Hey-o! I'm sure you've watched some of the new programs from Team Japan. Soooo, what are your thoughts about them, preferably from Shoma, Satoko, Haruka, Keiji, Yura, and Ryuju?
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shoma - i believe his don juan program is part of his new free skate? i will withhold final judgement until i see the whole program in competition, but i’m slightly disappointed with what i’ve seen because i think he can do better. i don’t really like the music and i’m not sure it’s good for a skating program. if this part is the end of the program, it doesn’t really feel like it’s building towards anything? but i like how shoma always brings an intensity to his movements and skating so i still like watching him even when i don’t like his program that much.
satoko - the jazz number is her new ex, i think. it’s always weird to see satoko skating to upbeat music because i think serious programs suit her better. a decent little program, she just needs to project a bit more. but it’s only an ex, anyway. (i hope.) i heard her new free skate might be miss saigon, which i’m not excited about either because i don’t like the music much, but she might be able to do something good with it. i genuinely like her skating, i just hope she gets good programs.
haruka - the wicked ex is ok, i don’t really have any strong feelings about it. lol the costume though. why. and random flowers at the end, wat. her malaguena sp from fantasy on ice is weirdly growing on me for some reason. the vocals are…unnecessary, but i don’t absolutely hate them, and i like that she’s trying something different. also the step sequence is nice.
keiji - skated part of his la traviata fs at dreams on ice. i…like it? which i did not expect? i genuinely enjoyed the footwork bits. but i think he needs to project some more happiness too, this music is pretty light and needs some lightness in the skater’s mood as well to work. that one bit of music with vocals is unnecessary. i think keiji’s sps tend to be more interesting than his fps in general, but i found myself enjoying this fs more than i expected.
yura - i think her DOI program is supposed to be an ex version of her fs? it’s alright i guess. i don’t find it that interesting and i don’t like the music that much. i heard she got injured in practice before the last DOI show and couldn’t skate in it, hope she’s ok…
ryuju - couldn’t get through the program, it was so boring. he’s just not an outwardly expressive skater, which is ok if he can be interesting in less obvious ways, but i just cannot get into his skating at all.
all in all, i am not super impressed with team japan right now. i guess we’ll see how the programs develop.
