Sasuke 32 Airdate Announced + Other related news

Edit: Added YouTube Vlog at the end of the blog.

As I mentioned before, Sasuke 32 has officially been taped and we finally have a confirmed date of airing on television. The Official Sasuke Facebook and the Official Sasuke Twitter accounts confirmed the date for the television broadcast of Sasuke 32 on TBS (Tokyo Broadcast Systems) in Japan.  Director Inui has been working some mad hours trying to finish on time considering that cameras lost footage for several hours and they had to work with backup tapes.  So the official date is July 3rd after all with a time of 18:30 Japan Standard Time.  They also added the 1 hour preview time and the 30 minute version!  Usually we have to dig for that information.  So as of this blog it is a week and a half away! For those who ask every year, SMF handles all live streaming inquiries.

SASUKE 2016 - Navi (Preview show)

Sunday, July 2, 2016

15:00 JST (3:00 PM local time in Japan)

15:00-15:54 so just under 1 hour long 

Station: TBS (Japan)

2:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

11:00 PM (Pacific Daylight Time) (FRIDAY Night)

Additional time conversion

30 minute version of Preview Show with possible "Easter Eggs"

7月2日(土)26:53～27:23

Sunday, July 3, 2016

26:53 JST (2:53 AM local time in Japan)

1:53 PM (Eastern Daylight Time) (SATURDAY Afternoon)

10:53 AM (Pacific Daylight Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

Champion Banners at Sasuke 32 ©Masato Inui

SASUKE 2016 - (Sasuke 32) TOURNAMENT

Sunday, July 3, 2016

18:30 JST (6:30 PM local time in Japan)

18:30-21:48 so just over 3 hours long 

Station: TBS (Japan)

5:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time) (SUNDAY Morning)

2:30 AM (Pacific Daylight Time) (SUNDAY Morning)

Additional time conversion

Nico Nico broadcast from 2015

SASUKE 2016 - Sasuke 32 Nico Nico Broadcast

Sunday, July 3, 2016

18:00 JST (6:00 PM local time in Japan)

18:00-22:00 so approximately 4 hours long 

Station: Nico Nico (Streaming service in Japan)

5:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time) (SUNDAY Morning)

2:00 AM (Pacific Daylight Time) (SUNDAY Morning)

Fair warning for those who never watched a Sasuke broadcast.. that 6:30-7PM half hour has a LOT of commercials... so be prepared for that!  The preview show (or "Navi"/Navigational) is a preview show that sometimes has runs that are cut from the main broadcast. This is where they do the majority of the personal segments and fluff pieces.  Considering that Makoto Nagano is retiring after this tournament I would suspect a good portion of that would be to say goodbye to him.  And the Nico Nico broadcast should be the same as always where you stare at the guys watching the show (the show itself is not shown just that room as pictured above) as they offer commentary in Japanese. I don't think I need to say this but previous years have taught me otherwise.. All broadcasts listed on this page are entirely in Japanese with no subtitles. This is the official Japanese airing for the Japanese audience live as it airs in Japan.

 

Sasuke 32's Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger ©Masato Inui
  

Previous blog had the photos of the brand new obstacles for Sasuke 32's partial renewal tournament.  A "Renewal" indicates revamping the course because the previous version was defeated  by a Grand Champion. In this case it was Yuusuke Morimoto 森本 裕介 who defeated Sasuke 31 becoming only the 4th man in 19 years to have ever conquered the Steel Castle.  Sadly, as I indicated in this month's Final Stage Podcast, Morimoto could not attend the 32nd tournament.  I'll do a full post on Sasuke 31 (including my own photos) AFTER I finish the Sasuke 32 Spoilerific Review which will be of the TBS broadcast. I'm thinking mid-late July at the earliest.

One of the TBS YouTube channels posted 5 videos in preview of Sasuke 32.  These videos were all taken before the taping of Sasuke 32 in May, 2016.  The videos were taken by none other than Sasuke All-star (Mr. Sasuke) Katsumi Yamada 山田勝己 who now retired is continuing to promote Sasuke.  He gives his advice on "How to Sasuke" in this video.  Given his clothing.. this was taken Friday, May 27 just before checking into the same hotel I was in. LOL!!

