Few television programmes have been as influential as Takeshi’s Castle. Introduced by the Tokyo Broadcasting System in 1986, the show was essentially a series of wildly difficult physical challenges at which people haplessly flung themselves, risking injury, humiliation or at least a mouthful of off-puttingly dirty-looking water. It was written off as a novelty – but look where we are now.
You can find the influence of Takeshi’s Castle everywhere. Shows such as Total Wipeout, Ninja Warrior, Ultimate Beastmaster – and even Jackass – took Takeshi’s blueprint for elaborate stunts and ran with it. Anyone who has ever participated in a Tough Mudder obstacle race is doing so because of Takeshi’s Castle. The videogame Fall Guys has moved tens of millions of copies, purely because it is Takeshi’s Castle in all but name. And then there is Squid Game, a cultural phenomenon best described as “What if Takeshi’s Castle contained more scenes of harrowing death?”. This is the legacy of Takeshi’s Castle.
