Sasuke 23 Official Airdate

SASUKE 23 Official Airdate
.

Did I explain how much I adore Lost in Ube? Yes.. let me let you know :) Ube was kind enough to double check TV Guides in Japan for any hint of Sasuke 23 or Kunoichi 8 airdates on TBS. Lo and behold he found it!

According to 月刊ザハイビジョン (Monthly The HiVision) and 月刊ザテレビジョン...

It's official!
SASUKE 23 - Sunday, September 27th, 19:00 - 22:54 JST.
(7 pm Local time - 10:54 pm) - Showtime 3 hours and 54 minutes!
Station: TBS (Japan)
Thanks to the super sleuths at Sasuke Maniac Forums:
"The live feed of TBS is on TVants. However, it is mislabeled as "Japan>NTV" (edit.. as the date gets closer I will change which feed it is. It seems to change almost daily!)

(7 PM Japan Standard Time) (Sunday evening)
(6 AM Eastern Time) (Sunday morning)
(3 AM Pacific Time) (Sunday early morning)

TBS official page

SASUKE NAVI

I mentioned this before - Sasuke Navi (for Sasuke Navi 21 and for Sasuke Navi 22) is a great show! It's a 1 hour preview of the upcoming tournament. For this year I expect to see Sasuke Trials Fall 2009, Makoto Nagano baby birth announcement and even possible ANW Trials. The show will air BEFORE SASUKE and the SAME DAY. Please note.. they do a LOT of commercials for Sasuke and have been known to show a little bit of spoilers. So please bare this in mind when deciding to watch Sasuke Navi.

SASUKE 23 - Sunday, September 27th, 14:00 - 14:54 JST.
(2 pm Local time - 2:54 pm) - Showtime 54 minutes!
Station: TBS (Japan)

(2 PM Japan Standard Time) (Sunday afternoon)
(1 AM Eastern Time) (Sunday morning)
(10 PM Pacific Time) (Saturday evening)

Taping for Sasuke 23 is rumored to be September 12 (no official confirmation from Monster 9 yet) and Kunoichi 8 is confirmed to be next week, Wednesday, September 2, 2009. (Edit.. taping date for Sasuke 23 has changed to Monday, September 14th).

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE THIS LIVE AS IT AIRS!!!

Please note my page on how and what programs show TBS. From personal experience watching Sportsman #1 in January and Sasuke 22 in March.. PLEASE DOWNLOAD TVANTS.. I cannot possibly stress it any stronger. MANY people used KeyHole and were horribly disappointing when the picture was completely non viewable when under load of a lot of users. We expect a LOT more people watching again since Sasuke will fall on a weekend (and not a school night). KeyHole will definitely either crash or go about 2 frames per .. hour.. if lucky when several thousand people visit the server at once. The last time under heavy load many were able to watch uninterrupted through TVAnts. It does run 1 minute behind KeyHole but the picture is a but more stable. You will most likely get a couple buffer problems (server side) but it continues right where it left off. Best yet, during the Sasuke 22 showing it did not crash even once AND you can record it through VLC. If another solution presents itself in the next month I will update this page accordingly.

Thanks to the super sleuths at Sasuke Maniac Forums:
"The live feed of TBS is on TVants. However, it is mislabeled as "Japan>NTV" (edit.. as the date gets closer I will change which feed it is. It seems to change almost daily!)

Please note that this connotates LIVE Streaming.. You must wake up at that time to see it if you plan on watching it live. TBS DOES NOT REPEAT BROADCASTS. Sorry for being so blunt but for the past year and a half I've been blogging about Sasuke this is the first question I get as when someone refused to head any warning. It will not repeat (this is not G4) so if you miss it you have to be lucky to find a way to get a copy at another time. I cannot stress it enough.. if you want to watch it live you have to get up and watch it live - it will not repeat at another time. We are lucky to be able to watch a foreign show live as it airs in another country. Please don't complain at the time you have to wake up to watch it.

Kunoichi 8 - Taping date confirmed

Logo from the official Kunoichi 6 TBS site ©TBS 2006

As we found out in July - Kunoichi is making a triumphant return after an almost 2 year break. (Kunoichi 7 aired on September 5, 2007). After I read on the Monster 9 site that there was a new Kunoichi tournament there has been little or no information on the tournament. I've since learned that unlike Sasuke, the process for picking competitors and whatnot is much different for the women's tournament. That said with almost no fanfare and no updates from Monster 9 we have begun to doubt the mention that Kunoichi 8 was in fact taping before Sasuke 23. I emailed Monster 9 again and they have been very courteous to the overseas fans and returning emails whenever they had official information. Hoping to put the unease at rest they did send a simple email back confirming the rumored September 2nd taping of Kunoichi 8.