The other 4 videos took advantage of the 360 technology.  You can watch the video and toggle up, down, left or right to see more of what he sees.  There are 4 videos in total.  Stage 1, Stage 2 and 3, Final Stage and a compilation.  While I appreciate the videos.. I'm not too keen on 360 technology that is not from a fixed boom.  The shakiness of someone holding it can be jarring. That said if you pause it a lot to look around it may not be as vomit inducing.  Again, I'm thankful that there were full course coverage but the 360 technology is not my thing. I had the same sickness problem when I saw Team Ninja Warrior do the same thing.

Totally rocking farmer's tans! (Tomo, Kanno, Shingo, Hioki, Yuuji and Ryo) ©Masato Inui

Finally, just yesterday from this post the Sasuke stars listed above appeared on stage on a small production promoting Sasuke at a local music festival!  This was held the weekend of June 18-19, 2016 in Japan.

Sasuke stars, Director Inui and Yatsui Festival stars backstage ©Yatsuiichiro

This was the first time they have appeared at this event.  It was nice to see them interacting with a live crowd!  It was a way to promote the show's just announced air date (it was tweeted just hours before they appeared on stage).

Director Inui on microphone as Hioki plays with the crowd ©Mayumi Hioki

This was a cute photo taken by Masashi Hioki's wife Mayumi.  She's in the crowd taking an awesome photo of her husband on stage during the music festival.

Yatsui Festival stage prop ©Donburimc

There were a few obstacles that they had on stage including the Salmon Ladder and the Crazy Cliffhanger Jump.

Crowd photo from the stage point of view ©Yatsuiichiro

It was a rare opportunity for a captive audience to not only hear about the airdate of the show but to interact and see the stars perform on stage.  I hope they do more of this stuff in the future. It also helps to introduce fans to the new stars of the show.

Yuuji doing the Crazy Cliffhanger jump ©Yatsuiichiro

As a side note that is worth noting, all of the stars were still in Japan during this weekend which also meant that Japan was not present during the taping of USA vs. World in Las Vegas/ANW 8.  Needless to say I won't be doing a blog about that when it airs as Team Japan was not present.

EDIT: Latest Vlog with updates.

Sasuke related news - Updates, Vlogs, Nico Nico #6

10 days to go! - Link to campaign

The final 10 days are upon us!  Thank you to the contributions! I'm at 30% but with 10 days to go I'm getting worried.  This year has been difficult raising money with the economy not doing so good. I am excited though that there are more options for perks this year like Autographed photos of the All-Stars and 3/4 Champions and limited edition Sasuke 32 T'shirts, etc..  I blogged about that earlier showing what some of this stuff looks like.

Sasuke - Direct Link

Edit: I totally forgot to post this video!  It is Part 6 of the Rambling Rican in Japan series!  I did a short video using mostly footage from friends to compliment the small amount I had of my own. I hope you like it! The video was posted on my personal channel of my trip to Japan.  For those counting at home, this is the 6th video from the series. This video features Saturday and Sunday - Sasuke 31!  Thanks to to Perry Oosterlee from the Netherlands for allowing me to use his videos again! Previous videos include, Part 5 was the rest of the day of that Thursday (same day we saw Yuuji) and onto Friday (the day before Sasuke) where we had to change hotels from Odaiba to a town called Machida, Part 4 was the rest of my Haruta Trip to see the 2-Time Grand Champion Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3) at work. In Part 3 in the series, Yuuji took us out to eat lunch and sign autographs.  In Part 2, I posted a room tour of my first (of 3) hotel stays.  Part 1 was the flight over to Japan on YouTube that all of you made possible! I don't care if I sound like a broken record, but THANK YOU so much for your support! I could not have gone to Japan without you! Hope you enjoy the video! ♥

Rambling Rican Vlog - IndieGogo and Sasuke Updates - Direct link

The latest vlog I spent a lot of time going through questions. If you have more just let me know!  I also added the most recent Sasuke news that wasn't already covered during the Final Stage Podcast.

