Sasuke (1997)

Country

Japan

Length

43 seasons, 42 episodes

Rating

8.8 of 10 from 10 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

One hundred contestants take on a brutal four-stage obstacle course. Failing any obstacle or running out of time means instant elimination. The goal is to complete all stages and hit the final buzzer.

high-energytensefast-pacedintensesuspensefulthrillingcompetitive

What happens

Sasuke (Japanese: サスケ, romanized: SASUKE; SAH-skay; Japanese pronunciation: [sasɯ̥ke]) is a Japanese sports entertainment reality television show that has been airing since 1997 in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a four-stage obstacle course. Failing any obstacle during a stage, or running out of time on stages with set time limits, leads to elimination. Finishing a stage by reaching the end and hitting the buzzer will grant advancement to the next stage. Sasuke also has many international versions of itself, mainly called "Ninja Warrior", with 20 local shows. Recorded at Midoriyama studios in Yokohama, it airs on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), typically between Japanese television drama seasons. The show's namesake is Sarutobi Sasuke, a ninja character in Japanese traditional storytelling. Each episode airs an entire tournament as a single special, ranging from 70 minutes to 6 hours. There have been 43 specials produced, with approximately one or two per year. The show is produced by TBS and began as a segment within the series Kinniku Banzuke (筋肉番付; 'Muscle Ranking'), another sports entertainment competition, which aired on G4 in the United States under the name Unbeatable Banzuke. Competitions generally start in the daytime and continue until completed regardless of weather or darkness. After Monster9's bankruptcy in November 2011, Tokyo Broadcasting System handed production over to the studio FOLCOM, who relaunched the show under the title Sasuke Rising. For the 35th tournament TBS renamed the show once again, to Sasuke Ninja Warrior, aligning with the worldwide Ninja Warrior brand. The show's logo would be changed for the 36th edition, with the new logo's year being updated for subsequent editions. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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