A New Years tradition is sort of back!
As those who have been following this blog from way back, you will remember that before M9's collapse, there would be a New Year version of Sportsman No. 1. The New Year show was the Pro version where the latest winner of the Geinojin version participated. The rebooted version of Sportsman, Sports Danshi is now having their first ever New Years version where some Sports Danshi regulars take on pro athletes. Here we go!
1st Event
Power Force
1st Round
1st Pair
Mandy Sekiguchi (EXILE) vs Tatsunori Tsujimoto (Boys and Men)
Whoops, while I was looking up Tsujimoto's name, Sekiguchi destroyed him.
Looks like this event is only between the geinojin guys.
Mandy is the "Power Monster"
2nd Pair
Darvish Kenji (Golden Bomber) vs Wataru Mori (actor)
Mori's wife is in attendance of course.
This seems a little easier than the traditional Power Force. Or the rope is longer. This is just me complaining that Darvish beat Mori easily.
3rd Pair
Toshiaki Kasuga (Audrey) vs Yuuki Nomura (son of Masaaki Nomura)
This one is a little more even and more like the Power Force of old. Love the overhead shot. Nomura just holding on. Kasuga making more forward movement but you sacrifice footing when you move forward. Kasuga has got it!
4th Pair
Gaku Sano (actor) vs Taishin Hirano (Magic Prince)
Gaku with less wild hair this time. Both are not heavyweights so this is an interesting battle. Sano tries to move forward and (like I said) loses his footing and Hirano with a sort of upset! Sano lost his balance trying to make his move.
2nd Round
1st Pair
Sekiguchi vs Hirano
What do you think is going to happen? Sekiguchi in a walk. I think what's missing is the guys who get whiplashed when the other guy just destroys them making their move.
2nd Pair
Darvish vs Kasuga
More even here. But CMs first.
Back.
And Darvish in a quick one!
Final
Darvish vs Sekiguchi
And Mandy with no problem!
Winner: Mandy Sekiguchi!
2nd Event
Hard Jumper
2 groups into one for the win. This is a stamina event.
Group One: Kasuga, Sekiguchi, Mori, Tsujimoto
Tsujimoto is our first to THSOFEP. Everyone else follows.
Just two have to falter for the other two to move on. Sekiguchi and Mori have the advantage as they are vets to the show. Kasuga looks to be the first in trouble. And he's the first out! He did reach a hundred though.Can Tsujimoto hang with the two former Spodan champs? Tsujimoto is barely getting his feet over but still going. Almost approaching 200 here. Woof. The announcer keeps pointing out that Mandy's heavier weight works against him. And he's out! And there goes Mori! So Tsujimoto is the winner!
Group Two: Darvish, Sano, Nomura, Hirano
Everyone has already THSOFEP. Hirano screwed up last time and knocked himself out by getting the rhythm wrong so we have no idea how long he can he do this. And Darvish is the first out! And there goes Nomura! And Hirano after that! So Sano is the winner!
So now it's Tsujimoto, Sano, Mori and Sekiguchi. The hurdles will come at a faster rate this time around.
And Mandy is already out! Did he get the timing wrong? Tsujimoto doesn't quite have it either. But it's Mori who goes out first! Tsujimoto doesn't have the conservation of movement Sano has at the moment. And that's it!
Winner: Gaku Sano!
3rd Event
Power Wall
1st Pair
Sekiguchi vs Hirano
Hirano THSOFEP not like it's going to help. Sekiguchi in a walk.
2nd Pair
Sano vs Kasuga
Kasuga is quite proud of himself as he beats Sano.
3rd Pair
Darvish vs Tsujimoto
And Darvish in yet another uneven matchup.
4th Pair
Mori vs Nomura
Wataru is not having his best competition so far.
Nomura with the early lead. Is Mori holding off the inevitable? Yes! Nomura finally gets that last push!
2nd Round
Sekiguchi vs Kasuga
Kasuga has constant smirk on his face that makes me want him to lose. CMs.
The Power Monster moves on!
Darvish vs Nomura
Nomura has a slight height advantage. Darvish with the early lead! But here comes Nomura! Darvish doesn't have all that great form. And that's it! Nomura moves on!
Power Wall Final
Sekiguchi vs Nomura
Sekiguchi with the early lead! (Nomura's dad was very stoic). And Nomura is storming back! Masaka! Has the Power Monster met his match? But now Mandy back in the lead! Still going back and forth. Nomura with a slight lead. May come down to stamina. And now Sekiguchi is making his push! But Nomura won't give up! Nomura is taller but Mandy is heavier. Can Sekiguchi make that final push? Yes! He's our winner!
Final Event
Shotgun Touch
Sekiguchi, Darvish, Kasuga and Sano.
Sekiguchi at 11m50cm to keep his lead, Miss and he's done. No problem!
Darvish at 12mXXcm. Did he get it? The warning lamp is on. It's close! The overhead doesn't clear it up. And no! The super slow-mo shows he missed and he's out! Whatever. He's quite sad and sheds tears. If this were a full show I doubt he'd reach the final.
Kasuga at 12m30cm. Again, miss and he's out. Not even close! 12m and over is a big challenge. Kasuga didn't have the speed to do it. Again, not a big deal. Add in the Fence-type events and a Monster Box and it'd be guys like Nomura or Mori instead of Kasgua and Darvish.
