Once in a while, I like to kick back and watch an anime that's got nothing but lots of good old dirt-under-the-nails FIGHTIN'. You can't go wrong with a title like "Grappler Baki: The ULTIMATE FIGHTER", can you? So I gave it a rent and checked it out. And you know what? I was pretty impressed. There's a lot to enjoy in this flick, most of which is the fighting itself. The fight scenes were well done; not on par with, say, the choreographed genius of "Street Fighter: the Animated Movie", but they hold their own. A lot of the moves hurt just to look at (like when a shoulder gets separated and they show you an inside-the-body shot of the bones coming apart) and the animation is pretty decent as well. There's not much story here; just a guy named Baki who wants to be the best fighter in the land and the people he goes through to get there. The final battle, though, between Baki and the "Cord Cutter" (speaking of painful techniques, ever have someone pull on your NERVES?) is a sight to behold. All in all, a decent fight flick that will keep you entertained for almost an hour. The only real problems I saw were the crowd shots (completely still and noiseless; I guess they were completely mesmerized by the fight) and the dubbing. It wasn't bad, but I've heard a LOT better. But hey, if you like the fightin' stuff, you'll enjoy it. Great action and a minimum of sentiment. It's a good combination.
