Sasuke (TV series)

Sasuke (SASUKE(サスケ), pronounced sahskay) is a Japanese sports entertainment reality television show, airing since 1997, in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a four-stage obstacle course. Falling at any point during the course or running out of time on stages with set time limits, leads to elimination. Finishing the course by reaching the end and hitting the buzzer will grant you qualification to the next stage. Sasuke also has many international versions of itself, mainly called "Ninja Warrior", with 20 local shows.

Recorded at Midoriyama studios in Yokohama, it airs on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), typically between Japanese television drama seasons. The show's name Sasuke is named after Sarutobi Sasuke, a fictitious ninja character in Japanese traditional storytelling. Each episode airs an entire tournament as a single special, ranging from 70 minutes in early season up to 6 hours. There have been 42 specials produced, with approximately two per year between 1999 and 2011, and one per year otherwise. The show is produced by TBS and began as a segment within the series 筋肉番付 (Kinniku Banzuke, 'Muscle Ranking'), another sports entertainment competition, which aired on G4 in the United States under the name Unbeatable Banzuke. Competitions generally start in the daytime and continue until completed regardless of weather or darkness. After Monster9's bankruptcy in November 2011, Tokyo Broadcasting System handed production over to the studio FOLCOM, who relaunched the show under the title Sasuke Rising. For the 35th tournament TBS renamed the show once again, to Sasuke Ninja Warrior, aligning with the worldwide Ninja Warrior brand. The show's logo would be changed for the 36th edition, with the new logo's year being updated for subsequent editions.