Final Stage Podcast - Episode 12

As I mentioned before, I migrated the Final Stage Podcast to it's own website!  Episode 12 is now up and will be housed there on it's own site entirely.  Pop over there and listen to the latest podcast! It's up on iTunes, Youtube, Podbean and now on it's own page!

International competitors registered for Sasuke Vietnam - Season 2

As I mentioned before, Sasuke Vietnam Season 2 has a friendly competition between Team Japan, Team Vietnam and Team International which is coming up this week!  Stage 1 for the internationals is this Monday!

Unofficial Sasuke Update Show #6

Online Streaming Service Nico Nico (DIRECT LINK)

Saturday, April 16, 2016 - 20:00 (7:30 PM - Japan) JST
   6:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Saving Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

  3:30 AM (Pacific Daylight Saving Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

Additional Time conversion

I'm happy that the Update shows are going on at a timely basis!  Previous shows (March, February, January, December and October).  November was the big month where he and Ryo were building Sasuke Indonesia and produced 13 behind the scenes videos on Nico Nico. There was an announcement this week on their new Twitter account that the next one is approaching fast. The name of the Twitter handle is S ura channel (which means Sasuke back channel).

(top to bottom) Sasuke All-Star Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟, New Star Kazuma Asa 朝一眞,  New Star Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志, Sasuke All-Star Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩 and Sasuke All-Star Makoto Nagano 長野誠 ©Makoto Nagano

2015 Maguro Festival

It is almost time!  As is tradition here on Rambling Rican, I'm writing about the Maguro Festival again!  This year didn't disappoint with the amount of photos I was able to get within just a day or two! This year we broke the record again in photos and I didn't even post all that was available!! Thanks everyone for being patient.  For those who aren't familiar with this at all, the 25th Annual Maguro Festival 第25回串木野まぐろフェスティバル took place in Kagoshima Prefecture on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday May 1, 2016 in the city of Ichiki-Kushikino. This of course happens during Golden Week in Japan.

Final Stage Podcast Episode 11 + Vlog

Graphic for Episode 11

Thanks to William as always for adding synopsis graphic of the episode content each month on the Final Stage Podcast!  All of our previous podcasts are officially up on iTunes and on the hosting site of Podbean in addition to William's YouTube channel (with handy List of all Episodes). Please show your support sharing the podcast on your favorite social media and help get the word out of the podcast!  Like, share and subscribe on YouTube. Also, rate and/or write a review up on iTunes and I'll read the 5 stars on the next podcast! ♥

Episode 11 - Direct Link

Just a quick update to let you know that the 11th episode for the Final Stage Podcast with William and I is out! All of our previous podcasts are officially up on iTunes and on the hosting site of Podbean. The episode went live about a couple hours ago and this time the iTunes version updated earlier this morning! It is of course uploaded on Podbean at the same time it goes live on iTunes as it's the main hosting site.
 

Published on Mar 4, 2016

The National Ninja League Finals was this past weekend. We both went. It was awesome! Join us as we discuss the experience in great length.

Also, we discuss applications being open for both Sasuke 32 and Sasuke Vietnam, the locations for American Ninja Warrior 8, and even more Team Ninja Warrior discussion.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/final-stage-podcast/id1034176622?mt=2

Hosts:
William: https://twitter.com/2D2Will
http://www.twodashtwo.com/
http://www.twotwentytwoproductions.com/

Arsenette: https://twitter.com/Arsenette
http://ramblingrican.com/
https://www.youtube.com/Arsenette

Show notes:
0:44  Intro
1:54  William talks about his projects (New Hg Labs!)
5:31  Arsenette talks about her projects

• Anniversary month for Rambling Rican
• Finding Midoriyama Documentary

14:00  Update on USA vs The World
17:33  ANW announces a college edition! (sorta)
23:58  The locations for the ANW 8 regionals are announced!
28:51  Get ANW tickets: http://on-camera-audiences.com/shows/American_Ninja_Warrior
31:50  Some ANW 8 thoughts and Olympics discussion
41:00  Discussion about Nickelodeon games shows (and music in game shows)
47:28  The applications for Sasuke 32 is up and the show will air in Summer!
57:52  Sasuke Vietnam season 2 update
1:03:11  The origin of MindOfCrazyPerson

