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 had 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(with the exception of Takahashi Kenji), Nagasaki tried to reach for the third ledge without jumping like the technique on Cliffhanger Kai. However, due to the large gap, he failed the obstacle when reach the third ledge.
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, he and Yamamoto Yoshiyuki had a First Stage record of five consecutive clears in their first five tournaments, only beaten by Yamada Katsumi and Kane Kosugi with their record of six consecutive clears in their 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 occurred. 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. This would be his last time reaching the Third Stage thus far.
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. Then in SASUKE 35, he cleared First Stage 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.
His First Stage run was digested on SASUKE 36, 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. He failed the modified Fish Bone in SASUKE 37, marking the first time that Nagasaki had failed the First Stage in consecutive tournaments. History repeated itself in SASUKE 38 as 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. He did not avenge his failure in SASUKE 39 as he yet again failed the Dragon Glider, this time falling the transition from the first bar to the second bar.
In SASUKE 40 at last long would be where Shunsuke's First Stage curse come to an end. Although his run was digested, he ended up beating his nemesis Dragon Glider and scaled both walls of the Ni Ren Soritasu Kabe to clear with 06.06 seconds left, marking his current First Stage clear since SASUKE 35. In the Second Stage, his run was surprisingly one of many to get digested, but he couldn't learn from his mistakes by failing the Spider Drop yet again.
Shunsuke would return in SASUKE 41, and would be shown in a digest taking a few attempts on the Soritatsu Kabe, before finally beating it and clearing the First Stage with less than a second left. Before his Second Stage run, Shunsuke could be seen having trouble walking up the stairs due to his injured leg. Due to the injury, Shunsuke chose to withdraw from attempting the Second Stage.
As of SASUKE 41, Nagasaki has completed the First Stage 13 times (5 consecutively), the Second Stage 7 times (4 consecutively), and the Third Stage once.
SASUKE Results[]
SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
14 | 67 | Failed Wall Lifting (Second Stage) | Time Out. 1st Wall. |
15 | 65 | Failed Cliffhanger (Third Stage) | First ledge. |
16 | 89 | Failed Cliffhanger (Third Stage) | Second ledge. |
17 | 87 | Failed Tsuna Nobori (Final Stage) | Time Out. About 18.3 meters up. |
18 | 97 | Failed Shin-Cliffhanger (Third Stage) | Tried using his long arms to clear the gap without jumping. |
19 | 97 | Failed Flying Chute (First Stage) | First time failing the First Stage. |
29 | 93 | Failed Passing Wall (Second Stage) | Time Out. 2nd Wall. |
30 | 2986 | Failed Crazy Cliffhanger (Third Stage) | Digest. Failed Jump. (4th Ledge) |
31 | 88 | Failed Lumberjack Climb (First Stage) | All Cut. Time Out. Run shown in his SASUKE 32 introduction. |
32 | 87 | Failed Flying Bar (Third Stage) | Second jump. |
33 | 98 | Failed Flying Bar (Third Stage) | Second jump. Highest number to date. |
34 | 95 | Failed Spider Walk (Second Stage) | Digest. Fell immediately after starting. |
35 | 92 | Failed Spider Drop (Second Stage) | Slipped off after dropping down. |
36 | 94 | Failed Dragon Glider (First Stage) | Digest. Failed dismount. |
37 | 80 | Failed Fish Bone (First Stage) | Digest. First time failing the First Stage in consecutive tournaments. |
38 | 70 | Failed Dragon Glider (First Stage) | Digest. Did not let go of the first bar. |
39 | 75 | Failed Dragon Glider (First Stage) | Digest. Failed transition to the second bar. |
40 | 3943 | Failed Spider Drop (Second Stage) | Digest. Slipped off after dropping down. Lowest number to date. |
41 | 61 | Withdrew (Second Stage) | Was injured. |
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