''Gift'' (full title stylized as 'GIFT – Ice Story 2023') was a solo

ice show An ice show is an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. The major ice shows were founded between 1936 and 1943, when professional figure skaters began to appear in shows, in hotels, at fairs, and "at any place a ...

by Japanese

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

and two-time Olympic champion

Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater and ice show producer. Universally regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters in history for his well-rounded skills, achievements, innovations, longevity, popularity, and impact on the sport, he started skat ...

, organized by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

, CIC Co., Ltd., and Team Sirius. It was the first

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

event at

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...

, one of Japan's largest and most prestigious entertainment venues, held on February 26, 2023. Preluded by ''

Prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

'' in 2022, ''Gift'' was the first main chapter of the Yuzuru Hanyu Ice Story, a series of solo ice shows written, produced, and directed by Hanyu himself in collaboration with Japanese choreographer Mikiko. ''Gift'' tells the story of Hanyu's life and future on ice, combining elaborate on-screen narration with live skating performances by Hanyu. The show had a duration of 150 minutes and featured 12 programs performed at the athletic level of skating competitions, including a six-minute warm-up session followed by Hanyu's short program ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' from the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

. His performances were accompanied by the

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2024, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently a ...

, the dance group Elevenplay, and a live band led by

Satoshi Takebe is a Japanese musician, keyboard player, arranger, music director and producer from Tokyo. Music career He is the composer, keyboardist, arranger, and musical producer for artists such as Yo Hitoto, Miki Imai, Tomomi Kahara, JUJU, Yuzu, and ...

. The show was sold out with 35,000 spectators, a new audience record for ice shows. It was screened live at cinemas in Japan and overseas with 30,000 visitors in total, and streamed live on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

in Japan and Globe Coding overseas. On July 14, 2023, a remastered version of the event was distributed on Disney+ worldwide. In addition to the ice show production, a picture book titled ''

Gift A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...

'' with story by Hanyu and illustrations by the

mangaka A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the industry as a pr ...

group Clamp was released in December 2023. On the first anniversary of the show, ''Gift'' was broadcast on the Japanese subscription channel CS TV Asahi. A DVD and Blu-ray of the show was released on August 20, 2024. The event was specially supported by

Kosé is a Japanese multinational company that manufactures cosmetics, personal care products, and beauty products. It is headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo. History The company was founded in 1946 by Kozaburo Kobayashi with his son as the principal c ...

's skin care brand Sekkisei and supported by Phiten, Tōwa Pharmaceutical, and

Mitsui Fudosan is a major Japanese real estate developer with properties located globally. Mitsui Fudosan is one of the core companies of Mitsui Group. Corporate structure The company is organized into four divisions. *Office Building Division *Real Estate ...

Background

''Gift'' was Hanyu's second solo ice show, performed on February26, 2023, at

in Bunkyo, Tokyo. The one-off event was again produced and directed by Hanyu in collaboration with choreographer Mikiko. The duration was extended from 90 to 150 minutes with an additional 40-minute intermission, using more advanced technology than at the previous show ''

''. According to Hanyu, ''Gift'' was designed with a narrative character, portraying his "life and future on ice". The show was constructed as a "journey through the worlds of his personality" with focus on dreams and the motif of lonesomeness. Hanyu expressed his hope that ''Gift'' could provide a "place to return to whenever people find themselves alone." He further explained: "The story is the main subject, and my programs exist within the story with various meanings. The programs are like a picture book, where you can watch the skating as if you were coming to appreciate a story." In addition to the show production, a picture book titled ''

'' was released on December 20, 2023, written by Hanyu with illustrations by the Japanese

group Clamp who are internationally known for ''

Card Captor Sakura , abbreviated as ''CCS'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from the June 1996 to August 2000 issues, it was also published in 1 ...

'' among other works.

Venue

Gift Ice Story 2023 - Tokyo Dome outdoor view

''Gift'' marked the first time that a figure skater performed and an

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

was set up at Tokyo Dome, one of Japan's largest multipurpose venues with a maximum capacity of 55,000 seats. It was constructed as a

baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

, home to the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

, but it also serves as a concert venue, with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, U2,

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

, and

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

among past guest artists. Hanyu expressed his hope to "change how people perceive figure skating ith his showat Tokyo Dome." The

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

' official news site called Hanyu's programs at ''Gift'' "performances for the ages", noting that it was "more a concert for a blockbuster artist than an ice show." At the venue, a mobile

was set up with dimensions of 60m× 30m, the standard rink size at international figure skating competitions.

Global concept and structure

For the narration and performances, a special screen was installed behind the rink, larger in size than the one used during baseball matches. In charge of the direction, projection mapping, and special effects was Mikiko in collaboration with the company Rhizomatiks. Among the guest artists were the Japanese dance group Elevenplay as well as the

and a ''Gift'' special band led by music producer

. In the show, Hanyu performed a total of twelve skating programs, among them shortened versions of his

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

programs ''Hope and Legacy'', Ballade No. 1, and ''Seimei''. He also presented two new programs to

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, inclu ...

