2019 NHK Trophy Day 1: Thoughts and Highlights

What are your thoughts on Day 1 in Sapporo? Surprises?

Recaps:

Rhythm Dance
“We have our coach harassing us each day to see if we can get a level 4,” said Papadakis.

Pairs Short Program
“We are happy with today’s performance, but for the elements there are some issues, and we would like to review them before we go back to our country,” said Han.

Ladies Short Program
“I am gaining opportunities because of my triple Axels," said Kostornaia. "The quad jumps are banned (for ladies) in the short program, so I need to rely on my triples.”

Men's Short Program
“I think for myself, today was getting a passing grade,” said Hanyu.

Only saw men’s event live so far by the virtue of it starting at 3 am for me & everything else... earlier, lol. And now I have to hoof it to work. Can’t wait to watch everything else. Kinda thinking about pulling an all-nighter to watch the free skates, because why not, it decides the spots in the final.

I’m giddy to see both Aymoz and Voronov putting out fab skates. Aymoz in the final would be awesome, I favour him strongly in this company.

Poor Ignatov got retribution PCS scoring, oh, well, it’s another one of those ‘triple axel will kill you’ kind of thing. I guess, if he landed it, he still would not have ended in the hopeful pool.

Heartbroken that Hiwatashi could not pull off that short again. It looks pretty cool.

Hanyu is a demigod, confirmed, reconfirmed, etc. I feel it’s almost unfair that he doesn’t surprise anyone with excellence.

Edit: I feel that since nobody mentions Sadovsky, I have to mention Sadovsky

Edit 2:

Caught up on ladies & pairs

Pairs:

Oh, no, DellaMonica/Guarise, heartbreaking. I wuv ‘em!

But was so good to see seeing the Japanese pair so happy.

Sui/Han are fun! On the other hand, while I am ecstatic to see Moore/Marinaro place the second, getting them closer to qualifying but only the sense of patriotic duty helped me through that music choice.

Ladies:

Wow, I just love watching the ladies this year. The only huge upset for me was seeing Alina lose that combo, the rest was just so cool to watch.

I love Lim and Samodurova, and Chen, and Andrews, and Kihira and obviously Kostornaya is amazing.

With Yamashita, I like skating and music on their own, but together they don’t work for me.

Watched the ladies and men.
PT1

Alina's SP is my favorite of all her SP's so far. It's my bad luck (or my inclinations) that just about the time I can get used to a skater's style and the skater is beginning to get a hold of artistry and musicality, their jumps begin to fail them. On the whole I favored Alina's program construction and choreography most out of the Russian ladies.

Alena is so brilliant that I expect a better choreographed program for her. Everything about her is so well done, that when I see the jam-packed steps that she executes well, by the way, I feel it's a lost opportunity for her to let her skating breathe. The disparity (in my eyes) between her abilities and her programs was more sharp watching it on the 4K NHK broadcast.

Rika's SP was one I had been disliking this whole season. But I saw her making steps towards being able to interpret it and inhabit the music. I love to see progress like this. She was also so efficient in her 3A and held up under tremendous pressure.

Delighted by Karen Chen's return. Her quality of skating brings something valuable to the table.

Starr Andrews has improved so much since last season. Her expression and skating, really everything was better. The program was very enjoyable to watch.

Mae's program and dress were also highlights for me. -It made me want to paint.

A word about Yokoi's program. Seeing it on the broadcast with lots of close up detail, I could see all of the outrageous faces she was making. This is a super camp program, and uniquely out of many ladies this season, she seems to know exactly what camp is, and does the choreo with full gusto. It's terrible, but it's supposed to be and she is loving it. I couldn't help but laugh. A comedic program for a girl is so risky, and I'm sure there may not be many who like it or get it. But I want to say to Yuhana-chan, I got ya. -The other lady who could do camp program with panache was Radionova. -How I miss her.

EDIT: I looked at the competition thread, and it seems that Yokoi's program was during a stream outage?? Aww, you guys missed it. So I won't have people agreeing or disagreeing with me on the subject. Please watch it and tell me what you think.

PT 2

Jaaasooooon.... That's all.

Kevin's SP is better each time I see it. So much fun. A well deserved second place.

Voronov's SP was a little low energy last time but NHK has that magic for him. He projected his best Freddie today. I loved it! I loved it so much.

Yuzu's SP is magical. I'm so nervous for him but he takes all that pressure, all those expectations from the audience and soaks it up and uses it to perform. There's a special connection there. He's been talking a lot about being careful with his practices and this result speaks for itself. Continue to stay healthy please.

Interspectator said:

...watching it on the 4K NHK broadcast.

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You guys get 4k skating broadcasts over there??? :drools:

sabinfire said:

You guys get 4k skating broadcasts over there??? :drools:

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8K too. But I don't have that TV alas.

