Customer Reviews

Baki the Grappler: Season 1 and 2

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Baki the Grappler" is 48 episodes of some of the best animated fight sequences I've ever seen. There is a story, but it only serves the purpose of propelling the characters into combat with one another. The simplistic story is kept alive by the wealth of interesting and fully fleshed-out characters that inhabit Baki's world. Each fighter has a unique persoality, backstory, fighting style, and motivation to be the world's strongest martial-artist. The battles are intense, the art is typically great, and the theme song really gets your blood pumping. This is the best show of it's kind and should really scratch an itch for MMA (Mixed Martial-Arts) fanatics.

Essentially, Baki Hanma is the son of the word's strongest fighter, Yujiro Hanma (aka "The Ogre"); a man who kills polar bears with his bare hands just for the fun of it, a man who can easily overcome a fully armed battalion of soldiers through sheer martial-arts prowess and cunning, a man so ridiculously strong...well you get the idea: he's a bad mutha (shut'cho mouth!). Baki's mother, desperately in love, wants nothing more than to be loved in return by this beast of man and she plans to use her son to make it happen. She figures if Baki can be the best fighter in the world, Yujiro will come sweep her off her feet and they can all live happily ever after rather than The Ogre's usual "knock 'em up and ditch 'em" approach to romance. Women have some weird logic sometimes. So Baki trains. A lot. We first meet him at age 13 challenging 100 gang members to a fight...all at once. He only gets 30 or so before going down (sissy) and decides that his state-of-the-art training facility isn't enough; he needs some real experience to become stronger. So begins our hero's journey through the brutal world of martial-arts, each opponent stronger than the last, each teaching him valuable lessons, and each becoming a valued friend.

Season one is the weaker of the two as it deals with Baki's childhood. I don't much care for his character model at this point and watching him fight a giant monkey (one who supposedly ate Mushashi Myamoto, no less) is just a little bit goofy. Still, the story gathers a lot of steam as it goes and culminates in a fateful duel with his villainous father that sets a brutal tone for the real attraction: season two.

The second season is truly outstanding. All attempts at standard story-telling are thrown out the window and the show truly becomes all about the fights. It takes place during an underground fighting tournament (think Kumite) that Baki -as the current champ- is favored to win. Every single match is shown beginning to end (no cheesy montages), every single character has an interesting style and has their story revealed to us bit-by-bit via flashback, and we even get the behind-the-scenes drama to boot. My favorite character, one-eyed karate-master Orochi Doppo, while being a man known for slaying tiger bare-handed, never misses an opportunity to wave at his nervous wreck of a wife with a big smile on his face. This is one thing I find very endearing about this series; the way even the fiercest martial-artists are shown as real human beings, not just obstacles for the hero to overcome.

The fights themselves are remarkably unpredictable and feature some great twists and brutal, blood-splattering action. While the action is obviously beefed up (this IS an anime) most of the moves are actual martial-arts techniques and the ones that are over-the-top are much more interesting than the DBZ nonsense most fighting anime devolves into. Sumo, judo, jujitsu, pro-wrestling, kenpo, karate, straight street-fighting, and more are all explored and displayed along with some history and philosophy lessons for each woven into the dialogue. Martial-arts fans will flip at how much respect is shown to each fighting style and at the conflicts that develop between them. Can modern Japanese karate defeat it's ancient parental Chinese art and finally claim it's independence? Can pure strength and technique defeat the heart of a true warrior whose only fight training was out on the streets? Baki and his new love interest get largely lost in the ensemble in season two, but with a cast this strong I really didn't care. I was absolutely riveted by the tournament unfolding before me. It took a lot of guts for the show to take the focus entirely off of the title character, but it worked out great and turned "Baki the Grappler" into something really special for fans of real fighting.

Baki is the consummate hero; powerful, resourceful, a ruthless and determined combatant, but kind-hearted and a respectful sportsman who never fails to befriend his opponent after the last punch is thrown. You can't not like this guy and his "Total Fighting" MMA style allows for great flexibility in how he tackles each opponent. I was a little bummed that the obvious finale of the show never happened -the final episode was an entirely stand-alone affair dealing with Yujiro's past (it did, however, kick total a$z)- but on the other hand an open-ended finish is a good finish. The fact is, there is no greater animated series for fighting fans. The first season starts off a little slow, but you will likely be cheering by the mid-way point of season two. As far as bonus features go: each disc comes with a list of character profiles and some art. Not exactly overwhelming, but it's something.

4 1/2 stars, rounded up to avoid the wrath of The Ogre!

This anime is hella tight worth watching feels like a payper view event all kind of mixed martial art styles pick this one up if u like bad ass fight scenes and raw fighting?

This is one of my favorite animes of all time. I blew it off several times and then one day there was nothing else to watch, so I watched it. The art work is great. And the journey, something that any body who wants to be anything can relate.

