Original subtitles

[female voice] At the sound of the buzzer, begin the chase.

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dramatic music playing]

-[Ryudai] That's good. He's fast. -[Takashi] Yeah.

-[Ryudai] Nice job. -Ah, damn!

-[Ryudai] Ah, it's so hard. -What?!

[Takashi] It's not a good idea to climb up without a plan.

[Yuya] And it's like that so you can't slide under it.

-[Hozumi] You can't slide under there. -[Takashi] That's the problem.

You gotta climb to get to the other side.

[dramatic music playing]

[music fades]

[female voice] Ryudai Onikura, please proceed to the competition arena.

[Ryudai] The mystery fighter has to be getting pretty tired by now.

So I think I stand an even better chance.

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

[metallic impact]

[Hozumi] Wow, that was close.

You get trapped and you're screwed. You can't move anywhere.

-[Takashi] Hard to move on the edges. -[Yuya] You get stuck.

[Ryudai] There's so much to think about,

like the best way to get over each obstacle you run into.

This is an extremely difficult challenge.

-[female voice] Yoshio Itoi. -[energetic dance music playing]

Wow, it's tight.

I'm the sixth one to compete.

So the fighter has already been at it for a few rounds.

He must be exhausted at this point.

So, of course, I think I have a decent chance to win.

I'll just have to figure it out.

-[breathing heavily] -[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

-[Yoshio shrieks] -[metallic impact]

[loud buzzing tone]

[female voice] The winner is the fighter.

[Yoshio] You really panic in there.

ADVANCING TO THE FINALS HOZUMI HASEGAWA

[female voice] This is round two of the stage.

Takashi Kurihara.

FORMER AMERICAN FOOTBALL JAPAN NATIONAL TEAM MEMBER

[Takashi] How will I play this?

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

[Ryudai] That's good.

-[Katsuma] He's fast. -[Hozumi] He's got it.

-[Yoshio] There! -[Katsuma] So fast.

-[Yoshio] He's close! -[Ryudai] Whoa!

[Katsuma] Whoa! He almost made it!

-[Ryudai] What? How long was that? -[female voice] The winner is the fighter.

[Katsuma] I mean, I knew Kurihara was fast.

-[Yoshio] So quick. -[Ryudai] Wow.

[breathing heavily]

[female voice] Yuya Shozui.

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

-[metallic impact] -[Yuya groans]

[loud buzzing tone]

[female voice] The winner is the fighter.

[Yuutarou breathing heavily]

-[Yuya] He's getting tired. -[Katsuma] Yeah.

[Ryudai] For sure. This isn't an easy sport to do for long stretches,

so he doesn't have a lot of stamina left.

[female voice] Katsuma Yonemura.

[Katsuma] Bring it on! Let's go!

FORMER JUDO ATHLETE

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

-[metallic impact] -Ow! Not your fault. I'm good.

-Seriously? -[female voice] The winner is the fighter.

-[Ryudai] It's hard to know where to go. -[Takashi] He was close. What a shame.

[Yoshio] He's fast.

[breathing heavily]

[Ryudai] Look, he's tired for sure. It hurts to breathe.

[female voice] Ryudai Onikura.

-[Hozumi] He's starting there? -[Katsuma] He's taking a risk.

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

-[Yoshio] Oh, I see. -[Katsuma] He's good.

[Yoshio] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

[metallic impact]

[loud buzzing tone]

-Thank you. -[female voice] The winner is the fighter.

That was a good fight just now.

[Katsuma] He's not moving well. He's starting to slow down.

[exhales forcefully]

[female voice] Yoshio Itoi.

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

-[Ryudai] He's fast. -[Takashi] Oh, I knew it.

He got so close there.

So close.

[loud buzzing tone]

[female voice] The winner is the fighter.

[Ryudai] All those scratches.

-[Takashi] It's crazy. They're all over. -[Ryudai] He's all scratched up.

-I can't think straight anymore. -[suspenseful music playing]

-[Yuya] Well, he's getting slower. -Yeah, I think he's losing speed.

