Ninja Warrior: The Iron Fireman of Gifu

September 18, 2008 12:19 PM

Ninja Warrior: The Fireman (SLYT)

via CrossFitNYC

posted by jason's_planet (43 comments total)

Yeah I like that TV show it is quite good.
posted by rxrfrx at 12:22 PM on September 18, 2008

My three year old daughter and I love to watch this show together. She temporarily named our cat Ninja Warrior.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 12:29 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

PIPE SLIDEEEERRRRRR!
posted by GuyZero at 12:30 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

hey, like this show as much as anyone, but why am I seeing this here?
posted by shmegegge at 12:35 PM on September 18, 2008

Man, if that PMSBuddy link gets to stay, awesome Ninja Warrior action HAS to.
posted by Anonymous at 12:39 PM on September 18, 2008

That's PIPE-AH SLIDEEEERRRRRR-AH!
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:41 PM on September 18, 2008

Ninja Warrior is strangely mesmerising. Especially seeing frequent returnees consistently washing out on the first course.

The narration makes it sound like failing persistently on the show can be a foothold into showbiz in Japan if you're a passable comedian or have prettyboy good looks.
posted by ardgedee at 12:44 PM on September 18, 2008

awesome Ninja Warrior action HAS to.

Maybe we can help a little here...

The G4 Ninja Warrior has a player with the "Ninja Challenge Finalists." There is some pretty awesome urban ninja action.
posted by clearly at 12:48 PM on September 18, 2008

This guy puts them all to shame. The original ninja warrior.
posted by chugg at 12:53 PM on September 18, 2008

According to wikipedia there have only been two Ninja Warrior champions: Makoto Nagano, who completed the final stage with 2.5 seconds left, and Kazuhiko Akiyama, who finished with just 6 seconds left.

Also worth noting, the Olympic mens gymnastics all around champion from Athens, Paul Hamm and his brother Morgan Hamm compete in the Ninja Warrior competitions.
posted by clearly at 12:59 PM on September 18, 2008

I thought this would be a clip of a fireman slowly crawling up to the end of the sofa as the cameraperson ducked behind the sofa at intervals.

Bah.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 1:14 PM on September 18, 2008 [9 favorites]

I wish they were actually dressed like Ninjas and not American Gladiators.
posted by JBennett at 1:20 PM on September 18, 2008

hey, like this show as much as anyone, but why am I seeing this here?

You're seeing it here because MetaFilter's been pretty slow the last few days. All of those Palin/Election/Financial Crisis mega-threads have sucked the oxygen out of the room.

I wouldn't normally make an FPP out of this but I thought that, given the skimpiness of today's front page, it was worth a try.

You know, lighting a candle vs. cursing the darkness and all that.
posted by jason's_planet at 1:22 PM on September 18, 2008

PIPE SLIDA! PIIIIIPE SLIIIDA!
posted by jason's_planet at 1:29 PM on September 18, 2008

Also, why not just get some rock climbers on the show? it basically looks like a test of upper body and grip strength. I see crazier stuff on the videos running in the rock climbing section of Mountain Equipment Co-op. Not that it's not hard.
posted by GuyZero at 1:32 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

All of those ... mega-threads have sucked the oxygen out of the room.

...

You know, lighting a candle vs. cursing the darkness and all that.

Sans oxygen you may have to stick with cursing. Or get a road flare or something. But candles will not cut it.

This was the most pointless yet wholly accurate snark ever.
posted by GuyZero at 1:33 PM on September 18, 2008

Whenever I see these Japanese game shows I think of this.
posted by blue_beetle at 1:34 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

I just got fiber-optic TV, after getting free basic cable for years previously). I knew it was the right decision as soon as I discovered Ninja Warrior and Unbeatable Banzuke on the G4 Channel.
posted by not_on_display at 1:38 PM on September 18, 2008

Q: How many Ninjas does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: No one will ever know because Ninjas don't need light.
posted by netbros at 1:50 PM on September 18, 2008

Also, why not just get some rock climbers on the show? it basically looks like a test of upper body and grip strength.

I can't watch the videos now, but there are definitely parts of the courses that require lower body speed, agility, and balance. (Not that rock climbers wouldn't have those qualities, but not everything is 100% geared towards a rock climbing workout.)
posted by inigo2 at 2:02 PM on September 18, 2008

You're seeing it here because MetaFilter's been pretty slow the last few days. All of those Palin/Election/Financial Crisis mega-threads have sucked the oxygen out of the room.

No no, I meant "why am I seeing this clip in particular?" as in, I don't understand what's noteworthy about this particular ninja warrior contestant's run compared to others I've seen, and I feel like I'm missing the context. A whole post on ninja warrior would have been awesome. It feels like something about this particular clipped inspired your post over some other ninja warrior clip, and I can't figure it out.

Believe me, I'm happy for anything non election/economy related. I just feel like I missed the line where they were handing out clues.
posted by shmegegge at 2:06 PM on September 18, 2008

The problem with Ninja Warrior is that the people involved are often really disciplined athletes who have made an honest effort to be the fastest.

