Despite being a long-lived manga series with very loyal fans, ‘Baki’ hasn’t finished exploding worldwide until practically nothing. As for animes, it already had a first series back in 2001 entitled ‘Baki the Grappler’, but it wouldn’t be until the arrival of the new anime that Baki Hanma entered kicking and punching the hearts of many new fans.
Logically, the blame for this new wave of fans and popularity lies with ‘baki’a new direct-to-streaming series that premiered on Netflix in 2018. This three-season anime continues to adapt the work of Keisuke Itagaki, if it leaves us wanting more, the good news is that the platform is betting very heavily on history and there is more on the way. But First, let’s go to the chicha.
Escaped prisoners, teenage love, and tournaments to the death
A few years have passed between ‘Baki the Grappler’ and ‘Baki’, but the Netflix series is directly a continuation of the first anime series. Even so, It is not necessary for us to see it to understand what is happening, but it is true that it gives us a little more context about who Baki is and his complicated relationship with his father Yujiro Hanmawho has proclaimed himself the strongest man in the world.
There are also some characters that were introduced in the original anime, but they also give us enough context to know who they are honestly, there are so many people in the story that in any case at times it is easy to get lost even if you have a list of who is who .
This series begins with the news that several very dangerous death row inmates have escaped from their respective prisons and are heading to Japan. The reason is simple: they have never known defeat and want to measure themselves against Bakiwho has earned a reputation in recent tournaments in which he has participated.
And in the middle of this is Baki, who tries to maintain a normal life as a teenager, going to class and going on dates with his girlfriend, while continuing to train to become stronger so he can fight his father. In other words, you have the best of both worlds when it comes to anime: unbridled action and slice-of-life Teen.
Thus begins a new type of tournament, where there are no rules and combatants can hit each other at any time and with whatever is at hand. This part of the story once again has a rather innovative approach, with lots of excessive fighting, rampant testosterone and the completely unhinged tone that characterizes ‘Baki’.
You have to love it (or hate it) as it is
The last season already takes a slightly different turn, as we return to a conventional tournament with the ‘Raitai Grand Tournament Saga’. As with ‘Baki the Grappler’, If tournament anime are not your thing, this last installment of the series can become heavier due to the type of structure.
And if the original ‘Baki the Grappler’ came out quite well for its animation, ‘Baki’ doesn’t do too well. TMS Entertainment’s style is closer to the original manga, but also It leaves us with much more rigid and inexpressive characters.
It doesn’t help that he pulls sometimes too regular CGIor static images to give more emphasis to the action, since in some of the craziest and most exciting moments a good display of animation is missing.
Now, ‘Baki’ is a series that you either love or hate and you have to accept it as it is. It is ridiculous, crazy and peculiar, with characters with hypertrophic muscles and impossible techniques. The plot and development is completely relegated to a third or fourth place without too much fuss, because here all that matters to us is the action, the martial arts and the fighting. Well, and the daddy issues tremendous that Baki spends.
This does not mean that ‘Baki‘ has no heart (or plot), because despite her absurd twists she takes herself very seriously and keeps you hooked if only to see how things unfold and ends up crashing the train. If you like the over-the-top tone of ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’ and also like martial arts anime, ‘Baki’ can certainly be the next stop on your journey.