I have seen ALL of the Sasuke seasons and American Ninja Warrior shows and UB is just as good as all of those. If you have seen Sasuke, this is pretty much a modern version of that without the comic entrants.
It has the same annoying backstories as the others though, but they don't seem quite as long and allows for a little more competition to be shown rather than constant fluff. Some of the recent ANW shows are getting so bad with every one getting a sob story, so ridiculous and makes it a must to record and skip forward on that show, so good choice on UB there.
Each UB season has a worldwide cast of athletes and a pair of announcers from each of the 6 countries represented. The international aspect adds a lot to the show and the foreign announcers all are VERY attractive and bring a lot of energy to the show. I also liked they didn't relegate the female announcers to just the sideline to ask stupid boring questions, they get to announce in the booths for their countries too, just like the men.
The US casting has gone with a male / male team for seasons 2 and I hear again for upcoming season 3 too which is sad as the casting there was relatively lame and just doesn't have the same dynamic...nor are they as pleasing to look at than all their foreign counterparts. Also, Japan was inexplicably left out in season 2 and you didn't get to see the Sasuke champ return ...why???
It might be ANW has a non-compete or something because none of the well known American or Japanese men and women that run obstacle courses show up on UB either...that is a real shame and if that is the case, that indicates ANW treats them like hired actors rather than true contestants, which take some credibility away from that show for me.
All in all UB is a fresh take on the Sasuke formula with better production and gives ANW a run for its money and has a cooler looking course that hasn't been nerfed to cater to women. No participation trophies here as it states, some of the women did really well and earned my respect for competing on a course that is really punishing and requires an aggressive approach to beat.
It has the same annoying backstories as the others though, but they don't seem quite as long and allows for a little more competition to be shown rather than constant fluff. Some of the recent ANW shows are getting so bad with every one getting a sob story, so ridiculous and makes it a must to record and skip forward on that show, so good choice on UB there.
Each UB season has a worldwide cast of athletes and a pair of announcers from each of the 6 countries represented. The international aspect adds a lot to the show and the foreign announcers all are VERY attractive and bring a lot of energy to the show. I also liked they didn't relegate the female announcers to just the sideline to ask stupid boring questions, they get to announce in the booths for their countries too, just like the men.
The US casting has gone with a male / male team for seasons 2 and I hear again for upcoming season 3 too which is sad as the casting there was relatively lame and just doesn't have the same dynamic...nor are they as pleasing to look at than all their foreign counterparts. Also, Japan was inexplicably left out in season 2 and you didn't get to see the Sasuke champ return ...why???
It might be ANW has a non-compete or something because none of the well known American or Japanese men and women that run obstacle courses show up on UB either...that is a real shame and if that is the case, that indicates ANW treats them like hired actors rather than true contestants, which take some credibility away from that show for me.
All in all UB is a fresh take on the Sasuke formula with better production and gives ANW a run for its money and has a cooler looking course that hasn't been nerfed to cater to women. No participation trophies here as it states, some of the women did really well and earned my respect for competing on a course that is really punishing and requires an aggressive approach to beat.