User reviews

It's a good trivia type show but the contestant chair attached to an industrial robot is a stupid gimmick. This has to be the only trivia show where the waiver must contain lines about liability regarding whiplash and back injury.

Hosted by Rob Lowe, "Mental Samurai" is another of those big studio games, and it features a huge robotic arm that transports contestants between questions. The object of the game is to answer all twelve questions in five minutes. If you do, you win $10,000 and a chance to play the Circle of Samurai. If you miss even one of the twelve, you fail.

The Circle of Samurai consists of four questions. Correct answers increase your winnings to $25,000, then $50,000, then $100,000. Those who go the distance also earn the title Mental Samurai. It may lack the cachet of Jeopardy Champion or American Ninja, but it's something most people will not accomplish, if the first episode is any indication.

The questions are distributed equally among four categories: Knowledge, Puzzles, Sequence, and Memory. Factual knowledge helps, but this is not a trivia quiz. What makes the task difficult is the ticking clock. The robotic arm, called AVA, is disorienting. You can train for American Ninja and Jeopardy, but you can't simulate the jerky, 3-D movements of AVA.

Rob Lowe is there for support and empathy. The game is difficult enough without an antagonist. And the questions are not tricky; they don't have to be.

The producers strive to cast contestants with interesting backgrounds and/or big personalities. This can add or subtract to the enjoyment of watching. The show is a curious diversion from other game show fare, but lacks the engagement necessary for long-term success.

Update 6-2-21: Season two has welcome improvements, like contestanta competing against each other.

I was very excited for Mental Samurai the first time I heard of it but as I saw it more and more, I got really confused and when I watched it, I felt confused even more. Mental Samurai is like an amusement ride that only smart people can ride but they have a chance to win $10,000. Now, the people who actually compete are very good and have very heart-warming stories and Rob Lowe is a great host but in general I would have liked to see more from Mental Samurai and hopefully they can change my opinion as more episodes premiere but I do enjoy the concept of it and I think that people can enjoy this show.

One of the worst game shows ever. The robot arm serves no purpose. (And robot arms don't go "clunk" every time they start and stop.)

Almost as much time is spent on "background pieces" about each contestant as is spent on the game.

About half the questions are embarrassingly simple. Like, repeat four words in order -- really? And then they throw in a ridiculously hard question about obscure pop songs or TV shows.

Contestants are given a time limit to complete all of the questions. Meanwhile, the clock continues to run while time is wasted by the arm moving around. Then the contestant wastes time explaining their answer. Then they say "Lock it in" and have to pull a shifter handle; what's the point of the shifter handle if they have to say "Lock it in"? Then there seems to be a random amount of time wasted until it's finally announced whether the answer is correct. All this makes no sense. If you're going to have a time limit, don't run the clock down with silly theatrics.

And what the heck does this all have to do with Japanese warriors?

Our school requires us to do BrainBreak days every two weeks. I've tried dozens of shows to keep my students learning but entertained and NOTHING has worked until this. I teach all middle school grades from high ability to self-contained special needs and all of my students love this show!

I ran some quick time estimates while watching a few contestants. I would estimate that between Ava taking an inordinate and seemingly random amount of time to announce if the answer is correct and the even more random transport to the next question she wastes up to 40% of the contestants time where they literally can't do anything. And that doesn't include the time it takes her to ask the question. It also succeeds in wasting the talents of Rob Lowe as he does pretty much nothing. Oh and one more thing it wastes, the time of anyone who watches this gimmicky mess.

When I first watched the show, I was really impressed. This show is really good. It's better than those talk shows.

Was excited to watch this at first, but ultimately was disappointed. Questions aren't that difficult, and the arm gimmick seems a bit over the top. Worst thing about this show is how long they focus on contestant's back stories. Get to the point. We're here for the game.

Great show. Absolutely love it. Rob Lowe is such a genuinely great person and actor.

I gave one episode a watch and I just didn't care for it. The questions are simple, the robot arm is ridiculous and the most infuriating issue is the fact the clock still runs as they are moved around the stage...why? Seconds are wasted moving the contestants from one question to the next. Rob Lowe is great, but it's sad his presence is wasted on such a silly show. My thirteen year old son enjoys it though.

The trivia and categories can be interesting and I don't necessarily have an issue with the gargantuan robot arm. The real issue is how LONG the arm can take. Given the strict time limit, watching the arm twist and turn and swivel for several precious seconds before deciding where it's going makes the show just irritating to watch.

A Not Bad Show However Could Be Better.

Rob Lowe hosts this new show that "tests" your knowledge of skill and memory.

An average show that is pretty well not great but not the worst thing ever in the world it's really basically more like hey turn on the TV watch this then rate/review afterwards and maybe in the later season(s) get into the info more.

Just maybe.

Other than that i'd say this is a good show to at least just check in with for to see if you like it or not.

However this is not a recommendation of mine.

Like many others already said, the robotic arm "Ava" (some dude with joysticks behind the scenes) is useless to any game. It does nothing. Rob Lowe is a great host and personality, but you can tell even this show isn't challenging enough for him. This show is just a bunch of questions - some ridiculously easy, and nothing else. I'd rather see Ellen's Game of Games which also has questions, but with fun, laughable and embarrassing moments. Maybe this show would be better if kids were sitting in that robotic arm.

This feels kind of insulting to the viewer. How do I even explain it... it's a mix of juvenile "repeat the phrase", "find the missing jigsaw piece of a 3 piece puzzle", and very random pop culture questions sprinkled in. It's a complete toss up as to how far you'll even get.

It seems the idea of the robot arm is to throw off the contestant, but it's a cheap gimmick because all it seems to do is waste precious seconds while the clock is ticking down.

One cringey moment is watching a couple who claimed to be Mensa members and therefore "smarter than 98% of the population", fail in the first round.

On the plus side, Rob Lowe is a pleasant host. Unfortunately he is wasted on this.

First time watcher of the show. I wanted to like it. I like good game shows. But the cameraman kept moving away from the puzzles and showing the surrounding area and the faces of Rob Lowe and contestant. And just as I was figuring the puzzle out the cameraman moved it to Rob Lowes face and then the Contestant. Not just the once either. It's frustrating. The cameraman did this through out the show. Maybe they don't want people to play along. But then who wants to watch this show? One more thing, I really didn't see how that octopus ride they have added any value to the game it could be done differently but that in itself wouldn't stop me from watching it again. But the way camera took the shots sure did.

The only mildly entertaining aspect of this show is the robotic chair, and even that quickly loses it's appeal. The challenges presented in this show are similar to that of a kindergarten pop quiz. As long as you know the alphabet and can repeat four words in order, you'll win big. Seriously just watched an episode where the challenge was to put goat, coat and boat in alphabetical order. It amazes me at how shocked and amused not only the contestants look, but also host Rob Lowe looks when the questions are answered correctly.

The questions are so ridiculously easy and simplistic that they lose all entertainment value. It's not challenging enough to actually build any suspense. It becomes more frustrating than anything. The contestant after a brief second to long pause answered with "boat, coat, goat." The show attempted to build that suspense as the robot took a moment of silence before chiming in with correct. Meanwhile, the viewer and almost anyone who has a basic sense of their ABC's already confirmed that it was correct as the question was still being red.

It's a trivia game for idiots.