Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen

Roleply scenario: I am enjoying the show and then the show ends.

[Action!]

Am watching the show.

"I really like this show."

Ending happens.

... "I really dislike this show."

[And scene.]



Ahem, This show was very entertaining for the most part. I enjoyed a lot of the fights, and for the most part I enjoyed everything else. What I did not enjoy was the ending. The ending felt like this show was a huge waste of time, and a huge waste of time it was. I simply cannot reccomend watching this show untill the next season is released, if such a thing even happens that is. It ends in a horrible way. It sets something up, and then gives you a middle finger and says "lol, we got lazy and didn't feel like ending it in a satisfying way whatsoever."

The next season of BIG MEN DOING MAN SHIT is here and it's another tournament arc! Time for some epic action, some bizarre fighting styles and some dramatic conclusions.

If you've gotten this far into Baki, you should really know what to expect and this season is more than happy to deliver on that. There are some awesome fights, some outrageous macho nonsense and just like in the previous tournament, this one is used to showcase a variety of wild and unique fighting styles (HANDO POKETTO!). The gore has been cranked up even further with some extra vile moments being shown. The CGI is also mostly ... gone and now the fights are actually animated properly, hooray! Also, the whole season is worth it just for the clash between Yujiro and the old guy. That was some damn amazing shit!

Beyond that, the season is pretty short and there aren't too many story moments. It's kind of just a bit of fun to move us to the next phase of the story. The Muhammed Alai Jr. stuff was a bit weird, but when I dwelled on it a bit, I kind of get why everything happened the way it did. I just hope that if and when I someday read the Baki manga, I don't find out that a lot of content has been cut or something.

Also, why is the opening with Indian music? This season takes place in CHINA. Did Granrodeo misread the memo or something?!?

But anyway, this is good fun, delivered the way only Baki can. If you loved what you've seen in the various Baki animes so far, you will like this too as it's generally just more of the same. And that same is MEN! AND I LOVE MEN!

I really liked the Death Row Convicts arc, after coming off of that high I said to myself I would give this season a 10/10 if it could somehow top that.

And the tournament arc itself was really impressive. However there are two big problems that hold it back for me. First we have the obvious one, which is the anti-climatic end to the final fight between Kaku and Yujoro. The second and also the much more disappointing to me was the handling of Kaiou Retsu and his character. At the start of the arc he gives baki tough love and helps him in his own ... way, even going to the extent of saving his life from the fatal poison. But then, out of nowhere, he does the Sasuke Uchiha special, a complete 180 in personality where he turns around and starts being racist towards Baki and the other non-chinese. I know 'it's just to be expected' in this kind of thing that writers/artists will push political views and paint people in certain lights etc, I heard that all before - firstly, that isn't okay or how things should be. Secondly, it definitely isn't enough reason to completely ruin a character.

BUT, even so, the tournament itself was extrememly enjoyable and if we were rating just that it would be an 8 or a 9.

The real problem, is the arc that followed. The infamous Mohammad SIMP Alai NTR Junior arc. Widely seen as the worst arc in the series and I finally know why. If I was going to rate this arc on it's own it would be between a 0 and a 2. It was the most dumb out of nowhere arc that was extremely anti-climatic and it felt like I was watching an anime adaptation of some dodgy NTR Manhwa you see advertised for on facebook or some piracy site. Mohammad himself is a massive simp and for no reason whatsoever, and his feelings in general are either extremely poorly handled/written or he's intentionally written to be completely insufferable. Whatever the case, I think this arc can be 100% skipped and it's unfortunate the tournament arc had to be followed by this.

I usually only write anime reviews when it's something that really blowed my mind or I think needs more love, in this case, it blew my mind that such an enjoyable and consistent show could have a random half season arc that is extremely out of place and just straight up weird.

Baki just leveled up to new heights.

I used to start these reviews with “remember when Baki already beat the strongest X champion in the world until he suddenly didn't?”, but no more. Doing so will completely be missing the point from Baki, this is a grindy series, probably the only fun type of grind that never gets dull, and how can it? With the ever-growing rooster of characters that never cease to amaze.

Baki is the ultimate anti-guilty-pleasure to watch, remove the guilty part because this shit should be broadcasted on national television. It's as if the writer read the fans mind, he gathered all loved ... characters and rounded them against each other in a tournament so there is no excuse for anyone of them to shy down from participating in the fan service that was this season.

The season starts exactly from where the 2018 Baki prequel left off, no time wasted, straight to the action, it covers the Chinese 100 tournament events and the recovery of Baki after the events of the last season. I know people are not about Baki in this show, I know I'm not, because so many characters easily overshadow him with their charisma, and sometimes, strength. One of which, the one, the only, Yujiro himself, it was so surreal to see the man go off for what felt like free real estate screentime, almost illegal to think about.

One of the biggest upgrades in this season was the animation, it was so close to the source material and with so few CGI instances that it's hard to spot any. The use of some many well blent slow-motion shots felt so organic and fluid, almost like upgrading from a 30 Hrz monitor (Baki 2018) to a 144 Hrz (This season). It was astronomical.

The OST this season slapped like never before, are you kidding me with that opening and ending? I almost gave in to the curse of there never be a decent OP/ED for this series, but never again.

This season might just have been my favorite time spent watching Baki, it had so many heights and so few lows, it was short, fast-paced, extremely funny and so hype and exciting. The writer must have higher some majors in psychology and mathematics because the amount of careful placement and shift between events and interactions felt like the product of a years-long mathematical study, targeting precisely the finest form of entertainment. It was a blast to watch the first time, and a joy to rewatch many other times.

Overall: 8.9/10

Baki: The Great Raitaisai Arc follows the previous Baki anime that aired in 2016. In this latest offering, Baki is poisoned and Retsu Kaioh abducts him in order to treat him using ancient Chinese combat arts. The show centers on the Chinese Raitasai Tournament, a tournament that occurs once every 100 years.

Most fights in the anime are nonsensical without backstories, and the opponents break bones during fights. Nonetheless, the slowness of the show’s pace often translated to some episodes that dragged on and on. The tournament arc as plot is the main focus of the story, and very little characterization is made available for the ... antagonists.

The characters’ traits do not change that much, except for their badassery and limitless blood. The animation has gained some improvement, however the pace remains as an obstacle to a total enjoyment.

In conclusion, Baki remains a straightforward fighting anime/manga that appeals primarily to personal tastes. Although it has some pleasant and even occasionally entertaining aspects, there is little substantial value in it. Nevertheless, it somehow retains some attractiveness for fans of the manga.