The Monster Box (モンスターボックス) is an event that has made an appearance in most Sportsman and Sports Danshi Grand Prix competitions to date, with the Pro Sportsman No. 1 2010 competition being entirely a monster box special.
The event itself is a crossover between the Olympic style high jump and vault competitions, where competitors must run down a 25m runway onto a springboard and vault over a giant vaulting box (the monster box) that increases in height after all competitors have attempted the current height. Competitors unable to complete a given height, are eliminated.
The beginning level for male competitors would be at 11 levels (1m 86cm) and for female competitors would be at 9 levels (1m 66cm). But there would be instances where the beginning levels would differ per tournament. Each level would have an increase of 10 cm. Competitors would only have one attempt to clear every level. But they can have the two attempts on the event once male competitors clear 15 levels (2m 26cm) and female competitors clear 14 levels (2m 16cm).
Competitors would be given an option to skip a level during the event, but as a consequence once they fail the subsequent level, the last level they cleared would be the result. This would be utilized by competitors like Iketani Naoki who managed to skip consecutive levels to preserve his energy for the higher levels.
The World Record for the highest level of Monster Box cleared stands at 23 levels (3m 06cm) which is held by Yeo Hong-Chul, Morgan Hamm, Iketani Naoki, Mizutori Hisashi, and Hirano Taishin, with Iketani being the only one who managed to clear 23 levels during the main tournament while the other four managed to reach the record during the special events of Sportsman or Sports Danshi Grand Prix.
In its first Sportsman appearance in Pro Sportsman No. 1 1993, competitors would start at 8 Levels which has an equivalent height of 1 meter and 50 centimeters and gradually increases by 10 centimeters with each levels. In addition, the maximum amount of levels provided at this time is set at 13 Levels which has an equivalent height of 2 meters. During the event, out of the eighteen competitors who attempted the event, thirteen would complete 12 Levels and subsequently, eight competitors managed to clear the maximum 13 Levels. To resolve the issue of having too many winners in the event, the producers added a 10cm block below the vaulting box, increasing the height of the next level to 2 meters and 10 centimeters.
To prevent these instances from happening again, the structure of the vaulting box is modified to accommodate higher levels to prevent such instances from happening again.
This event would appear in fifteen Pro Sportsman Tournaments, eighteen Celebrity Survival Battles, one Amateur Sportsman Tournament and is the only one to have its own special. This would also become one of the few Sportsman events that appeared in Sports Danshi Grand Prix.
Name Origins[]
In its first appearance on Pro Sportsman No. 1 1993, it was called as the Tobibako (跳び箱). Meanwhile at the first Pro Sportsman Tournament in Pro Sportsman No. 1 1995, it was referred to as the Horse Box. It was only until the third Sportsman Tournament in 1st Amateur Sportsman No. 1 where the event was called as the Monster Box.
Special Events[]
Throughout the tournaments, the Monster Box would also appear in special events outside of the main battle and tournaments of the show.
The Monster Box World Championship (モンスターボックス 世界一決定戦) is a special event held during Pro Sportsman Tournaments. This event would be held in the same venue of the corresponding Summer Olympics hosts, with the exception of 2003 where it was held in Japan.