1:11:30  Team Ninja Warrior discussion
1:30:38  Super long discussion about the National Ninja League Finals nationalninja.com
2:39:58  Hopes for Sasuke 32 and ANW 8
2:45:37  Closing

Music Credits:
"Gridlock"
https://isaacwilkins.bandcamp.com/track/gridlock
by: Taylor Grover
https://tgro5350.bandcamp.com/

Rambling Rican Vlog - Reading your YouTube comments - Direct Link

Another vlog!  This time I'm answering a bunch of questions from my comments section on YouTube.  I do read your comments! I just can't comment in the comments section since I don't use Google+ on this YT Channel. I'm going to be putting more videos on my YT channel from now on so look forward to it!  Let me know in the comments section how you like it and what other things you are interested in watching.  I'll also have the Sasuke 32 IndieGogo project up in a couple of days. Just ironing out a couple of things before I do.

Unofficial Sasuke Update Show #5 on Nico Nico!

I'm happy that the Update shows are going on at a timely basis!  Previous shows (February, January, December and October).  November was the big month where he and Ryo were building Sasuke Indonesia and produced 13 behind the scenes videos on Nico Nico. There was an announcement this week on their new Twitter account that the next one is approaching fast. The name of the Twitter handle is S ura channel (which means Sasuke back channel).

 

Online Streaming Service Nico Nico (placeholder - page will be available March 5)

Saturday, March 12, 2016 - 20:00 (8:00 PM - Japan) JST
   6:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

  3:00 AM (Pacific Standard Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

Additional Time conversion

  

For those who are curious.. what is Nico Nico?  This is the online streaming service that was used during the Sasuke 30 and 31 broadcasts that had commentary on the tournament while it was airing live in Japan. Over the past Sasuke 31 season, it was used often for community updates and additional content.   This particular channel is new as this is a channel started specifically by the Sasuke Director himself. I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating:  I need to reiterate something about the channel.  This is not an official channel for TBS.  This is his own personal channel and the views and impressions on this broadcast/channel are not the official views of TBS.  For those who are unaware, Mr. Inui was hired to direct Sasuke after the collapse and eventual bankruptcy of Monster 9.  He is now creative owner for the televised image of Sasuke and he serves not only as Executive Director but sole Editor of the televised show.  However, he is President of FolCom and considered to be an outside independent contractor hired by TBS.  Remember that while what he discusses about the composition of the show (which he controls), he does not serve as representative of TBS. TBS controls the license of the show and is the only one certified to announce any official plans.  He wanted to make sure everyone knew that up front and there are certain answer he is just unable to give since he has limited control of the show and cannot possibly speak for TBS in an official capacity. 

 Poster for the new Nico Nico Broadcast ©Sasuke Back Channel

New Poster is up!  The line-up for Broadcast #5 is smaller but has Director Inui at the helm as host along with 2 Sasuke Stars to answer fan questions now that Sasuke 32's Official Application is now live!  They expect a lot more questions now that it is official (and probably a lot of begging. LOL) so having a smaller cast may be advantageous to getting a lot of answers to those fan questions.

 

Host - Sasuke (Japan) Director Masato Inui 乾雅人 ©Masato Inui

 

Ryo Matachi (Cliffer #2) 又地諒 ©Ryo Matachi

  

Tomohiro Kawaguchi 川口朋広  ©Arsenette Reiter

The hope was for this informal channel is to provide a monthly update on the world of Sasuke from his perspective and provide an opportunity to engage the community live.  They seem to be doing more this time by not just keeping up with the Nico Nico live chat but also engaging the Twitter chatter and hinting in expanding to other platforms to interact with a larger audience..  They are actively working on the sound and video quality so it is their hope they aren't plagued by tech issues. He'll answer what he can so again, there are some topics he cannot formally address as it's either out of his hands, political or he just doesn't know the answer.

