Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen

Baki new season just dropped and like always its a wild journey

Story
Baki takes place right after season 1 with baki going to china to enter the Raitai tournament to cure the poisoned. It's differently one hell of a way to end and start a season but with over the top fights and characters it's such a fun bloody journey.
Art
They really went all out on this season no butt ugly cg and each impact of the fights looked painful it's a fun to watch.
Sound
The sound in this anime is great as I said in my art part the fights look painful ... but also sound painful with some exciting music it just makes for a awesome watch.
Ps the opening in this season is by far the best op for baki so far.
Character
The characters in baki are usually all baddasses with a few things to tell them apart with baki he's very respectful to his opponents and won't go looking for a fight unless it's his father. many others of the fighters are also a joy to watch just don't look for anything to deep about them.
Enjoyment
I had a blast watching this I watch all 13 ep when I woke up if you enjoy baki you'll love this season
Overall
9 out of 10

So this will include a spoiler or two so there is that. The last season left us off with Baki going to this tournament to help him recover his fighting spirit. And we continue with the tournament starting and finishing after around 7 episodes.
(Small Spoiler so small it doesn’t matter) when its Baki’s turn to fight he fights against Mr. poison hand man, Baki negates the poison and somehow this helps him in the long run.

This is great an all. An by all means if you like hearing about fighting instead of seeing it then this season/show is definitely for you. During the final fight ... between Yujiro and Kako in the tournament it was about 7 to 5 minutes of fighting And 30 minutes of explanations of fighting, techniques and classic “this guy is not as strong as he looks.

Muhammad Ali Jr. was in this, oh did I mention Muhammad Ali Jr. was in this.
I bet you didn’t know Muhammad Ali Jr. was in this. They go beyond to signify that both Muhammad Ali Jr. and Muhammad Ali are in this. But to the point where there are around 4 episodes surrounding only Muhammad Ali Jr. during those episodes, there were fights so it was entertaining in that sense. But besides that it was lacking. As well as Muhammad Ali Jr. hits on and tries to marry Baki’s girlfriend.

The ending song was probably the best part about the sound, and the only credit I can give to it. In one episode when Baki is jogging, the sound of him stepping isn’t synched to the animation, and made me physically cringe hearing it.

The characters are the typical ones you could expect from a fighting anime, they fight and explain things that happen. Most of them are from previous seasons too so they are already known. Does that mean they are the best characters created, no it does not.

I didn’t like this, I got bored after the tournament and on the 12th episode I got excited again because it hints at Baki fighting his father, finally. And in the episodes prior it was Baki fighting none other than Muhammad Ali Jr. which was not exciting like it was hyped up to be.

The art is the typical style for Baki, a fast blur to make it seem like it was inhuman. It’s not necessarily bad I like it for this kinda style, but it makes some of the characters look as if they don’t know what’s happening, and or have a dumb look on their face when they don’t mean too.

Also the tournament takes place over the span of one day.

I wrote notes as I was watching and I stopped after the tournament because there was nothing else to take note of. If you like surprises and interesting fighting styles then hey this might be for you. If you like long drawn out explanations about those fighting styles and the people using them then again this is for you. But I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and wouldn’t tell people openly I watched it even though I am.

I will say this to defend Baki, the fights were entertaining no matter how dumb or slow they took. Each was unique to an extent where it didn’t seem old and already used. The techniques introduced are new and interesting they are just talked about a lot.

Ok that’s it, overall I gave this anime a 5.

If you liked Baki before you will probably still like this one to get ready to see the next season.

The team that made baki 2018 really learn from there mistakes from the convicts arc and showed it in this season of baki, the art, animation and sound is 100x better than it was in the first season with no cgi at all and an amazing op, Ed and and ost with even more songs than before, this season was amazing with the amount of improvment from the last season, but let me actually tell you what I think of each arc

Raitai tournament arc: 8.5/10
This arc is easily one of my favourite arcs in all of baki, i won't deny the fact that some of ... the kaioh's that were hyped up so much and then proceed to get battered was very annoying, the level of detail and animation made me enjoy it a lot more than i did reading the manga, and when there was a good fight, the fight was always top tier, and kaku vs yujiro is easily God tier and a contender for anime fight of the year, the characters if I have to be honest, aren't that good, kaku, jyaku and the guy that fought Oliva in the 2nd round (sorry forgot his name) were probably the most likeable new characters, nobody else was really that likeable, in short this arc has the best action in the whole series yet what was holding it back was some disappointing fights

Muhammad Ali Jr arc: 5/10
In my opinion the arc isn't good, it was a lot more enjoyable than it was in the manga, Muhammad Ali Jr is just a crazy simp and itagaki took the piss considering how his dad is one of the best characters he could have been an even better character but itagaki wasted the opportunity to do so and never used him in the story again, weirdly even though I don't like his character I would have loved for him to come back again as long as he gets a polnareff level character development, the fight scenes are decent and the last one was very disappointing, but what I loved the most was the ending, yujiro finally decides to take baki seriously and both baki and yujiro get ready to battle it out. Overall this arc wasn't good but the anime done it a lot better than the manga which saved me from giving it a lower score