Whoops. Missed Sano's distance. Probably 12m plus. But the vet does it with no problem!
Sekiguchi to do 12m to stay on top. CMs first.
Back. And he gets it! With the back of his hand too. Nice timing!
12m80cm for Sano. Miss and it's Sekiguchi's. NO! Or at least it doesn't look like it. He looks like he didn't he make it. NO! His slide was off! In addition he wasn't going to make it. And that's it!
Winner and Champion: Mandy Sekiguchi!
Monster Box
Since 1996, 700 have tried! The "world" record hasn't been reached since 2006.
Tonight we have the three kings of the geinojin Monster Box, Mori, Sano and Hirano taking on two Oympic medalists, Oleg Vernyayev and Denis Ablayzin.
We go straight to 17 boxes. Vernyayev, Sano and Mori with no problem. Ablayzin is making his first appearance so let's intro him a bit. He's a vault medalist is known in Japan since he beat out one of the Japanese gymnasts at Rio at the vault. Vernyayev is Kohei Uchimura's rival in a sense.
Up to 18 boxes. No fooling around here. Everyone clears.
19 boxes. Whoops. Vernyayev's body was sort of out of control there but he's clear!
No one has THSOFEP yet. Sano is through! Mori has to do the ol' watch your butt but he's through!
If either of the Olympian's THSOFEP I'll die.
Whoops! Ablayzin DOES catch his butt for our first fail tonight.
Hirano is through and now Ablayzin has the pressure of being the first one out! But CMs first.
Back.
And then he does it with space to spare!
20 boxes
Vernyayev, Mori and Sano all fail on their first try! As does Ablayzin! His back just catches it.
Will Hirano be the first to clear 20? Yes! And that puts pressure on everyone else.
2nd try for everyone except Hirano.
Vernyayev first. NO! That's it for him. He didn't have the height on his jump
Sano THSOFEP. Oof. His left leg catches and he's out too!
Mori THSOFEP (that may be where Vernyayev went wrong). It was close but he got his leg over and he's through!
Wifey is wearing something different so this must have been filmed a different day.
Ablayzin THSOFEP! Awesome.
And he catches his foot! He's out!
21 boxes
It's down to Mori and Hirano. Hirano's goal is to go for the record and so far he's been perfect. And he's through!
Mori gets a quick digest because he's out!
Hirano is our winner! So! He goes straight to 23. Can he join Iketani and others?
He THSOFEP because this is the moment to do it. Let's CM before we know if he did it though.
Back.
NO! His jump wasn't high enough. He still has one more change though. Whoa! Hey, there's Naoki Iketani. Ablayzin also gives some advice.
Last try for Hirano. Can he do it?
YES! YES! YES! Hirano does 23 boxes!
And he'll go for 24. Can there be a new record after 20 years?
NO! He might have put his hands up too early.
One more try.
Good lord that thing is tall.
CMs first.
Hmmm..I wonder if the goal of this show is to "break" as many records as possible to sort of move past the Sportsman No. 1 era?
Back. Hirano's 2nd try at 24.
NO! He doesn't get it but he joins Naoki Iketani, Morgan Ham, Hisashi Mizutori and Yeo Hong Chul as the record holder at 23.
Shotgun Touch Challenge
The record is 13m60cm by Norichika Aoki (the geinojin record is 13m10cm by Kane Kosugi).
Makino Tomoaki, a soccer player is up first. He starts at 12m.
Former baseball player Takahiro Suzuki also gets 12m!
Sano is confident! It's all one and done tonight. Sano almost catches the ball! He's clear!
Nomura is up next. And he's through too!
Kensuke Nagai, another soccer player is up.
Up to 12m40cm.
Makino up first. Warning lamp is on. But he's got it!
Nomura THSOFEP and it works!
And Suzuki is through! And Sano finally catches the ball to intimidate the pros.
12m60cm
Makino is the first pro to THSOFEP. But it doesn't work! The super slow-mo shows him just missing.
Suzuki's goal is to at least beat a guy from Hanshin who did 12m50cm which he will do if he makes it here. He's got it! Or maybe not. Whoa. He JUST got it.
Sano and Nagai are through but Nomura is done.
It's down to the soccer guy, the baseball guy and the...spodan guy.
12m80cm
Still not as good as Kane.
Suzuki is first up. CMs.
Shingi time! Hard to say. But the super slo-mo doesn't lie. He's done!
Sano THSOFEP. Here he goes. YES! With time to spare! He puts the pressure on Nagai! That's a new Spodan record.
No pressure at all for Nagai who was barely into his dive by the time he reached the ball.
13m next.
Sano up first. NO! He mistimed his dive it looks like.
Can Nagai keep it going?
Yes! Or not. Warning lamp. But he got it!
At the very least, Nagai is our winner!
But he's not done yet! He'll take a shot at the record of 13m60cm. That's a big jump though, so he THSOFEP.
CMs first though.
YES! He ties the "world" record of 13m60cm set by baseball player Norichika Aoki over eleven years ago!
Special Power Wall Challenge
1st Pair
Nomura vs Masato
Wow! Nomura overpowers Masato for the quick win!
