Sasuke - Power Rankings - Active Players Only

[xxkingyoshi]

So, I was bored and decided to create a list of those most likely to achieve Kanzenseiha in Sasuke 38. Essentialy, a "Power Rankings" list of present-day competitors. This is my personal opinion and I would love to hear yours.

#1 - Morimoto Yusuke - He has made the finals 3 of the last 6 comps, but is coming off of a disappointing 1st stage defeat. Still, an easy choice for #1.

#2 - Urushihara Yuuji - He struggled for a stretch, but has made the third stage in two straight competitions. However, at 41 years of age, does he have a Kanzenseiha left in him? I think so, but his time is quickly running out.

#3 - Sato Jun - Six straight Stage 3 runs, but it always comes down to the same thing, can he ever beat the Cliffhanger? He clearly needs to specialize his training. He is a first stage master and has been running hot, but it will not matter if he cannot overcome his nemesis.  

#4 - Tada Tatsuya - What an improvement this guy has made recently. After making the finals, will he improve once more and achieve Kanzenseiha? Unlike Sato, he seems to have no problems with the Cliffhanger, however, can his recent success be sustained? 

#5 - Rene Kaselowsky - Ok, so that was an incredibly impressive run for his first time on the course! However, will he even be invited back? I certainly hope so. He clearly has a lot of potential. Foreign competitiors only get so many chances at this, but surely he impressed enough to get a second shot.

#6 - Kawaguchi Tomohiro - An incredible talent that had so much potential. However, as he gets older and older it seems the Cliffhanger-Vertical Limit combo is just going to be too much for him to overcome. 

#7 - Nagasaki Shunsuke - He has been around forever and is still only 33 years old. He would be higher on the list if not for his recent string of failures. I hope he can bounce back because he sure is fun to watch!

#8 - Drew Dreschel - He did not compete in Sasuke 37. Has his Sauke opportunity ran its course? He is clearly a beast and may not be invited to Sasuke 38. However, he is still only 31, so I expect him to make it back at some point. 

#9 - Matachi Ryo - So many first stage disappointments. It is hard to believe he has made the final stage twice. However, he has never failed the Cliffhanger and still only 31 years of age. Plenty of time to turn it around.

#10 - Hioki Masashi - I love the guy. He has made the third stage in 6 of his last 8 contests including 4 straight trips to stage 3. However, he is 39 and lest just face it, he is not beating the Cliffhanger.

#11 - Kanno Hitoshi - He should probably be a little higher on the list, but he certainly isn't getting any younger and has been such a disappointment lately. He just seems like he has lost it. We have saw it time and time again around his age of 35. He seems to be on the decline with a road that only gets more rocky from here.

#12 - Yamamoto Yoshiyuki - Finally, a Black Tiger with an excellent first appearance. Who knows if he can be consistent, but that was certainly a good start.

#13 - Isa Yoshinori - After a "standard" Black Tiger embarassment with his first run, he bounced back and looked pretty good. Maybe things are looking up for the "Yamada Boys!"

#14 - Jessie Graff - She should be invited to every competition until she retires. Will she ever beat the third stage? Probably not. However, she is one of the most impressive first and second stage competitors in all of Sasuke, regardless of gender. Girl got skills!

What do you think? It is possible I forgot/overlooked someone with potential. Just let me know. Also, what would your list look like?

[m4tt3r0x]

As overall players for Sasuke and outside competitions mixed in (In terms of winning Sasuke 38 I think Yusuke, Rene, and Drew have roughly similar chances of doing it, and otherwise I'd use the same list):
1. Drew Drechsel, (powerful, resilient, experienced, worse grip than Casselly, tall). Rene Casselley (absurdly young, lightweight, tall)
3. Morimoto Yusuke (viscious rope climber, upper body, decent hops for height)
4. Tatsuya Tada, Urushihara Yuuji, Matachi Ryo, Tomohiro Kawaguchi, Yamamoto Keitaro (all great upper body and grip, all short except Tomo, none of them will probably ever win, and Yuuji's too old)
9. Sato Jun (great speed and good potential)
10. Yamamoto Yoshiyuki (good potential)
11. Masashi Hioki (too old and has seemingly plateaud)
12. Kanno Hitoshi (seems like he peaked)

Some guys from ANW would be way up at numbers 1-4 as well.

Ideally I wish Kawaguchi was younger and could climb a rope so he'd be ideal for Japan, but he'd still have less power than Drew and Yusuke I think. Yusuke is too small to excel outside of Sasuke IMO.

I really miss the old days man. Japan just has a bunch of smaller dudes who are obsessively good at Stage 3 grip obstacles now. Okuyama, Kong, Hashimoto, Nagano, and Takeda were interesting to watch back then in their own right and they just don't really make them like them any more.

