Potential returning competitors for 40?

[dakohosu]

This has been discussed lightly already but thought I’d make a thread about this. Who do you think is likely to return for Sasuke 40 that we haven’t seen in at least 3-4 tournaments?

Part of the reason I’m making this thread is that I know hopes will be high for the anniversary tournament, but besides Nagano I can’t really think of anyone.

Maybe Mori or Iketani? Though we’re in the stage now where competitors are regularly training for the competition as it’s supposedly happening quite soon, and neither have been seen attending any of these events (Shunsuke has left the room….).

[brz0ny]

Its 40th competition and 25th anniversary, hopefully we get returning competitors over annoying celebrities. Its hard to say who is coming back tho. I dont think more than 3 All Stars will be there. One guy I think really should make a comeback, and I dont know why he stopped competing is Hashimoto. They might be quite old, but Okuyama and Kongu would be maybe even potential clears. Asa coming back would personally be amazing. I know he isnt popular here but seeing what Jun Sato before Jun Sato could do after long pause and injury would be interesting to see.

Maybe I did go off the topic and went into fantasy returns, however I dont think its entirely impossible for some of these to come back. Personally if Omori made a comeback just to go from a one of the best competitors to being another joke competitor, then anything is really possible.

Biggest return however would be Mr Octopus. Sure he is very much old now, but recent Sasuke video with him is giving me a sliver of hope they are preparing for a surprise appearance in 40.

[dakohosu]

Sept 4, 2022 19:26:05 GMT -5 brz0ny said:

Its 40th competition and 25th anniversary, hopefully we get returning competitors over annoying celebrities. Its hard to say who is coming back tho. I dont think more than 3 All Stars will be there. One guy I think really should make a comeback, and I dont know why he stopped competing is Hashimoto. They might be quite old, but Okuyama and Kongu would be maybe even potential clears. Asa coming back would personally be amazing. I know he isnt popular here but seeing what Jun Sato before Jun Sato could do after long pause and injury would be interesting to see.

Maybe I did go off the topic and went into fantasy returns, however I dont think its entirely impossible for some of these to come back. Personally if Omori made a comeback just to go from a one of the best competitors to being another joke competitor, then anything is really possible.

Biggest return however would be Mr Octopus. Sure he is very much old now, but recent Sasuke video with him is giving me a sliver of hope they are preparing for a surprise appearance in 40.

Okuyama and Asa both had career ending injuries so I figured they weren’t in the right shape to come back. Especially if Asa who was as dedicated to Sasuke as he was to the point that he cried over everything Sasuke related, had to retire then I assumed the injury was pretty significant.

I did see a photo of Kongu recently as he visited Mori’s gym a few months ago and he’s definitely not been training…..

Hashimoto I know has been chatting with Yuuji and Ryo, but I also think his athletic days are behind him. He’s like a chiropractor now lol.

Also I think people on here generally like Jun, I definitely do, it’s just that he was notorious for being a bit of an a** a few years ago. Now though he’s completely integrated into the community.

[azn]

Maybe Mori? He was after all the runner up in the recent SPODAN tournament that happened, and given the history between SASUKE and Sportsman No.1/SPODAN, it is in my eyes the most feasible return.

Another competitor that I've been wishing to see again is Wreath Man, though it has been 5 years since his last attempt so if anything, this will be the nail in the coffin should he not comeback.

Also, while this doesn't count as I don't want to see him return to competition, should Naoki return and compete, I do hope that Kane returns just to support Naoki, given their long friendship.

EDIT:

Also I think people on here generally like Jun, I definitely do, it’s just that he was notorious for being a bit of an a** a few years ago. Now though he’s completely integrated into the community

I'm pretty sure Brz0ny was referring to Asa

[dt]

I would love to see Koji Yamada return. HIGHLY unlikely but it would be cool. Wacky would be fun. Whoever that guy was super early on who dressed up as Superman. Asaoka would be an awesome returnee. Miura would be cool as well.

