Do you think any runs in SASUKE 40 are "last stand" runs?

[salt]

I'm talking about good runs like Nagano in SASUKE 27 where he did make it back to stage 3 but it was obvious that he was nowhere near as good as he used to be that time, and it was pretty obvious that they would continue to decline.  My pick would be Kawaguchi.  He really struggled to get past the first couple stages, with both clears being down to the wire and stage 1 looking like another warped wall choke before he managed to complete it at the last second.  And even when he did get to stage 3, it was still a sign of decline from his previous performances, not even reaching the Cliffhanger this time around.  There were a lot of runs that tournament where it genuinely looked like contestants were turning things around, but this one really felt like a last good run.

[brz0ny]

Shingo if you can count Second Stage time out as a last stand run

[edaan]

The 4 most obvious ones were Kane, Shingo, Yuuji and Yusuke Suzuki, mainly due to their incredible results still happening with some quite close time limits. I don’t see Yusuke Suzuki getting back to stage 3 again to be honest. I’m not sure if Kane will compete in 41, but if he does I can see him failing stage 1 because there will be less pressure on him. I can see Shingo having a resurgence like in 29-30 before going back to failing stage 1 again, and Yuujis not going anywhere any time soon, he’s got at least 1 or 2 stage 3 attempts left in hi , and maybe, maybe a final attempt, but I don’t see it. Kawaguchi is another good choice, but he might have 1 or 2 stage 3s left in him. Shunsuke is another one. Some people could call it a comeback, but his problem with the spider drop is serious, so unless they remove it, I don’t see him beating stage 2, if he can even beat stage 1.

[dakohosu]

I actually disagree with those who say Kane. He’s very clearly caught the ‘Sasuke bug’ so I think he wants to return and is still training if his social media is anything to go by. He’s also an action actor by profession, yes he’s 48 but the way he moves you wouldn’t be able to tell, and he barely looks older then when he last competed. Some people just don’t age, especially if they both train for the show and have a very physical job. I’m not suggesting he’s going to reach the Cliffhanger, or even Stage 3 for that matter, but he definitely has a few decent runs left in him for sure.

Shingo I really think it depends on if/how they modify Stage 1. I hope that with his mental therapy he’s overcome the hurdle of pressure and choking on obstacles he’s cleared before, though let’s also not forget that he barely cleared in terms of time. So any new obstacles and/or a lower time limit and he could easily relapse. There could also now be additional pressure on him to perform well to uphold his comeback from 40, which might screw with his head. Physically he still goes he’s 30, but he’s Shingo, lol.

Yuuji I wouldn’t say is ‘done’ by any means in the same way that Nagano declined after 27, I still think he can make it back to Stage 3 a few more times, but I don’t think he’s Final material like some people say he is. He put up an insane performance in 40 but I could tell he was absolutely exhausted towards the end of his run; and stamina/endurance becomes way more stubborn the older you get. Also I watched his translated run and he seemed very happy/content with his performance, which don’t get me wrong, if I did what he did at 44 then so would I, but it definitely gave me the impression that he knew that was all he had so he was satisfied. Competitors tend to get more frustrated when they knew they could’ve done better; Yuuji gave it his all.

Suzuki I think is kind of screwed if they change Stages 1/2 at all in the next couple of tournaments. He’s only ever done well on stagnant courses, and often barely clears with enough time left on the clock. So he’s definitely not the most adaptable competitor, and he’s not getting any younger so I wouldn’t be surprised if a difficulty spike potentially ends his career down the line. Besides, he doesn’t train Stage 3 and has this inability to get past the Sidewinder anyway.

Tomo I’d have to see a couple more performances from him to be sure. He’s definitely not what he used to be in terms of his speed, stamina, upper body etc. I do get the impression that his performance in 40 could easily be a Nagano in 27 where he gives one last strong performance and then declines further afterwards, especially with a few new obstacles allegedly pending, but I’m not sure. He also narrowly avoided failing the wall for a fourth straight time as well. It seems like age hit him like a truck but it could be completely mental, it’s hard to tell. Maybe his comeback will rekindle some of the passion he had for the show beforehand, as well as the fact he’s not working long hours on PerAdra anymore so more time to train (he was much more present at training events etc), but honestly I don’t know until I see him in 41-42.