Tokyo revenge episode: 6/10, not much to say about the episode, personally I think it was pretty good special, it isn't the best thing ever but it was good, unfortunately I doubt any of the convicts will come back since the Tokyo revenge arc hasn't came out in the manga or been confirmed to be coming out

Overall it was a good season and I can see the guys who made this animating an anime for koukou tekkenden tough or fist of the North star, the amount of improvement from season 1 to this season is insane and I 100% recommend watching this season, now i am really excited for son of ogre/hanma baki to be animated

Honestly It baffles me how many people thought this was a good season. I already had a bunch of things that I dislike regarding the first season, but honestly this one is just plain worse in every step of the way.

Not going about too many spoilers, first there's this tournament, that gets all hyped up and delivers basically nothing. Just the main characters fighting a bunch of random "kaioh masters" that get defeated very anti-climatic. Then there are the episodes regarding Mohamed Junior that seems to be getting to a point, and barely makes a point at all. When we finally get to the fight ... in question, it lasts 3 seconds. And the end is just pathetic.

This entire season doesn't have a SINGLE well-built climatic exciting fight. They ALL are simply boring, yet they want to be more than what they are, they try to show as something serious and solemn. The drinking of 10 liters os water with glucose; the teardrop that HEALS the poison in the character's body all of a sudden, as well as a bunch of other stupid things... Is just plain bad, guys. If you want to watch a reasonably good anime like this go watch Kengan Ashura, which has a lot of issues but is actually better in every aspect.

Completed Baki Part 3 11:10PM 5 Jun 2020 - Review contains minor spoilers

If we take Baki Part 3 (Season 2) at face value and compare it to its prequel, I think it was inferior in every aspect possible. In this recently released part, we mostly see through Mohammed Alai Jr, the son of the former legendary boxing champion Mohammed Alai which is one of the main reasons why this part didn't connect as well as the original story line did...

Story: 6/10
When fans are excited for a sequel of their favorite anime series, it becomes a make or break decision whether a sequel maintains the ... hype from its prequel or fails to meet a shred of that hype. I was extremely excited for the sequel of Baki, I binged it for my own personal satisfaction but I did notice a few details in the plot that aren't as attractive as the first season. Firstly, Season 2 takes on a unique view point of Mohammed Alai Jr - the son of former legendary boxing champion Mohammed Alai who has made it his main goal to pursue victory against Baki. At first, this is not the case as we see Baki attend the Raitai Tournament where he finds the cure for his poison (from the previous part) as well as joining forces with his abusive father to fight against the past Raitai Tournament contestants. Around episode 6-11 we are more or less in the shoes of Mohammed Alai Jr who is in love with Baki's girlfriend. Love affairs and unique point of views are basically all that part 3 has to offer in terms of plot progression and shock value, not many scenes involved Baki being a badass or progressing the plot through himself so this part seems a bit redundant but it was still as entertaining as it was at surface level.

Art: 7/10
Baki is known for its clean and graphic art style, so much so it compromises with animation to compensate. This design choice can be a good and a bad decision: it is good because it has extremely badass action scenes and the attention to detail is managed on a frame-to-frame basis. However, it can be bad because in order to compensate for the clean and highly detailed art style there are quite a lot of stills that pan across the screen or have a still subject and moving background. I would have preferred to have an average art style but fluid animation comparable to UFOTABLE produced series.

Sound: 7/10
No qualms about sound.

Character: 8/10
Character development is probably one of the greatest points of the series, especially in part 3 where the premise may still be in development as we see Baki face his old man Yuujirou. In terms of character development, Baki Part 3 did well - the features I mentioned in the plot section of this review as a bad way to manage plot progression throughout the 13 episodes contributed to developing Baki as a character. The love affair as well as the deep development of Mohammed Alai Jr helped to make Baki grow much more powerful over a shorter span of time. I am a bit concerned because this season saw very little physical involvement of Baki apart from the beginning and a few scenes here and there but overall it makes sense to add suspense.

Overall: 7/10
I feel this series is deserving of a 7/10, after all the hype dies down surrounding the release of part 3 the overall rating will also become tame (so far around 7.70) If Baki had more involvement in the series it would have been a nice watch but seeing him less reminds me of the failure of One Punch Man Season 2 where Saitama got 3 notable scenes fighting villains in the entire second season.

[SPOILER WARNING]

Baki was one of the first animes that I watched, but I soon dropped it. After giving it another try after watching Baki the Grappler, I very much enjoyed it. Unfortunately, almost all of the things I enjoyed about the first season are no longer present in the second. In hindsight, I wish i kept Baki dropped, or at least stopped after the first season. I will state my major problems with the second season, which is where the spoiler warning will come into play.

