Yuzuru Hanyu shows his “determination” in all 12 performances of RE_PRAY
At “Prologue” (November 2010), his first ice show since turning pro, Yuzuru Hanyu (28) was asked by a fan, “Can I call you ‘Yuzuru Hanyu’? Yuzuru Hanyu (28) answered a fan’s question, “Can I call you ‘Yuzuru Hanyu’?
I think I have improved my physical strength since my active days, and I am able to express myself in various ways. I would be happy if you continue to call me an “athlete.
To become an athlete and an expressive person who surpasses his active age……, the second season of Yuzuru Hanyu, the professional skater, has finally begun.
Yuzuru Hanyu ICE STORY 2nd “RE_PRAY” TOUR”, his first solo tour performance, started on November 4 at Saitama Super Arena. On the first day of the tour, 14,000 spectators filled the venue for the ice show, which will tour three cities: Saga City (SAGA Arena) in January next year and Yokohama City (Pia Arena MM) in February. Tickets for the cheapest seats cost 16,000 yen. This was Yuzu’s first public appearance since announcing her marriage on SNS on August 4, but her “Yuzu popularity” had not waned in the slightest.
When Yuzu announced her solo tour on September 1, she commented, “I’ve only got one life, and I’ve only got one chance to live it.
In announcing the tour on September 1, he commented, “I believe that there are many important things that can only be found in each of these two opposites: a life that can only be lived once, and a game that can be played over and over again. I will leave the important things of both to the words and skating. The past may be sublimated in the viewer’s mind, or too much thinking may conversely increase the troubles. In the midst of questions that have more than one correct answer, and in a space, skating, and direction that will never be the same, I hope that the audience will feel the colors of a world that can only be created within each and every one of them.
Choreographer Mikiko, who worked with Yuzuru Hanyu on “GIFT” this past February, commented, “Being able to experience the expression of Yuzuru Hanyu is surely a reward for those of us who are working hard in this era. The anticipation was high.
On the day of the event, the audience was treated to a production based on the world of the game. Hanyu was projected on a huge monitor attached to the rink, and the story was told with a controller in his hand. In an interview immediately after the event, Hanyu said, “I am very happy to be here.
I myself have received from various works, such as games, manga, and novels, what my life is about and the preciousness of life.
Once again, in games, the concept of life is really light in a sense. It can be repeated. That’s why we can do various things with the characters, and go forward with our curiosity. If we apply this to the real world, we may be people who have the drive to grasp our dreams, but from a different perspective, we may be very frightening people.
Touching on the “lightness of life” in the game world, he says he sometimes dreams about what he would do if he could come back to life over and over again.
But I think about how people would probably do this if they could do it all over again. If you had a life in which you had made a choice, and that choice had led you to destruction, and you had a life in which you overcame all the obstacles, grasped your dreams, and achieved your goals, and if that life could be repeated, what would you choose? What would you choose? The theme of this year’s ice story is to make you think about what you would choose and what you would feel.
The polygonal Hanyu defeats enemies, gains experience, repeats continues no matter how many times he is knocked down, and faces powerful enemies. He achieved the feat of winning two consecutive Olympic titles while carrying the burden of a true superstar, and boldly challenged the unprecedented quad axel (quadruple jump) in the free skate at the Beijing Olympics in 2010, the last Olympics of his competitive career. One might have thought that she was superimposing her own skating life on it, but apparently, that is not the case.
This is not my story, it’s all a game. I created this story to give everyone an extraordinary experience. You are the players.
As is the case with most cinematic masterpieces, it was not something that could be easily understood after just one viewing. However, the skating of the 12 performances, including the three new programs, was breathtaking.
Hanyu appeared in a white cloak and hood, and countless feathers danced on the monitor screen in time with his movements. In the program “Someday, a Dream That Will End,” which began with such a performance and featured the theme song from “Final Fantasy X,” Hanyu did not jump, but drew the hearts of the audience with his calm and beautiful skating, as if he was becoming one with the colorful project mapping.
In her new performance of Ringo Shiina’s “Chicken, Snake, and Pig,” she used a wide area on the rink illuminated by 20 spotlights on each side, and performed a flexible inabauer.
In the free program “Hope & Legacy,” which she won for the second time in three years at the ’17 World Championships, she jumped her first jump of the day, a triple Lutz, in a magical space lit by the moonlight of the full moon shining on the monitor.
In the fourth piece, “Megalovania,” the dancers thoroughly captivated the audience with a variety of spins, such as combinations from butterfly, camel, and sit, making each one unique so that the audience would not get bored even in a solo performance.
The highlight of the day came in the fifth and final song of the first half. The hourglass on the monitor started ticking from “6 minutes left. It was a reproduction of the six-minute practice session before the competition. Discerning fans were quick to understand. The atmosphere of the show changed drastically, and the tension became intense. I stood in the center of the rink, blowing my nose with a tissue and bending over.
Then, the new program, “Final Fantasy IX” theme “Messenger to the Doom” began. The quadruple Salcoe at the beginning of the piece was a sharp and sharp jump, with a thin axis of rotation, just like Hanyu. He followed with a triple axel, a double toeloop, and a quad toeloop, and then a triple axel, an oiler, a triple salvo, an oiler, and a triple salvo, five jumps in a row that he does not use in competition. The program itself was a “russet boss”.
The program itself is the image of a “last boss,” and after all the battles, you can finally defeat him, or have defeated him. It’s like, “I’ve defeated him, I’ve used up everything I have. But there is more to come. Of course, the repetition is the theme of “RE_PRAY” in my mind, so it may not be a jump that can be used in a match, but the oiler and the salchow are very repetitive jumps, so I thought it would be good for the theme, and also the sound would fit very well. I also thought it would fit well with the sound.
The four minutes of serious competition was a truly straightforward production, with both the performances and thoughts linked to the game.
The solo performance lasted two and a half hours. After skating through the final piece, “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso,” Hanyu was breathing on his shoulders and his eyes were moist as he was applauded by the 14,000 people standing in total attendance. Hanyu himself reflected on the event.
The production crew, including the lighting crew, worked all night long, two or three days, I think, to make it. I have nothing but gratitude for that. I am very happy to be able to present the ice story in front of everyone safely, and to be able to perform it as a single work of art.
Hanyu’s belief that no compromise is allowed could be seen in his performance.
After skating Yumi Matsutoya’s “Haru yo, koi” and before going for an encore, Hanyu stood on the rink in a T-shirt and spoke to the fans about his thoughts on his work, saying, “I hope you will enjoy it in your own way.
I hope you will enjoy this work, an ice story, in your own way. I hope you will enjoy this work, an ice story, in your own way. I hope you will think about life and the choices you have to make in your life today and tomorrow. I created Ice Story with this in mind. I hope that this story will touch you.
The inimitable skater will continue to convey to her fans a new way of expression this season, without lowering the burden she has set on herself to surpass everyone’s creations.
Photo: Kyodo News