2nd Pair
Ryo Tateishi (Olympic swimming medalist) vs Kasuga
In a struggle, Kasuga beats Tateishi! It wasn't long but Kasuga had to work for it.
3rd Pair
Sekiguchi vs Hideo Tokoro (MMA fighter)
So far the Spodan boys have taken it to the pro athletes. Can Mandy keep it up? CMs first though.
Back. And he does! Wow!
4th Pair
Nomura vs Kenya Yasuda (Water Polo/actor)
Another walkover!
And...I guess that's it! That was sort of ending with a whimper instead of a bang. They had two record tyings but decided to end with a bunch of overmatched athletes.
Still, the Spodan boys showed that they can hang!
Storify version: https://storify.com/lostinube/sports-danshi-new-year-s-special#publicize
Showing posts with label Gaku Sano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaku Sano. Show all posts
Sunday, January 01, 2017
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Sports Danshi Grand Prix! A not really live at all liveblog! 究極の男は誰だ！？最強スポーツ男子頂上決戦
Well, it's been a while so let's just get to it without getting too bogged down in the details as to whether or not this is related to SASUKE Rising (doesn't look like it) or if this is a TBS reboot of Sportsman No. 1 without all that icky Monster 9 stuff getting in the way (probably).
Anyway, this is a Geinojin Sportsman-like competition featuring members of EXILE, DA PUMP and probably other people in music groups that use all caps. Not familiar with most of the names so bear with me...
A new history! Screw you Higuchi!
Hey, remember how Sportsman used to give you the giant finger erupting out of the ground? This is the opposite of that.
Men in tight shirts. Arms crossed. This looks like som...OK. I'll stop.
That giant head thing in the background better do something interesting sometime during the night.
You get a Toyota Auris! You get...wait, only the winner gets a Toyota Auris.
So the host Alisa Mizuki is there to do what? They've also populated the audience with your typical Japanese variety show audience - young women who know how to cheer and coo and whatnot on cue.
Just to help you, here is a video that will do a better job of explaining the events than I will:
1st Event! Mountain Flag! You use a rope to go up a 10 meter long incline and try to be the first to grab the flag at the top.
1st Race: KENCHI (EXILE), Kwang Soo (K-pop guy), KENTA (Yu Darvish's younger brother), Seiya (acrobat actor).
Damn, everyone gets some background theme but I can't make out the songs clearly.
Set...GO! Kwang Soo in the lead...he gets it easily! The guys sitting are impressed.
OK, there are two parts to the incline. The first part is just running up and then you need the rope for the rest.
2nd Race: KEIJI (EXILE), Shintaro Yamada (former soccer player), Tomoya Warabino (actor) (who has the Eye of the Tiger, BTW), Gaku Sano (another former soccer player)
OK. Set...GO! Everyone up fast. KEJI..Sano! Sano gets it. Yamada got out of the blocks slow. Warabino didn't do well during the climbing portion.
3rd Race: TETSUYA (EXILE) (0 for 2 so far), KENZO (DA PUMP), Shinya Taniuchi (Lead) (band name not capitalized), Wataru Mori (HEY, I KNOW HIM FROM SASUKE)
GO! But first, a commercial.
Back.
Set...GO! All fast up...Mori..Mori MORI! Just gets it from KENZO! Ah, I see. You can grab the rope whenever you want.
Slow mo shows that Mori was just an arms length ahead.
4th Race: Akiyoshi Nakao (He was in SASUKE too), JUNO (guy), Taishi Nakagawa (14), Yukihiro Takiguchi (actor)
Set...drama building...GO! JUNO in the lead. But no! He falters at the top and EVERYONE gets to the top at the same time. But it's Takiguchi who comes up with the flag. Nakao faltered near the top too. Nakagawa at the bottom. Takiguchi won basically by running the most consistent race.
EXILE guys are 0 - 3. The narrative of the night!
Now on to the final. Can Mori's triathlon background help him (I don't know why - I'm just biased towards him).
Final Race: Kwang Soo, Gaku Sano, Wataru Mori, Yukihiro Takiguchi
I wish they timed the races. Get all sabremetricky.
Here we go...START! GO! Sano RACES up. In the lead...all the way! And your first event winner is Gaku Sano.
Sano gets a 100 points for winning. The other finalists 60. The others get 30 for showing up.
2nd Event. Hammer Crush. Some 007 music explains that a carnival game is now a part of a Japanese variety show. Hit the board hard enough with the hammer to make the ball reach the required height.
1st height: 5 meters. KENCHI of EXILE up first. No problem! You have to make it go through the paper I guess. That must be very time consuming to change and boring for the live studio audience. Sano gets it.
KENZO, KENTA and Nakao all clear.
14 year old Nakagawa next. He doesn't break the paper! Ooohh..there is a accuracy part to it, too. Kwang Soo...Misses too!
And they are the only two out.
2nd height: 6 meters 50 centimeters. Yamada blows it! And so do five others. Figure it out later folks.
3rd height: 7 meters. KENCHI up. AND THE SHIRT IS OFF. THOR! And he does it!
KEIJI up next. NO! Bad hit man, bad hit.
TETSUYA...Yes!
