Yuzuru Hanyu evolved rapidly and turned his eyes to the top of the world in 2012. (5ページ目)

Although Hanyu outperformed Takahashi by 0.49 points in terms of technical elements he finished second in the free skate, 6.30 points behind Takahashi, who had scored nine-point range in all artistic elements.

However, Hanyu won the All Japan Figure Skating Championships for the first time, finishing 4.83 overall points ahead of Takahashi.

"I was disappointed that I punctured the Salchow in the final (when aiming for the quadruple which became a double), but this time I was able to overcome it," he said. "I was excited to be in the middle of the podium on the stage of the All Japan Championships, but it's disappointing to be in second place in the free skate. Though I've been chasing my seniors for a long time, I don't think I've passed them yet because I lost in the free skate."

Hanyu saw the season as a year for creating his own program for the Sochi Olympics.

Saying that he felt he was "still not physically fit", Hanyu's free skate, which had a longer performance time, was far from completion - especially when compared to his perfect short program. Even so, it was certain that he was steadily improving in a short period of time, from the NHK Trophy to the Grand Prix Final, and then from the Grand Prix Final to the All Japan Championships.