Interspectator said:

8K too. But I don't have that TV alas.

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that's Japan alright. You're living in a different century it seems like

Sergei V, legend and icon. I'm so happy for him! That was a brilliant skate!

Sad about Jason, hope he rocks the FS tomorrow.

I'm mad about Sofia S's GOEs, did we watch the same thing, judges?!

I enjoyed Karen Chen's SP a lot! The spiral was magnificent.

With Dance I'm loving the a Chinese team! They're so charming and fun Lila and Lewis are fab, I enjoyed Charlene and Marco, Ivan and Alexandra. Gabbie and Guillaume's RD is brilliant, I love it.

I haven't really caught up on the pairs becsuse none of my faves are here...sorry pairs! I'll watch the FS tomorrow.

Kevin.

Kevin was the highlight.

Kevin's step sequence was the highlight of the highlight.

That is all.



(F/G getting their first Level 4 on the pattern dance was pretty exceptional too, actually.)

I saw ladies and men, and unless videos or archived streams are uploaded soon, that's probably how it will stay for today. Our TV didn't bother archiving their streams on their website, although I consider it a progress that I've been able to at least locate the main stream there for the later morning stuff.
I was surprised that I actually agreed with the placements, at least I cannot think of any that made me all outraged.

@ Interspectator, I was surprised to read your thoughts on the men, did other men really not impress you? :sad21:
Hanyuu and Voronov were my highlights for men, hands down. I don't care if Voronov's program is simple, his rendition and commitment beat all other Russian guys for me. No comment on Hanyuu. He's one of a kind, really. So much musicality and perfection.
And naturally I'm sad for my fave Sota... I hope he pulls up in the free, I'd be gutted if he didn't make it to the gala due to losing to Koshiro. =_= Koshiro is getting good, So-chan needs consistency to beat him. But I raise my eyebrows at the PCS difference, no way should a two fall performance be getting the same PCS as Sota with one pop, his speed and glide aside.
Decent skate for Aymoz, good job there. Noone else caught my eye including Jason which is a pity.

I actually like Rika's programs a lot. They're so strange and unique, but for me in a likeable sort of way. But Alena was clearly the best and most confident here, she didn't leave any room for doubt. Mako's program doesn't suit her IMO, she looks heavy and slow skating to such music (nothing to do with body type, just saying before someone jumps to conclusions), and doesn't express all the nuances. I loved Yuhana's program before, but unfortunately the stream's screen blackened a few seconds into the performance, and image only came back on during replays. I'll need to see her through a youtube video. Karen was good, deservedly in third. Alina was struggling and visibly nervous - understandable, skating after Alena. Kailani is fun to watch as always, though I'd prefer less, umm, radical grimace in the final pose, this one looks really weird. I hope for more expression from Sofia, this program could be a real deal if she could sell it more. She didn't smile and was wearing a sad black dress, such a pity for such lively music. Maybe she could increase her PCS that way. Hoping than EunSoo can fight back in the free, I like her, she's graceful.

surimi said:

I saw ladies and men, and unless videos or archived streams are uploaded soon, that's probably how it will stay today. Our TV didn't bother archiving their streams on their website, although I consider it a progress that I've been able to locate the main stream there at least for the later morning stuff.
I was surprised that I actually agreed with the placements, at least I cannot think of any that made me all outraged.

@ interspectator I was surprised to read your thoughts on the men, did other men really not impress you? :sad21:
Hanyuu and Voronov were my highlights for men, hands down. I don't care if Voronov's program is simple, his rendition and commitment beat all other Russian guys for me. No comment on Hanyuu. He's one of a kind, really. So much musicality and perfection.
And naturally I'm sad for my fave Sota... I hope he pulls up in the free, I'd be gutted if he didn't make it to the gala due to losing to Koshiro. =_= Koshiro is getting good, So-chan needs consistency to beat him. But I raise my eyebrows at the PCS difference, no way should a two fall performance be getting the same PCS as Sota with one pop, his speed and glide aside.
Decent skate for Aymoz, good job there. Noone else caught my eye including Jason which is a pity.

I actually like Rika's programs a lot. They're so strange and unique, but for me in a likeable sort of way. But Alena was clearly the best and most confident here, she didn't leave any room for doubt. Mako's program doesn't suit her IMO, she looks heavy and slow skating to such music (nothing to do with body type, just saying before someone jumps to conslusions), and doesn't express all the nuances. I loved Yuhana's program before, but unfortunately the stream's screen blackened a few second into the performance, and image only came back on during replays. I'll need to see her through a youtube video. Karen was good, deservedly in third. Alina was struggling and visibly nervous - understandable, skating after Alena. Kailani is fun to watch as always, though I'd prefer less, umm, radical grimace in the final pose, this one looks really weird. I hope for more expression from Sofia, this program could be a real deal if she could sell it more. She didn't smile and was wearing a sad black dress, such a pity for such lively music. Maybe she could increase her PCS that way. Hoping than EunSoo can fight back in the free, I like her, she's graceful.