KENZO next. With authority! It actually shot past the structure
Akiyoshi Nakao is neither single-named nor capitalized. The paper doesn't break..Or does it? It wasn't a clean hit. He's done.
Our final is Seiya and he cleared. Good for him!
4th height: 7 meters 40 centimeters. Four contestants left. The ladies are there to ogle the guys. Good for them!
KENCHI first. THE SHIRT IS OFF AGAIN. GET ME MAH SMELLING SALTS. LORD HAVE MERCY!
He blows it.
Bad hit as the ball doesn't go straight.
TETSUYA is next.Set. NO! Just goes to the side at the end! Not a clean enough hit. The ball JUST missed.
KENZO next.He means business. Set. THOR! NO! Perhaps they should consider giving them more than one chance.
Seiya is our only hope. If he makes it, is he the WORLD HAMMER CRUSH CHAMPION? Is h..CALL THE GUINNESS BOYS! He does it!
Seiya is now second because he sucked at Mountain Flag. Sano is still at the top. Mori is third. Various capitalized names are after.
3rd event: Monster Box!
1st (shown) height: 1m86cm 11 boxes. KENCHI clears and then some commercials because sure, why not?
Back. KEIJI next. No problem. Who will be our first show-off, by the way? TETSUYA. Barely clears. Bad form. Oh wait. He didn't clear.
AND Wataru Mori is our first flipper! Cool beans. Our lady host is impressed.
Shintaro Yamada is through. As far as I know, no one tonight has ever been on Sportsman. Sano also flips the flip of youth. No one has shown truly good form yet, i.e. no former gymnasts yet.
12 boxes now (1m96cm). KEIJI mounts the box in a bad way and he is out. Now, who will be our first run right into the box guy?
JUNO's first show jump. No problem. I'm wondering if Kwang Soo (WHO GOES SHIRTLESS) has the right form to go far? Not really. It's only 12 boxes man, chill out. Naoki Iketani can do this while eating a bowl of cereal.
Akiyoshi Nakao next. Slow run up...but it is just enough! Nakagawa up again. And he's our run into the box guy! He hit the trampoline too late.
13 boxes (2m6cm or a small truck). KENCHI first. Yes! KENZO next. Barely! Oh wait. No! Hes out.
Kwang Soo next. He has chalky handprints on his nippular area. And he hits the box. Nakao next. Will he do it? YES!
14 boxes (2m16cm). Wataru Mori up first. He has the best form so far. And he clears! We see Takiguchi for the first time here. Yes! Not pretty but it worked. JUNO barely! Warabino...Yes! Taniuchi...JUST clears!
Nakao again. NO! He's done. As is Yamada. Here is KENTA. Who looks older than his brother. Yes! His butt just gets through.
Sano is still in the lead but if he falters here someone could overtake him. Yes! With room to spare.
15 boxes (2m26cm or a phone booth). KENCHI will try to make a call. Here he goes. YES! They might as well just call the show EXILE Presents Sports Danshi Grand Prix.
Mori passes. Juno..sorry, JUNO up next. That awkward run somehow gets it done. His groin just cleared! Warabino does the Monster Box shuffle and fails. KENTA'S butt doesn't clear this time.
Sano is going for it. Here he goes. YES!
Seiya is in second. And he keeps pace with Sano!
16 boxes (2m36cm). Seven are left. KENCHI up. Yes! He had to angle himself at the end but he did it!
Wataru Mori up next. He passed last time. More than enough! Someone watched Sportsman growing up.
Sano to keep his lead. Yes! Can Seiya keep up? If not, Mori will pass him. Slo-mo says yes!
Takiguchi and JUNO both clear! And Taniuchi! That's everyone!
17 boxes (2m46cm). And let's hit a commercial as KENCHI hits the trampoline. They are really relying on the old M9 style music cues by the way.
Back. And KENCHI hits the box! He has another chance though.
Wataru Mori up next. He's in third. He gets it!
Takiguchi and JUNO AND Sano fail their first try.
17 boxes second try. Do or die time. KENCHI...the last hope of EXILE...IS OUT! Couldn't get the height.
Takiguchi...doesn't have it either. JUNO...is done. Taniuchi..NO!
Sano needs to keep going to keep his lead. SO THE SHIRT IS OFF. Eh, I'll wait until someone rips off their pants.
Here he goes...NO! He is in tears. You're not done yet though!
Seiya...if he doesn't do it here Wataru is the wi...He does it! Just barely but he does it!
18 boxes (2m56cm). Only two are left! Mori! Seiya!
Wataru up first. AND THE SHIRT IS OFF. Here he goes..YES! NO! And he knows it. Ah..the old butt grazes the platform.
Seiya next. NO! I'd think an acrobat wouldn't be doing the old shuffle step but he did.
18 boxes second try.
Mori was the closer of the two on the first try. YES!
The pressure is on Seiya now. Whoever is the winner will be in the driver's seat. CMs first though.
Seiya's shirt is off too. Here he goes...NO!
Wataru Mori is your Monster Box number 1 with 18 boxes!
The bottom six are out so say good night to Nakagawa, Kwang Soo, Yamada, KENTA, Warabino and KEIJI.
Sano did well enough to hold his lead but now Mori and Seiya are only twenty points behind him.
