The opening arc to Baki comes to a close, a prelude of what’s to come really, and the stage is set for the real fight.
What They Say
Tension is high as the big showdown approaches. Baki gathers with friends and former foes from his past to engage in some last minute training before his father, Yujiro, arrives.
It’s Baki vs. Yujiro in a no holds barred grudge match to determine superiority once and for all! Or is there much more at stake than meets the eye? Whose side will Emi choose: The man she loves or the son who desperately wants to love her?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Baki’s next batch of episodes brings us to an interesting point in the series as we get the final two episodes of the opening arc as we deal with the fallout from the last fight and go into the next one with Yujiro. We then have a bit of recap as things are explained before shifting ahead two years to the next storyline with our young fighter. The reminder that Baki has been thirteen years old for everything that’s come before is very necessary as is the material that goes into the strange way this family relationship is built.
After the way things have run through their course with the fights that led up to Hanma and Baki fighting against Yujiro and Baki doing his extra training with those who are quite powerful, the time has gotten close for the real fight between Baki and Yujiro. Baki’s still convinced he needs more training as the hour approaches and he finds himself going up against all sorts of powerful folks and styles in places where they’ll be safe from any real interference. Watching Baki continue to push himself with the thoughts in his mind of only pleasing his mother is interesting since his revelations about how he’s fighting for her love now are things that haunt Emi’s thoughts. Her past has certainly caught up with her and her own desires over wanting to give Yujiro whatever he wanted has led her to this place and the conflict that it’s now creating is a bit predictable in some ways but the way it’s set up makes it much more interesting.
The series has set itself up for what you would think is a problematic issue in that Baki’s goal being the defeat of his father is both a simple goal and one that sets Yujiro up for a status so high that it’s ridiculous. This is a common problem in many tournament shows but I think they deal with it just right here, first by already giving Yujiro such an unbelievable background and then introducing Baki at the age of thirteen so that he’s not at his prime to defeat him but at a point where he’s just right to be molded for going forward. He’s managed to fight and win over some very tough opponents like Hanma and he’s made some real progress with Yujiro but his goal is still truly far away. The need to elevate Yujiro even higher comes into play though and this gets us closer to where the manga was when Raijin released it here.
With two years under his belt in traveling the world looking for someone to fight so that he can get stronger, Baki finally gets a lead that takes him to Brazil first and then back to Japan where he’s at the start of his bigger journey and the show moves into tournament mode. The changes in Baki over the two years come across more as a visual thing than any real growth in his combat style since you can’t imagine him finding anyone tougher than Yujiro so everything has been just to keep him in shape and spirit for fighting. He’s learned more about how to deal with his opponents and sizing them up while apparently rushing in less but his confidence is still there with everyone he fights outside of Yujiro. The setup for what’s to come is well done here and after the recap that brings the focus back to Baki and what he’s really accomplished, seeing where it’s going is exciting.
In Summary:
Baki the Grappler continues to be an appealing series though it’s had its misfires so far with things I haven’t cared about, particularly the Yasha Ape, but as the show brought the focus more squarely on Baki’s long-term goals of defeating his father, winning his mothers love and proving what he can do it’s been a great ride. Particularly since it doesn’t shy away from the headlong violence and having these characters really take a beating, feel the pain but still stand up and try to kick some more ass. It’s not a pretty show (except for Emi) with it’s ugly characters, brutal fight sequences, and dark settings but it is a very fun and exciting show for just those reasons. Baki fills a certain need and void that’s out there very well and seeing it get closer to a more familiar section is very welcome. While not as outlandish as some fighting shows nor is it filled with all sorts of styles and names for them, Baki is a solid entry in the rough and tumble violence filled action world that’s definitely recommended.
Grade: B+
Released By: Funimation
Release Date: November 29th, 2005
MSRP: $29.98
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Letterbox Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
