|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jul 24, 2020 6:15:49 GMT -5
I watched the first half of these so I saw every room set-up, and I honestly still don't know if I like it or not??
The lava itself is really well done, and the room puzzles are simple but still tricky to do so there's a nice, medium difficulty level to the whole thing. I think it was just that 90% of the teams were composed of genuinely unlikeable people?
On the whole it's not bad though - I went in out of curiosity expecting it to be unendurably terrible, and was actually pleasantly surprised! Get less obnoxious contestants and it would be really solid, I think.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jul 7, 2020 16:17:01 GMT -5
When this topic came up before I think I said I might make it to the rock climbing wall, and then absolutely fail that because I suck terribly at rock climbing and I would be far, far too slow at making decisions on the moving section.
After having actually gone to a ninja park in Belfast and experienced how terrible I am at jumping onto things? I'd probably drop off the rolling hill, straight up - instant fail.
If I somehow became a super athlete and had a perfect run? I'd still probably get stuck at Wall Lifting - I don't think there's a world where I could move 50kg vertically up, ever xD
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jul 7, 2020 16:09:25 GMT -5
The reality of the backstream is that until that sucker breaks it will stay because it's probably one of the most expensive things in Stage 2 xD Despite the fact it was deeply controversial (SASUKE 29 Backstream Controversy was the first thing I ever saw happen 'live' in the fandom...) I actually don't mind it now - it has good synergy with the conveyor and the wall lifting to create a tense ending to Stage 2, and given the budget for obstacle replacement is like, 2 yen and some string, I'm happy for it to stay for the foreseeable future. Even if it did take Shingo out twice...
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jul 7, 2020 16:04:41 GMT -5
For me its Hiromichi Sato - I can't stand that smarmy entertainer personality he has/puts on at all. Like I feel physical discomfort whenever he appears on screen.
Unlike Darvish, who has actually engaged with the show and the competitors from pretty much day dot, I never felt that Sato was that fussed about it. Controversial opinion but I actually quite like Darvish (although I do agree he gets too much screen time and the constant greetin when he loses is annoying, but he's The Celeb for Ratings, whatcha gonna do)
I feel a bit mean disliking Sato as much as I do, because he hasn't actually done anything to earn my ire but I just, cannot stand him at all xD He turned up in a Sentai show I was watching as a side character but I didn't recognise him immediately because he had a fake beard on, and when it came off I spent rather too long yelling at my computer in raw surprise...
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 28, 2020 10:54:20 GMT -5
Worth bearing in mind that across SASUKE 1-3 his performance on the final stage got worse with each tournament despite the stage itself not changing, but is that something that could be fixed with training? Perhaps.
Ultimately Omori was a professional comedian, which doesn't strike me as an occupation that lends itself to fitting in physical training, and I imagine, like Shingo, he would have suffered as the course moved away from agility and more and more into upper body power.
If he was going to do it, I think he would've had to do it in SASUKE 4, and I don't see that happening, so I'd say no.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 28, 2020 10:42:26 GMT -5
People who have been around for a while know I found SASUKE after listening to the Chicken Run soundtrack on youtube, which led me to videos of Shingo's runs. I have absolutely no idea what I saw first, but it was almost certainly something between 17-27. The first tournament I watched properly, in full, was SASUKE 31. Yea, for a man who hasn't missed a single competition to date, as well as wearing the same burgandy polo and khaki pants from 8 to 27, it's hard to recall which one you saw first. Also, you said that you randomly found out about SASUKE through listening to the Chicken Run soundtrack, right? Could that explain your profile signature? lmao It absolutely explains my signature - Shingo's theme is still my favourite (albeit with Nagano, Asa, Takeda and Tomohiro snapping at it's heels)! And it was so long ago that I first watched - 2012, perhaps? - that even if I wasn't hamstrung by seeing Shingo in isolation and nothing else for context, I probably still couldn't tell you what I saw first!
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 25, 2020 15:21:02 GMT -5
Depends how you want to define 'bounce back'.
Do I think he'll make final stage again? No. Do I think he'll put in good runs up to around the cliffhanger? Hopefully!
