SASUKE 30: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Spoilers)

[intelligentinfer]

Basically like what we had for previous tournaments, list the good, bad and ugly things for this tournament.
I'm expecting everyone to moan about the SSL XD

GOOD:
- All Stars return and clear Stage 1
- Finally the Rope Ladder is gone and replaced with a fast-paced obstacle
- Plenty of old faces back
- The Passing Wall reminding us of how evil the Wall Lifting was
- Plenty of attempts on the first 3 stages
- Many people who never had a good try on Sasuke go very far (Shinya, Kawaguchi, Drew and many more)
- Drum Hopper actually providing some shock and fun
- Finally someone killed by the Vertical Limit XD
- A pretty tough final stage

BAD:
- Stage 1's time limit. Stage 1 only eliminated new people and pretty much everybody that attempted it in 29 passed
- Spider Drop's kinda unnecessary.
- The UB. It's 1.5 years and still no new ideas?
- Pipe Slider and the Backstream losing their grace
- Kanno and Asa matching Nakata Daisuke's record
- Stage 3's too short just like always
- No more spliting walls and cutting ropes
- The transitition from the Spider Climb to the rope. They should made a gap there like the older days. Ryo and Kawaguchi both killed that part.

UGLY:
- The darn SSL. I loved 29's 2nd stage so this was just unacceptable.
- Every All-Star's bloopers
- The broadcast. Too little time causing people like Nagasaki and Lee to be digested completely.
- Kongu's streak ends
- Morimoto and Yuuji. I'm happy that they're still alive.
- Asa's emotional moment. He's becoming the new Yamada....

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Good:
~ familiar faces return!
~ all stars return to the second stage.
~ so many clears!

Bad:
~ Bunpei's fail on the jump hang kai... he's used to using that technique...
~ the UB and spider walk did nothing

Ugly:
~ THE SWAP SALMON LADDER DQ's... that alone took out 2 fabled all stars...
~ THE BACKSTREAM!!! Remember when Yuuji nearly drowned and needed a lifeguard's aid? WELL THIS TIME SHINGO NEEDED HELP AFTER HE TOOK IN WATER AND COULDN'T CATCH HIS BREATH!!! BRING BACK THE METAL SPIN! You nearly killed 2 strong competitors...
~ so many digests!
~ Yuuji? Morimoto? you still alive you 2? Their fails made it look like they were dead or something...

[detroitlolcat]

Good:

3 All-Stars complete the First Stage for the first time since SASUKE 23 (that's four and a half years!).
New Generation has amazing results.
Tomohiro Yamaguchi's amazing out-of-nowhere run.
The Wall Lifting being a respectably difficult obstacle again.
Bunpei Shiratori competing!
Very difficult Final Stage. (it's possible, but will require a perfect run)
Drum Hopper and modified Spider Walk were great new obstacles.
Ryo Matachi puts on a heroic performance.

Bad:

First Stage's time limit and lack of exciting obstacles. If you got past the JHK you were golden.
Yamada being cut from the broadcast.
Way too many digests. Takeda, Shingo, and Yuuji?
The Third Stage is still too centered on the Cliffhanger.
Iron Paddler looked like a joke.

Ugly:
The Swap Salmon Ladder.
The Backstream is a stupid obstacle.
The Crazy Cliffhanger is impossible for larger competitors.

[zdude69closedrofl]

Good:

- Kawaguchi's surprise run to the summit of the tower.

- Matachi nearly clearing the entire course.

- Kishimoto finally clearing the first stage and making it far into the course.

- 3/5 All-Stars clearing Stage 1.

- A substantially balanced amount of clears in each stage.

- Drum Hopper. Great, creative obstacle.

- Hioki making it very far.

- One of Yamada's trained athletes clearing the first stage.

- Kinnikun returns to the second stage.

- Ijima coming back.

- ROPE LADDER IS FINALLY GONE.

Bad:

- Bunpei's return results in Jump Hang Kai fail.

- Unstable Bridge and Spider Drop... no purpose...

- Morimoto and Yuuji choking on the final obstacle in the second stage.

- Stage 3 is a bit too short, and the first half isn't that challenging... I feel like they should put the Drum Hopper after the CCH. It would flow better.

