toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip and Lutz. Currently he is two-time World champion (2018, 2019), a 2018 Winter Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2017 Four Continents champion, three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), and four-time U.S. national champion (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

So yeah, he's good.

However at the 2018 Olympics (he was only 18 at the time) he bombed under pressure in the team event and in the sp, only to come back with a WR free skate, but didn't medal because of his sp score,kinda like how Jj bombed at the GPF. (Ngl, I cried in school when I saw Nate bomb at the Olympics, I was so upset).

Also, Nathan is super smart and is training to be a doctor. Not related to Jj but I thought I would point it out.

Christophe Giacometti➡️ Adam Rippon (USA)/Javier Fernández (Spain)

Chris is a hard one to pin to an irl skater because he's just so... Chris.

The closest comparison I can get is Adam Rippon but dialed up to 11 because Adam is quite a bit more tame than Chris is. However he did have a point in his sp where he literally beckons the judges to him in a way that can only be described as vaguely sexual. Seeing that at the Olympics was an event I'll tell you that.

Adam was the first openly gay man to make a U.S. Winter Olympic team, and the first to win a medal at the Winter Games. (team bronze).

Plus, I'm pretty sure he owned a Chris plushie at one point or another.

However other than the obvious Chrissness, his technique and medal winning achievements most closely match up with Javier Fernández (who may I add is pretty much Yuzuru Hanyu's best friend). He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World champion (2015, 2016), a two-time World bronze medalist (2013, 2014), a seven-time European champion (2013–2019), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist (2014, 2015), a three-time Rostelecom Cup champion (2014–2016), a two-time Grand Prix in France champion (2016–2017) and an eight-time Spanish national champion (2010, 2012–2018). Javi is an amazing skater but usually ended up playing 2nd fiddle to Yuzuru on the world stage, but with euros, he literally won 7 times consecutively. Anndddd, he was the flag bearer for Spain at the 2014 Olympics and I still cry about it.

Otabek Altin➡️ Denis Ten (Kazakhstan)/ Matteo Rizzo

So it's canon that Otabek was based on Denis (rip Denis) so like Yuri and Yulia I do not feel like I need to elaborate much as you can read it on the wikia page. But Otabek also reminds me of a less talkative version of Matteo Rizzo. Matteo is the 2019 European bronze medalist, 2018 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2019 Winter Universiade champion, and 2018 Italian national champion.

The reason he reminds me of Otabek is that they just joth exude the same level of cool and I can't explain it any further than that. That's it. Just watch him skate and you'll see.

So that's all I have for now because this post got pretty long so if this gets enough attention I'll do a part 2 :)).