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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 14:26:14 GMT -5
Non-Yusuke Morimoto answers only, for obvious reasons lol.
Mine would probably have to be Yoshiyuki, mainly because the dude got well earned revenge on the Cliffhanger after being robbed in 38. Not only that but he made the Vertical Limit and modified Pipe Slider seem like an absolute joke; hell, I didn't even know the Pipe Slider was modified until Tada and Keitaro started struggling on it. For a non-climber he also did incredibly well on the Final Stage especially being the first attempt on it; way better than Tada did, despite the latter being a climber.
I also think Keitaro deserves a fair bit of credit. Years upon years he's frustrated people (I mean remember PizzaKing57???) because of his almost Yamada-like tendency to mentally choke on obstacles that he's more than capable of getting through, especially after being primed to be a great Stage 3 run and then flubbing the Sidewinder last time. But this tournament he finally delivered, and was literal inches away from the Final Stage attempt everyone used to position him as a candidate for back in the day, only being beaten by a modification he couldn't have predicted. Sure, him failing the Pipe Slider was very frustrating in and of itself, but the fact he's not only got himself out of that seemingly endless Stage 2 rut but has also shown what he's capable of on Stage 3 is very commendable. I would honestly go as far to say he could very well take third place behind Yusuke and Tada in the 'Morimoto Sedai', given that both Araki and Sato have effectively proven at this point that they can't get past the Cliffhanger. Fundamentally Keitaro is no longer a competitor people have to make excuses for or bang on about what he could achieve, he's indisputably started achieving.
Honorable mentions go to:
- Kane Kosugi for obvious reasons. Dude comes back from a 21 year hiatus and then smashes the age record by 4 years. I'm convinced TBS showed all his Dragon Glider fails to convince the audience that he wasn't going to clear and then out of nowhere he achieves the unachievable. His Stage 2 run was also not bad whatsoever given his inexperience. I was fully expecting him to flub on the Salmon Ladder.
- Shingo, again I don't think this needs much explanation. No one's ever come back from a 9-tournament failure streak, let alone one as inconsistent as his, and certainly not while pushing 50. Hands down one of the most beautiful things to happen in Sasuke history. Not only that, but he was RAPID on Stage 2; it really goes to show that he hasn't lost any of his speed from his younger years; hell, he would've come close to clearing had he not flubbed before the Salmon Ladder. The only reason why it's not higher is because his clear was somewhat spoiled by the trailer, though his Stage 2 run took me by surprise.
- Kajihara, purely because the guy went at unspeakable speed throughout Stages 1 and 2. Faster than Jun Sato on Stage 1, and the fastest time on Stage 2 by like 12 seconds. And to think that only 2 years ago this guy was considered a celebrity like ABC-Z who simply got lucky. He also made decent progress on the Cliffhanger too, so down the line he could easily become a force to be reckoned with.
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Post by m4tt3r0x on Dec 27, 2022 14:49:23 GMT -5
I'm glad I didn't look much into the trailers because I wanted to go in as spoiler free as possible. I had no idea Shingo would clear.
Hmmm I know it's All Star nostalgia bias but I have to say Shingo for my FAVORITE. When he cleared the Dragon Glider and got his hand over the wall I lost my mind yelling lol. And then on Stage 2 he demolishes the Salmon Ladder after initial dizziness and then manages to best the Backstream. It really didn't feel real.
Second place would be Kane. It was such an impressive performance.
Fourth is ABC-Z for me. I know people get sick of the celebs, but the guy has been dedicated for so long now. He finally got his against Stage 1 since 34. It was amazing. I felt really happy for him.
Fifth would be Tomo. Just an amazing comeback, of which I think would have been more notable had they not digested his Stage 2 run.
Sixth is Shunsuke for almost the same reasons as above.
I skipped over third, but it's Yoshiyuki. The thing with Yoshiyuki is I was not surprised by his run lol. I know the guy's a beast and it was just a matter of when in relation to a Final Stage attempt.
Yuuji would be on the list, but the guy already blew my mind back in 36/37. I know how hard the guy trains, and he's a huge inspiration for me. I think he still has a shot at reaching the final.
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Post by sasukefinnja on Dec 27, 2022 14:51:08 GMT -5
Kane Kosugi. He was away over 20 years and then came back now when stage 1 was way more technical than back then and absolutely destroyed stage 1. He's 48 years old. Absolute Sasuke legend. Feels like he was never away from this show.
