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Vertical Limit (バーティカルリミット) is one of the most iconic obstacles in the post-Monster9 era of SASUKE. Together with Cliffhanger, they are a feared duo in Third Stage, with one of these two obstacles being responsible for over half of Third Stage's failures since its introduction in SASUKE 28.

In essence, competitors must traverse across a series of flat wall(s) with a 1 cm (0.39 in) ledge embedded on the bottom of the wall(s), which is much smaller than Cliffhanger ledge's width. Competitors must cross the wall using the pinch grip or using only their fingertips. It has had four different versions.

First Version[]

The first version of Vertical Limit appeared from SASUKE 28 to SASUKE 30. This version used only one wall that was about 6 metres (19.69 feet) long.

The two resting bars at the end of the obstacle would vary in height in its appearances. When it was first attempted in SASUKE 29, the first bar was at an equal height to the third ledge while the second bar would be much lower than the first bar. Morimoto Yūsuke, who the only competitor to attempt the obstacle at the time, swinged to the second bar using the first bar as a support at the end.

In SASUKE 30, the second bar was raised at a height almost equal with the third, meaning that once competitors reached the end of the third ledge, they must hoist themselves using their legs over the resting bars.

It was not deadly as it looked at first, with only one competitor (Kishimoto Shinya in SASUKE 30) failing it out of four attempts. Probably due to this, it was modified into Vertical Limit Kai in SASUKE 31.

Kawaguchi Tomohiro attempting Vertical Limit in SASUKE 30, Sideway View

Kawaguchi Tomohiro attempting Vertical Limit in SASUKE 30

Second and Third Versions[]

The second version of Vertical Limit is Vertical Limit Kai (バーティカルリミット改), literally Altered Vertical Limit. The wall was now split into two sections, the second of which was placed 30 centimeters (0.98 ft) forward to make the transition more difficult.

This transition proved to be a tough addition, as both Morimoto Yūsuke and Kanno Hitoshi, the only two competitors to attempt this version, struggled at this point. Kanno gassed out and failed to clear it, while Morimoto was able to clear it and the third stage as a whole.

Morimoto Yusuke attempting Vertical Limit Kai in SASUKE 31, Close View

Morimoto Yūsuke attempting Vertical Limit Kai in SASUKE 31

Urushihara Yuuji attempting Vertical Limit Kai in SASUKE 37, Close View

Urushihara Yuuji attempting modified Vertical Limit Kai in SASUKE 37, viewed from the side of the obstacle

Due to Morimoto Yūsuke's Kanzenseiha in that tournament, the difficulty of the entire stage was increased. The third version of Vertical Limit, with the name unchanged, was introduced in SASUKE 32. There were three small walls with ledges that faced the opposite direction compared to previous versions. It also originally followed Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger without a break to make the second half of Third Stage more difficult.

The distance between the first to second section was 30 cm horizontally, while the distance between the second to third section was 60 cm horizontally. The distance between the third section to the resting bar was 15 cm (6 in) vertically. In addition, the resting bars after the obstacle would be increased to three. The final two bars were much higher than the first, preventing the competitors to use the other resting bars as support to lifting themselves over. These modifications made Vertical Limit one of the many obstacles in SASUKE's history to be modified in three consecutive tournaments.

The first competitor to make it there, Drew Drechsel, fell instantly upon attempting the transition from Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger. Since someone beat Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger in its debut tournament, the producers increased the difficulty once again. They connected Vertical Limit Kai to the Pipe Slider by adding netting on the green resting bars in SASUKE 33. This meant that the entire second half of Third Stage had no resting point and became nearly impossible. No one cleared Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger in this tournament, leading the producers to relax the difficulty by undoing this modification in SASUKE 34. Morimoto attempt it in this tournament, but due to the lack of the break, he soon failed it.

In SASUKE 35, a green resting platform was added between Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit Kai (which was now named Vertical Limit for simplicity's sake). After three tournaments, Morimoto finally conquered this version. However, it was still brutal, eliminating Drew Drechsel and Kawaguchi Tomohiro in SASUKE 35, as well as Tada Tatsuya, Matachi Ryo, and Urushihara Yuuji in SASUKE 36. However, no one failed it in SASUKE 37 and SASUKE 38, making it the only two tournaments with a 100% clear rate for this version. Three of four competitors who cleared this obstacle during these two tournaments (Tada and René Casselly in SASUKE 37 and Morimoto in SASUKE 38) went on to attempt the Final Stage as well. Urushihara was denied a spot after making a mental mistake while attempting Pipe Slider. In fact, Morimoto would achieve his second Kanzenseiha in SASUKE 38.

