Featured / Yuzuru Hanyu is My Emergency Contact

Pretty Face Yuzu

I thought I might have to title this blog post “What did you do, Yuzu?”

Because Yuzu has been breaking things: the internet, the Fanyus, the soon-to-be Fanyus, the magazine industry, the fashion industry – all with one flying leap and a smoldering sit.

Yuzu has made it clear that he would like to be remembered for his skating…not how he looked in a pair of Gucci loafers (though he’s never actually mentioned the loafers part in any of his interviews – yet.) But I think Yuzu likes to walk away from everything he does with the thought of, ‘Nailed it.’ I mean, we all saw the tiny victory fist after Rondo at GIFT; right? Then again, knowing Yuzu, he probably left the Elle photoshoot thinking he did “so so.” 

What the world doesn’t seem to realize is Yuzu has been “giving us Elle” for years. Picture after picture of beautiful (often unposed) Yuzu. Awesome Yuzu is Awesome Yuzu. He didn’t become awesome the moment his bare foot stepped onto the Elle set. I seriously doubt any Fanyu saw the Elle Japan covers and thought, ‘Finally! A good picture of Yuzu!’ This is what has baffled me about the frenzy surrounding them. I have over 4,000 photos of Yuzu saved on my computer. And I wouldn’t want to part with any of them. What has made these Elle photos so much more special? (My sister did point out, “Well. It is a really good photo.”)

Suddenly, everyone is trying to join the Yuzu Photo Parade. Shortly after the Elle Japan covers were released, Ajinomoto and Sekkisei posted new photos of Yuzu. It was like they were shouting into the crowd with a tiny voice, “We have a picture of Yuzu!” And AERA was right behind them waving their arms in the air and proclaiming, “We had pictures too! One even made it into a museum!” And all I could do was laugh and think, ‘Now may not be the time…’. I mean, we love our Smiley, Gyoza-eating Yuzu and our “Here I am putting moisturizer on my face without the moles airbrushed out” Yuzu, but there is something – something – special going on with these Elle photos. And no one is able to function – except for Yuzu. 

In a very Yuzu move, Yuzu is living his life as if none of this ever happened. At all. In a world where everyone is trying to get attention, everyone is trying to go viral – Yuzu hasn’t even had Staff-san retweet it (at least at the time of this blog’s publication…) I hope his mom was able to pre-order it (both covers!) before it sold out. And it’s not just the magazine Yuzu sold out – it’s everything in those Elle photos. The suit, the loafers, the socks, the suitcase, the paint drop cloth and every single food item on the craft services table. Probably even the hair gel in his hair. And if you think we can’t figure out what brand, price, bottle size, and scent that hair gel is, you’ve never met a Fanyu. I’m currently in a bidding war on eBay for the letter “L” that was obscured by his left shoulder in the Sitting Cover.

As Elle released more photos, it became clear that any of them could’ve been the cover. I can just imagine the Elle Artistic Team meeting around a conference room table and trying to figure out the logistics of a 67 cover release. “Well, we have the photo of him in the sweater and the green suit. The photo on the suitcase. The flying photo. The fist photo. The close up photo…the close up photo…and that other close up photo. And don’t forget all the photos where he’s doing something inexplicably hypnotic with his hands.” But really, they also could’ve used a photo of Yuzu walking into the studio from the parking lot in sweatpants or lounging on his futon (in another pair of famous green pants) when Elle texted his non-phone and said, “Hey. Want to set the magazine industry on fire for us?” 

I’m somewhat enamored with the photo of just the suitcase – particularly because it is paired with the caption stating it was the suitcase “Hanyu was sitting on.” There is something whimsically romantic about it. Not to mention that you DO feel Yuzu’s essence remaining in that photo. And it takes some serious modeling skills to dominate a photo you aren’t even in anymore. 

Yes, we loved the covers. Yes, we loved the additional photos. Yes, we all wish we were within at least a few hundred miles of Gucci Ginza. But what I think I love the most is the videos. And not for the obvious reasons. (Being that they are videos of Yuzu.) I love them because they prove that what you see is what Yu…zu did. For anyone who wants to say these photos were fabricated, I say, “HOLD UP. Watch the video.” That is what he DID. Someone wants to argue that he couldn’t really have jumped like that with his feet like that and his hands like that and looking straight into the camera (and our souls) all at the same time? “HOLD UP. Watch the video.” Someone wants to argue that he must’ve been airbrushed? “HOLD UP. Watch the video.” Face it. You would have to Photoshop Yuzu to make him IMperfect.

