Top 10 Worst Sasuke (Japanese Ninja Warrior) Events
While the Japanese version of Ninja Warrior has many great events, there are also quite a few bad ones.
Here are the top ten worst Sasuke events of all time.
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Sasuke 19
Only two competitors managed to clear the First Stage, marking one of the lowest success rates in the history of the competition. This tournament is noted for the complete elimination of the Sasuke All-Stars during the opening stage.
Anyone who has watched Sasuke 19 knows how bad it was. This event had the opposite problem of Sasuke 27: it was way too hard. The Jumping Spider and Flying Chute were both excessively difficult. The only two competitors who passed Stage 1 must have gotten lucky because they both had terrible performances in Stage 2, with both failing on the second obstacle. One even almost timed out on it. Many consider this the worst Sasuke ever.
Only the worst because of how uneventful it was.
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Sasuke 32
Eight competitors cleared the First Stage, which was the first single-digit result in several tournaments. Drew Drechsel was the sole competitor to reach the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger in the Third Stage, where he was eliminated.
The worst broadcast ever. Nagano's run and retirement ceremony were cut. Takeda's run was also cut, and the good competitors were cut in favor of jokes and comedians.
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Sasuke 28
Five competitors cleared the First Stage as the tournament began the Rising era. No competitor was able to complete the Third Stage.
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Sasuke 29
Twenty-one competitors cleared the First Stage, but the Third Stage proved difficult for the field. Yusuke Morimoto was the only competitor to attempt the Crazy Cliffhanger.
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Sasuke 16
Sixteen competitors cleared the First Stage, but none were able to complete the Third Stage. The event was impacted by heavy wind and rain, which affected course conditions.
While some may disagree, in my opinion, 2003-2006 was one of the best periods in Sasuke history, right behind the Shin-Sasuke Era (between the 2nd and 3rd kanzenseiha). Of this time period, Sasuke 16 was the worst of the bunch. The Rope Reverse, Reverse Fly, and Grip Hang were atrocious. Stage 1 was ridiculously easy, with ten completions in a row, and it would have been more if Yamamoto hadn't messed up the Jump Hang.
The issue with Sasuke 16 was, like Sasuke 18, baffling stage design. Stage 3 was fine, but Stage 2 got the incredibly unintimidating Delta Bridge, and Stage 1 was even worse. Besides the Sextuple Step, the new obstacles didn't seem very challenging - maybe even possible for kids.
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Sasuke 25
Eleven competitors cleared the First Stage, but the tournament concluded in the Third Stage. The Ultimate Cliffhanger debuted in this competition and eliminated every competitor who attempted it.
Coming off of a kanzenseiha (forgive my potential grammar issues), Sasuke 25 should have been really good. Unfortunately, they dropped the ball with this one. First, many of the obstacles were pretty bad. The Dome Steps, Bridge Jump, and even the Rolling Log felt out of place. Second, the redesigned Stage 1 was barely any harder than before.
Plus, it had the lowest completion rate of any Sasuke at 7.5%. Stage 2 was better, but it barely changed at all, and the new Slider Drop was the worst first obstacle of Stage 2 ever.
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Sasuke 21
Nine competitors cleared the First Stage, but the event ended controversially in the Third Stage. Makoto Nagano failed the Gliding Ring obstacle due to a mechanical malfunction with the equipment.
Unlike most entries on this list, this one isn't here due to bad obstacles or being too hard or too easy, but because of one of the cheapest eliminations of all time. Unfortunately, an unlucky Nagano Makoto (the names are said backward in Japan) was the victim of an incident known as the Grinding Ring Incident (not really, I just made that term up), where the Gliding Ring, which was supposed to slide down the track, got stuck, causing him to fail.
However, despite the blatant malfunction, it was still ruled that Nagano had failed, making it the cheapest Sasuke ending of all time. Plus, Levi Mewenburg failed on the Salmon Ladder, which was fun.
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Sasuke 33
Thirteen competitors cleared the First Stage, but no one was able to complete the Third Stage. The tournament ended when Yusuke Morimoto failed the Flying Bar obstacle.
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Sasuke 27
Yuuji Urushihara achieved Total Victory, becoming the first competitor to do so twice. Twenty-seven competitors cleared the First Stage, setting a record for the highest number of clears at the time.
If there was ever a time the Sasuke course looked easy, this was it. The course's difficulty was reduced considerably, leading to 27 Stage One clears. But that was only the beginning. While Stage 2 was perfectly fine, Stage 3 was even more nerfed. The Roulette Cylinder and Doorknob Grasper were both replaced with the pathetic Arm Bike, and the Ultimate Cliffhanger became the third obstacle.
None of the other obstacles after it were any more difficult, as only one person who beat the Cliffhanger failed the stage. Then the Final Stage was the worst ever. It was just a rope climb that gave competitors way too much time. In fact, the winner managed to clear it with over six seconds left. Shortly after this event, Monster 9, who owned the rights to the event, went bankrupt.
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Sasuke 1
This was the inaugural tournament and featured 100 competitors attempting the course. Only four competitors reached the Third Stage, and the Final Stage was not attempted.
The first Sasuke event was definitely not a great beginning. The scenery was extremely generic, and several Stage 1 obstacles were stupidly easy. The Spinning Log, Rapid Descent, and Hill Climb were just pathetic. Stage 2 was better, but the Reverse Conveyor Belt was terrible. Stage 3 was the worst, though. Not a single obstacle was difficult. I could clear it.
