The Untold Truth Of American Ninja Warrior
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I was a fan of the franchise long before the first USA vs. Japan (later the World) came out. I infected my GF with the love to the show and we were watching it together. I was watching the beginnings of guys like Joe Moravsky, Drew Drechsel or Isaac Caldiero.
Then when the first USA vs. Japan came out I was hyped beyond imagination. I knew exactly who Yuji Urushihara was. I was like come hon, see some legends fight each other on this course. And when it came to it. omg it was like watching that famous Germany-Brazil 2014 World Cup match.
Then they changed the formula to USA vs. the World and invited team from Europe as well. Team Europe ended up winning because they had some real beasts in their ranks (whoever knows Isaac Caldiero as the ANW winner definitely knows who Sean McColl is. Team Japan dead last again.
Then another one. This time USA with Europe in the 2nd place and Japan again taking last spot. Then they either simply stopped coming or flat out did not get invitation because how many times can you see those guys being in the last place?
The real problem was that the place number doesn't remotely reflect the reality of how those competitions looked like. Every time Japan competed they got CREAMED. It's wasn't a matter of losing by a small margin and calling it a good competition. Those defeats were so humiliating that you could feel the second hand embarassement from the TV. You could feel that the teams from America/Europe started feeling bad for destroying their Asian friends.
The results of those competitions (points):
2014 USA vs. Japan: 6-0
2014 USA vs. The World: Europe 10 USA 9 Japan 0
2016 USA vs. The World: USA 10 Europe 8 Japan 0
That's right. In all three events where Japan competed they scored 0 points total. Not a single obstacle won.
Now, is the American version different than Japanese? Sure is. Did not stop team Europe from winning though. And before you start commenting about me being American Fanboy here - I'm not even from USA. I live in Europe. And was a huge fan of Sasuke and its legends. I really wanted them to do well. But the differences in the course proved too much, they bared all the flaws of Japanese contestants and the Japanese founder of the genre turned out to be naked.
Japan should be applauded for creating this competition and this is something no one will ever take from them. But there is no doubt in my mind that as of 2018 the highest level of competition is on the American Ninja Warrior.
Date: 2020-07-14
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Comments and reviews: 9
Matt
And let's not forget Takeshi's Castle, known as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge here in the states.
Average people attempt an obstacle course set up like classic 2D video games, and fail horribly, but provide hours of entertainment.
Sasuke was a more refined version of that, but was geared towards the more athletic types than average folks.
For those lamenting how ANW is geared towards pro-level athletes rather than garbage collectors, that's no different than UFC being geared towards professional fighters rather than the local bar-hopping bully. The Participation Trophy mentality prevalent in America doesn't allow for average Joes to do face-plants and epic fails on national TV like MXC used to show on an obscure cable network. The networks want to spoon-feed us inspirational stories about these people so we root for them.
But it's a safe bet that everyone who has a sad tale intro ends up in the water by the 5th obstacle anyway.
And no one should ever forget Isaac Caldiero was the fastest guy up the rope, but not the first. Geoff Britten was and is the first American Ninja Warrior. Caldiero just did the same thing in less time, so he gets the money, and people calling him the first guy to win it all or first American Ninja Warrior Champion, with the occasional slip of the lip saying the only one to go all the way. and get the MILLION DOLLARS.
I liked the show when it was still on G4 and then Esquire, but since it's gone to NBC, you can clearly see the machine it's become. Yet another tragedy in the making.
reply
And let's not forget Takeshi's Castle, known as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge here in the states.
Average people attempt an obstacle course set up like classic 2D video games, and fail horribly, but provide hours of entertainment.
Sasuke was a more refined version of that, but was geared towards the more athletic types than average folks.
For those lamenting how ANW is geared towards pro-level athletes rather than garbage collectors, that's no different than UFC being geared towards professional fighters rather than the local bar-hopping bully. The Participation Trophy mentality prevalent in America doesn't allow for average Joes to do face-plants and epic fails on national TV like MXC used to show on an obscure cable network. The networks want to spoon-feed us inspirational stories about these people so we root for them.
