Why was Hiromichi Sato so famous in the Shin-SASUKE Era?

[Philster]

I'm asking this question because I'm very curious as to why his numbers were so high in the Shin-SASUKE era. In 19, he was #99, in 20 he was #96 in 21 he was #81, in 22 he was #90 in 23 he was #98 and in 24 he was #97. This was fascinating to me because he was a Television Host and his personal best was failing the Metal Spin in the Second Stage in 22 and 24. Can someone please explain this to me?

[arsenette]

Celebrity who was paid to be there because his fanbase far eclipsed the show. It's pretty simple.

[Eclipse]

Jan 31, 2019 23:16:28 GMT -5 Philster said:

I'm asking this question because I'm very curious as to why his numbers were so high in the Shin-SASUKE era. In 19, he was #99, in 20 he was #96 in 21 he was #81, in 22 he was #90 in 23 he was #98 and in 24 he was #97. This was fascinating to me because he was a Television Host and his personal best was failing the Metal Spin in the Second Stage in 22 and 24. Can someone please explain this to me?

Feb 1, 2019 12:19:20 GMT -5 arsenette said:

Celebrity who was paid to be there because his fanbase far eclipsed the show. It's pretty simple.

There is a little bit more to it than that. Hiromichi may have been a total wash in SASUKE, but you need to remember that he was last man standing on VIKING at least 3 times, including a total victory. On top of that, Hiromichi and Higuchi always had a good working relationship. Hiromichi was host or recurring competitor on all 4 Banzuke successors from 2005-2008. His hosting relationship with Higuchi was strong enough that he reprised his role as lead host on the televised version of KuroOvi in 2018 (where he also completed the course as a competitor).

If you look at the dates Hiromichi competed, he was on nearly every season from the time VIKING ended until M9's bankruptcy. I don't think this is at all a coincidence, he was a very popular (if not the most popular) part of the VIKING TV series. Since M9 had shows on multiple networks, he was an easy cross-promotion choice to try and make M9 money.

So, yes he was a paid celebrity, but he was also a relatively important part of M9 and Banzuke's legacy outside of TBS and I'm sure his placement was due to convenient cross-promotion plus Higuchi and Hiromichi's general business relationship.

[kunnai56]

Jan 31, 2019 23:16:28 GMT -5 Philster said:

I'm asking this question because I'm very curious as to why his numbers were so high in the Shin-SASUKE era. In 19, he was #99, in 20 he was #96 in 21 he was #81, in 22 he was #90 in 23 he was #98 and in 24 he was #97. This was fascinating to me because he was a Television Host and his personal best was failing the Metal Spin in the Second Stage in 22 and 24. Can someone please explain this to me?

Basically what Sierra outlined. Sato was hugely popular with OCR Show viewers due to his Banzuke credentials, his success on both Family and Celebrity Viking, and his overall fanbase. M9 probably saw this as a way to appeal to Japanese viewers, and also create some cross-promotional buzz on VIKING. It helped that Hiromichi was far from a poor competitor, as from SASUKE 18-24, he consistently made it deep into the First Stage and cleared twice. Being part of just five to clear Stage 1 in SASUKE 22 really put him on the map as well. It's almost like what we see with Darvish now.

[arsenette]

All Celebrity paid appearances are done through TBS/Agency committees. Most of the time if they contract with a talent agency and they get who they ask for they can negotiate it tied to whoever the agency wants to promote. Sato was not the only one that was promoted within the M9 wheelhouse. Sato was famous before he ever stepped foot in Sasuke. That's how that works. If anything they kept him because he was so famous and did well in Sasuke (Basically trying to get another Kane Kosugi situation). He would have been numbered high regardless of how he did based on what M9 had to negotiate with his handlers. Remember that they pay a high price to use his likeness in all advertising and promotion. This works the same way now and depending on the deal that goes away as fast as 24 hours after airing (noting the times the mughshots are blank). Sato did a LOT of sports type shows outside of M9 and TBS along with his normal day job so Sasuke and Viking were part of his wheelhouse. He wasn't the only one to go that route. Sportsman celebrity was a thing in the 90's and early 2000's.

[ArbuthnotBlob]

Speaking of Sato, I got a terrible shock recently! I've accidentally gotten pretty into Super Sentai and Tokusatsu shows in general, through a 2009/2010 show called Tomica Hero Rescue Fire (it provided at least 4 soundtracks for Sasuke 25, including Hioki's first theme).

Halfway through, a new supporting character was introduced, and I didn't think much of him until the opening and ending songs changed 5 episodes later. The second ED was a dance-themed thing with all the characters, and for some reason this supporting archaeologist character was front and centre in a lot of the shots, grinning cheesily, posing about... the truth dawned on me very suddenly, and then I yelled something to the effect of "HE'S $%^&&**&* HIROMICHI SATO???" and swore to never watch the second ED again. 

(I don't mind Sato in general, but the sort of, smarmy entertainer side of him fills me with an urge to throw things)

So yeah, asides from hosting Banzuke-related shows he took a brief turn as a Tokusatsu actor. I think it was the only show of that type he did, but English-language info on Sato is pretty thin on the ground, to the extent that Sasukepedia is actually the biggest single article on him I can find...

EDIT: I also forgot, I currently have Mr Combo Breaker as my forum moniker so I need to get shot of him ASAP!

[arsenette]

That's funny.

Sato was also famous for hosting a children's variety show. To my knowledge that was what made him famous. He did other stuff that added to it but through and through he is a talento with various acting gigs and shticks. For those who weren't around during his hayday part of the fun of watching Sasuke live was watching the commercials and when he came around he was in half the commercials as the show was airing. That's the audience M9 wanted desperately and to some extent, they got.