SASUKE 21

Intro
The 21st Competition, official name: SASUKE2008秋 (literally Sasuke 2008 fall), is the fourth tournament since Nagano Makoto's kanzenseiha in SASUKE 17, and the tournament in which future SASUKE champion Urushihara Yuuji made his debut. Prior to this tournament, preliminary trials were held in both Japan and the United States. The SASUKE 21 Trials had eight representatives and the United States had six (although only three actually qualified).

Due to the poor results of the last two tournaments, the course was kept virtually the same. In fact, only one new obstacle, the Hang Climbing (replacing the Sending Climber), was introduced. The results in this tournament were vastly better than in SASUKE 19 or SASUKE 20, as 9 competitors cleared the First Stage, including the last four consecutive competitors (a Shin-SASUKE record).

In the Second Stage, the Salmon Ladder eliminated 4 of the 9 competitors who attempted it, and only 3 competitors were able to clear the stage. Two-time Pro Sportsman #1 champion, Miyazaki Daisuke, cleared the First and Second Stage for the first time, but failed at the Devil Steps in the Third Stage, the earliest Third Stage failure in Shin-SASUKE. In his record-breaking 11th appearance in the Third Stage, Takeda became the first competitor to clear the Shin-Cliffhanger, and later became the Hang Climbing's first and only victim. Nagano made it to the final obstacle in the Third Stage, the Gliding Ring, where a flaw in design made the obstacle much more difficult than imagined. As the result, Nagano failed there, ending the tournament. For an unprecedented fourth straight tournament, no one made it to the Final Stage.

This tournament marked a return to dominance for the SASUKE All-Stars, as all five SASUKE All-Stars who competed in this tournament, made it to the Soritatsu Kabe, with three of them cleared the First Stage (the most since SASUKE 17), and Nagano and Takeda cleared the Second Stage.

Obstacles
① Rokudantobi 六段跳び

② *Log Grip ロッググリップ

③ Pole Maze ポールメイズ

④ Jumping Spider ジャンピングスパイダー

⑤ *Half-Pipe Attack ハーフパイプアタック

⑥ Soritatsu Kabe そり立つ壁

⑦ Flying Chute フライングシュート

⑧ Tarzan Rope ターザンロープ

⑨ Rope Ladder ロープラダー

Time Limit: 120 seconds

Length: 120m

^ Denotes New Obstacle

 * Denotes Obstacle Modification

Obstacles
①  * Downhill Jump ダウンヒルジャンプ

② *Salmon Ladder サーモンラダー

③  * Stick Slider スティックスライダー

④ Swing Ladder スウィングラダー

⑤ Metal Spin メタルスピン

⑥ *Wall Lifting ウォールリフティング

Time Limit: 80 seconds

^ Denotes New Obstacle

 * Denotes Obstacle Modification

Obstacles
① Arm Ring アームリング

② Kudari Lamp Grasper 下りランプグラスパー

③ Devil Steps デビルステップス

④ Shin-Cliffhanger 新クリフハンガー

⑤ Jumping Bars ジャンピングバー

⑥ ^Hang Climbing ハングクライミング

⑦ Spider Flip スパイダーフリップ

⑧ ^Gliding Ring グライディングリング

^ Denotes New Obstacle

 * Denotes Obstacle Modification

Promotion
The Special SASUKE Zone (スペシャルSASUKEゾーン) was a fan convention that allows the audience to attempt an obstacle course that involves past SASUKE obstacles. This event was conducted a few days prior to filming and some parts of the stages were present during the broadcast but was not used in the actual tournament. It is known that there are multiple prizes once a competitor clears a stage within the time limit.

Obstacles
① Burasagari Maruta ぶら下がり丸太

② Propeller Untei プロペラ雲梯

③ Jump Hang ジャンプハング

Obstacles
① Curtain Cling カーテンクリング

② Rumbling Dice ランブリングダイス

③ Pipe Slider パイプスライダー