Sasuke 31 Spoilerific Review - Part 9

Yay!  We got rid of the Rising! Whoot! 

 

Sasuke spoilerific review ;) Warning.. incoming blog of Sasuke 31.. if you don’t want to know.. you have been warned ( ^ . ^ ) (Just remember.. there is NO USA Broadcast of this. NBC has renegotiated out of their contract to show Sasuke on USA soil. Yes.. you read that right.. Now with the death of G4 official and NBC not giving a damn about Sasuke Japan, we will never see Sasuke Rising on US television (or any overseas country for that matter unless everyone buys the original 4 hour broadcast from TBS). This is the 4th tournament in the Rising era (post Monster 9) and I'm happy that they got rid of the "Rising" part in the headlines!  For a preview of this event, please see SASUKE 31 NAVI a half hour preview of Sasuke 31 with fluff pieces of some the major players in the upcoming Sasuke. There were even a couple of runs that were cut from the official broadcast! Thanks for all of the support as I had a horrible month with my health.  I'm taking my time on the blogs as I have to limit how much time I can stare at a computer screen. I'm still getting cluster headaches but the cycle this time seems to be winding down long enough for me to work on getting these out!  I have a backlog of things to do but working through it slowly.  Last week we had the stomach flu hit our home.. yay.. uuuuugh..

 

(PART ONE) (PART TWO) (PART THREE) (PART FOUR) (PART FIVE) (PART SIX) (PART SEVEN) (PART EIGHT)

 

UBE'S LIVE-BLOG FOR SASUKE 31 IS HERE!

 

(Massive thanks to TBS for posting the names of all 100 competitors!  Thanks to Ube for his help on the names in English!!)
 

Heh the southern boys are teaming up!

I find this awesome.  Yuusuke never has anyone cheering for him so Asa has taken it upon himself to do it.

After all they, are the only ones from the southern islands left on the show.

It's rare to see Yuusuke cracking up on camera like that.

Yusuke Morimoto 森本 裕介

Back in Sasuke 29 he was THAT close to getting to the final

For those confused about the timer, this was the only tournament that was tied to the ill-fated Sasuke ASEAN Open Cup that sadly didn't last past one season.  I'm told they will never tie a qualifier (or a timer on Stage 3) to Sasuke again.

This was the first and last time Yuusuke ever made it to the 3rd Stage.

Fluff piece about Yuusuke visiting his grandfather

HAHAHAHAHA I still crack up at the BOX of Sasuke DVD's.  Hint. Only ONE of those is legal.

Would love some help here with his name. (Thanks so much anonymous person!)
Hashimoto Masaaki 橋本正樹彰
 He is 89 years old.

I love how his entire family are fans of Sasuke.  And the fact that they are so open about the obvious bootleg that most would give their left nut to get a copy of. LOL

Still giggling from the Asa conversation before the fluff piece break

Yusuke Morimoto 森本 裕介

But first!  Some friiiiiiiied lovin'.. damn.. now I want southern fried chicken.. /shakesfist
(Edit: Since I posted this.. I got some... oooooom nom nom..)

Familycam™

Sister Mayu 真由, Mother Mikiko 美貴子 and Father Tatsuya 卓也

and here we go!

Btw this is the first time he tries this obstacle out in competition.

I'm actually happy the platform is so small.  Now they can't skip the last Hopper.

Chalk seems to be the preferred schmutz for Stage 3.

The width of the Iron Paddler is 162 centimeters (5.31 feet)

The last time he did this he spent almost 2 minutes on it

Not this time!

Doesn't use rigging to dismount.  He's so far the only one going under it

crowd almost freaked out thinking he was going to fall backwards! LOL

Testing out the Sidewinder

aaaaaand sits back down

Poor Mom is having a heart attack..

And here we go!

