Over the summer I discovered a new show that we really love, Ninja Warrior on G4TV. Unfortunately, G4 is geared towards gamers, AKA teenage boys, so the commercials are definitely not kid friendly making this a TiVo only recommendation.

Ninja Warrior is a Japanese show where 100 contestants try to complete 4 stages of an obstacle course. The obstacle course is supposed to test all the skills of a true Ninja, thus the title. What we love is that this is a show all about physical prowess where the contestants are cheering for each other. They are trying to defeat the course, not each other. There are a sprinkling of humorous contestants along with the All-Stars who come back each year to try to defeat the course. Only 2 men have ever made it to the end.

The competitors range from professional athletes (the Hamm twins have both competed) to firemen, gas station attentdants, and grandfathers. The color announcing is translated to english while the funny play by play uses subtitles. Oddly enough this mix works out great.

Our favorite is Makoto Nagano, a fishing boat captain who make the course look easy. This guy practices by doing handstand push ups on the mast of his ship. He was the second man to complete the course. Here’s the video of his winning run through all four stages:

G4TV has also started showing the women’s version which also has some amazing obstacles and competitors.The first time we watched this show with the boys, they immediately went to work creating an obstacle course in our family room.So check it out, just have your TiVo remote ready to skip past the commercials.

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