4th event - Power Wall. This will be in tournament form. Sano and Mori get byes to the 2nd round.
1st match: Nakao versus TETSUYA. FIGHT! 90 seconds to see who moved the wall the most. Nakao in control. 30 seconds left. TETSUAY is still fighting though. Back at a stand-still with 10 seconds. Back and forth. And TETSUYA takes it! Nakao lost his balance and that gave TETSUYA his chance.
2nd match: JUNO versus Taniuchi. FIGHT! No one in control yet. JUNO has the look of someone who has to exercise or else his body will just balloon up. He's in control now. Thirty seconds. Last ten. JUNO in the lead. And he's the winner!
3rd match: KENCHI versus Takiguchi. Takiguchi (who was losing anyway) slips and loses.
4th match: Seiya verus KENZO. Seiya took the Hammer Crush so he has power. But was KENZO just unlucky then? Or is he really the stronger of the two? Um...Yeah. He is. A walkover.
1st Quarterfinal: Sano versus TETSUYA. FIGHT! CMs!
Back. Sano in early control. At a standstill but Sano has the lead. And back to the middle! TETSUYA in control now. But Sano hasn't given up yet. Fifteen seconds but it looks impossible for Sano. And TETSUYA takes it.
2nd Quarterfinal: JUNO versus Wataru Mori. JUNO takes it, setting up an all caps semifinals. It's just not an event for the smaller guys. Can't be helped.
1st Semifinal - KENCHI versus TETSUYA. EXILE collides! And the shirts are off! CMs.
Back and KENCHI is in the lead early. TETSUYA looks like he is in trouble. But he fights back bit by bit. Halfway point. KENCHI has a slight weight advantage. Under thirty seconds. Ten seconds. Too late for TETSUYA! KENCHI is into the finals!
2nd Semifinal - JUNO versus KENZO. FIGHT! Whoa. KENZO takes a big early lead. JUNO is losing it. KENZO just can't put him away yet. JUNO coming back bit by bit. Ten seconds. KENZO just holds on for the win!
Final - KENCHI versus KENZO. FIGHT! Standstill but now KENZO takes a slight lead. KENCHI is struggling. KENZO is almost there. Halfway over. Last thirty seconds and unless KENZO loses his balance KENCHI is done. AND KENZO GETS HIM OVER THE LINE!
Winner - KENZO
After four events the bottom four are dropped so say goodbye to Nakao, Taniuchi, Takiguchi and TETSUYA.
KENCHI is in the lead with 280, KENZO and Sano are next with 240 apiece and Mori, JUNO and Seiya at third with 220.
Final Event: Shotgun Touch.
JUNO is out because he got hurt. So we are down to five.
You have three tries and well, since I'm not doing this live, I'll break down the scores they show on the screen:
10m50cm is the minimum. You get 5 points for that. It increases by intervals of three for every extra 10 centimeters so at the other end of the scale, you get 80 points for making a 13 meter attempt.
1st Try
Remember, timing is important at the beginning and at the end. Not hitting the button is the cardinal sin of the Shotgun Touch.
Seiya up first. He goes for 11m70cm for 41 points. He gets it! He's now in second.
Wataru Mori next. He goes for 11m10cm for 23 points. But he misses!
Gaku Sano goes for 12m for 50 points It would give him the lead. Did he do it? YES! He's in the lead now.
KENZO goes for 11m20cm. He's playing it safe for 26 points. Yes! And he did it easily. He's in third now.
KENCHI is still in 2nd but it's his first try. He is going for 11m50cm for 35 points to put this away early. Not sure if that is a good idea. Here he goes. NO! He just misses it. Now the pressure is on Sano to maintain his lead.
Aw yeah, Shotgun Touch math.
Wataru Mori goes for a safe 11m and picks up 20 points.
Seiya tries to hit a home run with 12m40cm, the longest attempt of the night, and comes up a hand short.
KENZO still has a chance for the win. He is going for 11m30cm for 29 points. That would give him a five point lead.
Set. Yes! He is now in first.
Sano should go for a mid 11 or so. No sense going deep just yet.
KENCHI is going for 11m50cm. Same as before. I still don't know about that. Here he goes. Set.
And he misses the button! Not the prettiest way to lose.
Sano up next. He's going for 12m again. I think he should go just a bit shorter since he knows he can do this and doesn't NEED 50 points since KENZO hasn't shown that he is going to go super deep.
Here he goes. He has the speed...but no! Just misses.
KENZO in the lead going into the last attempt.
ARE YOU STUPID SANO? He wants to go 12 again. KENZO is thinking 11m50cm. Sano wants to put pressure on KENZO.
Wataru Mori gets 11m10cm for 23 more points which points him ahead of Seiya by two points.
Seiya is going for 12m30cm for 59 points to put himself into the lead. A big gamble. But no! That means Wataru Mori finishes 4th and Seiya 5th.
KENCHI up next. He's going for 11m50c for 35 points. Shotgun Touch has always been a matter of pride - you don't want to go too small even if you are in the lead because it looks unseemly.
This would give him the lead.
NO!
It's down to Sano and KENZO now.
Sano first. He's going for 12m. If he makes it will put major pressure on KENZO.
THE SHIRT IS OFF!
