Hanma Baki: Son of Ogre 2nd Season

Hanma Baki: Son of Ogre 2nd Season is the culmination of the Baki series, the ultimate masculine power fantasy wrapped in a fever dream of excess and ridiculousness.


Animation / Art / General Visuals - 9/10
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A lot of people might point out at the animations of Baki aren't that impressive, as they're often using a lot of still shots instead of constant fluid motion. But to me, this style adds value, not takes it away. Attacks feel weighty and the extreme muscularity and over the top expressions of the characters make for a great spectacle.

The style of Baki is what I like the most. The male ... physique is represented in its most extreme form. Muscularity that goes beyond even the greatest bodybuilders that have ever lived in the real world. It's frankly just awesome.


Sound / Music / Voice Acting - 9/10
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The voice acting quality is solid across the board, but it's the music that really sells it for me. The OP's and ED's are fantastic, while the various battle tunes make each fight feel special.


Story - 8/10
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Baki's story has never been particularly noteworthy, just a bunch of dudes beating up other dudes to one day become the strongest dude. But the way it's presented is quite fun nonetheless.

The first half of the season deals with the arrival of Pickle, a prehistoric man that used to fight the most powerful of dinosaurs for fun and food. The discovery of his existence is so shocking, that even the likes of Yujiro cannot help but to express desire to fight him.

What follows is a series of battles where the strongest fighters we all know and love, take their shot against Pickle, the strongest caveman to have ever lived.

In the second part of the season, a new story arc starts.

The greatest fighters in the world realize that the moment that Baki can legitimately challenge his father is getting very close.

Baki and Yujiro both realize this too, and as the moment draws closer, they unexpectedly start to realize the unexplored depth of their father-son relationship. While the big fight remains in both of their minds, they spend more and more time together as father and son.

This dynamic makes for quite the interesting build-up to the final fight.

On the side, there's a mini-story of Retsu becoming a Boxer. Not going to lie, that portion of the story seems kinda half-assed and arbitrary. But we still get to see some fun fights.


Characters - 8/10
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The season focuses mostly on characters we already know and love.

The existing characters that return are still their old selves. Though we get to see notable developments with Baki and Yujiro both. They finally move beyond their superficial rivalry, and embrace their father-son relationship.

Among new characters are the likes of Pickle, the mute caveman who still showcases a clear personality through his emotions and actions. As well as the aged scientist who is in charge of taking care of him as well as interpret some of his behaviours.

Both the old and new characters are good across the board and continue to give us exactly what we expect from a series like Baki.


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Total - 9/10

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Baki, to me, is peak masculine power fantasy. And this season culminates beautifully.

The concept of being able to train your body so hard, physically and mentally, that you could single-handedly challenge even the greatest military forces on the planet, is what every man secretly dreams of. To be the strongest. To be able to overwhelm anyone with raw power.

Most of us can't indulge in this desire in real life, but we can vigorously live through Baki.

Baki has always been a bit of a mixed bag for me. I think it peaked in terms of interesting dynamics and having multiple incredible fights back during the Great Raitai Tournament Saga two seasons ago, and even then, this is mostly just a fight fest. Absurd body proportions, detail on crazy move sets, and any excuse to fight are the name of the game, and I honestly don’t think this series even does that best (I prefer the Kengan series).

From here on, I'll break this review into two halves, one coming from the first half of the season and the other coming from the ... latter half.

I will say that they really put the dynamics of a fight under a magnifying glass this season, which is awesome... but they're all against a single opponent, one whose entire history of fighting starts and ends with "he lived with, fought and ate dinosaurs." When you have a set of characters who use a wide variety of interesting tactics and have demonstrated them over previous seasons, having everyone test themselves against a physical monster who is just absurdly powerful and fast just feels like a let down. Doesn’t help that the whole premise of “caveman awakes in our time” is basically just Encino Man, but instead of goofy antics, dude just wants to fight (admittedly with some interesting nuances) and eat. Really doesn’t help that some earlier scenes in this show other things he wants that just… aren’t good. The general response of the military and scientific community are all baffling.

It's good to see the development of a couple of characters through this and to see some real maimings that result from fighting this particular opponent, but it still feels empty of actual risk to their lives, despite the series repeated attempts to make us think that more could happen. But that’s a problem I have with Baki as a whole. Ends up around a 6.3/10 for me.

Onto the second half of the season.

I would say that it’s a substantial improvement. Despite the fact this portion involved fewer fights, focusing instead on the relationship between Baki and Yujirou, it does such a deep dive into the dynamics between them that I was actually pretty invested in the characters. Each of the moves themselves are drawn out to the nth degree, which makes sense when you’re talking about the kind of fight that has been built up to for the whole series.

That being said, this still is just one fight with a lot of people standing around making clear how important it is. For all that these two characters come into it with the mentality that it’s a father-son match built on years of turmoil, tragedy and torture, it becomes an absolute event. It becomes kind of absurd how the whole thing is carved into the wall of some ancient temple to boot and how people are traveling countless miles to literally pray to Yujirou. I get that absurdity is kind of this series’ strength, but even so, this was a little much for me. I think this fight is at its best when it is about their relationship and showcasing it through the moves that Baki, in particular, learned to utilize over all this time, but for every moment that demonstrates the strength of the story, there’s just so much absurdity that it’s hard to take it as seriously as it deserves. It raises the strength of the season for me. It just barely makes a 7/10 for me, even if some of the moments are 8/10.

In the previous season's teasing, authorities uncover a man frozen from the dinosaur era for millions of years. Thawing him out reveals a formidable fighter who once battled and conquered dinosaurs. In the quirky, buffoonish humor typical of the show, they name him Pickle. Renowned fighters like Retsu and Jack Hammer, excluding Oliva and Yujiro, engage him in combat, resulting in significant losses. Baki ultimately faces Pickle in the series' expected climax, though the outcome remains ambiguous.

The second part introduces two arcs: Retsu's quest to conquer the boxing world and the impending father-son showdown. Regrettably, the first feels like filler, elongating the show unnecessarily. The ... second, attempting family drama, starts absurdly, continues poorly, and concludes somewhat more satisfactorily.

The first part maintains interest with its intriguing concept of protagonists facing a dinosaur-like opponent in a tournament style arc. Despite occasional lagging, the brutal fights captivate us, especially the buildup to the Baki vs. Pickle battle. However, repetitive jokes about Pickle's intelligence and a mediocre, ambiguous outcome slightly tarnish the experience. In general, the first 12 episodes are entertaining and well paced.

Conversely, the second part disappoints. The long-anticipated father-son clash is delayed within the 15 episodes, and unnecessary elements, like flashbacks and a dull side story with Retsu, contribute to its mediocrity. The buildup to the final battle, laden with forced family drama, feels out of place. Moments like the ogre Yujiro doing everything for his son and a cringe worthy scene of them eating together detract from the narrative. The initial phase of the battle, where Yujiro treats Baki like a spoiled child, adds to the disappointment. Baki's transformation into human nunchakus and crafting a samurai doll from a car's parts come off as unintentional parody, diminishing the overall quality.

Additionally, the character design by Shingo Ishikawa becomes tiresome with its repetitive ultra-muscular build. While Baki and Kaoru stand out, Pickle's resemblance to Yujiro is a drawback. The animation by TMS Entertainment impresses during intense fight scenes, aided by the character design, making it the series' most commendable aspect.