Most overdramatic/stoic competitors?

[dakohosu]

Who do you think was the most overdramatic competitor we've ever seen?

Who do you think is the most stoic?

[subtleagent]

Yamada and Asa for the former and Okuyama for the latter. Nuff said.

[Ninja Relaxer]

I'd add Kenji Darvish to the over-dramatic category. He gets on my nerves occasionally, whereas Asa never really did.

Takeda became pretty stoic over the course of the show, despite coming across as quite boyish and exuberant in his first appearance.

Nagano always seemed really stoic regarding his own runs, but on the sidelines, watching other people run, he's a little more animated.

[dakohosu]

Yeah Darvish really started to get on my nerves after a while; his reactions to clearing or failing just seemed a bit extreme, especially after his Stage 3 fail in 36. A part of me thinks it's mainly for the camera, whereas Asa's reactions, however annoying they were at times, seemed more genuine.

Asa crying after failing or clearing was a bit much but it came across as far more passionate than over the top. I can't say the same about his random shouting though. I think what I found a bit annoying was how it was mainly that behaviour that got him lots of screen time, even if other competitors had interesting backstories but didn't quite have it in them to cry or scream at every possible opportunity (e.g. Kanno who's results were basically identical to Asa's during that period).

Takeda was definitely the most stoic of the All-Stars, not because he lacked emotion but because he didn't show it on camera. He cried after his fail in Sasuke 9, 12, and 17 (12 was 100% fair enough as he broke his shoulder which had negative connotations on both his career and Sasuke), but always felt like he was trying to hold it back in front of the camera. When Nagano retired in 32, you could tell Takeda was on the verge of crying but was trying really hard not to, whereas Shingo and everyone else were sobbing.

A couple of competitors I'd add to the latter category: Jordan Jovtchev who always seemed to have a frown on his face even after clearing Stage 3 in his debut; I guess given that he's an Olympian doing well at Sasuke wasn't that important to him, though he clearly did enjoy it hence why he kept coming back to compete. Kane Kosugi as well, but I think that was for the opposite reason; the guy was so focussed on winning that just clearing Stages 1 or 2 didn't matter to him. Even after he cleared Stage 3 in Sasuke 8 he didn't even smile or anything, again because to him it was Total Victory or nothing.

[nekomi3]

well being a celeb in Japan (or literally anywhere) means you'd need a bit overreacting tho, so I wouldn't blame Darvish
also why i started to care more about the celeb

[subtleagent]

Olympians in general seem really stoic when they run. As if they're trying to get themselves in the zone.

[dakohosu]

Yeah I’ve noticed professional athletes are generally much more stoic; I suppose it’s because when you compete in front of thousands or millions of people you need to adopt that funnel vision where it’s just you vs the course, because if you worry about your surroundings it’ll just throw you off.

That’s always why I figured Okuyama was really stoic; he was an ex-sprinter who’s career was determined by 20 seconds every year so when he competed he had to detach any emotions and just focus on the task in hand. That’s also why I think he did so well at Sasuke; he basically never made any mistakes due to his supreme focus, compared to someone like Yamada who’s self doubt plagued him for his entire career. Sasuke meant the world to Okuyama as well (he called it his Olympics) but he never let his ambition get the better of him.

Jovtchev I always just figured didn’t care that much/was just competing for fun. He was also hella consistent, being the only competitor to attempt Stage 2 at least four times and never fail it.

[subtleagent]

Jovtchev definitely seemed more casual (not Kawaguchi #Casual thankfully, thanks Emily) in his interviews. I also love how he said he never failed the Second Stage and actually cleared it in 16 (unlike Levi in 21 and Takeda in 25 who both mocked the Salmon Ladder only to end up failing it). In 8 he didn't even seem that worried about timing out in Stage 1 (compared to Shoei and Shingo who were clearly panicking/grimacing), he just went for it anyway.

Him and Okuyama clearly had the right mindset of not letting the course get to them, but at the same time not underestimating obstacles. And resultantly they were consistent in getting to Stage 3 which was really impressive.

Comparatively someone like Yukio was definitely stoic during runs, but we saw he was incredibly cocky and arrogant before his runs and resultantly he would suck a**. I still laugh to this day when he failed Hand Walk I in his first attempt and then ran away from the camera (probably cause he was talking a lot of s*** there too).

[dakohosu]

Can someone please explain to me the #casual joke? It's constantly just gone right over my head lol.

And yeah taking a focussed and more 'chill' mindset goes a long way when it comes to Sasuke, which is easier said than done given that most competitors train religiously and the tangible effect of that boils down to a total of anywhere between 30 seconds to 10 minutes every year. It's really hard not to let nerves get to you and to adopt that 'me vs the course' attitude. Most competitors define themselves by their Sasuke results whereas Jovtchev, being an Olympian, didn't, and so didn't have that additional stress on him. Okuyama's focus was impressive because he actually did train day and night for Sasuke yet still didn't let nerves get to him.