Here he goes...after a word from our sponsors.
Doesn't look like he's going to make it though.
Back.
Whoa! Did he do it? YES! Whoa.
KENZO has to go for 11m90cm to win it. And he will. Oh he will.
Sano in the awkward position of having to wish for someone else to fail in order to win.
CMs.
Here he goes.
Set. NO! Not even close. It just wasn't in his range.
And Gaku Sano is your inaugural Sports Danshi Champion!
And he gets a Toyota Auris!
Well, it was pretty much Sportsman No. 1 with a few tweaks (the live audience, the host who didn't really add anything to the live event). Time will tell if the re-branding will help keep it around.
Anyway, this is a Geinojin Sportsman-like competition featuring members of EXILE, DA PUMP and probably other people in music groups that use all caps. Not familiar with most of the names so bear with me...
A new history! Screw you Higuchi!
Hey, remember how Sportsman used to give you the giant finger erupting out of the ground? This is the opposite of that.
Men in tight shirts. Arms crossed. This looks like som...OK. I'll stop.
That giant head thing in the background better do something interesting sometime during the night.
You get a Toyota Auris! You get...wait, only the winner gets a Toyota Auris.
So the host Alisa Mizuki is there to do what? They've also populated the audience with your typical Japanese variety show audience - young women who know how to cheer and coo and whatnot on cue.
Just to help you, here is a video that will do a better job of explaining the events than I will:
1st Event! Mountain Flag! You use a rope to go up a 10 meter long incline and try to be the first to grab the flag at the top.
1st Race: KENCHI (EXILE), Kwang Soo (K-pop guy), KENTA (Yu Darvish's younger brother), Seiya (acrobat actor).
Damn, everyone gets some background theme but I can't make out the songs clearly.
Set...GO! Kwang Soo in the lead...he gets it easily! The guys sitting are impressed.
OK, there are two parts to the incline. The first part is just running up and then you need the rope for the rest.
2nd Race: KEIJI (EXILE), Shintaro Yamada (former soccer player), Tomoya Warabino (actor) (who has the Eye of the Tiger, BTW), Gaku Sano (another former soccer player)
OK. Set...GO! Everyone up fast. KEJI..Sano! Sano gets it. Yamada got out of the blocks slow. Warabino didn't do well during the climbing portion.
3rd Race: TETSUYA (EXILE) (0 for 2 so far), KENZO (DA PUMP), Shinya Taniuchi (Lead) (band name not capitalized), Wataru Mori (HEY, I KNOW HIM FROM SASUKE)
GO! But first, a commercial.
Back.
Set...GO! All fast up...Mori..Mori MORI! Just gets it from KENZO! Ah, I see. You can grab the rope whenever you want.
Slow mo shows that Mori was just an arms length ahead.
4th Race: Akiyoshi Nakao (He was in SASUKE too), JUNO (guy), Taishi Nakagawa (14), Yukihiro Takiguchi (actor)
Set...drama building...GO! JUNO in the lead. But no! He falters at the top and EVERYONE gets to the top at the same time. But it's Takiguchi who comes up with the flag. Nakao faltered near the top too. Nakagawa at the bottom. Takiguchi won basically by running the most consistent race.
EXILE guys are 0 - 3. The narrative of the night!
Now on to the final. Can Mori's triathlon background help him (I don't know why - I'm just biased towards him).
Final Race: Kwang Soo, Gaku Sano, Wataru Mori, Yukihiro Takiguchi
I wish they timed the races. Get all sabremetricky.
Here we go...START! GO! Sano RACES up. In the lead...all the way! And your first event winner is Gaku Sano.
Sano gets a 100 points for winning. The other finalists 60. The others get 30 for showing up.
2nd Event. Hammer Crush. Some 007 music explains that a carnival game is now a part of a Japanese variety show. Hit the board hard enough with the hammer to make the ball reach the required height.
1st height: 5 meters. KENCHI of EXILE up first. No problem! You have to make it go through the paper I guess. That must be very time consuming to change and boring for the live studio audience. Sano gets it.
KENZO, KENTA and Nakao all clear.
14 year old Nakagawa next. He doesn't break the paper! Ooohh..there is a accuracy part to it, too. Kwang Soo...Misses too!
And they are the only two out.
2nd height: 6 meters 50 centimeters. Yamada blows it! And so do five others. Figure it out later folks.
3rd height: 7 meters. KENCHI up. AND THE SHIRT IS OFF. THOR! And he does it!
KEIJI up next. NO! Bad hit man, bad hit.
TETSUYA...Yes!
KENZO next. With authority! It actually shot past the structure
Akiyoshi Nakao is neither single-named nor capitalized. The paper doesn't break..Or does it? It wasn't a clean hit. He's done.
Our final is Seiya and he cleared. Good for him!
4th height: 7 meters 40 centimeters. Four contestants left. The ladies are there to ogle the guys. Good for them!
KENCHI first. THE SHIRT IS OFF AGAIN. GET ME MAH SMELLING SALTS. LORD HAVE MERCY!
He blows it.
Bad hit as the ball doesn't go straight.
TETSUYA is next.Set. NO! Just goes to the side at the end! Not a clean enough hit. The ball JUST missed.