He's losing his speed. He's wiped, and he's out of breath.

[female voice] Takashi Kurihara.

Please proceed to the competition arena.

[Katsuma] You can do it. You got this!

We're almost there.

[Ryudai] This is it.

[Hozumi] He's tired.

-Now we all stand a better chance to win. -[Takashi] For sure.

Here we go.

Bring it on.

[female voice] Attention.

At the sound of the buzzer, begin the chase.

[beeping]

-[buzzing] -[dynamic dance music playing]

[Takashi] Ooh, ouch!

[metallic impact]

-[loud buzzing tone] -I screwed up.

[female voice] The winner is the fighter.

[groans]

I hope he's all right.

Is it his ankle?

[Takashi] Ugh, I screwed up.

[Yuya] There it is. Twisted his ankle.

-[melancholic music playing] -Ouch!

It's my ankle. I think I sprained it.

PARAMEDIC

Like this, rolled it over.

Totally twisted it.

THE COMPETITION IS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED

NHO TAKASAKI GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER

DIAGNOSIS: RIGHT ANKLE SPRAIN

ALL FILMING CANCELED FOR THE DAY

[music fades]

This sucks.

That brought back a lot of memories.

You know, as an athlete,

I think most people assume

that everything was just smooth sailing for me,

going from playing football to doing bobsled.

But that's not true at all.

I retired before I was able to achieve…

AIMED TO BECOME THE FIRST JAPANESE PLAYER IN THE NFL

…any of the dreams I had as an athlete.

So this time…

when I got this opportunity,

I never thought I would… have another chance to win again

after I officially retired from sports.

And even in this moment,

winning is all I can think about.

I can't even think about giving up right now.

[somber music playing]

It's just, you know…

It's gonna be harder.

That was a pretty tough challenge, sure, but so were the others.

I'll overcome it

somehow.

THE NEXT DAY

ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON PAINKILLING INJECTION

-[surgeon] It'll sting. -[Takashi] Okay.

-[surgeon] You all right? -I'm all right.

[music fades]

[surgeon] I think you're in good enough shape to join the others.

-Okay. -[surgeon] Good luck, okay?

-Yeah, thank you. -[surgeon] Of course.

[Takashi] Hey. Morning.

-[Hozumi] Morning! -[Yoshio] Hey!

-[Katsuma] Hey there. -[Yuya] Oh no.

[Takashi] No, no, no, it's fine.

-So how's the pain when you step on it? -[Takashi] It's okay.

Does it hurt?

I'm sorry about this.

-[Yoshio] No, it's okay. -Sorry that I caused everyone to worry.

I'll be fine. I'll do my best, as always.

We'll keep fighting. I'm going to keep fighting to win,

and I hope you do too.

For real. I'm still in it, with everything I've got.

Let's try one more time.

Together,

we keep fighting.

-Let's do this. -[Yuya] Let's do it.

[inspirational music playing]

[Yoshio] I think, for most athletes,

you can tell how long someone's been competing

by watching how they put their weight on their feet. So I think it's pretty bad.

But he's so positive about it.

He says he's gonna keep competing, even with a sprained ankle.

So I admire his mental strength.

That's good, I think.

[Yoshio] No way!

-[Hozumi] You're walking normally. -This is amazing. I can walk just fine.

[Hozumi] Hearing him say

he'll compete through the injury, even though he's basically on one foot,

lets me know how tough he is.

[Takashi] Okay.

I'm all right. Let's go.

[music fades]

[female voice] Attention. We will now resume the Purple Stage.

The rules have changed. Touch Boxing is now an option again.

Injured competitor Kurihara may select boxing if he wishes.

The first competitor to win either competition

will advance to the final stage.

Now, since the competition was suspended after Takashi Kurihara's match,

we will resume with Yuya Shozui.

Please tell us the sport you've selected.

Boxing.

If I'm unpredictable, I should be able to tag him.

I don't need to knock him out.

So I think I've got a good chance.

ONE ROUND: NO TIME LIMIT

THE FIRST TO TOUCH ANY TWO OUT OF FOUR SENSORS WINS

-Good luck. -Good luck.

