Friends+ Interview with Shoma
Friends＋α 2018-19 with Shizuka Arakawa and Shoma Uno - 9/24/2018
disclaimer/notes: This is in transcript format to make it easier to read but it has NOT been transcribed and translated word for word. Since it’s a 48min interview translated by ear, a lot of it has been summarized or paraphrased. My Japanese isn’t totally fluent either, so there may be some mistakes and/or omissions. Oh and I just realized I still haven’t fixed the inconsistent use of lol and [laugh] throughout this and I’m too tired to do it right now so pls forgive ;;
Intro
Shizuka: Last time you said you wore the outfit they prepared for you. How about today?
Shoma: I woke up 30 minutes ago and this was the outfit that was laid out for me.
Shizuka: So, same as last time.
About off-season activities after the Olympics
Shoma: I’ve done ice shows, then training camp and then more ice shows. I think I did more of them last year. I thought it was a bit much last year [laugh], so this year I took the liberty of doing fewer shows.
Shizuka: Do you like ice shows?
Shoma: To be honest, I like competitions better. But on shows like The Ice, I got to skate last for the first time, and it felt like I had a bigger role to play. I used to just show up and do my part without thinking too much. Now I think more about the bigger picture: I’ve had to think more carefully about what I can do to contribute to the show and make the audience happy. I feel a stronger sense of responsibility now. Being the first one to come out and the last one to skate feels like a big deal. It was the first time in an ice show that I felt so strongly that I couldn’t make any mistakes. That was a good experience and honestly it was fun, too.
The Birth of Shoko-chan
Shoma: When I heard we were doing cosplay for the jump contest, I thought it was going to be too much time in the spotlight and I didn’t want it, to be honest. I would rather lose soon and just focus on performing. But the last event was going to be in Nagoya and Oda-kun said, “What are we gonna do if Shoma doesn’t win.” I also thought it’d be good jump practice. The cosplay had to be something funny, so for the 1st day I was Luigi. I thought I was gonna be Luigi the next time too, but Kazuki-kun, Kaori-chan and Marin-chan told me that was boring. Then I ended up being a blue power ranger [laugh].
Shizuka: Was that your idea?
Shoma: That was chosen for me, too. Everyone who was younger than me was like “put this on,” and I was like “okay” [laugh]. Then at the last event I got into it as well, and when we were deciding what to do I gave my input as well, “let’s do crossdressing.” I asked Marin-chan and Kaori-chan for help with the makeup.
Shizuka: So you didn’t dislike it?
Shoma: [laugh] well…
Shizuka: You get used to things quickly.
SHoma: Yeah. That day rather than thinking it was embarrassing I thought it seemed like fun lol.
Shizuka: So you had fun.
Shoma: I had a lot of fun.
Collab with Stephane Shoma: That was a great opportunity for me. Stephane-san is very good at steps and I was afraid I wasn’t gonna be able to keep up. But I wanted to do a good job. To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to be doing my version of winter until the day of the event.
Shizuka: Really?! I’m sure we had talked about it. You knew there was a collaboration, right?
Shoma: I heard I was gonna be doing a collaboration but.…
Shizuka: Well, then! that means you were going to do it, no?
Shoma: LOL
Shizuka: You weren’t listening.
Shoma: No…I really panicked.
Shizuka: So you hadn’t practiced.
Shoma: I hadn’t practiced it since Worlds.
Shizuka: What? [disapprovingly] Huh.
Shoma: So I managed to focus on practicing on my own as soon as I arrived. But since I did that program for a year, my body still remembered it and the fact that I hadn’t done it for a while helped me realize what adjustments I could make. It was tricky doing the steps together and there was a lot of twizzles in the opposite direction. But it was fun to figure it out like that and I was happy I could do that kind of program.
Shizuka: I’ve thought for a long time Stéphane is a standout professional skater among all the pro-skaters I’ve seen. And for you to skate along side him…I think both of you seemed encouraged by one another and it was a sight to see.
Shoma: I was really nervous. I’m usually never nervous for the opening and finale, but this time I got through it despite being a bit nervous. From the moment I stood up, it was like I was going to a competition. Because Stephane-san is a really incredible person…and since we’re doing the program together, it’s even more important not to make mistakes than when I’m performing alone. I didn’t want to fall behind and I had to get the rhythm just right, so I was very focused.
Shizuka: You two do not have the same style, and it’s not that you “more or less matched each other” and made it work while still flaunting your individual styles…I mean, I thought your individuality became a plus rather than a hindrance. In the synchronized step sequence you two did at the end, you were both skating with such confidence. I loved that part when you came to the corner. I was watching from that corner and I thought, “Wow, those two look really cool.”
Shoma: [giggles]
Shizuka: So at what time during the program were you able to relax?
