Anime: Grappler Baki (2001) 4hd4h

Notice: This review covers all three major arcs.

First arc

A typical shonen series is about hyperactive boys training endlessly in order to become the best in a specific field. Well guess what; this anime is also like that. It’s about a boy that wants to be the best fighter and to sur his father, the strongest man in the world. The catch is, it’s way more focused on being brutal than telling a moral message about friendship or spicing things up with something other than fighting.

If you got tired of watching fighting shonen or sport series that are wasting a lot of time on not being about the action, Grappler Baki is where you go to, assuming you can tolerate bad animation and horrible openings. Seriously, if you want to get your blood pumping when you begin watching an episode of pure manly action, you don’t throw a lame pop song, sang by a girl in the opening.

And I get why they did that. Females in the series are damsels in distress, existing only as rewards for manly men who beat the crap out of each other. Listening to girl singing while the protagonist is training hard is telling you subconsciously that everything is done for the pussy and that all the pain and suffering the hero is going through will have a reward at the end. It’s just a cheap hook to keep teenage boys watching a show about guys who want to be the strongest for the sake of being the strongest.

You also don’t use cancer CGI models. I get how it saves money, but if you don’t bother to render them properly or cover them by drawing over them, then it looks horrible and not awesome at all, which happens to be the main appeal of the show. I mean, if you can somehow look past it, it’s still amazing for its brutal fighting, which includes all sorts of nasty attacks no typical shonen would use. Scratching the eyes, biting the ears, kicking the nuts, attacking without a warning, and so on. The early episodes were merciless, as there was no honor in fighting and winning was the only thing that mattered.

Second arc

Unfortunately this was diminished in the second arc, where everybody was fighting before an audience with a referee and you had to follow a few rules because you were doing it to prove how powerful you are and not to win no matter what. In fact, the second arc took away most of the charm in general and became an almost typical fighting tournament, despite constantly saying it is dangerous and merciless.

Even the plot was damaged because of it. During the first arc things were moving at a reasonable pace. You were following a single character as he was travelling around the world and facing all sorts of challenges with no rules or referees to limit what you are allowed to do. It also had meaningful character growth, as Baki gets constantly stronger and learns new tricks. The handful of opponents he faces get some screen time as well so their backgrounds can be fleshed out.

The second arc ruins everything. There is no actual growth since nobody there gets stronger from his battles. There are also about 30 fighters, most of which are one note, and they all get a rather equal amount of screen time when it’s their time to fight. Meaning you don’t focus on someone for too long and because of their sheer number almost nobody feels important or memorable. Also, every battle takes place on the exact same arena, which quickly becomes repetitive and dull to look at. Also, you can’t use dirty tricks, field tactics, or dirty tricks, because there is a referee and rules to follow. The fights are still kinda fun but there is very little engagement.

And I have to stress how darker the first arc was, despite having a lot more absurd elements during its battles. Everybody was constantly grumpy and ready to choke the life out of their enemies, while the only relevant female was the psychotic mother of Baki, constantly mistreating him so she can have sex with his even more psychotic father. It was edgy at times, but it was also much more enjoyable than the second arc that had a comic relief midget and a dull schoolgirl acting as a generic platonic girlfriend.

What I am getting at here, is that although the story was never something special, the first arc had a linear plot where every major character was somehow significant and was getting fleshed out. The tournament arc had everyone waiting for their turn on the ring. Until then, they had nothing to do besides being spectators who were stating the obvious for what is going on in the current duel. There is no plot to speak of and it quickly became boring. The show is all about muscular guys training and fighting each other just to see who the biggest badass is. In vacuum they are all different and cool, but when binging the show you clearly see how none of them feels important because of their sheer number and lack of permanent focus.

I also have to point out how a big part of the appeal was also Baki’s relationship with his crazy ass father. The two of them are the flagship of the whole series, and we don’t get much of it. Baki stops evolving in the tournament and becomes almost of a blank self insert. His father’s backdrop gets fleshed out, but he is still not doing something other than being a jerk who keeps making his son suffer as means to keep getting stronger.