Kunoichi will be filming on 2^nd Sep..

If history continues to be our guide, we should be finding out sometime this week the official airing of Kunoichi 8 on TBS. For us in the USA awaiting the return this is great news! I'll post as soon as we have an official announcement on the actual TBS airing which at this point seems to point to middle to late September, 2009.

Please post questions for Brett Sims!

Brett Sims preparing for his run (with SASUKE Spray.. LOL) during Sasuke 19 ©Brett Sims

Just like I did with Michael Milner (from Sasuke 20) and Lucy Romberg (Sasuke 21) and in the process of with David Campbell, I'm going to be doing a blog entry on Brett! For those who remember who he is - he was actually the Runner up in the very first American Ninja Challenge (or ANC) and participated in Sasuke 19. He was invited back to participate in Sasuke 20. I'm posting this here and on both the G4 boards, and Proboards and on Twitter. For this blog just use the comments section at the end of this entry. I'll only keep the questions open for a short time. I figured since everyone will be checking the site for Sasuke/Ninja Warrior stuff I might get a lot of responses really fast.

Guidelines - please don't get too personal. I also have the right to not include all the questions and he also reserves the right to not answer all the questions :P Also - please keep this thread to questions only. Once the blog is done I'll create another thread with the answers and of course the blog entry.

Feel free to state your name, age (optional), City (or state, etc.) and your question and I'll send them over to Brett to answer. Thanks again Brett!

Sasuke Training - Part 2 - United States

Levi Meeuwenberg (Sasuke 20-22) and David Campbell (Sasuke 22) training together, August, 2009 ©David Campbell

There's much anticipation here in the USA for Sasuke 23 now that we are about a month away. As I was working on my last blog (Part 1 - Japan) it had come to my attention that the same weekend was a busy weekend for quite a few people here in the United States as well. Part of the anticipation is due to a brand new competition (finally..) that G4 is airing sometime.. I don't know when.. actually.. Gah I feel myself digressing already.. stay on target.. Anyway.. American Ninja Warrior (formerly American Ninja Challenge or ANC.. this one is technically ANC5) or ANW as I call it (sounds like a wrestling league.. or as someone reminded me.. Root Beer.. ) is set to start picking their top 10 later this month.

David Campbell training on his replica Slider Jump - August, 2009 ©David Campbell

Anyway I was talking to David Campbell who is working on answering his questions (don't tell him it was back in June.. :p LOL Just Kidding David.. I DID tell you to take your time on it) he told me he was training as well for ANW since he was not going to get a free pass to Sasuke even though he was the winner for ANC4. As a matter of fact, neither was Levi or anyone else who won previously. David sent me pics he took of his training session that included the pain in the ass obstacle that almost took out David the last time and pwned Levi last time.. the dreaded.. Slider Jump.

David Campbell getting tangled in Sasuke 22

Getting pissed that he got tangled there the last time, David had the obstacle reconstructed so he can practice as many times as he could so he wouldn't do the same mistake. I'm sure just about every Sasuke wannabe is salivating at having that as a backyard...

Levi and his date with the Slider Jump during Sasuke 23

Levi I'm sure was trying to get as much practice on that sucker as well after his Sasuke 23 run (and about oh.. what.. 10 other people? I lost track.. I'm sure someone has the exact number.. I .. don't care :p A lot!).

Levi Meeuwenberg - August, 2009 ©David Campbell

I'm sure he made it later but I found these funny (and so did David apparently :p) Glad to see Levi was still smiling because frankly.. that look like it hurt.. and I'm sure the mattress was moved..

Levi Meeuwenberg - August, 2009 ©David Campbell

Ahahahahahah okay.. This is for David.. Here's a successful Slider Jump with Levi on it :) Tehehehehheheh Yes I did say he probably did it :) The falling pics were funny though you have to admit :p

David's nephew Travis Furlanic and his try at the Slider Jump - August, 2009 ©David Campbell

Also in the training was David's nephew Travis Furlanic. He's also training hard for his spot at ANW later this month. David also sent pics of his Salmon Ladder. Below is Levi testing it out.

