Who are the Ninja Warrior All-Stars?
Jan 13, 2008 in Contestants |
Who is considered a “Ninja Warrior All Star?”
The Ninja Warrior All Stars point to the most prominent competitors of the Ninja Warrior series: the TV Program itself was the creator of the All Star member group. The show apparently has also designated a theme song for each All Star Member.
Currently the members of the Ninja Warrior All Stars are:
1. Katsumi Yamada (山田 勝己)
2. Shingo Yamamoto (山本 進悟)
3. Kazuhiko Akiyama (秋山 和彦)
4. Toshihiro Takeda (竹田 敏浩)
5. Makoto Nagano (長野 誠)
6. Bunpei Shiratori (白鳥 文平)
Although the members of the Ninja Warrior All Stars are set in stone at this time, the term was used quite ambiguously during the beginnings of the show. It seems that the term started to appear during the 4th season of Ninja Warrior, and by the 6th season it was recurrently used throughout the program. At this point, the term was commonly used to refer to strong competitors only. Contestants such as Kane Kosugi, Shane Kosugi, and Akira Omori would fit this description, and among them, we can say that Omori and Kane Kosugi were considered All Star Members.
One simple way to find that the contestant is either an All Star or a very strong competitor is to look at their number tag. Generally speaking, most or all of the All Star members has always been in the high 90′s in their appearances.
Here is a brief history of number tag usage for Ninja Warrior Contestants:
2nd Season: Number 99=Omori, Number 100=Akiyama
3rd Season: Number 99=Akiyama, Number 100=Omori
The members of the All Star group started to really come together in the 4th season, in which Yamada (previous finalist) was number 100, and similarly another finalist Yamamoto was number 98. Number 99 was Omori, who, until then, was always in the top 90′s. Akiyama was number 86, but was treated just the same as when he had the number 99. Even though both Omori and Yamamoto retired in the 1st stage, they were given the same numbers on the following 5th season of the show.
Since Katsumi Yamada and Shingo Yamamoto’s number tags has been set in the 90′s since season 4, we can think of this as the time when they have officially become All Star Members. Kane Kosugi also had number tags in the 90′s for most of appearances. Thus, although not included in the members now, Kane Kosugi and Omori Akira are considered “ex- Ninja Warrior All Stars.” Both these members have not been on Ninja Warrior since the 7th and 8th season of the show.
Toshihiro Takedo had “All Star treatment” from his second appearance in season 6. By the 9th season, his number tag was always in the high 90′s. Kazuhiko Akiyama was in the high 90′s already in the second season, and has stayed that way since his Total Victory in Season 6. Makoto Nagano’s official recognition as an All Star was the 10th season, by which then the All Star members has been fixed and the term “All Stars” has been used very frequently on the show. Bunpei Shiratori became a member in season 14.
Although looking back to many of the contestants who could have and an one point may have been considered an All Star, today there are only 6 members of the Ninja Warrior All Star. Although there is no set definition for an “All Star,” we now know that they all have a number tag in the high 90′s.
All All Star members (at this point in time), do not have any Olympic experience in any sport. An interesting fact of the two who have completed the entire course, i.e., TOTAL VICTORY, are both relatively small (both about 160cm) and both have experience as a fisherman.
I know that Makoto Nagano is a all-star…I can’t remember the name of the guy that has finished all four stages but Nagano has come close at least three times!
To Alyson:
That man, no Legend, is Kazuhiko Akiyama.
I feel the need to make a correction here. I don’t know how the numbers went when the show first started but it was stated on the show reciently ( I can’t remember what Episode) that the contestants pick their numbers due to the place they finish in a foot race, I believe.
I believe that all the All Stars pick higher numbers so they can have time to rest and watch the rest of the competors. If you finish the race towards the front, you have a better chance on picking a higher number. I think most of the All Stars also pick the same number each time they race because they are use to the number.
But that just my opinion.
i like Toshihiro takeda, although he could’t pass all the level, but i think he is a all star.
Koji is next on the list of all stars.i love all the all stars.its been saddening though for kazuhiko akiyama that after becoming the 1st ninja warrior he has often not been able to complete the 1st stage,yet i do not think it was luck that led him to become ninja warrior he is indeed deserving and physically able,my guess is the bad eyesight.katsumi must be given credit for his hearfelt attempts and his will to keep trying after many failures.shingo,toshihiro,bunpei,koji,kazuhiko,all great competitors,never a dull moment.and saving the best for last..wow makoto nagano,amazingly consistent,”sails” through obstacles,and quite dreamy if i may add.ninja warrior is a drug and im addicted
Yes we all are. jojo. Though Nagano is quiet the man. Im mostly for Nagano Toshihiro and Akiyama. So who’s your favorite??????
Nagano has completed all four stages of the Ninja Warrior course. He did it years ago.
Nagano is the coolest man
both my children really fond of Nagano, it make me courious why ?
after long search on the net & watch his perfomance got a conclusion : so humble & cool
where’s the women side?I’m choose ayako miyake~!
I believe I saw what NinjaWarriorPanther was referring to on (G4′s version of) the preview of the 18th tournament.