I voted yes because I do think Kanno still has potential, but based on his previous performances I don't believe he's going all the way back to the final either.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 23, 2020 11:12:34 GMT -5
People who have been around for a while know I found SASUKE after listening to the Chicken Run soundtrack on youtube, which led me to videos of Shingo's runs. I have absolutely no idea what I saw first, but it was almost certainly something between 17-27.
The first tournament I watched properly, in full, was SASUKE 31.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 22, 2020 13:44:42 GMT -5
I would propose, maybe not right now, but certainly in a couple of tournaments that Tada would be a Bunpei equivalent - civil servant with competitive athletics past who joins later than the rest of the 'All-Stars' and then puts in several brilliant performances. Hopefully Tada is able to stick around longer than Bunpei though! I thought Tada was a physiotherapist? Bunpei is a hard one because his most well known trait was his 'Shiratori Shrine', but now literally every competitor builds their own Sasuke obstacles. Tada maybe, similar to Bunpei he sort of just came out of nowhere and ended up in the final. Hopefully if his performances were no fluke and he carries on making Stage 3 then for sure. Pretty sure Tada works for the prefecture of Yamagata - hence the cherries, although now you say that I do recall him doing physio, maybe he's moved into local government sports schemes or something?
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 22, 2020 11:34:59 GMT -5
Kuramochi. The octopus guy really is something. And probably Iketani. For celebrities, Tomoko Kaneda (Wataru Mori's wife) since her voice is... interesting to say the least. I'm also rooting for the A.B.C-Z guys to go further down the competition. Haha you just made me think of one! I actually like Wataru Mori because his name, Wataru, is the same as a character I really like in Pokemon. The Kanto E4/Johto champion Lance is called Wataru in the Japanese versions.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 22, 2020 11:31:21 GMT -5
Tattoos are considered the mark of a yakuza or criminal in Japan - you can be barred from entering public baths or hot springs if you have any at all (and you don't cover them), at least in some establishments. Apparently this opinion is being modernised somewhat, but generally tattoos are associated heavily with the yakuza, even if they aren't those highly detailed full-body ones.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 22, 2020 11:28:19 GMT -5
In all likelihood a manoeuvre like that would also burn too much time for the person to complete the stage anyway, so it would be dangerous and ultimately pointless! How dangerous? Well, the way you said 'pull themselves up onto the bar' I was imagining someone balancing on top of the bar in the middle of the dip and using the gained height to clear the extra distance to the second bar, which is not only incredibly difficult balance-wise, but if they slip or miss they're going to smash their face off the runners, which is, bad. Even staying below the bar and trying to swing to the second bar is difficult because of the distance and the fact you can't brace the Dragon Glider bar like you can the Pipe Slider bar. The extra momentum generated by trying to swing using the way the bar moves just raises the chance of injury, either missing and hitting the water real hard, or bashing a limb off the runners on the way down because of how uncontrolled that jump would be. I imagine it probably is 'illegal' to continue on the Dragon Glider if you miss the jump for these reasons - there's no controllable way to make the transition, just like how front-facing cliffhanger transitions are considered uncontrollable too.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 22, 2020 11:21:57 GMT -5
I would propose, maybe not right now, but certainly in a couple of tournaments that Tada would be a Bunpei equivalent - civil servant with competitive athletics past who joins later than the rest of the 'All-Stars' and then puts in several brilliant performances. Hopefully Tada is able to stick around longer than Bunpei though!
