Juri would totally clean up on the Kunoichi course.

As for the rest, I don't think any character in the series has the necessary upper body strength to make it through the second round of the Sasuke, male or female.  Utena would also do quite well on the Kunoichi course, but I doubt she'd actually do it--she'd want to stick with Sasuke.

Juri would completely own Kunoichi, I agree Cerise. I also think Utena would do well at it.

I think Saionji or Touga might have a shot at Sasuke. Stage 3 would give both of them trouble, but most skilled swordsmen have very strong hands and forearms from what I understand. One of them might manage to get through it.

Since only 2 men have ever made it past Stage 4, I don't give them too much hope getting up the tower.

Cerise wrote:

Since only 2 men have ever made it past Stage 4

Nagano Makoto is my hero.    I remember watching him on Viking when he almost completed that particularly course (he's still the only person to have ever made it that far), and when I saw him on Sasuke, I immediately zeroed in on him as my favorite.

I don't know, I still don't think any of the guys of SKU really have the arm strength.  They may be skilled with the sword, but we don't really see them doing anything to build up more strength than what is needed to swordfight, and Sasuke requires a heck of a lot more than that in my opinion.  I can't see Touga really taking the time to added to his strength just for something like this.  Saionji might, just to best Touga, but I could see him getting too focused and messing up in the first stage because his mind is on the overall goal rather than the obstacle directly in front of him.

He is awesome, isn't he? I'm still sad Yamada (Sasuke-san) has faired so poorly of late. I'm still hoping that Yakamoto Shingo can pull out one last great run too, and I'd spontaneously combust if Mizuno Yuko could win Kunoichi just ONCE after missing total victory by a fraction of a second back in Season 3.

I'm still trying to figure out why the American announce went from pronouncing Komiya Rie's name fairly correctly (at least I think they did the first time I watched...) to calling her Rye.  At first I thought maybe she herself had decided to switch to a "cool" pronunciation, but I'm pretty sure the Japanese announcer still calls her Rie.  Weird.  Otherwise, I think they do a commendable job with pronunciations.  Sure, it's not perfect, but it's better than totally hacking it, like is usually the case.  I'm almost glad that Asagoe Shinobu (tennis player) retired, because I was tired of hearing what they'd come up with next in the list of mispronunciations of Asagoe.

I'd love to see Shingo make another really good run.  I don't care so much for Mizuno though.  I know she's made it to the final before and nearly got it, but most of the episodes I've seen she's usually screwed up in the first stage (I've seen I believe tournament 4 through 7, although maybe I caught part of 3...)  I'm more intrigued by Rie for some reason.  I'm also amused by Maho (can't remember the rest of her name), who in 7 looked completely stoned on the Domino section.  She looked like a lost puppy with Miyake Ayako there with her.  A stoned, lost puppy.

Ashnod wrote:

Asagoe Shinobu retired????

Awwwww.

At least I still have Sugiyama Ai for a bit longer.

I'm pretty sure Asagoe retired very quietly towards the end of the 2007 season.  Sugiyama's getting up there, but even if she stops playing singles, I doubt she'll drop doubles anytime soon.  Plus, there are up-and-comers.  And there's finally a man worth watching.  Nishikori Kei's been talked about a lot, much to my amusement.  After all, I was saying the same things in my blog last July that the professional writers are saying now. ^_-

Last edited by Cerise (03-12-2008 12:48:44 PM)

BioKraze wrote:

I still can't believe Miyake wiped out on stage two of the 7th Tournament. That was just heartbreaking.

not as heartbreaking as Mizuno in stage 1.

BioKraze wrote:

Mizuno's wipeout in Stage 1 was a ton and a half of suck, yes (as was Rena Higashi's faceplant on the Hop Rocket MK-II), but Miyake's the one who beat Kunoichi three times in a row. For her to wipe out so early, it's heartbreaking to me.

Same here.  I haven't seen the earlier episodes, so I've never really seen Mizuno do well (except for in little summaries that show her almost at the top of Midoriyama.)  For me, she's a sort of never-was, and I don't really pay attention to her.  On the other hand, it was just shocking to see Miyake go out, and of course how lost Maho looked when she moved onto the next stage alone.  Poor girl just looked lonely out there on Domino Hill.

I don't really have a favorite in the women's tournament like I do the men's, but I do enjoy recognizing people, such as the mother-daughter pair.  Familiarity makes me cheer a little louder. ^_-

In Kunoichi, I go for Miyake and Rena Higashi (the daughter of the mother-daughter team). As far as Sasuke goes, I go for Nagano, Takeda, Yamamoto...really, all of the All-Stars, to be honest.

Shame that Akiyama retired because of his degenerative eye disease. But it's unlikely that he'd ever be able to pull off total victory a second time, not with him being blinder than a bat at night...

BioKraze wrote:

Who else saw the first Sasuke tournament special on G4 today?

Paradox and I did!  But of course!

I thought it was neat.  It was a little bit closer to a long Ultimate Banzuke than what we're used to for Sasuke, at least during the first couple of rounds.  I still loved it, because I always love Sasuke, but I'm even more looking forward to the upcoming tournament.  They've started advertising for American Ninja Challenge 3.  They should totally do one for Kunoichi someday.  I'd be willing to buy a camcorder to try and audition for that.

They're really already doing advertisements for the 3rd American Ninja Challenge. Damn, they're going through these tournaments very quickly. Two a year I guess is more than I figured. Anyways, should be good if the guy from last time gets on there. The only disappointment was Nagano wiping out so early.       
As for a female ninja challenge. I'm all for it, and will get started on the petitions right away.

Posting the results of Sasuke Tournament 21!

The American kid who whipped the demons of Midoriyama on the second stage where Nagano failed, Levi Meeuwenberg, made his second appearance. But the tables were turned this time around. Levi failed, while Nagano went far enough to almost defeat Stage Three. We now know that the newest, most devious incarnation yet of the Cliff Hanger can indeed be defeated (both Takeda and Nagano did it!) and the Jumping Bars' complementary obstacle, the Bridge of Destiny, has been replaced by the Ascending Climb. After that is the insidious Spider Flip, a mix of Spider Wall and Body Prop, and the final obstacle is no longer the infamous Pipe Slider, but instead the new Gliding Ring. Nagano made it to the end of the Gliding Ring before he took a swim. I was kinda hoping he'd make it through to the Final Stage and claim total victory once again...

On a more amusing note, the hosts of Attack of the Show! (Kevin Perera and Olivia Munn) both tried their hand at Sasuke, with Kevin making it to the Log Grip before failing. Olivia couldn't even pass the Sextuple Step. So much for them, I guess. They'd better stick to microphones and teleprompters.

Mylene wrote:

As soon as I saw the Spider Flip, I knew Nagano would do it easily.  It's a much easier version of an obstacle from the show Viking, which he also competed on.

I was really impressed by Luci.  Being able to do the Spider Jump at her height is amazing, shame she lost her concentration, because I think the rest of the course would have been an absolute cinch for her as a stuntwoman and gymnast.  Now granted, I don't think she'd do all that well after that point, but still. She definitely proved that the Spider Jump isn't impossible for the short.  That surprised me completely.

is this still on G4? I haven't seen it on that channel in a while.