An anime on Netflix is so absurd that it might even convince me that a human can defeat Son Goku

MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes likes anime with good stories, but sometimes it just has to be raw fights between martial artists. Hardly any anime does this as well on Netflix as Baki.

The very first anime to the manga Grappler Baki by Keisuke Itagaki was released in 1994 with the OVA Grappler Baki: The Ultimate Fighter, followed by a series with 48 episodes in 2001, and only in 2018 did it continue on Netflix with Baki.

Chronologically, the 2001 series is the beginning, but you can easily start with the Netflix series (the original series is not well animated anyway). At its core, it’s about Baki and his goal to become the strongest fighter in the world to defeat his father, Yujiro. Along the way, he meets many other fighters who become friends and rivals.

There’s not much more to the story, really. It takes a backseat, and the focus is clearly on the fights between the overly muscled martial artists – and honestly: I’ve rarely had this much fun with such nonsense.

The latest series in the Baki universe is Baki-Dou:

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Baki-Dou shows muscles from the anime in the trailer

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Fights full of nonsense that you somehow still believe

In Baki, most fights, with a few exceptions, are fistfights between martial artists. Baki uses several techniques and mixes styles, while someone like Doppo relies on karate as his fighting style. This provides a good variety, especially since the fighters constantly come up with new techniques.

However, one must also admit that many of these techniques are complete nonsense. For example, Baki trained with imaginary dinosaurs to defeat a caveman, or Yujiro simply walked through secured plexiglass and destroyed it with his steel-hard face.

Nevertheless, the series manages to make the viewer think: Somehow this is realistic. This is due to the most powerful force that every fighter in the anime can have: the narrator. During a fight, he simply begins to explain a technique pseudoscientifically to make it appear plausible. This goes so far that I would even believe him if Yujiro managed to defeat characters like Son Goku with some kind of bullshit technique. After all, he is considered the strongest creature on Earth and even managed in the manga to shift his brain to avoid a bullet.

And that’s exactly what makes it so incredibly fun. Without obvious superpowers, it still feels like you’re watching an anime like Naruto or Dragon Ball, where warriors counter each other with various abilities.

The Baki anime on Netflix primarily focuses on an animation that highlights individual punches and kicks. A smoother animation would still benefit the anime, but since the narrator is always part of the action, it’s not that bothersome. Also, the age-rating suits Baki well, making the fights bloody but never too brutal to feel inappropriate.

Behind every punch is the love for the fight

In every fighting technique of Baki, you can tell how the mangaka Itagaki loves martial arts. Every fighter stands by their convictions and tries to prove that their martial art is the best. This also creates emotional moments, as the series manages to give the fighting techniques a backstory, thus characterizing the characters.

When a fighter does everything to be the best but simply can’t make it, it touches me emotionally. Especially when you get to see how powerful someone like Yujiro is, who is unreachable for most characters in the series.

This makes even the fights between supporting characters enjoyable, as it’s also about whether one’s conviction can win and how much one sacrifices to triumph. Baki has a martial arts core that is only hinted at in many other animes, but here it is the true star.

Even with nonsense like revived cavemen and ancient samurai, this core is present, and I can respect that, and that’s also the reason why I have already watched the anime 3 times and will probably watch it many more times.