I think I prefer the washouts on Wipeout who, in some cases, really don't seem to give a fuck, and are just there to be on TV (by failing as catastrophically as possible.)
posted by quin at 2:06 PM on September 18, 2008

Wow, Unbeatable Banzuke is great! American hasn't got talent after all.
posted by JBennett at 2:09 PM on September 18, 2008

That Wipeout show has potential, but the result in grating and irritating. It would be better if the "real people" were given a week to work at the course so they had a chance to learn how to tackle it. It's tiring to see them just suck. Oh, and their writers should all be drowned. American game shows still suck.
posted by JBennett at 2:14 PM on September 18, 2008

It feels like something about this particular clipped inspired your post over some other ninja warrior clip, and I can't figure it out.

Nah. There's no special agenda that you're missing. There's no particular quality that inspired me to pick this one, rather than that one. I just saw the clip, liked it and, seeing not a whole lot on the front page today, decided to post it.

That's all.
posted by jason's_planet at 2:15 PM on September 18, 2008

I haven't been able to see the show in a while, so he may have already done it, but I hope that Superman someday makes it past the first stage someday.
posted by ignignokt at 2:17 PM on September 18, 2008

Q: How many Ninjas does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: No one will ever know because Ninjas don't need light.

I guess I never fully "got" the concept of ninjas. I mean, they're supposed to be silent invisible sword-wielding assasins, right? But you see them all over the place and they don't seem to do a lot of actual slice-and-dice killings.
posted by longsleeves at 2:19 PM on September 18, 2008

Oh Sasuke was just on a couple of days ago - and the course was really hard. No one won, but we did get to see that spunky handball player Daisuke Miyazaki make it to the third round which was a bonus.
posted by gomichild at 2:20 PM on September 18, 2008

I can't watch the videos now, but there are definitely parts of the courses that require lower body speed, agility, and balance.

That's also part of the fiendish appeal. The 3rd stage is 100% arm strength. There's no time limit because your arms are the time limit. So training for that is very specific.

But... you have to get past the 1st stage. And the first stage is not 100% arm strength. It's running and jumping and stuff like that. So all that training may be for nothing in the end.
posted by smackfu at 2:26 PM on September 18, 2008

Q: How many Ninjas does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: 2, but you'd never know they were in there.
posted by clearly at 3:16 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

longsleeves, you've obviously never attended a ninja parade
posted by dirty lies at 4:35 PM on September 18, 2008 [2 favorites]

The Onion just keeps getting funnier and funnier.
posted by longsleeves at 5:41 PM on September 18, 2008

Dude, they finally made a TV show based on The Simpsons!
posted by aftermarketradio at 6:34 PM on September 18, 2008

After watching the Makoto Nagano clip (chugg's) it looked you're going to need some gymnast in you as well as some rock climber to win this.
posted by Cyrano at 6:36 PM on September 18, 2008

I've seen this show here in Japan. It's brutal. Just to finish the course itself is an amazing accomplishment.
posted by zardoz at 6:50 PM on September 18, 2008

So I clicked around related videos and found this. Yes, I want to be her when I grow up (or, at least, I'm inspired to keep up the shoulder rehab and ease up on the clafouti). I would have liked to see the women's course include more strength challenges, although the final stage did ramp up that element.

But man, is that British announcer a total fanboi. It's especially amusing that he's sweating and wailing and cheering her on, even though the event isn't live for him and he damn well knows how it ends.
posted by maudlin at 6:54 PM on September 18, 2008

Oh Sasuke was just on a couple of days ago...

Ever heard of a spoiler alert, pal?
posted by Dave Faris at 7:56 PM on September 18, 2008

That British announcer is adorable. But maybe for him, the excitement was her journey and not in the result, hence his enthusiasm.

And the fireman clip makes me a sad panda :(
posted by spec80 at 7:57 PM on September 18, 2008

Yeesh. Am I the only one that was sickened by the British announcer? Going on and on about how delicate and tiny she is.
posted by GoingToShopping at 1:47 AM on September 19, 2008

Stuart Hall, the British presenter, makes Ninja Warrior for me. He loves it. He really gets into it. The clip in the FPP is just boring without him. Needs more Hall.
posted by Elmore at 3:18 AM on September 19, 2008

Sasuke is awesome - its about the only thing I'll pirate these days. Best watched in Japanese (which I don't speak), complete with original adverts (which I don't understand). JUUUMPING SPIIDER....
posted by prentiz at 6:24 AM on September 19, 2008

Ninja Warrior is a great show. I love watching it. Women of Ninja Warrior is good stuff too ;-)
posted by a3matrix at 6:55 AM on September 19, 2008

I love the Sasuke specials - they're usually on tv about twice a year, after the spring and fall drama seasons end. But I HATE the interview chick "Only one meter left on the course and you FELL! Don't you feel TERRIBLE?"
posted by emmling at 7:37 AM on September 20, 2008