Kanno Hitoshi

Kanno Hitoshi
Kanno, SASUKE 22
Biographical Info
Born	May 7, 1985 (1985-05-07)
Home	Tokyo, Japan
Job	Maintenance
Height	168 cm
Weight	64 kg
SASUKE Competitions
Song	Wataru no Shinjitsu from Kamen Rider Kiva OST2
First	SASUKE 20
Last	SASUKE 32
Total	12 Competitions
Best	SASUKE 23, Final Stage, G-Rope

Kanno Hitoshi (菅野 仁志) is a maintenance man at a pachinko hall. According to his mixi and the japanese wiki page, Kanno's first appearance was in SASUKE 20, where he wore #1976. He failed the Jumping Spider and his run was all cut.

He then qualified for SASUKE 22 during the Sasuke 22 Trials. He wore #49 and was one of seven SASUKE Trial qualifiers that day. During his run, he showed great speed but was also a bit sloppy as well. For example, he barely stuck the landing on the Jumping Spider. He was only the second person that day to beat the Slider Jump and while he almost got disqualified for touching the water with his foot, he managed to clear and eventually cleared the stage with 3.74 seconds left. In the Second Stage, Kanno was flawless. He easily cleared the Salmon Ladder with no troubles and finished with 18.4 seconds left on the clock. In the Third Stage, his training really paid off. He was able to crush the first three obstacles. On the Shin-Cliffhanger, he became only the third person to clear it, joining All-Stars Takeda Toshihiro and Nagano Makoto. Then, he was able to clear the Jumping Bars and Hang Climbing without any trouble. However, on the Spider Flip, his stamina seemed to run out, and he could not reach the vertical part of the obstacle. Instead of falling into the water, Kanno touched part of the support beams with his foot and climbed along the side of the platform, therefore going off the course.

Kanno got an automatic bid in SASUKE 23 based on his previous performance. In the First Stage, he struggled at times, coming close to failing the Curtain Slider, Half-Pipe Attack, and Slider Jump. However, he still managed to clear the First Stage with 6.21 seconds remaining. In the Second Stage, he almost failed the Salmon Ladder when the bar dropped two levels on the left side, leaving him holding onto the bar with one hand. Amazingly, he was able to recover and cleared the Second Stage. In the Third Stage, the Spider Flip was modified in order to hide the metal supports. Due to this, he was able to clear the obstacle and the Third Stage. In the Final Stage, he struggled to grab the G-Rope and was several meters away from the button as time expired.

Because of this great performance, he was given #99 in SASUKE 24. In the First Stage, he cleared the first four obstacles very quickly. On the Half-Pipe Attack, he had to swing back to the half pipe twice causing him to lose lots of time. It also took multiple attempts to scale the Soritatsu Kabe, and even though he eventually cleared it and the Slider Jump, he timed out before attempting the Tarzan Rope.

Kanzen Renewal

Kanno failing the Balance Tank in SASUKE 25.

Kanno entered SASUKE 25 and drew #89 in the lottery. He beat Stage One with 10.84 seconds left. In Stage Two, he failed the Balance Tank, losing his balance on the rolling portion of the obstacle about halfway through. This marked the first time he failed the Second Stage.

He returned in SASUKE 26, wearing #93, but was digested although full run was shown on G4. He failed the Rolling Escargot.

In SASUKE 27, strong competitors were spread across the field of 100. Kanno was no exception, receiving #1. He became the third person to wear #1 and clear the First Stage, doing so with ease. However, he dislocated his shoulder on the Spin Bridge in the First Stage and after the Slider Drop he ultimately chose to withdraw before attempting the Double Salmon Ladder.

SASUKE RISING

In SASUKE 28, Kanno cleared the new First Stage with over 10 seconds remaining. He then went on to clear the redesigned Second Stage (for the first time in 5 tournaments) with little trouble, posting the fastest time of 27.16 seconds. On the new Third Stage however, he suffered the same problems as the two previous competitors who had attempted it that tournament. He ran into trouble on the Iron Paddler, nearly slipping off towards the end where the bar rolled back, and ultimately failed the Crazy Cliffhanger when he couldn't land the last jump with a good grip. He was the last man standing in the tournament.

