YGK
Paul Hamm
Posts: 220
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Post by YGK on Apr 11, 2018 6:36:48 GMT -5
I'm curious on what this community (and maybe the wider community too) thinks of Kenji Darvish. From what I read here, seems that he's polarizing at best and not very well liked.
Initially I was rather indifferent to his schtick back in SASUKE 28, after all he went out very early. SASUKE 30 and he came close but failed the final obstacle. Even when he cleared in SASUKE 31 I was still rather indifferent. The amount of screen time he got (cut to him for reactions, fluff pieces) did at some points irritate me, as I think they do to others. (Later I got some context to this and the importance of celebrity competitors). Come SASUKE 33 and 34, when he went at a much faster rate, he caught my notice with how he stepped up his game (even though he seriously choked the Lumberjack Climb with so much time to spare in 33), going at a much faster pace throughout stage 1. Then in SASUKE 35 when Yuuji, Ryo, Kanno etc where being taken out left and right, he managed break through the first stage and I was genuinely impressed with him as a competitor.
I think he's come a long way from SASUKE 28 and being one of the "joke competitors". He isn't the fastest on the course or the most aesthetically pleasing to watch, but when he's locked in he can clear stage 1. Above all, I can see the sincerity and respect he has for towards the course and towards other competitors. And it shows in his training and his interactions with the competitors I'll admit there are times he can come across as overzealous and irritating (cutting to him often can do that too) but I think his heart is in the right place.
Simply put, he's not my favourite competitor to watch on the course, but I respect him as a competitor.
What are your thoughts on him? I'd like to know...
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arsenette
Administrator
Rambling Rican
Posts: 16,617
Staff Member
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Post by arsenette on Apr 11, 2018 6:43:04 GMT -5
He's a paid celebrity. He's not a "joke competitor". That term hasn't been used since the Monster 9 days which is 8 years ago. The only contention I've read around here is that TBS and Inui are putting too much emphasis on the celebrity competitors (all of them) instead of the non-celebrities that this show's foundation and popularity was built upon. So I'm not understanding where this "polarizing view" is coming from. None of the complaints I've read in the 10 years here has ever been directly about him at all but how much TBS has skewed their editing to cater to the celebs (all of them).
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YGK
Paul Hamm
Posts: 220
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Post by YGK on Apr 11, 2018 7:06:32 GMT -5
He's a paid celebrity. He's not a "joke competitor". That term hasn't been used since the Monster 9 days which is 8 years ago. The only contention I've read around here is that TBS and Inui are putting too much emphasis on the celebrity competitors (all of them) instead of the non-celebrities that this show's foundation and popularity was built upon. So I'm not understanding where this "polarizing view" is coming from. None of the complaints I've read in the 10 years here has ever been directly about him at all but how much TBS has skewed their editing to cater to the celebs (all of them). Understood about the paid celebrity part. Should have worded it better to draw a greater distinction between the slapstick (Akira 100% type) competitors and the more serious celebrity competitors. Also my mistake for reading into the complaints towards the editing as Darvish hate, I can definitely see where the issues with editing are, as big a role as celebs play for ratings. But at the same time, no denying that the way the tournaments are edited can have an impact on your opinions towards the competitors. I'll admit that cutting to Darvish so often did negatively affect how I viewed him and I had to take the editing out of the equation in order to get a more accurate view of how I perceived him. After all, the way the tournament is edited to show him is not his call.
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Post by GlobalNinjaFan on Apr 11, 2018 8:52:17 GMT -5
I actually agree with Arsenette in this case. Darvish is not a joke competitor. And he has put in more effort and shown more dedication than the vast majority of celebrities throughout the show, giving him some respectable results.
But still, people need to realise that while he certainly deserves credit for that, it doesn't mean he deserves to be the centre, voice and main focus of the entire damn broadcast. In 35 he was everywhere. Every run, every stage, both before, after and during runs, he was shown. He's good, but no-one individual deserves such a huge cut of screen time, especially not a paid celebrity over the many more successful ordinary competitors who have contributed more to the show over the years.
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arsenette
Administrator
Rambling Rican
Posts: 16,617
Staff Member
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Post by arsenette on Apr 11, 2018 9:04:31 GMT -5
That's not his fault though and ignoring the other celebrities like ABCDZEOSJOQW guy who got as much if not more coverage because of his "training" with Yuuji is pitting blame on a person who doesn't deserve it. Blame Inui and TBS if you are pissed off he's shoved down everyone's throats. No one "deserves" either so it's irritating using that language when it doesn't warrant it. Has he done anything egregious? No. He's a nice guy and everyone knows it which is why there's no petitions anywhere to get rid of him. Not even here in SMF.
