![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I knew the course was going to get a major redesign after Yuji Urushihara won last time.
( Spoilers )
( Spoilers )
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.
( Spoilers )
( Spoilers )
Wow, this was a bad year to be an All-Star on Ninja Warrior. Not a single one of them finished Stage 1. I don't think that's ever happened before. Sure, a couple of them might wipe out, but not all of them. Of course, they've all been at this awhile now, and none of them are as young as they used to be. Makoto Nagano also has a long history of wiping out on obstacles he's facing for the first time. I'm just disappointed. I only get to see these guys compete twice a year and I really enjoy watching them, but this year I only got to see them for about a minute on average before they wiped out.
Even our decent American team didn't do well. Levi Meeuwenberg has never failed on Stage 1 before. Luci Romberg, the only woman ever to complete the Jumping Spider obstacle, fell on that very same obstacle this year. I was really hoping she'd at least make it to the Warped Wall (heck, I'd like to see her complete the stage). The real crusher was newbie David Campbell, who would have completed Stage 1 easily if he hadn't stopped to center his chi (or whatever the heck he was doing) between obstacles. Him falling and getting tangled in the net on the Slider Jump was the nail in his coffin. The timer ran out while he was in sight of the button.
All the guys who actually completed Stage 1 were completing it for the first time. Some of them were even competing for the first time, and one guy made it within feet of completing Stage 4 before his time ran out. Hopefully some of those guys will be back, but boy will I miss Nagano when he retires.
I'm not sure if I approve of the new ladder in Stage 4. It's just not as dramatic as the Spider Climb. Let's face it, I can climb a ladder. Not as fast as these guys and not after a full day of insane physical challenges, but I do possess the necessary skills to climb a ladder. The Spider Climb? Never in a million years. I don't know. Watching a guy climb a ladder just doesn't impress me as much.
Oh, well. I suppose it's time for some fresh blood at Mount Midoriyama. Now I have a bunch of new names to learn and try to keep straight.
Even our decent American team didn't do well. Levi Meeuwenberg has never failed on Stage 1 before. Luci Romberg, the only woman ever to complete the Jumping Spider obstacle, fell on that very same obstacle this year. I was really hoping she'd at least make it to the Warped Wall (heck, I'd like to see her complete the stage). The real crusher was newbie David Campbell, who would have completed Stage 1 easily if he hadn't stopped to center his chi (or whatever the heck he was doing) between obstacles. Him falling and getting tangled in the net on the Slider Jump was the nail in his coffin. The timer ran out while he was in sight of the button.
All the guys who actually completed Stage 1 were completing it for the first time. Some of them were even competing for the first time, and one guy made it within feet of completing Stage 4 before his time ran out. Hopefully some of those guys will be back, but boy will I miss Nagano when he retires.
I'm not sure if I approve of the new ladder in Stage 4. It's just not as dramatic as the Spider Climb. Let's face it, I can climb a ladder. Not as fast as these guys and not after a full day of insane physical challenges, but I do possess the necessary skills to climb a ladder. The Spider Climb? Never in a million years. I don't know. Watching a guy climb a ladder just doesn't impress me as much.
Oh, well. I suppose it's time for some fresh blood at Mount Midoriyama. Now I have a bunch of new names to learn and try to keep straight.
Ninja Warrior: The Extra Special Crack
Nov. 15th, 2008 08:22 pmThere are so many things I love about this show. I love how creative the obstacles are. I love how the competition is against the course, not the other competitors, so there's no grim sense of rivalry between the athletes (when was the last time you saw a grown man cry because a fellow competitor was eliminated?). I love how I can look at the obstacles and wonder how any human being could possibly be expected to complete any of them, only to see human beings do the impossible minutes later.
I just finished watching Sasuke 21, and once again Makoto Nagano outlasted everyone else, although he didn't complete the course (he's one of only two people who ever have). The truly amazing thing is that Nagano is a fishing boat captain. Obviously, he trains hard for the course, but so do the other serious competitors, and year after year, Nagano powers through obstacles that have taken out professional and Olympic athletes. He's not only in amazingly good shape, he's also incredibly well-coordinated. He's also the reason that Stage 1 is now harder than Stage 3 used to be. The organizers keep making the course tougher and tougher to try and slow him down. He's truly an insanely gifted athlete (and clearly my favorite), and I hope he's able to clear Stage 4 again someday.
P.S. -- Kudos to American Luci Romberg for being the first woman ever to clear the Jumping Spider obstacle!
I just finished watching Sasuke 21, and once again Makoto Nagano outlasted everyone else, although he didn't complete the course (he's one of only two people who ever have). The truly amazing thing is that Nagano is a fishing boat captain. Obviously, he trains hard for the course, but so do the other serious competitors, and year after year, Nagano powers through obstacles that have taken out professional and Olympic athletes. He's not only in amazingly good shape, he's also incredibly well-coordinated. He's also the reason that Stage 1 is now harder than Stage 3 used to be. The organizers keep making the course tougher and tougher to try and slow him down. He's truly an insanely gifted athlete (and clearly my favorite), and I hope he's able to clear Stage 4 again someday.
P.S. -- Kudos to American Luci Romberg for being the first woman ever to clear the Jumping Spider obstacle!
