Is Yuuji stronger in his 40s than Nagano was in his prime?

[edaan]

From Sasuke 36 onward, Yuuji's comeback has been nothing short of incredible, especially considering the modern courses are so different to the Shin Sasuke ones he dominated and his relative old age compare to the newer stars. However, when Nagano was in his 40s, he was stuck failing stages 1 and early in stage 2. However, would a Nagano in his 30s be able to compete with modern day Yuuji on a modern course?

[m4tt3r0x]

Stage 1 and 2 I think 30s Nagano at least matches modern Yuuji and that's probably being generous to Yuuji. Nagano just was naturally nimble and didn't even really have to train specific obstacles all that much in his prime. Yuuji in his 30s to be fair was also very quick, but I doubt 40s Yuuji is any faster than prime Nagano. As for Stage 3, 40s Yuuji outclasses Nagano from any era imo. He's just too well trained, and on harder obstacles.

[brz0ny]

Nope I highly doubt it and idk why so many people think so. We keep saying we are on a stagnant course but now we say what Yuuji is doing is better than what Nagano IN HIS PRIME was doing (which was reaching Final Stage three times in a row). Something like that is unmatched by prime Yuuji let alone current one. And dont try telling me prime Nagano wouldnt do well today. Yuuji would likely be even more exposed in Golden Era, when he couldnt even clear for long time in Rising Era, something even old Nagano was able to do, or come close to doing.

[dakohosu]

Difficult question to answer because Nagano in his prime was competing against a different course with completely different standards of difficulty, especially on Stage 3. Note that most of the references will be to today’s course as obviously the post is referring to Yuuji’s abilities now.

For Stage 3, raw terms, Yuuji’s upper body is far stronger than Nagano’s ever was, but whether that’s because Yuuji’s wall of potential is higher or whether it was simply because Nagano didn’t have to train towards such high standards is obviously something we’ll never find out. Nagano did have a gift of incredible adaptability, so there is a good chance that if the current course was the one he had to face in his prime, and hence he had to train towards said standards, that he could’ve done decently well. Yuuji’s also been training on the Vertical Limit and Cliffhanger for over a decade at this point so I’m sure if Nagano had that familiarity he too could kick butt on the course. But obviously this is a complete unknown so would have to give it to Yuuji.

For Stages 1 and 2 I’d probably have to give it to Nagano. Both stages have given Yuuji a lot of trouble in the past, and he’s not the most adaptable competitor. He’s failed new obstacles on both stages several times, while Nagano beat a lot of the frequently modified variants, many of which weren’t much less difficult, or in some cases were even more difficult (like Shin Sasuke) with absolute ease. I still couldn’t get over how light he made the walls look, or how explosively he would beast up the Salmon Ladder (with next to no specific training either). Imo Nagano was much better rounded when it came to the earlier stages; much more raw strength, much more flair. Maybe not as agile as Yuuji because he’s a lot stockier but also was much less prone to mistakes which counteracts that.

Stage 4 is a tough call. Both are fantastic rope climbers, Yuuji might be a little better because of how aggressively he’s trained it for several years. No idea how either would do on the rock wall as neither are climbers. Nagano would probably be faster on the Salmon Ladder if both of their past attempts are anything to go by.

So overall: Stage 3 Yuuji, Stages 1-2 Nagano, Stage 4 don’t know.