First: The Raitai Tourney
This tournament was set up to be spectacular, but did not live up to it (to me). ... Firstly, the major problem coming into this season was Baki being poisoned. Him being cured right away dispels any notion that he was really in danger. Secondly, most of the fights aren't very unique, and are massively one sided. Even the biggest challenger her, Sea Emperor Kaku, was set up to pose a threat to Yujiro, but was such a pussy that he literally died during the fight and claimed that he "didn't lose." Ok, whatever dude. Keep trying to be profound when you're really just a twat. Even when the tourney ended, I expected them to keep going. While it was a team battle, it was a tourney first, and I expected the remaining winners to fight each other, but it simply ended. Raitai Tournament - disappointing.

Second: Muhammad Ali Jr.
I very much liked Junior when he was first introduced. I thought having the son of Muhammad Ali as a main character was quite strange, but I liked him regardless. It's a shame, because he turned out to be such a shallow and weak character. Baki the Grappler had characters who appeared to be shallow, when in fact they were not, such as Jack and Igari. Junior, however, was cocky, arrogant, and hypocritical. These do not make him a bad character. However, he does not change. He sticks to these traits as if they were great morals. However, after getting his ass pounded by numerous fighters who were all inferior to Baki, he still believes that he even has the right to challenge the champion. Even when he loses, he cries as if to make it seem like he believed he was going to win. An annoying moment was when multiple experienced characters proclaimed that Junior would beat Baki, making me question their own sanity. The author wrote that to make the audience believe Baki is an underdog going into this fight, when in actuality anyone who has seen what he has done wouldn't believe that crap. And why did he want to fight Baki so badly? It was for 2 reasons: to be the strongest and to win Kozue. The first is a stupid reason because everyone knows that Yujiro is stronger than Baki. In fact, in Baki the Grappler, everyone wanted to fight Yujiro, not his son. So Junior is essentially fighting Baki over a hollow title, revealing his own shallowness. Second is Kozue. This right here was what really sunk the show for me. Junior seems to want to provoke Baki into fighting him, so he goes after Baki off the fighting grounds, and challenges him for Kozue. He asks to marry her and continues seeing her afterwards. As a man, no as a person who tries to do the right thing, I can say that this is a super shitty way to get someone to fight you especially after Baki revealed Kozue belongs to no one. Its just shitty. You know she is dating Baki and you ask to marry her and try to convince her to go out with you? He said he thought she was the most beatiful person he knew, and he had only met her twice, without much conversation. Superficial and fraudulent. This is a fighting anime, why am I writing about the romance aspect? Why does anyone care about the romance in an anime where people beat the crap out of each other? Why was this such an integral part of the show? Seriously, fuck this guy. The best part of season 2 was when he got his ass handed to him 5 times in a row.

Third: Kozue
Oh brother! Kozue was actually a very good character when first introduced and in the previous season. She was an individual character, more than simply a side piece to Baki, even though she was only seen with him. They also seemed to have a deep connection, and "true love." She supported him when she disagreed with him, and she stuck by him all the time, even when he was weak and dying. I wish someone would explain to me why this "true love" of theirs is so weak that she almost dumps Baki for a person she had met twice. Ali Jr., the boy with insatiable yellow fever, who stated he despises Baki, only likes her for her looks, and only asked her to marry him to get to Baki in the first place, was somehow charming enough that she entertained him. She consistently went out with him after he proclaimed that they would get together, which was straight disloyal to Baki. On top of that, not once did she outright deny him or reject his advances. She said "no!" when he kissed her, but she still continued to see him. She also told him not to expect anything more than just a friend, but (and I may be reaching here), this can also mean that she would get with him, it would simply be unexpected. By the end of the season, it seemed like she was not even with Baki anymore. She was going out with Junior far more often than Baki, she seemed to be upset when Baki was beating the crap out of him, and she actually told Baki she was going home alone and went to console Junior. When i was watching the first season, I saw a few people online who very much disliked her, and were glad she disappears in the manga. Now I understand why.

Fourth: Point of View
Like I said earlier, Kozue was going out quite often with Junior. In fact, after the Raitai Tournament, we almost exclusively see the story from Junior's point of view. At what point did the show stop being called "Baki" and became "Junior"? Did I previously watch "Baki the Grappler" or did I watch "Muhammad Ali, Jr. the Grappler"? I have seen this same criticism of Hajime no Ippo, yet there it was Ippo's gym partner and friend, Takamura, with Ippo still showing up frequently and having a claim to being the main character. Here, Baki almost disappears from the second half of the show, to what? Show a guy who gets his ass whooped by the guy who got HIS ass whooped by the MC back in 2001? Baki is not a great MC, but he is far better than whatever that was.