Shunsuke is in the same boat as Tomo, but I agree I can’t see him making it past Stage 2. He’s a much bigger competitor who doesn’t train for Sasuke, both of which result in him being pretty slow, he only had about 30 seconds left when he failed the Spider Drop. It’s a shame because he’s one of the most naturally gifted competitors, like how he came back from hiatus and immediately started picking up from where he left off, and his first few runs being incredibly consistent etc. But in this era he’s fallen too far behind due to lack of training and he’s not really doing anything to catch up.

[subtleagent]

Pretty much what dakohosu said. I think if any Kanno is definitely done which is a shame since he's not even 40 yet but 7 years is a long time to be constantly failing Stage 1 and he's been so prone to injuries that it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's going to fail so if any 40 could easily be considered a last stand for him as he did beat the Dragon Glider after 5 years of failing it. Perhaps if he gets lucky and still trains we could get a Stage 1 clear, and he's seldom had trouble with Stage 2 only failing it legit once, but again injuries could easily snag him there too.

On Tomohiro I'm guessing it is probably mental considering he did unnecessarily bulk up for the wall and has just been constantly psyching himself out. He's definitely still pretty good in terms of speed and strength, but yeah even so he's hit a pretty considerable decline and doesn't seem to quite share the same passion Shingo and Yuuji have. But as I've said before he's admitted to cracking under the pressure of higher numbers and he did get in the high 90s for a while so maybe that might have also gotten to him too who knows? Clearly he does a better job handling them than Yuuji and Tada did (though Yuuji seems to have overcome this), but still it does seem very mental.

[dakohosu]

Feb 24, 2023 21:27:24 GMT -5 subtleagent said:

Pretty much what dakohosu said. I think if any Kanno is definitely done which is a shame since he's not even 40 yet but 7 years is a long time to be constantly failing Stage 1 and he's been so prone to injuries that it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's going to fail so if any 40 could easily be considered a last stand for him as he did beat the Dragon Glider after 5 years of failing it. Perhaps if he gets lucky and still trains we could get a Stage 1 clear, and he's seldom had trouble with Stage 2 only failing it legit once, but again injuries could easily snag him there too.

On Tomohiro I'm guessing it is probably mental considering he did unnecessarily bulk up for the wall and has just been constantly psyching himself out. He's definitely still pretty good in terms of speed and strength, but yeah even so he's hit a pretty considerable decline and doesn't seem to quite share the same passion Shingo and Yuuji have. But as I've said before he's admitted to cracking under the pressure of higher numbers and he did get in the high 90s for a while so maybe that might have also gotten to him too who knows? Clearly he does a better job handling them than Yuuji and Tada did (though Yuuji seems to have overcome this), but still it does seem very mental.

Yeah imo Kanno is a thing of the past. He’s entered this negative feedback loop of constantly getting injured and falling farther behind the standards required, yet continuing said cycle. I don’t really know why he still continues to compete, it’s bordering on Yamada levels at this point. Past a certain point you have to accept that it’s not worth debilitating yourself further for a game show where you haven’t lived up to expectations for almost a decade.

I think Tomo mentally checked out for a while but after he left Per-Adra seemed to rekindle some of his old passion as he started attending more events and training sessions. But I think at this point he could very easily be fighting a losing game of catch up. His run in 40 was impressive no doubt, but definitely nowhere near his level from, say 31-36, playing second or third fiddle to Yusuke and maybe Drew. Narrowly missing a fourth wall timeout, BARELY clearing Stage 2, and failing the Swing Edge. He’s definitely fallen behind, whether due to mental pressure, effects of age, the fact he mentally checked out for a long time, or a combination of both, who really knows? There’s a good chance I could be wrong and he does train his a** off for the next tournaments as he has much more time to do so these days, but the guy is 41 and doesn’t strike me as a Yuuji or Kane type being seemingly ageless (his stamina seems to have been hit like a truck recently), and doesn’t really have the build to do well on the current Stage 3 anymore.