[tns8597]

Jul 4, 2020 17:40:42 GMT -5 xxkingyoshi said:

So, I was bored and decided to create a list of those most likely to achieve Kanzenseiha in Sasuke 38. Essentialy, a "Power Rankings" list of present-day competitors. This is my personal opinion and I would love to hear yours.

#1 - Morimoto Yusuke - He has made the finals 3 of the last 6 comps, but is coming off of a disappointing 1st stage defeat. Still, an easy choice for #1.

#2 - Urushihara Yuuji - He struggled for a stretch, but has made the third stage in two straight competitions. However, at 41 years of age, does he have a Kanzenseiha left in him? I think so, but his time is quickly running out.

#3 - Sato Jun - Six straight Stage 3 runs, but it always comes down to the same thing, can he ever beat the Cliffhanger? He clearly needs to specialize his training. He is a first stage master and has been running hot, but it will not matter if he cannot overcome his nemesis.  

#4 - Tada Tatsuya - What an improvement this guy has made recently. After making the finals, will he improve once more and achieve Kanzenseiha? Unlike Sato, he seems to have no problems with the Cliffhanger, however, can his recent success be sustained? 

#5 - Rene Kaselowsky - Ok, so that was an incredibly impressive run for his first time on the course! However, will he even be invited back? I certainly hope so. He clearly has a lot of potential. Foreign competitiors only get so many chances at this, but surely he impressed enough to get a second shot.

#6 - Kawaguchi Tomohiro - An incredible talent that had so much potential. However, as he gets older and older it seems the Cliffhanger-Vertical Limit combo is just going to be too much for him to overcome. 

#7 - Nagasaki Shunsuke - He has been around forever and is still only 33 years old. He would be higher on the list if not for his recent string of failures. I hope he can bounce back because he sure is fun to watch!

#8 - Drew Dreschel - He did not compete in Sasuke 37. Has his Sauke opportunity ran its course? He is clearly a beast and may not be invited to Sasuke 38. However, he is still only 31, so I expect him to make it back at some point. 

#9 - Matachi Ryo - So many first stage disappointments. It is hard to believe he has made the final stage twice. However, he has never failed the Cliffhanger and still only 31 years of age. Plenty of time to turn it around.

#10 - Hioki Masashi - I love the guy. He has made the third stage in 6 of his last 8 contests including 4 straight trips to stage 3. However, he is 39 and lest just face it, he is not beating the Cliffhanger.

#11 - Kanno Hitoshi - He should probably be a little higher on the list, but he certainly isn't getting any younger and has been such a disappointment lately. He just seems like he has lost it. We have saw it time and time again around his age of 35. He seems to be on the decline with a road that only gets more rocky from here.

#12 - Yamamoto Yoshiyuki - Finally, a Black Tiger with an excellent first appearance. Who knows if he can be consistent, but that was certainly a good start.

#13 - Isa Yoshinori - After a "standard" Black Tiger embarassment with his first run, he bounced back and looked pretty good. Maybe things are looking up for the "Yamada Boys!"

#14 - Jessie Graff - She should be invited to every competition until she retires. Will she ever beat the third stage? Probably not. However, she is one of the most impressive first and second stage competitors in all of Sasuke, regardless of gender. Girl got skills!

What do you think? It is possible I forgot/overlooked someone with potential. Just let me know. Also, what would your list look like?

I can't be bothered to make my own so I'll just comment on yours lol.

I agree mostly, but there are some points I'll make:
- Not sure I'd put Jun Sato so high up. As a parkour guy Stages 1 and 2 play to his strength but I can't see him passing Stage 3 anytime soon; even if he passes the CHD he'll have a tough time on the Vertical Limit.
- Yuuji and Ryo it's really hard to say as they've been so bipolar recently, though Yuuji less so.
- Personally I find Kawaguchi overrated. He always gets #99 but he's only cleared the Cliffhanger once since his final stage appearance and has made some dumb mistakes like in 31, 33, 36; not as consistent as Sato.
- Drew I think has a strong chance of Kanzen, but his Vertical Limit attempts have been worrying, not having made it past the first ledge in either attempt. He's super adaptable and his Kanzen on ANW shows that so I think with some training he should be fine.
- I made a post about this a few days ago, but I personally think Kanno's done for. He's adopted an almost Yamada-like mentality which gets the better of him, and his constant shoulder surgeries and injuries mean he's nowhere near in top shape like he once was.
- Nagasaki I also think has passed his prime, despite only being 33. Nowhere near as bad as Kanno, but I feel like he makes far more mental errors than when he was younger; maybe pressure perhaps? I can see him getting to Stage 3 again, but clearing it? Not a chance.
- Tada and Rene are strong candidates, but we haven't seen enough of them to see their consistency. 

[xxkingyoshi]

Awesome! Loved the input. A few things...

Yeah, I'm a big Sato fan. I'm hoping he can work on that upper body. I am a huge fan of that consistency and he is getting a lot of experience early on due to that.