[dragstar]

Dunno why but I wanted Kota Honma to return. Wonder where he is now.

And if only international competitors are welcome, I'd like to see En-Chih and Jovtchev. Also the Hamms.

[YourResidentKojiFan]

Sept 4, 2022 21:22:45 GMT -5 dt said:

I would love to see Koji Yamada return. HIGHLY unlikely but it would be cool. Wacky would be fun. Whoever that guy was super early on who dressed up as Superman. Asaoka would be an awesome returnee. Miura would be cool as well.

Agreed on that first point, but that's pretty obvious. Superman was Tomihiro Tatsukawa, and I would love to see him back too. His entrances were always so hilarious.

As for who I'd like to see come back myself, out of people that haven't been mentioned, I'd like to see Tajima and one or both of the Kobayashis. They were both great in their hayday, and Tajima himself is only about 36 IIRC. I know he probably hasn't been training, but it'd be cool to see.

[brz0ny]

Sept 4, 2022 19:43:48 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

Sept 4, 2022 19:26:05 GMT -5 brz0ny said:

Its 40th competition and 25th anniversary, hopefully we get returning competitors over annoying celebrities. Its hard to say who is coming back tho. I dont think more than 3 All Stars will be there. One guy I think really should make a comeback, and I dont know why he stopped competing is Hashimoto. They might be quite old, but Okuyama and Kongu would be maybe even potential clears. Asa coming back would personally be amazing. I know he isnt popular here but seeing what Jun Sato before Jun Sato could do after long pause and injury would be interesting to see.

Maybe I did go off the topic and went into fantasy returns, however I dont think its entirely impossible for some of these to come back. Personally if Omori made a comeback just to go from a one of the best competitors to being another joke competitor, then anything is really possible.

Biggest return however would be Mr Octopus. Sure he is very much old now, but recent Sasuke video with him is giving me a sliver of hope they are preparing for a surprise appearance in 40.

Also I think people on here generally like Jun, I definitely do, it’s just that he was notorious for being a bit of an a** a few years ago. Now though he’s completely integrated into the community.

I compared him to Jun because both of them almost always fail Cliffhanger every competition and get fastest times.

[dakohosu]

Ah gotcha sorry.

Yeah I don’t think that many people actually disliked Asa, more that his constant screaming and crying whether he cleared or failed got a bit grating, especially as that’s what got him so much screen time over Kanno who had a near identical record in the RISING era. I’d liken him more to Darvish due to the hype he was given and his overreactions; though he was definitely a Top 5 competitor at one point which Darvish never was.

Either way I don’t think he’s coming back, as mentioned clearly the injury (shoulder tear I heard) was bad enough that it put him out for good in spite of his dedication to the show (hence the endless crying lol). That said, around the time of Sasuke 35 he was shown on Yuuji’s YouTube attempting the Salmon Ladder, it was a bit depressing to see how far he’d fallen ability wise, but clearly his shoulder has at least somewhat healed. I’d wager he stayed retired because he wouldn’t want to compete when he’s not in tip top shape, he’s got a family now, and also the fact that he has a physical job so he probs doesn’t want to risk being out of work for a few months. He’s also like 40 now, which isn’t old, but if you’ve not been training for a good 5 years, being past your prime definitely doesn’t help.

[casuallystranded]

Sept 4, 2022 21:43:14 GMT -5 dragstar said:

Dunno why but I wanted Kota Honma to return. Wonder where he is now.

And if only international competitors are welcome, I'd like to see En-Chih and Jovtchev. Also the Hamms.

Honma would be an interesting choice, considering how he's still relatively young (32) and was allegedly (I heard this through the forum so I have no idea if it's actually true) on the sidelines back in 34.

[subtleagent]

I wouldn't mind seeing all 5 Cliffers compete for old times sake, though given Keita Tomino seems to no longer be associated with them and has all but vanished from the SASUKE scene it's highly unlikely. I just think it would be cool given we never had a tournament proper where all 5 compete together. Tsuyoshi Matsuda doesn't seem to be around anymore either, though I remember when he beat the hardest Jumping Spider. Guy defo deserves another shot.