[salt]

Yeah, not sure Kanno has a chance anymore. I don't know if it was just exhaustion or forgetting how to do it entirely, but his warped wall attempts were not even close. It's depressing to see how far he's degraded in terms of stage 1 performance.

[zoran]

Feb 25, 2023 5:26:17 GMT -5 salt said:

Yeah, not sure Kanno has a chance anymore. I don't know if it was just exhaustion or forgetting how to do it entirely, but his warped wall attempts were not even close. It's depressing to see how far he's degraded in terms of stage 1 performance.

No? On his first attempt he got half his right hand at the top, second was a little lower, only the third was nowhere close, it was still above line near the top of the wall.

[dakohosu]

Feb 25, 2023 5:26:17 GMT -5 salt said:

Yeah, not sure Kanno has a chance anymore. I don't know if it was just exhaustion or forgetting how to do it entirely, but his warped wall attempts were not even close. It's depressing to see how far he's degraded in terms of stage 1 performance.

To be fair I’m pretty sure he had a leg injury (his lower leg had a brace on it), which sort of proves my point about him continuing to debilitate himself without actually seeing any payoff for his hard work. I mean chronically injuring yourself for when you’re older isn’t worth any outcome, let alone continuing to fail Stage 1 in seven straight tournaments.

But yeah, even if he did clear I feel like he’d have zero shot at clearing Stage 2 with how stringent the time limit was. He could reasonably have failed anywhere bar the Salmon Ladder due to inexperience, and also the fact that his stamina is clearly nowhere near what it was before because of how many times he’s been set back to zero.

Hot take but I honestly think he’s just delusional at this point. His emotional interview after his 40 run on the Paravi run was sad yes, because it was clear how hard he’d trained to get back into shape and he likely felt confident after clearing the Dragon Glider only to still fail Stage 1 right at the very end. But I do feel as though at that point you just have to call it quits especially if you continuously go all out in terms of training and still, to be blunt, get nowhere. Competitors have gone out far more gracefully. At this point you almost forget that Kanno was a serious threat to win, because of how badly he’s done for such a long period of time.

[transgenderserena]

Feb 25, 2023 14:02:05 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

Feb 25, 2023 5:26:17 GMT -5 salt said:

Yeah, not sure Kanno has a chance anymore. I don't know if it was just exhaustion or forgetting how to do it entirely, but his warped wall attempts were not even close. It's depressing to see how far he's degraded in terms of stage 1 performance.

To be fair I’m pretty sure he had a leg injury (his lower leg had a brace on it), which sort of proves my point about him continuing to debilitate himself without actually seeing any payoff for his hard work. I mean chronically injuring yourself for when you’re older isn’t worth any outcome, let alone continuing to fail Stage 1 in seven straight tournaments.

But yeah, even if he did clear I feel like he’d have zero shot at clearing Stage 2 with how stringent the time limit was. He could reasonably have failed anywhere bar the Salmon Ladder due to inexperience, and also the fact that his stamina is clearly nowhere near what it was before because of how many times he’s been set back to zero.

Hot take but I honestly think he’s just delusional at this point. His emotional interview after his 40 run on the Paravi run was sad yes, because it was clear how hard he’d trained to get back into shape and he likely felt confident after clearing the Dragon Glider only to still fail Stage 1 right at the very end. But I do feel as though at that point you just have to call it quits especially if you continuously go all out in terms of training and still, to be blunt, get nowhere. Competitors have gone out far more gracefully. At this point you almost forget that Kanno was a serious threat to win, because of how badly he’s done for such a long period of time.

