Mao News - The 2010-2011 Season!

thanks for the link dani-chan, genie do you have any idea when the show will be aired and how long it normally takes make subs??

hope we soon will get some practice clips, before 4cc, and I really hope that nobou doesn't make to many changes to mao's jumps before 4cc, so that mao doesn't get inconsistent with the jumps again, and instead waits after 4cc when they have more time...

because it seems like nobou has alot of things he wants to change in regards to maos jumps... therefor I really hope he takes one thing at a time so that it wouldn't be to confusing and too much to handle....

by the way does anyone know how much time there is until 4cc?

@bellerinamao - 4CC is February 15-February 20 in Taipei, Chinese Taipei, aka Taiwan.

ballerinamao wrote:

because it seems like nobou has alot of things he wants to change in regards to maos jumps... therefor I really hope he takes one thing at a time so that it wouldn't be to confusing and too much to handle....

Yeah, I still feel she's not that ready for Worlds yet.

klarification wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

because it seems like nobou has alot of things he wants to change in regards to maos jumps... therefor I really hope he takes one thing at a time so that it wouldn't be to confusing and too much to handle....

Yeah, I still feel she's not that ready for Worlds yet.

She may not be reaching her best potential at the moment, but she can certainly improve big time from now until February. I mean, we're talking about Mao here. Improvements are what we are counting for now.

SPORTS-KING 2011.1.2

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWkDIVq8Zds
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynq5ynZgZns
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7omFuG7NA

That was hilarious. I don't know what was funnier - Daisuke's reactions to his failed attempts at "cutting", or Shuuzo's pose after the opposing team hit the net (just after he himself hit it ).

Thanks for the links, kirakira!

kirakira wrote:

SPORTS-KING 2011.1.2

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWkDIVq8Zds
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynq5ynZgZns
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7omFuG7NA

So cute! Mao is so smiley

kirakira wrote:

SPORTS-KING 2011.1.2

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWkDIVq8Zds
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynq5ynZgZns
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7omFuG7NA

Thank you for the links!! This was really hilarious. Their opponents seem to be having a lot of fun teasing everyone, like Nobu, Mao and Akiko, saying that her face looks like a hina doll and all. Mao enjoyed herself throughout and it's great to see the carefree side of her again.

Love that Mao seems to be very much herself and at ease. Our girl looks gorgeous! A bit pity that Taka didn't get as much TV time...

Team Japan seems to be laughing and smiling but you can see how much they wanna win, though it's only a game on reality tv. All athletes through and through.

Am I the only one who noticed that the mentioning of Yuna and the repetitive bond girl posing did create rather awkward moments for Team Japan. They all try to be polite and all but the discomfort is quite apparent.

ETA: For all fans of Yuna who happen to stumble upon this clip as well: Before anyone misunderstands anything. This is a friendly joke. There was no discussion of Yuna AT ALL. Only mimicking her signature pose. The show people were just having fun teasing Team Japan by posing as Yuna, who is famous for her Bond girl SP and for dominating in competitions. The point is to TEASE TEAM JAPAN, NOT, I repeat, NOT Yuna herself.

That was hilarious!!!!!Mao is so cute! Can someone tell me about the opposite team? Who are they? And I heard Mao and Miki mentioned Russia

snowdrops24 wrote:

kirakira wrote:

SPORTS-KING 2011.1.2

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWkDIVq8Zds
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynq5ynZgZns
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7omFuG7NA

[size=9]Am I the only one who noticed that the mentioning of Yuna and the repetitive bond girl posing did create rather awkward moments for Team Japan. They all try to be polite and all but the discomfort is quite apparent.[/size]

ETA: For all fans of Yuna who happen to stumble upon this clip as well: Before anyone misunderstands anything. This is a friendly joke. There was no discussion of Yuna AT ALL. Only mimicking her signature pose. The show people were just having fun teasing Team Japan by posing as Yuna, who is famous for her Bond girl SP and for dominating in competitions. The point is to TEASE TEAM JAPAN, NOT, I repeat, NOT Yuna herself.

I did find it to be awkward but it was done for fun. The host also imitated Akiko's dance moves in her West Side Story LP.
The show was so funny. Thanks for the links Kirakira!

Full translation of Sato's interview after Ladies FS at Nationals. Courtesy of Kuuchuu Sampo. http://kuuchuu-sampo.blogspot.com/2010/12/japanese-nationals-2010-interview-with.html

The most interesting tidbit in this interview is Sato's mention of wanting to increase Mao's speed and power. However, he says it's going to be a risk because if they do that it may affect her jumps (I'm guessing the timing?). It seems Mao also wants to increase her speed since she seems to be inspired by Taka's speed in practices.