I much more enjoyed the first season. The second season wasn't as anywhere near as good as the first, in my opinion, but still decent to watch.

As an added note, my japanese isn't good enough for first hand knowledge, but my friend yasuo once told me that in the Baki Manga the kanji (chinese characters) that are used are so deep and intertwined with the philosophy of martial arts that Baki is far more than just the story of a fighter.

The box-set is much cheaper than buying separately, although the quality does seem to suffer a little from the studio cramming so many episodes per disc. It is definitely watchable and an awesome series for any anime fan. It's about the struggle of a young boy named Baki whose only dream is to get the approval of his father and be the best in the fighting arena. Throughout the story he learns about himself, different fighting styles, and makes friends along the way.

I Had actually bought the first season awhile back and had developed a great dislike for the series but after about a year later and after seeing some other fighting animes like Street Fighter an the like I decided to re-watch the series and to my surprise actually found myself greatly enjoying the series more for some reason if it was do to being more open minded to the series or just my motivation to watch fighting animes I don't know but I have definitely changed my opinion on the series for the most part. If I have any complaint it's just the ending seemed to short-sighted a little on the final conclusion of some of the characters and that I didn't really care for. The animation is a mix of decent to over muscled behemoths about the size of the Juggernaut from Marvel comics fighting in underground tournaments to see who is the strongest fighter in the world. The series is bloody and gory as are the fight scenes but that's what makes it very entertaining to watch sad as that is to say pretty much like all the fanatics of boxing and ultimate fighting an the like. The amazon editorial gives a pretty good description of how the series is so if you're looking for a more in depth story you might want to pass the series over but for any fighting anime fans this series is worth checking out....

Kicks Ass you won't be disappointed Baki the Grappler is one of the best anime series I've ever seen.Best money I ever spent,everyone I showed it to wanted to know where i got it from or was it a new television show

To make this short, Baki the grappler is a great anime series mixed with brutal fights and well rounded fully fleshed out characters that really make the fights shine. The fighting styles of each character really differ from one another making each battle different and unique. The story pales in places but not enough to affect overall. For the price (which was about 20 bucks for me) it's simply unbeatable, it may lack story elements that other more deep anime shows contain but it more than makes up for it with great characters and amazing fights.

Like I said, if you love mma and anime (like myself) you'll love this show. If you're looking for a deep story, you wont find it here but if u like action this is for you and for 48 episodes and for this price you just cant go wrong the only thing is no matter how much of a bad ass baki becomes he has that baby face that will always make you laugh but that is just nitpicking so just buy these dvds.

Baki the Grappler, eight discs, 48 episodes of pure violence, and
as another reviewer stated "The UFC of anime". If that is your cup
of tea then this series will not dissappoint. Baki boasts nicely done
voice-overs and a heart-pumping soundtrack which pulls the viewer
further into the world of hand to hand fighting. As with many anime
series, certain episodes are animated by different artists, sometimes
subtly, sometimes blatantly. There were only a few episodes that I
wasn't too impressed with due to the artist's lack of understanding
with the way the human body moves, but this is a minor complaint.

A likable 13 year old boy (Baki Hanma) is a tormented soul, living
under the intense pressure from his sadistic, megalomaniacal father
(Yujiro) who is considered the strongest fighter on the planet. Despite
this pressure, Baki is still his father's blood and equally enjoys the
thrill of combat, but for different reasons. For Yujiro, it is supremecy,
instilling fear into the hearts of opponents just by the utterance of
his name; a man so swallowed up by destruction that he became possessed
by a demon which occassionally reveals itself in a musculature anomaly
on his physique, enabling him to tap into superhuman strength... a man
Baki would like nothing more than to destroy. Even the government bows
to the whims of Yujiro's insatiable desire to destroy.

The series begins with Baki's early training as a boy under the guidance
of his uncaring mother, Emi; a woman chosen primitively by Yujiro to bear
him a son.Baki transcends mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually
and inevitably his path takes him to the underground fighting arena where
a fighter can earn his true merit - a battlefield where anything goes. And
this is where the majority of the series takes place, showcasing eclectic
fighting styles pitted against each other with the outcome being mostly
unpredictable.

The series ends rather unpredictably as well, and in my opinion a bit
anticlimactic,which was probably the writer's goal, to avoid a cliche ridden
ending. This series is a classic among its genre and will hopefully inspire
many other creators to produce a similar anime.

This series was the most intense I've watched recently. The box says it perfect: Pure Anime fighting action. The story was great, the morals were pure, and the graphics were amazing!

This one is at the top of my list for recommendations for other folks to watch. With over 1000 DVDs in my collection being at the top is a pretty fine feat. If you are into Anime at all or watch other Anime series where any fighting is involved, and you like the action, then this is a no brainer for you! You will not be disappointed, and you can get the entire series for $30!!!! Rock on!