Both of you are a bit higher on Drew than I was. Makes sense. I don't follow American Ninja warrior very closely, so that is probably why. However, I can see that he is definitely a beast.

For sure, with Kanno. It just seems like he has lost something. Not his ability, but something mental, for sure.

Also, agree with the Tada and Rene consistency statement. My list could look very different in preparation for Sasuke 39 if they falter.

[tns8597]

I also don't think age is necessary as big of a hindrance as it's made out to be. Sure, you get some people who peak early, like Kanno and Shunsuke, but we're seeing a lot of people doing better in their late 30s than when they were younger, like Tomo and Hioki. I don't really think the All-Stars, for example, necessarily got worse with age (though admittedly Shingo did as he failed earlier on in the same Stage 3 as time went by). Controversially, I think that the Nagano era was possibly the limit of their ability and Shin-Sasuke just highlighted their weaknesses, which they would've had whether they were 25 or 40.

Yuuji is turning 42 this year but I still think he's got another 4-5 years left in him, provided he doesn't get injured. He's defo got a young physique for his age. Age just seems to be proxy for higher likelihood of injury if anything.

[PizzaKing57]

The first thing I'm gonna say is that if someone else besides Morimoto achieves Total Victory, then the person I will be happy for the most is another member of the Sasuke-Kun Sedai because it's a lovely new generation to have on the show.

However, I think the only other members who are very likely to win is either Keitaro or Tada because Keitaro in training, is powerful and fast on the Salmon Ladder and the Spider Walk, and also his rock climbing is perfect upper-body strength training, which will be good for him in the Final Stage. Tada could win as well if he keeps practicing the Salmon Ladder, but I'm not sure about how fast he is on ropes to be honest.

Even if Yuuji makes it back to the Final Stage, I feel it's unlikely he'll win because he's in his 40s now and even though he's very good at rope climbing practise, the Salmon Ladder is even more difficult and I just don't see him winning in time even if he is able to beat the ultimate Salmon Ladder.

Darvish stands no chance at all of reaching the Final Stage because he's terrible at the Vertical Limit and this means he'll never be able to make the 60cm transition onto the third ledge as that is the most gruelsome on the course.

The only others I feel like could also win are Rene and Matachi but Drew, I just don't think so because he cannot be bothered to practise the hardest part of the triple Vertical Limit.

I also agree about the fact that you said Nagasaki is fun to watch because he's one of the long-lasting promising and determined challengers but I'm unhappy that since his return in 2013, he hasn't been getting enough screen time as he's almost always digested whenever competing unlike from 14-19 when he so famous at that time and got shown in full every time but now, it's unfair that SASUKE doesn't think he's that important like the others anymore. :/

[tns8597]

Jul 5, 2020 16:28:46 GMT -5 PizzaKing57 said:

The first thing I'm gonna say is that if someone else besides Morimoto achieves Total Victory, then the person I will be happy for the most is another member of the Sasuke-Kun Sedai because it's a lovely new generation to have on the show.

However, I think the only other members who are very likely to win is either Keitaro or Tada because Keitaro in training, is powerful and fast on the Salmon Ladder and the Spider Walk, and also his rock climbing is perfect upper-body strength training, which will be good for him in the Final Stage. Tada could win as well if he keeps practicing the Salmon Ladder, but I'm not sure about how fast he is on ropes to be honest.

Even if Yuuji makes it back to the Final Stage, I feel it's unlikely he'll win because he's in his 40s now and even though he's very good at rope climbing practise, the Salmon Ladder is even more difficult and I just don't see him winning in time even if he is able to beat the ultimate Salmon Ladder.

Darvish stands no chance at all of reaching the Final Stage because he's terrible at the Vertical Limit and this means he'll never be able to make the 60cm transition onto the third ledge as that is the most gruelsome on the course.

The only others I feel like could also win are Rene and Matachi but Drew, I just don't think so because he cannot be bothered to practise the hardest part of the triple Vertical Limit.

I agree Keitaro is defo the underdog right now; if only he actually practiced the Backstream because that seems to be what's preventing him from clearing Stage 2. Stage 3 he's shown in practice to beat it, and Stage 4 he has a high chance also.

Tada, Yuuji, Ryo etc. can defo make the Final again, but I doubt their Salmon Ladder speed being up to scratch, like on the same level as Morimoto. Rene also claims he can beat the stage next time but I guess we'll see.

Drew has a strong Salmon Ladder technique but he's quite stocky so I'm not sure of his speed on the Spider Climb. Imagine how strong he would be if he lost a few pounds as his physique is quite average yet he's already won ANW with like 15-20% body fat lol.

Darvish I'd be surprised if he even made it back to Stage 3 tbh; he's really not in the same league as all these other competitors and gets way too much screen time for his actual ability, celebrity or not.