- Mr. SASUKE being skipped without explanation.

- Kanno and Asa both fail CCH for the third time in a row.

- One of the first stage clears withdrawing.

- Ishimaru's feet skimming the water. He actually looked really good this time around!

Ugly:

- Swap Salmon Ladder's DQ rule. I am aware it's been there for a few tournaments, but it doesn't justify its purpose. They make it nearly impossible for a rung to stay in place anyway, and it took out Takeda, Nagano, and Kongu when they could have easily recovered, or at least gone out of the competition in fighting spirit, rather than a forced dismount... it was really frustrating to watch such a substantial amount of competitors get kicked out for that reason.

- SHINGO NEARLY DROWNING. Seriously, the Backstream needs to go. Totally pointless obstacle, and it puts competitors' LIVES on the line. Yuuji nearly drowned last year as well.

- Asa's emotional moment in the third stage... that stung...

- The digests. Pretty redundant answer, but I really just don't buy the logic of showing competitors who did nothing to spice up tension or drama in the competition or make it very far, while veterans like Nagasaki and Li get their ENTIRE RUNS fast-forwarded. It's not like they've been around for 10 years or anything. Psh. And adding on to that, it's like they have no problem showing the competitors in the third stage resting for like 90 seconds within each obstacle, and cutting to commercials, yet they can't show some of the best competitors' runs. Come on.

- Kawaguchi's final stage attempt...that was painful to watch.

- Darvish coming within CENTIMETERS of clearing the first stage, and falling off the climb at the very end.

- Hashimoto didn't compete... though I guess that's not quite as fitting since it didn't have to do with the tournament outcome. Oh well. I'm running out of ideas.

[peytonblitz]

Good:

All stars make it though first stage
Very hard final stage
The wall lifting is hard again
Ryo and Tawaguchi make it to final
A lot of the fan favorites made it far(Shinya, Kawaguchi, etc.)(etc. is my favorite competitor
A lot of the shin sedai did good
Kenjiro Ishamaru returned
Bunpei Shiratori

Bad:

The iron paddler isn't hard enough for them now
Yamada was cut for an unknown reason
Shingo's backstream fail
Bunpei Shiratori failing stage one
Backstream was too easy

Ugly:

Too many digests why haven't they shown one full run of Shunsuke since his return yet?
Kanno and Asa on the crazy cliffhanger

[Deleted]

GOOD:
27 Clears in Stage 1
2 Finalists
Return of many fan favourites
Shinya destroying the CCH
Great new Obstacles

BAD:
1 of 27 who cleared withdrew before Stage 2
SSL claiming victims (THE DQ RULE IS FAIR!)
Shinya failing the Vertical Limit. Never saw that coming
Bunpei failing the Jump Hang
Kenji Darvish almost clearing
Torisawa didn't win
Backstream toned down
Wall Lifting almost flattening Yuuji and Yusuke
No new Stage 2 obstacles (Spider Drop is part of Spider Walk)

UGLY:
Shingo revolting like a chicken on the Backstream
Digests - Classic case of bad editing
Yamada getting cut
Kawaguchi messing up in the final (i feel bad for him)
Long Jump too easy. REPLACE IT NOW INUI!

Overall it was a good show. 8.1/10

[crosasukefan99]

Good:
- 3/5 All-Stars cleared stage one
- A lot of good surprising results
- Two finalists (but no kanzenseiha)
- Drum Hopper - i like it
- Finally new last obstacle on stage one

Bad:
- Disqualification system on SSL
- Bunpei's fail on Jump Hang Kai because of his one leg technique
- Kenji Darwish failing Lumberjack Climb

Ugly:
- Asa and Hitoshi failed CCH third time in a row
- Yamada all cut
- TBS digested to much competitors they shouldn't digest (obviously they had a diarrhea this year )

[thatoneuser]

Good:

• The All-Stars are back
• Very exciting and unpredictable results
• Hioki & Kishimoto finally get to try the 3rd Stage
• Ryo clears the 2nd Stage and steps out of Yuuji's shadow
• Lumberjack Climb, Spider Drop, and especially the Drum Hopper
• Backstream at perfect difficulty
• Drew Drechsel.