HAHAHA!! I don'tunderstand anything, but it was so funny to watch

And this joke with Yuna's final pose from James Bon...

thanks for posting the show and the interview with nobou!

the show was so funny, mao looked like she had a lot off fun, love the scence when she poses her liebestraum when she wins it was soo funny..

but I agree I could feel that team japan and especially mao didn't feel comfortable when they tried to make fun of yuna and do her bond pose. but it was fun to watch even without understanding what they were saying.

but I have to say that I really love the interview it really answered many of the questians I have had. love that sato is so determined and knows what he want's to work with... and I think even through it's going to be risky to add speed because it will change mao's timing but I am sure that it will eventually pay off, since it will give mao alot more flow in and out off her jumps and give power to the other element as well....

after I read the interview I can't describe how relieved I am to know that they will be working on the things slowy and that they certainly know the risk as well as how to handle it, since they both know that in in the end will pay off..

and when I think about it even through she may sacrifice a few medals in the meantime, but once she has gained the speed and the jumps that she wants it will be worth it all, and knowing mao she is probably training very hard and is making very fast progress...

ballerinamao wrote:

but I have to say that I really love the interview it really answered many of the questians I have had. love that sato is so determined and knows what he want's to work with... and I think even through it's going to be risky to add speed because it will change mao's timing but I am sure that it will eventually pay off, since it will give mao alot more flow in and out off her jumps and give power to the other element as well....

I agree. It's risky but it will benefit her in the long run. I'm not one of those fans who obssess over speed because there are some skaters who are very fast but sloppy (i.e. Carolina Kostner). However, controlled speed is always a good thing because it gives the impression that the skater is confident in what he/she does. One of the things that I felt Mao lost over the years is that confidence and command over the ice she had as a junior. Back then, she just skated as if there were no pressure at all. It is good that being with Sato, Mao is starting to skate more freely again as we've seen in her LP.

i agree, I really think that mao made the right choice by chosing sato as her couch, and it's good to know that mao is in good hands... since I in the begining was kind of dissapointed that mao stopped working with nagakube. but now I totally understand mao's choice and think that she made the right choice since nagakube and sato are too different and have different techniques and therefor wouldn't have worked out, and he also had suzuki and the last thing mao needed was to repeate the same mistake by having a part time couch again. since she knew it wouldn't be effective and therefor wouldn't work out.

it will be fun to see how things are going from now on, since mao is unpredictable and i am sure that when the competetion start again it will be nerveracking to watch... but well as a mao fan I am getting used to the good as well as the bad days it's quite rollercoaster with mao

by the way love you're avatar aoi88


(I can't wait too see mao compete again)

lol, this is a bit late in the coming and I'm not sure it qualifies as 'Mao News', but I saw this poster for the Nationals competition on a subway train while I was holidaying in Tokyo a few days ago






I think I may have completely embarrassed myself by having a fangirl moment right there on the metro

I also got to watch the Nationals on TV from a hotel room in Shinjuku. It was the best travel experience I've had to this day .

aoi88 wrote:

Full translation of Sato's interview after Ladies FS at Nationals. Courtesy of Kuuchuu Sampo. http://kuuchuu-sampo.blogspot.com/2010/12/japanese-nationals-2010-interview-with.html

The most interesting tidbit in this interview is Sato's mention of wanting to increase Mao's speed and power. However, he says it's going to be a risk because if they do that it may affect her jumps (I'm guessing the timing?). It seems Mao also wants to increase her speed since she seems to be inspired by Taka's speed in practices.

I'm sure we taka-mao shippers would love this quote from the blog owner regarding taka-chan's 3 jump combo.

Quote :

Also girly was his awkward three-jump combination: triple Axel + double toe + single loop. Mao Asada, your future wife if I controlled this world, could do that combination.

quoted from: http://kuuchuu-sampo.blogspot.com/search/label/Free%20Skate

chineseteacup!!! Long time no see! Thanks so much for those pics! Soo jealous you were in Japan! Hope you had a great time!

kirakira wrote:

SPORTS-KING 2011.1.2

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWkDIVq8Zds
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynq5ynZgZns
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7omFuG7NA

Thanks for the links, kirakira!

This was soo hilarious indeed!

The two comedians (Tunnels) kept trying to distract Mao by asking her questions (they did this to the others too), and then Miki kept being like, 'Mao, the ball's coming!'