Shoma: As I was doing all the steps and going into the final spins, I had some confidence.
Shizuka: Right, you had that look of “it’s gone well today.” I liked that look on the two of you.
Shoma: We didn’t really decide on a precise number of steps, so I would look at Stephane and try to figure out just before, ‘oh today must be 8. Today must be 6.’ lol
Shizuka: Well, Stephane is an artist after all.
Shoma: I got it wrong and ended it early in practice once, so I told myself to remember to be careful around that part [laugh]. And I’m also very bad at doing twizzles in the other direction.
Shizuka: Everyone is, but Stephane is different, right? He’s basically equally good in either direction. When making the program for someone, he’ll add things whether you’re good at them or not.
Shoma: He sure put in a lot of them…
Shizuka: Before Dai-chan had also thought, “ah he’s adding too much of them” [laugh]. But I think he made you do it because he knew you could.
Shoma: I think he knew I was bad at doing them in the other direction…
Shizuka: But he thinks you’ll be able to figure it out. He probably evaluated you and figured you could do it. Meanwhile he asks me which direction I prefer [laugh].
Shoma: He probably thinks I should be challenging myself more.
Shizuka: It turned out great.
Shoma: Yes. I want to do more collaborations next year with lots of different people.
Shizuka: I’ll have to think of something stimulating for you then.
How were things backstage?
Shizuka: It was quite calm this year wasn’t it?
Shoma: Yes. But Stephane wasn’t dressed yet 3 minutes before the performance.
Shizuka: But that’s just Stephane.
Shoma: It’s always like that right?
Shizuka: He has that kind of authority. There’s such a thing as Stephane Time. He starts putting his boots on right when it’s go time [laugh].
Shoma: I kept worrying, “is he going to make it??” And then while I was doing my part of the performance I’d see Stephane coming in and it was such a relief lol
Shizuka: You must’ve been worried you were going to end up alone. You’d have to do his part, too!
Chicago this season
Shoma: It’s not that I go to Chicago to learn jumps: I have objectives like building up my stamina, getting [mentally] ready for the new season. I hate going abroad [laugh], so going to Chicago is a way to transition out of the off-season and get into the competitive mindset again. When it comes to jumps, I’ve benefitted from a lot of advice and opinions from many different people, but the main part of the process has always been practicing on my own. When I was little, I’d get impatient waiting for the teachers who were helping Kanako and I would practice by myself. I’d try to figure it out by myself a lot, and little by little I’d get the hang of a new jump.
Shizuka: Does it feel like the joy you get leveling up in a game, like you learn a jump and ‘dah-dah-dah-dah’? [nintendo level-up sound effect, I think?]
Shoma: [laugh] No, I think it’s a bit different with jumps.
Shizuka: Ah, I apologize [laugh].
Shoma: No, no, no! I just mean, it’s kind of like, all of a sudden, it clicks. It’s not like you learn it because you became stronger, it’s just sudden. In games, you don’t level up suddenly, you get gradually get closer and closer. I think it’s different in that sense.
Shizuka: Ah, I see.
Shoma: I think leveling up is more similar to spins and interpretation.
Shizuka: So is it like finding an item?
Shoma: Yeah, it’s like finding a rare item! Like, “oh, here it is” lol. When it comes to being able to jump, I think that part of it comes from just random confidence, like thinking “it feels like I can do it.” When you do have that confidence for whatever reason, you just do it. Of course, first it takes a lot of hard work to get to that point, but that’s how I feel I was able to grasp the 3A.
Shizuka: Right now, what are the jumps that you feel you have to work on a bit more?
Shoma: Quad toe and quad flip. When I’m doing a lot of other jumps, the success rate of those 2 aren’t good and I feel like they become unstable. I’d like to do the toe-loop as consistently as I can do the axel. And as for the flip, I’d like for it to stop feeling so difficult in my mind. If I can think of it as a simpler jump…I’d like to lessen the intensity of my feelings about it this season.
About Daisuke’s Comeback
Shizuka: When you were a kid, you must have had opportunities to see the competitions he was in live or on TV?
Shoma: No, I didn’t. It was only once at Nationals when I got to see him perform Phantom of the Opera live. That was the first time I ever watched someone perform and thought, “I wanna be like him.” I think some people must have watched it even more times, but I watched the video like 3 or 4 times.
Shizuka: That’s not a lot lol. But in your case that’s a lot, right, and it seems like it was a big deal in your life as a skater.
Shoma: I don’t watch things more than once lol. That was the only time.
Shizuka: So when you heard that the only one you watched more than once, the one that had such an influence on you, was coming back to competition, what did you think?