[dakohosu]

Sept 9, 2022 7:27:10 GMT -5 subtleagent said:

I wouldn't mind seeing all 5 Cliffers compete for old times sake, though given Keita Tomino seems to no longer be associated with them and has all but vanished from the SASUKE scene it's highly unlikely. I just think it would be cool given we never had a tournament proper where all 5 compete together. Tsuyoshi Matsuda doesn't seem to be around anymore either, though I remember when he beat the hardest Jumping Spider. Guy defo deserves another shot.

What actually happened between Tomino and the other Cliffers? I heard they fell out but I don’t know the details. Cliffer No 1 was that guy who qualified for Sasuke 19 in Sasuke Park right? It’s kinda mad how two of the UC are multiple finalists with one being a double champion, then another two just sort of vanished after one attempt lol. Then there’s Keitaro who’s bang in the middle where he’s done okay but hasn’t had any real success yet.

[subtleagent]

Sept 9, 2022 9:04:01 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

Sept 9, 2022 7:27:10 GMT -5 subtleagent said:

I wouldn't mind seeing all 5 Cliffers compete for old times sake, though given Keita Tomino seems to no longer be associated with them and has all but vanished from the SASUKE scene it's highly unlikely. I just think it would be cool given we never had a tournament proper where all 5 compete together. Tsuyoshi Matsuda doesn't seem to be around anymore either, though I remember when he beat the hardest Jumping Spider. Guy defo deserves another shot.

What actually happened between Tomino and the other Cliffers? I heard they fell out but I don’t know the details. Cliffer No 1 was that guy who qualified for Sasuke 19 in Sasuke Park right? It’s kinda mad how two of the UC are multiple finalists with one being a double champion, then another two just sort of vanished after one attempt lol. Then there’s Keitaro who’s bang in the middle where he’s done okay but hasn’t had any real success yet.

All I know is he said they're not on speaking terms anymore (I think) I couldn't quite make out what he said, but it was on his YouTube comments.

[katoshiho]

Definitely return:
Nagano Makoto
Sato Jun
High percentage return:
Mori Wataru
Iketani Naoki
Sakuma Kota
Ugajin Shogo
Midium percentage return:
Hashimoto Koji
Asa Kazuma
Kishimoto Shinya
Kajiwara (kingkong)
Ishibashi Taro
Yamamoto Hiroshige
Takeda Toshihiro
Low but still have chance return:
Akiyama Kazuhiko
Shiratori Bunpei
Ragivaru Anastarse
Kane Kosugi
Tatsukawa Tomihiro
Okuyama Yoshiyuki
No chance return:
Kuramochi Minoru
Takahashi Kenji
Kobayashi Shinji
Shane Kosugi
Aoki Yasuo
Levi
The america Ninja D D
You Takashi

[brz0ny]

Also is Yamada competing again in 40? Hopefully not.

[dakohosu]

Sept 11, 2022 3:43:54 GMT -5 brz0ny said:

Also is Yamada competing again in 40? Hopefully not.

I think he is unfortunately. They’re likely going to do the same thing as in 38 where they have Yamada, Nagano, Yuuji, and Yusuke running last to signify the strongest competitors/champions of each of the 4 major eras (Akiyama’s obvs retired). That is unless they give Kawaguchi 98 again but story for another thread lol.

I’m personally not against him competing especially as at this point he occupies the role of celebrities where he’s insanely well known so his presence drives the ratings; I mean even Fuwa Chan in 39 competed with stickers of Yamada’s face on her, well, you know……

What I don’t like is how he gets such high numbers, not because he doesn’t deserve them as he is Mr Sasuke, but more how the 90s are supposed to be the most nail biting/suspenseful part of Stage 1 but bang in the middle of all these high stakes runs we’ve got Yamada who’s blatantly not going to clear and is unbearably slow throughout the course. I’d rather he just went after his Black Tigers, I also think it makes more sense that the mentor runs after the students too.

