Ninja Israel (Hebrew: נינג'ה ישראל, stylized as ישראל NINJA), also known as Israeli Ninja Warrior was a Israeli sports entertainment reality gameshow based on the Japanese television reality show SASUKE. In addition, the show also served as the regular competition for competitors from Israel.
The first season of Ninja Israel was premiered on July 25, 2018 and broadcast on Keshet 12. As of now, Ninja Israel produced and aired five seasons, with four Total Victories by three different competitors. However, after the fifth season, it has been revealed the show is cancelled due to the backdrop of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.
General Concept[]
The show featured a set of obstacle courses and each competition was divided into three different rounds - the Qualifiers, Semi-finals, and four-stages Finals course, and the show followed the concept of several other International Ninja Warrior/SASUKE, which was that competitors had to either complete obstacle courses in the best possible time (this applied to the Qualifiers and the Semi-finals), or within a time limit set by the production of the show (this applied for the First Stage, Second Stage and Final Stage in the Finals in all five seasons, and all Heats during Ninja Warrior Israel 4). The courses were designed differently in each show, but contained comparable and partly identical elements. The candidates mainly needed the athletic skills of strength, endurance, body control a great mental ability, in order to complete all of the obstacle of a course in a good time.
Hosts and Announcers[]
Ninja Israel was the first and so far, only international format have both hosts and announcers just like SASUKE. Only two hosts Assi Azar, Rotem Sela and commentator Niv Raskin appeared in all five seasons of Ninja Israel.
Hosts[]
| Host name | Seasons | Stages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assi Azar | 1 - 5 | All stages | Second ever LGBT host to be a host of a national or international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior show. |
| Rotem Sela | 1 - 5 | All stages |
Commentators[]
| Commentator name | Seasons | Stages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niv Raskin | 1 - 5 | All stages | Only commentator to have appeared in all five seasons of Ninja Israel. |
| Rotem Israel | 1 - 3 | All stages | First female commentator in the history of national or international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior shows. |
| Yarden Gerbi | 4 - 5 | All stages | Second female commentator in the history of national or international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior shows. |
| Yuval Shemla | 5 | All stages | Formerly appeared as a competitor in the first four seasons of Ninja Israel, and also as the first Total Victory in Ninja Warrior Israel 4. |
Format[]
Qualifiers[]
Main article: Qualifiers (Ninja Israel)
Semi-finals[]
Main article: Semi-finals (Ninja Israel)
The Finals[]
First Stage[]
Main article: First Stage (Ninja Israel)
Second Stage[]
Main article: Second Stage (Ninja Israel)
Third Stage[]
Main article: Third Stage (Ninja Israel)
Final Stage[]
Main article: Final Stage (Ninja Israel)
Notable competitors[]
Over five different seasons, hundreds of different athletes participated to achieve success and even to become the next Ninja Israel, but only a minority of them has proven themselves to be the most established, most successful and most skillful athletes of Ninja Israel. Those athletes not only stood out due to their extraordinary athletic skills, but also due to their consistency across all of the different years of Ninja Israel:
Total victories[]
Yuval Shemla[]
Further information: Yuval Shemla
Yuval Shemla when he was the Grand Champion of Ninja Warrior Israel 4
| NWI | Result | Stage | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Failed Rope Climb | Final Stage | 1st |
| 2 | Failed Salmon Ladder to Rope Ladder | First Stage | 4th |
| 3 | Failed Flying Bar | Third Stage | 1st |
| 4 | Total Victory | Final Stage | 1st |
Yogev Malka[]
Further information: Yogev Malka
Yogev Malka when he was the Grand Champion of Ninja Warrior Israel 5
| NWI | Result | Stage | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Failed Barrel Roll | Heat 4 | N/A |
| 4 | Total Victory | Final Stage | 2nd |
| 5 | Total Victory | Final Stage | 1st |