Fifth: Final Thoughts
An anime I previously watched was Rising of the Shield Hero. In that anime, bad things continually happen to the MC, which is set up for him to overcome these things and turn them on their head. The second season of Baki is written as if you asked a preschooler to writer the same story, but with a different characters and a different setting, all in Mandarin. And the child is a white kid from America who doesn't even know that Mandarin exists. The show got me worked up and angry over what should be minor parts of the show, only to let me know at the end that this show was not worth watching. Some anime you watch for a message, to feel profound or something, and some you watch to be entertained. Baki is the second. Shows like Gurren Lagann, Hunter X Hunter, Overlord, and the first season of Baki all do this (to varying degrees of success). In the first season of Baki, we saw numerous characters that we knew faced with new ones, and all of them beat the shit out of each other in brutal and grotesque ways. In the downtime between fights, we saw the main character and his first love go through a heartwarming relationship and growth. Even in episodes 25-48 of Baki the Grappler, we saw nonstop action, with Baki and Kozue beginning to enter a relationship with each other for the first time. This formula is not genius level, but it works. Why deviate from this to give an action show with mediocre action, where the last half of the show if about a shitty love triangle, and the most important part of the triangle isn't even there! Dude! What the fuck were you thinking when you wrote this crap! I've never written an actual review before, but this made me so angry I had to. It is not pretentious garbage like Devilman Crybaby (I know that is an unpopular opinion), so why did it aspire to be like that? My time is wasted, and my day is ruined.

I don't expect anyone to read this, but if you are and managed to read all of this nonsense, or skimmed it, feel free to send me hate mail, complain, and even agree. Or not.

Allow me to just say a couple of things before I get started:
1) the original Baki from 2001 is still the best;
2) Netflix continues to stain Baki's legacy and the sequel is actually worse than last season.


Animation:
1) incredibly inconsistent and CGI usage is cringy. The characters' bodies change in the middle of fighting (ex: Yujiro's devil back muscles disappear and reappear at will; Baki's body proportions; etc.)
2) it's 2020. It's about time we see movement in fights rather than random lazer beams. Hajimo no Ippo is also an old school anime with a rough art style and managed to update its ... visuals while maintaining its visual style.
3) Chest without nipples, regardless of gender, will always look weird


Sound:
1) I hated the OP but enjoyed the ED
2) the soundtrack is pretty good overall
3) sound effects make no sense: whenever a wooden door is smashed, it sounds the exact same as when you smash a window.
4) the script that seiyuus follow do not match the animation (ex: a character is laughing but visually, it looks like they're talking regularly)


Story and characters:
1) Similar to last season, Netflix still can't produce accurate subtitles.
2) The fights' predictability make them unsatisfying to watch
3) SPOILER: last season, it was clearly stated that Muhammad Ali is the real great late boxing champion Muhammad Ali in real life. Someone still thought it would be a great idea to have a BOXING athlete to be concerned over someone sitting down in the middle of the ring. I'm pretty sure that knowing that boxing is only practiced when both athletes are standing upwards is common knowledge. This piece of plot would've been fine if they just thought of a famous MMA fighter instead.
4) SPOILER: on the 3rd episode, there's this guy sucking on a piece of candy during his match. Eventually, he's forced to spit it out. A couple of events later, another character enters the arena, picks up the dirty ass candy piece (it was even visually dirty), licks it up and feeds it to the 1st guy. This scene was just plain disgusting for no good reason. The same point could be made by having the same guy give a brand new piece of candy to the other dude. I almost threw up.
5) SPOILER ABOUT THE ENDING: everything about the ending is stupid, disgusting and insulting. Junior's strategy is to provoke jealousy so Baki fights him, going as far as telling Kozue that her job is being (someone's) woman. The entire thing from start to finish is cringe. Baki's response and philosophy to Junior's plan is correct (something along the lines of "Kozue is a free woman and she's free to date whover she wants") but Junior still goes on this insane idea that if he defeats Baki, then Kozue will develop feelings for him. The next few episodes are about Junior's challenging characters from last season in one poor attempt at nostalgia that ultimately ends up with him having his limbs, feet, hands and fingers broken. Yet, Netflix still thought it would be exciting and entertaining to watch a close-to-paraplegic man to be beaten up to a pulp. Eventually, Baki accepts to fight Junior but only if he's fully recovered and in his top shape (contradicting every character that beat up Junior before). This fight lasted 3 seconds. So much "hype", so much blood, sweat and tears to get this "fight for the woman" and it ends in 3 seconds. However, Baki doesn't waste time celebrating an easy win and challenges Yujiro. Yujiro gets so excited to the point that Netflix decides to punch every viewer in the gut by pushing a "THE END" screen on the 12th episode. But there are 13 episodes, right? Yes, unfortunately. The 13th episode is a "special" that last 24 minutes and it's about the police officer investigating the Death Row inmates from last season. Does it sound interesting? It's because it's not and I'm furious with whoever is in charge of this Netflix adaptation. Oh and here's a bonus: Kozue leaves Baki alone after a stupid 3 word conversation after challenging Yujiro for a fight, runs into Junior and both hug it out crying. Kozue used to be the best character in the entire Netflix adaptation and now there are no good characters left. Great job, Netflix. Great job!


Overall, this sequel is a 5/10 for me and I honestly would not recommend any of the Netflix series to anyone, regardless if they're major fans of Baki or not.