Levi Meeuwenberg - August, 2009 ©David Campbell

Keep an eye out for my blog later in the summer for David' Campbells blog on Sasuke 22. Until then cheer everyone on as they try out for Sasuke 23!

Christopher Christensen ©vxjasonxv

Another set of pics can be found here (there are actually a lot.. Thanks Jason!) of the Colorado Parkour Jam that happened last week. A couple friends of mine (Jason and Chris) went and took pics and even participated in the event that included Team Tempest's Brian Orosco (Sasuke 20-21) and Luci Romberg (Sasuke 21-22) and Levi Meeuwenberg as well.

Slideshow ©vxjasonxv

Christopher Christensen 2009

Chris (or UncleSam as we know him in most post boards) is also trying out for ANW this year. Above is his entry video. Yes, he's my sentimental favorite. There are 10 spots and I hope he gets one of them to Sasuke 23! If you are in the area cheer everyone on later in the month!

Ruselis Perry - March, 2008 (ANC2) ©G4TV

Also training for ANW is Ruselis Perry whom we affectionately call Blackie Chan. Most remember him from ANC 2 (my favorite of his entry videos) and ANC 3 submission. He's back for ANW (ANC5) with a new entry video.

Ruselis Perry training with Christopher Christensen ©Ruselis Perry

The Salmon ladder in this video clip is heeeeeeeeeavy and haaaaaaaaaard.. Both Chris and Rus can attest to it. The rungs are further apart and the bar is heavier than normal. Rus got to the second to the top rung on this attempt. Chris built it that way.. he is.. eville..

Ryan Stratis ANW entry video

Last but not least is Ryan Stratis. I call him Straticus (his username on post boards) but you can call him OMG-IF-HE-DOESN'T-MAKE-IT-THE-COMPETITION-IS-FIXED.. sorry.. LOL Dude.. this is his FIFTH time.. count them.. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.. here are actually his ANC 3 and ANC4 videos. I swear he HAS to at least get a crack at Sasuke.. Good Lord.. how many times does he have to be a damn finalist?? Good.. grief..

Makoto Nagano visits the United States, September, 2008 (Part 1 of 4) ©Ryan Stratis

On top of that.. He went to West Palm Beach, Florida just to meet Makoto Nagano AND he took videos of it to share with the rest of us who couldn't go to see him the only time he came to the US back in September, 2008. (Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four)

Ryan Stratis posing with Makoto Nagano - September, 2008 ©Ryan Stratis

So when you watch ANW this Fall.. winter.. when the heck is it actually showing? Oh nevermind.. when you watch Sasuke 23 just remember the hard work that everyone went through just to get ON the show. Good luck to everyone in Japan and the United States!

Sasuke Training - Part 1 - Japan

Training for the Jumping Spider ©森渉 Mori Wataru

Getting even closer to Sasuke 23 (and closer to the deadline where in Japan they will receive notices for the date of Sasuke Trials - which will most likely be late August at this point), I've been checking the usual blogs and doing searches for new ones. Ube as usual is a HUGE help and finds things I can't. Earlier this month I was doing such a search online and noticed the the UNCLI boys were posting on their blogs (particularly Ryo Matachi 又地諒) about a training camp specifically for the upcoming Sasuke competition. For those who have not paid attention to my previous blogs or need a refresher as to who UNCLI is - they are 5 guys who train often together and have made Sasuke Park in Muscle Park in Odaiba their personal playground. They consist of 5 members -Matsuda (I keep forgetting his first name... he's #1 Cliffer), Ryo Matachi 又地諒 (#2 Cliffer), Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治 (#3 Cliffer), Keita Tomino 富野恵太 (#4 Cliffer) (he's the guy who pwns Sasuke Park on a regular basis) and Keitaro Yamamoto (dude with the glasses) (#5 Cliffer). Many of course did not even get out of Sasuke Trials for 22 but they saw one of their own, Yuuji, make it all the way to the friggin' Final Stage of Sasuke 22 it gave them hope that they too can make it this time around.

