Favorite 3rd Stage run

[VenusHeadTrap]

For me the 3rd is the most exciting of the stages to watch, but there just has to be one performance that stands out the most for each of us. For me, it's Nagasaki (Shunskay) in 18. First of all it's the premise it self, brand new diabolical course and a fresh 3rd stage. Further details; the lighting. Holy s**t does the Red (or somewhat Pink) glaze add a new sense of danger to a stage where no one would get past the first 4 obstacles. (and an uncanny absence of this kind of lighting in 21, they changed it to Blue again)

Back to Nagasaki, one of three to make it here. While a decent attempt, it's not about how far he gets for me, but how he does it. Hell he has chemistry with those obstacles, much grace on the curtains especially. and just before the new Cliffhanger, we actually know what he's thinking "I know how to do this, I've trained especially hard on this obstacle. if they made the gap bigger, so what?" Pretty confident. But when he's up to the ledge, he knows "I can barely even reach" But when he does it's my single favorite 5 seconds in all of Sasuke. His form is awesome, and because you know he will fall.

and of course that same reach he does, happens twice in my montage.

your turn?

[talledega7]

Mine's a choice between Shinji Kobayashi in 14 and Bunpei Shiratori in 16.

Shinji's was good to watch because with all the new obstacles added, he was the only one to get past the Jumping Bars/ Climbing Bars combo. Then he gets screwed over when the Pipe Slider skids away from him while he's on the Devil's Swing. He jumps for the Pipe, misses, and does a picture perfect Belly Flop.

Bunpei's is good because of it actually having historic importance. Before him, only one guy (Koji Yamada in that same tournament) had even managed to beat the Devil's Swing. Then Bunpei comes out and becomes the first guy to make a legitimate attempt on the Pipe Slider before he crashed on the mat. He proved that it was possible to get past the Devil's Swing and still continue on, which lead to Nagano and Nagasaki both beating the Third in the next tournament.

[aman]

Oct 11, 2008 23:09:01 GMT -5 talledega7 said:

Then he gets screwed over when the Pipe Slider skids away from him while he's on the Devil's Swing. He jumps for the Pipe, misses, and does a picture perfect Belly Flop.

Sounds an awful lot like Nagano, shinji do that too?

[RiderLeangle]

Yup. It happened to him in 14, Nagano failed the Jumping Bars that time, but a very similar thing happened to Nagano in 15 or 16 (I think it was 16)

[Homeslice]

It was 16. It was the run before Shiratori's run.

I have to nominate Shingo Yamamoto in 5 - although he didn't clear it, he almost did, and he did so with a dislocated shoulder. He definitely was out to prove he was tough, and it was inspiring, especially since he was the only guy to even make it to stage 3.

[obakemono]

Oct 12, 2008 10:19:19 GMT -5 Homeslice said:

It was 16. It was the run before Shiratori's run.

Nagano's was the last run. He was #100. I think G4 showed Shiratori last though.

[Homeslice]

Oh. I never saw the Japanese telecast - G4 telecasts are usually all I know.

And back to Shiratori, I also have to nominate his run in 15. He made it quite far for someone who suffered from heat stroke.

[obakemono]

I haven't seen the Japanese broadcast of 16 either, it hasn't surfaced yet, but the Wiki page has all the numbers of the people who made it furthest in each tournament.

I'd have to agree with Yamamoto's run in 5, as well as Shiratori's in 15. I'd also add Shiratori's from 12. It was his first time in the third stage, and he beat it. The same goes for Jordan Jovtchev in 8.

[SuperTiger]

My favorite was Kane Kosugi in 8, it just felt epic to me, btw, happy belated birthday to him.

[Zorn]

Katsumi Yamada's run in 6. It was painful for him to fall on the dirt after clearing the pipe slider

[Badalight]

Some people havn't said yet

Yamada: Sasuke 10
Only all-star to beat stage 1, makes it to the pipe slide ronly for his right leg to screw him over yet again.

Bunpei: Sasuke 12
First time in stage 3, he destroys the globe grasp, he beats it, awesome!

Akiyama: Sasuke 11? (I think... the one where he got to the pipe slider)

Liek I said, pipe slider, it was inspiring that he had beat the first stage again finally, and he made it extremely far! If he had beaten that... coudl he have been a 2 time champion? I think so.

Akiyama: Sasuke 4

Shingo Yamamoto: 7

Beats it, nuff said.

Travis Schrader 4: Doesn't even use the resting platform much. He gets off the obstacles and heads straight to the next one, and someone his size beating the cliff-hanger is bad-ace. He may have been the firstt champion if he wasn't d/q (lol, that'd been wierd )


Daisuke Nakata: 17
Doesn't need an explanation

Toshihiro Takeda: I don't remember which tourney... but he was wearing white, got to the pipe slider, didn't make it, and injured himself.

[Homeslice]

Oct 13, 2008 17:17:08 GMT -5 Badalight said:

Akiyama: Sasuke 11? (I think... the one where he got to the pipe slider)

That was in 12. In 11, Akiyama only made it as far as the Body Prop. Unfortunately, G4 fast forwarded through both of them - IMO they did a really bad job with 12, fast-forwarding through so many stage 3 runs (and not even showing a bunch of stage 2 runs)! That was their worst broadcast IMO. Stick to 5-parters, guys.

Oct 13, 2008 17:17:08 GMT -5 Badalight said:

Toshihiro Takeda: I don't remember which tourney... but he was wearing white, got to the pipe slider, didn't make it, and injured himself.

That was 12 as well. And yes, he broke his shoulder upon landing. Again, G4 went crazy and fast-forwarded through that run, which is a shame, really.

[scnoi1217]

My theory on why the G4 broadcast for 12 was so bad is because of the footage they were given. In the JET TV broadcast, most of the runs aren't the full runs at all, they're edited. Akiyama's run skips the Rumbling Dice, Bunpei's run started at the Globe Grasp, Takeda's starts in the middle of the Body Prop, etc. Thus, I think G4 just stuck to the full runs and fast forwarded the others for time. Imo, it was a bad move.

Favorite 3rd Stage run for me...well there are several. Koji Yamada's runs in 15 and 16 were both great, both stage clears in 17 were amazing, Nagano's run in Sasuke 9 was insane because of all the new obstacles, I could probably go on but those are the only ones that come to mind.

[Homeslice]

I gotta give a shout-out to Nagano in 9 as well (especially after re-watching it on G4 last night). It was not only the first appearance of the Rumbling Dice and Globe Grasp (as well as Cliff Hanger v3.0), but it was also Nagano's first time to the Third Stage. His only slip-up was the end of the Pipe Slider, but other than that, he mastered the Third Stage.

[lars072]

Nagano's run in #17 of course (along with Nagasaki). But how about another of Nagano's 3rd stage runs which I will not mention here...LOL

[Badalight]

Oct 19, 2008 0:22:32 GMT -5 lars072 said:

Nagano's run in #17 of course (along with Nagasaki). But how about another of Nagano's 3rd stage runs which I will not mention here...LOL

Wha...?

[davidyko]

I'm guessing he's virtuously trying to avoid spoilers.

[Homeslice]

Oct 19, 2008 0:22:32 GMT -5 lars072 said:

But how about another of Nagano's 3rd stage runs which I will not mention here...LOL

I think you just did, dude.

[Homeslice]

Well, now that we can discuss 21...

What wasn't to like about Nagano's run in 21? He's still at the top of his game and he handled almost everything. I just loved the fact that we got to see all the obstacles after 1 1/2 years of pondering.

[bigblind168]

takeda in 21 cuz he beat the cliff hanger first