KENZO next.He means business. Set. THOR! NO! Perhaps they should consider giving them more than one chance.
Seiya is our only hope. If he makes it, is he the WORLD HAMMER CRUSH CHAMPION? Is h..CALL THE GUINNESS BOYS! He does it!
Seiya is now second because he sucked at Mountain Flag. Sano is still at the top. Mori is third. Various capitalized names are after.
3rd event: Monster Box!
1st (shown) height: 1m86cm 11 boxes. KENCHI clears and then some commercials because sure, why not?
Back. KEIJI next. No problem. Who will be our first show-off, by the way? TETSUYA. Barely clears. Bad form. Oh wait. He didn't clear.
AND Wataru Mori is our first flipper! Cool beans. Our lady host is impressed.
Shintaro Yamada is through. As far as I know, no one tonight has ever been on Sportsman. Sano also flips the flip of youth. No one has shown truly good form yet, i.e. no former gymnasts yet.
12 boxes now (1m96cm). KEIJI mounts the box in a bad way and he is out. Now, who will be our first run right into the box guy?
JUNO's first show jump. No problem. I'm wondering if Kwang Soo (WHO GOES SHIRTLESS) has the right form to go far? Not really. It's only 12 boxes man, chill out. Naoki Iketani can do this while eating a bowl of cereal.
Akiyoshi Nakao next. Slow run up...but it is just enough! Nakagawa up again. And he's our run into the box guy! He hit the trampoline too late.
13 boxes (2m6cm or a small truck). KENCHI first. Yes! KENZO next. Barely! Oh wait. No! Hes out.
Kwang Soo next. He has chalky handprints on his nippular area. And he hits the box. Nakao next. Will he do it? YES!
14 boxes (2m16cm). Wataru Mori up first. He has the best form so far. And he clears! We see Takiguchi for the first time here. Yes! Not pretty but it worked. JUNO barely! Warabino...Yes! Taniuchi...JUST clears!
Nakao again. NO! He's done. As is Yamada. Here is KENTA. Who looks older than his brother. Yes! His butt just gets through.
Sano is still in the lead but if he falters here someone could overtake him. Yes! With room to spare.
15 boxes (2m26cm or a phone booth). KENCHI will try to make a call. Here he goes. YES! They might as well just call the show EXILE Presents Sports Danshi Grand Prix.
Mori passes. Juno..sorry, JUNO up next. That awkward run somehow gets it done. His groin just cleared! Warabino does the Monster Box shuffle and fails. KENTA'S butt doesn't clear this time.
Sano is going for it. Here he goes. YES!
Seiya is in second. And he keeps pace with Sano!
16 boxes (2m36cm). Seven are left. KENCHI up. Yes! He had to angle himself at the end but he did it!
Wataru Mori up next. He passed last time. More than enough! Someone watched Sportsman growing up.
Sano to keep his lead. Yes! Can Seiya keep up? If not, Mori will pass him. Slo-mo says yes!
Takiguchi and JUNO both clear! And Taniuchi! That's everyone!
17 boxes (2m46cm). And let's hit a commercial as KENCHI hits the trampoline. They are really relying on the old M9 style music cues by the way.
Back. And KENCHI hits the box! He has another chance though.
Wataru Mori up next. He's in third. He gets it!
Takiguchi and JUNO AND Sano fail their first try.
17 boxes second try. Do or die time. KENCHI...the last hope of EXILE...IS OUT! Couldn't get the height.
Takiguchi...doesn't have it either. JUNO...is done. Taniuchi..NO!
Sano needs to keep going to keep his lead. SO THE SHIRT IS OFF. Eh, I'll wait until someone rips off their pants.
Here he goes...NO! He is in tears. You're not done yet though!
Seiya...if he doesn't do it here Wataru is the wi...He does it! Just barely but he does it!
18 boxes (2m56cm). Only two are left! Mori! Seiya!
Wataru up first. AND THE SHIRT IS OFF. Here he goes..YES! NO! And he knows it. Ah..the old butt grazes the platform.
Seiya next. NO! I'd think an acrobat wouldn't be doing the old shuffle step but he did.
18 boxes second try.
Mori was the closer of the two on the first try. YES!
The pressure is on Seiya now. Whoever is the winner will be in the driver's seat. CMs first though.
Seiya's shirt is off too. Here he goes...NO!
Wataru Mori is your Monster Box number 1 with 18 boxes!
The bottom six are out so say good night to Nakagawa, Kwang Soo, Yamada, KENTA, Warabino and KEIJI.
Sano did well enough to hold his lead but now Mori and Seiya are only twenty points behind him.
4th event - Power Wall. This will be in tournament form. Sano and Mori get byes to the 2nd round.
1st match: Nakao versus TETSUYA. FIGHT! 90 seconds to see who moved the wall the most. Nakao in control. 30 seconds left. TETSUAY is still fighting though. Back at a stand-still with 10 seconds. Back and forth. And TETSUYA takes it! Nakao lost his balance and that gave TETSUYA his chance.
2nd match: JUNO versus Taniuchi. FIGHT! No one in control yet. JUNO has the look of someone who has to exercise or else his body will just balloon up. He's in control now. Thirty seconds. Last ten. JUNO in the lead. And he's the winner!
