American Ninja vs Japanese Ninja Warriors last January

I never liked the multiple chances they get in the American version. You get wet, or you fail an obstacle, you go home, period. None of this best 10 advance nonsense.

 

Do you mean even the wall, you only get 1 chance?

I think it's awesome that several women have made it up this year.. heck, one was 5 feet tall, IIRC.

 

They don't get multiple chance. Those are qualifying rounds. Its an opportunity to
1) Make more hours of television out of the same thing
2) Get a chance to pick the best 100 out of 500 (??? not sure how many are in each qualifying round).

And in case you might think it gives them practice for the final round:

1) Many of the pros already have their own to-scale replicas of the major obstacles, and they still can't make it
2) For the most part, the obstacles in the qualifying and city-final rounds are not the same as the ones in the actual final competition. The exceptions being the warped wall (though it's shaped differently) and the salmon ladder.

 

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As far as this episode, yes it was taped last season, but I don't think it ever aired last year. I've had a season pass for this show for a few years now, and it didn't pick this one up until about a month or two ago.

And yes, there is no Ninja Warrior in japan anymore. Actually, the proper Japanese name is Sasuke (pronounced sauce-kay). The show had gone through about 15 years in japan (most years had 2 seasons), but then the production company went bankrupt in 2012 and the show stopped being made

Edit: I'll actually add that I really love the original. Its much more enjoyable overall. The American version just drags on and on with multiple rounds, multiple cities, and huge feel-good promo reels for every single competitor (great, I just spent 60 seconds learning about some nobody who can't even complete the first obstacle). It seems the US version is about 15-20 hours for the qualifying and city final rounds, then another 6 hours for the finals. The Sasuke episodes used to air regularly on G4 (under the name "Ninja Warrior", and they were generally just 3 to 6 half hour episodes per season. I haven't seen these air in about a year.

I also loved the original because they let anyone compete. Americans (as well as people from all over the world) would travel to Japan on their own to compete. Then the US team became official and Japan just handed us 5-10 guaranteed spots each year. Then we take over the show and we exclude everyone who is not an american citizen. Slap in the face.

 

No, it's not dead yet. After a hiatus of a little more than a year, Sasuke 28 (called Sasuke Rising) aired in Japan in December 2012 under a new production company (but with a lot of the same obstacles and the same competitors). Sasuke 29 aired in June 2013. Neither tournament has been shown in the US.

It has been over a year since the last show, but Sasuke 30 has already been taped and is scheduled to air in Japan on July 3.

You can find details (and results spoilers) at:
http://sasukepedia.wikia.com/

 

Awesome. I hadn't read that they started it back up. I really couldn't care if it airs in America. I'd actually prefer the Japanese broadcast. The American version cuts things out, and the benefit of English commentary is nil. The inane play-by-play of telling me everything I can already see adds nothing for me. With the Japanese version, even though I can't understand a word of their commentary (other than "Jumping Spider") the excitement in their voices is so amusing. And if you find a version with commercials still in it, many Japanese commercials are hilarious to see because their advertising style is so different than ours.

I just found a torrent for 29 on the pirate bay (though without commercials).

 

I presume you mean this one, aired early this year:
Special S5 13/Jan/14 American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. Japan (120 min)

oops, I realize the title of this thread says that!!