[female voice] Attention.

At the sound of the buzzer, begin the fight.

YUYA SHOZUI SHINSUKE YAMANAKA

[beeping]

[buzzing]

-[metallic impact] -[Katsuma] Yuya's sensor lit up.

[Ryudai] Yuya got hit. It's 0 to 1.

[metallic impact]

-[Takashi] Oh, nice. Good one. -[Yoshio] They both got one hit?

[Ryudai] It's 1 to 1 now.

[rock music playing]

[Katsuma] Yuya's doing good.

[Ryudai] Yeah, his sporadic movement is hard for a boxer to predict.

[Takashi] This looks so tough.

[Hozumi] Look, they're getting tired. They're both getting tired.

-The longer they fight, the better for us. -Yeah, I want Yamanaka tired out.

[Katsuma] For sure.

[metallic impact]

[loud buzzing tone]

-[Yoshio] Oh man. -[Takashi] Incredible.

[triumphant music playing]

-Whoa! -[Hozumi] Whoa! What!?

[Ryudai] Amazing.

[female voice] The winner is the challenger.

[competitors applaud]

[Yuya] Thank you.

Thank you.

I feel like I got lucky.

Knowing that there are four more people behind me,

I thought to myself, "If I lose this, that'll definitely be the end for me."

When I had that thought,

I saw Yamanaka's waist button.

It was pretty far away.

At that moment, I had to act fast, and I took a bit of a risk.

I lunged forward and tapped it.

[female voice] The second competitor to advance to the final stage is

Yuya Shozui.

[music fades]

Oh man.

[female voice] The finalists have been determined.

[sighs]

However,

the Purple Stage is not over yet.

-What? -[Takashi] What?

Wait, wait.

[female voice] The remaining competitors will compete against each other

for one final spot.

-Seriously? -[Yoshio] Good, good, good, good, good.

So we have one more chance to advance.

It feels like… I'm just barely hanging on by a thread.

-What do you think? -[Yuya] Yeah, I get it.

[Katsuma] Wow.

-[Takashi] Wow. -[Yoshio] What?!

[Takashi] Wait a minute.

-[Yuya] It's huge. -[Ryudai] Whoa.

-[Hozumi] Amazing. -[Katsuma] Incredible.

[Takashi] This is so freakin' big.

-[Katsuma] Wow. -[Ryudai] So it's about power.

[female voice] The challenge to decide the last finalist…

is Megaball Sumo.

-[Takashi] Bring it on. -[Ryudai] Sumo?

[female voice] Whoever pushes the ball from the center

onto their opponent's side wins.

Now, this challenge will be structured as a one-on-one tournament.

-[Ryudai] Tournament. -[Katsuma] A tournament.

[female voice] The presenter who scored highest will go first.

Takashi Kurihara,

please choose the opponent you wish to fight in the first round.

Eh?

So we get to choose.

YOSHIO ITOI, 43

KATSUMA YONEMURA, 28 FORMER JUDO ATHLETE

[music fades]

-Yonemura. I choose you. -[Katsuma] Yes!

Okay.

-Let's go! -[stirring music playing]

If we hadn't competed as teammates in the Orange Stage,

I'd feel better about being chosen to battle him first.

But Kurihara told us

that all of us have to try our best,

so I'll do my best

to defeat him and advance.

[female voice] This means Ryudai Onikura

and Yoshio Itoi will battle in the second fight.

The first fight is between Takashi Kurihara and Katsuma Yonemura.

[tense electronic music playing]

[exhales forcefully]

Bring it on!

Whoo!

[music fades]

What will Yone's plan be?

I don't know.

It's tough to be injured in a one-on-one battle, obviously.

[female voice] Attention.

At the sound of the buzzer, begin the battle.

[beeping]

[buzzing]

-[Hozumi] Wow. -[Ryudai] I knew he'd be that strong.

Damn.

[Hozumi] He's at the slope.

-[Ryudai] Move to the side. -[Yuya] He's still on his feet.

[Ryudai] Like I said, the slope is an advantage.

