tns8597
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Post by tns8597 on Jan 28, 2021 14:03:03 GMT -5
Which competitor do you think was the most unassuming looking competitor relative to their skill level?
By unassuming, I mean that they don't look particularly athletic or likely to do well, but ended up being one of the strongest competitors of their era.
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azn
Ishikawa Terukazu
"There's a time and place for everything... BUT NOT NOW!!!" - Prof. Oak
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Post by azn on Jan 28, 2021 14:30:45 GMT -5
I bet their is a lot more, but Akira and Wakky are probably the best ones that fit this. at least for me. Both are comedians (over the top comedians I might add) which usually is a death sentence in SASUKE
However Wakky actually did pretty decent, clearing the 1st stage and maybe could've beaten the Swap Salmon Ladder, and Akira is one of 2 people to three peat the Final Stage in attempts, the other one is some guy called Nagano Makoto, don't know if he's good and all but I guess their both good
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Post by m4tt3r0x on Jan 28, 2021 14:47:58 GMT -5
Yuuji
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tns8597
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Post by tns8597 on Jan 28, 2021 15:18:20 GMT -5
Yeah, Omori defo fits the bill. That's the one thing I liked about that early era of Sasuke, how a wiry comedian achieved what literally no one else including professional athletes had achieved at the time. I always wondered what his background was in terms of sports because it's not like his career was related to his job as a comedian.
I'd also add Bunpei Shiratori and Yoshiyuki Okuyama. Both just looked like really unassuming citizens in their late-30s/early-40s, yet at the time of their peaks, both were pretty much the strongest non-champion competitors of their respective eras.
The Morimoto Sedai also; they all look like archetypical 20-something 'nerds'.
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Post by m4tt3r0x on Jan 28, 2021 17:08:34 GMT -5
I remember seeing Okuyama for the first time in Sasuke 20 and thinking he looked kind of snobbish or arrogant during Stage 2. He turned out to be one of my favorite competitors by the end of his career. Looks can be deceiving.
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tns8597
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Post by tns8597 on Jan 28, 2021 17:22:39 GMT -5
m4tt3r0x I'm guessing that's because of the way he looked after Levi cleared?
His quiet and almost stoic demeanour is what I liked so much about him, made him quite a dark horse competitor, and also why I think he did so well; he was able to detach emotions and mental demons (which as we know from Yamada can ruin your career) from his performances during his runs and that's what led to his consistency.
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Post by m4tt3r0x on Jan 28, 2021 18:00:41 GMT -5
Yes, it was something like that. I also just had never seen the guy before and thought he sure looked serious and intense for a Stage 2 rookie. You're right though about his stoic character, there is something rather charming about it and he was quite mentally adept because of it as seen through his consistent record.
Just look at him before he takes on the Final in 24. The guy bleeds intensity lol
Edit: (the music definitely helps too)
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azn
Ishikawa Terukazu
"There's a time and place for everything... BUT NOT NOW!!!" - Prof. Oak
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Post by azn on Jan 28, 2021 18:33:10 GMT -5
I guess I'll also add my guy Kobayashi too, sure he did a monkey bar challenge but I don't think anyone would've expected him to almost clear the 3rd stage and doing who knows what in the final.
He also had so much swagger to him, especially in Sk14, it's a Shame we couldn't get more runs from him
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YGK
Paul Hamm
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Post by YGK on Jan 29, 2021 2:36:35 GMT -5
Gonna suggest Kuboki from Sasuke 7. He didn't appear very athletic to me but he managed to clear stage 1 pretty easily and overcame the warped wall (thanks to his research and calculations - sort of a precursor to how Morimoto studies obstacles now) and then was the first to make it past the redesigned stage 2 (chain reaction, spider walk). I think he would have done pretty well if he competed a few more times.
(honestly you could slot in quite a few earlier era competitors)
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tns8597
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Post by tns8597 on Jan 29, 2021 4:47:19 GMT -5
Yeah r/e Okuyama you'd always see people like Kongu shouting when they cleared a stage yet Okuyama would quietly get through and look like he gives no f***ks. Obviously he does, he viewed Sasuke as his Olympics, but being a former international athlete I'm sure he was trained to adopt a sort of 'tunnel vision' approach when he competes, whether in sprinting or Sasuke; just focus on himself taking on the course.
I never really got why they cut Kobayashi so many times, given that apparently, they were considering making him an All-Star but went with Bunpei instead. Sure, he underperformed in those instances like in Shin-Sasuke, but the guy literally got entirely cut on the tournament after he very nearly made the Final Stage in his first attempt (Sasuke 12).
And yeah, Kuboki could definitely be a Morimoto-Sedai-esque competitor now if he was the same age/stature, but back then it was quite rare to see 'nerds' doing well hahaha.
