Ninja Warrior

After a week of sad news in the media, it was nice to see something fun on tv. This weekend, the G4 Network has run a marathon on it's series Ninja Warrior. Apparently, Ninja Warrior (or Viking or Sasuke or whatever other name it's run under in different countries) is a television show that has been running in Japan for a decade or so. It is a full on obstacle course challenge very reminiscent of MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge on Spike TV) where hordes of Japanese (and a few non Japanese) race against time and risk falling into murky muddy water. It took a second to get over the non MXC elements (the sophomoric sexual innuendo of the dubbed commentators is missed and emphasis on contestants who crash and burn are not focused on here) but I found it very addicting after an hour.

The obstacle courses featured in this show easily surpasses anything featured on American TV. If this show tried to exist in the United States, it would be safety law suited to death. The courses are long and in some cases several stories high (they include jumping off trampolines and swinging on chains, jumping and bracing yourself between two walls with no support underneath, lifting heavy walls and more). There are three or four courses in a row to pass in order to win and each series the courses are changed to keep anyone from fully learning it. I think only two people have won in the history of the show!

I really liked the attitude of most of the losers on this show as well. When a loser would be interviewed, the reason given was usually just plain personal failure. No excuses about the producers being unfair, dark hidden childhood trauma or God's will. You lost 'cause you lost. I really respect that.

Now that I've seen a few episodes, I've determined this must be the American Idol of Japan. Many people train on their personal time and create mini obstacle courses in their backyard to prepare for the show. People from all walks of life come in, have a brief video profile and often compete in their work clothes. If they lose, they will lose in fantastic fashion falling off a rolling log or taking a long jump into a lake after missing the bar. If they win even a single round, they have a claim to fame. I found myself rooting for these guys as they got into the later stages as if it were live television.

So, catch this show while you can. If it's like MXC the American version will edit together all of the good stuff for the first season and serve up the leftovers later. Also like MXC, it will probably get old fast so have fun watching it!