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Oh, I have more thoughts. I was cheering hard, yelling at the TV for Sota and Koshiro...it started so promisingly for Sota, but kind of unraveled. It broke up the flow of the program for me. --I love the program, but it needs to be cleanish to be fully enjoyed. That opening quad was so good.
Koshiro's program was very good, and I could see glimpses of brilliance in the steps and in his interpretation, but like Sota, it was disjointed due to the errors.
It's like this with all the guys today except for Kevin Voronov and Yuzu...they have super great qualities, and good programs but I can't really latch on to them with the errors. Some skaters will impress even with errors though. Shoma, Keegan and others.

--A bolt from the blue just hit me; Hiwatashi! --I liked his program a lot. Despite the splats.

Interspectator;2517488[B said:

A comedic program for a girl is so risky, and I'm sure there may not be many who like it or get it. But I want to say to Yuhana-chan, I got ya. -The other lady who could do camp program with panache was Radionova. -How I miss her.

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I actually appreciate her a lot, she's different from all other ladies. Unfortunately the only lady I recall being rewarded for a comedic type of program was Leonova for her Chaplin. That's a shame, so kudos to Yuhana for picking something more modern and less safe for a fun program.

I was happy for...
- Riku & Ryuichi considering they are just three-month-old, they did great job. I was nearly tearing when I saw Ryuichi's big smile in K&C.
- Mako is back, though I think she deserves more GOE & PCS:dev2:
- Sergei:luv17: So nice to see a veteran doing good especially in my country.

jason... jason jason jason watching him nearly cry in the kiss & cry had me on the edge of tears

i really hope there’s not something more serious bugging him and it was just a bad day. he’s only five points off fourth which is what he needs for qualification to the grand prix final...
i am praying for a redemption skate come the free

Ice Dance
Overall I kinda felt some of the skates were sloppy - particularly the Italians and the French. As I said earlier the French should have absolutely been nailed on their twizzles (she did an extra turn in the first set). It was not their best (even outside the twizzles) and not worth a record IMO. Their stationary lift isn’t particularly difficult compared to others and yet it’s scoring the highest. I still do love the sass and personality in their Fame program though. The Brits were great too and deserved a PB in my opinion but didn’t get the levels. I thought the Chinese were thoroughly charming and this is their best work yet. Step/Bukin were very on point (her hair kinda got wild lol) and I don’t think S/K have definitively pulled away from them if they keep skating like this.

Pairs
This was a bit of a hot mess for many but some excellent skates for Siu/Han and MT/M (who were underscored IMO). Great skate by the Japanese too! I thought they were deserving of a bit higher but what an awesome start and the KnC reaction was great. Sad for the Knierims and Italians with silly, costly errors in the death spiral and lift. Some crazy discrepancies in GOE on the protocols. Judges were clearly divided.

Ladies
This was the discipline to watch. Kostornaia was absolutely sublime and if that’s the SP record I’m 110% cool with that. Kihira was strong as well save for the weird loop landing. Congrats to Karen Chen for placing 3rd with an exquisite program. Zagitova was off her game and was very fortunate to get that PCS with such an obvious error, which compromised her performance IMO.

Men
Kudos to Hanyu for another clean SP - and one of his best ever skated SPs in overall performance IMO. He seemed a bit disappointed with the score in the KnC but he needs to up his difficulty if he wants to break his own PB/record. That opening 4S was perfect and nice save on the quad combo too. Aymoz was thoroughly entertaining and save for the 4T it was an excellent performance and nice bounce back from his IDF SP. Hoping he can medal! Voronov was surprisingly on here and hope he can hang on for a medal too... he’s got enough of a lead. Gutted for Jason Brown but 2 falls isn’t going to cut it ... great program but shame shame shame on the judges who gave 9’s with 2 major errors.

Yuzuru: as usual is AH-MAZING. G.O.A.T
Jason Jason Jason Undeniably one of the most artistic skater of all time. I love you BUT If your going to fall multiple times at least do it while trying a quad. Just add one already, just keep trying and trying until you land it. Clearly the judges will never give you proper PCS scores that you deserve without a quad which is BS.
Kevin: What a fighter. He was amazing. I love the energy.
Makar: Calling it now, He is the next big thing. Very promising. My new crush. Doesn't hurt that hes handsome too. Needs to improve on his skating skills but he will get there. So much better than the one who won gold last week .
Conrad: Well at least he is tall...handsome and ... that's it.