Shoma: I was busy with a job somewhere and my manager came and said, “you know…” and that was most shocked I’ve been this whole year. I was so shocked. ‘Coming back to compete…you mean, to compete?’ For me this is a time when everything’s changed so much, so I tried to imagine if it was me in his place. I don’t think I could have come back. I’ve never retired so I can’t understand how he feels. But I think the fact that he could make the decision to come back is really amazing. At first I was just so shocked. But when I thought about it more calmly, it must be a matter of putting his feelings into action.
Shizuka: When you think about competing with this skater you’ve always looked up to, how do you feel?
Shoma: I still can’t picture it. It was only once that I was in the same competition as Daisuke Takahashi-san, only once that we skated at the same place and at the same time. Even then it didn’t really feel like we were in the same competition because he was on a different level. So I still have not experienced competing with him.
Shizuka: Not in the sense of being able to put up a fight.
SHoma: RIght. So I can’t even begin to imagine.
Shizuka: But now that you’re an olympic medalist, are you looking forward to getting that chance?
Shoma: I just can’t imagine it.
Shizuka: Your paths are going to be different, Daisuke’s going to regionals and then sectionals, so if you 2 were to meet it would be at Nationals. Or are you participating in Western Japan Championships (sectionals)?
Shoma: No, I’m just going with the towel to support him, like this [mimics].
Shizuka: Ah the pink one, right? lol.
Shoma: Hahaha. Yeah, I’m just a member of the audience.
Shizuka: This is the only time you’ve wanted to watch anything. You don’t go to watch competitions, right?
Shoma: No. I’ll go to Western Japan sectionals…
Shizuka: I want to see you waving that towel.
Shoma: lol
Shizuka: I wonder if he’ll like that.
Shoma: I want to see how it will turn out with Takahashi-san as a competitor.
Have you talked to Daisuke about it?
Shoma: No. We often chat a bit in ice shows but not about skating. I don’t really talk to people about skating outside of interviews.
Off-season stuff
Shoma: I was very focused on gaming this off-season. I was trying my hardest. I thought, wow the world is very big and there are a lot of strong people out there. As a skater I’m competing on an upper level, so I kept thinking a lot about how the top gamers managed to get to the top levels.
Shizuka: How does a standard day go for you?
Shoma: I wake up, then I sleep on the car on my way to the rink. I sleep until the last second before I start practice. Then I eat while playing games and go back to practice. I play games on my way home, then I eat and game some more before I go to sleep. It’s split in 3 parts: sleeping, skating and gaming. I think it’s 8 hours each. I game too much and forget to talk to my parents and reply to friends and stuff…so no one invites me to do anything anymore [laugh]. I really do the same things every day. When I have to talk to people, it’s kind of troublesome because I have nothing to talk about. The topics are really limited.
Shizuka: Don’t you watch TV?
Shoma: No…I don’t even need to have one at home.
Shizuka: So you must get lost talking to people sometimes.
Shoma: Yeah, I do, so I just nod and go “hmm.” I’m learning by listening [laugh].
Shizuka: Has anything changed since you became 20?
Shoma: Not really.
Shizuka: Do you drink alcohol now?
Shoma: Sometimes. Mostly on my own [laugh].
Shizuka: You just stay home?
Shoma: Yeah, I’m not the type to leave the house. I don’t want to go anywhere. I just want walk around the house at night by myself.
Shizuka: [laughs] You’re like a grandpa.
Shoma: Sometimes I think about what I’ll do when I stop skating. I think I want to live a very slow, calm life lol.
Shizuka: It seems like you already are lol.
Shoma: I do like exercising. I have one day off a week, and if I just stay home the next day I can’t move well at practice, so I go out once. I have friends from university like Matsuda Yura, Takeuchi Kotaro, Nitaya Rin-chan and others. So I go bowling or something with them once a week. It’s the only time I’ll go out each week [laugh].
Shizuka: [laugh] You’re like a mole who won’t leave the burrow.
How he spends his time
Shoma: I hate not having anything to do. If I have time, I want to use it for something. That’s why I game whenever I have free time. I can’t just not do anything so it’s like, I have to game. Whenever I’m free, I just game, so I seriously wonder what other people do in their free time [laugh]. You must be very busy being a mom, right?
Shizuka: Yeah, nowadays I’m busy raising my kids, but when I was competing I had lots of free time. I liked drinking with friends at home. I liked talking to friends.
Shoma: I’m really bad at talking. I had to do a lot of interviews, so now I can talk at least this much, but I used to be terrible at it and I’m still not very good. So it’s more comfortable drinking alone at home rather than with a bunch of people. I like Cassius orange, Smirnoff and Peach Long...
Shizuka: You like sweet drinks, huh! I like Piña Colada.
Shoma: Pina…Cola…da?