Third arc

Things seem to improve during the third arc, since the plot goes back to be being about dirty fighting, field tactics, and stealth. It is quickly proven to suffer from the exact same pacing issue as the second arc, with the addition of constantly cutting away every few minutes. Basically, a bunch of convicts go after Baki but they are constantly bumping on the 30 fighters from the previous arc. So again, there is no focus on a few characters. On top of that, since those 30 fighters are no longer standing idle as spectators, they are now constantly jumping in to intervene, or the convicts constantly do tricks to escape and leave the battle inconclusive. On top of that, a fight that is at large is constantly stopped and the scene changes to show us what someone else is doing at the time thus ruining the fun.

Basically, the third arc has the same problem that plagues all stories that go past a tournament. You either never again show the fighters that took part in it, thus making it even more clear of how meaningless it was to spend time on them, or you keep them all around and you need to find something for them to do. The cast was now over 50 fighters doing their daily routine or bumping onto the convicts, making the plot extremely fragmented and unfocused.

On top of that, even if you somehow make a compilation of the fights so they will seem uninterrupted, they are still going to be horrible to look at. The CGI is now everywhere and it makes the characters look like something out of a Playstation 1 era. The android animation is also extremely cheap, as most motions are essentially stills that slide instead of actual motion. Most of the badassery is lost because of it.

I also need to point out how messed up the power scaling is. You never get a clear picture of who is stronger than whom, with the only exception being Baki’s father, who is the strongest man in history. At one scene it seems like A is stronger than B, only to somehow be proven weaker than C, who lost to B. For example, in the first arc Gaia was referred to as the second strongest person in the world, and then the second arc introduces all those fighters who are supposed to be even stronger. Then the third arc introduces the convicts, who are supposed to be even stronger, yet they all get defeated by the lower end of the fighters of the second arc.

The dirty tactics many are using could be used as a justification for why some can get the upper hand in cases where normally they would lose. But as it turns out not even that makes much sense, since the convicts are all crazy powerful on their own, and their dirty tactics are actually making them underperform. Plus, Baki gets a power up in this arc not through training or through some realization but because he lost his virginity. I kid you not; the show treats sex as a power up.

We also don’t get an actual finale, since the story ends without a resolution and it’s yet another case of go read the manga, where you get a whole bunch of arcs that keep going forever. There is never any clear objective or end point, making the whole thing being literally about endless pointless fighting.

Down to it, Grappler Baki is cool at points, but as a whole unfocused and badly directed and animated. It stands no chance next to better produced titles, even if their action is nowhere close as brutal.

The synopsis of "Grappler Baki" couldn't be more boring and unoriginal; a teenager seeks to become the most powerful fighter in the world.

However, the execution of this hackneyed concept is what's extraordinary.

For starters, there are hardly any monologues or emotional flashbacks, and absolutely no cute, "funny" scenes of the main character being hit by a girl. Instead, each episode is filled with brutal, highly entertaining fights, most of them featuring the hero, Baki, getting the absolute piss beaten out of him.

Getting multiple bones shattered, having one's ankle exploded, one's eye nerves severed, being thrown out of a window on the third floor, swallowing glass, having one's mouth torn apart by a giant beast-ape, being hung execution-style by a rope, or having one's bloody, unconscious face repeatedly stomped by a fist or foot are all a part of a typical episode for Baki.

Most appropriately, there is almost a complete lack of "good" and "evil" in this series; every character (with the possible exception of Yujiro), even the most brutal and dirty, is shown to have a good, friendly, honorable side, and similarly, even Baki has a vicious, uncomprising part to his personality.

In a comical but oddly appropriate twist, Baki befriends the Yasha Ape whose eye he gouged out and which almost tore his mouth off, or Yakuza boss Hanayama, who almost killed him on several occasions.

In fact, he becomes friends with almost everyone he fights in the series, showing that these fights are simply the tool for him becoming better and stronger, not the product of his desire for violence.

Thus, on a pure entertainment level, the series is great; gritty fights featuring original attacks, unique fighting styles, and non-stop action mixed with a peculiar sense of humor.

With all that said, "Grappler Baki" works on a deeper level also.

While the show revolves around fighting, it's really a metaphor for the struggle and sacrifice anyone faces in achieving the absolute pinnacle in their field of interest.

Through Baki's non-stop training, fighting, and overzealous desire to improve at the risk of his own life, the hero is someone that a viewer can emphasize with, as he attains his ability more through practice and physical sacrifice than natural ability.