Calling him delusional because hes continuing training is extremely jerkish

[dakohosu]

Feb 25, 2023 15:30:26 GMT -5 transgenderserena said:

Feb 25, 2023 14:02:05 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

To be fair I’m pretty sure he had a leg injury (his lower leg had a brace on it), which sort of proves my point about him continuing to debilitate himself without actually seeing any payoff for his hard work. I mean chronically injuring yourself for when you’re older isn’t worth any outcome, let alone continuing to fail Stage 1 in seven straight tournaments.

But yeah, even if he did clear I feel like he’d have zero shot at clearing Stage 2 with how stringent the time limit was. He could reasonably have failed anywhere bar the Salmon Ladder due to inexperience, and also the fact that his stamina is clearly nowhere near what it was before because of how many times he’s been set back to zero.

Hot take but I honestly think he’s just delusional at this point. His emotional interview after his 40 run on the Paravi run was sad yes, because it was clear how hard he’d trained to get back into shape and he likely felt confident after clearing the Dragon Glider only to still fail Stage 1 right at the very end. But I do feel as though at that point you just have to call it quits especially if you continuously go all out in terms of training and still, to be blunt, get nowhere. Competitors have gone out far more gracefully. At this point you almost forget that Kanno was a serious threat to win, because of how badly he’s done for such a long period of time.

Calling him delusional because hes continuing training is extremely jerkish

I mean not really? Do you not think that someone constantly injuring themselves and being hospitalised is worth a game show? And that’s even assuming they actually see the fruits of their hard work, which Kanno hasn’t for almost 8 years now. Most of his injuries have been through Sasuke training, including four during competition (27, 32, 33, 38) which just goes to show how much he’s abusing his body.

Other competitors have called it quits through much less serious injuries because they realise it’s not worth living the rest of their life in pain over Sasuke, as passionate as some of them were. Asa, Kishimoto, Bunpei, Okuyama, I won’t call Takeda’s atrial fibrillation less serious but you know what I mean, but he also took a break from Sasuke to focus on his firefighting career as he figured an injury wouldn’t position him well for a promotion. Kanno also has a family and career, so it’s not like him being out of action for extended periods of time won’t have any collateral effects on others either.

Fundamentally it’s his choice as whether to compete or not, and my opinion is my opinion, you can’t change either of those. I just don’t really know what his endgame is at this point, but he’s heading straight towards a chronic shoulder injury, which if you know anything about sports injuries you’ll know that the older you get, the more irreversible they become. Kanno injured his shoulder randomly when he was 26, in his mid 30s he was easily getting surgery twice a year.

I don’t really see how Kanno is that different from Yamada at this point, and Yamada was pretty much synonymous with the term delusional.

[transgenderserena]

Feb 25, 2023 19:29:38 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

Feb 25, 2023 15:30:26 GMT -5 transgenderserena said:

Calling him delusional because hes continuing training is extremely jerkish

I mean not really? Do you not think that someone constantly injuring themselves and being hospitalised is worth a game show? And that’s even assuming they actually see the fruits of their hard work, which Kanno hasn’t for almost 8 years now. Most of his injuries have been through Sasuke training, including four during competition (27, 32, 33, 38) which just goes to show how much he’s abusing his body.

Other competitors have called it quits through much less serious injuries because they realise it’s not worth living the rest of their life in pain over Sasuke, as passionate as some of them were. Asa, Kishimoto, Bunpei, Okuyama, I won’t call Takeda’s atrial fibrillation less serious but you know what I mean, but he also took a break from Sasuke to focus on his firefighting career as he figured an injury wouldn’t position him well for a promotion. Kanno also has a family and career, so it’s not like him being out of action for extended periods of time won’t have any collateral effects on others either.

Fundamentally it’s his choice as whether to compete or not, and my opinion is my opinion, you can’t change either of those. I just don’t really know what his endgame is at this point, but he’s heading straight towards a chronic shoulder injury, which if you know anything about sports injuries you’ll know that the older you get, the more irreversible they become. Kanno injured his shoulder randomly when he was 26, in his mid 30s he was easily getting surgery twice a year.

