Youtube currently has the full program of TV Tokyo’s “King of Gluttony” program in which Miki Sudo, Darron Breeden, Max Suzuki, Angela Sato, Hatsuyo Sugawara and others competed. (I will not post any spoilers until later today). Update Results of the final round are in the comments. Takeru Kobayashi and Nobuyuki Shirota appear as commentators, but do not compete.

update Jan 16 Miki Sudo has posted some Instagram galleries: Part 1 | Part 2

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Takeru Kobayashi appeared on today’s episode of Matsuko Deluxe a show starring a plus-size transvestite. Additional guests include:

• Takako Akasaka, 3rd place in 2000 Nathan’s and first woman to exceed 20 hot dogs in a Nathan’s July 4 contest
• Nobuyuki “The Giant” Shirota 3rd place in 2004 Nathan’s and winner of 3 out of 4 Food Battle Club contests
• Kaz Arai 2000 Nathan’s winner and 2001 Nathan’s runner up

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Jenny McArdle has a blog entry with a picture about encountering Nobuyuki “The Giant” Shirota in Osaka.

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Famitsu.com reports that the Japanese version of the Major League Eating video game for the Nintendo Wii will be released on March 24 and the price will be 900 yen. Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota and Hatsuyo “the Witch” Sugawara are the new characters, apparently replacing Rich LeFevre and Juliet Lee. The game was first announced in August and the original release date was October 14, 2008.

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Hacking Netflix reports that a movie called Gluttonous will be available tomorrow. The Netflix website has the following description for the movie:

Based on a popular Japanese manga, this pair of sidesplitting live action comedies follows the screwball exploits of a host of unconventional participants in the ferociously intense world of competitive eating. While most people try to temper their food intake, these competitors pride themselves on swallowing as much food as they can in the shortest possible time — and keeping it down long enough to win!

Gluttonous is known in Japan as Gourmet Fighter Both Natsuko “Gal” Sone and Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota appeared as competitive eaters in Gourmet Fighter. Volume 1 and Volume 2 are included in the Netflix rental.

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A press release announces the Japanese launch of the Major League Eating Wiiware video game which will be available on October 14. Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota and Hatsuyo “the Witch” Sugawara have been added to the game, apparently replacing Rich LeFevre and Juliet Lee.

update TokyoMango has an English blog entry about the release

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Kobayashi has posted an entry about the upcoming Nathan’s finals on his blog. It is not 100% clear from the automatic translation, but he appears to commit to competing in the July 4 contest. (The comments seem to think he will attempt to win his seventh title) From the automatic translation:

NEISANZU 2008 world championships

Play! ！ !

I said you left the tournament career makeover?

Where to play sports or another kind of feeling.

So I thought at the goal and still HAKKIRI MITSUKARANAKU I have no choice.

First of all, I aimed to win it from the start,

Thank you cheer! ！ !

If Kobayashi does compete, he will most likely receive a bye since it does not appear a Japan Nathan’s qualifier will be held in 2008 even though the qualifier registration form listed the date of the Tokyo qualifier as June 24. Some commenters have speculated that Kobayashi will compete in the San Francisco qualifier on Saturday. The last time Kobayashi was not the defending champion for an IFOCE event which had qualifiers, the 2004 Krystal Square Off finals, he entered the Jacksonville qualifier the week before.

Kobayashi has a blog entry about dining at Nobuyuki Shirota’s restaurant and doing a noodle eating challenge there. Shirota also has a post about the meal on his blog.

update Sponichi.co.jp has an article about Kobayashi which makes it pretty clear he intends to compete

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• OC Mex Food has a blog entry about the screening of the Levi Oliver documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival
• A list of the winners in Mastiff’s MLE game gift certificate giveaway
• The Phillips crabcake contest returns to Maryland next weekend at the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival in Annapolis.
• A video of Ian Hickman doing a banana spilt challenge
• Shirota’s restaurant opens

The Indepedent of London has an article about the oyster eating challenge at Wintzell’s Oyster House in Mobile Alabama:

The genuine smile is harder to find in the US than anywhere else on earth. On the East and West coasts, people smile because they’re feeling smug. But in Alabama, people smile because they want you to be happy. It’s evident in the 1920s canteen-style interior of Wintzell’s, where the walls are covered with ancient, handwritten signs of folksy, homespun wisdom (“Unfortunately, there is a widespread view that the proper lubricant for a political machine is palm oil rather than elbow grease” is one example).

An Indepedent reporter took a tour with Famous Fat Dave in New York City.

