Nagasaki Shunsuke

Nagasaki Shunsuke (長崎 峻侑) is a trampolinist who, at one point, was one of the most promising and consistent competitors in SASUKE. Nicknamed "The Prince of the Trampoline", he has won several medals in the Trampoline World Cups and Doha Asian Games during his gymnastic career. He is notable for his five-tournament streak of First Stage clears (SASUKE 14 - SASUKE 18), as well as being the first person to defeat the hardened Third Stage (introduced in SASUKE 14) in SASUKE 17.

Competition History
Shunsuke first appeared in SASUKE 14 at age 17 when he was only a high school sophomore. He was invited to SASUKE by Nakata Daisuke who was initially invited to compete but couldn't attend due to other matters. When he accepted the invitation, he did not know much about SASUKE and he only have less than a month for preparation. His trainings include pull-ups and running up hills, to simulate the various obstacles present. In that competition, he made it to the Second Stage, where after struggling on the Spider Walk he timed out on the Wall Lifting.

In SASUKE 15, he joined Kawashima Takayuki as having the distinction of being the youngest competitor to reach the Third Stage, which they did at age 18. He made it to the Third Stage's Cliffhanger where he fell to the first ledge. After the tournament, he built a Cliffhanger replica in his garage to train every time before going to school and after finishing his practice of trampoline.

In SASUKE 16, some of his training paid off as he went far into the Cliffhanger. But as he tried to reach third ledge, only two of his fingers touched the ledge and he would fall into the water. Despite failing the same obstacle two competitions in a row, it didn't stop him from training the obstacle.

In the 17th competition, he came out strong by finishing the First Stage with the fastest time, clearing with 17.7 seconds left. He then cleared the Second Stage with 10.8 seconds left. In the Third Stage, he finally got by the Cliffhanger and completed the Third Stage, along with eventual champion Nagano Makoto. Although he timed out on the Final Stage due to his lack of practice in the stage, it was this competition that people really took notice of Nagasaki as a serious contender.

In SASUKE 18, he and his brother, Nagasaki Takamasa, competed together for the first time. In the marathon that decides the number competitors are starting with, Nagasaki went fast and grabbed for a high number in #97. Both Shunsuke and Takamasa made it through the new First Stage. Then in the Second Stage, Nagasaki breezed through the new obstacles (including the new Salmon Ladder) and made it to the Third Stage. In the redesigned Third Stage, he made it to the fourth obstacle, the Shin-Cliffhanger. Unlike Nagano Makoto and many future competitors, Nagasaki tried to reach for the third ledge without jumping. However, due to the large gap, he failed the obstacle. In the 19th competition, he was eliminated in the First Stage by the Flying Chute; this was his first time failing the First Stage. Until then, only he and Kane Kosugi had a First Stage record of five consecutive clears in their first five tournaments, only beaten by Yamada Katsumi with his record of six consecutive clears in his first six tournaments.

All-Star Debacle
Much confusion arose when announcer Hatsuta Keisuke said during his intro, "Will Nagasaki be the first All-Star to finish Stage One?" While Nagasaki has his own theme song, he is not considered one of the SASUKE All-Stars by TBS.

Absences
Shunsuke did not compete in SASUKE 20 due to his training for the 2008 Olympics (though he was seen training G4's American Ninja Challengers on the trampoline a couple of days before the competition). Before SASUKE 22, Nagasaki wrote on his blog that he wanted to compete (and even showed a picture of him practicing the Shin-Cliffhanger). However, he was not invited because of personal matters. During that hiatus, he would go on to become a gymnastics coach.

Return to SASUKE
After a 9 tournament hiatus, it was announced that Nagasaki would eventually compete in SASUKE 29. Similar to how he was invited in SASUKE 14, the company that Nagasaki works at invited him to compete a month before the tapings occur. Upon his comeback, although his run was digested, he did well, clearing the First Stage with 11.8 seconds left. However, like many competitors that day, the Second Stage proved disastrous for Nagasaki. He was slowed down by the Unstable Bridge and the hardened Backstream, leaving him little time to clear the final obstacle, the Passing Wall, and he eventually timed out there.

He returned back again in SASUKE 30. His run was digested in the First Stage, but it was shown that he cleared once more. In the Second Stage, his run was digested again, and while it was shown that he struggled with the Wall Lifting, he eventually passed with just 2.7 seconds left on the clock. In the Third Stage, he made it past the first 3 obstacles easily, including the new Drum Hopper, however, fell on the Crazy Cliffhanger, failing the jump to the 4th ledge.

He returned in SASUKE 31. He took too much time on the Soritatsu Kabe and eventually timed out on the Lumberjack Climb. His run was all cut.

He competed in SASUKE 32, much stronger than before. In this tournament, we saw Nagasaki's First Stage run broadcast in full for the first time since his return to the show. He cleared the First Stage with little trouble, clearing the Soritatsu Kabe on his second attempt, and having to rush slightly to clear with 2.44 seconds remaining. His Second Stage run was digested but it was shown that he cleared with 5.19 seconds remaining. He cleared the Drum Hopper Kai with ease in the Third Stage, however, was one of 4 competitors that day to fail the Flying Bar, misplacing the bar on the second transition.

With a second Third Stage appearance in three tournaments under his belt, Nagasaki was given his highest ever number for SASUKE 33, of 98. He successfully completed the First Stage before achieving the same feat in the Second Stage, as he cleared with 2.40 seconds left. In the Third Stage, he made his way through the Drum Hopper Kai, but was unable to go any further, as he was eliminated by the Flying Bar for the second tournament in a row. In SASUKE 34, his run was digested, but it was shown that he cleared the First Stage with 13.08 seconds remaining. But in the Second Stage, he was the first competitor to fail the fourth version of the Spider Walk and the first to fail it since SASUKE 17, slipping immediately after starting to prop himself between the walls.

In SASUKE 35, he cleared stage 1 with 7.46 seconds remaining, before taking on the Second Stage. Trying to avoid making the same mistake last time, he took a more conservative approach to the Spider Walk as he traversed slowly through the panels--even though it did cost him valuable time. Unfortunately for Nagasaki, he failed to make much progress from SASUKE 34, as he failed the Spider Drop. This meant that Nagasaki was eliminated at the Second Stage in consecutive tournaments for the first time.

In SASUKE 36 his run was digested, however it was shown that he shockingly failed the Dragon Glider when he let go of the second bar too early and slipped off the end mat into the water.

In SASUKE 37 his run was digested, however it was shown that he failed the modified Fish Bone, marking the first time that Nagasaki had failed the First Stage in consecutive tournaments.

In SASUKE 38 his run was yet again digested, however it was shown that he once again failed the Dragon Glider. This time he didn't let go of the first bar like how Takeda and Kanno did in 35 and 37, respectively, though he dropped into the water before the time run out.

In SASUKE 39 his run was once again digested, however it was shown that he yet again failed the Dragon Glider, this time falling the transition from the first bar to the second bar.

As of 2022, Nagasaki has completed the First Stage 11 times (5 consecutively), the Second Stage 7 times (4 consecutively), and the Third Stage once.