Nagano, Makoto and Takeda, Toshihiro are my favorites. I’m impressed with their diverse ability, as well as their good nature. (Levi seems to be like them, too.) I like that Nagano wasn’t always mind-blowingly good, but rather we got to watch him grow into this crazy ability. Does anyone recall the tournament with the heatwave that hindered most of the competitors, but couldn’t touch the super-firefighter, Takeda?
Apart from being about the same height and both doing a type of fishing, Akiyama and Nagano hail from near the extremes of Japan (Akiyama from the north, Nagano from the south).
My favorite is Yamamoto. He’s become my athletic inspiration!
Yamada doesn’t deserve to be up there. I was glad the announcer in Sasuke 23 called Nagano the new Mr. Ninja Warrior. Yamada never deserved the title in the first place.
ayhan abi hayri abi sizi çok seviyorum çok güzel sunuyorsunuz programı hakkını veiyorsunuz birbirinize sataşmanızda ben çok gülüyorum
:)
I absolutely love Sasuke! I find the all stars so wonderful & think that each one of them deserves to be called an all star! All the effort & hard work they put into their training, the fact they go to compete every tournament in the hope of reaching their goal, I find that so inspiring! No one should ever say a bad thing about anyone of them! Instead we should respect them so much for showing such great determination & preseverance! =D =D
Shingo Yamamoto is a BOSS.
Some people need to give Kazuhiko Akiyama a break. <,< He will always be a ninja, first-class. Always. Along with the other two: Makoto Nagano and Yuuji Urushihara. ^_^ But I really like Shingo Yamamoto. I would love Love to see him become the next ninja, first-class degree blackbelt. ^_^ That would be awesome. Totally.
i luv da show da stages da well everything bt i dont like da wipeouts i ust wanna c dem make it till da last stage i kno it looks easy bt it is rele hard n it must b a challange 4 all of then
I have so much respect for all the competitors. It cost guts to do the obstacle course. Makoto Nagano is my all time favourite but I like all of them and really keep thumbs for each contestant. I was just wondering after the earth quack in March 11, did it effect the obstacle course and are all the starts still save? Keep up the fitness its so inspiring.
Greetings from South Africa
Anyways, Katsumi Yamada is my all time favorite competitor in Ninja Warrior , though if he retires, he’s still my idol.
I’m also a fan of many contestants like Yuuji Urushihara, Makoto Nagano (very nice guy), Jun Sato and the epic Brian Oscoro? lol not sure what Brian’s last name is spelled, I hope to try out when I’m 18-20 maybe…..I’m 12 lol.
I am not sure if the course have survived the earth quack and what happened to all the people that always compete and the spectators. Wish someone from Japan can answer us on it. Have a wonderful day and I am sure if you have your mind set on it you will succeed in doing the course. Greetings.
I am very disappointed with the G4 channel that used to broadcast the entire Ninja
tournaments. All they are showing now are the American competitors and not the entire
competition. I want to see my favorite ninja warriors,Makoto Nagano, Toshihiro Takedo, Shingo Yamamoto. And I really love the Japanese announcers. They get so excited.
The American announcers are more blase. Could we form a protest group and tell
G4 that we want to see the entire competition and not just the American competitors?
How can I reach the powers that be at G4? G4 shows the old tournaments in their entirety but not the new ones. Why????
I agree with you as we in South Africa are not even able to see any of the tournaments. We used to be able to see on Sony Max the Japanese tournament but after the earth quake we have no view of any Ninja Warrior show. Please bring back the Japanese show to South Africa.
love ninja warrior the guys are hot
Do anyone knows what happened with Shunsuke Nagasaki and his brother? They were excellent athletes, older have a medal from olympic games in Beijing… I didn’t hear about them for a long time so I’m interested.
What happened to Bunpei Shiratori? He doesn’t seem to have competed since Sasuke 19, yet everywhere I see, he’s still considered an Allstar. Did he retire permanently or what?
TJ: I remember hearing from several places that Bunpei was having problems with back pain. I believe his back is the reason he hasn’t been competing in Sasuke.
Gueros: I always loved Shunsuke Nagasaki. I never understood why, after making it to the Final Stage, he was still considered a “rising star.” Since his very first appearance as a teenager, he did far better than any other All-Star, except for Nagano, of course.
Anyway, Shunsuke did participate in the World Championships for trampoline. I know he didn’t participate in SASUKE 20 because of his training for the Olympics (which he didn’t make, he was just edged out of a final spot on the team) but I’m not sure why he hasn’t been invited back to SASUKE. He has helped the American Ninja Warrior competitors train for the trampoline-based obstacles for at least one SASUKE tournament. I think the most plausible answer is that he’s busy training for various trampoline championships (check out http://sasukemaniac.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sasuke21&action=display&thread=139). Or, I hate to think it, maybe the fame went to his head (he has a huge fangirl following. Let’s face it, he is an attractive guy). The absence of his younger brother Takamasa is a complete mystery to me, though. I guess only SASUKE and the Nagasaki family know for sure.
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Cheers!
I like the new stars very much. They are very expert that they can even do what the all stars cannot do. I know the new stars such as Yuuji Urushihara, Hitoshi Kanno, Koji Hashimoto, Ryo Matachi. I like Yuuji Urushihara the best as he was the only one to achieve Total Victory twice and I hope he achieves again and again.
In the all stars, I like Nagano and Takeda as they look smart and battle through the challenging course making it far than any other all star.