Shiratori Bunpei (白鳥 文平) is a former Triple Jumper and Civic Employee in his home village of Inba, Chiba Prefecture, in the Health and Services department. He is the sixth and the last member of SASUKE All-Stars. He is also known for building over 11 replica SASUKE obstacles in his backyard. Competitors have visited his home to train on what is sometimes called the 'Shiratori Shrine', although the place has been brought down in 2009.
Debut and Early Success[]
Shiratori made his first appearance in SASUKE 9, where he timed out on the Soritatsu Kabe on a digested performance, but his technique on the Jump Hang of jumping with only one foot on the trampoline will soon become his famous trademark.
After skipping the 10th anniversary tournament, he came back in SASUKE 11. He had a faster pace compared to his rookie effort, and he was able to clear the 1st stage with over 7 seconds left. In the Second Stage, however, he had a relatively slow run that cost him a time out while lifting the second wall of the Wall Lift.
Shiratori was given #77 in SASUKE 12, and after he came close to touch the water on the Jump Hang, he clear again the First Stage. In the Second Stage, despite a 10 second reduction, he was much more faster than his previous attempt, and he cleared with 2 seconds left. In the Third Stage, he impressed many by clearing most of the obstacles quickly and easily, most notably the Lamp Grasper, where he even had a scare when he lost his grip on a lamp but he was able to hold on and continue his run. After clearing the Cliffhanger Kai, he was also able to clear the Pipe Slider, by literally sliding through the ending platform after the jump, advancing to the Final Stage. Here, he had a good run, but it wasn't enough as he timed out only 2 meters before the goal.
Because of this great run, he was given #99 by the producers in SASUKE 13. He show that his previous attempt wasn't a fluke, clearing again the first two stages with little time left and reaching the Pipe Slider again, but the obstacle got his revenge on Shiratori when he lost his balance after landing on the platform, falling backwards into the water. This run prompted the producers to made him the sixth and final member of the All-Stars
As an All Star[]
In his All-Star debut in SASUKE 14, Shiratori looked to reach the Third Stage once more, but he surprisingly went out on the Balance Tank on Stage Two on a rather painful way, with the log hitting Bunpei's head when he was about to fell into the water. He will later admit that this defeat was due to the fact he payed little attention because he was too used to practice the obstacle.
SASUKE 15 featured Shiratori's most iconic run. Given #94, the tournament was characterized by very high temperatures, with a peak of 34°C. He was treated because of heat exhaustion and it remained uncertain until the very end if he will be able to compete or not. After the other 99 competitors ran the 1st Stage, Bunpei managed to recover and compete in that tournament, and he made all way to the end of the Third Stage, before failing the Climbing Bars (the only competitor to do this). This was probably due to the fact that he was too exhausted and he didn't have no more stenght left, but this performance was the second best of that tournament, only behind Takeda Toshihiro who failed the next obstacle, the Devil Balanço.
Bunpei returned much stronger in SASUKE 16, passing the first two stages with time to spare. He then got his revenge on the Climbing Bars and reach the Devil Balanço. Here he will be the first competitor to use the technique that made the obstacle much easier. He swing on the green resting platform, then he grab the Devil Balanço's pipe, and then he use the momentum to the reach the Pipe Slider. Thanks to this he easily clear the obstacle and made to the the Pipe Slider once again, but unfortunately he failed the obstacle again as he touched the landing platform (which was further than before) with only his hands and was unable to hold on the platform. This will be the best performance in that tournament.
In SASUKE 17 many expected him to finally take his revenge on the Pipe Slider and return to the Final Stage. He cleared First and Second stages with ease, but on the Third Stage he shocked everybody when he fell rather early on the Body Prop, an obstacle he never struggled on it before, ending his prime era as well the golden era of SASUKE on a bitter note. This will be his last Third Stage attempt.
Shin SASUKE and retirement[]
He competed in SASUKE 18 expected to do well on a completely new course, but sadly he slipped on the Spider Walk portion of the Jumping Spider, failing the First Stage for the first time since his debut.
In SASUKE 19 he made to the Soritatsu Kabe, but because of the added height he struggle to scale it, and when he was able to clear it, he timed out on the Flying Chute. This was the first time that he failed the First Stage consecutive times.
After skipping SASUKE 20 because of a back injury, he re-appared in SASUKE 21. Here he was finally able to clear the Shin-SASUKE First Stage, though he seemed to be very exhausted at the end of his run. Perhaps because of this, his Second Stage run was short lived as he lost his balance on the Downhill Jump, before he could do a jump. This will be his last Second Stage appearance.
Because of a knee injury he did not compete in SASUKE 22, though he helped Satō Hiromichi to clear the Soritatsu Kabe and later the stage thanks to training in his Shiratori Shrine, before it will be shut down. He was present during SASUKE 24 and stood on the sidelines with the other All-Stars, but did not compete due to his injuries from which he was still recovering. In fact he is still said to suffer from chronic back and knee pains.