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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 14:58:07 GMT -5
It really didn't feel real. I really feel this lol. I couldn't sleep last night due to excitement so I watched the tournament today absolutely exhausted, so at some points it genuinely felt like a lucid dream and I was waiting for someone to pinch me to wake up for the actual tournament where everyone would fail the Cliffhanger except Yusuke, because that's how it's been for like 7-8 years at this point. Genuinely I've actually had dreams of weird results happening on Stage 1, like some rando wearing #1 making Stage 3, etc. but this tournament honestly surpassed even my dreams lol. Yeah agreed on the Tomo point. I do think a huge negative of Stage 2 was that they had four incredibly close clears with <1 second left, and they were ALL digested, inclduing two comebacks from Yuuji and Tomohiro. Like the whole point of them reducing the time limit was to make the stage more nail-biting and exciting to watch, yet the majority of the payoff from this was just cut from the broadcast. Not holding my breath but I legit hope Kane comes back after a successful return; the guy gave an outstanding performance for 4-5 months of training, I feel like there's some untapped potential left in him. It feels baffling to say this of someone who's pushing 50, but the guy moves like he did in his younger years and barely looks any older now than in Sasuke 8. Hell, he's probably even more athletic now given that he's had an extra 20 years of martial arts acting experience. Shingo is obviously going to return. I just hope neither of these performanes are one-offs. |
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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 15:00:17 GMT -5
Kane Kosugi. He was away over 20 years and then came back now when stage 1 was way more technical than back then and absolutely destroyed stage 1. He's 48 years old. Absolute Sasuke legend. Feels like he was never away from this show. Yeah I remember how everyone was crapping on those who said Kane would return, either saying it was impossible or that they didn't want to see him break his perfect record of Stage 1 clears. Well guess what, he did return, and he still upholds his record. Seeing his face on the list when the lineup was revealed was insane enough, but the fact he made it deep into Stage 2 was something else. |
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Jessie Graff
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Post by brz0ny on Dec 27, 2022 15:05:28 GMT -5
Yeah Keitaro one was amazing as he proved his doubters wrong (me included). We finally saw of what he is capable of, especially when he made Vertical Limit look like its Bungee Rope Climb. Shame his Pipe Slider attempt was just short of clearing (speaking of Pipe Slider, it seems like they made it harder as earlier nobody had any struggles with it, but now not only does Keitaro fail it but also Tada struggling hard on it, I was convinced he was going to fail it).
We must also mention Araki who resurrected his career, though this tournament pretty much ends the Araki vs Keitaro debate if there even was one.
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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 15:19:57 GMT -5
Yeah Keitaro one was amazing as he proved his doubters wrong (me included). We finally saw of what he is capable of, especially when he made Vertical Limit look like its Bungee Rope Climb. Shame his Pipe Slider attempt was just short of clearing (speaking of Pipe Slider, it seems like they made it harder as earlier nobody had any struggles with it, but now not only does Keitaro fail it but also Tada struggling hard on it, I was convinced he was going to fail it). We must also mention Araki who resurrected his career, though this tournament pretty much ends the Araki vs Keitaro debate if there even was one. Yeah I mean not to be a downer but 40 does kind of consolidate Araki as the #5 member of the Morimoto Sedai, purely because the fact that he's now failed the Cliffhanger twice sort of implies that's his upper limit. I won't talk about Yusuke as it's obvious he's the best competitor of a group named after him (weird right?) but: - Tada is very consistent (yeah I know he sucked at first but he's now five straight Stage 3s deep) as well as having an insanely high wall of potential with his two Final attempts. - Sato is the most consistent of the group but his potential is arguably the lowest out of the entire Sedai as he's the biggest and his sport is nowhere near as upper body centric as climbing, though let's not forget him and Araki are tied for their best performances, and have both achieved this twice each. - Keitaro is consistent when it comes to Stage 1 which many would consider to be more difficult (Saikawa has left the room I know lol), much less so with Stage 2 but he seems to have addressed this somewhat, and his wall of potential I'd argue could easily be neck and neck with Tada, especially as I reckon he'd do a lot better on the current Final Stage than Tada did. - Araki is very inconsistent (pretty much clears every other tournament) and he hasn't really had a 'wow' performance like Tada or Keitaro have had recently. Not suggesting he's going to become another Hioki, but his two identical Cliffhanger fails despite being four years of training apart aren't particularly confidence inspiring when it comes to a potential Final Stage attempt. I'd personally put Tada as #2, and Araki as #5. I would've put Jun comfortably at #3 and Keitaro at #4 but after Jun's regression on the Cliffhanger and Keitaro's breakthrough I'm not sure anymore. Keitaro isn't that much less consistent that Jun at Stage 1, but he has the potential to go much farther on the later stages. And yeah, they removed the stopper from the Pipe Slider at the end of the track, granted it was a stopper that never should've been there in the first place, but it added some nice suspense to what should've always been the most nail biting part of the stage but has missed the mark so many times; not that anyone other than Yusuke even made it that far to begin with, but yeah lol. To be honest, the fact that I only noticed this modification during Tada and Keitaro's run, after Yoshiyuki cleared, is a testament to how effortless the latter's run was. |
