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Gyakusō Conveyor (逆走コンベアー), called Conveyer Belt in English broadcasts, is a Second Stage obstacle from the first thirteen and eight most recent SASUKE tournaments. Variants of this obstacle were also used in several Kinniku Banzuke events.

It is exactly what its name implies: a conveyor belt with an overhang covering it. Competitors must crawl across the conveyor belt from one side to the other. The belt is 6.3 metres (20.67 feet) long, 90 centimetres (2.95 feet) wide, and moves at the speed of 20 km/h (12.43 mph) in the opposite direction of the competitors. In the first tournament, competitors must enter from the left side of the conveyor, however, this was changed from SASUKE 2 to SASUKE 6, where competitors now must enter from the right side of the conveyor. It was reverted back from SASUKE 7 onwards (including Reverse Conveyor).

In SASUKE 8, to avoid electrocuting competitors as well as to most likely compensate for weather conditions potentially making the course more difficult, the belt was turned off, so it didn't move at all.

Designed as a time waster, it only eliminated two competitors (Atarashii Ichirō in SASUKE 4 and Ueki Shigenori in SASUKE 13) and was replaced with Metal Spin in SASUKE 14.

It was eventually revived in SASUKE 32 after a hiatus of twelve years and nineteen tournaments. It became the seventh obstacle of Second Stage and was renamed the Reverse Conveyor (リバースコンベアー). Safety paddings was added behind the obstacle if competitors failed due to fatigue. The pads were replaced by water from SASUKE 35 onwards. On a side note, a similar layout was already in use compared to its first appearance in SASUKE 1.

However, the speed of the conveyor belt had been decelerated compared to previous tournaments, likely due to the risk of electrocution as competitors had to immediately crawl on the electric-driven obstacle after completing the Backstream, without a chance to dry off. Similar to its appearance in the early tournaments, this obstacle functioned as a time waster. However, all eight competitors who attempted this obstacle in SASUKE 32 could clear it, and later the Second Stage.

As a result of the easiness of the obstacle, the speed of the conveyor belt was increased to its original speed in the next tournament. The obstacle proved to be brutal, causing Hioki Masashi and Mori Wataru to time out there and creating trouble for other competitors, due to them having wet hands after clearing the Backstream. The obstacle was proven to be brutal once again in SASUKE 34, as Darvish Kenji and Urushihara Yuuji timed out here. On the other hand, Takahashi Kenji became the first competitor to fail the obstacle without timing out, as he ran out of stamina and was dragged by the conveyor to the padding.

For the Reverse Conveyor, there was two sets of floor padding beside the belt possibly to prevent injury from being dragged by the belt. While it may be touched, competitors are not allowed to utilize the pads for support (as Mori Wataru was disqualified for doing so in SASUKE 36). As such, competitor must stay on the belt while moving forward.

KUNOICHI Appearances[]


KUNOICHI 2000 Version[]

The origins of the Gyakusō Conveyor can be traced back to KUNOICHI 2000, where it was implemented to replace the earlier Futon Beater as a less intense time-waster, albeit competitors could still fail the obstacle by not being able to keep pace with it and thus fall into the water pit behind it. Unlike the SASUKE and future KUNOICHI versions, this obstacle lacked an overhang. Instead, three ribbon-hurdles were installed to increase the difficulty. The speed of the conveyor also seemed a bit faster than in SASUKE version. However, no one failed this obstacle.

KUNOICHI BLUE Stage Version[]

Reverse Conveyor (リバースコンベアー) appeared as the fourth obstacle of the BLUE Stage (Second Stage) from KUNOICHI 9 onwards. The main difference compared to the SASUKE version was that the overhang was lower, forcing competitors to lie down and crawl onto the conveyor.

Since there was no time limit to complete the stage, competitors could only fail this obstacle if they were dragged to the padding below the conveyor belt. However, from KUNOICHI 10 onwards, with the implementation of time limit to the stage, the obstacle served as a time waster.

Other Appearances[]

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia[]

SNWMongolia2019 Reverse Conveyor

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia's Reverse Conveyor

On SASUKE Ninja Warrior Mongolia, the Reverse Conveyor made its first international appearance outside of SASUKE, appearing as the fifth obstacle in Stage Two.

SNWMongolia2019 Reverse Conveyor BackView

Back View of the Reverse Conveyor with the Backstream

Compared to SASUKE or KUNOICHI, competitors who failed this obstacle would fall into the Backstream, instead of padded mats or a separate pool of water.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found.

SASUKE[]

SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
1 8 8 100%
2 14 14 100%
3 8 8 100%
4 12 13 92.31%
5 1 1 100%
6 5 5 100%
7 5 5 100%
8 5 5 100%
9 6 6 100%
10 4 4 100%
11 9 9 100%
12 10 10 100%
13 8 9 88.89%
32 8 8 100%
33 5 7 71.43%
34 10 14 71.43%
35 6 6 100%
36 11 14 78.57%
37 8 8 100%
38 8 9 88.89%
39 10 12 83.33%
40 14 17 82.35%
41 16 16 100%
Total 191 208 91.82%

KUNOICHI[]

KUNOICHI Clears Attempts Percentage
9 5 5 100%
10 4 5 80%
11 7 8 87.5%
Total 16 18 88.89%

Kinniku Banzuke Appearances[]

As stated above, numerous variations of the Gyakusō Conveyor appeared on Kinniku Banzuke in several events, differing based on the type of course. Just like in SASUKE, the obstacle was called as Conveyor Belt during G4 broadcast.

Bamboo Derby[]

CB KB LAP

Kinniku Banzuke's Gyakusō Conveyor in Bamboo Derby II

In Bamboo Derby, the obstacle had to be attempted while walking on stilts, and as such, lacked an overhang. To increase the difficulty, two rope hurdles were installed above the conveyor belt, and it had to be attempted right after completing the Hurdles. In most versions, the obstacle was then followed by Green Mountain. In others, competitors would have to face Snow Mountain instead- the obstacle was made of a Styrofoam-like substance that caused stilts to sink into the obstacle, making the transition more difficult. This version was exclusive to Bamboo Derby II.

Hand Walk[]

Conveyor Belt Hand Walk III

Kinniku Banzuke's Gyakusō Conveyor in Hand Walk III

In Hand Walk, the obstacle had to be attempted while walking on one's hands. It was used in the initial version of Hand Walk III. Like the SASUKE variant, competitors had to transition onto the side of the obstacle, which was done from a set of parallel downward-sloping logs before immediately going into an inclined area. However, this proved to be too difficult for competitors and was removed.

Like a Pierrot[]

In Like a Pierrot, the obstacle had to be attempted while riding a unicycle. It was used in Like a Pierrot V. However, the belt moved forwards (instead of backwards), with a gate at the end dropping in front of competitors for ten seconds. This forced competitors to regulate how far ahead they could go without crossing this out-of-bounds area until the ten seconds were up. After the waiting period was completed, competitors could simply ride the belt to the next area. In other words, competitors had to stay on the conveyor belt- avoiding hitting the gate- for ten seconds. Competitors also got onto the belt straight from the back instead of transitioning to the side in this version.

Nakama[]

CB Nakama

Kinniku Banzuke's Bob & Weave in Nakama

In Nakama, a variation of the Gyakusō Conveyor, called Bob & Weave during G4 broadcast appeared as the second obstacle in this event, which was similar to the one in SASUKE.

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