So far everyone is spending time readjusting for the jump

and crawling back up

gaaaah he almost fell off

Mayu and Mom are freaking out

Okay he's recovered

Jumping to the last one..

and safely dismounting

Mom is relieved.  Dad seems unaffected as if he was expecting it. LOL

Yuusuke takes after Mom with showing some emotion. LOL

Plenty of conversation with the crowd and competitors

Now facing the obstacle he was the very first to ever clear.

For the record, sitting in my seat at Midoriyama, I was not nervous for him here.

However, everyone around me was praying or holding their hands together and closing their eyes.

and here we go!

transition to the middle

and onto the 3rd ledge..

and the jump!

And what I expected.  Everyone though was losing their marbles around me.

He built this obstacle in his backyard YEARS before the obstacle even existed. So he is extremely comfortable with it.

They know as well.

Hurray! A clear!

Tomo is the only other competitor to have a perfect record on the Crazy Cliffhanger.

Talking Heads enjoying the roller coaster 3rd Stage.

replay of the jump

and the successful jump!

Clear on the Crazy Cliffhanger complete!

I'm so happy that the crowd is there.  I was told they absolutely loved the crowd riding the roller coaster with them.

Morimoto Dual Peace sign™

.. Poor Mom is having a heart attack

btw.. people around me are praying again.

Notice the asterisk on the ⑤ *Vertical Limit Kai バーティカルリミット改 (literally "Modified Vertical Limit") as the obstacle has split into 2 different ledges. Both ledges are 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) thick and the gap between the 2 vertical limits is 30 centimeters (a hair under 1 foot) wide.

Less than an inch thick??

I find it interesting that the first person to ever attempt and clear the first version of this was Yuusuke

and again is the first person to reach and attempt the new version during this tournament.

here is the transition.. obvious struggling..

safely onto the 2nd vertical limit ledge

and a VERY awkward transition to the Pipe Slider green bar of safety™ which sits higher than the Vertical Limit ledge...

btw the sound where I was sitting was borderline deafening

Mom and Dad are ecstatic that he got to the Pipe Slider safely

Tomo can't stop smiling as Kong is looking at the obstacle he sadly couldn't get to.

Cheesy grins from Kong and Tomo...

While the pressure is clearly falling on Kanno to get there.

Asa who is on the other side is bouncing up and down like a Mexican Jumping Bean.

Talking Head chick dancing in place with excitement

Staring down his nemesis.. time for revenge...

He's been training his ass off ever since he failed in Sasuke 29 at this very obstacle.. so I was still confident.. but you never know what is going to happen in Sasuke.

⑥ Pipe Slider パイプスライダー

he turns serious..

aaaaand as he goes.. we get commercials..

BUY BEER!!!!!

okay.. back from commercials..

easy and not sticking despite the humidity

man he makes this look easy.. there isn't a huge stopper..

damn the core strength required to keep his body perfectly still makes this look like a joke..

and the jump....

YYYYEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

REVENGE ACHIEVED!!!!!!!!!!

And yes we lost our marbles as well!

We got a Final!  I'm here and we got a Final!!!!!!!

Right at the jump... (some are looking at the jumbo screen and parents are looking at him real time)

YAY!!!! PDA!!!!!!!!!!!

C'mon Mayu.. get with the program.. your Mom wants a hug dammit!

Asa is jumping so high I'm barely able to get him on the screenshot!

All of those STQ'ers losing their marbles.

Talking Heads losing their marbles

Yusuke Morimoto 森本 裕介 - THIRD STAGE CLEAR!!!!!!!!

Again, the addition of the Grandstand was glorious!!

He was able to see a sea of people freaking out for him.

This btw is from Navi.  People asked when this was.. (and yes the answer to spot the looney is simple.. - that's me with glasses in the middle of the screen next to the squinting guy... Now I can officially confirm when this shot was taken..

it was during Morimoto's 3rd stage clear.  I'm turning my head from watching the Jumbo Screen to watching him live. Poor hubby is behind my black Sasuke coat covered arm.

