Araki Naoyuki (荒木 直之) is a car designer who attended Keio University. Although he was a SASUKE competitor, he was known as the first and only Japanese competitor advanced to the Final Stage in SASUKE Vietnam 2.
Prior to his first SASUKE appearance[]
In his third year of junior high school, Araki Naoyuki originally applied for SASUKE 20 and actually received the call to participate, but was then unable to do so due to a scheduling conflict.
SASUKE[]
Araki failed at the Hedgehog in SASUKE 29 (shown in SASUKE Vietnam 2)
Before SASUKE 29 he showed great abilities and ended up qualifying in first place and also took in second place Tokyo SASUKE Park time trial glory. Wearing 92 in SASUKE 29 he failed Hedgehog. He was cut from broadcast, but his digest run can be seen in SASUKE Vietnam 2.
He competed in SASUKE 32 however he failed the Double Pendulum. He was cut from the broadcast but was aired in the Navi, digested.
He returned in SASUKE 35, failing the Dragon Glider, in a digested performance.
In SASUKE 36 wearing 63, despite having a phobia on trampoline due to his failure on SASUKE 35, Araki completed the Dragon Glider this time around, and he went on being the first person to complete the First Stage as a whole with 4.94 seconds remaining. After successfully clearing the First Stage for the first time, Araki's debut in the Second Stage went to plan too, as he cleared with 12.31 second to spare. In the Third Stage, Araki cleared the first three obstacles, as well as the first transition on the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger, but his attempt at the next transition wasn't successful - eliminating Araki from the tournament.
In SASUKE 37, he wore 57, but fell on the modified Fish Bone in a digested performance.
In SASUKE 38, he wore 82, and avenged his fail in the previous tournament by clearing the First Stage with 5.22 seconds remaining. On the Second Stage he struggled with the Rolling Log and ended up timing out as he made it to the Reverse Conveyor. This marked his first time falling the Second Stage.
In SASUKE 39, he would once again fail the First Stage at the Ni Ren Soritatsu Kabe in an all cut performance due to the wet weather conditions that affected several top competitors that tournament. It was shown in a video in the Official Youtube Channel of SASUKE that after he timed out on the wall, he asked for one more attempt, which the producers granted; he took the attempt, and easily grabbed the top part of the obstacle.
In SASUKE 40, all of his runs were digested, but he avenged his previous failures in the past three tournaments by clearing both the First and Second Stage with 4 seconds left both times - making it back to the Third Stage for the first time since SASUKE 36. In the Third Stage, he failed on the second transition of the Cliff Dimension.
In SASUKE 41, he once again cleared the first two stages with ease. In the Third Stage, however, he shockingly failed on the second transition of the Sidewinder. He was the only competitor who made it to the Third Stage that tournament and fail before the Cliff Dimension.
SASUKE Vietnam[]
Araki in SASUKE Vietnam 2
In SASUKE Vietnam 2, Araki would compete as an international competitor and wore number 2007. In Stage 1B, he revenge the Hedgehog that eliminated him in SASUKE 29 and cleared with 50.53 seconds, placing 18th overall. He also cleared Stage Two with 1:02.03 seconds, placing 19th overall. In Stage Three, he making all audience surprise when he cleared with 5:57.95 seconds, placing 7th overall, thus become the first Japanese competitor advanced to the Stage Four in SASUKE Vietnam history. In Stage Four, possibly due to inexperience at the Stage Four tower, he failed the Rope Climb on Final Stage when he timed out. This was his best performance on any SASUKE or Ninja Warrior competition. Also, his result on SASUKE Vietnam 2 was also mentioned on SASUKE 36, as well as TBS make two part videos about his journey to the Final Stage on SASUKE Vietnam 2 in their official SASUKE YouTube channel.
Trivia[]
- Araki and Morimoto Yūsuke were the only two competitors in Morimoto Sedai that appeared in any international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior competition.
- Araki's digest run in SASUKE 29 is the first instance that a digest run of a SASUKE competitor can be seen only in a international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior competition.
- So far, Araki was the first and only Japanese competitor who advanced to the Final Stage in SASUKE Vietnam history, as well as the only Japanese competitor to do that in an international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior show.
SASUKE Results[]
| SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 92 | Failed Hedgehog (First Stage) | All-Cut in the TBS broadcast. Digest run can be seen in SASUKE Vietnam 2. Full run shown on the SASUKE YouTube channel. |
| 32 | 72 | Failed Double Pendulum (First Stage) | All-Cut in the TBS broadcast. Digested in the Navi. |
| 35 | 67 | Failed Dragon Glider (First Stage) | Digest. Paravi Original |
| 36 | 63 | Failed Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger (Third Stage) | Failed transition to the 3rd ledge. |
| 37 | 57 | Failed Fish Bone (First Stage) | Digest. Shown in Trailer. |
| 38 | 82 | Failed Reverse Conveyor (Second Stage) | Digest. Time Out. |
| 39 | 86 | Failed Ni Ren Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage) | All-Cut. Time Out. Second Wall. |
| 40 | 3974 | Failed Cliff Dimension (Third Stage) | Digest. Second transfer. |
| 41 | 79 | Failed Sidewinder (Third Stage) | Second Transition. |
SASUKE Vietnam Results[]
| SASUKE Vietnam | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2007 | Failed Rope Climb (Stage Four) | Time Out. |