As the first event, it obviously had to set a standard that didn't exist prior. Even still, the producers could have made the courses a little harder. Stages 1 and 3 were total jokes. Stage 2 was fine (though nobody would fail it now), and the only reason no one won was because no one knew what they were getting into.
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Sasuke 35
Eight competitors cleared the First Stage. Yusuke Morimoto reached the Final Stage but failed the rope climb portion.
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Sasuke 13
Eleven competitors cleared the First Stage. Makoto Nagano was the last man standing, failing the Third Stage's Curtain Cling.
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Sasuke 18
Six competitors cleared the First Stage, which featured a renovated design. The Third Stage eliminated all remaining contenders, leaving the Final Stage unattempted.
Plenty of flaws were caused by odd obstacle design: The Rope Glider injured a bunch of people (which is especially egregious considering it was the first obstacle of the first stage!). The Net Climb took up space that could have been used for a harder or more time-consuming obstacle. The Bungee Bridge wasn't much of a threat (though it looked kind of cool), and I bet the Shoulder Walk wasn't nearly as hard as the Wall Lift.
Most abhorrent of all was the returning Arm Bike, the obstacle that survived multiple competitions without anyone ever failing it. They didn't even modify it to make it harder. However, Sasuke 18 introduced a bunch of excellent obstacles, like the Jumping Spider and the Salmon Ladder.
My biggest complaint, however, is Makoto Nagano's Stage 3 disqualification. It wasn't unwarranted, but things would have gone differently that night if he hadn't grabbed the wrong part of the Cliffhanger. I genuinely believe he could have won back-to-back tournaments.
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Sasuke 2
The number of First Stage clears dropped significantly compared to the premiere. Hikaru Tanaka was the last man standing, failing the Pipe Slider in the Third Stage.
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Sasuke 23
Sixteen competitors cleared the First Stage, but the field was reduced in the subsequent rounds. The tournament ended in the Third Stage without a Final Stage appearance.
Like Sasuke 21, this was a controversial event. Why? Because once again, Nagano Makoto got screwed over due to a malfunction. But this time, they let him restart, and he ended up almost achieving kanzenseiha once again. Sadly, Urushihara (sorry about any misspellings) failed in Stage 2, making his last attempt look like a fluke.
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Sasuke 10
This tournament featured the 1000th run in the competition's history. Five competitors reached the Third Stage, but none were able to advance to the Final Stage.
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Sasuke 14
Fourteen competitors cleared the First Stage. The Jumping Bars in the Third Stage eliminated the final contenders.
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Sasuke 20
Only three competitors cleared the First Stage, marking one of the lowest success rates in the show's history. Levi Meeuwenberg was the only competitor to reach the Third Stage.
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Sasuke 7
The Spider Walk obstacle malfunctioned during several runs, causing controversy among the competitors. Shingo Yamamoto reached the Final Stage but failed the rope climb.
This event was on this list for one reason specifically: Yamamoto Shingo falling off the Spider Climb in the Final Stage.
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Sasuke 8
Seven competitors cleared the First Stage. Heavy rain made the course conditions difficult, contributing to the elimination of many challengers.
This was also a very controversial event due to the heavy rain that fell on the course, causing many people to fail much sooner than they would have if it were dry. This potentially prevented Kane Kosugi from achieving kanzenseiha. This caused him to become frustrated, and coupled with his unauthorized use in a recent video game, he never competed again.
It suffered from one fatal flaw: the weather. Another commenter said Kane Kosugi could have won the tournament if it hadn't rained that day, which is a very interesting "what if" for a show I've never heard "what ifs" about before.
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Sasuke 26
Ten competitors cleared the First Stage, and five advanced to the Third Stage. Lee En-Chih was the last man standing, failing the Ultimate Cliffhanger.
Step Slider = Good job. Hazard Swing < Log Grip. Rolling Escargot < Jump Hang. Jumping Spider and Warped Wall = good job. Giant Swing = just an L. Final Climb is just how it is. No new Stage 2 stuff. Can't really say much about Stage 3 because we didn't see anybody pass the UCH. Stage 1 was just bad, and they cut over half the Americans. It's super hard finding footage from ANW.
I actually like the obstacles introduced in this tournament, but why did they modify one of them before it was even attempted? Also, the original Giant Swing didn't pose a threat at all and seemed like a somewhat pointless inclusion in Stage 1.
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Sasuke 12
Only three competitors managed to clear the First Stage. Makoto Nagano reached the Final Stage but failed to press the buzzer by 0.11 seconds.
Let's not forget G4 cutting out over half the runs in Stages 2 and 3!
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Sasuke 17
Shunsuke Nagasaki reached the Final Stage. He failed to reach the buzzer before the time limit expired.
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Sasuke 36
The Final Stage was broadcast live from the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse. Yusuke Morimoto reached the top of the tower but failed to hit the buzzer within the time limit.
Sasuke 36 was the least creative course ever! There were NO new obstacles and 2 modified obstacles! Consider this one of the worst tournaments ever!
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Sasuke 34
Yusuke Morimoto was the sole competitor to attempt the Final Stage. He was unable to complete the Spider Climb segment within the time limit.
Sasuke 34 had lots of nobodies running the course, and there were NO new obstacles!