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Jessie Graff
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Post by brz0ny on Dec 27, 2022 15:31:10 GMT -5
Yeah Keitaro one was amazing as he proved his doubters wrong (me included). We finally saw of what he is capable of, especially when he made Vertical Limit look like its Bungee Rope Climb. Shame his Pipe Slider attempt was just short of clearing (speaking of Pipe Slider, it seems like they made it harder as earlier nobody had any struggles with it, but now not only does Keitaro fail it but also Tada struggling hard on it, I was convinced he was going to fail it). We must also mention Araki who resurrected his career, though this tournament pretty much ends the Araki vs Keitaro debate if there even was one. Yeah I mean not to be a downer but 40 does kind of consolidate Araki as the #5 member of the Morimoto Sedai, purely because the fact that he's now failed the Cliffhanger twice sort of implies that's his upper limit. I won't talk about Yusuke as it's obvious he's the best competitor of a group named after him (weird right?) but: - Tada is very consistent (yeah I know he sucked at first but he's now five straight Stage 3s deep) as well as having an insanely high wall of potential with his two Final attempts. - Sato is the most consistent of the group but his potential is arguably the lowest out of the entire Sedai as he's the biggest and his sport is nowhere near as upper body centric as climbing, though let's not forget him and Araki are tied for their best performances, and have both achieved this twice each. - Keitaro is consistent when it comes to Stage 1 which many would consider to be more difficult (Saikawa has left the room I know lol), much less so with Stage 2 but he seems to have addressed this somewhat, and his wall of potential I'd argue could easily be neck and neck with Tada, especially as I reckon he'd do a lot better on the current Final Stage than Tada did. - Araki is very inconsistent (pretty much clears every other tournament) and he hasn't really had a 'wow' performance like Tada or Keitaro have had recently. Not suggesting he's going to become another Hioki, but his two identical Cliffhanger fails despite being four years of training apart aren't particularly confidence inspiring when it comes to a potential Final Stage attempt. I'd personally put Tada as #2, and Araki as #5. I would've put Jun comfortably at #3 and Keitaro at #4 but after Jun's regression on the Cliffhanger and Keitaro's breakthrough I'm not sure anymore. Keitaro isn't that much less consistent that Jun at Stage 1, but he has the potential to go much farther on the later stages. And yeah, they removed the stopper from the Pipe Slider at the end of the track, granted it was a stopper that never should've been there in the first place, but it added some nice suspense to what should've always been the most nail biting part of the stage but has missed the mark so many times; not that anyone other than Yusuke even made it that far to begin with, but yeah lol. To be honest, the fact that I only noticed this modification during Tada and Keitaro's run, after Yoshiyuki cleared, is a testament to how effortless the latter's run was. I agree, however its hard to really tell between Keitaro and Sato as its about amazing performance but inconsistent vs consistent decent performances. Reminds me a lot of Takeda vs Yuuji at around Sasuke 35, and we will see if he will overtake Sato like Yuuji did Takeda. Speaking of Sato, it was quite disappointing seeing him reach Cliffhanger again and fail it again. I am now convinced he will never clear it (not that he had a big chance before anyway). |
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Jessie Graff
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Post by brz0ny on Dec 27, 2022 15:35:43 GMT -5
Another one I remembered. Maybe I am alone here, but I am still amazed how Suzuki is able to keep this level of consistency at 44.
You could also make a case for Akiyama as reaching Dragon Glider on paper isnt very impressive, but for somebody who is basically blind going deeper than much more athletic and younger people does deserve a mention.
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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 15:57:55 GMT -5
Yeah Sato was the only person to attempt the Cliffhanger and fail the first transition, which was quite disappointing as he came very close to clearing it in 37-38. I can't work out why except for bad luck or extra forearm pump from the Swing Edge, though he's posted videos of himself doing like 8 foot reverse grab laches so it shouldn't have been an issue for him at all. He also trained a lot more upper body when he was injured as he obviously couldn't parkour, so I'm surprised to have seen such a regression.