Sometimes events in your time zone don't work out (deep sigh), while I can enjoy the free without staying up all night and messing up my sleep cycle again I'm still in the middle of catching up. Overall impression: SC wins the best GP of the season, period. Will fill up the disciplines I haven't caught up on yet later.

ID

- The only event I managed to watch live, I'm opting to believe being late for work was worth it.
- Suits equal fun. Disco Brits, Chinese Chaplin penguins, both are so much fun to watch.
- Also fun: P/C's Fame RD. It's unfair they can be gorgeous in neon tights, leg warmers, and headbands, isn't it.
- Thank goodness Anthony Ponomarenko ditched those ugly as sin green suspenders.
- The contenders for the 4th place at last US Nats both competed, it's a pity McN/C were injured since there wasn't as tight a battle here.
- I want Charlene Guignard's lovely blue dress and that program back :sad4:
- S/B need to rethink their costumes, even with the safety hazard skirt issue dealt with they still had issues.

Pairs
- Sui/Han are Sui/Han. What else can you say.
- I was pleasantly surprised to not be scared by M-T/M's twist, it wasn't the greatest twist but I wasn't scared! And they are currently in good position for GPF
- Nastya and Sasha can go to GPF with a 4th place anyway, so I wasn't too upset by the SBS jump mistake. And yes Je Suis Malade is a terrible fit for them I've yet to forgive the Velikovs for that
- Oh Knierims, if only they could deal with their SBS jumps, the others are so beautiful... (deep sigh) Well they did have the death spiral failure, yes, but usually their death spirals are beautiful as well
- Miura/Kihara did pretty well considering how new they are, minus the stumble coming down from the twist they went pretty clean.
- Why do I have E/K on my fave list still (tremendous sigh)
- DM/G are yet to recover, it seems. Nice costumes though, much improved from last season.

Ladies
- I hid in the bathroom for squirtle, oh darling thank you for not making me weep in front of 30 elementary school kids. Wish I get to see you smile in joy after the free.
- Alyona is an angel on ice, while objectively the scores were a bit high I'm far from being mad at it. She's my favourite of the 3A y'know
- I still don't get Kihira Rika's new costume and her music is still not my cuppa, but she is doing great with selling the thing. Great job for the home crowd.

Men
- Yuzuru is Yuzuru, what else do you say.
- I love Kevin Aymoz and his program and his cartwheel ending. His jumps are still wild but who cares when he dances with his soul.
- If Uncle Sergei Voronov continues the uncle renaissance I'm gonna call him Kenobi Voronov.

I'm so happy! Yuzu, Sui/Han, Papadakis/Cizeron and Kostornaia were all perfect, simply perfect. 3 well deserved WRs today and imo it should have been also a WR for Yuzu (from his reaction I think this is also his opinion).

Alena Kostornaia. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that she is only 16 years old and that she has been doing that 3A in competition only once before. I think the 3A did not get enough GOE. I am truly ashamed for the Finnish judge who gave the lowest PCS - I apologize for her, probably blind as a bat.

Rika Kihira. Reports saying that her injury is over or at least very close to being healed sound good. I am hoping for a good showdown between these two tomorrow! Bring on the 4S WITH 3As!!

I have been waiting for this to happen since the 3A was introduced into the ladies field back in the late 1980s. That they would get beyond the 7 triples and 2 2A routines. Glad to get to experience it!

Kevin Aymoz. The most interesting 6 minutes in that competition. That step sequence!!! (The jumps were almost too exciting for my blood pressure and heart rate, but the 3A entry is worth opening your eyes for.)

The men's field is pretty weak at the moment overall. In the thread on how to change GPF qualification many wanted more than 6 skaters. But this year in the men's it seems pretty hard to get even 6 decent skaters to qualify.

E

Ladies
OK, I woke up at 2:38am without any reason :furious: It was a 40 minute fruitless effort to go back to sleep and then "what the hell? Let's watch ladies." And, it was a joy with Alena and Rika. Rika's 3L was a shame and I hope she can bring back 3Lz in full health. But man, two glorious skaters putting out such artistry and technicality, wow, it's a joy to watch them :agree2:

On the negative side, I can't bring myself to like Alina's skating anymore. Has her posture always been this crouched? Has she always had this small, non-elegant crossovers? The music choice does not help either, it just injects sorrow and hopelessness to her performance. Maybe, it's me that has changed not the skater though.

P.S. Watching the replay with husband in the morning and after Alena's skate he sincerely goes "I wish she were my daughter :sad21:". Dude, you're just 33 :luv17:

Men
First, no words needed

Second, Kevin Aymoz was fantastic. I was so nervous for his combo after IDF. He truly deserves any points he gets. And, my veteran Voronov, so happy for him. All the way for the podium guys :yay: