Sasuke (TV series)

Development

Recorded on location at Midoriyama studio in Yokohama, it airs on Tokyo Broadcasting System between Japanese television drama seasons. Each 3-hour special (with the exception of Sasuke 24 which lasted 5 1/2 hours) covers an entire competition; there are normally 100 participants. There have been 32 specials produced, approximately one new special per season (twice per year before Monster9's bankruptcy, now reduced to once per year since 2012). The show is produced by TBS and is one of the spin-offs of Muscle Ranking (筋肉番付, Kinniku Banzuke), another sports entertainment competition, which aired on G4 under the name Unbeatable Banzuke. Until the 10th competition, Sasuke was broadcast as a special part of Muscle Ranking, but it became an independent program when Muscle Ranking was discontinued. The first competition was held indoors, marking the only time Sasuke did not take place outside. Competitions generally start in the daytime and continue until completed regardless of weather or darkness. After Monster9's bankruptcy in November 2011, all rights to the show fell completely into the hands of its broadcaster, Tokyo Broadcasting System. Following their acquisition of all rights to Sasuke, TBS renamed the show Sasuke Rising for the 28th, 29th and 30th editions, but have since reverted to the original name.

Applicants are interviewed or auditioned and trial rounds are held to test their physical ability until the field is narrowed to 100 competitors. Sasuke consists of four stages of increasing difficulty; competitors must complete a stage to advance. Before the 18th tournament, a 1200-meter run was held in order to determine the competitors' starting positions. Each competition is taped prior to the air date, edited for time, and broadcast as a 3-hour show. Exceptions may be made as in Sasuke 24's case should TBS decide the broadcast should go over 3-hours, but this is a rare exception.

In its 32 seasons, all four stages of the course were only completed a total of five times, by four different competitors. These were Kazuhiko Akiyama in the 4th competition (1999), Makoto Nagano in the 17th competition (2006), Yuuji Urushihara in the 24th (2010) and 27th (2011) competitions, and Yusuke Morimoto in the 31st competition (2015).

Popularity

The popularity of Sasuke has led to the creation of a number of spin-off shows and international versions of the show. Kunoichi, perhaps the most well-known spin off, is a version of Sasuke restricted to female competitors with an emphasis on speed, balance, and stability. American Ninja Warrior is the United States version of show. Originally integrated with Sasuke (with American finalists participating on the Sasuke course in Japan), it was at one point the G4 network's highest rated show. As of season 4, American Ninja Warrior's popularity has allowed it to move to the NBC network and expand as a stand-alone spin-off with a full replica course in Las Vegas. Other international versions of the format have aired in Singapore, Malaysia, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom, Bahrain, China, Indonesia and Vietnam, with versions also launching in France (TF1), Germany (RTL), and Italy (NOVE of Discovery Networks) in 2016. An Australian version will launch on Nine Network in 2017. Netflix also started airing Ultimate Beastmaster , broadcast in 6 different languages in 2017, a Sasuke inspired show.

Competitors

The show hosts a broad spectrum of participants. While most are from Japan, national television personalities and Olympians from other countries, including the USA, Bulgaria, China and Korea, have taken part in the competition. Some of the more enthusiastic competitors dress up in costumes, bring props to the starting stage, or show off some of their talents. As of the 32nd competition, there are approximately 3,200 participants who have competed on Sasuke.

Sasuke All-Stars

The Sasuke All-Stars are a group of six favored competitors, established by the TBS network, originally thought to be the most likely to clear all four stages. It includes two of the men to complete the Sasuke course, Kazuhiko Akiyama (1999, 4th tournament) and Makoto Nagano (2006, 17th tournament). The membership of the All-Stars has remained unchanged despite other successful competitors in later tournaments, notably, Yuuji Urushihara who completed the course in the 24th and 27th tournaments. The All-Stars were officially 'retired' in the 28th tournament, although several of them continue to compete, and are now referred to as 'former All-Stars'.

The six consist of:

† – Nagano touched the top of the Shin-Cliff Hanger after swinging from the second to the third ledge. He disqualified himself, admitting his error and bowing out after he reached the next platform.

* – Nagano was allowed a second attempt at the first stage due to a malfunction of the Slider Jump.

† – Takeda had no number in the 18th tournament. He was around the 86th person to run the course.

† – Yamamoto was hurt in the 7th competition when he dislocated his shoulder and in the 23rd he re-injured his shoulder.

† – In the 12th competition, Yamada was disqualified on the Spider Walk for failing to remove his gloves used on the Chain Reaction obstacle. Although he was disqualified, he did manage to clear the 2nd stage with 3.4 seconds remaining.

Sasuke New Stars

The Sasuke New Stars are recent competitors who have made a name for themselves on the recent editions of the course. "Shin Sedai" or New Stars was famous since Sasuke 17, after Shunsuke Nagasaki made it to the Final Stage, after 6 years hiatus he competed again Sasuke 29. During his hiatus, there was no one who called Shunsuke as the New Stars. New Stars was familiar again since Yuuji and Kanno made it to the Third Stage at Sasuke 22.

† – Kanno touched part of the frame with his foot and climbed along the side of the platform, thereby going off the course.
‡ - Kanno withdrew before Double Salmon Ladder because of a shoulder injury.
†† - Kanno dislocated his shoulder immediately after clearing the Warped Wall, and timed out on top of the wall.

† – Kishimoto did not run the course because of his back injury.

Notable competitors

Athletes

World-class athletes, including Olympians, have attempted Sasuke:

Japanese athletes

Several Japanese athletes have competed in Sasuke over the years including, professional team handball player, Daisuke Miyazaki, who was featured in the 20th, 21st, 22nd and 26th competitions. In his debut, the 20th competition, he failed on the Halfpipe Attack. His best performance was in the Sasuke 21, where he made it all the way to the third stage devil steps. In Sasuke 22, he timed out on the net climb in stage 1, and in Sasuke 26, he failed the first stage Rolling Escargot.

After the 27th competition, 3 Japanese olympians competed: Tomoko Hagiwara, Koki Sakamoto, and Daisuke Nakano. Hagiwara competed in the 28th competition, but she failed the Quintuple Step. She also competed in the 29th competition, but she failed the Hedgehog. Sakamoto competed in the 28th competition, wearing #95 (the highest number for non all-stars that tournament), but he timed out on the second Warped Wall. Nakano competed in the 29th competition, but he failed the Jump Hang Kai, while trying to grab both nets.

American athletes

Various American athletes, including Olympic gymnasts (and twin brothers) Paul and Morgan Hamm, have competed in Sasuke. Paul made it to the second stage in the 14th and 16th competitions but failed to make it further – in the 14th, he cleared Wall Lifting but forgot to hit the button at the end before time ran out, and in the 16th, he was eliminated by the Metal Spin. He competed in the 15th competition as well, but he failed to make it past the first stage's Warped Wall. Morgan timed out in the first stage before he could attempt the Rope Climb in the 14th competition, but he made it to the third stage in the 15th, failing on the Curtain Cling. In the 16th competition, he failed the first stage's Warped Wall.

Decathlete Paul Terek competed four times in total. He first appeared in the 17th competition, making it to the third stage before failing the Cliff Hanger. The announcer pointed to his immense size (6 foot 3 and 215 pounds) as a barrier to his advancement. After earning the title of Pro Sportsman No. 1 in 2007, Terek appeared in the 19th competition but failed the first stage's Jumping Spider. He helped G4 oversee the 2nd American Ninja Challenge competition in early 2008, but he did not compete in Sasuke's 20th competition due to his training for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (though he eventually had to drop out of the running for the Olympics after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee). He made his return to Sasuke in the 22nd competition but failed on a new obstacle in the first stage, the Slider Jump. He failed the same obstacle in Sasuke 24. In 2010, Paul Terek announced his retirement from international competition, so it is likely he will never compete again.

Henry Cejudo, gold medal-winning wrestler at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, competed in the 21st competition, but failed the first stage's Halfpipe Attack.

Levi Meeuwenberg, a free runner from G4's American Ninja Challenge 2, first competed in Sasuke 20, where he was one of only three people to clear the first stage and the only person to clear the second stage. He cleared stage 2 with a record time of 38.5 second left. He failed the third stage's Shin-Cliff Hanger. In the 21st competition, he failed the Salmon Ladder in the second stage; in the 22nd, he failed the new Slider Jump; in the 23rd, he made it back to the third stage but again failed the Shin-Cliff Hanger again. He missed the 24th competition but returned for the 25th, where he failed the first obstacle of the second stage, the Slider Drop. However, he couldn't compete in the 26th competition after breaking his wrist while participating in Jump City: Seattle, a televised professional parkour tournament. In the four times he completed the first stage, he had the fastest time out of everyone who finished Stage 1.

Results

† - Hamm cleared the Second Stage with 0.1 seconds left, but forgot to hit the buzzer at the end of the obstacles.

† - Levi was supposed to compete in the 26th tournament, having earned a spot in the American Ninja Warrior preliminaries, but was ultimately unable to do so after breaking his wrist on Jump City: Seattle, which occurred prior to the 26th tournament. His spot in the tournament went to ANW alternate, Adam LaPlante (who failed on the Halfpipe Attack in Stage 1).

Bulgarian athletes

Bulgarian gymnast and six-time Olympian (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) Yordan Yovchev (spelled on G4 as Jordan Jovtchev) first competed in the 8th competition. During that competition he reached the final stage but became the first competitor to suffer a 15-second timeout on the initial Spider Climb portion, falling when it spread apart. Rain and a two-second late start also hurt his performance. He made it to the third stage three more times in competitions 12, 14, and 16, failing the Cliff Hanger each time. He competed in the 15th competition but failed the Warped Wall in the first stage. He later came back to compete in Sasuke 20, where he failed the Warped Wall again. He also competed in Sasuke 23, where he managed to pass all of the other obstacles but sadly timed out on the final rope ladder.

Result

Korean athletes

South Korean gymnast Yeo Hong-chul, silver medalist in the men's vault at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He competed four times but has never gotten past the first stage. In the 7th competition, he was unable to beat the Rolling Log; In the 8th, he failed the Quintuple Step; In the 11th, he timed out on the Warped Wall. And in the 12th, he timed out on the Rope Climb.

Spanish athletes

Spanish gymnast Gervasio Deferr, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Champion in the vault and 2008 silver medalist in the floor exercise, competed in the 10th competition but timed out a few feet from the buzzer on the first stage's Rope Climb.

Taiwanese athletes

Result

Tahitian athletes

Mixed martial artists and wrestlers

K-1 mixed martial artist Genki Sudo has competed in five tournaments, failing at the Jump Hang (6th, 12th), the Rolling Log (13th), Duodectuple Step (23rd), and the Log Grip (24th). Another mixed martial artist, Sanae Kikuta competed in the 8th and 10th tournaments, where he fell off of the Rolling Log in the first stage; in the 12th tournament, he fell on the Plank Bridge in the first stage. Other K-1 fighters who have competed include Tatsuji (19th competition, failed the Jumping Spider), Yudai (20th competition, failed the Rokudantobi), Andy Ologun (18th competition, failed the Rope Glider; 20th Competition, failed the Log Grip), Bobby Ologun (22nd Competition, failed the Log Grip), Bernard Ackah (19th competition, failed the Jumping Spider), and Takeru has competed in three tournaments, failing the Hedgehog (30th), Warped Wall (31st), Tarzan Rope (32nd) when his foot touched the water.

Former Pride Fighting Championships and Pancrase Japanese mixed martial artist and pro wrestler Ikuhisa Minowa, competing in DREAM known as "Minowaman", was featured in the 26th competition wearing red wrestling tights, pads, and boots. He failed the second obstacle, "Hazard Swing" after jumping from the swing, and missing the rope on the platform, falling into the water below. He also competed in the 29th competition, but failed the first obstacle, the "Long Jump", where he landed feet first onto the sandbox and jumped backwards into the water. Japanese featherweight mixed martial artist from DREAM Hideo Tokoro, (announced as a "freelance fighter") was featured right after Minowaman in the 26th competition where he failed to grab the rope to swing himself to the other side in the first obstacle "Step Slider".

Several professional wrestlers have also competed, including Tiger Mask, The Great Sasuke (referred to as Great Ninja Warrior in the US and UK versions), Minoru Suzuki, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi and Naohiro Hoshikawa. Suzuki and Tanahashi were the Triple Crown Heavyweight and IWGP Heavyweight Champion, respectively, during their runs in the course.

Japanese entertainers

Several Japanese or Japan-based entertainers have taken part in Sasuke, including action movie star Kane Kosugi and his brother Shane. Kane made the third stage in the 1st, 4th and 6th competitions, failing on the Pole Bridge, Cliff Hanger and Body Prop, respectively. In the 7th competition, he made the second stage but failed the Spider Walk, his earliest exit from a competition. He reached the final stage in the 8th Competition, becoming, alongside Yordan Yovchev, the first foreigner to make it that far. Competing in heavy rain, Kane timed out on the rope climb; he has not competed since. Shane timed out on the second stage's Wall Lift in the 2nd competition, then failed the first stage's Rolling Log in the 3rd competition. In the 4th, he came close to completing the first stage but timed out on the Rope Climb. In the 6th and 7th competitions, he made it to the third stage, failing both times on the Body Prop. In the 8th competition, he failed to get past the first stage's Warped Wall. Unlike his brother, Shane competed in the 9th competition, where he failed the Big Boulder in the first stage.

Other entertainers who have competed include Hiromichi Sato, host of several NHK children's programs; Shigeyuki Nakamura, a champion of the Muscle Gym event in Kinniku Banzuke; actor-singer Kazumi Morohoshi, a former member of the band Hikaru Genji who is now a solo artist; actor/announcer Kenjirō Ishimaru; and actors Masaki Nomura and Shōei. Sato debuted in the 18th tournament and failed the first stage's Flying Chute. In the 19th tournament, he failed the Log Grip. In the 20th competition, he timed out before he attempted the Tarzan Rope. In the 21st competition, he timed out on the Warped Wall. In the 22nd, Sato finally cleared the first stage but failed the Metal Spin in the second. In Sasuke 23, he failed the Jumping Spider. In Sasuke 24, he failed the Metal Spin again. He missed Sasuke 25, but failed the Jumping Spider again in Sasuke 26. He missed Sasuke 27 and 28 but competed in 29, where he shocked the crowd by unexpectedly going out on the first obstacle, the Long Jump. Nakamura made it to the third stage in the 2nd competition, failing there on the Pipe Slider, but in the 6th competition he was eliminated by the first stage's Jump Hang. Morohoshi debuted in the 20th tournament but failed the Log Grip in the first stage. Ishimaru has never made it past the first stage; his two closest attempts, in the 16th and 17th competitions, timed out on the Rope Climb. Shōei competed 3 times. He competed in Sasuke 6, and failed the Jump Hang when he tried to go under using only his arms. He timed out on the rope climb in stage 1 in Sasuke 7. He finally made it pass the first stage and second stage in Sasuke 8. He struggled in stage 3 on the Propeller bars, and failed the Body Prop. Actor James Okada, a graduate from a martial arts academy, competed in the 6th and 7th competitions. In his first attempt, he failed the Jump Hang in the first stage, but in the next tournament, he made it all the way to the third, where he was defeated by the first obstacle, the Propeller Bars. Actor Ryosuke Yamamoto competed in Sasuke 30 and Sasuke 31. He never completed the first stage failing in Jump Hang Kai in Sasuke 30. In Sasuke 31 he did slightly worse by failing the Orugōru (also known as the Music Box) before he can reach the Jump Hang Kai again.

Voice actress Tomoko Kaneda competed in Sasuke 31. She failed the Rolling Hill on the first stage. Her husband Wataru Mori, an actor, also competed in several competitions. His latest attempt was at Sasuke 32, where he timed out at the Lumberjack Climb.

Golden Bomber members Kenji Darvish and Yutaka Kyan also competed in Sasuke 31. Kyan failed the Rolling Hill on the first stage. Darvish has previously competed in Sasuke 28 and 30 and failed the first stage. In Sasuke 31, he finally completed the first stage and failed the Cross Slider in the second stage. In Sasuke 32, Kyan do it better in the Rolling Hill, but he lost his balance on the new obstacle Tie Fighter. Darvish failed at the Tie Fighter when he lost his balance.

Model Shimon Okura competed in Sasuke 30. He failed on the Log Grip on the first stage. He come again to Sasuke 31, he do it better on the Log Grip, but he missed the nets on the Jump Hang Kai. Then he joined in Sasuke 32. He fell on the new obstacle Double Pendulum when he try to get to the red sandbag. A.B.C-Z member Ryoichi Tsukada competed in Sasuke 31, he timed out at the Lumberjack Climb. Then, he competed again on Sasuke 32. He completed the new obstacle Tie Fighter and Double Pendulum, but he failed to reach the top of the Warped Wall.

Japanese comedians

Several Japanese comedians have taken part in Sasuke, including Akira Omori ("The Monkey"), Koriki Choshu ("the most famous gut in Japan" and 2nd on G4's Craziest Contestants Poll), Passion Yara ("screaming wacko" and 5th on G4s craziest contestants poll), Masaki Sumitani ("Razor Ramon H.G." or "Hard Gay"), Yoku Hata ("Guitar Samurai"), Tetsurō Degawa, and Kinnikun Nakayama. Most of these compete for entertainment value and do not represent serious challenges – for example, Choshu's only accomplishment was being the first person to clear the Rope Glider in the 18th competition. However, some have seen success. Omori made it to the final stage three times in a row (1st–3rd competitions), a record that is shared with Sasuke all-star Makoto Nagano, but since then he has not been able to clear the first stage. Nakayama made it to the second stage in the 9th and 11th competitions; in the 9th, Nakayama failed the Spider Walk, and in the 11th, he missed hitting the second stage's final button by a split-second. He competed in Sasuke 27. He had footage showing himself training for the new course. He wore #30, and despite his training, he failed the Rolling Escargot when he could not get enough mommentum to get the structure spinning, and fell into the water when trying to restart the obstacle. He got revenge on it in the 28th tournament, but timed out on the second Warped Wall. In the 29th tournament, he almost cleared the first stage for the first time in 10 years, but ultimately, timed out at the top of the Rope Ladder. Recent comedians include, Yoshio Kojima, who competed in 5 competitions (22, 24, 26-28), where he failed at the Log Grip twice, Hazard Swing, Step Slider, and Rolling Escargot respectively. Funnyman Masumi Yagi was featured in the 26th competition but failed on the Step Slider. Cocky comedian, Eiko Kano (aka "Mr. Narcissus") was featured in the 25th competition and failed at the Dome Steps, but got past the first obstacle in the 26th competition and failed at the Rolling Escargot. Penalty comedian Wakky competed 9 times in Sasuke. He debuted in Sasuke 20 and failed the Halfpipe Attack. In Sasuke 21 and 22, he failed the Jumping Spider. In Sasuke 23, he got revenge on both the Jumping Spider and the Halfpipe Attack, only to fail the Slider Jump. In Sasuke 24, he failed the Halfpipe Attack again. He returned for Sasuke 27 and cleared the First Stage for the first time. In the Second Stage, he failed the Double Salmon Ladder. In Sasuke 28, he timed out on the Rope Ladder. He advanced to the Second Stage in Sasuke 29 and 30, but failed the Swap Salmon Ladder.

Other Notable Competitors

65-year-old Minoru Kuramochi, known as "the Octopus" because he usually brings an octopus with him, is the owner of the Edokko Izakaya octopus bar in Tokyo and is one of the oldest competitors. He has competed several times, never making it very far into the first stage. Despite this, he seems to be a fan favorite. In the 20th Competition's preview special, he welcomed the G4 American Ninja Challengers to his bar, served them his special octopus meal, and showed off to them his physical skills. He is No. 4 on G4's Craziest Contestant poll. His best performance was in Sasuke 26, where he managed to make it to the Rolling Escargot. He got further than in Sasuke 19, when he timed out on the Pole Maze.

Toyohisa Ijima, a martial arts dance instructor and former member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, competed in the first several tournaments. He is known as the "Japanese Bruce Lee" because of his resemblance to the late action star, which extends to dressing and acting like him. He has only made it past the first stage in the 1st tournament; in the 11th tournament, he missed hitting the final button on the Rope Climb by a split second because he had wasted time posing for the crowd after completing each obstacle. He is No. 3 on G4's Craziest Contestant poll.

44-years old Katsuhide Torisawa is a former weightlifter who has competed in every single Shin-SASUKE tournament (except SASUKE 22), starting with SASUKE 18. He always displays his strength before his run; he has brought a barbell and lifted it over his head multiple times, ripped off his shirt, and crushed with one hand an apple, full cans of beer and also snapped a baseball bat in half. He has never cleared the first stage.

Women in Sasuke

The only woman to have completed the first stage is former Super Sentai stuntwoman Chie Nishimura, who did so in the 2nd tournament. She attempted the second stage's Spider Walk in a non-optimal fashion, because her legs were too short to reach across the obstacle the proper way, and failed. She also competed in Sasuke 3 but failed the Rolling Log. She hasn't competed in Sasuke since.

Masami Yusa (G4 mislists her first name as "Miyabi" in some tournaments), a beach flags champion, has competed 8 times. She debuted in Sasuke 6, but failed the Barrel Climb. In the Sasuke 13 trials, she became the first woman to beat the Jump Hang, although she timed out there. During the actual competition, she was able to grab on to the redesigned Jump Hang, but she misjudged her jump, slammed face-first onto the platform, and fell into the water; this failure earned her a "Warrior Wipeout" during G4's broadcasting of this tournament. In Sasuke 14, she became the first woman to beat the Jump Hang and the Crooked Wall in competition, but she ultimately timed out on the Warped Wall.

Rie Komiya has competed several times. She is a Kunoichi (Women of Ninja Warrior) 8 champion. She first competed in Sasuke 22, where she was disqualified on the Jumping Spider for falling on the safety mat just after the trampoline. She got her revenge in Sasuke 23, but she fell on the Halfpipe Attack. In Sasuke 24, she surprised many by failing the log grip. She did not compete in Sasuke 25, but did compete in Sasuke 26, and failed the Rolling Escargot and she competed again in Sasuke 27, where she failed the Rolling Escargot again.

Satomi Kadoi, the other Kunoichi 8 champion, competed in Sasuke 27 and failed the Halfpipe Attack.

American Ninja Challenges

In fall 2007, the G4 network held a contest called the American Ninja Challenge, whose grand prize was a trip to Japan to compete in Sasuke's 19th competition. Ten semifinalist videos were selected on August 3 via internet poll to determine three finalists who would appear on G4's Attack of the Show! on August 28–30 to demonstrate their Ninja Warrior skills. On August 31, Michigan State University Economics student Colin Bell and the runner-up, Greenville, South Carolina native Brett Sims, were both selected, and they became the subjects of an hour-long G4 special on November 14 during G4's Ninjafest. Ultimately, both Colin and Brett qualified for the course thanks to their impressive physical abilities, but they both failed the Jumping Spider.

The second contest by G4 wrapped up in March 2008 and aired as part of G4's Ninjafest 2 on May 18, 2008. Levi Meeuwenberg of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Brian Orosco of San Francisco, California were both chosen to compete in Sasuke's 20th tournament; both are free runners. They competed alongside surprise guest Brett Sims, who was given the opportunity to return by G4. Sims failed the first stage's Warped Wall, while Orosco failed the Flying Chute. Meeuwenberg, however, made it to the third stage before he ultimately failed the Shin-Cliff Hanger. In that tournament, he was the last man standing.

The third contest by G4 wrapped up in August 2008 and aired as part of G4's Ninjafest 3 on November 12, 2008. Viewers voted for their favorite competitors, the top three of whom would be flown to Japan to compete in Sasuke's 21st tournament. The winners were Brian Orosco (who qualified with a different video), gymnast Mark Witmer of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and free runner/stuntwoman Luci Romberg – the first woman to qualify – of Valley Village, California. They joined American Ninja Challenge 2 winner Levi Meeuwenberg and both hosts from Attack of the Show!, Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira, to compete in Sasuke 21. In that tournament, Munn failed the Sextuple Step, while Pereira's run ended after his feet hit the water on the Log Grip; on the TBS broadcast, Munn's run was shown only in part while Pereira's run was cut completely. Romberg failed the Halfpipe Attack, while Witmer failed the Log Grip due to a severe ulnar nerve injury that he suffered while warming up. Orosco completed the first stage with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock but failed the second stage's Salmon Ladder. Meeuwenberg cleared Stage 1 with the fastest time, with 21.5 seconds remaining, but similarly failed the Salmon Ladder.

The fourth contest by G4 wrapped up in March 2009 and aired on June 21, 2009 on G4 as part of Ninjafest 4. The competitors' videos were judged by Attack of the Show's Olivia Munn. The winner, David Campbell, was joined by Munn and previous competitors Levi Meeuwenberg and Luci Romberg. Munn failed the new Circle Hammer in the first stage; Romberg failed the first stage's Jumping Spider; Campbell timed out on the final first stage obstacle, the Rope Ladder, and later told the sideline reporter that he "underestimated the cardio" involved in the course. Meeuwenberg failed a new first stage obstacle, the Slider Jump.

Results

The following is a list of available information of people who achieved the best results in each competition and also the number of competitors who failed in the lower stages. Under each competition, the results are listed in order of best performance. Their names are listed along with their number (1-100) from the competition, and the stage/obstacle they failed to complete (or Total Victory). In the 10th competition the number system ran from 901-1000 to indicate that 1000 competitors had attempted the First Stage, and then ran from 1901-2000. In the 20th competition to indicate that 2000 competitors had attempted the First Stage, and from 2901-3000 during the 30th competition to indicate roughly 3000 attempts on Sasuke. All air dates are of the Japanese broadcast on TBS.

SASUKE 1

Aired: September 26, 1997

SASUKE 2

Aired: September 27, 1998

SASUKE 3

Aired: March 13, 1999

SASUKE 4

Aired: October 16, 1999

SASUKE 5

Aired: March 18, 2000

SASUKE 6

Aired: September 9, 2000

Note: This is the first tournament where no one failed the Second Stage.

SASUKE 7

Aired: March 17, 2001

^Went 2 1/2 Meters up then fell down.

SASUKE 8

Aired: September 29, 2001

^ Jovtchev fell off the Spider Climb after the walls split at the 15 second limit.

SASUKE 9

Aired: March 16, 2002

SASUKE 10

Aired: September 25, 2002

SASUKE 11

Aired: March 21, 2003

SASUKE 12

Aired: October 1, 2003

SASUKE 13

Aired: April 6, 2004

SASUKE 14

Aired: January 4, 2005

SASUKE 15

Aired: July 20, 2005

SASUKE 16

Aired: December 30, 2005

SASUKE 17

Aired: October 11, 2006

SASUKE 18

Aired: March 21, 2007

SASUKE 19

Aired: September 19, 2007

SASUKE 20

Aired: March 26, 2008

SASUKE 21

Aired: September 17, 2008

SASUKE 22

Aired: March 30, 2009

SASUKE 23

Aired: September 27, 2009

SASUKE 24

Aired: January 1, 2010

SASUKE 25

Aired: March 28, 2010

SASUKE 26

Aired: January 2, 2011

SASUKE 27

Aired: October 3, 2011

SASUKE 28

Aired: December 27, 2012

SASUKE 29

Aired: June 27, 2013

SASUKE 30

Aired: July 3, 2014

SASUKE 31

Aired : July 1, 2015

SASUKE 32

Aired : July 3, 2016

Note: This is the second tournament where no one failed the Second Stage.

SASUKE 33

To Be Aired : March 26, 2017

International versions

Below is an incomplete list of the international versions with their own Sasuke/Ninja Warrior courses, excluding the original Japanese version and its rebroadcast in other countries.

Mt. Midoriyama conquerors

These winners are not including the "kanzenseiha" (Total Victory) winners from the original Japanese version, or under any other varied rules (including Team Ninja Warrior in Denmark and the United States).

United States

The program previously aired on G4 in the United States under the name Ninja Warrior. Each episode now lasts thirty minutes and it also includes some minor changes in the on-screen graphics. Throughout the episode, there's the "Ninja Killer" (for the obstacle that took out the most competitors) and "Warrior Wipeout" (honors the best wipeout) segments. The Japanese play-by-play commentary and interviews with the competitors have English subtitles, while the competitor profiles, replays, and introductions were dubbed by voice actor Dave Wittenberg.

The show became the highest rated program on the network since its debut. Aside from a few sporadic occurrences, reruns of Ninja Warrior stopped airing regularly sometime in December 2012 in wake of G4 slated to be rebranded as the Esquire Network on September 23, 2013. The last four episodes to air on G4 appeared as a 2-hour block on April 10, 2013. It is unknown if Ninja Warrior would return to the network's schedule or if some other channel would acquire the series. Commercials on G4 show American Ninja Warrior to air on G4 in July, marking it the last program being advertised on the network as a G4 program, and not an Esquire channel presentation.

As of August 3, 2016, an article released by USA Today says that "Esquire has obtained rights to 27 Ninja Warrior tournaments...along with all eight Kunoichi spinoff contests that feature only women contestants." and that they "...will return as a 63 hour Labor Day weekend marathon (Sept. 3, 7 a.m. ET/PT) in Japanese, with English subtitles." Whether this is referring to the original broadcasts or the G4 broadcasts is unknown right now due to little notice, but it seems to lean toward the G4 broadcasts. They also stated that "Additional newer tournaments of the series, never seen in the U.S., will debut next year."

American Ninja Warrior

The popularity of the American Ninja Challenge has led G4 to produce a version of the series featuring American contestants called American Ninja Warrior, which is produced by Pilgrim Films and Television, Inc and is currently hosted by Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Matt Iseman. Auditions on G4's website ended on August 18, 2009. Open tryouts were held in Los Angeles on August 29 and 30, 2009, and were taped for the show, with ten finalists competing on the 23rd tournament of the original Ninja Warrior course in Japan in September 2009. The eight-episode series began airing on December 12, 2009.

The qualifying round consists of over 300 competitors, running an obstacle course strongly influenced by Sasuke's first stage. The course consists of the Quintuple Step, a Rope Swing, the Jumping Spider, a modified version of the pipe slider, and a much smaller Warped Wall. The preliminaries used a leader board, and the 30 fastest times moved on to the semi-finals, which included the preliminary course plus three obstacles, the Tarzan Jump, the Jumping Bars, and a Net Climb.

American Ninja Warrior aired only the American finalists during the Sasuke obstacle course. The Japanese competitors were later aired on April 10, 2010.

A second season was cast on G4's website as of April 10, 2010 and aired in hour long specials starting December 8, 2010. The top 10 contestants would participate in Sasuke 26. Three episodes were run for the first two weeks. The first three episodes covered the opening round of the competition, the fourth covered the semifinals. This was followed by four days of a "boot camp" where the fifteen winners of the semifinals were divided into three five-man teams and put through several different Pressure Challenges, with the losing team having to complete a punishment while the other two teams got extra training time on models of some of the Sasuke obstacles (The Warped Wall, Double Salmon Ladder, Balance Tank, and Circle Slider). The teams would then run through a grouping of the obstacles with some sort of hindrance (Usually carrying something heavy between obstacles). The teams with the worst time would be forced to send two members to an elimination challenge, with the losing person forced to leave.

After boot camp, the ten final winners traveled to the Sasuke course to compete. Once again, only the American competitors were aired during the special, with the rest of the Sasuke competition to air later. The most successful of the American competitors in the past, Levi Meeuwenberg, withdrew from the competition due to a fractured wrist, giving his spot to Adam LaPlante. Five members failed in the First Stage: Patrick Cusic and former American Gladiators champion and gladiator Evan "Rocket" Dollard both fell from the new Rolling Escargot obstacle, LaPlante fell on the Halfpipe Attack and Adam Truesdell fell from the Giant Swing, a new variation of the Jump Hang, the only one out of all 100 competitors to do so in the whole tournament. In addition, veteran Shane Daniels once again timed out on the Cargo Net. In the Second Stage, four of the remaining five cleared, while Travis Furlanic fell on the Balance Tank, an obstacle he struggled on during Boot Camp. In the Third Stage, Paul Kasemir failed the Doorknob Grasper. Brent Steffensen made it to the Ultimate Cliffhanger before falling into the water. David Campbell, despite having the fastest times of all the competitors to complete (finishing the second stage with over 24 seconds left) failed at the Ultimate Cliffhanger as well. Brian Orosco fell at the very first obstacle, the Roulette Cylinder, which he had passed easily in the previous competition. While the $250,000 prize went unclaimed, Sasuke 26 was the start of a successful showing by a collection of American competitors.

The third season of American Ninja Warrior debuted on July 31 on G4, again with 300 competitors at the tryouts in Venice Beach. While many top competitors were absent including Levi Meeuwenberg, Rich King and Luci Romberg, a talented crop of new competitors took their place including Denver Broncos wide receiver Matt Willis, who finished the course but did not qualify for boot camp. Other notable competitors who failed to advance to boot camp included two-time Sasuke veteran Shane Daniels, season two veterans Evan "Rocket" Dollard, Adam Truesdell, Adam LaPlante and Patrick Cusic, top first round qualifiers from the previous season Trevor Vaughn and David Money, and former world freerunning champion Tim Shieff. In addition, professional freerunner and Survivor: China competitor Michael "Frosti" Zernow ranked in the top fifteen and was invited to boot camp, but injured himself and was replaced with fellow Jump City: Seattle competitor Jake Smith. Other competitors from Jump City who advanced to boot camp also included Brian Orasco, Drew Dreschel and David "Young Flip" Rodriguez. The level of competition in boot camp was noticeably higher in the third season, as competitors were only given one attempt at each obstacle in challenges, leading to large increase in time penalties. Promising competitors Dustin Rocho, Brandon Douglass, Alan Connealy, second-seeded qualifier Chris Wilczewski and five-time Sasuke veteran Brian Orosco all saw their Sasuke dreams come to an end at boot camp.

Of the ten who advanced to Sasuke, nine easily cleared the First Stage. The only exception was Dreschel, who injured his knee landing on the Halfpipe Attack, and despite a valiant attempt at the Warped Wall, was unable to put any weight on his leg and stated on his Facebook that he will not be available for Sasuke 28. The high hopes of the remaining nine took a major hit in the Second Stage, as five more were eliminated including Rodriguez on the Slider Drop, Smith on the Double Salmon Ladder, and newcomer Travis Rosen and veterans Travis Furlanic and Brent Steffensen on the Metal Spin. The remaining four competitors made it to the Third Stage only to be outdone by the Ultimate Cliffhanger. Ryan Stratis failed to make the fourth ledge while James McGrath and fan favorite Paul Kasemir failed the transition to the fifth ledge. The last competitor, David Campbell almost made it through the entire obstacle but on the final ledge his grip gave out. Even though no one earned a $500,000 K-Swiss Endorsement Deal, the competitors at Sasuke 27 were by far the strongest group of Americans to date. The final episode of the third season aired on NBC on August 29, 2011 as a two-hour special in prime-time.

A fourth season of the program began airing on May 20, 2012 and the show aired on both G4 and NBC for the Regionals and the Championship with the grand prize of $500,000 and the coveted American Ninja Warrior title. The entire format was changed as well - regional qualifiers in different parts of the country were aired and the Mt. Midoriyama course was recreated just off the Las Vegas Strip for the national finals. The regional qualifiers would narrow down its selections down to 30 contestants who finished its qualifying course in the fastest time as well as the contestants who finished the furthest the fastest. Qualifying obstacles would include common Stage 1 obstacles such as the Quintuple steps and the Warped wall, but its contents would change from city to city. The 30 contestants were then cut in half in the regional finals where the course would extend to include common Stage 2 and Stage 3 obstacles such as the Salmon Ladder, Cliffhanger and Body Prop. The 90 contestants who qualified (including wild cards) earned tickets to Las Vegas to challenge Mt. Midoriyama.

The show returned for its fifth season on July 1, 2013 in the same format. This season, if a contestant were to finish the course, that player would be guaranteed a spot in the next round. The show returned once again for its sixth season on May 25, 2014 on both NBC and Esquire Network with the same rules as in previous seasons. NBC has renewed the show for its seventh season in 2015 with the grand prize now doubled to $1,000,000. So far, it has produced, among other things, the endorsement of Makoto Nagano, the first American to complete the Ultimate Cliffhanger (Brent Steffensen in 2013), the first woman to complete the Salmon Ladder (Kacy Catanzaro in 2014), the first woman to complete the Jumping Spider (Meagan Martin, also in 2014), the first two Americans to achieve Total Victory (Isaac Caldiero and Geoff Britten on the same night in 2015) and the first female to complete Stage 1 of Mt. Midoriyama in Las Vegas (Jessie Graff in 2016). The network has renewed the show once again for its eighth season in 2016 with new qualifying cities including Los Angeles and Oklahoma City.

USA vs Japan

In 2014, the first Sasuke-based team competition was started, pitting five Sasuke All-Stars and New Stars representing Japan against five American Ninja Warrior stars representing the United States in what was dubbed by some as the inaugural Sasuke/Ninja Warrior world championship. The first meeting took place at the Mt. Midoriyama reconstruction in Las Vegas and was first broadcast in America on January 13, 2014 on NBC, with a second meeting already scheduled for the original Mt. Midoriyama in Aoba-ku in 2015.

At the first match in Las Vegas, Team Japan was composed of Shingo Yamamoto, Yuuji Urushihara, Ryo Matachi, Hitoshi Kanno and Kazuma Asa from Sasuke, while Team USA was composed of Brent Steffensen, Paul Kasemir, James McGrath, Travis Rosen and Brian Arnold from American Ninja Warrior. The match was composed of four rounds - one on each stage, with each round being a best-of-five of one-on-one races and each competitor running once per stage until the stage outcome was decided. Stage 1 was worth one point, Stage 2 worth two points and Stage 3 worth three, with the tiebreaker being the Final Stage tower. Despite the Japanese boasting superior experience and pedigrees (no Team USA member had completed Stage 3, either in Yokohama or Las Vegas), the Americans pulled off a stunning 6-0 win that included only one Japanese one-on-one race win (Matachi against Arnold on Stage 3.)

Team Ninja Warrior

With the success of American Ninja Warrior, Esquire Network announced a spin-off to the series called Team Ninja Warrior on October 9, 2015. The spin-off consists of 24 teams of three members featuring past and current ANW contestants from the first seven seasons. The series began airing on January 19, 2016 and is hosted by Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Matt Iseman with sideline reporter Alex Curry.

The second season of the show, titled College Madness, features college teams in a five-week competition. The second season began airing on November 22, 2016 with Iseman and Biama as hosts and ANW season six contestant Kacy Catanzaro as the sideline reporter.

United Kingdom

The American-edited Ninja Warrior episodes are broadcast in the United Kingdom on Challenge. The show has been re-edited to remove the subtitles from the footage of the competitors taking part in the stages, but retain them for contestant interviews. The "Ninja Killer" and "Warrior Wipeout" sections remain, but there is only one advertisement break halfway through the show.

The show was voiced-over by Stuart Hall for its first three series, aired between 2007 and 2008. In the fourth UK series, aired in 2011, Jim North took over as the voice-over. Challenge has now removed Hall's commentary from the first three series, following his imprisonment in June 2013, and re-dubbed them with new commentary by North. As of July 2012, all American edited episodes, covering all tournaments up to Sasuke 27, had aired in the UK. A new run of edited episodes airing in March 2016 was produced in the UK for Challenge, covering the Sasuke Rising tournaments, still voiced by North.

Ninja Warrior UK

It was announced on 22 December 2014 that a UK remake of the format, similar to that of the American version, would be aired on ITV in 2015. The first series began on 11 April 2015. It is produced by ITV Studios subsidiary company, Potato and hosted by Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes and Chris Kamara.

Australia

American Ninja Warrior and Swedish Ninja Warrior are broadcast in Australia on SBS Two. The play-by-play commentary and interviews with participants are subtitled in English, while the introduction, player profiles, and replays have been dubbed by a voice actor.

Australian Ninja Warrior

On 19 June 2016, Nine Network announced they are creating Australian Ninja Warrior, an Australian version of the show which will be produced by Endemol Shine and hosted by Rebecca Maddern, Ben Fordham & Freddie Flintoff.

Bosnia

The program can be seen in the Bosnia as Nindža Ratnici (Ninja Warriors) every day from Monday until Friday at 18:20 (UTC+1) on the Hayat TV channel and on Mreža Plus syndicated TV program.

Bulgaria

The program is broadcast in Bulgaria on bTV Comedy as Най-добрият нинджа (The Best Ninja) weekends at 16:00 (UTC+2).

China

An unlicensed Chinese edition, 极限勇士 (Sasuke China: X Warrior), started on June 9, 2015 on Jiangsu TV. While the show contains courses directly based on American Ninja Warrior 6 and follows a similar structure, the version is unofficial and not directly related to Sasuke. Chinese edition contains four international competitions, the Chinese team playing head-to-head matches again contestants from Netherlands, United Kingdom, Singapore and the notable contestants from American Ninja Warrior.

Colombia

The program is broadcast in Colombia on Canal Uno on Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 PM, and broadcast Version of American Ninja Warrior (as Guerrero Ninja Americano) on Canal RCN on Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 PM.

Croatia

The program can be seen in Croatia on Nova TV as Ninja Ratnici (Ninja Warriors) from Monday to Friday at 09:45 (UTC+1) and 17:15 (UTC+1) narrated by Davor Jurkotić and Mario Lipovšek Battifiaca.

Czech Republic

The program is broadcast in the Czech Republic on Prima Cool as Ninja faktor (Ninja Factor). Episodes are 50 minutes long and split in two parts.

Estonia

The program was aired in Estonia as Ninjasõdalane (Ninja Warrior) on the TV6 channel every Saturday and Sunday at 19:00 pm to 20.00 pm. Running time was 30-minute per episode.

France

In 2016, the inaugural season of Ninja Warrior France aired, on TF1, with Midoriyama located in Cannes. The show is titled Ninja Warrior — Le Parcours des Heros. The obstacle course itself is called Le Chemin des Héros.

Germany

The Ninja Warrior version of the program was broadcast in Germany on RTL II and DSF for the first time in 2009/2010. A German version titled "Ninja Warrior Germany" was aired by RTL II in July 2016.

Greece

The program can be seen in Greece as Sasuke on the Skai TV network every Saturday at 16:00 (UTC+2). The show is voiced-over by Akindynos Gikas and Kostas Papageorgiou.

Indonesia

The program broadcast in Indonesia is the G4 version of Ninja Warrior, including the "Ninja Killer" and "Warrior Wipeout" sections. The show is dubbed in Indonesian and is broadcast by MNC TV. And Indonesian version will be aired on RCTI with the name Sasuke Ninja Warrior Indonesia on December 20, 2015. The try out be held from 2–8 November 2015.

Italy

The Ninja Warrior version of the program is broadcast in Italy on GXT or on GXT +1. The Italian version includes "Ninja Killer" and "Warrior Wipeout". In October 2016, Italy produced a local version Ninja Warrior Italia transmitted on NOVE and presented by Federico Russo, Carolina Di Domenico, Massimiliano Rosilino and Gabriele Corsi.

Latvia

The program is broadcast in Latvia on LNT every day from Tuesday to Friday at 13.00 local time (UTC+3 - summer time). Every day on LMK at 20.00 o'clock.

Lithuania

Kovotojas Nindzė on TV6.

Malaysia

The program is broadcast in Malaysia on Disney XD and TV9 as Ninja Warrior

Mexico

The program is broadcast in Mexico on Azteca 7 as Guerrero Ninja From Monday to Thursday at 8:30 PM.

In 2011, Malaysia did a qualifier for Sasuke 27, which Farid Isham won. In 2014, Malaysia organized the Sasuke ASEAN Open Cup, a tournament held in Malaysia as a competition of different countries going head to head. Team USA was represented by David Campbell, Brian Kretsch, Ryan Stratis, Mike Bernardo, and Drew Drechsel and won gold. Team Japan was represented by Shingo Yamamoto, Yusuke Morimoto, Kazuma Asa, Hitoshi Kanno, and Kenji Takahashi and won silver. Team Malaysia won bronze with their team captain being Farid Isham. There were 3 stages and the tournament went for 2 days. Also, Drew Drechsel got 1st Place in all 3 stages, giving him a spot in Sasuke 30.

Middle East

The program can be seen in the Middle East as محارب النينجا (Ninja Warriors) on MBC Action every Monday at (20:00 Mecca local time / 17:00 UTC / 12:00 EST). The whole program is dubbed into Arabic

Russia

The program is broadcast in Russia on Sony Turbo as Путь ниндзя (Way of the Ninja) daily at 16:10

Serbia

The program can be seen in the Serbia as Nindža Ratnici (Ninja Warriors) every day from Monday until Friday at 19:00 (UTC+1) on B92 (from 13 August 2012), narrated by Igor Brakus and Vladimir Đorđević. The program was previously seen on Fox TV (now Prva TV), narrated by Ivan Tešanović and Miljan Milićević.

Singapore

The program broadcast in Singapore is the non-edited version of Ninja Warrior, with the exception of the subtitles being white instead of yellow. The program will be broadcast on MediaCorp Channel 5 every Wednesday at 20:00 (UTC + 8) and screened two episodes back to back. It was later moved to Thursday at 20:30 (UTC + 8), airing one episode. The show's run ended with the 17th competition on the Sasuke series.

The show returned on December 23, 2009, airing Wednesdays at 20:00, showing at various times two episodes, three episodes, or a single episode. The show's run ended with the 24th run.

Singapore has its own edition of Sasuke, which aired on August 9, 2012 at 8:10 pm, after the National Day Parade. It started airing August 15, 2012, and has its own winner going to Japan to take on the Sasuke course.

Season 1 was won by 22-year-old SAF's Naval Officer, Isaiah How Jia Jie, he was placed 9th in the first stage but managed to beat 21 year old NUS student, Jenson Ngoh by 0.1 seconds in the season's 20 meter rope climb in the second stage to win.

Season 2 began with a new twist in its first episode, 5 Singaporean contenders will compete with 5 Malaysians contenders, whichever country score the first 3 points will make it to the end. Eventually Team Singapore beat Team Malaysia with a score of 3-2. For the competition, 26-year-old gymnastics trainer edge out the other 12 contenders for the season with the timing of 23.9 seconds, just 2.4 seconds shy by breaking Isaiah How's timing, he accompanied Isaiah to Japan in supporting him. However, in a twist of events, the production crew brought good luck to Alan Zhang in allowing him in participating it.

The series concluded in its 13th and final episode with Isaiah How & Alan Zhang conquering the obstacle course in Mount Midoriyama, Japan, both crashed out in the fourth obstacle (Jump Hang Kai) and third obstacle (Spinning Bridge) in the 1st stage respectively.

Poland

The program can be seen in Poland as Wojownicy Ninja (Ninja Warriors) on MTV.

Romania

The program is broadcast in Romania on Sport.ro as Ku Ninja In Atak (When Ninjas Attack). The show is commented by two color commentators

Slovak Republic

The program is broadcast in the Slovak Republic on JOJ Plus as Ninja faktor (Ninja Factor).

South Africa

The program broadcast in South Africa is the Sony MAX CHANNEL version of Ninja Warrior, with the "Ninja Killer" and "Warrior Wipeout" sections.

Thailand

The program is broadcast in Thailand on Modernine TV as Ninja Warrior on Tuesday 8.35 PM

Turkey

The Ninja Warrior version of the program is broadcasting in Turkey on Fox TV narrated by Hayri Hiçler and Hopdedik Ayhan.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, Sasuke broadcast by channel Mega (same channel, which broadcast Unbeatable Banzuke), under name Япона-мать (Yapona-mat`, Japan-mother).

Vietnam

The Vietnamese version, Sasuke Việt Nam: Không Giới Hạn (Sasuke Vietnam: Unlimited), started airing season 1 on VTV3 in 2015.

Sasuke Vietnam Season 1 began airing on June 18, 2015. Stage 1 was a split course that shared the first two obstacles (long jump, log grip), but then split into stage 1A and stage 1B. The obstacles on each side were different, and the top 20 fastest times on each side advanced to stage 2. In stage 2, common sasuke obstacles (salmon ladder, double warped wall) appeared, and competitors had 100 seconds to clear this stage. Only 8 competitors made it to stage 3, which featured typical stage 3 obstacles: pole maze, spinning bridge, rumbling dice, spider flip, cliffhanger, and pipe slider. All competitors failed on stage 3, with Le Van Thuc making it the furthest (failed dismounting onto the platform from the pipe slider).

Sasuke Vietnam Season 2 began airing on May 19, 2016. Stage 1 again included a split course but this year, the first two obstacles were the quad steps and log grip.

Related events

The show Viking: The Ultimate Obstacle Course airs on ESPN2 and is also produced by Monster9 for Fuji TV. Many of the competitors from Sasuke also compete in the Viking competition.

Sasuke executive producer Ushio Higuchi co-created Muscle Musical, a live athletic and comedy-oriented performance featuring several notable Sasuke and Kunoichi competitors, who have included Ayako Miyake, Naoki Iketani, Sayaka Asami, Terukazu Ishikawa, Kayo Haga, Daisuke Nakata, and Rie Komiya, as well as other Japanese athletes and entertainers. Its popularity in Japan and its growing popularity in the United States has resulted in a long-term run at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Every January TBS airs the Pro Sportsman No.1 competition, also produced by Monster9. Several people who have competed on Sasuke have participated in this competition.

On Odaiba island, Monster9 has built Muscle Park, an indoor theme park based on events from Sasuke and other Muscle Ranking related programs. Some well-known Sasuke participants, such as Katsumi Yamada, have made live appearances there. Sasuke champion Makoto Nagano was honored in a celebration where he participated in the ribbon cutting there. Since April 2007, Monster9 has been airing episodes of Muscle Channel, a show to promote Muscle Park, the Muscle Musical, and people and events related to Sasuke. Muscle Channel usually airs on BS-i on Thursdays from 8:00 to 9:53 JST and is hosted by Hiromichi Sato. Past guests include Katsumi Yamada and Shunsuke Nagasaki.