I don’t really see how Kanno is that different from Yamada at this point, and Yamada was pretty much synonymous with the term delusional.

Oh my god, of course you compare him to Yamada, jesus christ why do you like to dunk on yamada so much like he was never good

[YourResidentKojiFan]

Feb 26, 2023 9:50:47 GMT -5 transgenderserena said:

Feb 25, 2023 19:29:38 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

Oh my god, of course you compare him to Yamada, jesus christ why do you like to dunk on yamada so much like he was never good

Alright, let me explain this in the nicest way I can. 

Practically everybody here knows Yamada was one of if not the best competitors of the first 12 tournaments. We all know he was good. What we dunk on him for, and why dakohosu is calling Yamada delusional, is that he kept seeming to think he had serious Kanzen potential, when everybody with two working eyes and/or ears could tell he did not. All the times he's cried on the course after failing, his numerous "retirements" that he could never hold since he wanted to win more than any other competitor I've ever seen in anything, let alone SASUKE.

He also just didn't seem to think rules applied to him. For example, the whole SASUKE 12 incident with the gloves. I'm not sure if you know, but on his third and final run, he timed out mid-way through the Spider Walk thanks to falling off the Brick Climb. Now, he finished the Spider Walk, which is fine, but what isn't was that he continued to run the rest of the course, even screaming at production members that told him to stop. Now, I'm not fluent in Japanese, so I don't know what he said, but his tone seemed very livid, as if he was supposed to be able to just continue the course. He also did the same thing in SASUKE 8, though I can kinda forgive that as it was supposed to be his sendoff.

Let's also not forget the "SHAAAAAAAAA" after he failed the Fishbone in 40. I'm no psychologist, but the only reasonable explanation for yelling and getting upset after a fail is that you thought you could succeed. Which... No. He hasn't made it up the Soritatsu Kabe in 13 years and he hasn't gotten any younger since 2009, not to mention there's still the Dragon Glider which he failed in 38.

Lastly, and I won't delve into this too much, but the man literally alienated his family for SASUKE. I don't know the whole story, so I won't pretend like I do, but he chose a game show over his own family cause he thought he could win.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, while Yamada may not actually be delusional, we see him as such, and as so, we rag on him for that. Kanno crying in 40 after his fail when he's got 83 shoulder injuries and hasn't cleared in seven years is bordering on that level of uh, let's call it "passion" that Yamada has. I hope that gets the message across somewhat well, at least.

[sasukewarrior333]

To be completely fair, I don't blame Kanno at all for crying, since he was super close to getting back to Stage 2, the closest he has been since his fail streak started. if he had just been able to keep that right hand on the wall. It's more equivalent to Yamada crying after his performance in 16 (don't remember if he did, but it's just an example) And honestly, assuming minimal harsh changes, I think he could break that streak. Regardless, it does seem like he's putting too much emotional investment into SASUKE and that's never something you wanna do.

And again, I'm pretty sure no one here who uses the forums regularly hates Yamada by any means, if anything I'd say most of us feel bad for both him and his loved ones, because in his prime he represented the concept of being so hyperfocused on something, so desperate to succeed,that you hurt the ones you love.

[transgenderserena]

Feb 26, 2023 13:10:35 GMT -5 YourResidentKojiFan said:

Feb 26, 2023 9:50:47 GMT -5 transgenderserena said:

Oh my god, of course you compare him to Yamada, jesus christ why do you like to dunk on yamada so much like he was never good

Alright, let me explain this in the nicest way I can. 

Practically everybody here knows Yamada was one of if not the best competitors of the first 12 tournaments. We all know he was good. What we dunk on him for, and why dakohosu is calling Yamada delusional, is that he kept seeming to think he had serious Kanzen potential, when everybody with two working eyes and/or ears could tell he did not. All the times he's cried on the course after failing, his numerous "retirements" that he could never hold since he wanted to win more than any other competitor I've ever seen in anything, let alone SASUKE.