3rd match: KENCHI versus Takiguchi. Takiguchi (who was losing anyway) slips and loses.
4th match: Seiya verus KENZO. Seiya took the Hammer Crush so he has power. But was KENZO just unlucky then? Or is he really the stronger of the two? Um...Yeah. He is. A walkover.
1st Quarterfinal: Sano versus TETSUYA. FIGHT! CMs!
Back. Sano in early control. At a standstill but Sano has the lead. And back to the middle! TETSUYA in control now. But Sano hasn't given up yet. Fifteen seconds but it looks impossible for Sano. And TETSUYA takes it.
2nd Quarterfinal: JUNO versus Wataru Mori. JUNO takes it, setting up an all caps semifinals. It's just not an event for the smaller guys. Can't be helped.
1st Semifinal - KENCHI versus TETSUYA. EXILE collides! And the shirts are off! CMs.
Back and KENCHI is in the lead early. TETSUYA looks like he is in trouble. But he fights back bit by bit. Halfway point. KENCHI has a slight weight advantage. Under thirty seconds. Ten seconds. Too late for TETSUYA! KENCHI is into the finals!
2nd Semifinal - JUNO versus KENZO. FIGHT! Whoa. KENZO takes a big early lead. JUNO is losing it. KENZO just can't put him away yet. JUNO coming back bit by bit. Ten seconds. KENZO just holds on for the win!
Final - KENCHI versus KENZO. FIGHT! Standstill but now KENZO takes a slight lead. KENCHI is struggling. KENZO is almost there. Halfway over. Last thirty seconds and unless KENZO loses his balance KENCHI is done. AND KENZO GETS HIM OVER THE LINE!
Winner - KENZO
After four events the bottom four are dropped so say goodbye to Nakao, Taniuchi, Takiguchi and TETSUYA.
KENCHI is in the lead with 280, KENZO and Sano are next with 240 apiece and Mori, JUNO and Seiya at third with 220.
Final Event: Shotgun Touch.
JUNO is out because he got hurt. So we are down to five.
You have three tries and well, since I'm not doing this live, I'll break down the scores they show on the screen:
10m50cm is the minimum. You get 5 points for that. It increases by intervals of three for every extra 10 centimeters so at the other end of the scale, you get 80 points for making a 13 meter attempt.
1st Try
Remember, timing is important at the beginning and at the end. Not hitting the button is the cardinal sin of the Shotgun Touch.
Seiya up first. He goes for 11m70cm for 41 points. He gets it! He's now in second.
Wataru Mori next. He goes for 11m10cm for 23 points. But he misses!
Gaku Sano goes for 12m for 50 points It would give him the lead. Did he do it? YES! He's in the lead now.
KENZO goes for 11m20cm. He's playing it safe for 26 points. Yes! And he did it easily. He's in third now.
KENCHI is still in 2nd but it's his first try. He is going for 11m50cm for 35 points to put this away early. Not sure if that is a good idea. Here he goes. NO! He just misses it. Now the pressure is on Sano to maintain his lead.
Aw yeah, Shotgun Touch math.
Wataru Mori goes for a safe 11m and picks up 20 points.
Seiya tries to hit a home run with 12m40cm, the longest attempt of the night, and comes up a hand short.
KENZO still has a chance for the win. He is going for 11m30cm for 29 points. That would give him a five point lead.
Set. Yes! He is now in first.
Sano should go for a mid 11 or so. No sense going deep just yet.
KENCHI is going for 11m50cm. Same as before. I still don't know about that. Here he goes. Set.
And he misses the button! Not the prettiest way to lose.
Sano up next. He's going for 12m again. I think he should go just a bit shorter since he knows he can do this and doesn't NEED 50 points since KENZO hasn't shown that he is going to go super deep.
Here he goes. He has the speed...but no! Just misses.
KENZO in the lead going into the last attempt.
ARE YOU STUPID SANO? He wants to go 12 again. KENZO is thinking 11m50cm. Sano wants to put pressure on KENZO.
Wataru Mori gets 11m10cm for 23 more points which points him ahead of Seiya by two points.
Seiya is going for 12m30cm for 59 points to put himself into the lead. A big gamble. But no! That means Wataru Mori finishes 4th and Seiya 5th.
KENCHI up next. He's going for 11m50c for 35 points. Shotgun Touch has always been a matter of pride - you don't want to go too small even if you are in the lead because it looks unseemly.
This would give him the lead.
NO!
It's down to Sano and KENZO now.
Sano first. He's going for 12m. If he makes it will put major pressure on KENZO.
THE SHIRT IS OFF!
Here he goes...after a word from our sponsors.
Doesn't look like he's going to make it though.
Back.
Whoa! Did he do it? YES! Whoa.
KENZO has to go for 11m90cm to win it. And he will. Oh he will.
Sano in the awkward position of having to wish for someone else to fail in order to win.
CMs.
Here he goes.
Set. NO! Not even close. It just wasn't in his range.
And Gaku Sano is your inaugural Sports Danshi Champion!
And he gets a Toyota Auris!
Well, it was pretty much Sportsman No. 1 with a few tweaks (the live audience, the host who didn't really add anything to the live event). Time will tell if the re-branding will help keep it around.
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