Final Stage Podcast Episode 10

Graphic for Episode 10

Thanks to William as always for adding synopsis graphic of the episode content each month on the Final Stage Podcast!  All of our previous podcasts are officially up on iTunes and on the hosting site of Podbean in addition to William's YouTube channel.  Please show your support sharing the podcast on your favorite social media and help get the word out of the podcast!  Like, share and subscribe on YouTube. Also, rate and/or write a review up on iTunes and I'll read the 5 stars on the next podcast! ♥

Kong and Luci Romberg
Episode 10 - Direct Link
  

Just a quick update to let you know that the 10th episode for the Final Stage Podcast with William and I is out! All of our previous podcasts are officially up on iTunes and on the hosting site of Podbean. The episode went live about a couple hours ago and this time the iTunes version updated earlier this morning! It is of course uploaded on Podbean at the same time it goes live on iTunes as it's the main hosting site.

Published on Feb 5, 2016

USA vs The World has finally aired! However, you probably didn't hear about from NBC. But, you may have heard about Team Ninja Warrior. Or maybe the National Ninja League? Perhaps you heard that England is getting new episodes of Ninja Warrior based on Sasuke Rising? And if you haven't heard of any of that, you can listen to our picks for Team Ninja Warrior Trios.

All of those other things are better than USA vs The World. But at least Arsenette like this year's ANW vs The World better than the previous ANW vs The World.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/final-stage-podcast/id1034176622?mt=2

Hosts:
William: https://twitter.com/2D2Will
http://www.twodashtwo.com/
http://www.twotwentytwoproductions.com/

Arsenette: https://twitter.com/Arsenette
http://ramblingrican.com/
https://www.youtube.com/Arsenette

Show notes:
0:23 Intro
5:05 William updates on his projects
10:11 Arsenette updates on her projects
13:11 UK TV network, Challenge will be airing new Ninja Warrior episodes based on Sasuke Rising
21:19 Recap of the latest Sasuke Nico Nico livestream
24:38 Team Ninja Warrior episodes 1-3 discussion
1:10:07 USA vs The World discussion
1:46:34 National Ninja League Finals preview

• Website: http://www.nationalninja.com/ 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/821066551353972/

1:52:41 Is USA vs The World a waste of time?

• The Mario Maker course William made: E58B-0000-01B5-E363

2:01:47 What do we think of Team Japan?
2:04:32 Who would we have sent to represent Team Japan?
2:08:53 What Team Ninja Warrior trios would we create?
2:21:34 Closing

• Congrats Fine Bros video

Music Credits:
"Pipeline Pursuit"
https://isaacwilkins.bandcamp.com/track/pipeline-pursuit
by: Isaac Wilkins
https://isaacwilkins.bandcamp.com/

Unofficial Sasuke Update Show #4 on Nico Nico!

Really quickly only a couple weeks after the previous one, there will be another Nico Nico show!  I think because the last one Sasuke Director Masato Inui was traveling in Europe and wasn't around to host. The first one was held back in October, 2015.  November was the big month where he and Ryo were building Sasuke Indonesia and produced 13 behind the scenes videos on Nico Nico.  December was the return of the first format with new people and this one seems to be a slightly different format.  January show of course was just last week.  There was an announcement this week on their new Twitter account that the next one is approaching fast. The name of the Twitter handle is S ura channel (which means Sasuke back channel).

 

Online Streaming Service Nico Nico

Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 20:00 (8:00 PM - Japan) JST
   6:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time) (WEDNESDAY Morning)

  3:00 AM (Pacific Standard Time) (WEDNESDAY Morning)

Additional Time conversion

  

For those who are curious.. what is Nico Nico?  This is the online streaming service that was used during the Sasuke 30 and 31 broadcasts that had commentary on the tournament while it was airing live in Japan. Over the past Sasuke 31 season, it was used often for community updates and additional content.   This particular channel is new as this is a channel started specifically by the Sasuke Director himself. I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating:  I need to reiterate something about the channel.  This is not an official channel for TBS.  This is his own personal channel and the views and impressions on this broadcast/channel are not the official views of TBS.  For those who are unaware, Mr. Inui was hired to direct Sasuke after the collapse and eventual bankruptcy of Monster 9.  He is now creative owner for the televised image of Sasuke and he serves not only as Executive Director but sole Editor of the televised show.  However, he is President of FolCom and considered to be an outside independent contractor hired by TBS.  Remember that while what he discusses about the composition of the show (which he controls), he does not serve as representative of TBS. TBS controls the license of the show and is the only one certified to announce any official plans.  He wanted to make sure everyone knew that up front and there are certain answer he is just unable to give since he has limited control of the show and cannot possibly speak for TBS in an official capacity. 

