SASUKE 33

To commemorate SASUKE's 20th anniversary since its inception, SASUKE 33 (officially, 「SASUKE2017 」) was officially announced on October 31, 2016, by TBS. It is the second tournament after Morimoto Yūsuke's kanzenseiha. The broadcast aired on Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 6:30pm JST. As a side note, an alternative de facto title「SASUKE2017春」is used in SASUKE 34's Navi to differentiate both tournaments took place in the same year.

Applications
TBS announced the application process for SASUKE 33 on October 31, 2016, on the official website, Twitter and Facebook as well as a teaser video released on TBS's Youtube channel. The deadline for the applications was January 6, 2017. Auditions were held on January 14th in Osaka and Tokyo on January 22nd.

Filming
The taping dates took place on the February 11 and February 12, 2017; Similar to SASUKE 32, the First Stage took place on February 11 while Second, Third and Final Stage took place on the February 12.

Tournament Summary
SASUKE 33 is the first tournament in about 16 years (since SASUKE 6), that Nagano Makoto didn't compete in SASUKE (Nagano had announced his retirement in the previous tournament), and the first tournament which was aired during spring (since SASUKE 25). The First Stage time limit was increased by 13 seconds, making it the first time since SASUKE 14 that the time limit was not a multiple of 5. A new obstacle, the Fish Bone, incorporated from KUNOICHI 9, was introduced. Although there were shocking failures such as: Nevertheless, the results of this tournament were far superior to that of the previous tournament, as 13 competitors cleared, which included numerous celebrities like Takeru, Mori Wataru, and ABC-Z member Tsukada Ryoichi for their first time. Takeda Toshihiro cleared the First Stage for the first time since SASUKE 30, and reigning champion Morimoto Yūsuke cleared the First Stage in his return (although he almost slipped at the Fish Bone). Several competitors who cleared in the previous tournament, such as Drew Drechsel and Sato Jun, also cleared. The amount of First Stage clears in this tournament, 13, were exactly equivalent to the ones in SASUKE 3, which was thirty tournaments ago.
 * Urushihara Yuuji and Kanno Hitoshi's failures on the Rolling Hill,
 * Matachi Ryo's failure on the newest obstacle, the Fish Bone,
 * Kawaguchi Tomohiro's failure on the Double Pendulum,
 * Kishimoto Shinya's failure on the Quad Steps, and last but not least,
 * Darvish Kenji's devastating failure on the Lumberjack Climb for the second time, with one step closer to clear the First Stage.

In the Second Stage, however, the results were lackluster compared to the previous tournament. The time limit was decreased by five seconds, while the Cross Slider was replaced with the Ring Slider, a modified version of the Slide Walk from KUNOICHI 9. While it did not eliminate anyone, the obstacle was proven to be an efficient time waster and strength drainer, as Takeru took about 25 seconds to clear the obstacle. Both Salmon Ladder Nobori and Kudari were lethal, as all of the celebrities who attempted them except for Mori Wataru failed. The Reverse Conveyor unexpectedly posed a threat, as two-time Third Stage veteran Hioki Masashi timed out there, as did Mori Wataru, likely due to the obstacle moving at a faster pace than the previous tournament. It took a string of 8 failures before Asa Kazuma cleared the Second Stage. The last 4 competitors (Drew Drechsel, Sato Jun, Nagasaki Shunsuke, and Morimoto Yūsuke) all cleared.

In the Third Stage, the resting platform between the Flying Bar and Sidewinder Kai was removed, and both obstacles were modified: In addition, the green resting bars leading to the Pipe Slider from the Vertical Limit Kai were blocked off at the top, meaning that competitors could no longer rest at any point in the second half of the stage, the change was presumably due to Drew Drechsel have unexpectedly cleared the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger in his first attempt in the previous tournament and was close to attempt the Vertical Limit Kai.
 * The Flying Bar was modified to have a line attached to the bar along a wire track to prevent the competitors to take the bar down with them in case they failed, and
 * The Sidewinder's zig-zag formation was changed to a straight line, thus a name change from its predecessor.

The modification to the Flying Bar was proven to be lethal, as all but one of the competitors who attempted it failed. Only Drew managed to clear the obstacle, as well as the Sidewinder Kai, but when attempting the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger, he rushed through the obstacle, not wanting to wait for the moving ledge at the end. As he made the second transition, the moving ledge start to move up. This ended up costing him and he failed the obstacle, unlike in the previous tournament. After Morimoto failed at the Flying Bar, the tournament ended with no Third Stage clear.

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 ^Fish Bone フィッシュボーン

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: 128 seconds

^ Denotes New Obstacle

* Denotes Modified Obstacle

Obstacles
① ^Ring Slider リングスライダー

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: 110 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 Kai サイドワインダー改

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

Obstacle
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