[dakohosu]

Sept 11, 2022 1:45:45 GMT -5 katoshiho said:

Definitely return:
Nagano Makoto
Sato Jun
High percentage return:
Mori Wataru
Iketani Naoki
Sakuma Kota
Ugajin Shogo
Midium percentage return:
Hashimoto Koji
Asa Kazuma
Kishimoto Shinya
Kajiwara (kingkong)
Ishibashi Taro
Yamamoto Hiroshige
Takeda Toshihiro
Low but still have chance return:
Akiyama Kazuhiko
Shiratori Bunpei
Ragivaru Anastarse
Kane Kosugi
Tatsukawa Tomihiro
Okuyama Yoshiyuki
No chance return:
Kuramochi Minoru
Takahashi Kenji
Kobayashi Shinji
Shane Kosugi
Aoki Yasuo
Levi
The america Ninja D D
You Takashi

I don’t know.

It’s that part of the year now where competitors are training in advance of the tournament, so if a lot of these guys were actually going to compete you’d probably have seen them at training sessions with Yuuji etc but that hasn’t been the case.

A lot of these guys are injured as well like Bunpei and Takeda which to me at least automatically vetoes their chance of competing.

I’d say relatively older faces and the athletic celebrities could come back, but given how Inui’s now started declining guys like Mori and Iketani, and supposedly banned Anastase, who knows?

[Ninja Relaxer]

Most of the competitors I remember fondly are way past their prime, so while I'd be happy to see them on the sidelines cheering on the other competitors, I really don't want them to run (and inevitably fail Stage 1). We've gotten enough of that lately with the All Stars returning in 38 and 39.

Dakoosu mentioned Anastase, and that was someone I hadn't thought of. He's still young enough to be competitive at 31 years of age (according to Sasukepedia), so yeah, that's someone I'd like to see again. Pretty much everyone else is either too old or already competing.

[dakohosu]

Sept 11, 2022 15:04:40 GMT -5 Ninja Relaxer said:

Most of the competitors I remember fondly are way past their prime, so while I'd be happy to see them on the sidelines cheering on the other competitors, I really don't want them to run (and inevitably fail Stage 1). We've gotten enough of that lately with the All Stars returning in 38 and 39.

Dakoosu mentioned Anastase, and that was someone I hadn't thought of. He's still young enough to be competitive at 31 years of age (according to Sasukepedia), so yeah, that's someone I'd like to see again. Pretty much everyone else is either too old or already competing.

There's obviously that rumor he got banned because he competed in KuroOvi and that's also allegedly why he got triple digested in Sasuke 34 despite him being quite a popular character, though again this is from Sasukepedia so I have no idea how true that rumor is.

I would also like to see Hiroshige compete again too, as he also still trains but he's in this weird position where he still hangs out with and considers himself a Black Tiger, but in all of the Black Tiger preliminaries run by Yamada to choose the two members who will compete in the next tournament, he's not even in the running. I don't know what his deal is, he was a pretty solid competitor and basically disappeared after Obata got done for harassment lol.

But yep I agree about not wanting to see old faces return just to frankly embarrass themselves, especially if they're like 50 and haven't been training or competing for 10 or so years now, Nagano being pretty much the only exception as it's Nagano lol. To this day I still wish Bunpei didn't compete in 30.

[anime boy]

Sept 11, 2022 15:35:08 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

Sept 11, 2022 15:04:40 GMT -5 Ninja Relaxer said:

I would also like to see Hiroshige compete again too, as he also still trains but he's in this weird position where he still hangs out with and considers himself a Black Tiger, but in all of the Black Tiger preliminaries run by Yamada to choose the two members who will compete in the next tournament, he's not even in the running. I don't know what his deal is, he was a pretty solid competitor and basically disappeared after Obata got done for harassment lol.

Personally I really want Yamamoto Hiroshige to return. He had an aura of charisma that made him stand out among The Black Tigers. I think he'd be a great guy to push as a top star, Inui just need to give him a chance to shine.