Following Morimoto's second kanzenseiha, the obstacle remained unchanged. This time, Tada managed to reach the Vertical Limit once again in SASUKE 39 unfortunately would lost his grip on the third ledge. SASUKE 40 then showed a higher degree of success compared to previous tournaments, as Yamamoto Yoshiyuki, Tada Tatsuya, Yamamoto Keitaro, and Morimoto Yusuke cleared the obstacle, while Urushihara fell on the second transition. Yamamoto, Tada, and Morimoto went on to attempt the Final Stage, while Keitaro failed the dismount to the Pipe Slider.

Fourth Version[]

Possibly due to multiple Third Stage clears in the previous tournament, the obstacle was overhauled and thus the Vertical Limit Burst (バーティカルリミット.BURST) was introduced in SASUKE 41. The official naming of the obstacle became the second instance in which both Japanese Katakana and Latin Alphabet letters were used, after Sidewinder R in SASUKE 31.

It consists of four sections: the first and fourth section were called the Yellow Zone, which consist of two yellow and four red walls attached on a free-spinning cylinder. The second and third sections, the Red Zone, consisted of stationary cylinders, each with two red walls attached. Competitors must navigate across the walls utilizing the corresponding color of the zone in which the walls are located.

The distances between each section were not shown. However, during Miyaoka Ryosuke's run in SASUKE 41, announcer Sugiyama Shinya mentioned that the distance between the second and third sections was 38 cm (14.96 in). Nevertheless, the distances between the Yellow and Red Zones, as well as the gaps between each rotating wall, are currently unknown.

The nature of these modifications created a significant roadblock for the competitors. While only Tada Tatsuya failed the first Yellow Zone, the second Yellow Zone was extremely difficult. The large gap between the two yellow walls and resultant swinging proved too much for Miyaoka Ryosuke, Yamamoto Keitaro and even the Last Man Standing, Morimoto Yūsuke meaning that no one would defeat the obstacle in its debut.

VL BURST CloserView

Closer Side View of Vertical Limit Burst

VL BURST Prototype

Vertical Limit Burst Prototype seen during the testing of Swing Edge prior to SASUKE 39

The obstacle's origin can be traced back to the promotional video released on the official SASUKE YouTube channel on December 19, 2021, depicting the testing of the Swing Edge prior to the filming of SASUKE 39. The prototype of the obstacle was briefly visible. Later, a Japanese YouTube channel released a video on December 16, 2023 that theorized that the obstacle is derived from the aforementioned testing and showed screenshots to prove its existence. To strengthen the theory, a hypothetical obstacle was created using software credited in its description. It was only until before the commencement of the Third Stage that the theory was proven to be correct.

As a side note, American competitor Brett Sims is credited with the inspiration behind this obstacle by fans. On January 28, 2021, he posted a video documenting his demonstration on his model, which carried a total of six ledges. Competitors would have to rotate the cylinder every time they transitioned to a new ledge.

In SASUKE World Cup 1, the obstacle made a reappearance on the Third Stage only attempted by Morimoto Yūsuke where he unfortunately failed at the fourth section yet again.

Other Appearances[]

Australian Ninja Warrior[]

Vertical Limit AuNW5

Australian Ninja Warrior 5's Vertical Limit

AustralianNW2021 Vertical Limit SideView

Side View of Vertical Limit showing the gap between the ledges

On Australian Ninja Warrior 5, the Vertical Limit made its first, and so far, only international appearance outside of SASUKE, appearing as the fourth obstacle in Stage Three. The obstacle featured three 1-cm-thick ledges, with the first and third ledges on the right side and the second ledge on the left side. Competitors have to do a backwards movement in a similar fashion to a Crazy Cliffhanger transfer in grabbing the third ledge, a feature that has never been introduced before in SASUKE. Due to Zak Stolz failing on the Doorknob Drop, no one attempted the obstacle in this competition.

The obstacle was replaced by The Dungeon in the following season.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found.
Vertical Limit
SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
28 0 0 N/A
29 1 1 100%
30 2 3 66.67%
Total 3 4 75%
Vertical Limit Kai
SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
31 1 2 50%
32 0 1 0%
33 0 0 N/A
34 0 1 0%
35 1 3 33.33%
36 1 4 25%
37 3 3 100%
38 1 1 100%
39 0 1 0%
40 4 5 80%
Total 11 21 52.38%
Vertical Limit Burst
SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
41 0 4 0%
World Cup 1 0 1 0%
Total 0 5 0%
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