 Poster for the new Nico Nico Broadcast ©Sasuke Back Channel

They actually got  a poster up this time!  The line-up for Broadcast #4 marks the return of Inui as host.  The bigger surprise are the addition of 2 new people! (see above photo).  Inui announced that he will be doing an update on his Belgium and London trip.

Host - Sasuke (Japan) Director Masato Inui 乾雅人 ©Masato Inui

 

Sasuke All-star Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟  and New Generation Star Ryo Matachi (Cliffer #2) 又地諒 from the Sasuke 30 Nico Nico Broadcast

Sasuke Finalists!!  (Sasuke 17) Shunsuke Nagasaki 長崎峻侑,  (Sasuke 23) New Generation Star Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志  and (Sasuke 30) Tomohiro Kawaguchi 川口朋広 ©Hitoshi Kanno

I am VERY surprised to see Shunsuke Nagasaki! ♥  I'm looking forward to it!  Kanno returns from the Sasuke 30 and 31 broadcasts to debut on the back channel update show.  Tomo and Shingo return with Ryo who has been there since the beginning and handles a lot of the tech for the channel.

Sasuke Back Channel Twitter photo

The hope was for this informal channel is to provide a monthly update on the world of Sasuke from his perspective and provide an opportunity to engage the community live.  They seem to be doing more this time by not just keeping up with the Nico Nico live chat but also engaging the Twitter chatter.  They are actively working on the sound and video quality so it is their hope they aren't plagued by tech issues like the first couple were. 

 Contest winner ©2814Swamp

Last month they started giveaways tied to mini-games within the broadcast.  They announced that they will be doing more contests.  Sadly.. it is Japan only.  So far the biggest news coming out of these was from the very first one Nico Nico where the announcement of Sasuke 32 being green-lit.  We are very much in the off-season and are still waiting for plans to finalize for both Sasuke 32 and the Sasuke World Cup.  He'll answer what he can so again, there are some topics he cannot formally address as it's either out of his hands, political or he just doesn't know the answer.

Unofficial Sasuke Update Show #3 on Nico Nico!

I'm happy that they are keeping the schedule! A month after the last one, Sasuke Director Masato Inui returns to host the 3rd installment of what he calls the Unofficial Sasuke Update Show on Nico Nico.  Edit: He's traveling in Europe right now so we'll find out who will be hosting it. The first one was held back in October.  November was the big month where he and Ryo were building Sasuke Indonesia and produced 13 behind the scenes videos on Nico Nico.  Last month was the return of the first format with new people and this one seems to be a slightly different format.  They have also introduced a brand new Twitter account just for the broadcast to handle the questions incoming from twitter to be answered live during the Nico Nico broadcast.  The name of the Twitter handle is S ura channel (which means Sasuke back channel). Inui posted it on his twitter to confirm that it is indeed the case.  I assume they will also do more announcements there tied to the broadcast like they did when they announced it's creation.

Online Streaming Service Nico Nico

Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - 20:30 (8:30 PM - Japan) JST
  6:30 AM (Eastern Standard Time) (TUESDAY Morning)

3:30 AM (Pacific Standard Time) (TUESDAY Morning)

Additional Time conversion

For those who are curious.. what is Nico Nico?  This is the online streaming service that was used during the Sasuke 30 and 31 broadcasts that had commentary on the tournament while it was airing live in Japan. Over the past Sasuke 31 season, it was used often for community updates and additional content.   This particular channel is new as this is a channel started specifically by the Sasuke Director himself. I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating:  I need to reiterate something about the channel.  This is not an official channel for TBS.  This is his own personal channel and the views and impressions on this broadcast/channel are not the official views of TBS.  For those who are unaware, Mr. Inui was hired to direct Sasuke after the collapse and eventual bankruptcy of Monster 9.  He is now creative owner for the televised image of Sasuke and he serves not only as Executive Director but sole Editor of the televised show.  However, he is President of FolCom and considered to be an outside independent contractor hired by TBS.  Remember that while what he discusses about the composition of the show (which he controls), he does not serve as representative of TBS. TBS controls the license of the show and is the only one certified to announce any official plans.  He wanted to make sure everyone knew that up front and there are certain answer he is just unable to give since he has limited control of the show and cannot possibly speak for TBS in an official capacity. 