Bad:

• Way too many 2nd Stage clears
• Horrendous time management by Inui/TBS
• Way too much Yamada
• All-Stars getting owned by the 2nd Stage
• Kongu's undefeated streak on the 2nd Stage ended

Ugly:

• SSL controversy
• Short 1st Stage + lots of clears = boooooooring
• Nobody has a theme anymore besides Nagano
• Yuuji & Morimoto killed by the Wall Lifting

I have to say, though, this is one of my favorite tournaments by far.

[yamfriend]

I get why some people are upset about the abundant amount of digests/cuts (it would've been nice to at least have the seven Stage 1 clears after Kawaguchi's to have been digested), but IMO it's hard to gauge that well when dealing with so many clears. I know we wanted to see a lot of these runs in full, but keep in mind that 1.) Inui and TBS are broadcasting to as many viewers as possible (and are unlikely to keep as much viewer attention by showing clear after clear in a repetitive fashion) and 2.) some of these runs will be completely shown on the SASUKE YouTube page in the near future.

My thoughts:

Good
*Very good, but still balanced, results.
*Overall, pretty fair time limits and obstacle difficulties.
*The Stage 1 success of one of Yamada's Black Tigers (#2932).
*Hioki, Kishimoto, and Drew making it to Stage 3, all of which did so for the first time ever.
*Kawaguchi and Ryo making it to the Final Stage (first finalists in an anniversary tournament).
*At least one forum member (Jin, #2965) clearing Stage 1! Congrats!
*Torisawa and Iijima on the Hedgehog. They gave me some good laughs.
*Wall Lifting back, and as a formidable obstacle once again (especially being after the Backstream).
*Three All-Stars clearing Stage 1.
*Good to see Bunpei once more.
*Liked the new obstacles/modifications (Lumberjack Climb, Spider Drop, and Drum Hopper). I may be a bit biased about the Lumberjack Climb and the Drum Hopper since I've thought about those ideas in the past, but my point stands.

Bad
*Still unclear about the "Yamada being cut" thing.
*Awkward Stage 2 ends for the remaining three All-Stars.
*The Tarzan Rope DQ and cut of Yamada's other two Black Tigers who qualified (#2931 and #2933, respectively).
*Ishimaru's Jump Hang Kai DQ.
*Darvish's Lumberjack Climb fail. He genuinely seemed crushed.
*Bunpei going out in surprising fashion on the Jump Hang Kai. Hopefully he'll still occasionally attend future competitions as a spectator.
*The end of Kongu's Stage 2 perfect clear streak.
*Staleness of the Ni Ren Soritatsu Kabe. IMO, the shorter wall should go in favor of a new obstacle, and the regular-sized wall should be made a bit taller.
*The Iron Paddler is (in conjunction with the Rumbling Dice) also starting to become stale and increasingly unfailable for the current level of competition. It would be a welcome surprise for 31 to have a new energy-draining Stage 3 starter, and a more-likely-to-be-failed obstacle (such as the Body Prop) in the second position.
*Going along with my previous gripe, too much emphasis on technique-based obstacles (particularly in Stage 3). The CCH is the quintessential example here; for 31, I'd personally like to see a new incarnation of the Cliffhanger that can be done without requiring practice to master.

Ugly
*The Swap Salmon Ladder DQ Policy. I didn't like it in 29, and I hated it even more this time around. If it's considered a DQ, at least have it "force" competitors into the water (i.e. have the rung-operating mechanism "fold in" the previous set of rungs so that only landing one side correctly will drop you into the water rather than the lower set of rungs on that side).
*Kanno and Asa's CCH fail hat tricks.
*The one-boarded Unstable Bridge is still there. I really hope it's either gone or modified for next time.
*Ishikawa (#2974) being cut completely. He may have not stood out results-wise, but he wasn't even digested in either Stage 1 or Stage 2.
*Hearing American pop at the beginning of Stage 1. Whether you like it or not, it was unfitting to hear that during a SASUKE broadcast.



Neutral
*The unusual camera shots of guys after they finish the Spider Walk/Spider Drop before heading into the Backstream. I'm calling it the "Pec Cam".