Spoiler Free

NETFLIX GOOD JOB !!! i watched the original BAkI years ago and after years of waiting i lost hope in a second season long ago. The fights are awesome , for an action anime this is a must watch

Story

Different from the usual action anime in a good way . Many plot twists and suspense.

art
Netflix did a good job in animating but not the best at least they did not try any CGI this season.
...
Character

the growth of characters are outstanding . Even minor characters have incredible growth.

WARNING!!!!!!
It ends in a cliff hanger. watch at your own risk

It's very good. I liked the first season and let me tell you this one is like a better version.

Story could be better, the last episode kinda makes up for it.

There is a second half coming later in the year so this is only for the first half.

Animations are super nice and no more of those first season BS. Sound is great, all in all a enjoyable start of the season.

I'm kinda worried about them not giving us the finale in this season and doing it in the 3rd season.

TL;DR, So far exceeded my expectations lets hope for a great 2nd half.

Baki 2nd season i believe is a step in the right direction in terms of the animation for the series,i quite honestly believe that if it continues to improve from season to season that it might get up there with one punch man,but as it is,it leaves a foul taste,sometimes when the characters are supposed to be walking or moving,the whole thing is so poorly done that it looks like they are walking in place.

Art style

Is in my opinion very good,i love the harsh black outline that depict's the harsh reality the characters are in and have to live in,but on the other hand it ... sometimes looks janky,but if we can keep this style and improve the animation in the season to come,it would be quite amazing,as it is now,its really good,but because we have this good art style,the animation quality suffers.

Story

To be honest,whoever comes into baki and expects a tightly written story,with 0 inconsistencies and plot holes,really missed the show he should be watching,that being said,the story is okay enough,its noting groundbreaking,and in my opinion the only saving grace here is Muhammad Ali Jr's arc,which in itself wasn't perfect and could have been done better.

Enjoyment

I had lots of fun watching this,all of the fights felt unique and at the very least they were all insane fun to watch,but i think that baki season 1 had more interesting fights

The main issue here

Its probably the length of the season,i feel as tho the ending was rushed,Muhammad's arc felt too short and rushed,the whole tournament felt rushed,i think a solid 24 episode's would have done great justice here and would have made for a much better season.

Overall

All in all this season is okay,if you love baki,you are gonna like this season,but i feel like we need something better,i think Baki deserves better,i would very much like to see improved animation quality and just overall presentation in the next season,the only reason im even giving a 8 is because i love this series but more importantly i want too support the anime with a good score to get another season.

Now that was absurd.

Finally after 2 years Baki made a return in the form of an anime. Luckily it continues straight from where we left but there is a small recap in the first episode. TMS went all out on this since there is no PS2 grade cgi but since the character models are complex the animation is not the greatest thing on planet Earth.

Story: The story is about the Great Raitai Tournament which is a tournament held every century or something like that. In said tournament 10 Sea Kings fight for the title or Sea Emperor. Sea Kings are just very amazing martial ... artists. In this tournament 3 outsiders also competed and they are Baki Hanma, Yuijiro Hanma and Mohammed Ali Jr. Later on it evolved into a 5v5 between the Chinese martial arts and outsiders consisting of Yujiro Hanma, Biscuit Oliva, Jaku Kaioh, Baki Hanma and Mohammed Ali Jr. The fights between them were quite interesting if I may say so myself. There were long ones and quite short ones. Then after the tournament Mohammed Ali Jr wanted to marry Kozue and it evolved into Ali Jr vs Baki Hanma. The last episode was just following the police and checking on the Death Row Inmates.

Characters: Mostly they are the exact same as last time. But I think Oliva returned a bit sassier. There were some new ones Like Kaku Kaioh who is 146 years old and a master martial artist who is quite sassy as well. Jaku is fucking hilarious. He looks like a hipsters, is strong and wants to recruit strong fighters from the tournament to train the Japanese youth. Ron the badman is a underground fighter who looks like a younger version of Don Vito Corleone from the Godfather. He is strong and loves the hand-pocket stance. Then we have Shunsei Kaku who was way overhyped. He is not much but I guess he just is there. He is Kaku Kaiohs son.

Ost: Quite frankly, it is good. The background music is amazing as usual, there are some new banger themes here and there. The opening is super addictive and well animated, of course GRANDRODEO made a return from the first season. The ending was also quite nice.

Not gonna lie this season was quite the improvement. The fights were better animated and luckily there was not any cgi used during the fights, Of course Baki as usual was quite blood and very absurd. I don't know if that is a good thing or not.

I recommend checking this out if you like Baki.

Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen is a Japanese anime series that follows the story of Baki Hanma, a young man who aspires to be the strongest fighter in the world. The anime is a continuation of the Baki series and focuses on the upcoming "Great Raitai Tournament Saga," which brings together the strongest fighters from around the world to compete in a brutal tournament.

