Sasuke

Sasuke
Premiere	September 26, 1997
Latest	September 19, 2007
Creator
Network	Tokyo Broadcasting System
Style	3 hour sports competition
Produced	19
Origin	Japan

Sasuke (1997—) is a series of Japanese sports competitions broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System. Each competition pits 100 competitors against a four-stage obstacle course that gradually increases in difficulty. Unlike the program's sister show, Kunoichi, the obstacles are all build around testing upper-body strength and endurance rather than agility and speed.

The program has been exported to several different countries, including the United States where it is known as Ninja Warrior. G4, the network which broadcasts the English version, cuts each competition into a handful of episodes and adds subtitles for the Japanese announcer and contestants, as well as an English narrator. The program occasionally also includes new segments like the "Ninja Killer," the most often failed obstacle of the course, and expanded profiles on the contestants. Generally, the full competitions are not broadcast.

Specials

#	Title			Airdate
1	Competition 1			September 26, 1997
2	Competition 2			September 27, 1998
3	Competition 3			March 13, 1999
4	Competition 4			October 16, 1999
5	Competition 5			March 18, 2000
6	Competition 6			September 9, 2000
7	Competition 7			March 17, 2001
8	Competition 8			September 29, 2001
9	Competition 9			March 16, 2002
10	Competition 10			September 25, 2002
11	Competition 11			March 21, 2003
12	Competition 12			October 1, 2003
13	Competition 13			April 6, 2004
14	Competition 14			January 4, 2005
15	Competition 15			July 20, 2005
16	Competition 16			December 30, 2005
17	Competition 17			October 11, 2006
18	Competition 18			March 21, 2007
19	Competition 19			September 19, 2007