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Videos of an eating contest between Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota and wrestlers held during a pro wrestling card on Christmas 2007 can be viewed on youtube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

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(Via Serious Eats) Trends in Japan reports that Nobyuki “the Giant” Shirota will open a temporary udon noodle restaurant in Osaka called Shirotaya on April 25. The restaurant will serve bowls of udon that are 16 and 32 times the size of a standard portion. The restaurant is expected to close on August 31.

Shirota has a blog entry and Yahoo of Japan has an article about the restaurant

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The next segment of Food Battle Club (The Speed), called “Triangle Records”, has been posted to youtube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=wdQmtAMOf0k. Kobayashi and Nobuyuki Shirota both participate in this segment, which involves eating 40 small food items.

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The next segment of Food Battle Club has been posted to youtube in which Takeru Kobayashi and Nobuyuki Shirota attempt to match Ken Domon’s mark of drinking the contents of a water bottle in under five seconds. Neither Kobayashi nor Shirota successfully complete the challenge without spilling or leaving water in the bottle, but they both apparently reach the next round.

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Livedoor.co.jp reports that Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota made his pro wrestling debut at the event where he was also expected to compete against “Gentleman” Joe Menchetti in an eating contest. Results from the eating contest have not been released yet.

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Sponichi.co.jp reports that Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota defeated pro wrestler Toshiaki Kawada at a curry eating contest held at a Christmas wrestling event, 11 plates to 6.

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Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota, held a press conference to promote his competing in an eating contest that will take place at a pro wrestling event on New Year’s Eve. Joe Menchetti is not mentioned in the press release.

update Yahoo Sports has an article on Japanese New Year’s Eve extravaganzas:

On no night is that more evident than New Year’s Eve, which has, over the past seven years, become a cultural tradition as the biggest fighting night of the year.

Boxers, kickboxers, pro wrestlers, actors, comic book giants, comedians and Olympic medalists in a variety of sports have all shared the stage in the past, and will continue to this year when two major shows are held on the same night, one on pay-per-view and the other on network television.

Hong-man’s MMA career consists of 16 seconds last year on New Year’s Eve against Nigerian-born comedian Bobby Ologun. The match consisted of Hong-man, 15 inches and 142 pounds heavier than his foe, dragging Ologun on the ground to the center of the ring by his ankles after Ologun tried a flying knee and landed on his back on the mat.

Bobby Ologun has appeared in several Gal Sone videos, including her competing disguised as a German grandmother and the octopus hunting trip in Canada.

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Deresque has information about the New Year’s Eve eating contest that Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota and “Gentleman” Joe Menchetti will participate in. The competition will be part of a professional wrestling / competitive eating extravaganza that will be televised on TV Tokyo. (Pro wrestling is called “hustling” in Japan.) Shirota had a giant spoon at the event announcing the contest.

The transcript of this press conference announces that Gal Sone will be having an eating contest with retired mixed martial artist / pro wrestler Antonio Inoki during the event. Inoki fought Muhammad Ali to a draw in a mixed martial arts contest in 1976.

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FritoLay.co.jp reports that snack foods endorsed by Nobuyuki Shirota and Tomoko Miyake were released today. Shirota and Miyake also designed and endorsed snacks for Frito Lay last year.

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A subtitled program in which Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota and Natsuko “Gal” Sone receive a medical examination to determine what gives them their eating ability can be seen at http://subtitle.in/w/j0qT_UGSSYQ/IbI___wRkiD

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The kakinaguri blog has the results of today’s “Gluttonnous King” contest:

1. Nobuyuki Shirota
2. Takuya Yamamoto
3. The “Artist”
4. Sugawara, 1st woman to defeat Gal Sone in a Gluttonous King / Queen contest
5T. Natsuko “Gal” Sone
5T. Sakura Takahashi
7 Yuko Siyouzi

Shirota announced his retirement after the contest. If he follows throught with it, Kobayashi will be the last eater remaining from the golden age of Japanese competitive eating. Shirota has a statement about his retirement on his blog.

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This year’s “Gluttonous King” contest will be televised on Sunday night, and a web page for that program has been set up. The competitors displayed on the page are Gal Sone, Giant Shirota, Takuya Yamamoto, the Artist and newcomer Sakura Takahashi.

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A video of the pumpkin eating contest between teams consisting of Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota & Tomoko Miyake and “Gentleman” Joe Menchetti & Elizabeth “Rubber Gut” Canady can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-34LXhHeKs
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