First Nico Nico Broadcast - October, 2015 ©Shingo Yamamoto

The line-up for Broadcast #3 is identical to the first one from back in October, 2015. (see above photo).

Sasuke All-star Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟  and New Generation Star Ryo Matachi (Cliffer #2) 又地諒 from the Sasuke 30 Nico Nico Broadcast
 

2-Time Grand Champion Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (Cliffer #3) (From Sasuke 31)

Masashi Hioki 日置 将士 from the Sasuke 31 Nico Nico Broadcast

The hope was for this informal channel is to provide a monthly update on the world of Sasuke from his perspective and provide an opportunity to engage the community live.  They seem to be doing more this time by adding not just keeping the Nico Nico live chat but also engaging the Twitter chatter.  They are actively working on the sound and video quality so it is their hope they aren't plagued by tech issues like the first couple were.

Sasuke Back Channel Twitter photo

Inui hopes to do this at a pace of about once a month in an informal setting.  So far the biggest news coming out of these was from the very first one Nico Nico where the announcement of Sasuke 32 being green-lit.  We are very much in the off-season and are still waiting for plans to finalize for both Sasuke 32 and the Sasuke World Cup.  He'll answer what he can so again, there are some topics he cannot formally address as it's either out of his hands, political or he just doesn't know the answer.

Final Stage Podcast Episode 9

Graphic for Episode 9

Thanks to William as always for adding synopsis graphic of the episode content each month on the Final Stage Podcast!  All of our previous podcasts are officially up on iTunes and on the hosting site of Podbean in addition to William's YouTube channel.  Please show your support by sharing the podcast on your favorite social media and help get the word out of the podcast!  Like, share and subscribe on YouTube. Also, rate and/or write a review up on iTunes and I'll read the 5 stars on the next podcast! ♥

Episode 9 - Direct link
 

Just a quick update to let you know that the 9th episode for the Final Stage Podcast with William and I is out! All of our previous podcasts are officially up on iTunes and on the hosting site of Podbean. The episode went live about a couple hours ago and this time the iTunes version updated earlier this morning! It is of course uploaded on Podbean at the same time it goes live on iTunes as it's the main hosting site.

Published on Jan 8, 2016

Happy new year, everybody! In honor of the new year, William and Arsenette discuss the new, upcoming show “Team Ninja Warrior”. Esquire secretly previewed the first episode and William watched the whole thing. Join us as William discusses the episode in depth with Arsenette. Did he like it? Well… (Reminder that this is a spoiler-free review)

Also, the duo talks about Inui’s latest livestream, the competitors representing USA, Japan, and Europe in USA vs the World, the ANW entry deadline, the National Ninja League, and how someone can get away with claiming a Canadian is from France.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/final-stage-podcast/id1034176622?mt=2

Hosts:
William: https://twitter.com/2D2Will
http://www.twodashtwo.com/
http://www.twotwentytwoproductions.com/

Arsenette: https://twitter.com/Arsenette
http://ramblingrican.com/
https://www.youtube.com/Arsenette

Show notes:
0:26 Intro
1:06 William discusses Christmas in NYC and watching Star Wars Episode VII
3:04 Arsenette discusses her new calendar! (and other Rambling Rican stuff)
13:35 Our New Year's Resolutions
17:53 Rundown of the latest Sasuke Nico Nico show by Masato Inui!
24:16 Reminder: ANW 8 application deadline is January 17
25:19 National Ninja League Finals to be held on February 27 & 28 at the Movement Lab
26:43 USA vs The World airing January 31. The three teams are publicly revealed!
43:08 Who are we looking forward to on USA vs The World?
59:54 Esquire previews Team Ninja Warrior by airing the first episode early. We have a spoiler-free discussion about the show. List of teams: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/esquires-team-ninja-warrior-pits-top-teams-january-19-preview/
1:44:02 Closing

Music Credits:
"Sands of Time"
https://isaacwilkins.bandcamp.com/track/sands-of-time-2
by: Isaac Wilkins
https://isaacwilkins.bandcamp.com/

Unofficial Sasuke Update Show #2 on Nico Nico!