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Post by TCM on Apr 11, 2018 10:11:37 GMT -5
People see his face paint and loud reactions and immediately think he's a joke competitor, but the guy has made it to at least the final obstacle of Stage 1 five out of seven times and one of those early fails was because the course was wet. He's 37 years old and yet is one of the 11 people who were able to even beat the Dragon Glider and 8 to clear Stage 1. Dude's a legit competitor now, despite being paid to be there.
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Post by Zach Smith on Apr 11, 2018 10:19:59 GMT -5
I despise him, if he fails the very first jump of Stage 1 in T36 I would be the happiest person on Earth. But why? Two words: OVER SATURATION. I get that it's for ratings and publicity and all that, but why him? Also the facepaint is stupid lol. (My favorite fail ever is him in 33 on the Lumberjack climb, I miss that obstacle.)
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Post by m4tt3r0x on Apr 11, 2018 10:36:39 GMT -5
he wasn't shoved down the viewers' throats in 35, i swear people are deluded on this topic. this is the best hes ever done and probably the least he was shown. the focus on competitors was extremely well balanced this time around, but there will be people who will not even consider this to be the truth because darvish triggers them lol
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Post by TCM on Apr 11, 2018 10:52:30 GMT -5
he wasn't shoved down the viewers' throats in 35, i swear people are deluded on this topic. this is the best hes ever done and probably the least he was shown. the focus on competitors was extremely well balanced this time around, but there will be people who will not even consider this to be the truth because darvish triggers them lol I remember back when we had to settle for NAOTO reaching the Half-Pipe Attack and be impressed a celeb did that well. A celeb becomes one of the more consistent competitors in this era, and all of a sudden he's this plague for the show because they camera may cut to him a little more than people like Yuuji or Ryo. I like them as competitors, but a big reason they become invisible later in the broadcast is because they're not getting past Stage 1. So until they start doing well again, their best bet is to buddy up to someone that has a better chance to be shown because they aren't helping themselves with their actual performance. This was Ryo's first full run since 32 and he still didn't clear.
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Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Apr 11, 2018 11:31:03 GMT -5
I actually quite like Darvish as a competitor, he's competent, pretty consistent and clearly takes the course seriously. If anything he's somewhat analogous to Kane Kosugi (albeit with not as good a track record or nearly as many general fans) and I don't see anyone complaining about his screen time in the early shows.
As others have said, he isn't the one in control of the edit and if the funding and existence of modern SASUKE depends on celebrity competitors being shown I'd much rather have Darvish over nearly all previous people to occupy that spot. Is anyone going to tell me they'd prefer Hiromichi Sato?
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Post by GlobalNinjaFan on Apr 11, 2018 12:14:38 GMT -5
he wasn't shoved down the viewers' throats in 35, i swear people are deluded on this topic. this is the best hes ever done and probably the least he was shown. the focus on competitors was extremely well balanced this time around, but there will be people who will not even consider this to be the truth because darvish triggers them lol I completely disagree. 35 removed the "box of celebrities" 32, 33 and 34 had, and it is so glaringly obvious they upped his and ABC's screentime to fill that gap. If Sasuke 35 was a soccer game, those two would be the commentators.
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Post by GlobalNinjaFan on Apr 11, 2018 12:19:41 GMT -5
That's not his fault though and ignoring the other celebrities like ABCDZEOSJOQW guy who got as much if not more coverage because of his "training" with Yuuji is pitting blame on a person who doesn't deserve it. Blame Inui and TBS if you are pissed off he's shoved down everyone's throats. No one "deserves" either so it's irritating using that language when it doesn't warrant it. Has he done anything egregious? No. He's a nice guy and everyone knows it which is why there's no petitions anywhere to get rid of him. Not even here in SMF. I don't blame him or the other celebrities. PERIOD. It's a similar situation to Kacy (except he did arguably better), wherein he is given a large chunk of focus arguably for who he is/the role he plays rather than his performance quality (I say this despite him doing well: that justifies some but not all of the screentime). I do blame TBS/Inui. Him and the others are clearly prevalent to give star power to the broadcast and bring in people, as it has ALWAYS been. But just because something has been historically done or has been necessary even now, doesn't automatically make it good. IMO, it is a fact that he is too prevelant. No shade on him, and I understand WHY, I just wish it wasn't at the expense of other competitors, such as Morimoto, who for example was hardly seen in the first 2/3rds of the broadcast. I'm not even targeting Darvish specifically. This involves celebs in general, but of them he is the most prevalent, and so in a way represents a bigger issue.