If it's drawn out, it'll be tough for Takashi.

[breathing heavily]

[tense music playing]

[Yuya] He shifted it. This isn't good.

[Ryudai] Oh, just a bit more.

[Yuya] This is great. Seriously.

[music builds]

[music fades]

-[Yuya] This is gonna be a long fight. -[Yoshio] It definitely will be.

[Yuya] Oh.

[Hozumi] That's not good.

[echoing drumbeat]

[Ryudai] It'll be hard to push it all the way up the slope.

Because the slope gives you an advantage.

-It does, yeah. -[Hozumi] Yeah.

[panting]

[Yuya] Yonemura won't give up.

-[Hozumi] He's pretty strong. -[Yuya] Yeah.

-[echoing drumbeat] -[tense music playing]

It's taking a while.

His legs are amazing.

[Hozumi] Wow.

He's not normal. He's superhuman.

[grunts]

[yells aggressively]

[female voice] Five minutes have elapsed.

-They can't see what the other is doing. -[Yuya] You're right.

[Hozumi] It looks like he's pushing a little.

[Yuya] Yeah.

-[Hozumi] They're both in a tough spot. -[Yuya] It's so hard.

[Ryudai] The real match starts here.

[music builds]

[music subsides]

[music intensifies]

[music fades]

-It keeps stopping right there. -Can't get past the slope.

[both panting]

[panting]

[female voice] Ten minutes have elapsed.

His legs are amazing.

-What is going on? -[Yuya] It's incredible, really.

[panting]

[yells]

[Katsuma sighs wearily]

[Yuya] Yone is getting tired.

He's so exhausted.

[female voice] Fifteen minutes have elapsed.

[tense music playing]

-You got it! -You can do it. Let's go!

You got this!

[dramatic music playing]

[Yuya] That's tough.

[Ryudai] Whoa, whoa, he's doing it.

-[Yuya] Let's go! -[Yoshio] You got it!

[music subsides]

[Katsuma groans]

-[loud buzzing tone] -[competitors applaud]

[female voice] The winner is Takashi Kurihara.

-[Yoshio] That looked so hard. -[Yuya] What a tough challenge.

[Yoshio] Nice fight!

-That's tough. -[Yuya] Fantastic.

[Yoshio] Wow.

-[Ryudai] Must be frustrating. -[Hozumi] Nice fight!

[Yuya] That was incredible.

-Great fight. -Thank you.

[Takashi] Great fight.

You're strong.

Amazing.

-Whatever it takes to win, Kuri. -That's right.

[Katsuma] Kuri.

-I did it. I did my best. -How are you that strong?

Damn!

[poignant music playing]

My hands are so sweaty.

-Unbelievable. -So crazy.

Damn.

[Katsuma] I think I was able to…

do my absolute best until the end.

And…

I'm glad that I was able to

give him everything I had.

I respect him.

I look up to him like an older brother.

Now I can go home proud

and say to my daughter,

"Daddy did his best."

[sobs]

[sniffles]

Kuri.

You have to win it all now.

-Great game. Great game. -You can do it.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

[competitors applaud]

KATSUMA YONEMURA, 28 FORMER JUDO ATHLETE - ELIMINATED

-[Hozumi] Great fight. -[Yuya] Great fight. Amazing stuff.

[female voice] The next match is between Yoshio Itoi and Ryudai Onikura.

-[tense music playing] -[Yoshio] Hey.

-Have a great match. -Same to you.

So Itoi is taller than me, heavier than me,

and has more power than me.

If I push head-on, I'll definitely lose.

[exhales forcefully]

[Yoshio] I wanna earn that last remaining finals spot somehow.

I'll just have to push with everything I have, yeah.

We don't know how long Onikura will last against him.

[music fades]

[female voice] At the sound of the buzzer, begin the battle.

[Hozumi] Let's go!

-[beeping] -[Katsuma] Good luck!

[buzzing]

[tense music playing]

[loud buzzing tone]

[Katsuma] So strong!

-[competitors applaud] -That's crazy.