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Post by LusitaniaAngel313 on Jan 29, 2021 5:16:08 GMT -5
Here's a question. Which job do you think would give you training just by doing it? Did anyone say gas station manager? VERY doubtful. No one really thinks about their job as it's mostly just selling whatever is inside their shop and or filling cars with gas. So how the HECK did Shingo Yamamoto come out of nowhere to absolutely WRECK the course as it came against him?! Oh wait. He was a long jumper but honestly, looking at him during SASUKE 1-17 and wearing his uniform, you knew where he came from and he's here to prove even the small job like he has can still do well in SASUKE. Pretty unassuming for being #7 in SASUKE 1, 20 in SASUKE 2, and 13 in SASUKE 3. There's a reason why he has the lowest number to crack the final stage!
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tns8597
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Post by tns8597 on Jan 29, 2021 5:56:55 GMT -5
LusitaniaAngel313 the numbers thing is mainly just because in the earlier tournaments the number assignments were sort of randomized (Ken Hasegawa made the Final Stage wearing 96, then got 65 in the next tournament); also in a lot of Shingo's fluff pieces they saw him using his job to his advantage like by pushing cars and so on. Though I think that was just for the camera lol.
R/e the job thing, a lot of the current roster of competitors don't have particularly physically intensive jobs. Morimoto's a software engineer, Keitaro's a teacher, Araki's a car designer, etc. etc. There's definitely been a shift from competitors who have physical jobs (like the All-Stars) to competitors with more normal jobs but that's offset by the fact that they all make replicas of entire stages, because that's what it takes these days; you can't just have a physical job and do well at Sasuke now because the movements and training is so specific and much more difficult than before. Back in the day, Takeda and Nagano didn't really train specific obstacles but just by virtue of their careers they were insanely athletic, which enabled them to get through the course.
The only high-profile competitors during that era who had 'normal' jobs were Asaoka and Shiratori, and both largely built replicas of Stage 3 in their homes, which fundamentally led them to both reach the Final Stage at their peaks.
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Post by wrestlingfan55 on Jan 30, 2021 12:42:24 GMT -5
I suppose Yuuji would be a good choice. He's never "looked" like someone who'd show that kind of ability on the course, especially his incredible upper body conditioning. He came out of nowhere in 22, at least to the casual viewer. His explosiveness, especially on upper body-based obstacles was unlike anything we'd seen before.
And in 31 most of us thought Wreath Man was a joke competitor, but look at what happened there.
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tns8597
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Post by tns8597 on Jan 30, 2021 14:05:22 GMT -5
Something else I'll add: most people think that to do well on Sasuke you have to have a ripped physique.
Recently people like Ryo and Yuuji have looked a little bit out of shape/starting to put on some stomach fat yet are still both capable of reaching the Final Stage. I think that's defo another factor to consider when thinking of who looks 'unassuming'.
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azn
Ishikawa Terukazu
"There's a time and place for everything... BUT NOT NOW!!!" - Prof. Oak
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Post by azn on Jan 30, 2021 15:57:19 GMT -5
Something else I'll add: most people think that to do well on Sasuke you have to have a ripped physique. Recently people like Ryo and Yuuji have looked a little bit out of shape/starting to put on some stomach fat yet are still both capable of reaching the Final Stage. I think that's defo another factor to consider when thinking of who looks 'unassuming'. So to that extent, Travis Allen Schroeder than, pretty sure no one watching him live would've expect to him to clear the cliffhanger, yet alone almost clearing the third stage. He even said himself that he tried to give himself enough confidence to do the Conveyer cause he was bigger than the rest of competitors.
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Post by SasukeBanzukeNo1 (Moon12) on Feb 1, 2021 9:25:59 GMT -5
Even though he competed one time, and of course it was an earlier and easier SASUKE tournament, I'd say Minoru Matsumoto. The guy had a diminutive stature and looked a tiny bit ragged-looking, and I didn't think he would make it that far; but despite that, he easily made it all the way to the final stage. He definitely surprised me the first time I saw his run. It looked as if he didn't even try on stage one as he calmly cleared one obstacle after another.
Although he did poorly in the final stage, as he only climbed 8 out of 15 meters, he still surprised many on making it that far as a newcomer. I don't know what would have happened if he came back to compete in SASUKE 4 and beyond, but my best guess would be him failing the cliffhanger in stage 3 due to his lack of upper-body strength, and probably not passing stage one in SASUKE 5 and beyond due to the rise in difficulty.
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Post by subtleagent on Feb 2, 2021 12:20:18 GMT -5
Hiromichi Sato (yes, yes I know he's not the best personality-wise, but his athleticism is no joke). Didn't expect him to get past Stage 1, let alone make it as far as he did either time. At 40/41 no less. And his VIKING and KuroOvi runs were nothing to laugh about either.
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