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Post by Kane-Not-Kosugi on Apr 11, 2018 12:54:49 GMT -5
I think the focus is a bit TOO heavy on him, cuz he's not the best competitor He's the best CELEBRITY competitor on Sasuke as of right now. I get a bit of spotlight, but not a whole lot, especially when they could fluff up Drew more if they ever wanna focus on foreigners, and especially focus on Yuuji and Yusuke, who, y'know, WON THE WHOLE THING.
As a competitor though, Darvish has proven he's taking it seriously. I'm actually looking forward to him attempting Stage 3. He's put in the work and shown he has respect for the show and its conpetitors. Seems like an overall solid dude.
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Post by TCM on Apr 11, 2018 13:12:16 GMT -5
But you use rhetoric like "he's there every run" when in 35, Darvish wasn't even shown until Yutaka's turn at the course, which was 25 minutes in the broadcast.
No one is going to forget about Yusuke -- he's consistently in promo material (especially when it's his censored runs like in the Final they show to entice viewers) and he's given ample time in things like the Navi. That's just as important as the broadcast. The broadcast is not in shambles just because we don't see his reaction to number 18, if he even sees a lot of early runs. It's not like every competitor sees everyone's runs.
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Post by TCM on Apr 11, 2018 13:17:23 GMT -5
I despise him, if he fails the very first jump of Stage 1 in T36 I would be the happiest person on Earth. But why? Two words: OVER SATURATION. I get that it's for ratings and publicity and all that, but why him? Also the facepaint is stupid lol. (My favorite fail ever is him in 33 on the Lumberjack climb, I miss that obstacle.) Not liking facepaint: what a substantive reason to dislike someone.
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Post by GlobalNinjaFan on Apr 11, 2018 15:15:42 GMT -5
But you use rhetoric like "he's there every run" when in 35, Darvish wasn't even shown until Yutaka's turn at the course, which was 25 minutes in the broadcast. No one is going to forget about Yusuke -- he's consistently in promo material (especially when it's his censored runs like in the Final they show to entice viewers) and he's given ample time in things like the Navi. That's just as important as the broadcast. The broadcast is not in shambles just because we don't see his reaction to number 18, if he even sees a lot of early runs. It's not like every competitor sees everyone's runs. It may be a hyperbole, but based on a very real disparity. Obviously Darvish wasn't shown EVERY run. Obviously we don't need Morimoto etc... shown EVERY run. A fairer distribution would just be nice.
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nekomi3
Kawashima Takayuki
Posts: 357
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Post by nekomi3 on Apr 11, 2018 17:23:56 GMT -5
Oh gosh why argue... Btw I like him, he is good enough now?
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Eclipse
Satō Jun
Retired Staff
Posts: 737
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Post by Eclipse on Apr 11, 2018 17:45:15 GMT -5
I despise him, ... But why? Two words: OVER SATURATION. I get that it's for ratings and publicity and all that, but why him? Also the facepaint is stupid lol. He's not just wearing the facepaint because it is fun, this is part of their band's history and look. Also, notice how we always wears glasses and a facemask? Darvish is a lot like Daft Punk in the sense that he does keep his identity more hidden, and this is absolute his own personal choice. If I were a celebrity, I'd like the option to go out in public without being swarmed. I'm not sure everybody realizes how big Golden Bomber is, but they are one of the most popular rock acts in Japan. he wasn't shoved down the viewers' throats in 35, i swear people are deluded on this topic. this is the best hes ever done and probably the least he was shown. the focus on competitors was extremely well balanced this time around, but there will be people who will not even consider this to be the truth because darvish triggers them lol I think the focus is a bit TOO heavy on him, cuz he's not the best competitor He's the best CELEBRITY competitor on Sasuke as of right now. I get a bit of spotlight, but not a whole lot, especially when they could fluff up Drew more if they ever wanna focus on foreigners, and especially focus on Yuuji and Yusuke, who, y'know, WON THE WHOLE THING. As a competitor though, Darvish has proven he's taking it seriously. I'm actually looking forward to him attempting Stage 3. He's put in the work and shown he has respect for the show and its conpetitors. Seems like an overall solid dude. So the thing with Darvish is, as arsenette said, he was a paid celebrity. But if you follow Darvish online, or even if you watched the navi's, something changed in him. He decided that this was not just a paying gig anymore, he decided that this is something he actually, genuinely wants. He trains as hard or harder than some of the guys. He's 37 yet outdone the much younger Ryo the last several seasons. He was 6th overall this season. He was (tied for) 10th last season. It is at the point where TBS could theoretically justify giving him a 80 plus or maybe even 90 plus # even if he was some average Joe, because he is giving them results