Sasuke Training Camp ©森渉 Mori Wataru

If you notice from the picture (above) there are a LOT of familiar faces if you look close enough. First of all I was very happy to see (since he was not at Sasuke Trials for 22 to my knowledge) the guy I affectionately call "Moody" (Makoto Yahagi whom we met over the course of Sasuke Trials last summer and followed him throughout the spring in Bug in Miki and Maguro Festival) on the far left standing up on the back row wearing a black shirt. Just below him wearing a white shirt is Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志 (who made it to the Spider Flip in Sasuke 22), Just about him is Kanou Takaaki 加納隆明 who was in the finals of last year's Sasuke Trials for 21. In the middle strangling a friend.. is Hiroki Nomura (who FINALLY made it to 22 via the Sasuke Trials). Just behind Nomura is Ryo Matachi 又地諒 (#2 Cliffer). Next to him on top of the shoulders of Tomohiro Kawaguchi 川口朋広 (who also qualified through Sasuke Trials to Sasuke 22) is none other than Cliffer #3 Yuuji Urushihara 漆原裕治. To the far right is Yuuhei Sayama 佐山侑平 who was also in Finals of Sasuke Trials last year for Sasuke 21. I know some of the names but I think I might mess up matching the faces with the names so I'm leaving that until I find out exactly who's who in what order :)

©森渉 Mori Wataru

Most of the really nice pictures are taken by this guy 森渉 Mori Wataru who is actually an Actor. He was in Sasuke 21 but was digested. Judging by the first picture on this blog you can tell he was still pretty pissed at failing at the Jumping Spider in Sasuke 21. Here is training on the Shin-Cliffhanger. Oh! I forgot. Ube also tells me that the person hosting this is another guy that lost in the Sasuke Trials last year 嵐田良一 Arashida Yoshikazu. He's the one with the Sasuke warehouse (where this camp was held) I'm sure is the envy of every Sasuke hopeful.

Mori (black shorts) standing next to Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志 while Ryo Matachi 又地諒 is hanging off the Shin-Cliffhanger ©森渉 Mori Wataru

P.S. If you get a chance.. try to hit the translation on these blogs because some of the bablefish disasters are just priceless.. the one for this photo reads as follows. Mori says: "Hawt guy is a hard way to the right of the photo. In the 3rd stage in the last SASUKE!" Still doesn't beat Supernova birth humiliation but.. LMFAO "Hawt". Also in the blog he states that the Sasuke camp was 2 days (during the weekend of August 1-2, 2009). At the end of the blog.. a hope to all people in the world.. he's discovered the fountain of youth "It is a beer garden in Yamagata".. GOD I love bablefish disasters.. dude.. they grow beer in gardens in Yamagata.. gotta go man... Whoops.. forgot to say Yamagata is a prefecture in Japan where this warehouse they trained in was located.

Mori with Kobayashi ©森渉 Mori Wataru

Okay I knew one of the guys in the photo was familiar. This is Kobayashi from Sasuke Trials last year and has made frequent visits as well to Sasuke Park in Muscle Park. In fact I remember one quite recently... I forgot.. I think he's an actor as well. It's one of those faces you've seen time and time again in Sasuke Maniac (when the show was still around) that it nags you. Since I haven't seen him in Sasuke I couldn't place his name. I "think" it's Hiroshi Kobayashi. I'm sure I'll get corrected at some point. P.S. Isn't that warped wall just all kinds of sweet? Dude.. they put a LOT of effort into this park.. they should friggin' charge admission..

Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志 ©Ryo Matachi 又地諒

Was happy to see Kanno out and about and ready to pwn Sasuke this time around. I found this picture first and was so happy to see it. Ryo of course had to have been taking pics from his cell and just uploaded it from there since all the pics on his site are sideways.. LOL Gotta love being able to turn the image so we got a better look. He sure does love chunky jewelry doesn't he? Anyway.. that's Kanno totally representin'.

(edited - Ryo said it definately is) Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志 on the right with Ryo on the left ©Ryo Matachi 又地諒

One of the many hanging pictures that Ryo loves taking. Back in April he had hanging pics in Muscle Park and in the past he's taken a bunch of pics lookin' cool hanging of off obstacles. Still, I love that they took time to show the park and them goofing around. This entry in particular Ryo was going to sleep early since he was exhausted after day 1 of the camp.

Hitoshi Kanno 菅野仁志 in the middle while the foreground is Nomura ©Ryo Matachi 又地諒

More candid pics. Kinda reminds of me of those soda pop 1950's pics with everyone drinking milkshakes and stuff they show in the movies... minus the milkshakes.. and this is 2009.. and they are Japanese.. /sigh.. I digress.. I found this before Ube sent me the Mori blog to show the whole crew there. I didn't know how many people were going to this camp.

