Yuzu wakes up to Yuzu news too.
…bed hair and all.
Every Fanyu knows what it’s like to wake up in the morning and open social media to see what Yuzu news they missed while they were asleep. Because the Fanyuniverse never stops…and, as we all know by now, neither does Yuzu.
But what must it feel like to actually BE #HanyuYuzuru(GOAT EMOJI)? Many mornings, I have opened Twitter and thought, ‘Wow. Something happened.’ as I see multiple Yuzu hashtags trending. But it must be really crazy to get on Twitter and think:
‘Wow. Something happened…and I think it’s me.’
There have been few days as big on social media as that fateful day Yuzu finally opened the SNS door and stepped inside with us. I love that we were able to prepare these spaces before Yuzu arrived. He gave us time to furnish them with all his favorite things and to get the Pooh-san throw pillows and our gyoza recipes just right. I hope he is comfortable here, and that he has as much fun as we do when creating content about himself. Though I must admit, I can’t be the only Yuzu Content Creator who couldn’t help but giggle with satisfaction when Yuzu admitted how long it took him to edit his Christmas gift for the Fanyus. While it came from a complete and total place of love, I might’ve uttered the words, “See. It’s hard; isn’t it, Yuzu?” Then again, we aren’t pulling from the immense amount of content Yuzu has at his perfect fingertips. For his work on the Prologue videos, I just imagine him saying to his staff, “I need my entire life delivered to me on a flash drive…ありがとう [thanks]!”
But let’s roll the clock back to when Yuzu first got on Twitter – well – when Yuzu first got on Twitter and stayed on Twitter. I loved the Fanyus who acted as if that meant Yuzu suddenly discovered the existence of Twitter, Instagram and YouTune – as if he never knew they existed before 1:11 am on September 30. And suddenly everyone needed to behave because Yuzu might see their posts. It’s like shouting “We have to clean the house!” before guests arrive and then finding the guests have actually been living upstairs for the last four years. They just never came down to breakfast. Because…
Yuzu has already been living in our house for years.
So, I hate to break it to you, but you’ve already been seen. And he was actually stealthier then, because we didn’t know who he wassssss. I would like to think we’ve always behaved as if Yuzu was seeing everything we posted, but I guess some people need to see the policeman sitting at the intersection in order to not run the stoplight. And let’s be real. Some people get more thrills from running it because they saw the policeman. And to that I say, “Ignore those rogue citizens, Yuzu.”
Then, things started to get complicated, and for a while it seemed that Yuzu’s next thesis needed to be about YouTune monetization and memberships. The number of analyses alone from Fanyus could’ve filled an entire department at a university.
“And in this section of the library, we house The Hanyu SNS Journals.”
Everyone wanted to make sure we were maximizing Yuzu’s social media presence at a rapid pace, which, for the (world) record, is the only pace Fanyus operate. My favorite Yuzu YouTune Channel watching advice was this: Act the most like a human as possible. I’m pretty sure that sums up what we Fanyus have been pushing for in fan decency and fairness for years.
Because as much as we have tried to create a beautiful, safe, supportive space for Yuzu and his fans, things can get ugly (especially if certain other figure skaters wander over into the wrong hashtag lane. I’ll let you decide who I mean.) One minute, everyone is gushing over Yuzu’s latest 6 second video clip (which we used to get once every few months and now get nigh near daily) and then the next minute I’m thinking, ‘WHOA! What happened?’ as Twitter becomes a mud fight. At one point, I thought Yuzu was going to have to call AERA and have them release another photo to act as the water hose to calm everyone down – well, maybe calm isn’t the best word to describe what the Yuzu AERA photos did to the Fanyus…In the midst of one particularly volatile day on Twitter, Yuzu even tried dropping a photo with scandalously exposed ankles. And if Yuzu’s bare ankles can’t bring about World Peace, what hope do we have?
How does it feel to get on social media at any time of day or night to find someone crying hysterically over the mere fact that you exist…or that you have bare ankles? Or to see people are drawing you, posting pictures of you or even writing a blog or recording a podcast about you? And what must it be like to be defended by people you’ve never met as if they are a mother bear and you are their cub (or, in Yuzu’s case, their “Baby Kitty”)?
It’s also hard to imagine that Yuzu now has to think of things like, ‘Gee. I need to get a good photo of the Prologue set to put on my Instagram.’ Though sometimes I’m not entirely sure Yuzu remembers he has an Instagram…(and I’m quite certain he would never begin a thought with “Gee.”) I can’t help imagining Yuzu on his computer checking all his site analytics like I do. But I have to say I feel bad for Yuzu that he will never experience the feeling of opening Twitter or Instagram or YouTune and feeling that disappointed emptiness of seeing that he has no notifications. It’s a SNS right of passage, but he quad looped right over that sucker into a land where every post is the Holy Grail of SNS posts.
And it’s not just on SNS. It’s in the “real world” too. I mean, Yuzu has newspapers doing stories about magazines. Since when does THAT happen? “Breaking news! Someone took a picture of Yuzu and it’s going to be in a magazine.” In fact, the newspapers are even competing with each other.
“We put Yuzu photo printing machines in the コンビニ [convenience store].”
“Well, we’re going to hang a Yuzu tapestry on the side of the building.”
“Well, we’re going to rename our paper The Asahi Hanyu.”
Back when SharePractice happened (which we’re ready for another one of those Yuzu, whenever you have some spare time), and I started seeing the photos of all the newspaper coverage, I found myself wondering, ‘Has ANYTHING else happened in Japan since SharePractice?’ But also, ‘Keep up the good work 日本の新聞 [Japan newspapers].’
Even the Fanyus are competing with each other (albeit in the most polite, civilized, loving way possible). We want a ticket to GIFT. And if we can’t directly buy a ticket to GIFT, we want to enter a lottery to buy a ticket to GIFT. And if there’s no other way to enter a lottery to buy a ticket to GIFT, we want to go buy as much skincare as we possibly can in order to enter a lottery to buy a ticket to GIFT. And if it turns out we can’t enter a lottery to buy a ticket to GIFT, we at least want a chance to have the opportunity to get rejected by Yuzu (though we all know that isn’t realllllly what is happening). I can just see the Mainichi Yuzu newspaper headlines:
“Enter to win a chance to enter a contest where the grand prize is a chance to enter a contest where you might win the chance to enter to win a ticket to see Yuzu! *restrictions apply”
And right beside that will be another article about Yuzu being on the cover of a magazine…with bare ankles.
In short, Yuzu stopped competing for everyone and now everyone is competing for him. So sleep well, Yuzu. (Seriously, SLEEP, Yuzu). Because that’s the way it should be.
