I just finished watching the top men's performances - some good, some not so good!
-Roman: I love how high and strong his jumps are. They have really improved in their power as he has grown into his adult body. It's nice to see a tall, powerful skater maintain (and improve, really, in this case) his jumps. I loved the interesting combination of the two pieces of music, and thought that he performed the program well with his body, but I would like to see more passion and 'face'. He has lovely spins and great skating skills.
-Jason: It was really hard to get a feel for this program since the music was muted for all but the last song. He seemed really nervous, and this was a rough outing for him. I thought that the first part of the program seemed pretty empty, with long set-ups for the jumps. I really liked his footwork though, and his spins are always beautiful. I'm not sure what to make of his costume.
-Kevin R.: I am definitely a 'no' on the new hairstyle - It's to the point of being distracting. I really liked his costume though, and I always enjoy his interesting music choices. He seems well-connected to the program. Hopefully he will be able to fix his underrotations and work on his speed. At some points, I wanted to reach through the screen and give him a push!
-Junhwan: Like many of you have mentioned, this program was a big 'what the heck' [apparently the other acronym is not permitted
] moment for me - voiceovers, techno music, Desree, etc. It was the weirdest, most off-putting hodge-podge of music, and certainly gives Alina a run for her money for weird, stuck-together programs! He's a great skater though. I really like his -3Lo combination. His top was also quite nice.
-Yuzuru: I was not enthralled with his SP, but I found this program to be much better, even with all the errors. He looked much more committed to performing in the FS than he did in the SP, and I was engaged to see where the program would go. He has some interesting movements that I think will be quite effective once the program is cleaned up.
-Roman: I love how high and strong his jumps are. They have really improved in their power as he has grown into his adult body. It's nice to see a tall, powerful skater maintain (and improve, really, in this case) his jumps. I loved the interesting combination of the two pieces of music, and thought that he performed the program well with his body, but I would like to see more passion and 'face'. He has lovely spins and great skating skills.
-Jason: It was really hard to get a feel for this program since the music was muted for all but the last song. He seemed really nervous, and this was a rough outing for him. I thought that the first part of the program seemed pretty empty, with long set-ups for the jumps. I really liked his footwork though, and his spins are always beautiful. I'm not sure what to make of his costume.
-Kevin R.: I am definitely a 'no' on the new hairstyle - It's to the point of being distracting. I really liked his costume though, and I always enjoy his interesting music choices. He seems well-connected to the program. Hopefully he will be able to fix his underrotations and work on his speed. At some points, I wanted to reach through the screen and give him a push!
-Junhwan: Like many of you have mentioned, this program was a big 'what the heck' [apparently the other acronym is not permitted
] moment for me - voiceovers, techno music, Desree, etc. It was the weirdest, most off-putting hodge-podge of music, and certainly gives Alina a run for her money for weird, stuck-together programs! He's a great skater though. I really like his -3Lo combination. His top was also quite nice.-Yuzuru: I was not enthralled with his SP, but I found this program to be much better, even with all the errors. He looked much more committed to performing in the FS than he did in the SP, and I was engaged to see where the program would go. He has some interesting movements that I think will be quite effective once the program is cleaned up.
And I can handle the Plushenko tribute — but I’m still waiting for Yuzu to take me up on my dream of a Satie programme.
Overall impression: was a letdown, to be honest. I absolutely love Plushenko's Tribute to Nijinsky, and as everyone knows it's a program known for an amazing step sequence with jaw-dropping footwork and beautiful choreography throughout. I didn't see much of any of those. Sure, there were nice moments (like the hydroblade right on cue with the music), but overall I didn't get the feeling that he was performing. It just seemed like skating to music, not expressing emotions and sentiments. Also, after that hard fall, he just seemed drained of energy. His jumps didn't have the power and ease he's known for, and his spins were not up to standards. I was not expecting to be like 
hwell: after watching Yuzuru, I hope he refines the program to have that energy and finesse he and the music deserves.
but he's not the only one...also the user Karne got me as a fan 
), it looked like his whole body sang the song. His expression and movement perfectly gave out the fragility and power of that music: from affection on his face, through sliding motions to aerial moves, every step held the moment, prolonged the impression. I love how consummated he was within this program, this intensity was just infectious. He really looks like a new skater this season due to this repertoire, both programs are bringing an artist from him, make his body a part of the music to express.