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Jul 3, 2014 13:59:28 GMT -5 zdude69closedrofl said:

- SHINGO NEARLY DROWNING. Seriously, the Backstream needs to go. Totally pointless obstacle, and it puts competitors' LIVES on the line. Yuuji nearly drowned last year as well.

That nearly killed me... If he actually lost... I might as well be a life with no purpose...

[gtoneko]

Too many good moments for me to remember off hand, but one good thing that they did do to fix was the "flow" problem with Back Stream....BUT...


Bad:
We're still having major safety issues with the Back Stream, this time with Shingo having to stop for health and safety reasons. (Granted, from the broadcast that we've seen, he's the only one with the issue this time)

WAY too many Fast Forwards of people most of us would've liked to have seen (Takeda, Nagasaki, Urushihara for a few) for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages. I understand why, due to time constraints, but hopefully, there can be a way to see the run, just for posterity sakes and see how they did overall in performance and with the 3rd stage, see if they ran out of steam or that the Crazy Cliffhanger is still that tough to transition.


UGLY:
That damn disqualification rule on the Swap Salmon Ladder. Honestly, with the first/second transition, they should've been able to make an attempt to try again, which in turn, would eat up time until they have to either make or drop on the 3rd transition. (Basically, have the first transition rung disappear after making the first upwards climb)

Kanno and Asa's k.o. on the CCH. ...I nearly wanted to cry with Asa at that moment.

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Jul 4, 2014 2:19:07 GMT -5 gtoneko said:

Bad:
We're still having major safety issues with the Back Stream, this time with Shingo having to stop for health and safety reasons. (Granted, from the broadcast that we've seen, he's the only one with the issue this time)

Health and safety reasons? I was told he took in water and couldn't catch his breath... Is that what you mean?

[Philip]

Good:

An American (2 if you count Jin!)
The 3 new obstacles were fun to watch (Especially the Lumberjack Climb)
2 finalists
Shinya in the 3rd Stage!!!!
a stacked lineup in the 3rd Stage in general
Backstream seemed much better all around

Bad:

Too short & too easy of a first stage (contradicts a statement I made earlier, but it really is too easy)
Unstable Bridge, for f***'s sake TBS take it out...
The SSL DQ rule. I didn't hate it like some people did but I would rather not have the rule.
Asa & Kanno 3-peating failing the CCH

Ugly:

Shingo giving up on the Backstream
Bunpei screwing up the mini tramp
Koki Someya screwing up the SSL earlier than he did in Sasuke 28 and Hatsuta holding back a laugh, saying "Oh, this is too bad" LOL

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Shingo didn't exactly GIVE up on the backstream. I heard he took in water and had to resurface to catch his breath. However by the time he did time ran out.

[TCM]

He took in water, but that seems like a typical Shingo user error. The guy surfs AND the Backstream jets were 1. toned down and 2. don't start going until you're halfway there after the first push. He was given a life buoy but he refused it, so he wasn't in possible danger. Sometimes you take in water and it kills your train of thought.


Good:
- Three All-Stars clearing for the first time in seemingly ages.
- The Backstream issue being fixed
- The overall success in the tournament (for me, clears = a good thing)
- Shinya in Stage 3
- Hioki in Stage 3
- Asa and Kanno staying consistent with reaching Stage 3
- Shunsuke making it to Stage 3
- Jin and Drew clearing Stage 1
- The Final Stage being reached
- Kawaguchi's performance as a whole (as someone who also has father issues, it's awesome to see him trying to retain a relationship with his)
- New obstacles were pretty fun

Bad:
- All-Stars + Kong being stopped by Stage 2
- Yuuji and Yusuke being stopped by Stage 2
- Shingo taking a drink at the wrong moment.
- Ishimaru's unfortunate fail
- Bunpei's unfortunate fail
- Darvish's unfortunate fail (was rooting for him)

Ugly:
- Shunsuke Nagasaki as The Forever Digested Man
- Kanno and Asa also being consistently in where they fail
- The Spider Climb in the final (paint the damn thing, it looks like it was built literally at the last minute)
- The SSL "controversy" (I put it in quotes because I still believe it's a full of it controversy)
- Cutting clears: I was fine with the first person to clear (because he withdrew and they acknowledged it), but cutting clears of people who end up doing well (like Shinya)? That put a sour taste in my mouth. Ishikawa disappearing is also not cool. Is it difficult to do a multi-box picture of those guys clearing? Although with the YouTube channel, maybe that's the future of the broadcast; showcasing runs that couldn't fit in the time frame.