One example of the opposite (apart from Yamada rather obviously) was Kanno from Sasuke 24-27. After his Final Stage attempt I got the impression that he started to take himself way too seriously, where he didn't even hide the fact that he just wanted to win and nothing else. He let pressure get the better of him in Sasuke 24 which I think plagued his next few performances, combined with the fact that he took 'losing' really badly (I always liken him to Yamada for that reason). Since the start of the Rising era he seemed to have a much lighter heart towards the course and his results which led to him being the most consistent competitor of that time, that is before his injuries started.

[subtleagent]

I think it originated from his Warped Wall fail in 37 where he spent 10 seconds walking along the bottom without a worry in the world and then biffed the wall which resulted in a time out.

[hoseasasuke]

Overdramatic has to be Darvish.
I'd say Akiyama was quite stoic during his time on the show, bar the time he cried after he failed on his return.

[dakohosu]

Sept 21, 2021 22:21:50 GMT -5 hoseasasuke said:

Overdramatic has to be Darvish.
I'd say Akiyama was quite stoic during his time on the show, bar the time he cried after he failed on his return.

Part of me thinks that was because he'd already won and he had nothing to prove. Also in his later tournaments I think he knew his time was basically up due to his degenerative condition and recent results. At least the guy knew when to call it quits (unlike a certain other All-Star...) and just competed because he was invited and popular among the community, for the fun of it.

Mind you, even his reaction to when he achieved victory in Sasuke 4 was by far the least dramatic of any Kanzen, but that was probably because the course wasn't as hard hence winning wasn't considered as big a deal, compared to say Nagano who'd beaten the course after 13 tournaments.

[subtleagent]

As far as Akiyama crying after failing in 6, I can easily equate that to cockiness. He was fresh off his win and expecting to dominate again, then he got humbled and he took it hard. Hence why I think he was able to relax more when he ran in future tournaments. And then you get Yamada who took many of his failures hard. You could equate that to Akiyama winning and Yamada never winning, but I would also say Akiyama learned to take failure more gracefully than Yamada did. Even looking at him in 2 and 3 Akiyama was clearly a lot more casual, compared to 4 where he looked like he was about to go to war. And after the aforementioned failure I think he reverted to a more relaxed, albiet more focused state of mind.

[darthvaderlim]

Surprised no one has mentioned Ijima Toyohisa aka Bruce Lee for most overdramatic. He often tends to showboat which cost him a Stage One clear in 11.

[subtleagent]

I don't know if Iijima was so much overdramatic as much as he was flashy. Usually when I think overdramatic I think reacts to a fail badly, lets out the water works, or tends to emote strongly to their results. Iijima while he is very much loud, I don't recall him ever reacting badly to fails. He generally took them pretty well (at least unlike Levi he had the courtesy to do his Warped Wall backflip AFTER he timed out rather than during his run) from what I remember.

[Ninja Relaxer]

Iijima was acting, and trying to be funny, so I don't put him in the same category as Asa and other competitors who were showing genuine emotion. Technically, though, you're right; Iijima was overdoing it on purpose, and acting is a form of drama, so technically he was over-dramatic.

[dakohosu]

To be fair, I definitely feel that a lot of the most overdramatic competitors mentioned here also play it up in front of the camera. Asa's cries are obviously far too genuine to be faked, but a lot of the shouting and screaming is definitely motivated by being on TV, no doubt also because it seems to be what gave him screen time. I say this because in normal conversation like interviews, he honestly seemed quite awkward and shy so I felt like he tried to get away from that by being a complete wildcard on camera.

Darvish as well I feel like a lot of his reactions are faked; I just rewatched his post-Stage 3 interview on Sasuke 36 and not a single tear could be seen despite the fact that he was supposedly crying (was faked really badly as well). I wouldn't be surprised if Inui told him to act like that as he's so crucial to the ratings.

I'd say the most genuinely overdramatic competitor was definitely Yamada, because you could always tell that he was trying (and failing) really hard not to cry in front of the camera (given that he became a well-known sore loser). There was no drama behind his reactions, it was pure disappointment and frustration seen on his face.

[ChiBiJKT48]

Sept 22, 2021 23:29:29 GMT -5 subtleagent said:

As far as Akiyama crying after failing in 6, I can easily equate that to cockiness. He was fresh off his win and expecting to dominate again, then he got humbled and he took it hard. Hence why I think he was able to relax more when he ran in future tournaments. And then you get Yamada who took many of his failures hard. You could equate that to Akiyama winning and Yamada never winning, but I would also say Akiyama learned to take failure more gracefully than Yamada did. Even looking at him in 2 and 3 Akiyama was clearly a lot more casual, compared to 4 where he looked like he was about to go to war. And after the aforementioned failure I think he reverted to a more relaxed, albiet more focused state of mind.

It wasn't cockiness.

If you saw his interview at the top of the Tower back in SASUKE 4, he says he was glad he finally able to take chance presented by the producers to him, as he had disappointing performances before. He didn't even need to comeback, he could live on peacefully *he miss SASUKE 5 due to getting licence as Masseur* as he already proved himself. But then, SASUKE 6 came, he was invited again, so on this run, he wanted to prove that his win isn't a Beginner's Luck/some fluke, he wanted to prove he was able to win. So, when that happens, you can see why he was so emotional.