4 Star

Teenager Vs Death Row

MVM brings us three disks of martial arts based on the “Most Evil Death Row Convicts” arc of the second manga series, originally shown on Netflix, now on Blu-ray, with twenty-six episodes to please the most ardent fan of over-the-top action.

Baki is the third anime series, right after the Baki the Grappler (TV) and Baki the Grappler: Maximum Tournament, and follows teenager Baki Hanma trying to overtake his father Yujiro Hanma aka “The Ogre,” as the strongest fighter in the world. Baki shows his skills in an underground fighting arena run by Mitsunari Tokugawa. But now Baki is back at high-school, trying to live a normal life with his girlfriend Kozue Matsumoto.

Meanwhile, five death-row murderers, all at different locations around the world suddenly decided they want to leave their max-security prisons and head for Tokyo.

 

“I want to taste defeat”

Five deadly men that all possess unique skills that they want to test out on Baki, all to find out who is the best.  Once they all arrive at the underground arena, Mitsunari Tokugawa declares the tournament open and the one rule that applies, which is that there are no rules, anytime, anywhere, no situation is off limits. These deadly men will come at Baki and his friends that come to his aid will battle it out over twenty-six episodes as faces are bashed in, limbs and bones are broken, and deadly tools will be used. Can Baki survive this onslaught?

When I first saw Baki, it immediately made me think of the classic anime “Fist of the North Star” with its anime style and they way it is drawn, which is no bad thing in in my book. Baki gives you plenty to go at. It’s big, it’s bold, and it’s brutal.

Baki – Season 1 is available on 3 Disk Blu-ray