In early May 2014, it was announced that Shiratori would return for SASUKE 30 after a nine-tournament, six-year absence, as he expressed disappointment for missing the two previous Anniversary tournaments. Wearing #2997, he cleared the first three obstacles, but he failed the Jump Hang Kai with him failing to hit trampoline and so his classic one-foot jump wasn't enough to hold on the left rope. He hit the yellow support of the trampoline, making almost impossible to clear the obstacle and in fact he failed.
After SASUKE 30, he never competed again, although he never rule out the possibility to return for later tournaments if he was healthy enough.
His last appearance was in SASUKE 32, where he was present along with all the other All-Stars to celebrate Nagano Makoto retirement as well assisting his farewell ceremony.
Trivia[]
- He is the only All-Star to have never failed the first obstacle in the First Stage.
- He and Akiyama Kazuhiko are the only All-Stars never to have failed any Cliffhanger variant. However, they both also the only All-Stars who never attempt Tackle Machine or TIE Fighter.
- He is also the only All-Star to have ever attempted one version of Cliffhanger (Cliffhanger Kai).
- He has competed the least amount of times of any All-Star, with only 12 appearances.
- Shiratori is the only All-Star to have never been Last Man Standing.
- While he is the only All-Star to never fail Jump Hang, he is the only All-Star to fail Jump Hang Kai.
- Shiratori is the only person to wear #81-83.
- After SASUKE 21, Shiratori was the oldest man to have competed in Final Stage (age 36) and Third Stage (age 39). The oldest Final Stage record is now held by Okuyama Yoshiyuki, reaching Final Stage at 39 in SASUKE 24 and oldest Third Stage record by Urushihara Yuuji at 45 in SASUKE 41.
- Shiratori is the second-oldest All-Star, behind Yamada Katsumi by roughly two years.
- Shiratori holds the highest clear ratio for the First Stage out of the All-Stars, at an estimated 67% (eight out of 12 attempts). Behind him is Takeda Toshihiro who have 61% clear ratio (19 out of 31 attempts).
- He is only of the All-Stars to never attempt Maruta Nobori, Goren Hammer, Arm Bike, Rolling Escargot, Quad Steps, Rolling Hill, Fish Bone, Dragon Glider or Silk Slider.
- He and Nagano Makoto are the only All-Stars to never attempt Propeller Untei. They are also the only competitors to fail Downhill Jump.
- He, Takeda Toshihiro, Nagano Makoto and Yamamoto Shingo are the only All-Stars to clear First Stage in their 40s, with Shiratori doing so at SASUKE 21 (41 years old), Takeda at SASUKE 33 and SASUKE 34 (41 years old and 42 years old), Nagano at SASUKE 30 (42 years old) and Yamamoto at SASUKE 40 (48 years old).
- He had the lowest streak of First Stage failures by an All-Star, with two.
- He and Takeda are the only All-Stars who never attempt Spin Bridge.
- During his SASUKE 15's Third Stage run, he accidentally tripped on the stairs leading up to Rumbling Dice, marking one of the funny instances done by competitors on the course that was caught on camera.
- Among the All-Stars and other SASUKE veterans, he and Takeda are the only All-Stars, who did not made an appearance in VIKING.
- He is also only of the All-Stars to never made an appearance in any iteration of Sportsman events (Yamada and Akiyama have present in Muscle Gym from separate venue).
SASUKE Results[]
SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
9 | 79 | Failed Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage) | Digest. Time Out. |
11 | 66 | Failed Wall Lifting (Second Stage) | Time Out. Second Wall. |
12 | 77 | Failed Tsuna Nobori (Final Stage) | Time Out. About 21 metres up. |
13 | 99 | Failed Pipe Slider (Third Stage) | Failed Jump. |
14 | 96 | Failed Balance Tank (Second Stage) | The log hit his head |
15 | 94 | Failed Climbing Bars (Third Stage) | Went last on the First Stage due to heat exhaustion. |
16 | 96 | Failed Pipe Slider (Third Stage) | Failed Jump. |
17 | 81 | Failed Body Prop (Third Stage) | |
18 | 95 | Failed Jumping Spider (First Stage) | Slipped during Spider Walking portion. |
19 | 82 | Failed Flying Chute (First Stage) | Time Out. |
21 | 83 | Failed Downhill Jump (Second Stage) | Lost balance. |
30 | 2997 | Failed Jump Hang Kai (First Stage) | Over-shot the trampoline. |
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Nagano Makoto • Akiyama Kazuhiko • Takeda Toshihiro • Yamamoto Shingo • Shiratori Bunpei • Yamada Katsumi |
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