Grappler Baki: Saidai Tournament-hen

BIG MEN DOING MAN SHIT returns triumphantly for a second season and there is more man than ever. Baki is peak testosterone fueled fun and it's a joy from beginning to end. Do yourself a favour and don't pass up on this!

This entire season is just a tournament arc and it takes full advantage of that fact and brings forth the best you could expect from something like this. Tons of varied and compelling fighters, each with a unique personality and of course a unique fighting style. The different matches all present something fresh and different and the whole season is engaging throughout. There is ... hard hitting action in basically every episode, the storylines are easy to follow and there is sufficient depth to keep this from being just fighting without any meat on its bones. If you love martial arts, you will also love this, as its chock full of ridiculous love letters to them. Some of these fighters are what I imagine those tai chi/wing chun wankers in China THINK that they look like. In any case, I personally love me some good ol' fashioned martial arts mayhem and this anime scratched that itch bountifully.

Now, this season is not without issues. Firstly, the first season already had its moments when the animation drops the ball, but here you can really feel that the budget was slashed significantly. In the fights themselves, it works well and there are some cool moments, but there are plenty of occasions when the animation is quite lacking. The flashbacks and recaps are back too, so that definitely hurts the pacing. Also, this anime is blessed with one of the worst openings I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing. Piss poor 2001 era Nintendo 64 quality CGI combined with a song that is nothing but nonsensical ingurish lyrics over the most un-catchy and devoid of beat or melody track to ever exist. I have no idea how this thing was approved. If the internet were more popular back then, I'm pretty sure they would've seen the backlash and maybe reverted to the old opening, which I would've been fine with to be completely honest.

In conclusion, Baki is not Berserk, it's not One Piece and it's not Death Note. You don't come here for sophisticated storytelling, deep worldbuilding or deep psychological tension. No, you come to see great fights between massive muscular men brandishing all kinds of martial arts, each pushed to realms of absolute absurdity. Baki knows what it is and what it's supposed to be and delivers on its strengths. While this particular anime suffers from some poor management and budget cuts at times, while its age might put some people off, this is still a thoroughly enjoyable experience worth having. Despite its flaws, this is one my favourite tournament arcs in all of anime, with all the good aspects of a tournament distilled to their purest form. So be the bigger man and give this a watch, I firmly believe you won't regret it.

Grappler Baki II is the second season to the action/shonen show, Grappler Baki.

Story: Well, one interesting aspect about the storyline in this anime is that pretty much all 26 episodes take place in one day. As far as the story itself goes, it's nothing too special, it's just a tournament of 30+ fighters, with some plot twists and flashbacks thrown in to broaden the storyline and characters. Having a tournament in a shonen show is a terribly overused technique, but I cannot refrain myself from admitting that it is a very effective cliche. A tournament is thrilling to watch, since you wonder who will make ... it to the later rounds and who will not. The tourney in Grappler Baki II is, thankfully, not too predictable, so, while the story is a bit bland and uncreative, it is still marginally effective.

Art: It's ok. I'm tempted to simply leave it at that. Character designs are ok, the animation is...ok. Overall, the art department is exceedingly average, not bad not good. The art won't amaze you, but it will not bother you either.

Sound: The soundtrack in the show is done quite well, the songs fit the action well, but towards the end, i found myself wishing for a larger selection of music, since the songs tend to get very repetitve. Pretty much each background piece of music is used in almost every episode at least once. The opening and ending songs were fairly decent in my opinion.

Character: This could have been much worse. There are lots of characters in this anime, and we actually get a decent background about most of them. The problem is that none of them are particularly interesting or genuine, and i found it hard to care for any of the numerous supporting characters. But what about the main cast? Nothing too new, Baki is hellbent on defeating his father, while simultaneously failing to advance an oddly uninteresting romantic subplot that the creators couldn't decide whether to flesh out or not. His father is still a complete bastard, who loves fighting, grinning cockily, and apparently interrupting the tournament whenever he feels like. So, nothing too outstanding in the character department, but again, could have been worse.

Enjoyment: In the end, i had the same basic problem with this season as i did with the previous season. It all just comes down to a bunch of badass looking badasses that fight each other in a badass fashion. It's entertaining to watch, as long as you keep your brain turned off. Admittedly, the fight scenes are well done, but a show can't thrive on just the action segments, it also needs a strong plot and characters, which is the area where Grappler Baki stumbled for me. The show is comparable to an average action film, moderately enjoyable to watch, but rather unimpressive as a complete work. If you are a big fan of shonen shows and action in general, add 2 points to this score, if you have a general dislike for the genre, subtract a couple.

Overall: 6/10

The story in "Maximum Tournament" tracks the story of Baki Hanma, who wants to be best fighter in whole world. The part is about a fighting contest that brings fighters from all around the world to compete. The competition has many fighters with different fight styles, but the story mostly focuses on action and fighting. The anime focuses more on fight excitement than character growth and complicated stories. This might make viewers wish for more complex storytelling.

In "Maximum Tournament," the group of characters are many. It has fighters of all kinds, each with their own fighting skills and ways they act. But, the development of ... characters is not much. Mainly we see their fighting skills instead. People's reasons and stories are looked at a little, but if you want to know more about the characters it may not be enough for you. The fights between fighters and their disagreements keep the story going, focusing on who is best in combat.

The animation is usually just as good as the original show. The best part is the exciting and good-looking fight scenes. The fights are arranged well, showing different styles and ways of martial arts. The way characters are drawn is still unique and powerful. While some have extra big muscles, this style continues to exist. The animation keeps its good quality in action scenes, but sometimes there are some bad parts during non-fight times.

In the fight scenes sound is very important to make it more exciting. The impact of hits, kicks and wrestling moves sounds realistic thanks to good effects. The music in the show goes well with fast action scenes but it's not very special. Sometimes, it gets outshined by fight moments. Just like the first show, having many long fights over and over again can make the music feel repeated.

Overall, "Maximum Tournament" gives more of the exciting and full-on martial arts battles that fans love from this series. The tournament way adds many fighters and fight styles in the show, but it focuses more on action than making up a story or helping characters grow. People who like exciting fight scenes and the competitive nature of martial arts will think this part is fun. People looking for a fuller story experience might find the show doesn't dive deep enough into characters and plot.