From the very first episode, I was immediately drawn into the show's intense action and high-stakes battles. The animation quality is impressive, with fluid movements and dynamic fight scenes that are sure to get your heart pumping. The show's emphasis on martial arts and ... combat sports is a refreshing change of pace from the usual anime fare, and the characters are well-developed and engaging.

The anime explores themes of perseverance, dedication, and the pursuit of excellence. The characters face intense physical and mental challenges, pushing themselves to their limits in order to achieve their goals. The show's use of realistic fighting techniques and strategies adds to the intensity of the battles and makes the fights feel all the more impactful.

Although the show may not be everyone's cup of tea, I would highly recommend it to fans of action and martial arts anime. Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen is a thrilling ride from start to finish, with intense battles and engaging characters that keep you hooked throughout. If you're a fan of anime that push the boundaries of physical and mental endurance, then Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen is definitely worth checking out.

There's some good things about this anime but there's also some very glaring flaws. If you enjoy fantasy/adventure with a fighting atmospere I say go for it but if you're expecting epic fight scenes and satisfying character growth and depth you're much better off watching something else (I'd suggest Kenichi at least).

It definitely has it's enjoyable parts mostly at building up to fights between a protagonist and antagonist along with some great brief explanations of techniques being used and the feats accomplished by the opponents. The animation creates a tense atmosphere and has some ... fairly interesting damage taken by characters. If you don't know much about martial arts or the limits of the human body then you might not even notice the bad parts I'm about to mention next. In that case I'd say just go watch it and decide for yourself.
On the other hand. I'd say this is more a fantasy rather than a martial arts anime since during each fight a protagonist has some insurmountable magical ability or technique that gives them an inescapable edge and so the result is a fore gone conclusion and there's no way they could have ever lost that fight. At best there's a quick haphazard summary of what's happening. At worst the badass characters that got built up for sometimes several episodes get knocked out in one hit and without landing a single hit or even throwing a single attack. That's just unrealistic and in any real fight it's a close back and forth battle until someone makes a crucial mistake that the other capitalises on.

Netflix Baki season 2 is the second season of the new Baki funded by Netflix, it continues directly after its predecessor, and has two arcs the great Raitai tournament, and the Muhammad Ali Jr. arc, plus the revenge tokyo episode where we find out what happened with the death row convicts. It tells the story of Baki Hanma participating in the Raitai tournament in order to find a cure for his poison, along the way he fights strong foes and gets stronger, same goes for his friends. This season is ultimately better than the first one, but it has a lot of major flaws like ... how Netflix Baki has started this trend where all the fights are like 2-6 six minutes max, i miss the og baki series where fights mattered more and were longer. Next up how Baki recovered from the poison, mans recovered through the power of fighting, love and and by drinking water with sugar, like cmon I know its Baki, but still Netflix Baki season 1 and 2 completely threw out logic and sense out the window. Third the Raitai arc is great and all, had some pretty cool battles here and there, but imo it is unecessary, you guys could have made a better arc. The arc about Muhammad Ali Jr is really bad, straight out the bat this man is arrogant af, mans deserved to get his ass beat hella times, mans arc consisted of him getting his ass whooped hella times, I don't like him but hey if you guys are going to make an arc focused on him atleast make it great, mans literary only won two fights then got his ass whooped by everybody including the two people he beat before, his arc is also executed really badly, if you're going to make him a centerpiece for an arc at least make him look good or likeable, but no he comes off as an arrogant asshole and a fucking crybaby, he ain't no player at all jeez. A positive about this anime tho is the op and the ed are really good, the fight scenes while shorter are better animated and better than in season 1 we don't get some freaking CGI fight scenes that look like ass anymore, great job guys you fixed the animation problem. I really liked the Revenge Tokyo episode, I just felt like it was misplaced, doesn't work as a final episode for me, maybe showing it before the Ali Jr arc might have turned out better, while the episode was good and the inmates are training again, they probably gonna get smashed again tho for real, plus they were executed really badly in the previous season, which is a shame since they were really interesting characters that I really liked, its too bad that they did em dirty like that.


Pros:
-Great OP and ED
-Better quality fight scenes, better animated as well
-Revenge Tokyo episode is great
-Baki finally challenging Yujiro again is honestly hype AF but hopefully they don't mess it up like they did everything else.


Cons:-
-Lackluster Arcs
-Bullshit and cheesy way of Baki recovery
-Muhammad Ali as a character, and how thrash his arc is
-Shorter fight scenes
-Raitai tournament could have gone better
-Misplacement of Tokyo Revenge episode as a final episode


Overall Netflix Baki season 2 is better than the first season, but not by a large margin in fact by a really slim one, I liked the fight scenes better despite being shorter, the Raitai arc is okay at best could have gone better, but it is what it is, once again fight scenes are a lot shorter, but thats just how Netflix Baki does things, The Muhammad Ali Jr arc was asscheeks, the revenge Tokyo episode was sick, but not well placed, doesn't work as a final episode, and the main reason why I liked it better than season 1, better animation in fight scenes, plus greater soundtrack. I give Netflix Baki season 2 a 7/10 as my overall anime rating.