's music piece "One Summer's Day" from the movie ''

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese Anime film, animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was produced by Toshio Suzuki, animated by Studio Ghibli, and distributed by Toho.Ado. In both performances Hanyu was accompanied by Elevenplay. He concluded the first half with a six-minute warm-up followed by his short program ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' from the

. At the Olympics, after getting caught in a hole in the ice, Hanyu had turned his opening quad

Salchow jump The Salchow jump is an edge jump in figure skating. It was named after its inventor, Ulrich Salchow, in 1909. The Salchow is accomplished with a takeoff from the back inside edge of one foot and a landing on the back outside edge of the opposite ...

into a single, which was a factor in missing out on a medal in his final Winter Games. At ''Gift'', he gave a solid performance with the same technical difficulty as in 2022, landing both planned quads and a triple Axel. Overall, he landed six successful quadruple jumps in the first half of the show as well as multiple triple Axels in the second half, surpassing the technical merit of his previous show ''Prologue''. In the finale, Satoshi Takebe presented a new music piece titled "Gift" for piano and orchestra, which he had composed exclusively for the show.

Critical reception

Russian world champion

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Elizaveta Sergeyevna Tuktamysheva ( ; rus, Елизавета Серге́евна Туктамышева, , jɪlʲɪzɐˈvʲetə tʊktɐˈmɨʂɨvə; born 17 December 1996) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2015 World Figure Skating Cham ...

expressed her respect for Hanyu's physical capacity and pointed out his popularity in Japan, which in her opinion was a key to the production of ''Gift'': Prior to the event, critics such as the Japanese evening newspaper ''

Nikkan Gendai is a tabloid-sized evening newspaper published Nikkan Gendai Co., Ltd., a publisher belonging to the Otowa Group centered on Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes man ...

'' had voiced concerns regarding the size of the venue among other issues. However, despite the large capacity and prices ranging from 23,100 to 27,500 yen ($177–210 as of 2023), tickets were distributed by lottery sale, and the number of applications exceeded the available ticket quota in the first lottery round, with multiple fans missing out on a chance to attend the show. On December20, 2022, the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

() made it to the top trends on the social media platform

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

Attendance and accessibility

By February12, 2023, the venue was sold out with seats for 35,000 spectators, a new record for an ice show audience, and sales exceeded an estimated total of 1 billion yen. According to the Olympics, the global accessibility and live streaming of ''Gift'' was on an "unprecedented scale for a figure skating event" as well. The show was screened live at 84 movie theaters in Japan and also at cinemas overseas in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea, with 30,000 visitors in total. In addition, the event was aired live on the subscription streaming platforms

in Japan and ''Globe Coding'' by Live Viewing Japan Inc. worldwide. In total, ''Gift'' attracted 100,000 viewers. To accommodate demand, the show was rescreened on the following day at movie theaters in Japan. On July 14, 2023, a remastered version of the show was distributed on Disney+ worldwide. On February 26, 2024, the first anniversary of the show, ''Gift'' was broadcast on the Japanese subscription channel CS TV Asahi. A DVD and Blu-ray of the full recording of the show with multi-angle perspectives and behind-the-scenes footage was released on August 20, 2024. A special limited edition with a key chain that contains water from the original ice rink in a small glass bottle, was announced to be distributed by lottery sale. It sold more than 17,000 copies in the first week ranking third on Oricon's Blu-ray and DVD weekly charts. The event was organized by Hanyu's management company Team Sirius in partnership with TV Asahi and CIC Co., Ltd. It received special sponsorship from

's skin care brand Sekkisei. Other sponsors included Phiten, Tōwa Pharmaceutical, and

Set list

First half #''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who c ...

'' #''Hope and Legacy'' #"

One Summer's Day ''One Summer's Day'' is a 1917 British silent drama film directed by Frank Goodenough Bayly and starring Fay Compton, Owen Nares and Sam Livesey.Goble p.895 Cast * Fay Compton as Maisie * Owen Nares as Captain Dick Rudyard * Sam Livesey ...

" # Ballade No. 1 in G minor #''

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso The ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' in A minor (), Op. 28, is a composition for violin and orchestra written in 1863 by Camille Saint-Saëns. It was dedicated to the virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sarasate, who performed the solo violin pa ...

'' Second half #

" Let Me Entertain You" #" Ashura-chan" #''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' #" A Fleeting Dream" #" Notte Stellata (The Swan)" Ending credits Encore #

"'" #'' Seimei''

Notes and references

Official guide and documentary books

* * 104 p.

Citations

External links

Official website''Yuzuru Hanyu ICE STORY 2023 "GIFT" at Tokyo Dome''
at

* {{Authority control Yuzuru Hanyu ice shows 2023 in figure skating Figure skating in Japan Entertainment events in Japan Performing arts in Japan February 2023 sports events in Japan Events in Tokyo 2023 in Tokyo 2023 concerts Disney+ original films TV Asahi Mitsui Fudosan