And then Mao was trying to distract them by being like, "My sister Mai is in the audience! She's sitting right behind you!" Very clever, Mao.

I agree that the skaters looked a little uncomfortable when they were making fun of Akko and kept bringing up the Bond girl pose. (It cracked me up when Ishibashi-san first did the Akko imitation, and all the other skaters were like, "there was nothing like that!!" And Mao's like, "oh yeah, there was something kind of like that." )

I DID agree when they said Mao looked like a cute doll. And the whole audience went, "Cute~~!"

Miki was pretty awesome. And Mao was great at serving. The boys...well, they could've done better.

Ok, but, OMG, what the heck was that at 8:55 in the last video??!!!! After Dai fired the losing shot, Mao surreptitiously grabs his left hand!!!!!!! And they kinda grasp fingers for a second
Ok, well perhaps I'm letting my imagination get the better of me, and maybe she's just trying to push him back to the other side BUT STILL, it seemed awfully familiar. And I can definitely see why Taka-chan was looking oh so jealous in those pics from Natl's when Dai and Mao are sitting together with the trophies.

Batsuchan wrote:

I agree that the skaters looked a little uncomfortable when they were making fun of Akko and kept bringing up the Bond girl pose. (It cracked me up when Ishibashi-san first did the Akko imitation, and all the other skaters were like, "there was nothing like that!!" And Mao's like, "oh yeah, there was something kind of like that." )

Yeah, that was kinda mean of the comedians.

Batsuchan wrote:

Ok, but, OMG, what the heck was that at 8:55 in the last video??!!!! After Dai fired the losing shot, Mao surreptitiously grabs his left hand!!!!!!! And they kinda grasp fingers for a second

You have a good eye. I totally missed that. I think it just happened in the moment, and there isn't any deep meaning to it.

Batsuchan wrote:

(It cracked me up when Ishibashi-san first did the Akko imitation, and all the other skaters were like, "there was nothing like that!!" And Mao's like, "oh yeah, there was something kind of like that." )

It was not just Mao. Dai agreed with her. I often feel that they seem to understand each other very well. They both are a bit spacey (in a very different way) and seem to complement each others' temperament quite nicely. I think that they are fond of each other in a brotherly sisterly way.

Batsuchan wrote:

Ok, but, OMG, what the heck was that at 8:55 in the last video??!!!! After Dai fired the losing shot, Mao surreptitiously grabs his left hand!!!!!!! And they kinda grasp fingers for a second
Ok, well perhaps I'm letting my imagination get the better of me, and maybe she's just trying to push him back to the other side BUT STILL, it seemed awfully familiar. And I can definitely see why Taka-chan was looking oh so jealous in those pics from Natl's when Dai and Mao are sitting together with the trophies.

I think you are reading too much into it! It is funny though!
The show was quite hilarious. I prefer to watch them on Tokyo Friend Park! I hope they do a two-hour special with them this year. Miki and Nobu must be there! They need to show up because Mao, Dai and Taka-chan are a little introverted. They seem to get a little caught up in their own little worlds. Miki under the guise of being bossy keeps the team together and Nobu cheers everyone up! He is witty and sweet. I think he could make a living as a comedian

Batsuchan wrote:

chineseteacup!!! Long time no see! Thanks so much for those pics! Soo jealous you were in Japan! Hope you had a great time!

Hello, hello Batsuchan! Yes, I had a great time, thank you! As usual, boring real life stuff like uni exams and what-not got in the way . I'm so glad I finally have the time to catch up on everything Mao-related .

...hmm is it just me or did Taka-chan seem slightly jealous during those Mao-Dai moments??





I love these things

And chineseteacup, I'm really jealous! Haha...hope you had a great time in Japan! I really wish I could go soon...

@ chineseteacup, yay for time to catch up on Mao stuff! That's what I've been doing on my break!

Spacey wrote:

I think you are reading too much into it! It is funny though!
The show was quite hilarious. I prefer to watch them on Tokyo Friend Park! I hope they do a two-hour special with them this year. Miki and Nobu must be there! They need to show up because Mao, Dai and Taka-chan are a little introverted. They seem to get a little caught up in their own little worlds. Miki under the guise of being bossy keeps the team together and Nobu cheers everyone up! He is witty and sweet. I think he could make a living as a comedian

Hehehe, Spacey, I guess you and beppu (welcome beppu! ) are probably right--I'm reading too much into things, AS USUAL! Though it is funny that both me and my mom noticed the first time we watched it!

I do hope that they get to do Tokyo Friend Park this year, though I'm not sure who'll they'll pick to be on the show, and it will be sad if there are only 4 of them...