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 15, 2020 9:16:42 GMT -5
Nah, I guess they won't do both. First is because SASUKE recently had three Live Final Stage attempts which made people know their existence currently, and with new generation just formed, it will be silly to directly cancel the tournament after they had just one tournament. Second, SASUKE didn't disappear for ten years from TV unlike Pro Sportsman #1. SASUKE may not have disappeared from TV for 10 years yet, but it could happen very easily. Much as we all may love it the show's been hanging by a thread, really since the revival - the ratings have always been consistently low (around 9%) and since moving to the New Year's slot it's plunged all the way to 4-5%. I said this somewhere else, but I reckon the New Year's live show was a last-gasp attempt to save the series by giving it a specific reason to exist, and I fear if the slot is lost this year because Inui can't tape due to Coronavirus TBS might just declare the end. Which would be silly, and a terrible shame, but ultimately the general Japanese public just haven't been tuning in and there's nothing we can do about it! Which is why I'm hoping for at least a clip show, because that means there is interest in keeping the brand afloat. The international shows are in better standing, but unfortunately while the rights money from them goes to TBS, there is no obligation for TBS to spend that money on SASUKE. Another thought occurred to me just now - even if Japan handles the situation well enough to create an environment where SASUKE can tape safely, I think you can wave bye-bye to international competitors this year, especially anyone from ANW, given the current state of the American virus response (the UK is no better, but I don't believe we have any prospects anyway!) EDIT: This is, of course, all fairly pessimistic worst-case-scenario stuff! I would love to say that SASUKE is safe and if we don't see a tournament this year we'll see one next year, but the cancellation threat has been a reality for years, so I just hope this isn't the final straw.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 15, 2020 8:22:08 GMT -5
It will definitely depend on the state of the world and the continuing Coronavirus pandemic, no doubt. If we do get one this year I imagine it will be New Years again, but that still means that Inui needs to be doing planning now and auditions in 1/2 months and honestly - I don't see that happening.
The difficulty with SASUKE is that 100 people have to go and touch all the same obstacles, bars, nets, platforms etc etc so even if they do it without a spectator crowd they would still have to spend time sanitising the course between each run in a worse-case scenario and that's just a production nightmare.
Also, much as I enjoy SASUKE I wouldn't want any of the competitors/staff/spectators to put their health at risk by attending or competing so if it washes out this year that we maybe retain the timeslot with a greatest hits/history clip show like what Sportsman No. 1 just had, I'm fine with that. I'll be more worried if there is absolutely nothing because that could spiral into an excuse for TBS to drop it completely, but hopefully it doesn't come to that.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 15, 2020 8:13:45 GMT -5
I feel like I should clarify that when I said luck I didn't mean I thought it was a luck-based obstacle, it is definitely a skill, it just feels like watching one (to me)!
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 15, 2020 8:10:23 GMT -5
In all likelihood a manoeuvre like that would also burn too much time for the person to complete the stage anyway, so it would be dangerous and ultimately pointless!
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 14, 2020 8:36:14 GMT -5
I think the only good reason to keep the Pipe Slider is that it creates suspense as the final obstacle, as the competitor is sliding down the track and preparing for the jump, but I think you get even more suspense with the Flying Bar, because you know at any point the competitor could fail. Just my opinion though. I got far more pumped up watching ANW competitors attempt the Flying Bar as a do or die for the Final Stage. I actually disagree! I personally find Flying Bar very anticlimactic and un-fun to watch, it almost feels like a random luck challenge, even though there is a lot of skill in making sure the bar travels true. You could say the only difficult part of the Pipe Slider is the jump (though there are several runs that disprove that throughout SASUKE) I feel like it's a fitting end to the 3rd stage - a final arm drain obstacle ramping up the tension to the climatic jump to safety. Flying Bar feels like a jump scare, whereas Pipe Slider feels like a finale. I also feel that it is very iconic to SASUKE - I put it in the same sort of category as Wall Lift, Warped Wall, the various Cliffhangers and Spider Walks as a stone-cold classic obstacle that it almost feels strange to be without (I know Shin Sasuke had Gliding Ring but I'm glad they changed it back, honestly, it's doesn't quite have the same effect) Ultimately, I just find it to just be a fun obstacle to watch - every time I see it I want to try it myself!
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 4, 2020 9:25:53 GMT -5
I've always really liked Asa, and I think it's 50% his theme music is great, and 50% I love how much effort he puts into the embroidered shorts, back paint etc.
As for liking a competitor for a truly random reason, I can't actually think of one! Probably because there's a lot of tournaments I haven't actually watched in full.
|
|
|
Post by ArbuthnotBlob on Jun 3, 2020 7:42:51 GMT -5
This tweet went out a couple hours ago - not sure if it holds any further information but the SASUKE accounts are pushing this too!
|
|