By this point I'm staring at him as he's celebrating his clear. I resisted standing up. I didn't know the people behind me had shot straight up.  I was too self conscious that my height was going to block people. In hind sight I'm happy I didn't because I was the only one to the far left of the screen to not stand up. I would blocked people.

replay of the most perfect jump from the Pipe Slider you will ever see.

Seriously... Friggin' textbook..

First clear from the 8 competitors who made it to the 3rd Stage

Talking Heads: Congratulations good job etc. Wow his smile is shining!  He might actually make his dream come true!  Yeah I didn’t actually think anyone could clear this.  Your Sasuke loving grandpa is still doing well right?

Morimoto: Yeah my grandpa is almost 90 and he really loves Sasuke and he watches my runs on Sasuke over and over again… he says watching you grow up through doing Sasuke has been my reason to live, so becoming a finalist today makes me really happy!

Talking Heads: Your grandpa’s life span must’ve gone up today!

Talking Head: Sorry for saying this as a guy, but I’m falling in love with you so fight until the end!

Mom was smart to bring a hand towel.

We do have a walk of Fame here but it stops right in front of the Talking Heads Booth

Yusuke Morimoto 森本 裕介 - Sasuke 31 Finalist!

Drew Dreschel ドリュー・ドレッシェル is up next!

They had old footage of him when he was in Houston

Case in point. He now lives in Connecticut.

I believe though he is still a personal trainer? Amazing tricks though.

Last year he attempted the Crazy Cliffhanger

but failed

interesting editing..

I wasn't quite sure how this was going to be shown.

and I mulled over how the hell I was going to write about this.

since by now I know for a fact that it won't be shown in the broadcast

Here we are at the Crazy Cliffhanger.  What is not shown on the broadcast is that he actually cleared this... but in a technique that was considered illegal.  To explain why it's illegal I have to go back to the LaLaPort event last year which was after the taping of Sasuke 30 but before the airing of Sasuke 30 on TBS.

The guys last year were goofing around on the Crazy Cliffhanger that was set up at LaLaPort and everyone including Yuuji were monkeying around on it and use a technique which turned your body around.  (Example of it and not the full video - First technique shown).  The kids around them remarked how totally cool the technique was and were immediately told by TBS at the event to cut it out because it's not good to show the kids a technique that is "dangerous and illegal". Seems Health and Safety had issues with it so outside of backyard courses, it was generally understood that you weren't allowed to do that in Sasuke.  Everyone knew this. Heck.. I knew it.

Fast forward a year later and it was obvious at this point that this was NOT communicated to Drew via his TBS International representative when he entered the tournament nor when he got to the 3rd stage.  A huge argument ensued after he cleared when Inui immediately stopped production and got Drew's attention.  It was a painfully uncomfortable thing to witness.  I know it's a generational gap, but despite the injustice, you don't finger point and argue with anyone with raised tones.  The crowd that was on its feet when he cleared went almost into complete silence.

So after the argument, he was then justifiably allowed a rerun of the Crazy Cliffhanger.  He had to do it the way everyone else did (the twist jump).  It was obvious to everyone involved that someone at TBS International dropped the ball and didn't notify him of the rule banning the forward jump.  It was a horrible miscommunication error and not a result of Drew knowingly breaking a rule. He just didn't know.  So this is now Drew trying to collect himself after a huge argument and the euphoria of clearing the Crazy Cliffhanger in front of a standing ovation. I go into much more detail on 3rd Episode of the Final Stage Podcast. I'd talk more about it there and for now I'll just blog on what was shown on the broadcast.

You could hear a pin drop during this as most were uncomfortable with what just happened.  Drew is doing his best to settle his emotions and get back on track.

No issues on the first ledge

transitioning to the third

manages to touch the ledges

but falls off.  Seems by comparison to the training the forward method, he's not entirely comfortable doing the twist jump. I can't imagine wtf was going through his mind right now having to do that again after the euphoria of clearing it.

