SASUKE 32

SASUKE 32 (officially, 「SASUKE2016」) has been officially announced by TBS, and is the first tournament since Morimoto Yūsuke's kanzenseiha in SASUKE 31 (however, Morimoto didn't compete in this tournament due to job training). The broadcast was at 6:30pm JST, on Sunday, July 3, 2016. The event was 3 and a half hours long.

Applications
The application process for SASUKE 32 was announced at the official website on March 22, 2016, in addition to a video revealed on both their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The deadline for entries was at April 8, 2016, 11:59pm JST. Auditions were held in mid to late April in Tokyo and Osaka.

Filming
Similar to the previous two SASUKE competitions, the taping of SASUKE 32 took place over a two-day period, May 28 and May 29, 2016; the first 50 competitors ran the First Stage on the 28, while the remaining 50 competitors ran the First Stage on the 29. In addition, the 29 also included any possible runs for the Second Stage, Third Stage, and Final Stage.

Later, it was revealed via Inui Masato's Twitter account that there was an unexpected delay during production, where due to safety reasons, the camera equipment and apparatus can be dangerous when it is wet.

During SASUKE 32 taping, Drew Drechsel pointed out the course being wet thus being unfair to the competitors as well as compromising the safety of every competitors, thus the taping has to be cancelled. This came as unexpected news, especially when weather reports showed the area clear for the day. Despite the incident and resulting delay, taping of SASUKE 32 completed on schedule on May 29, 2016.

Based on the official aired broadcast, the cancellation happened for the very first time in SASUKE history.

Broadcast
The broadcast for SASUKE 32 will take place at 6:30pm JST, on Sunday, July 3, 2016. The show is expected to be 3 and a half hours long, including commercials.

The competition will only be broadcast on TBS in Japan, until licensed out around the world.

For the sake of brevity, and based on past history, most (but not all) of the competitors will be shown during the First Stage, depending on their results and reputation. Competitors that make it beyond the First Stage will have their Second, Third, or Final stage runs shown in their entirety.

Tournament Summary
Like with previous tournaments following kanzenseiha, the course was significantly altered to increase the difficulty, with several obstacles being modified to increase their difficulty or being replaced outright with a more difficult obstacle.

The First Stage's time limit was reduced by 5 seconds and had three new obstacles, the Quad Steps (which was firstly introduced during qualifying and semifinal on American Ninja Warrior 2, and went directly into the Rolling Hill), TIE Fighter, and Double Pendulum, while the Orugōru and Tackle both received modifications. For the second time (since SASUKE 16), there was a time limit difference for competitors in the First Stage, as normal competitors were given 115 seconds to complete it, while female competitors were given 125 seconds to complete it. The results were much lower than in the previous three SASUKE tournaments, with only 8 competitors cleared, the first time since SASUKE 28 that the number of the First Stage's clears was in the single-digit. Many prolific competitors like Takahashi Kenji and Asa Kazuma failed early in the stage, while others like Hioki Masashi, Urushihara Yuuji, and Yamamoto Shingo failed midway or near the end, as so did Matachi Ryo, Kanno Hitoshi, and Takeda Toshihiro. This tournament also became Nagano Makoto's final SASUKE tournament. While he put on a strong performance, he took too long on the Soritatsu Kabe and timed out just a few feet from the button. After his run, a ceremony was held to commemorate his dedication for SASUKE tournament, with Nagano was presented a Japanese national flag with his picture in it, signed by fellow competitors. Half of the competitors who cleared the First Stage (Brent Steffensen, André Sihm, Anastase Ragivaru, and Drew Drechsel) were all foreign competitors. Domestically, Suzuki Yusuke, Sato Jun (who hadn't competed since SASUKE 25), Nagasaki Shunsuke, and Kawaguchi Tomohiro cleared.

The Second Stage only received two changes, one being the return of the Gyakusō Conveyor, which changed its name into Reverse Conveyor, to bring the official obstacle count to eight, and the Wall Lifting being lowered to its pre-SASUKE 21 height. Originally, the time limit was lowered to 90 seconds, but due to poor clear rate in First Stage, the time limit was raised to 115 seconds. As the result, all eight competitors cleared the Second Stage, making it the first time since SASUKE 6, that the Second Stage had a 100% clear rate.

While the Third Stage had no new obstacles, almost every obstacle present except for the Pipe Slider was given extensive modifications to increase their difficulty. Only the Iron Paddler was removed in favor of the return of SASUKE 27 version of the Flying Bar. For the first time since SASUKE 27, competitors failed on the obstacles before the Crazy Cliffhanger, which had been redesigned into the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger. Back to the Flying Bar, it ended up eliminating half of the field, albeit a rain shower near the end made the obstacle more difficult, resulting in Ragivaru and Kawaguchi (the Last Man Standing of the tournament) both failed there. The Sidewinder R Kai eliminated André, while Brent and Sato failed at the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger. However, for the first time since SASUKE 9, a competitor managed to beat the redesigned Cliffhanger in its introductory tournament. That competitor was Drew Drechsel, who managed to make it to the modified Vertical Limit Kai. Unfortunately, due to the removal of the resting platform between the obstacles, Drew wasn't used to transfer between the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit Kai without any break, and failed immediately after transferring, leaving the Pipe Slider and Final Stage untouched.

Obstacles
①*Quad Steps クワッドステップス

② Rolling Hill ローリングヒル

③^TIE Fighter タイファイター

④*Orugōru オルゴール

⑤^Double Pendulum ダブルペンダラム

⑥*Tackle タックル

⑦ Soritatsu Kabe そり立つ壁

⑧ Tarzan Rope ターザンロープ

⑨ Lumberjack Climb ランバージャッククライム

Time Limit: 115 seconds, (125 seconds for female and/or over 50 competitors)

^ Denotes New Obstacle

* Denotes Modified Obstacle

Obstacles
① Cross Slider クロススライダー

② Salmon Ladder Nobori サーモンラダー 上り

③ Salmon Ladder Kudari サーモンラダー 下り

④ Spider Walk スパイダーウォーク

⑤ Spider Drop スパイダードロップ

⑥ *Backstream バックストリーム

⑦ Reverse Conveyor リバースコンべアー

⑧ *Wall Lifting ウォールリフティング

Time Limit: 115 seconds

^ Denotes New Obstacle

* Denotes Modified Obstacle

Obstacles
① *Drum Hopper Kai ドラムホッパー改

② Flying Bar フライングバー

③ *Sidewinder R Kai サイドワインダー R 改

④ ^Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger ウルトラクレイジークリフハンガー

⑤ *Vertical Limit Kai バーティカルリミット改

⑥ Pipe Slider パイプスライダー

^ Denotes New Obstacle

* Denotes Modified Obstacle

Obstacles
① Spider Climb スパイダークライム (8m)

② ^Salmon Ladder サーモンラダー (7m)

③ Tsuna Nobori 綱登り (10m)

Time Limit: Unknown

^ Denotes New Obstacle

* Denotes Modified Obstacle