He also just didn't seem to think rules applied to him. For example, the whole SASUKE 12 incident with the gloves. I'm not sure if you know, but on his third and final run, he timed out mid-way through the Spider Walk thanks to falling off the Brick Climb. Now, he finished the Spider Walk, which is fine, but what isn't was that he continued to run the rest of the course, even screaming at production members that told him to stop. Now, I'm not fluent in Japanese, so I don't know what he said, but his tone seemed very livid, as if he was supposed to be able to just continue the course. He also did the same thing in SASUKE 8, though I can kinda forgive that as it was supposed to be his sendoff.

Let's also not forget the "SHAAAAAAAAA" after he failed the Fishbone in 40. I'm no psychologist, but the only reasonable explanation for yelling and getting upset after a fail is that you thought you could succeed. Which... No. He hasn't made it up the Soritatsu Kabe in 13 years and he hasn't gotten any younger since 2009, not to mention there's still the Dragon Glider which he failed in 38.

Lastly, and I won't delve into this too much, but the man literally alienated his family for SASUKE. I don't know the whole story, so I won't pretend like I do, but he chose a game show over his own family cause he thought he could win.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, while Yamada may not actually be delusional, we see him as such, and as so, we rag on him for that. Kanno crying in 40 after his fail when he's got 83 shoulder injuries and hasn't cleared in seven years is bordering on that level of uh, let's call it "passion" that Yamada has. I hope that gets the message across somewhat well, at least.

The reason he acted like that in SASUKE 12 is because he promised his family and best friend that he will achieve Kanzenseiha, imagine if you were in Yamadas shoes, he was so close to achieving Kanzenseiha in SASUKE 3, this motivated him to train for SASUKE more frequently, in SASUKE 4 and 5, he gets less and less close, so in SASUKE 6, he straight up decided to make SASUKE a full time dedication, he clears Stages 1 and 2 with ease, finally beats the Cliffhanger, the goal was in sight, he literally sticks the landing on the Pipe Slider, only for him to fall off the side and off the course, he was so sad he started crying, he then decides to bring his wife and kids to watch him only for him to time out on Stage 1, he then decides its Kanzenseiha or retirement, only for him to time out again because of the rain, but the SASUKE bug was too strong, so he writes this heart wrenching letter that said "Im sorry i dont qualify as a father", he clears Stage 1 only to take too much time at the Spider Walk, then Yamada starts going to gyms trying to get in Shape and while he finally cleared Stage 2, he then fails almost in the exact same spot as SASUKE 6, all that hard work was for nothing, he was absolutely devastated, Furutachi himself even goes to Yamada and says to him if hes ok, Yamada tries to hold back the tears and infamously says "For me, theres nothing but SASUKE" before going off the set crying, in SASUKE 11, he regresses once again, so in SASUKE 12, he promises he will clear Stage 3 to his fellow All-Stars, he Clears Stage 1 with literally no time left, gets to Stage 2, 8 people clear in a row, posting better and better times, it was Yamadas turn, he clears every obstacle with ease, only to be told that he got disqualified for not taking his gloves off, he wasnt told this, he just got screwed over by a stupid rule that doesnt make any sense, after a successful protest, he gets a second attempt, he literally hits the button with 1 second left and gets told he timed out, its like the producers wanted him to fail, he then gets a third attempt only for him to fall off the brick climb due to fatigue and ended up timing out on the spider walk, he was so frustrated and sad that the producers screwed him over like this that he didnt care about what they were saying, a tearful Yamada could only see red at that point, Yamada then gets to the end and takes off the clear gate and falls onto the floor crying, his dreams were unrealized

This caused Yamada to be stuck in a mental block he hasnt been able to get out of for 20 years

SASUKE 40 reminded him of his past failiures

SASUKE 41 is his last chance to Clear Stage 1

Please, calling Yamada and Kanno delusional because theyre sad and heartbroken is a jerk move

[dakohosu]

Feb 26, 2023 15:11:26 GMT -5 sasukewarrior333 said:

To be completely fair, I don't blame Kanno at all for crying, since he was super close to getting back to Stage 2, the closest he has been since his fail streak started. if he had just been able to keep that right hand on the wall. It's more equivalent to Yamada crying after his performance in 16 (don't remember if he did, but it's just an example) And honestly, assuming minimal harsh changes, I think he could break that streak. Regardless, it does seem like he's putting too much emotional investment into SASUKE and that's never something you wanna do.