-[female voice] The winner is Yoshio Itoi. -[Katsuma] Damn!

-[Yoshio] You okay? -I'm okay.

I knew it. He's so strong.

[Katsuma] He's a monster.

-[Yuya] Didn't even get tired. -[Takashi] Probably a bad strategy.

Well…

I'm frustrated.

-[somber music playing] -I knew my power wasn't enough to win.

So I tried to back up a bit,

and then take him by surprise.

But in the end,

I was no match for his strength.

RYUDAI ONIKURA, 30 FORMER AMATEUR BOXER - ELIMINATED

-Great fight. -Thank you.

-Do your best. -I will.

-[competitors applaud] -[music fades]

I'm gonna reach the finals.

[sighs wearily]

[Yoshio] I thought, "I have to give it my all."

"I won't be able to win if I'm not fully committed."

-[tense music playing] -[female voice] The last round.

Takashi Kurihara and Yoshio Itoi.

[competitors applaud]

[Takashi exhales forcefully]

-Bring it on. -Bring it on. Let's do this.

-Good luck! -Good luck.

[exhales forcefully]

[exhales forcefully]

[female voice] Whoever wins this fight

will proceed to the final stage of the competition.

I'm not even in this, and I'm nervous.

If it gets drawn out, Takashi might have the edge.

[Ryudai] That's true, but what about his ankle?

[Takashi] I mean, given the state of my ankle injury,

I'm not in the best condition.

But, of course, I still have hope. I'm still gonna do my best to win.

-[music fades] -[echoing drumbeat]

[beeping]

[buzzing]

-[Yuya] This is crazy. -[Hozumi] Whoa, that's rough.

-[Yoshio] Yes! -[competitors] Wow!

-[Yuya] Went right through him. -[Hozumi] He pushed through him.

[female voice] The third athlete to advance to the final stage

is Yoshio Itoi.

[competitors applaud]

[Ryudai] Amazing.

[grunts]

-Kuri. -Wow, you were strong.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

Thank you.

You are so strong.

[dramatic music playing]

-[Yoshio] You okay? -Yeah, I'm good. Thanks.

Nice fight!

-Impressive, seriously. -[Katsuma] Nice job.

To be honest…

Kurihara and I had competed before,

so I knew that he was a great athlete,

that he had incredible physical abilities.

I had to fight with everything,

and it felt like I awakened the spirit of the true athlete within me.

Seriously, that's how I feel.

-Thank you so much. -Thank you.

I think that

this experience was so valuable for me.

It was unlike any other.

And in the end,

I didn't achieve my dream of winning it all,

but I'm fulfilled.

And it proves that,

even if I don't get everything I want,

I can still be happy.

I can retire

as an athlete, and I won't have any regrets.

I truly have no regrets.

And ultimately, Itoi, I just…

I admire you so much.

And so

I was honored to compete with you.

-Thank you so much. -Thank you.

Do your best. Win it all, whatever it takes. Thank you.

[competitors applaud]

Thank you.

Sorry to let you down. So close.

-Hey, thank you. Seriously. -You're great. Thank you.

TAKASHI KURIHARA, 37

FORMER AMERICAN FOOTBALL JAPAN NATIONAL TEAM MEMBER

ELIMINATED

[music fades]

[somber music playing

[Hozumi sighs]

It's finally the last day.

Looking back,

it's been truly great.

-[Yuya] Yeah. -[Yoshio] So great.

[Hozumi] Yeah. The first time we sat here was after the mountain.

[Yoshio] After the mountain.

[Hozumi] That was so tough.

That might have been the hardest part of the whole thing.

[Yuya] Yeah, it was.

[Yoshio] You know, in that moment,

I could tell that we were about to have a tough battle ahead of us.

[Yuya] Absolutely.

And in the end, I think it was Shozui who surprised me the most.

How many sit-ups was it? Five hundred?

[Yuya] I don't know.

[beep]

-[Yoshio] Come on! Let's go. -Nice.

[beep]

-[Takashi] Here we go. -[Yoshio] Let's go!

[competitors cheer]

Nice job, Yuya!