After the busy month that the Sasuke Director Masato Inui had in November, Inui returns to host the 2nd installment of what he calls the Unofficial Sasuke Update Show on Nico Nico.  The first one was held back in October. This one has short notice as well as it's only a few days away.  Someone else posted the information on it with the link to the broadcast page and then finally Inui posted it on his twitter to confirm that it is indeed the case.

  

Online Streaming Service Nico Nico

Saturday, December 19, 2015 - 19:30 (7:30 PM - Japan) JST
  5:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

2:30 AM (Pacific Daylight Time) (SATURDAY Morning)

(Please note the time for Daylight Saving)

Additional Time conversion

 

For those who are curious.. what is Nico Nico?  This is the online streaming service that was used during the Sasuke 30 and 31 broadcasts that had commentary on the tournament while it was airing live in Japan. Over the past Sasuke 31 season, it was used often for community updates and additional content.   This particular channel is new as this is a channel started specifically by the Sasuke Director himself. I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating:  I need to reiterate something about the channel.  This is not an official channel for TBS.  This is his own personal channel and the views and impressions on this broadcast/channel are not the official views of TBS.  For those who are unaware, Mr. Inui was hired to direct Sasuke after the collapse and eventual bankruptcy of Monster 9.  He is now creative owner for the televised image of Sasuke and he serves not only as Executive Director but sole Editor of the televised show.  However, he is President of FolCom and considered to be an outside independent contractor hired by TBS.  Remember that while what he discusses about the composition of the show (which he controls), he does not serve as representative of TBS. TBS controls the license of the show and is the only one certified to announce any official plans.  He wanted to make sure everyone knew that up front and there are certain answer he is just unable to give since he has limited control of the show and cannot possibly speak for TBS in an official capacity.

 

Host - Sasuke (Japan) Director Masato Inui 乾雅人 ©Masato Inui

 

Kenji Takahashi 高橋賢次 - KONG EXPRESS ©Kenji Takahashi

 

Ryo Matachi (Cliffer #2) 又地諒 ©Ryo Matachi

Tomohiro Kawaguchi 川口朋広  ©Arsenette Reiter

 

Shinya Kishimoto 岸本真弥  ©Arsenette Reiter

 

The hope was for this informal channel is to provide a monthly update on the world of Sasuke from his perspective and provide an opportunity to engage the community live.  Given the format of the first show, he will be talking to Sasuke stars and answer questions from the live chat in real time. He hopes to do this at a pace of about once a month in an informal setting.  While Inui couldn't do one in November, he more than made it up with a dozen Nico Nico videos from Indonesia.  The biggest news coming out of the last Nico Nico was the announcement of Sasuke 32 being green-lit.

 

First Nico Nico Broadcast - October, 2015 ©Shingo Yamamoto

 

I'm really excited as we've been trying to find ways to get Sasuke back into the lexicon of the Japanese youth growing up in an age where television consumption is at an all-time low.  We believe that further development of social media will help get Sasuke back out of the slump it is now.  I'm really excited that this broadcast will be monthly so we can keep talking about Sasuke even during the off-season.  I honestly believe that this will only help the situation.  I'll be blogging about the broadcast each month and hope to hopefully provide an English translated update of the topics discussed in a timely manner.  The last time the quality of the video/audio was low and it was difficult to get additional translations of what was said.  Most was obstacle talk and some stories from Sasuke's past. There were also technical problems as it was their first unofficial and first one they ran on their own without help.  It will take me some time to get all of the content translated so I ask everyone for patience for the blog after the broadcast. Again, there are some topics he cannot formally address as it's either out of his hands, political or he just doesn't know the answer.