And again, I'm pretty sure no one here who uses the forums regularly hates Yamada by any means, if anything I'd say most of us feel bad for both him and his loved ones, because in his prime he represented the concept of being so hyperfocused on something, so desperate to succeed,that you hurt the ones you love.

Yep exactly.

I don’t think anyone actively dislikes Kanno or Yamada (I certainly don’t), especially not now he doesn’t have the same unsportsmanlike attitude he did before, but that absolutely does not mean that their over-investment into a game show at the expense of several other important things like family, career, health, etc. needs to immediately be deemed okay and not problematic or destructive at all.

I even felt bad for Kanno myself because he cut a ton of weight prior to 40 and did have a leg injury that he seemed to sustain shortly before the tournament taped, like working that hard and still falling short has to be a kick in the guts putting it lightly. But I feel like for Kanno, every year seems to be ‘his year’ to come back and it just never happens, yet he consistently sends his body to hell and back in the process.

[dakohosu]

Feb 26, 2023 15:26:30 GMT -5 transgenderserena said:

Feb 26, 2023 13:10:35 GMT -5 YourResidentKojiFan said:

Alright, let me explain this in the nicest way I can. 

Practically everybody here knows Yamada was one of if not the best competitors of the first 12 tournaments. We all know he was good. What we dunk on him for, and why dakohosu is calling Yamada delusional, is that he kept seeming to think he had serious Kanzen potential, when everybody with two working eyes and/or ears could tell he did not. All the times he's cried on the course after failing, his numerous "retirements" that he could never hold since he wanted to win more than any other competitor I've ever seen in anything, let alone SASUKE.

He also just didn't seem to think rules applied to him. For example, the whole SASUKE 12 incident with the gloves. I'm not sure if you know, but on his third and final run, he timed out mid-way through the Spider Walk thanks to falling off the Brick Climb. Now, he finished the Spider Walk, which is fine, but what isn't was that he continued to run the rest of the course, even screaming at production members that told him to stop. Now, I'm not fluent in Japanese, so I don't know what he said, but his tone seemed very livid, as if he was supposed to be able to just continue the course. He also did the same thing in SASUKE 8, though I can kinda forgive that as it was supposed to be his sendoff.

Let's also not forget the "SHAAAAAAAAA" after he failed the Fishbone in 40. I'm no psychologist, but the only reasonable explanation for yelling and getting upset after a fail is that you thought you could succeed. Which... No. He hasn't made it up the Soritatsu Kabe in 13 years and he hasn't gotten any younger since 2009, not to mention there's still the Dragon Glider which he failed in 38.

Lastly, and I won't delve into this too much, but the man literally alienated his family for SASUKE. I don't know the whole story, so I won't pretend like I do, but he chose a game show over his own family cause he thought he could win.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, while Yamada may not actually be delusional, we see him as such, and as so, we rag on him for that. Kanno crying in 40 after his fail when he's got 83 shoulder injuries and hasn't cleared in seven years is bordering on that level of uh, let's call it "passion" that Yamada has. I hope that gets the message across somewhat well, at least.

