Baki-dou

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Baki Dou (2018) or Sumo-Dou as it came to be known, could generously be called inventive and more realistically could be called "controversial". The fifth Baki series by Keisuke Itagaki, this series is no stranger to mixed opinions by the general public, with many people being turned off by the artstyle of the series, which really couldn't be called pretty by any stretch of the imagination. But Sumo-Dou feels unique in that it's the first of Itagaki's series that seemed intensely polarizing to people who were already fans of the manga. I feel this reason is the management of expectations. To be 100% clear, this ... series is basically a gaiden or a side story to Baki. I expect if the average reader were to go from the 4th to the 6th series of Baki there would be little confusion or need to backtrack. Because relatively nothing of consequence to the main plot of Baki happens. Now if this were marketed as a sidestory or some kind of break for Itagaki from the main story as it were, I think far, far fewer people would have a negative opinion of this manga. But let's say you're a fan of Itagaki's writing and style, and you simply want to read more of his fights. I think this series is perfectly adequate in that regard. Itagaki is a master of his craft, and some of the action stands on par with his best work in the past. The reason I called it inventive because the opponents are by and large a completely different style the previous fighters in Baki's series, with not focusing on one singular character with multiple fights but more hopping around with different perspectives.

Now the one aspect of this story I think will be relevant in the next series by Itagaki is definitely the parts of the story focusing on Jack Hanma, a beloved fan favorite from earlier parts who returned after a extended absence in the story. Really this series amounts as a set-up for the next series to focus on Jack, (Baki Rahen, out now!) already dubbed Jack-Dou by the fans. Realistically, I'm not sure if it would be considered required reading for a undecided reader. I think this particular entry in the Baki Saga will mostly have it's fate decided by it's following series.

Baki Dou (2018) is still relatively early in its run (60ish chapters in what will likely end up being a couple hundred) but I thought I'd write this review to encapsulate some of my problems with the early parts of the series, how it continues some of the biggest flaws of the previous series and why so far this has been more or less the nadir of the long Baki series.

First, the good. Baki still has great art. The art is detailed and has a sense of weight that feels very rare in modern manga. Everything Itagaki draws has a sense of momentum and vitality ... to it, and it makes the fight scenes feel very meaningful and impactful. Secondly, Baki is still weird, and this gives it a surreal sense of charm that makes it hard not to love. Whether its Conor McGregor lookalikes or sumo wrestlers participating in rock climbing, it is still consistently memorable. There are very few series that seem to have the earnest sense of passion that Baki has, and this remains true over 130 volumes into this long, LONG, series.

Now for where things go wrong (spoilers forthcoming). Baki Dou (2014) managed to annoy people with how it seemingly overwrote the original ending of the series, where Baki fights Yujiro and everyone goes home fairly happy. It opted to introduce an entirely new character, who was far stronger than the established main cast, while also being less interesting and likeable. In a bid to make this new character threatening, he came in and kicked the crap out of characters who fans actually did like, hogged the spotlight as far as storytelling, and more or less seemed designed to artificially extend a series that had reached its natural conclusion.

Why am I rehashing this? Because this series HAS THE EXACT SAME FORMULA. A new character, never previously mentioned, who is a famous martial artist from a prior era of Japanese history, shows up, hands established beloved characters their own ass (sorry Oliva) and then gets a bunch more chapters to stress how great and undefinable they are. This could get better from here, but what I've described is basically the story up till this point. And it all just feels so unnatural and uninteresting after I've been invested in the story up till this point.

So, in conclusion, Baki remains a very weird and very well drawn martial arts series with alot of unique appeal, but the story has been pushed beyond its original scope repeatedly and new, uninteresting characters are being pushed over the ones people actually wanted to see. I hope it gets better from here, but so far it just doesnt have the sheer awesomeness of the earlier parts of the series.

Thanks to Spinybackteam for making the series readable in english.

Story: 5
Art: 9
Character: 6
Enjoyment: 6
Overall: 6

Baki Dou is the fifth serialization of the Baki series. It also has the same title as the previous part. Well, apparently it's written differently in Japanese or something. With this, two problems already emerge:

1. This series is too similar to the previous one. Ever since the Pickle Arc, or even arguably the Deathrow Inmates Arc, it seems Itagaki's favorite structure is just bringing in some really strong guy, have him fight series mainstays, and then just go away. The same is true here. I'd be surprised if Sukune shows up again, and I'm certain none of the other Sumo guys will get any page ... time ever again. I do think those guys did help the pacing by adding some brisk, varied battles, but they all blended together.

At the very least, those previous arcs had antagonists that felt somewhat ridiculous. Five deathrow inmates all independently swimming to Japan to fight people is ridiculous. A Caveman is ridiculous. Miyamoto Musashi is fairly ridiculous. Is Sukune ridiculous? He's some supposed reincarnation of a Sumo legend, but in reality he's just a normal guy, at least by this series' standards. Maybe I'd think it was super crazy if I was Japanese and knew the cultural significance of this legend, but this already moves us to our next issue:

2. Itagaki loves Japan and hates America. This has been true for a while, but it feels more obvious and annoying here. We need to show Sukune is strong, so what do we do? Oh, get that American mainstay character Oliver and have Sukune body him. Yeah, Oliver got his revenge later, but that still felt super rushed. But then there's these other Sumo Guys. Once again, we have a bunch of Americans get oneshot to set these guys up. It just feels played out. This series really shouldn't have continued after the Baki Vs Yujiro rematch, and this isn't convincing me at all. The ending just reminds me of Ali Jr, but that was a lot funnier. Maybe the joke has just gotten old.

It seems that Baki Rahen might be the shot in the arm this series needs, but it's really too early to say. Baki Dou II is fine. The art is awesome, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's just very easy to read. However, it lacks a lot of what I liked about previous parts. It's better than its predecessor, but that's not saying much.