Rolling Hill (ローリングヒル) is a First Stage obstacle first introduced in SASUKE 31 as the first obstacle, replacing Long Jump from the previous tournament. The obstacle is essentially a combination of Maruta Nobori and Maruta Kudari, as competitors had to climb up five barrels similar to Maruta Nobori, walk atop the logs, before climbing down five barrels similar to Maruta Kudari.
Even though the obstacle is a fusion of the two aforementioned obstacles, there are differences between them, as the logs on Rolling Hill are placed higher than Maruta Nobori and Maruta Kudari, with the bottom logs on each respective obstacles are leveled along the water. The barrels and the top logs were painted in white and brown, respectively.
There was a rare rule that competitors were not allowed to jump from the top of the obstacle to the landing pad or else they would be disqualified. However, this was not strictly told in the beginning and Ragivaru Anastase was not aware of this rule either, as at the time, he is not fluent in Japanese, resulting in him jumping from the top logs. He then went on to clear First Stage, but due to miscommunication, this was ignored, resulting in the producers warning the remaining competitors right away that they are not allowed to jump like Ragivaru did or they will be told to stop their run immediately.
Due to the introduction of Quad Steps in SASUKE 32, Rolling Hill was relocated to the second obstacle. A safety pad was also placed in-between Quad Steps and Rolling Hill to catch the competitors that rolled down. However, it is off limits to step when transitioning between the two obstacles, though stepping on them unintentionally may not result in disqualification.
There have been aesthetic modifications to this obstacle since. First, in SASUKE 33, the barrels were now painted in red and black, while in the top logs were painted in red. Then, in SASUKE 34, the top barrel on the downward portion of the obstacle was painted yellow and black in order to indicate where the competitors would have to scale below in order to clear. Lastly, in SASUKE 35, the barrels were again re-painted, this time now with light-blue and red, while the top logs remained red. Also, the top barrel on the downward portion was re-painted with red, black and yellow shading in the middle. Finally, in SASUKE 38, the barrels undergo the fourth aesthetic change, this time now with black logs along with red and light blue lines, the top barrel on the downward position was re-painted black and yellow. While this obstacle got a high clear rate, it took out few notable competitors, such as Yamamoto Shingo, Takeda Toshihiro,Ugajin Shogo,Urushihara Yuuji, Kanno Hitoshi, Anastase Ragivaru, Hiroshige, Isa Yoshinori, Darvish Kenji, Matachi Ryo, and Takasuka Hayato. In SASUKE World Cup 1, it shockingly eliminated Team USA’s Joe Moravsky.
KUNOICHI Appearance[]
Rolling Hill (ローリングヒル) then appeared as the first obstacle in RED Stage (First Stage) from KUNOICHI 2017 Spring onwards replacing the Fuansou from KUNOICHI 2009. The only differences being there are no logs atop and the rotating logs are painted in yellow. Also, the gap between the logs and the landing platform is made smaller.
It provided small damage across three tournaments, but most of the time, it served as time waster for the later obstacles in the stage.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found.
SASUKE[]
SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
31 | 71 | 99 | 71.72% |
32 | 63 | 72 | 87.50% |
33 | 68 | 86 | 79.07% |
34 | 81 | 96 | 84.38% |
35 | 69 | 95 | 72.63% |
36 | 75 | 98 | 76.53% |
37 | 65 | 92 | 70.65% |
38 | 71 | 97 | 73.20% |
39 | 69 | 98 | 70.41% |
40 | 75 | 98 | 76.53% |
41 | 74 | 97 | 76.28% |
World Cup 1 | 34 | 35 | 97.14% |
Total | 815 | 1063 | 76.67% |
KUNOICHI[]
KUNOICHI | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
2017 Spring | 37 | 50 | 74% |
2017 Summer | 45 | 50 | 90% |
2018 | 47 | 50 | 94% |
Total | 129 | 150 | 86% |
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