Post by Badalight on Mar 31, 2017 6:44:55 GMT -5
The initial plan was to use the World cup as a way to throw the foreigners in there categorized by regions of the world.. that backfired. The feedback from the Japanese community was vehemently against segregating the groups. Even taking 33 as an example.. there were no foreigners invited to Sasuke 33.. none.. then all of a sudden a couple weeks (and in some cases the week of) a small handful of foreigners got invited because they caught wind that it wasn't going to have them (none of my friends though since they are all hit at the same time). Even Wreathman was forced back on the show (tbf he had a prior commitment) and had to travel from the airport to Sasuke the same day. He only made it with 30 minutes to spare since he got caught in traffic for 4 1/2 hours. Lee's exclusion backfired big time and people were LIVID that he was only the guest of another Taiwan competitor. Nothing like seeing Nagano question in front of the production team why Lee is here.. but not competing in the anniversary event.. No one ever has a good reason to explain why he was never invited back.. Previous times was using World Cup as an excuse but no more. We know they want to eliminate all of them over time. Problem is, the Japanese hardcore fans that are keeping this show alive are livid that there isn't variety anymore. They love seeing Japan's best go up against the World's best. It elevates the level of competition and keeps Sasuke from becoming a reality show (something it's rapidly turning into). So yes.. they need foreigners. It provides a nice contrast and elevates the level of competition.
Agree with everything here, but I do have to say one thing. My friend at Tokyo tryouts mentioned he was talking to an American woman who was also at the tryouts. Obviously she didn't get onto the show proper, but I think her being there shows that they aren't 100% against foreigners. Just throwing that out there. Obviously it's much more harsh than it was in the past, but her being there at least gives me a semblance of hope.