Despite all this, Baki is repeatedly beaten down by his invincible father Yujiro, the king of fighters. Thus, rather than being a simple story of a fighter's rise to the top, it's the story of a typical human giving everything to achieving his goals, succeeding, but ultimately, not being able to fulfill his greatest desire.

In addition to this, there are a number of refreshing "real" aspects for an action anime here, such as the lack of female fighters, and the "dirty tactics" (biting, eye-gouging, kicks to the groin, attacks from behind) that every single fighter utilizes, including Baki. (Once again obliterating the "good" and "evil" that so many animes rely upon)

Finally, another reason I love this series so dearly are the unforgettable characters; while Baki is a unique, macho badass in his own right, Orocho Doppi and Karou Hanayama are some of the most unique, likeable, and downright cool characters in any anime ever.

This can be extended to most of the characters on the show too; they all have their own quirks, sense of humor, fighting styles, and contrasting outlooks on life.

This feels a lot different than most animes, where there are essentially only two or three character prototypes which everyone is modeled upon.

Thus, Grappler Baki is not only a great series for anyone who enjoys fighting and combat, but anyone who wants to see something different and unexpected in an anime.

10/10

Macho, More Macho, Macho-Master. And even possibly trying to be more Macho than that.

The animation for Grappler Baki is interesting. While the first 12-13 episodes are done pretty well, episodes 14-end seem to have been done in a slightly different style. Baki himself was suddenly changed so much that I hardly recognised him at first sight, but also his laugh is really different from before - and not better.
The animation on itself is done well. Although it tends to look a bit older than it should be, the characters look good (although too muscular), the fighting scenes are supposed to be exciting (for the teenagers who love fighting stuff) and the backgrounds look pretty okay as well.

The voices are done pretty well. Nothing bad to say about them, although it sometimes feels like the dialogues are a bit lame, which results in too much dumb talk at times. Luckily there isn't so much talk during the fights ;)
The OP-song is comparable with Hajime no Ippo - Japanese with a lot of engrish, but exciting and pace-setting for the rest of the series.
The ED-song isn't so catchy, since it's a slower one, which does seem to fit the series well, but I didn't like it much.

The story is not much and it's all about Machoness. Although they do follow a plot and a storyline, it is all about how Baki wants to become as strong as his father. This introduces a couple of strong fighters, but although those are pretty nice to watch, it's nothing like a story. It's just, well, macho fighting.
Once Baki decides to train a bit harder after seeing his father, things become a bit more interesting. No more simple fights, but now we get to the macho-fights - although every match is a macho-boost.
The ending though is pretty depressing. While they steer towards a couple of pretty (err, vicious) fights which should conclude the story, it doesn't end. They managed to twist things in a way that the final showdown doesn't take place, in order to be able to make a Season 2 - and well, they did make a season 2. I haven't seen that one, so I can only be objective about Grappler Baki with the current ending.
The story is everything except realistic.

Baki himself is a guy who lives to fight, but at first he seems pretty insensitive about everything, including the fights itself. But that gradually changes, as he fights stronger enemies.
Baki's father is about the biggest asshole in the world, and he continuously confirms that reputation, which makes you either dislike him or love him.
The most memorable character is Hanayama Kaoru though, a 15 year old Asian guy with a height of about 3 meters (compared to most other characters). Did I already tell you that it's all about machoness? No? Well, there he is: the machoness-logo, aka Hanayama Kaoru.

Although they seem to keep the fighting normal in the first few episodes, the episodes after the 2nd or 3rd are already so macho that it almost hurts. Fighting with giant gorillas of 3.5 meters, blowing up arms just by twisting them, using gunpowder in order to stop bleeding - which even Rambo wouldn't dare to do and slamming the ground in order to stop an earthquake are a few examples of the testosteron-value which prevails in this series.

Grappler Baki is more a series for teenagers who are eagerly awaiting series which are all about fighting and not about story. In that case, Grappler Baki fulfills their dreams, since Hanma Baki is a guy who lives to fight.
Realistic? Definitely not. Exciting? If you're in the right mood and love to see a bunch of major macho types show off in the most unrealistic ways, you'll love this series. Rewatch value? If you could enjoy it the first time, you'll enjoy it the second time. It's not like there's much of a story, since it's all centered on the fights itself, which makes it easy to rewatch.