like almost no celebrity has done before. If some other rookie jumped out of nowhere and had near clears or clears the last few seasons, they'd definitely rise up to 70-90 range As for airtime, I think it is a matter of perception. I am pretty positive if I went and actually timed competitor time shown, he would not be higher than Yusuke. Yusuke (deservedly) had lots of time this season between the show and Navi. So did Jun. So did Tomo. Drew, well, that's another story. I think the lingering perception of him being famous is altering how long / necessary you actually think that time is. We are approaching the skill point where it can be suggested that Darvish is being shown based on performance. Notice how they barely even talk about how he was in a band anymore? This year's Navi was all about his training, and dedication. He's now an established repeating Stage 2 competitor, who is improving every season. That's the kind of competitor that fans like myself WANT to see in this show. I want to see the journey, and I think Darvish and his progression is one of my favorites TL;DR There was a time in which Darvish was "just" a celerbity, however due to a change in mindset and improved results, it could be argued his screentime is becoming less related to his status. TBS will continue to show him BECAUSE he is famous, but at this point in his career he would likely be getting airtime anyway
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Post by Zach Smith on Apr 11, 2018 17:48:38 GMT -5
I despise him, ... But why? Two words: OVER SATURATION. I get that it's for ratings and publicity and all that, but why him? Also the facepaint is stupid lol. He's not just wearing the facepaint because it is fun, this is part of their band's history and look. Also, notice how we always wears glasses and a facemask? Darvish is a lot like Daft Punk in the sense that he does keep his identity more hidden, and this is absolute his own personal choice. If I were a celebrity, I'd like the option to go out in public without being swarmed. I'm not sure everybody realizes how big Golden Bomber is, but they are one of the most popular rock acts in Japan. he wasn't shoved down the viewers' throats in 35, i swear people are deluded on this topic. this is the best hes ever done and probably the least he was shown. the focus on competitors was extremely well balanced this time around, but there will be people who will not even consider this to be the truth because darvish triggers them lol I think the focus is a bit TOO heavy on him, cuz he's not the best competitor He's the best CELEBRITY competitor on Sasuke as of right now. I get a bit of spotlight, but not a whole lot, especially when they could fluff up Drew more if they ever wanna focus on foreigners, and especially focus on Yuuji and Yusuke, who, y'know, WON THE WHOLE THING. As a competitor though, Darvish has proven he's taking it seriously. I'm actually looking forward to him attempting Stage 3. He's put in the work and shown he has respect for the show and its conpetitors. Seems like an overall solid dude. So the thing with Darvish is, as arsenette said, he was a paid celebrity. But if you follow Darvish online, or even if you watched the navi's, something changed in him. He decided that this was not just a paying gig anymore, he decided that this is something he actually, genuinely wants. He trains as hard or harder than some of the guys. He's 37 yet outdone the much younger Ryo the last several seasons. He was 6th overall this season. He was (tied for) 10th last season. It is at the point where TBS could theoretically justify giving him a 80 plus or maybe even 90 plus # even if he was some average Joe, because he is giving them results like almost no celebrity has done before. If some other rookie jumped out of nowhere and had near clears or clears the last few seasons, they'd definitely rise up to 70-90 range As for airtime, I think it is a matter of perception. I am pretty positive if I went and actually timed competitor time shown, he would not be higher than Yusuke. Yusuke (deservedly) had lots of time this season between the show and Navi. So did Jun. So did Tomo. Drew, well, that's another story. I think the lingering perception of him being famous is altering how long / necessary you actually think that time is. We are approaching the skill point where it can be suggested that Darvish is being shown based on performance. Notice how they barely even talk about how he was in a band anymore? This year's Navi was all about his training, and dedication. He's now an established repeating Stage 2 competitor, who is improving every season. That's the kind of competitor that fans like myself WANT to see in this show. I want to see the journey, and I think Darvish and his progression is one of my favorites TL;DR There was a time in which Darvish was "just" a celerbity, however due to a change in mindset and improved results, it could be argued his screentime is becoming less related to his status. TBS will continue to show him BECAUSE he is famous, but at this point in his career he would likely be getting airtime anyway Just because I don't like him doesn't mean that I don't respect him lol
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Post by Sierrae on Apr 12, 2018 5:16:24 GMT -5
darvesh has proved he's a good competitor and is actually training for the show a lot
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