Look Out! Ninjas!

One of the t.v. shows that The Boy and I watch regularly is Ninja Warrior on G4, a Japanese game show that features 100 people getting the crap beaten out of them on the world’s hardest obstacle course.  It is strangely addicting, and after watching about 900 re-runs, I feel like I know the 4 or 5 top dudes who regularly show up to take on the course.  Plus, you haven’t lived until you’ve stood in the middle of your den with an eight-year-old boy yelling “NAGANOOOOOOOOOO!” at the t.v.

In almost 20 tournaments, only 2 people have ever achieved “Total Victory” as the Japanese announcer is so fond of excitedly screaming. One of them is the aforementioned Nagano.  He is truly a badass.  How much of a badass?  This much.  (Warning – much usage of over-the-top hyperbole, profanity, and the term “badass” at the link, but it does give a nice flavor of the show)

Anyway, I lurve Ninja Warrior, and since a new competition will air tomorrow, I thought I would share the love.

Our other favorite show is Unbeatable Banzuke, which is much the same as Ninja Warrior, but features a series of short obstacle course competitions in things like unicycling–apparently this is popular enough in Japan that small children receive unicycles as birthday gifts–handwalking, stilt walking, and remote control helicopter flying.  I know.  Again, weirdly addictive, and strangely international:  Scandanavian mountain biking champions tend to appear quite frequently on that particular challenge.

Ah, Japanese television.  Don’t ever change.