Baki is back reminding everyone that it is the absolute, unrefuted, number one KING of mindless fighting in anime. Fight scenes galore (although some of them were kind of short) and completely ridiculous feats of strength, speed, and skill. If you liked Baki 2018 you’re going to like Baki 2020.

Tl;dr Baki 2020 is a continuation of the Baki 2018, so much so you’d seriously wonder why there was a 2-year gap between the two seasons. It's so similar in fact it's so much alike that most of the parts of this review is ripped straight out of my last one.
...
--Minor spoilers below--

Story 5 Arguably its weakest point

In all honesty, I feel like I should give this a lower score, there’s honestly not much in terms of story AT ALL. But I also feel like it doesn’t really matter since the show doesn’t NEED a story either. That being said, compared to baki 2018 the surprise element is pretty much gone, they’ll match up some bozo who’s greatest feat is akin to lifting up a large rock vs the man who could probably throw cars for a living. They also buffed the main character (Baki) so much that ALMOST every fight with him in it ends in about two seconds. There was a weird side plot near the end but at the end of the day, who cares what the story is like when the action is the main focal point.

Art 7

In baki 2018, ironically enough, the still images were probably the worst part of the art in the show. It’s the exact same thing here but somehow the still shots are even worse (looking at you, Ogre), the animation stays relatively consistent (which is a feat in its own right if you look at the original manga.) but doesn’t feel like enough of an upgrade to call is “better” or “worse” than Baki 2018

Sound 10

Literally the same as Baki 2018 (again cementing the confusion on why there was a two-year gap between these different seasons). I’ll just leave this here: “part of the reason why every hit felt genuine was the sound, from fracturing bone to explosions, everything had a certain weight behind it that I really can’t properly explain”

Character 6

The characters this season feel like a huge downgrade from last season we were introduced to a couple of characters, out of about 12 of them, 7 of them were completely worthless and out of the 4 that managed not to embarrass themselves two were pitted against Baki and were annihilated in a few seconds and another two were pitted against someone else and… you guessed it, annihilated (however one of them managed to put up a decent fight). Finally, Kaku Katoh, who was one of the coolest in the season finally made an appearance, I’d probably give the “Character” tag a 5 or a 6 if it wasn’t for him. I’m just a huge fan of Kaku Kaioh lol.

Enjoyment: 8 Dumb fun

Baki is the true TOURNAMENT ARC anime and I LOVE it for that. <--Even more so since 8 episodes of this was one large TOOOOOOOURNAMENT AAAAAAARRRRCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overall: I really wish I could give 7.5s but I’ll round it down to a 7

Again, there’s not much else to say except: “wow, this show is fun to watch”

After the release of the first season I had high hopes for this adaption of Baki, however, while it is a great adaption- its a far cry from the first season. I have 3 key points to pick at.

First off the fights, the art was crisp and direct exactly like the manga, I wasn't at all disappointed, but the commentary- the commentary was disgusting, I hope they know that most anime watchers aren't blind, I don't need a screeching voice drowning out the action and screaming "Ryujin this" "Ryujin that" every damn second. The narrator was as good as always

Secondly the pacing, while the pacing ... seemed fine at first they seemed to have shortened the fights out quite a bit but its overall fine.

Finally the characters, we finally see development in Baki and not side characters! The character of Mohammad Ali Jr is way to cocky in the anime compared to the manga.
Overall I am not disappointed but the announcer in the arena pissed me off enough to throw my remote into the wall.

i wana say, i love baki.
the fighting and unique odd-ball chraraters going head-to-head is awsome.
i love baki's father as a charater and how he is esablished, and baki's gole to beat him.


i think it was grate that the animtion team dropped the 3D in this half of the show ( was prob the worst part of the first season).

most of the charaters are awsome! (esspesally the inmates)

and its sad, i wana love this arc of baki but muhammad ali jr. involvment was WAYYY to much!, it would be fine if he was in the show to fight baki or just ... be in the tournament or whatever but the amount of time they focus on him is overboard! no to mention they prise him and his dad at every moment they have. its also un-realistic MAjr. goes up with these crazy strong fighters and hold his own, BS!!!!!!

ALSO, they try to make him a pinnacle charater!!!! with his love triangle with baki and his GF at this point i have never been so angry with the direction of a show in my life, i was so angry i acually had to turn off the tv!....... not to mention the "parallels" they try to hint at with both familys (again its just un-realistic and unesssary)

they could have spent more to developing other charaters. honestly, i dont mind baki using real-world ppl in the show but dont obsess over them!

ive heard that MAjr.'s is basically forgotten about later (GOOD! I HOPE SO)

looking forward to next season hopfully they dont do this agian

i wana restate teh fights carry the show my fav was baki's father vs. the old man but OMG PLAESE DONT BRING BACK MAJR. OR HIS FATHGER I DONT CARE ABOUT THEM PLASES!!!!!!!! I BEG YOU PLASES!!!!!!!

