The fourth version of the Cliffhanger came after Nagano's completion of the course in SASUKE 17. It has been renamed once again, this time to the Shin-Cliffhanger (新クリフハンガー) to emphasize its redesign. The second ledge was shortened to 77cm, but also on an incline of 12 degrees. This caused the horizontal gap between the last two ledges to increase to 1 meter. To make up for this large gap, the width of the first part of the third ledge was increased to 6 cm. Also, the ledges have been beveled to increase the difficulty.
Due to the large gap, it seems that competitors must now clear the obstacle by jumping across from second ledge to the third one. The first person not to attempt a jump, Nagasaki Shunsuke, was not able to clear the obstacle. However, in SASUKE 23, Takahashi Kenji was able to successfully clear without jumping.
In SASUKE 19, a metal sheet was placed above the first and third ledges to prevent competitors from getting disqualified like Nagano Makoto in SASUKE 18, who accidentally grabbed the top of the Shin-Cliffhanger instead of the ledge.
This version of the Cliffhanger proved to be one of the toughest obstacles in the history of the show as the first four competitors to try it, all failed (spanning three tournaments). TBS showed testers clearing it in SASUKE 20 and SASUKE 21's introduction, but it wasn't until Takeda Toshihiro cleared it in SASUKE 21 that it was finally conquered in competition.
The comparison of the Shin-Cliffhanger (top) and the version 3, Altered Cliffhanger (bottom)
G4 Name: Cliff Hanger
SASUKE Competitions
Stage: Third Stage
First: SASUKE 18
Last: SASUKE 24
Total: 7 competitions
First Attempt: SASUKE 18, Nagano Makoto
First Clear: SASUKE 21, Takeda Toshihiro
Takahashi Kenji reaching over the gap of the Shin-Cliffhanger. He is the only person to ever successfully do so.
Urushihara Yuuji jumping over from the second to the third ledge of the Shin-Cliffhanger.
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List of Sasuke Obstacles
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