Takeda Toshihiro ~ Sasuke Ninja Warrior

Takeda Toshihiro (竹田敏浩), a firefighter from Gifu Prefecture, Japan, is a SASUKE All-Star, best known for his incredibly consistent performances. He has advanced to the Third Stage a total of 13 times, a SASUKE record, including 7 consecutive times from SASUKE 11 toSASUKE 17. His height and weight are recorded at 171 cm and 63 kg respectively. Despite his impressive Third Stage advance rate, he has never managed to advance to the Final Stage, the only one of six All-Stars to have this dubious distinction. His name is listed as 竹田敏弘 in the 5th competition, and it is unknown why he changed his name. Though he has never reached the Final Stage He is arguably the most consistent All-Star, having the smallest chain of consecutive First Stage defeats (2).

Biographical Info

Born: May 4, 1975 (age 37)

Home: Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Job: Firefighter

Height: 171 cm

Weight: 63 kg

SASUKE Competitions

Song: Pale Warrior from the Star Ocean EX Soundtrack

First: SASUKE 5

Last: SASUKE 28

Total: 22 Competitions

Best: SASUKE 12, SASUKE 8, & SASUKE 17, Third Stage, Pipe Slider

SASUKE

Takeda made his debut in the 5th competition, immediately after the large-scale renewal caused by Akiyama Kazuhiko's kanzenseiha. With the 73 competitors before him having all failed, Takeda impressed all by being the 1st to clear the First Stage, with 1.08 seconds left to spare. Only two other competitors cleared that day; Yamamoto Shingo and Yamada Katsumi, further making a lasting impression on fellow competitors and the audience. However, in the Second Stage he failed immediately after starting the Spider Walk. In the 6th competition, Takeda cleared the First Stage with 10 seconds to spare. He took his revenge on the Spider Walk, and cleared the Second Stage as well, but ran out of energy on the Body Prop, and failed there after a long struggle. However, in the 7th competition, due to catching a cold before the competition, he struggled at the Soritatsu Kabe and timed out in the First Stage inches before the goal. In the 8th competition, though the rain affected his run, he made his way successfully to the Pipe Slider. Though he slipped and lost his grip before he could attempt a jump, after this tournament he was considered a member of the All-Stars.

In the 9th competition, though he took two attempts at the Soritatsu Kabe, he safely made it back to the Third Stage. Everything having been smooth sailing up to the Lamp Grasper, he slipped and lost his grip with only several globes left to go. Though he recovered, and managed to advance a little more, he lost his grip with 2 globes left and fell into the water below. In the 10th anniversary competition, he failed the Jump Hang in the First Stage, an obstacle he had never failed before. In an interview after his run, he said that he "knew it that he was going to fail the moment he stepped on the trampoline."

Shin-SASUKE

After SASUKE 17, originally Takeda had considered retiring from SASUKE, but was convinced otherwise by his children. In SASUKE 18 he arrived late to the competition, missing the pre-game race which determined start positions. As a result, he had no bib and ran between #86 and #87. He successfully cleared the newly-redesigned First Stage and was out of breath afterwords. With this, he extended his record of consecutive First Stage clears to 8. However, he struggled at the new Salmon Ladder in the Second Stage, and fell before the last, largest gap due to making a fatal mistake of not throwing enough momentum. It was the first time he had failed the Second Stage since his debut.

In SASUKE 19, he had to attempt the Pole Maze twice, wasting valuable time. Though he made it to the Soritatsu Kabe, he failed to scale it multiple times (perhaps because of the added height), and though he eventually cleared it, he timed out immediately after. It was his first time he had failed the First Stage since SASUKE 10. In SASUKE 20, though he had no problems for most of the course, he lost a lot of time trying to transfer to the cargo rope in theFlying Chute. He timed out on the Rope Ladder, marking the first time he failed the First Stage twice in a row.

In SASUKE 21, he cleared the First Stage with 15.79 seconds to spare. He exacted his revenge on the Salmon Ladder, passing it with ease, and made his way for a record 11th time to the Third Stage. He became the first to clear the Shin-Cliffhanger, and ultimately failed the Hang Climbing. In SASUKE 22, he misstepped the trampoline on the Jumping Spider in the First Stage, and failed there for the first time. He was able to return to the Third Stage inSASUKE 23 and was able to clear the Hang Climbing that eliminated him before, but failed the very next obstacle, the Spider Flip.

In SASUKE 24 he performed well in the First Stage, and was even able to clear the Slider Jump without jumping and as a result the first stage, being the only All-Star to do so, while several Shin Sedai members advanced with him. In the Second Stage he was able to clear the Salmon Ladder to Unstable Bridge connection easily and the Second Stage. Takeda returned to the Third Stage for a record 13th time. Expectations for Takeda to make the Final Stage were high, as 5 subsequent competitors cleared the 3rd stage until it was Takeda's turn. Carrying the expectations of everyone and including the All-Stars, Takeda went into the Third Stage as the last challenger. He performed well on the new Rope Junction like the six competitors before him. On the Hang Climbing he lost some strength climbing. When he reached the Spider Flip he struggled and was not able to pull himself up the first wall. In an interview he stated that Nagano had been doing a lot of work for the All-Stars to keep their name.

Kanzen Renewal

He returned in SASUKE 25 and he drew #70 from the lottery, his lowest start position ever and his lowest sinceSASUKE 8. In the First Stage, with Yamada Katsumi and Shiratori Bunpei's absences he was the first All-Star to attempt the First Stage. He performed well, and cleared with 8 seconds to spare. In the Second Stage, he failed due to making the same error as he did in SASUKE 18, and unexpectedly failed on the last rung of the new Double Salmon Ladder. Due to a scheduling conflict, he was unable to attend SASUKE 26, ending his run of 21 competitions in succession. Takeda did attend SASUKE 27, but did not compete. Takeda returned in SASUKE 28, failing the Rolling Escargot.