I know he can do it, but today it just wasn't meant to be. To his credit, he at least was all smiles and asked to please come back to Sasuke 32 as respectfully as he could have.  We have to wait and see what's going to happen now.  I'm conflicted when I look back at this moment and frankly I had a hard time trying to figure out how to word this on the blog. The crowd after the argument wasn't exactly on his side and it was a topic of discussion well after his run (it was about 45 minutes between 3rd and 4th stages) and some were questioning foreigners in the tournament since an obvious translation issue caused the controversy.  Some chose to focus on how he dealt with the situation and that wasn't a good conversation.  Inui though did the most PR thing to do on the broadcast and not show that argument on national television.  The worst thing to do to Drew was to show that argument.  I think Inui was trying to save him.  It was obvious that Drew wasn't doing that to goof off, he legitimately trained a technique that he found more comfortable without knowing it was illegal.  If anyone is to blame, it's his TBS handlers.  This whole thing could have been avoided if he knew he couldn't turn around on the ledge. He might have actually cleared it legitimately and possibly been in the final (and giving NBC a friggin' heart attack). Sadly, we will never know.

Drew Dreschel ドリュー・ドレッシェル - Death by Crazy Cliffhanger

Quick transition to Asa putting his luck charms in his boots.

Kazuma Asa 朝一眞

Geez he's 33 already..

TBS reminding us that he failed 3 times already.. First in Sasuke 28 (not shown), Sasuke 29 (Shown)

and then again in Sasuke 30

that's when we saw his (then) girlfriend for the first time.

Asa broke his finger during the ANW6 USA vs. World event last year

and had surgery on his finger and on his side (no I don't know the exact details)

As things changed in his life (meaning that he knew he was going to get married), he accepted a position in his father's construction company.

we know by now he has been dating and got engaged and since the taping (and before the broadcast) married Yuki.

Sorry, but skipped the Fluff piece since we was 90% already.

Kazuma Asa 朝一眞  btw.. noticed that Inui is trying to move away from the monikers so while they are still mentioned as being Shin Sedai, it's not a major focus of the current broadcasts.

Girlfriend Fiancee Wife Yuki 由妃

I half expected a commercial right now.. LOL

Anyway here we go!

Doing fine on the Drum Hopper

He's one of the ones that used to skip the last set of hoppers so it's funny to see his face go crazy seeing how short of a platform is there waiting for him. LOL

Happy he's not in the water right now

Iron Paddler time

nice and fast and also went under to dismount

onto the Sidewinder

The slam onto the stalactites is haaaard..

Poor thing looks like he's hanging on to dear life

and the dismount

now time for his nemesis...

Testing out that ledge

Girlfriend Fiancee Wife Yuki 由妃 yelling support

even MOAR chalk

he takes a while to psyche himself up

on the first ledge

transition to the 3rd ledge..

oooooh way too close.. he overshot it

and down he goes! 4th time in a row ( > . < )

Yuki is distraught

so is Tomo

and Morimoto

yeah he totally overshot that and almost slammed his face on it.

Staring at that ledge before screaming

Kazuma Asa 朝一眞 - Death (again) by Crazy Cliffhanger

Tomo being interviewed

replay of the fail

see how his hand was flat up against the rigging

so by the time he got his left hand situated his right gave out

yeah he overcompensated for the injured finger

Asa: (Dammit) I grabbed it (cliff ledge)!… this was the first time I felt (as in touch sense) it like that.  (Even though) I grabbed it… (I fell)

She's just crying at this point

To Yuki: I just want you to believe that I can do it because I can definitely do it.  Even though I failed, I want you to believe I can do it.

Morimoto: (summary) The crazy cliffhanger is hard because you have to get the timing of your spin and the power of your swing just right or you fall.

Kawaguchi: Everyone can actually do the crazy cliffhanger in practice… but for some reason…

PART TEN