I like Suzuki as a competitor, he's one of the most active and dedicated competitors in the community and is a great teacher/role model for his students. In terms of his actual performances, he's very mid. He's only ever done well on easy courses and his Stage 3 attempts haven't been great - he now ties Daisuke Nakata for most Stage 3 attempts without a Cliffhanger attempt and is also the only competitor to reach Stage 3 thrice or more without ever coming in the Top 5. Yeah you could argue that it's impressive given that he's 44, but imo he was overshadowed by Yuuji and to a certain degree by Shingo and Kane as well as they're a fair bit older. He is getting more consistent though, this was the first time he's cleared Stage 1 in back to back tournaments let alone reached Stage 3. I definitely prefer him to Isa who to be honest I don't find much interesting about him, but is a similar kind of B-tier competitor who can reliably get to Stage 3 but doesn't do very well. Isa's last two Stage 3 attempts have been quite painful to watch lol.
Akiyama honestly looked like he was in fantastic condition given how long he's been in retirement and the fact he's almost 50. Also consider he fun ran Sasuke 32's course and failed the steps to Rolling Hill transition, so doing a lot better six years later despite not training a whole lot specifically for the show is very impressive.
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Post by m4tt3r0x on Dec 27, 2022 17:06:45 GMT -5
Also, is there a bigger boss in Sasuke than Nagano? The guy just puts his hand over the camera lens as he's wiping away a few tears over Shingo's clear lmaooo
Also when Shingo just noped out of the Reverse Conveyor, I couldn't help but chuckle.
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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 17:19:31 GMT -5
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Post by SRW on Dec 27, 2022 17:23:45 GMT -5
Kane's most recent Instagram post says "I'll be back stronger than ever". Him returning isn't out of the realm of possibility. http://instagr.am/p/CmrAK2VJJQM I'd get a new trainer instead of Ryo after that today lol! |
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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 17:28:14 GMT -5
Yeah lol the trainer now needs to be trained by the trainee.
Unrelated note but did Kawaguchi get his tattoos lasered off? He competed shirtless for the first time and couldn't see them at all, couldn't tell if they were taped up or not. I remember he'd always tape up his arms on the ANW specials where he was forced to wear a sleeveless top, dude really didn't want his past coming back to bite him.
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Jessie Graff
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Post by brz0ny on Dec 27, 2022 17:33:42 GMT -5
Kane's most recent Instagram post says "I'll be back stronger than ever". Him returning isn't out of the realm of possibility. http://instagr.am/p/CmrAK2VJJQM Its strange, I saw that accidentally before I watched the tournament. "I'll be back stronger" sounds disappointing so I thought he failed early, but instead he pretty much did the best he realistically could. |
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Post by sasukewarrior333 on Dec 27, 2022 17:41:59 GMT -5
Shingo, as mentioned. I'm so happy he did it. And given how well he's aging, I could see him possibly squeezing out a one or two more First Stage clears given how stagnant the stage has been. As he proved, all he has to do is avoid Shingo moments.
Also loved Tomo, the detractors really bit it on that one.
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Post by zoran on Dec 27, 2022 17:52:41 GMT -5
Shingo, as mentioned. I'm so happy he did it. And given how well he's aging, I could see him possibly squeezing out a one or two more First Stage clears given how stagnant the stage has been. As he proved, all he has to do is avoid Shingo moments. Also loved Tomo, the detractors really bit it on that one. How would you react if he cleared stage 2? |
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Post by dakohosu on Dec 27, 2022 17:56:00 GMT -5
Shingo, as mentioned. I'm so happy he did it. And given how well he's aging, I could see him possibly squeezing out a one or two more First Stage clears given how stagnant the stage has been. As he proved, all he has to do is avoid Shingo moments. Also loved Tomo, the detractors really bit it on that one. How would you react if he cleared stage 2? Honestly he would’ve come pretty close if he hadn’t had that moment between the log and Salmon Ladder. Definitely wouldn’t have cleared, but maybe halfway down the Wall Lifting. Needless to say him clearing Stage 2 after 13 years would easily be the most ‘out of nowhere’ result in the show’s history, at least in a positive light. |
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Post by zoran on Dec 27, 2022 18:09:11 GMT -5
How would you react if he cleared stage 2? Honestly he would’ve come pretty close if he hadn’t had that moment between the log and Salmon Ladder. Definitely wouldn’t have cleared, but maybe halfway down the Wall Lifting. Needless to say him clearing Stage 2 after 13 years would easily be the most ‘out of nowhere’ result in the show’s history, at least in a positive light. What do you think his max on stage 3 is? |
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Post by SRW on Dec 27, 2022 18:11:17 GMT -5
My fave runs were Shingo clearing and Yoshiyuki Yamamoto finally busting stage 3!! I giving a shout to the comedian who dresses like Akiyama getting to meet him that was entertaining!
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