Yuuhei Sayama 佐山侑平, Kanou Takaaki 加納隆明 and Ryo arriving safely in Yamagata ©Ryo Matachi 又地諒

I love candid pics :) This is the guys taking pics with Ryo's cell phone when they arrived to Yamagata for the Sasuke Camp. If I'm not mistaken.. this is Sayama Yuuhei 佐山侑平 from Okinawa (the guy on the left) since I found his face familiar I had to dig back to when I first started to blog about the trials watching Sasuke Maniac. (P.S. I was right. Ryo updated the blogs with his name). I didn't recognize the dude with the red shorts (Ryo updated the blog with his name - Kanou Takaaki 加納隆明) but HE was in the Sasuke Trials too over the summer! He was in the same group as Nomura in week 3 and passed to the Finals but finished out of the top 8 to qualify for Sasuke 21. I'm still laughing - I do know that's Ryo on the right.. posing.. again.. I swear he's a reject from the Ginyu Force.. dude LOVES posing.. ahahahahah

More Sasuke Training - Ryoma is the middle guy in orange ©加藤僚馬 Ryoma Katou

I got confused as to who this kid was. Seems like everyone is really getting into making backyard training grounds. Ryoma was in Sasuke 21 Trials part of the High Schoolers group. Either way I thought it was cool and figured people might like to see how they are training in Japan for the same event.

[高画質で再生]

しん☆きち（SASUKE応募ビデオ）　[ホスティング]

Sasuke Entry video ©Shinya Iwasaki 岩崎 真也

In the midst of all of this I got an email from another guy in Japan (to my knowledge completely unrelated) who must have either found my blog or saw my posts in Ryo's blog.. sure sure actually but he sent me his own training clips complete with bad-ass Sasuke Park he built himself. His name is Shinya Iwasaki 岩崎 真也. What's cool is that he sent me a cell phone message showing me his entry video.

[高画質で再生]

しん☆きちパーク（NEW CLIFF HANGERⅢ）　[専用サーバー]

His latest Cliffhanger ©Shinya Iwasaki 岩崎 真也

I love the suspense music he puts in these videos :) They are just too cute!

[高画質で再生]

しん☆きちパーク（スライダージャンプ完成までの道のり）　[ショッピングカート]

Slider Jump bloopers ©Shinya Iwasaki 岩崎 真也

The final one is one of my favorites overall. It shows the bloopers that were obviously cut out from the main video and it shows just how friggin' hard the Slider Jump really is.

Sasuke 23 Related News - Muscle Park

Muscle Park Event - August 16, 2009 ©Muscle Park

With Sasuke 23 and Kunoichi 8 right around the corner it's time to start looking at the usual places for updates and announcements regarding the upcoming event. An interesting Muscle Park Blog for this weekend showed us an event that's shaping up to be quite interesting indeed.


Incoming bablefish disaster:

- It is!
Hello everyone
Now, the 23 Annual "SASUKE fall," Do you know you are looking for participants in
Oh! I do not know?
How do here ♪
But 1,2,3 MASSURUPAKU in SASUKEPAKU Sasuke in the popular fighting game featuring the attractions of sasuke
(Photo: Arm ring) {And yes that is Katsumi Yamada doing the Arm Rings}
Start the No.1 attraction to match!
SASUKE　No.1 "23rd anniversary SASUKE SASUKE No.1 place match."
This No.1 applicants try to use the results of the final match would determine how
We look forward to challenging for a hot hot (^_^)

They linked to the official poster (which I posted above as well). Now.. what makes this interesting is that there "MAY" be a possibility here to qualify again. It's not clear at all. Apparently the poster eludes to prizes while the blog eludes to possible qualification. Either way they have dates listed from now to the 16th with the 16th being highlighted as an actual festival type thing. Now.. it doesn't say anyone famous will be going (though they do show Yamada in the picture).. so we have to wait and see the blog if there is any more information posted. In the meantime if it does turn out that there are qualification spots then it adds to the MRT winner. Personally.. I hope the UNCLI kids go.. Personally I want Tomino Keita 富野恵太 to finally friggin' make it to Sasuke.. for those who don't remember him.. he was in last year's Sasuke Trials and has the possibly evilist backyard on the planet.. and PWNS Sasuke Park on a regular basis!!