But it's a safe bet that everyone who has a sad tale intro ends up in the water by the 5th obstacle anyway.
And no one should ever forget Isaac Caldiero was the fastest guy up the rope, but not the first. Geoff Britten was and is the first American Ninja Warrior. Caldiero just did the same thing in less time, so he gets the money, and people calling him the first guy to win it all or first American Ninja Warrior Champion, with the occasional slip of the lip saying the only one to go all the way. and get the MILLION DOLLARS.
I liked the show when it was still on G4 and then Esquire, but since it's gone to NBC, you can clearly see the machine it's become. Yet another tragedy in the making.
reply
Rolando
For me, American Ninja Warrior is much better to watch than Olympics. The training here is more intense than any sports. Its over all physical and mental strategy in order to win. This is very exciting, this is open to all, whether you are young or old, man or woman, with white or blue collar, all of them are equal and have a chance to prove themselves. Players here are doing a lot of sacrifices: making a home-based obstacle courses to be their practice places, constant training without being compensated, some of them even quit their jobs to get focus to the excel. Its like a gamble when to join here, without an assurance if you will win. Thats why I really admire people who are joining here, especially the veterans and I hope that the winner is the one who truly deserves. CONGRATS TO AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR!
reply
For me, American Ninja Warrior is much better to watch than Olympics. The training here is more intense than any sports. Its over all physical and mental strategy in order to win. This is very exciting, this is open to all, whether you are young or old, man or woman, with white or blue collar, all of them are equal and have a chance to prove themselves. Players here are doing a lot of sacrifices: making a home-based obstacle courses to be their practice places, constant training without being compensated, some of them even quit their jobs to get focus to the excel. Its like a gamble when to join here, without an assurance if you will win. Thats why I really admire people who are joining here, especially the veterans and I hope that the winner is the one who truly deserves. CONGRATS TO AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR!
reply
D. J.
Although I do enjoy watching the show, I think the course it way over-engineered, and too difficult, especially for ppl who aren't professional (male) rock climbers. (They are greedy cheapskates who don't want to give away the 1mil. They should make the course more beatable, so that the fastest competitor wins, rather than having almost no one reaching the final stages. I also think they should not change the obstacles so much. They should only change an obstacle after they see that several competitors have mastered it. I think they should make a separate ninja course for females; one that focuses more on things like balance, speed and agility, rather than just grip strength/endurance. Lastly, I enjoy the old days too, when it was more of a sports show than an NBC drama show.
reply
Although I do enjoy watching the show, I think the course it way over-engineered, and too difficult, especially for ppl who aren't professional (male) rock climbers. (They are greedy cheapskates who don't want to give away the 1mil. They should make the course more beatable, so that the fastest competitor wins, rather than having almost no one reaching the final stages. I also think they should not change the obstacles so much. They should only change an obstacle after they see that several competitors have mastered it. I think they should make a separate ninja course for females; one that focuses more on things like balance, speed and agility, rather than just grip strength/endurance. Lastly, I enjoy the old days too, when it was more of a sports show than an NBC drama show.
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FJ
what I dislike about American Ninja Warrior is the contestants are not diverse, they're all the same: rock climbers, gym trainers, parkours, free runners, full-time ninja. They like to compete each other, its like a competition between competitors.
While in Japanese show (SASUKE, i love to see the diverseness of the contestants, from fishermen, firefighters, civil workers, shoe salesman, plumber, gas station manager, farmer, garbage truck driver, trampoline player, athletes, comedians, actress. Every competitor's so humble to each other. They even doesn't really look like they are competing, because their only enemy is the obstacle course.
reply
what I dislike about American Ninja Warrior is the contestants are not diverse, they're all the same: rock climbers, gym trainers, parkours, free runners, full-time ninja. They like to compete each other, its like a competition between competitors.
While in Japanese show (SASUKE, i love to see the diverseness of the contestants, from fishermen, firefighters, civil workers, shoe salesman, plumber, gas station manager, farmer, garbage truck driver, trampoline player, athletes, comedians, actress. Every competitor's so humble to each other. They even doesn't really look like they are competing, because their only enemy is the obstacle course.