The reason he acted like that in SASUKE 12 is because he promised his family and best friend that he will achieve Kanzenseiha, imagine if you were in Yamadas shoes, he was so close to achieving Kanzenseiha in SASUKE 3, this motivated him to train for SASUKE more frequently, in SASUKE 4 and 5, he gets less and less close, so in SASUKE 6, he straight up decided to make SASUKE a full time dedication, he clears Stages 1 and 2 with ease, finally beats the Cliffhanger, the goal was in sight, he literally sticks the landing on the Pipe Slider, only for him to fall off the side and off the course, he was so sad he started crying, he then decides to bring his wife and kids to watch him only for him to time out on Stage 1, he then decides its Kanzenseiha or retirement, only for him to time out again because of the rain, but the SASUKE bug was too strong, so he writes this heart wrenching letter that said "Im sorry i dont qualify as a father", he clears Stage 1 only to take too much time at the Spider Walk, then Yamada starts going to gyms trying to get in Shape and while he finally cleared Stage 2, he then fails almost in the exact same spot as SASUKE 6, all that hard work was for nothing, he was absolutely devastated, Furutachi himself even goes to Yamada and says to him if hes ok, Yamada tries to hold back the tears and infamously says "For me, theres nothing but SASUKE" before going off the set crying, in SASUKE 11, he regresses once again, so in SASUKE 12, he promises he will clear Stage 3 to his fellow All-Stars, he Clears Stage 1 with literally no time left, gets to Stage 2, 8 people clear in a row, posting better and better times, it was Yamadas turn, he clears every obstacle with ease, only to be told that he got disqualified for not taking his gloves off, he wasnt told this, he just got screwed over by a stupid rule that doesnt make any sense, after a successful protest, he gets a second attempt, he literally hits the button with 1 second left and gets told he timed out, its like the producers wanted him to fail, he then gets a third attempt only for him to fall off the brick climb due to fatigue and ended up timing out on the spider walk, he was so frustrated and sad that the producers screwed him over like this that he didnt care about what they were saying, a tearful Yamada could only see red at that point, Yamada then gets to the end and takes off the clear gate and falls onto the floor crying, his dreams were unrealized

This caused Yamada to be stuck in a mental block he hasnt been able to get out of for 20 years

SASUKE 40 reminded him of his past failiures

SASUKE 41 is his last chance to Clear Stage 1

Please, calling Yamada and Kanno delusional because theyre sad and heartbroken is a jerk move

Sorry, but Yamada clearing in 41 is probably not that much more likely than HIKAKIN or Kasuga doing so at this point.

He’s going to be 58 for the next tournament, doesn’t practice on any obstacles, and has been known for the last 10-15+ years of career to be painfully slow. Mental rut or not, the last time he cleared he was 37; I don’t think you realise the difference between being in your mid 30s and pushing 60, in terms of stamina, strength, injuries; not to mention the course has evolved massively over the last 20 years.

To be honest, I don’t even know why I’m explaining or rationalising why Yamada isn’t clearing ever again. I don’t think anyone (except maybe you) will disagree with me on this.

Also, being sad over a fail and being delusional aren’t mutually exclusive so I don’t know what your last point is.

[brz0ny]

Lol this person is definitely trolling guys dont get wound up

[transgenderserena]

Feb 26, 2023 16:46:23 GMT -5 brz0ny said:

Lol this person is definitely trolling guys dont get wound up

Ah yes, having a positive opinion about Yamada is "Definitely trolling"
Im sorry im not part of the hivemind

[YourResidentKojiFan]

Feb 26, 2023 16:53:34 GMT -5 transgenderserena said:

Feb 26, 2023 16:46:23 GMT -5 brz0ny said:

Lol this person is definitely trolling guys dont get wound up

Ah yes, having a positive opinion about Yamada is "Definitely trolling"
Im sorry im not part of the hivemind

Look, you like Yamada more than most of us. That's fine. You're entitled to your opinion, other people are entitled to theirs. That should be that, right? I've said what I need to say, and I believe everyone else involved in this has as well. It's not like we're gonna change each other's opinions, so let's just work past our disagreements. People think one way about Yamada, you think the other way. That's really all that matters. I'm not gonna try to change the way you think about him, and as such, you shouldn't try and change the way we think about him. Let's just quash this whole thing before it gets totally out of hand, shall we?