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I seem to be behind on my Ninja Warrior episodes. I tripped over a marathon of Sasuke 23 last night. Wow, that was the most drama they've had in this competition in ages.
It was nice to see the All-Stars performing up to par after they all wiped out in Stage 1 in the previous competition. Shingo Yamamoto made it to Stage 2 for the first time in 3 years, then went on to make Stage 3 by the skin of his teeth. Toshihiro Takeda made it to Stage 3 too, and Makoto Nagano made it to Stage 4.
After failing the slider jump in Stage 1 in Sasuke 22, it looked like Makoto Nagano wiped out on the same obstacle this time. Then a replay showed that the obstacle had suffered a mechanical failure and kind of tossed him off. He was allowed to try Stage 1 again and made it. It was the first time in the history of the competition that someone was allowed a second attempt at the course. The real heartbreak here is that when Nagano made it to Stage 4, his head was just clearing the platform where the button is when time ran out. If he hadn't had to run Stage 1 twice, would he have had enough gas in his tank to give him the extra second he would have needed to win?
Also heartbreaking was Shingo Yamamoto making it to Stage 3 for the first time since Sasuke 17, only to have to give up on the first obstacle. He was sliding the Arms Rings along the jagged section of pipe when his bad shoulder just popped right out of the socket. He didn't let go either. He just kind of hung there in pain trying to figure out what to do until Nagano finally told him to let go.
The interesting thing is that the competition and competitors like Nagano have been around long enough that kids who grew up watching the show are now old enough to compete. The 18-year-old that Nagano was coaching became the youngest person ever to complete Stage 1. Thirteen people made it to Stage 2 (the most in a long time), and most of them were under 25. We'll see how many of them stick around for future competitions.
It was nice to see the All-Stars performing up to par after they all wiped out in Stage 1 in the previous competition. Shingo Yamamoto made it to Stage 2 for the first time in 3 years, then went on to make Stage 3 by the skin of his teeth. Toshihiro Takeda made it to Stage 3 too, and Makoto Nagano made it to Stage 4.
After failing the slider jump in Stage 1 in Sasuke 22, it looked like Makoto Nagano wiped out on the same obstacle this time. Then a replay showed that the obstacle had suffered a mechanical failure and kind of tossed him off. He was allowed to try Stage 1 again and made it. It was the first time in the history of the competition that someone was allowed a second attempt at the course. The real heartbreak here is that when Nagano made it to Stage 4, his head was just clearing the platform where the button is when time ran out. If he hadn't had to run Stage 1 twice, would he have had enough gas in his tank to give him the extra second he would have needed to win?
Also heartbreaking was Shingo Yamamoto making it to Stage 3 for the first time since Sasuke 17, only to have to give up on the first obstacle. He was sliding the Arms Rings along the jagged section of pipe when his bad shoulder just popped right out of the socket. He didn't let go either. He just kind of hung there in pain trying to figure out what to do until Nagano finally told him to let go.
The interesting thing is that the competition and competitors like Nagano have been around long enough that kids who grew up watching the show are now old enough to compete. The 18-year-old that Nagano was coaching became the youngest person ever to complete Stage 1. Thirteen people made it to Stage 2 (the most in a long time), and most of them were under 25. We'll see how many of them stick around for future competitions.
