Unbeatable Banzuke is a Japanese television program that aired weekly and was the premier sports entertainment variety show of TBS.
Its successors were Taiiku Oukoku (体育王国, Physical Education Kingdom) and Ougon Kinniku (黄金筋肉, Golden Muscle).
Originally a late-night Friday broadcast, the television special was popular and started airing in prime time on October 14, 1995.
Through various games reverting to the origins of sports, professional players and general participants challenged the limits of physical strength and technique, winning prizes if all targets were successfully destroyed.
Kane Kosugi's Shaolin Temple training and Akira Oomori's Muay Thai bouts were also documented in the broadcasts.
The popularity of the displays of amazing physical strength and technique by professional players and luck of general participants drove TV Asahi to move its anime time slot up one hour and caused the cancellation of Heisei Kyouikuiinkai (平成教育委員会, Heisei Board of Education) on Fuji TV.
Simultaneously in 1999, a brandmark for the program, different from its logotype, was created: the English initials, "MR".
On May 5, 2002, two show participants injured their cervical vertebrae during the filming of an episode entitled "Chikarajima" ("Power Island"), an obstacle course with a temple-like setting stationed outside.
In Rock Attack, the contestant must catch the ball as it rolls down a 15-degree slope, then push it back up and onto a platform at the top.
The dormant space was filled with a special edition of Count Down TV, CDTV Gold, entitled Za!
It was revived in 2008, and aired in first-run episodes on G4 and MYX TV in America and Challenge in the UK.
In Ukraine Kinniku Banzuke is named "Базука" (pronounced as "Bazooka") and broadcast by the Mega channel.
Under the title Unbeatable Banzuke, the show commenced transmission in the UK on October 6, 2008, on Challenge.
Under the title Verhetetlen Banzuke, the show commenced broadcast in Hungary on November 27, 2010, on Animax.
In Spain the show is called Unbeatable Banzuke and is broadcast by La Siete (owned by Telecinco).
In Germany the show is called Unschlagbare Banzuke and it is broadcast on RTL II.
In Russia the show is called Непобедимый Банзуке and it is broadcast on Channel One with host Maxim Galkin.
In Croatia the show is called Nepobjediv Banzuke and it is broadcast on RTL Televizija.
In the UK, Channel 5 made their own version of this show called Under Pressure.
It featured many similar events, namely Hand Walk, Super Rider, Neko de Drive and Sponge Bridge.
Games like Kick Target were separate segments normally attempted by athletes at various training facilities.
For pictures of this version, check: Here An anime was produced by Bandai Visual titled Kinniku Banzuke: Kongou-kun no Daibouken!
The anime was loosely based on the show, and featured a group of children invited to an island to fight to the death.