Despite the obvious reasons, what I think has made these covers so popular is that they are ONLY YUZU. And photos of ONLY YUZU have come out at a time when the Fanyus are desperate for one thing: ONLY YUZU. Since GIFT (the ultimate ONLY YUZU experience), Yuzu has been getting more and more frequently tossed in with “others.” Far too many people are becoming “Yuzu adjacent.” Yuzu is not an accessory. He doesn’t need to be in group numbers. He doesn’t need to breathe life into someone’s Instagram account. He doesn’t need to be dressed up like another artist. He doesn’t need to validate someone’s career. (Ahem.) He has enough Yuzu to dedicate his full Yuzuness to. So when the photos in the Yuzu SNS threads were actually of ONLY YUZU – the Fanyus thought, “Well, hot dang.” In addition to thinking, “Well, HOT DANG!!!!!” Someone finally let Yuzu be the center of attention. Thank you for realizing that ONLY YUZU is enough, Elle Japan.

But.

After the photos started taking over the world, I started to feel things. I don’t mean “feel things” like when I watch R&J 1.0. I mean “feel things” that were…unsettling. There’s the worry of “Is Yuzu going to outgrow even us?” I know I have no right to say this, but I was so proud of Yuzu on Elle Japan. At first, it was satisfying to see all these people appreciating Yuzu when they don’t even know who he is. But it wasn’t long before the wildfire of Yuzu adoration started to singe that which we hold most dear: Yuzu’s unique essence. And I became (even more) strangely protective of Yuzu. I found myself wanting to shout at non-Fanyus, “Don’t look at him like that!…Don’t think those thoughts you’re thinking about Yuzu!…Run, Yuzu, run!” (I’m not talking to you, Fanyu. I’m talking to the person who probably wants to know what J-Pop group Yuzu is in. And who, seriously, needs to stop having the thoughts they are thinking about Yuzu.) Yes, he is unbelievably attractive…handsome…sexy…perfect PERFECT, but he is so much more. 

The Fanyus know that what we are seeing goes so much deeper than an expensive suit. We value talent. We value substance. We value heart. And I’m not saying there isn’t room for more Fanyus. We should grow by the millions every day. It’s fine if Yuzu’s looks are the door, but they shouldn’t be the entire house. He’s more than a pretty face. He’s a beautiful soul. And he shouldn’t just be added to a collection. Yuzu deserved to gain millions more fans when he visited victims of 3.11. Or when he dropped his thesis. (He should consider writing a thesis on how to save print media. After all, he already wrote one on how to save figure skating.) Or with every heartfelt message he sends to us through his YouTube channel. Or even when he sanitized his bangs. It’s about how Yuzu makes us feel, deep in our hearts, when we look at him. Because of everything we have been through with him. And, in his own way, everything he has been through with us. 

When I look at a photo of Yuzu, I see the most incredibly attractive human I have ever seen in my life. But I also see an athlete, an artist, a philanthropist, a businessman, a dancer (yes, Yuzu, a dancer), a creator, an innovator…and the most decent, generous, humble, kind, genuine human. (Only Yuzu could simultaneously trend with a fashion photo in a $1000 shirt and an article about liking Choco Pies. P.S. Lotte – sign him again!) But it goes even deeper than that. I see someone whose skating has saved my sanity (many times). I see someone whose smile has comforted me when I feel alone. I see someone who has made me laugh so loudly that my neighbors must think I’m crazy (refer to earlier comment about the bangs sanitizing). I see someone whose tears have reminded me we all have broken hearts.

I see…a friend. 

Yuzu is so much more than a two dimensional image frozen in time on a magazine cover. Yuzu is a three dimensional force of life – exuding a blinding, shining spirit. He cannot be contained to a page – glossy or not. So I hope everyone who buys the magazine because there is a “pretty face” on the cover also takes the time to look at the pages inside…and I don’t mean the pages inside Elle.

I mean the pages inside Yuzu.