I WANA LIKE THIS SHOW!!!!!!!!!!

Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen

After the very tough but amusing Convicts arc, we actually got a sequel to everyone's surprise. After the relatively poor results of the new Baki 2016 series, I didn't expect it to stay alive, thank God I was wrong.

This next season is all about Baki's recovery after being poisoned and the 4000-year-old traditions of the 4000-year-old Chinese Raitasai Tournament which is held every 100 years. Hoping that 4000-year-old Chinese martial arts and broken bones can heal Baki, Retsu Kaioh kidnaps the dying Baki to save him.

Now comes the most important point, if you are not a Baki fan "yet" or the ... show has not convinced you yet, then you should draw a line here. Baki won't change much and every season has the same weak points. This series is only for people who can do something with it and are seduced by its bizarre silliness.

[Story 2]

And also here the anime presents us with what it is capable of. Namely, to show mind-bogglingly bizarre fights in which the opponents crash into each other without any significant context and break all their bones double and triple. As before, Baki has enormously slow pacing and some episodes feel like an eternity.

The plot itself is non-existent, as it's just a tournament arc from start to finish, and there's likewise no depth behind the enemies. They are 4000-year-old Chinese punching bags that are just to show how "cool" the underdog team is. The only interesting fight was between Yujiro and the Chinese monster Kaku Kaioh but that's about it, this climax was just average.


[Characters 3]

They are still the same characters and they are still massively linear and monotonous. Their only character trait is that they are Badass and have infinite blood.

And Yujiro.

[Music 6 / Animation 5]

In terms of animation, this season has improved and finally reached the average you would want to see. Unfortunately, the pacing ensures that the fights are nonetheless far too slow. And the narration is a disaster.

Musically, the intro is well done, as are the soundtracks. Especially the one by Yujiro.



[Conclusion 4]

Again, this season doesn't manage to come close to being average. Baki may be likable and occasionally amusing but has almost no qualities aside from that. It's a simple fan-service-oriented fighting anime/manga which can only hold people through personal tastes. And that works at least well enough for me to still enjoy reading the manga.

[Enjoyment 5]

I'm a big fan of the Baki series but I was very disappointed with this season. As far as tournaments arc go this was a really short tournament arc not helped by the hype and build up to it as the most prestigious tournament ever featuring the best practitioners of Chinese martial arts in the world. There's a lot of padding and anti-climatic fights in the anime.

Also I know it's a Japanese manga so natural bias is normal but they really crap on Chinese representatives apart from Retsu and Kaio Kaku everyone else got decimated and not even close to the threat level of ... the convicts in the previous season.

The fight choreography and animation was never what the Baki series has been known for, but was always more known for being crazy and ridiculous. Those over the top moments were the highlight in this arc too, I just wish it had more compelling adversaries for Baki & Co to face.

A Classic Continuation For This Solid Original Anime

Netflix’s bloody, bone-crunching, steroidal original anime Baki returns today, with another 13 half-hour episodes devoted to pugilism and family drama in all its many complex forms. Whether this is Season 3 or Part 3 or whatever seems to be undecided on by virtually everyone, but no matter — the run of episodes is collected under the helpful subtitle The Great Ratai Tournament Saga, and that gives away virtually everything you need to know about it.

Yes, Baki Season 3 — that’s what we’re going with — adopts the classic setup of a martial arts tournament, this one held in ... China as a once-every-hundred-years affair as China’s noble “Sea Kings” defend the country’s honour against foreign invaders. A ministry presides over the whole affair, and it’s a pleasure to watch their dismayed reactions as the show’s foreign martial masters consistently whoop the home team as they go about their own complicated interpersonal dramas.

Despite being named after the 17-year-old fighting pride of Japan, Baki is consistent about developing other characters — as it to prove the point, in The Great Ratai Tournament Saga, Baki doesn’t even get into a scrap until the second episode. And even then it’s a redemptive affair since he’s severely emaciated and spewing blood after early developments left him cripplingly poisoned. Nobody, especially not his girlfriend Kozue, wanted Baki to fight in the tournament, but he had no choice since his father, Yujiro, also decided to compete.

Lots of time is also spared for Mohammad Alai Jr., son of a rip-off whose hybrid boxing/MMA style he believes he has perfected. Bundled up in this character is a raw enthusiasm for the martial arts and the history of combat sports that continues to be reflected in the entire show, with a varied range of fighting styles being lovingly displayed in the over-the-top but well-realized animation. This is nothing new, obviously, since previous parts had a similar if less formal structure, but it’ll delight fans all the same.

And that’s what matters, isn’t it? Baki could never be said to be a sophisticated anime, but it is a fun and reliably enjoyable one, especially for fans of martial arts and over-the-top action. There’s a pretty simple way of determining how into this latest installment you’ll be. In the first fight of the tournament, a man gets his face ripped off. Sounds good? Then enjoy the show.

8/10 same like the first season but a bit better :)