Event Winners[]
| Tournament | Title | Battle | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sportsman No.1 (1993 - 2010) | ||||
| I | Pro Sportsman No. 1 1993 | 3 | Kataoka Atsushi and Iketani Yukio | 13 levels + 10cm (2m 10cm) |
| II | Pro Sportsman No. 1 1995 | 3 | Iida Tetsuya and Iketani Yukio | 16 levels (2m 36cm) |
| III | 1st Amateur Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Vitaly Scherbo | 20 levels (2m 76cm) |
| V | Pro Sportsman No. 1 1996 | 2 | Iketani Yukio | 18 levels (2m 56cm) |
| VI | 1st Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 1 | Osumi Kenya | 15 levels (2m 26cm) |
| X | Pro Sportsman No. 1 1998 | 4 | Ogata Koichi | 18 levels (2m 56cm) |
| XI | 3rd Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Kane Kosugi | 19 levels (2m 66cm) |
| XII | 4th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Kane Kosugi | 22 levels (2m 96cm) |
| XIII | Pro Sportsman No. 1 1999 | 3 | Kane Kosugi | 19 levels (2m 66cm) |
| XIV | 5th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 2 | Iketani Naoki | 23 levels (3m 06cm) |
| XV | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2000 | 2 | Kane Kosugi | 21 levels (2m 86cm) |
| XVI | 6th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 2 | Iketani Naoki and Kane Kosugi | 22 levels (2m 96cm) |
| XVII | 7th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 2 | Kane Kosugi | 20 levels (2m 76cm) |
| XVIII | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2001 | 3 | Kane Kosugi | 21 levels (2m 86cm) |
| XIX | 8th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 22 levels (2m 96cm) |
| XX | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2002 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 23 levels (3m 06cm) |
| XXI | 9th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Shōei and Shane Kosugi | 19 levels (2m 66cm) |
| XXII | 10th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Nagai Masaru | 18 levels (2m 56cm) |
| XXIII | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2003 | 3 | Nakata Daisuke | 20 levels (2m 76cm) |
| XXIV | 11th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Shirakawa Yujiro | 18 levels (2m 56cm) |
| XXV | 12th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 21 levels (2m 86cm) |
| XXVI | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2004 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 21 levels (2m 86cm) |
| XXVII | 13th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 22 levels (2m 96cm) |
| XXVIII | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2005 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 20 levels (2m 76cm) |
| XXIX | 14th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 2 | Iketani Naoki | 20 levels (2m 76cm) |
| XXX | 15th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 2 | Iketani Naoki | 22 levels (2m 96cm) |
| XXXI | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2006 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 22 levels (2m 96cm) |
| XXXII | 16th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Iketani Naoki and Tomoyuki | 21 levels (2m 86cm) |
| XXXIII | 17th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 2 | Iketani Naoki | 23 levels (3m 06cm) |
| XXXIV | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2007 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 20 levels (2m 76cm) |
| XXXV | CB Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Wakky, Dante, and Gen | 18 levels (2m 56cm) |
| XXXVI | 18th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 | 3 | Tomoyuki | 20 levels (2m 76cm) |
| XXXVII | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2008 | 6 | Iketani Naoki | 21 levels (2m 86cm) |
| XXXVIII | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2009 | 3 | Iketani Naoki | 21 levels (2m 86cm) |
| XXXIX | Pro Sportsman No. 1 2010 | Solo Event | Ōyama Hirokazu | 22 levels (2m 96cm) |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix (2012 - 2024) | ||||
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 1 | 3 | Mori Wataru | 18 levels (2m 56cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 2 | 3 | Seiya and Mori Wataru | 19 levels (2m 66cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 3 | 3 | Iketani Naoki, Sano Gaku, and Mori Wataru | 20 levels (2m 76cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 4 | 3 | Sano Gaku | 20 levels (2m 76cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 5 | 2 | Iketani Naoki, Sano Gaku, and Mori Wataru | 20 levels (2m 76cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 6 | 1 | Hirano Taishin | 22 levels (2m 96cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 8 | 2 | Hirano Taishin | 22 levels (2m 96cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 9 | 2 | Hirano Taishin | 22 levels (2m 96cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 10 | Solo Event | Hirano Taishin | 21 levels (2m 86cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 11 | 1 | Sano Gaku, Takechi Kaisei, and Sato Yoshito | 19 levels (2m 66cm) | |
| Sports Danshi Grand Prix 12 | 1 | Fukuo Makoto | 21 levels (2m 86cm) | |
Pair VIKING Appearances[]
While both shows were completely unrelated towards each other, the Monster Box would manifest in a form of a standard vaulting box in all three Pair VIKING competitions as an obstacle in the First Marine Stage.
In Pair VIKING 1 and Pair VIKING 2, the Tobibako (とび箱/跳び箱) appeared as the fourth obstacle in the First Marine Stage, then relocated as the fifth obstacle on Pair VIKING 3. The level would be at 8 levels at an unknown height. Since the First Marine Stage is a timed course, a competitor from each group would press a buzzer after completing the Kōsoku Slider to open the gate, allowing the other competitor to attempt the obstacle and press a buzzer at the other side in order to attempt the next obstacle. Unlike in Sportsman/SpoDan, failing to clear the box does not result in elimination but with a time penalty of ten seconds, resulting in timeouts in the later part of the course.
Gallery[]
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