The group interview that they did before the 2009 WTT with Mao, Miki, Oda and Kozuka was absolutely hilarious though!!! That's when we first learned about Mao calling Taka, "Taka-chan."

Here are a few more tidbits from the table tennis show:

At the very beginning, to distract Mao, Ishibashi-san asked her about her big ring, and he was like, "Is that a present from your papa?" And Mao replied, "No, one of my fans gave it to me." Ishibashi-san couldn't believe that she got it from a fan.

At 7:51 in part 1, Mao says, "Please do an imitation of me." So Ishibashi-san goes, "Triple jump!" And Shuuzou-san (the guy in the yellow) says "triple axel!"

At 8:20 in part 1, Miki's all worried and says, "Mao, the ball is coming!" I thought this was really revealing, and cute. When Miki is talking to Mao directly, she calls Mao, "Mao." Not even "Mao-chan." This shows that they are so close that she doesn't even need to add a "-chan" at the end.
However, later, in part 2, around 8:27, they ask Mao and Miki if they have a "senpai-kouhai" (senior-junior) relationship, and Miki explains that "....Asada-senshu started skating before me." But you could definitely see her pause--I think she was going to say "Mao", but then she stopped herself and said "Asada-senshu" (literally "player Asada"), which is much more formal/professional instead.
That is one thing I have really appreciated about Mao/Miki's relationship. Although they are technically rivals, I've never seen them act like anything other than friends that grew up together, and are almost like siblings.

In part 1, around 8:22, the comedians try to distract Mao with this dialogue:
Ishibashi: Mao, you haven't found a boyfriend?
Mao: Nope.
Ishibashi: But didn't you say that you were supposed to fall in love?
Kinashi (shorter guy): Love is important, isn't it?
Ishibashi: Yeah, love is important.
[Miki: The ball's coming!]
Kinashi: It's the second day of the New Year!
All: Yay!
Ishibashi: Love is important, yes?
All: Yay!
Kinashi: We want [Mao] to fall in love, right?
All: Yay!
Ishibashi: Mao-chan, among the celebrities, who do you like?
Mao: ..... [Mao's expression here is too cute!! ]
Announcer: She's thinking.
Shuuzou: [to the rescue!] She won't say anything. Because this is one of your tactics.

Then they try to ask Daisuke what kind of girl he likes, but he doesn't let them distract him.

At 8:27 in part 2, the comedians make a comment about the nice expensive watch Miki is wearing, and Miki explains that it was a present from her mom on her 20th birthday. Nice mom!

ETA Now that I've seen sapphiresky's lovely screenshots, you have to admit, the Mao-Dai handholding thing does look pretty interesting when it's freeze-framed like that!!

Batsuchan wrote:

I do hope that they get to do Tokyo Friend Park this year, though I'm not sure who'll they'll pick to be on the show, and it will be sad if there are only 4 of them...

I do hope that it is a least six of them... Mao, Miki, Dai, Nobu, Taka and Akiko, Kanako or Shizuka.

Batsuchan wrote:

The group interview that they did before the 2009 WTT with Mao, Miki, Oda and Kozuka was absolutely hilarious though!!! That's when we first learned about Mao calling Taka, "Taka-chan."

I remember that! It was when they were all eating a whole bunch of desserts from all over the world!

Thank you for all the tidbits! You know, it struck me that Ishibashi and Kinashi are big Mao fans. It was hilarious when they were about to win the first game and Ishibashi said: If I win the next point I won't be able to hang out with Mao-chan-tachi (means Mao and the rest of them) any longer. Will you guys take pictures with me later? I will do my Kim, Yu-Na pose.

Kinashi: Yes, shall we all have lunch at the Grand Hyatt together?

A few years ago, I remember seeing Dai in a show with Smap and Ishibashi. Takuya Kimura (from SMAP) was asking Dai-chan if he ever gets involved with other skaters. Dai did not quite understand his question so Takuya asked if he for instance ever gets involved with someone like Mikity or Mao-chan. At the very mention of Mao-chan's name, Ishibashi in a very protective way, said: No! Not Mao-chan! That is just wrong! She is too young!

It was hilarious! Dai-chan could not stop laughing at Ishibashi's reaction.

Batsuchan wrote:

ETA Now that I've seen sapphiresky's lovely screenshots, you have to admit, the Mao-Dai handholding thing does look pretty interesting when it's freeze-framed like that!!

Argh! I'm returning to the TakaMao camp but that animated clip makes me squeal all over for MaoSuke.