Shizuka: Yeah, it’s a pineapple drink, feels very tropical. I don’t think you’re into ‘tropical’ though lol Skaters usually want to take a vacation somewhere with a warm climate where you can go to the beach, don’t you like the beach?
Shoma: I haven’t been in a while. Sometimes I think it’d be nice to go alone to a place where no one’s around, with beautiful natural scenery.
Shizuka: Alone?
Shoma: Yeah, definitely alone lol. I’d first cool off, get refreshed. I don’t think it fits my image but…
Shizuka: You want to try it right.
Shoma: I want to go alone, but I think that person over there would probably say no [looking off-camera, to his manager, presumably?].
While doing a pose for the “friends plus” promo thing, producer asks him, “Could you do it one more time with more energy?” Shoma: “[laughs bitterly] that had plenty of energy though…”
Things he likes in his programs, either in the SP or FS
Shoma: In the SP, my favorite part is the step sequence where I do some steps, spin on one knee, then get up, dance and go back into the steps. And I like the music, the way the guitar melody [in the beginning] changes into a tango-like melody during that part [the stsq]. I like the contrast.
Shizuka: It feels like something new to you?
Shoma: Yes, I’ve been challenging so many new things this year, now I don’t really get that feeling of it being a ‘new thing.’ I just find something to enjoy in it.
Shizuka: You’ve been having fun with it?
Shoma: Yes.
Shizuka: I like the bit before the 3A where you brush your hair up. I thought that looked cool and very new.
Shoma: I got it when I was training in Canada. When I was training there, I got some choreography advice too, and the coach there came up with it.
Shizuka: Who was it?
[silence while Shoma gives her a look like, ‘uh oh, I’m not gonna know this.’ Shoma’s manager says Marie France]
Shizuka: Ah, Marie France, the ice dancer?
Shoma: My hair got very long and it would get in my face, so I kept brushing it back during practice. And she said, we should add that, it’ll look cool. I thought it was a joke at first lol. But then we really put it in the program…
Shizuka: I thought it looked very cool. It’s not like, “I’m gonna jump an Axel now!!” There’s a very casual elegance about it. It’s very impressive to be able express that through choreography.
Shoma: I quite like it too, but there’s also a concern that, “if I’m acting cool, now I better not make a mistake.” [both laugh]
Shizuka: I think it looks very cool. I want to see it again.
Shoma: [giggles]
About costumes
Shoma: I’ve had a lot of them so far. What I don’t like is frills and pink.
Shizuka: Have you decided on the costumes?
Shoma: I dunno. Every year I have like four and I don’t know which one is the real – I mean, which one I’ll be wearing in competitions.
Shizuka: Who decides?
Shoma: Mostly it’s my mom. If there’s something that can be fixed or improved, she’ll do it by hand. And if she thinks it can’t be fixed by hand, then we make a new one. It happens a lot. I just hate trying it on/getting measurements taken. I’m fine with anything, but I just have to stand there like this [mimics] for such a long time – I hate that.
Working with Shae-Lynn
Shoma: Shae-Lynn-san has a lot of experience with uptempo programs and I wanted to try that. I thought that experience would also be useful for my competitive programs. The movements were very fast. She said it was just a matter of moving my body lightly, but it was really difficult, and then the next day my body was stiff and I could barely move. My neck, too, my entire body. At first I had doubts if I could really pull it off, and to be honest I performed with some embarrassment. But the more I did it on ice shows, the more I liked it, and now it’s a program I really like performing.
Shizuka: Do you get embarrassed often?
Shoma: I get embarrassed when I feel like I’m not doing something well. I don’t like to show people something that I haven’t mastered yet. It’s been that way for a long time, even with people who know me. I don’t want to show something half-done.
Shizuka: You’re a perfectionist then.
Shoma: I guess. But lately I’ve been feeling less embarrassment.
Shizuka: How do you set your goals as a competitor?
Shoma: I don’t really…do that. I mean, I don’t see it as setting goals. I just ask myself what I want to do at that moment, make a decision and then aim for the closest objective. Right now, I think about the next competition and what I have to do to get ready, then I practice. This might be a bad way to explain it, but in games, I’m always thinking of how to get my character to the next level…and sometimes I wonder what am I doing it for – it’s not like there’s a final objective [laugh] but I still just want to get to the next level and keep improving, because I don’t like to lose.
Shizuka: Since you became an Olympic medalist and a World medalist I think the expectations surrounding you as you start the season are higher. But as for you yourself, what kind of results are you going to be aiming for?
Shoma: Last season I kept coming in 2nd all the time. That’s not all bad, but of course I want to come in 1st. I want to practice so I can win and live up to those expectations. But even though the rules have changed, I want to keep being myself and also show people that I have grown. First I just want to do well at practice without thinking only of results.
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