The most famous mountain in Japan may not be Mt. Fuji. Though few have seen it in person and even few have climbed it, every man, woman, and child in Japan knows Mt. Midoriyama.
With 22 seasons on the air, Ninja Warrior is one of Japan's most popular television shows. At its heart, it is a challenge show like American Gladiator or Nickelodeon's Guts. Contestants have to cross one impossible obstacle after another in order to win. And the most impossible obstacle of all is climbing Mt. Midoriyama. Most of the men, women, and children who accept this challenge wind up in a muddy creek bed or stranded as time runs out, far from the steel and glass sadism of the mountain. They miss the Spider Jump or they lose their grip on the log roll, but that doesn't keep them from coming back—some of them twenty times or more—always plugging their small business on the starting grid, always apologizing to their families as they are being pulled out of the water. The only prize for winning Ninja Warrior is to be able to say that you have won Ninja Warrior.
Since 2007, the cable network G4 has broadcast a dubbed version of Ninja Warrior. Its' late airtime and watchability made it a hit on college campuses and in parent's basements across the U.S. G4 has helped a lucky and talented few of these fans travel to Japan to compete against the mountain.
The American finalists for 2009 have already been chosen, but bikers and beachstrollers alike couldn't help but stop and watch on Saturday as part of the Santa Monica shoreline was transformed into a mini-replica of the first stage of Ninja Warrior. There was the Spider Jump, which requires a quick split after a very technical trampoline jump. There was the 20-foot tall half-pipe. And on top, there was the buzzer to stop time, the finish line for the course.
One fan, Ryan Stevens, even flew out from Fulton, Mississippi to compete against the clock. He started the general public line seven hours before the official start of the event, so when it was finally his turn, the crowd chanted, "4A.M.! 4A.M.!" Even the G4 crew cheered as he reached the top of the half-pipe and hit the buzzer. He might not have won a trip to Mt. Midoriyama (or even to California, for that matter), but after years of watching the show at home on tape delay, Stevens finally proved himself: he’s a ninja warrior.
Originally in Los Angeles Magazine at: http://www.lamag.com/do/blog.aspx?dt=04/07/2009
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