Something I've wondered about for a while

[yamfriend]

So we all know on Sasuke, some people (veteran/big-in-potential competitors, All-Stars, Muscle Musical members, well-known Japanese talents, athletes, etc.) are almost always invited to compete. Then they have trials for other competitors to compete. However, that still leaves a lot of open spots for regular Japanese citizens to compete (even though nowadays they're digested or cut and rarely pose any threat to the course). My question regarding this is: how are the everyday people selected to compete? Are they always picked as regional representatives like they were in Sasuke 25? Do they show up at the sign-up booth and go by a "first come, first serve" policy determined by how many positions are available left for them? Does M9 simply ask people walking on a nearby street to see if they'd like to give a shot at Sasuke? I'm very perplexed by this random selection process, especially when considering how so much more focus is on trials.

[supersheep]

You apply and if they feel you have something to offer they accept you.

[Badalight]

Aug 5, 2011 18:21:49 GMT -5 yamfriend said:

So we all know on Sasuke, some people (veteran/big-in-potential competitors, All-Stars, Muscle Musical members, well-known Japanese talents, athletes, etc.) are almost always invited to compete. Then they have trials for other competitors to compete. However, that still leaves a lot of open spots for regular Japanese citizens to compete (even though nowadays they're digested or cut and rarely pose any threat to the course). My question regarding this is: how are the everyday people selected to compete? Are they always picked as regional representatives like they were in Sasuke 25? Do they show up at the sign-up booth and go by a "first come, first serve" policy determined by how many positions are available left for them? Does M9 simply ask people walking on a nearby street to see if they'd like to give a shot at Sasuke? I'm very perplexed by this random selection process, especially when considering how so much more focus is on trials.

I thought it was obvious. You have to apply, send a video or something. They get thousands. They choose the ones they like.

Plus you have your all-stars, americans, trial winners, and returning competitors like Octopus.

[Deleted]

I seem to recall Elsie mentioning before that they also look for specific occupations when looking through the entries. For example they might set aside, say, 3 spots for law enforcement, or 3 spots for medical personnel. They want to have a certain number of people from various occupations; a certain number of medical personnel, law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers, blue-collar workers, etc. For example, when Shingo applied to compete they might have looked at his entry and said something like, "Hey, this guy looks like he has potential, and we need a couple of blue-collar workers. Let's invite him."

[arsenette]

Aug 5, 2011 20:46:02 GMT -5 @tigerofhaughton said:

I seem to recall Elsie mentioning before that they also look for specific occupations when looking through the entries. For example they might set aside, say, 3 spots for law enforcement, or 3 spots for medical personnel. They want to have a certain number of people from various occupations; a certain number of medical personnel, law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers, blue-collar workers, etc. For example, when Shingo applied to compete they might have looked at his entry and said something like, "Hey, this guy looks like he has potential, and we need a couple of blue-collar workers. Let's invite him."

Bingo that's exactly right. That's how Takeda got the spot for the firefighters even though his whole team applied. Nagano was picked because he lived so far away in the boondocks.. Bunpei lived in the styx so they wanted someone from out in the boonies as well.. LOL It all depends on what theme they are going for or if they need to fill in certain gaps. So you don't have more than 1 lawyer or too many soccer players, etc. etc. Prefecture also counts so I wouldn't be surprised if in this Sasuke coming up they will have people from the Earthquake/Tsunami affected areas.

[yamfriend]

OK that makes sense. I wasn't sure about the exact process since I rarely see any specific information about it. It seems like most of those people were only picked because of some gimmick relating to their occupations and/or hobbies at the starting line, only to usually fail very early on. Thank you very much for the information.

[Christopher Layne]

Aug 5, 2011 20:46:02 GMT -5 @tigerofhaughton said:

I seem to recall Elsie mentioning before that they also look for specific occupations when looking through the entries. For example they might set aside, say, 3 spots for law enforcement, or 3 spots for medical personnel. They want to have a certain number of people from various occupations; a certain number of medical personnel, law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers, blue-collar workers, etc. For example, when Shingo applied to compete they might have looked at his entry and said something like, "Hey, this guy looks like he has potential, and we need a couple of blue-collar workers. Let's invite him."

I'd heard this about occupational selection before, from someone who knows a bit about how the contestants are picked.

DLKD-

[Deleted]

Hey, Karno. Welcome to SMF. That would be Carol (Cutey from WebJam), I'm guessing?

[Christopher Layne]

Thanks for the welcome, Tiger.

Yes, that would be who I heard it from. ;D

[lostinube]

There was a "corner" in Kinniku Banzuke in which they would have two (or more, I can't recall exactly) people who had the same occupation and/or gimmick face-off, usually during a Quick Muscle or some other event. The winner got to appear on SASUKE. That's how Hiromitsu Takahashi first got on.

[Christopher Layne]

Aug 21, 2011 0:31:07 GMT -5 lostinube said:

There was a "corner" in Kinniku Banzuke in which they would have two (or more, I can't recall exactly) people who had the same occupation and/or gimmick face-off, usually during a Quick Muscle or some other event. The winner got to appear on SASUKE. That's how Hiromitsu Takahashi first got on.

I believe that's also how they settled who got to keep the title of "Sasuke Sensei" between Yoshinaga Katsumi and Asaoka Hiroyuki, isn't it?

[lostinube]

Yes, that was after SASUKE 7.