579 REPS

[Hozumi] Unbelievable.

[Yoshio] We both played professional baseball,

and still, I'm just so impressed with your physical abilities.

-[Yuya] Thank you. -[Hozumi] Yeah.

And that was the first time in ages that I fought for a team like that.

-It was great. -It was great.

-[Hozumi] Yeah, it was amazing. -[Yoshio] Looking out for each other.

-[Ryudai] Come on. Let's go. -[Takashi] Nice work!

[Kenta] Let's go, let's go. Next one.

Three, two, one…

[all yelling triumphantly]

-[Yoshio] We weren't alone. -[Hozumi] That's right.

My sport is about the individual, so I loved winning as a team.

-[Yoshio] That's what you were feeling? -Yeah.

There's a greater sense of accomplishment.

-[Yoshio] Yeah. -And you bond with each other.

You can truly support each other, whether you're winning or you're losing.

[Yoshio] That's right, yeah. And we lived together as well,

so our bonds became even stronger.

[Hozumi] They did, for sure.

I mean, Yoshio and I stayed in a small tent together.

-[Yoshio] Grown men in their forties. -[Yuya] Really!

[Yoshio] Eating miso soup and rice balls, freezing, like this.

[pulsing beeping]

[female voice] The final competition is the Red Stage.

This final stage

will test the strength of your body and spirit.

Our spirits?

-Our body and spirit. -Well, I guess it's fitting for the end.

-[Hozumi] It is. -[Yuya] Isn't it?

[female voice] Please proceed to the stage.

-[Hozumi] Yes! -[Yoshio] The last one.

-[Yuya] Here we go! Yeah! -[Yoshio] Bring it on! Bring it on!

[all] Good luck!

[suspenseful music playing]

[Yuya] All I'm thinking about is winning.

I'll make sure my story has a great ending.

[Hozumi] I'm gonna show everyone the willpower I still have

as a former boxing world champion.

[Yoshio] I think this is gonna be a great match.

I just have to give it everything I've got.

Wow.

Whoa!

Wow, it's huge.

-[dramatic music playing] -[Yoshio] Wow.

[Yuya] Wow, look at this.

-It's huge! -[Yoshio] This is huge.

[Hozumi] So big.

[Yuya] This is gigantic.

[Yoshio] What is this all about?

[female voice] The Red Stage, the final challenge of the competition,

testing your strength and spirit, is

the Final Crawl.

-[Yoshio] What is this? -[Yuya] It's crazy.

[female voice] In this stage,

the three finalists will tie one end of a rope around their waists.

At the sound of the buzzer,

you will run toward your goal marker, ten meters away.

You must reach your goal and be the first to press the button.

[Yoshio] I see. I understand.

[Yuya] We start here, and all run at once.

[Hozumi] Yeah, that's it.

[female voice] You may use your hands and feet

to grip the climbing holds that are scattered on the floor.

One point will be awarded to the competitor

who pushes the goal button first.

The first competitor to earn two points will win the competition.

However, when one of the competitors earns a point,

his goal button will be placed one meter further away

for the remainder of the competition.

-[Yoshio] They move the goal? -[Yuya] That's tough!

[female voice] Each round will last 30 minutes.

If a round ends without a winner,

everyone's buttons will be moved one meter closer to center.

[Yoshio] I see.

[female voice] Demonstrate the power of your body and spirit.

Prove once and for all that you are an elite athlete.

This is gonna be tough.

There's a good chance that this challenge will rely on endurance,

with lots of gripping and pulling,

so it'll be hard to win this with strength alone.

[Yuya] It's not just about strength. It's about stamina as well.

I think it's a fitting challenge for the final stage.

Oh, I see.

Boxing training is all about stamina.

I'm the best when it comes to stamina.

Repetitive movements are part of my training.

It'll come down to endurance. I'll have to draw out the match to win.

[music fades]

-[echoing drumbeat] -[female voice] Attention.

Round 1 will now begin.

-Have a great match. -[all] Good luck!

[dramatic music playing]

[sniffs]

[tense music playing]

[music stops]