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RatedZeus
Funny how American Ninja Warrior's contestants have o quit their job to go full time on this only to have an slight chance. In the other hand, most contestants from the Japanese version are just regular people treating this as a side project, I even remember a guy that went using his uniform from the gas station that he worked because after his shift was done, he went directly to the show to compete. Furthermore, he got pretty far, unfortunately, his dress shoes from his uniform cost him the chance to advance.
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Funny how American Ninja Warrior's contestants have o quit their job to go full time on this only to have an slight chance. In the other hand, most contestants from the Japanese version are just regular people treating this as a side project, I even remember a guy that went using his uniform from the gas station that he worked because after his shift was done, he went directly to the show to compete. Furthermore, he got pretty far, unfortunately, his dress shoes from his uniform cost him the chance to advance.
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Tony
You really should have talked about Britton getting robbed by Caldero. Both got to the top but only Caldero got the million. They should have given Britton a million too, even if it had to come out of their pockets instead of the insurance company that had the policy. It was horribly explained, if at all, that if two made it to stage four, they would race to get a winner. I get that they thought it was hard enough to never have to pay out, but that doesn't excuse the first one to do it getting nothing.
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You really should have talked about Britton getting robbed by Caldero. Both got to the top but only Caldero got the million. They should have given Britton a million too, even if it had to come out of their pockets instead of the insurance company that had the policy. It was horribly explained, if at all, that if two made it to stage four, they would race to get a winner. I get that they thought it was hard enough to never have to pay out, but that doesn't excuse the first one to do it getting nothing.
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Ders
the old ninja warrior was so much better imo. through the bootcamp I really felt like I got to know competitors and watch them perform through their strengths and weaknesses to see who would be best fit to take on the real course. now you just hear a dramatized backstory and for all you know the person will only be on the show for another 15 seconds because they fall and boom instantly over. I also feel like the course has gotten dramatically easier over the years, which is a real disappointment.
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the old ninja warrior was so much better imo. through the bootcamp I really felt like I got to know competitors and watch them perform through their strengths and weaknesses to see who would be best fit to take on the real course. now you just hear a dramatized backstory and for all you know the person will only be on the show for another 15 seconds because they fall and boom instantly over. I also feel like the course has gotten dramatically easier over the years, which is a real disappointment.
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VoldeMort919
Taking this show from the Japanese pisses me off so much. Americans have the motivation of money to do this whereas the Japanese do it for the honorable title. American ninja warrior has casting directors. One of the best things about the Japanese version was that anyone could compete. Americans have to quit their jobs if they want to have any shot of winning. The winners of the Japanese show were full time sea fisherman and firemen. Just goes to show how much better they are at it.
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Taking this show from the Japanese pisses me off so much. Americans have the motivation of money to do this whereas the Japanese do it for the honorable title. American ninja warrior has casting directors. One of the best things about the Japanese version was that anyone could compete. Americans have to quit their jobs if they want to have any shot of winning. The winners of the Japanese show were full time sea fisherman and firemen. Just goes to show how much better they are at it.
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Casey
The untold truth of American ninja warrior is it sucks. And they should have left it in Japan. Or if moved it here. Kept it the same. Just here. I love America. But I really get sick when they take something popular here that's from someplace else and remake it. This. Godzilla. 1998. Dragon ball. Top gear. Sherlock. The tv series. The movies were decent.
Instead of redoing it. Why not just through your support in with it. Might simply make it more profitable with less risk.
reply
The untold truth of American ninja warrior is it sucks. And they should have left it in Japan. Or if moved it here. Kept it the same. Just here. I love America. But I really get sick when they take something popular here that's from someplace else and remake it. This. Godzilla. 1998. Dragon ball. Top gear. Sherlock. The tv series. The movies were decent.
Instead of redoing it. Why not just through your support in with it. Might simply make it more profitable with less risk.
reply
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