Shneor Sameach[]
Further information: Shneor Sameach
Sameach on the top of Final Stage tower in Ninja Warrior Israel 5
| NWI | Result | Stage | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Total Victory | Final Stage | 2nd |
Other notable competitors[]
Gil Marantz[]
Further information: Gil Marantz
Marantz when he was declared the Last Man Standing in Ninja Warrior Israel 2
| NWI | Result | Stage | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Failed Floating Boards | Third Stage | 1st |
| 3 | Failed Floating Boards | Third Stage | 4th |
| 4 | Disqualified on the Iron Maiden | Repechage Semifinal | N/A |
| 5 | Failed Spring Forward | Semifinal 5 | N/A |
Ishay Halfon[]
Further information: Ishay Halfon
Halfon in Ninja Warrior Israel 4
| NWI | Result | Stage | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Failed Baton Pass | Third Stage | 9th |
| 4 | Failed Rope Climb | Final Stage | 3rd |
| 5 | Failed Double Salmon Ladder to Angry Birds | First Stage | 4th |
Israel qualifiers for SASUKE[]
Further information: Ninja Warrior Israel 2
Gil Marantz in SASUKE 37
The second season saw the first and only time that Ninja Israel served as the Israeli qualifiers for a SASUKE tournament (in this case it was SASUKE 37). However, unlike the first three seasons of American Ninja Warrior, the season still consisted of the regular format, which had Qualifiers, Semi-finals and a traditional four stage Finals with the Final Stage tower being the same as in the previous season. Due to this, the competitor who would become the Last Man Standing or the winner of this season would be given an opportunity to become Israel's representative to compete in Japan for SASUKE 37.
At the end of the season, Gil Marantz became Israel's representative for SASUKE 37 due to the fact that he was the only competitor who advanced to the Third Stage and subsequently became the Last Man Standing of the season after he failed the Floating Boards. However, in SASUKE 37, mainly due to the fact that many obstacles of this SASUKE tournament were unfamiliar to Marantz, he failed just the fouth obstacle of the First Stage, the Fish Bone.
List of Ninja Israel's Regular Seasons and Spin-offs[]
Regular Seasons[]
- Ninja Warrior Israel - From July 25, 2018 to November 10, 2018
- Ninja Warrior Israel 2 - From July 20, 2019 to November 3, 2019
- Ninja Warrior Israel 3 - From September 26, 2020 to February 6, 2021
- Ninja Warrior Israel 4 - From December 15, 2021 to March 5, 2022
- Yuval Shemla - Total Victory. But since Yuval Shemla completed Final Stage faster than Yogev Malka, he was then declared as the winner and won the cash prize of ₪250,000 and a SUV.
- Yogev Malka - Total Victory
- Ninja Warrior Israel 5 - From January 8, 2023 to April 3, 2023
- Shneor Sameach - Total Victory
- Yogev Malka - Total Victory. But since Yogev Malka completed Final Stage faster than Shneor Sameach, he was then declared as the winner and won the cash prize of ₪250,000 and a SUV.
Spin-offs[]
Ninja Israel All-Stars[]
- Ninja Warrior Israel All-Stars - 2020
- Ninja Warrior Israel All-Stars 2 - 2023
Ninja Israel Junior[]
- Ninja Warrior Israel Junior - From November 11, 2019 to January 29, 2020
- Geva Levin - Total Victory
Merchandise[]
Games[]
As of now, Ninja Israel has published three mobile games, with two of them being based on Ninja Israel's regular competitions, and with the other game being based on the children spin-off Ninja Warrior Israel Junior.
| Game Title | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Release Date | Platforms | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ninja Israel | Second Floor, IRIYSOFT | Keshet Broadcasting Ltd. | Endless run | August 15th, 2019 | Android, iOS | Active |
| Ninja Israel AR | Dino Tech Solutions | Keshet Broadcasting Ltd. | Virtual reality | 2020 | Android, iOS | Closed |
| Ninja Israel Junior AR | Dino Tech Solutions | Noga Communication LTD. | Virtual reality | December 5, 2019 | Android, iOS | Closed |
Logo[]
The logo of Ninja Israel was very similar to the logo in American Ninja Warrior 9, with the new logo's year being changed for subsequent editions. On Ninja Warrior Israel 5, due to the introduction of the new Head to Head format, the logo was updated for new format title Ninja Israel 2023: Dueling Season.
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