The so-called revolution by the next generation of men's figure skaters failed to gather steam on the final day of competition, with quad-jumping powerhouses Nathan Chen, Shoma Uno and Jin Boyang coming up short in their bids to overthrow the establishment.
Although Hanyu's Japanese team mate Uno won the silver and China's Jin completed an Asian sweep of the medals in the final world championships before next year's Winter Games in Pyeongchang, they could not match the grace and precision that Hanyu brought to the ice.
Hanyu's gold medal prospects appeared to be in jeopardy when a landing on bended knee from his quad Salchow in Thursday's short programme left him trailing in fifth place.
But that did not deter him from producing a mesmerising and flawless routine to Jo Hisaishi's "Hope and Legacy" and he was duly rewarded with a world record 223.20 points for the free skate.
After finishing with the silver medal for the last two years, the 2014 champion again struck gold with a total of 321.59.
Shoma Uno made it a 1-2 for Japan in the final world championships before next February's Winter Olympics. He claimed silver with 319.31.
Fernandez dropped to fourth place after a scratchy performance, which included a fall on his quadruple Salchow.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