Kanno competed in SASUKE 29, wearing the number #97. He cleared the First Stage yet again, and despite the significant increase in difficulty of the Second Stage, he cleared with just 3.8 seconds remaining. However, on the Third Stage, he met the same fate as in the previous tournament, falling on the last jump of the Crazy Cliffhanger.

He represented Team Japan in American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. Japan. He completed Stage 1 in 1:25.43 seconds, beating his own Stage 1 record, however he was beaten by his opponent Paul Kasemir by just 0.73 seconds, hence losing the match-up and giving USA a point. He went up again Paul Kasemir again on Stage 3, who had made it to the Flying Bar, the final obstacle. In order for Kanno to have won this match-up, he would have had to reach the third rung in a faster time than Kasemir, however he failed the Ultimate Cliffhanger which he had never attempted before, hence lost to Kasemir in this match-up as well, granting USA another point.

In SASUKE 30,he wore #2996, which is equal to to #96 in normal competitions. His First Stage run was digested, but it is shown that he cleared the stage. In Stage 2, his performance was slightly sloppy, nearly falling off the mat before the Swap Salmon Ladder, and almost failing the Backstream, however he managed to clear with 2.94 seconds remaining. However, in the Third Stage, he fell on the Crazy Cliffhanger again after he failed to clear the jump between the 3rd and 4th ledges.

He once again represented Team Japan in American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World. He only participated in one match-up, this being Stage 1 against Paul Kasemir and Miska Sutela. He was the first to run, and had a very quick run however could not scale the Soritatsu Kabe which he had never failed before. He tried several times before becoming too fatigued and bowed out the stage. Kasemir cleared the stage, while Sutela, who went last, exceeded Kasemir's time as he reached the Soritatsu Kabe, hence USA won this match-up.

In SASUKE 31, he was given #96 again. His first and second stage runs were digested, but he did manage to clear the Second Stage and reach the Third Stage for his fourth time in a row. On Third Stage he completed the Drum Hopper and the Iron Paddler once again, and also cleared the new Sidewinder. He reached the Crazy Cliffhanger for his fourth time in a row, but for the first time he was able to clear it. He became only the 5th person to complete the Crazy Cliffhanger, but he ultimately failed the next obstacle, the Vertical Limit Kai. He was unable to maintain his grip on his transfer from the first to the second ledge, but that did result in him having the second best performance of the tournament.

In SASUKE 32, he was given #96 for the third straight time. He started strong, however on the Soritatsu Kabe he struggled and when he was able to scale it he had only 16 seconds left. Immediately after scaling it, however, he re-injured his shoulder and he was forced to stop, timing out atop the wall.

Results

SASUKE	#	Result	Notes
20	1976	Failed Jumping Spider (First Stage)	All Cut. Announced on mixi page.
22	49	Disqualified, Spider Flip (Third Stage)	Disqualified, Course Out. He touched a frame of the construction, therefore going off the course.
23	96	Failed G-Rope (Final Stage)	Time Out, About 19m up.
24	99	Failed Tarzan Rope (First Stage)	Time Out.
25	89	Failed Balance Tank (Second Stage)
26	93	Failed Rolling Escargot (First Stage)	Digest. Full run shown on G4.
27	1	Withdrew, Double Salmon Ladder (Second Stage)	Hurt his shoulder early in Stage 1, on the Spin Bridge. He was able to clear the Slider Drop before withdrawing due to his shoulder.
28	89	Failed Crazy Cliffhanger (Third Stage)	Transition from the 3rd to the 4th ledge. Last Man Standing.
29	97	Failed Crazy Cliffhanger (Third Stage)	Transition from the 3rd to the 4th ledge. Last Man Standing
30	2996	Failed Crazy Cliffhanger (Third Stage)	Transition from the 3rd to the 4th ledge.
31	96	Failed Vertical Limit Kai (Third Stage)	Transition from 1st to the 2nd ledge.
32	96	Failed Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage)	Time Out. He re-injured his shoulder after clearing the wall