[gtoneko]

Jul 4, 2014 10:04:04 GMT -5 LusitaniaAngel313 said:

Jul 4, 2014 2:19:07 GMT -5 gtoneko said:

Bad:
We're still having major safety issues with the Back Stream, this time with Shingo having to stop for health and safety reasons. (Granted, from the broadcast that we've seen, he's the only one with the issue this time)

Health and safety reasons? I was told he took in water and couldn't catch his breath... Is that what you mean?

Now that I'm starting to hear about it, yeah.  

That's definitely something, whether you're adept at swimming or not, if there's a situation like that, you've got to stop yourself before it gets worse for situations like he was in.  

Taking in water forcefully like that is definitely no joke, so that's basically a health and safety issue.

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Jul 4, 2014 12:50:32 GMT -5 gtoneko said:

Jul 4, 2014 10:04:04 GMT -5 LusitaniaAngel313 said:

Health and safety reasons? I was told he took in water and couldn't catch his breath... Is that what you mean?

Now that I'm starting to hear about it, yeah.  

That's definitely something, whether you're adept at swimming or not, if there's a situation like that, you've got to stop yourself before it gets worse for situations like he was in.  

Taking in water forcefully like that is definitely no joke, so that's basically a health and safety issue.

Oh now I get it. it's like water going up the nose... something I can't take at all. Now I understand just how Shingo had his demise.

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Jul 4, 2014 11:09:55 GMT -5 TCM said:

He took in water, but that seems like a typical Shingo user error. The guy surfs AND the Backstream jets were 1. toned down and 2. don't start going until you're halfway there after the first push. He was given a life buoy but he refused it, so he wasn't in possible danger. Sometimes you take in water and it kills your train of thought.

I see. Lose concentration for a split second and SASUKE will hammer into it so you fail... poor Shingo... I want him back in the 3rd stage... been far too long!

[yutang68]

Good
- 3 All Stars clear stage 1
- 1 black tiger completed stage 1
- Torisawa on the long run
- Lumberjack climb and drum hopper very new and interesting
- Ryo finally clearing stage 2
- Balanced stages with a good number of clears for each one
- Wall Lifting finally lowered so competitors actually have to lift it
- Hioki provided a very entertaining (when he was on the iron paddler and when he was about to try the drum hopper) and heartwrenching (when he cleared stage 2) performance
- 9/10 clears from 91-100
- Stage 2 feels like the speed stage it was meant to be

Bad
- Stage 1 is too easy
- Long run, log grip, ni ren soritatsu kabe, unstable bridge, spider walk/drop, and iron paddler need to be replaced
-Yuuji failing 2nd stage again
- Kanno and Asa failing the CCH for the third time in a row
- Crazy Cliffhanger proving to be impossible unless you train extensively on it. Even those who do still fail it. The 4th ledge should be 1-2 centimeters longer.
- 3rd stage needs 1 more obstacle before the pipe slider

Ugly
- Too many digests (I understand why, but it was even worse this time around than 29)
- Shunsuke and Lee who got all 3 runs digested even though they are long time veterans
- SSL disqualifying Kongu, Takeda, and Nagano even though they all could have recovered
- Bunpei could have made 10/10 for the final 10 competitors but did a combo breaker on the jump hang kai

[sasukeguy]

So this is my about it opinions about it.

Good

Got rid of Rope Ladder
Fast pasted second stage
3/5 all stars made it
Drum Hopper
Backsteam is calmed down
Wall lifting is back
Final stage run
mix of old and new in the course
Only one fail in the last 11 in stage one
G4's qualifying rule is gone

Bad

Only two geinojin cleared stage one
Shingo drinking on backstream water


Ugly

Bunpei's fail on jump hang
Yamada being cut
Swap Salmon Ladder rule
Clears being cut(last time they did that was in 1999)
All three all stars fails second stage