Did I like it? Not really. Or perhaps, really not. Although it didn't repel me, I wouldn't have ed it if I knew it would be like this. Still, for people who can appreciate a storyless series like this, it's a recommendation.
Grappler Baki is about macho-men. The more macho, the better. The more unrealistic, the more macho. If you've ever seen the movies Streetfighter, in which they manage to produce fireballs and sonic slams, this is nearly the same.

Grappler Baki "grabbed" my attention recently while I've been looking for something new to watch. Being a fan of martial art-movies & anime I can enjoy a series which puts fighting and competition in its center quite a bit, and after viewing the first episode of "Baki" I was impressed enough to the rest of the season and watch it completely in 3 sittings.

The series revolves around the titular character Baki Hanma, a 13-year old brat with red hair, who's looking for to become "the strongest in the world, like every man wishes once in his life to be" (as the intro proclaims). To achieve that goal Baki naturally has to push himself to his limits (and beyond) by fighting numerous seemingly unbeatable opponents, devising new tactics on the spot and get out more no-win situations than I cared to count. Baki's quest is of course also fueled by the main plot point which I won't spoil for you here, let's just say that I creates enough interest to keep on watching and adds a bit of "spice" to an otherwise rather bland premise.

Despite of being pretty much one-dimensional with hardly any more than one trait of their own (including Baki himself), the characters in "Grappler Baki" manage to turn out quite watchable anyway and present us with lots of memorable figures. Take Baki's father Yujiro Hanma, a monster of a man with unhuman strenght, his wierd (but hot-as-hell ;) mother or the gigantic Hanayama, a 15-year old who's over 7 feet tall and has football-sized muscles all over his scarred body, they are a big part of what the series appeal is about.

Let's go a bit over the technical facts. "Grappler Baki" was made in 16:9 aspect-ratio, presenting us with a wide canvas for the well-drawn characters and different locations. The animation's pretty good, especially during the fighting-scenes witch are depicted quite detailed and violently. The seiyu are as good as expected and provide the characters with powerful voices when necessary. Additionally to that "Grappler Baki" gives us a very nice opening with many quick cuts and a pumping theme.

What is there more to say? "Grappler Baki" is a fun little series which tries to play to the same audience as Naruto or Dragonball. Actually the comparision to the latter one is quite accurate, since Baki ist pretty much Dragonball without aliens and comedy and a little bit less crazyness (but only just a little bit). The pacing stays quick most of the time, as we aren't tortured with 5 episodes long fights and a lot of recapping aside from episode 15, which can be skipped altogether. Unfortunately the first season doesn't end really satisfying, because some vital plot points are left to be resolved in the inferior second season (which I will write about later). As there are not many alternatives you can safely go with the Hawks-fansub, which gives us good video and sound quality (especially in the couple of episodes from DVD-sources) and equally readable font and translation.

Greg

This is a weird one. I didnt really know what to expect with this series, but I was pleasantly suprised to say the least.

Animation- this is the one area I really had complaints in. The animation in this series is really weird. At times it looks really cool, then at times its all skewed and ugly. The fight scenes are well done though, they do a good job of capturing the intensity of fighting. The animation really reminds me of Street Fighter Alpha, its weird.

Sound- the music is pretty cool. It works well, the fight music gets me pumped for the fight. The sounds of bones snapping and nerves getting cut are so gruesome they make me flinch. My only complaint is the music is kinda repetitive after a while.

Story- the story seems normal and lacking in depth at the beginning, but it really picks up some pace. It even had such a twist that I became very angry at the show. Give it some time and you will see the beauty of the story.

Character- the characters are cool. Each guy has his own fighting style and unique personality. The way they develop and make friendships is cool too. Again sometimes they are weirdly skewed and stuff, but overall they look cool.

Value- this is a good anime because most of the fights only last one episode and each episode has a fight most of the time. Thats one of the reason I love this anime is it doesnt leave you hangin in that context.

Enjoyment- an awesome fighting anime, go for it if you love martial arts and boxing. It will fulfill your need for ass-kicking.