Baki, An Exaggerated Story about Human Strength and Martial Arts

 

    A man who climbs walls tens of meters without any equipment, a man who can hold his breath and swim underwater for a long time, a man who can punch the Statue of Liberty to a crack, a man who can kill a human with just his breath, this is what you got when you first watch the Baki series in Netflix. Baki itself follows the story of a young boy, named Baki Hanma who wants to beat his father which none other than Yujiro Hanma, the strongest creature in the world. At first, Baki as the main protagonist looks similar to many protagonists from a manga with this genre, a boy who wants to get stronger, beat every his opponent, and become the king of combat. Meanwhile, most of the characters are look really similar, big, muscular,  with unfathomable strength, and very few female characters. Until this point, it seems that nothing is special from this series, but the way Keisuke Itagaki describes his characters with unpredictable fight scenes makes this manga different from other similar action manga.

A Mix of Unrealistic and Realistic Action Story

Retsu Kaku when fighting with Yujiro Hanma in the final round

    Some say, that the fighting style in Baki is unrealistic and excessive with everyone has strength far beyond normal humans. It can be true because sometimes the fighting scene is just a pure of brute strength with no technique, and everyone who fights has a physique that is too big for a fighter. But keep in mind that Baki is not a story about combat sports, so a realistic fighting style isn't really necessary in the first place. The battle scenes in the series are realistic in several ways. It could be said like this, because most battles could take place at any time, without anyone noticing the attacker, and everything around can be used as a weapon. A place like a restaurant, hotel, school, or any public area can be a battleground anytime. This is more likely to be a street fight than a duel between a warrior. The best example for this one is when Dorian fights his opponent, he always uses whatever he thinks can be used to subdue his enemy. From pieces of wood, broken bottles, nylon thread, and various objects around him, he can use them as a deadly weapon. Another example is when Spec fights with Hanayama Kaoru. Spec was surprised that he finally met someone who could beat him in terms of strength and endurance, but to win Spec used real weapons like guns to kill Hanayama because he thought he would never win if he used normal means.

    The battles in this manga are always brutal, with the losing side not only ending up fainting but can leave permanent injuries, or even death. Sometimes it's not even a fight, because massacres often happen here. This is what you get when a criminal like Dorian or Spec kills every cop or commoner he meets. Victims are always found in pathetic conditions, where many bodies are found destroyed or survivors with fatal injuries. Even the best fighters like Doppo Orochi or Retsu Kaiou couldn't even avoid fatal injuries when faced with a very strong opponent. Orochi lost his left hand the first time he fought Dorian, and Retsu lost one of his legs. 

    We know that almost all the fighters in the Baki series rely on brute strength and a bit of technique, like Kaoru Hanayama, Spec, Jack Hanma, and Biscuit Oliva, who can easily beat their opponents to a pulp. But certain fighters hone their martial arts techniques beyond the limits of human abilities, they are Gokei Shibukawa and Katsu Kaku. Both are veteran fighters with small builds and spend years practicing martial arts, but when it comes to combat, never underestimate them. Even people as strong as Oliva can be overwhelmed by Shibukawa's jujutsu techniques, while Retsu Kaku can match Yujiro Hanma's fighting ability to finally force Yujiro to fight seriously. This is the reason why the fight parts in the Baki series are always entertaining and eagerly anticipated, even though it is a battle between the strongest people, but the course of the fight is always difficult to predict. It's not always the person with the better technique that always wins, but the person who has a bigger physique and relies on strength alone can also win.

A Simple Story, But Unique In Its Own Way

    Baki as a manga has many sequels and spin-offs, the story itself always revolves around finding the strongest, even when Baki Hanma has defeated his father who is none other than the strongest human in the modern era, it is still not enough. Tokugawa as the chairman and founder of the underground fighting tournament always tends to do research on the strongest creatures, which eventually led him to resurrect some of the historical figures who were considered the most powerful of his era. Several past figures who finally appeared and challenged Baki included Pickles from prehistoric times and Miyamoto Musashi who was the strongest samurai in Japan at his time. As a martial arts manga, the story itself is always simple, with the main character fight someone stronger than himself, and there's no mystery behind it, leaving the reader with only a few questions.

    In terms of story, there are several mangas with a better storyline than Baki, such as Kengan Ashura and Holyland. Kengan Ashura has many characters, with each character having a different background and fighting style, even rare martial arts like Lethwei and Sumo that are rarely known to people, appear in this manga, which then makes the story itself even richer. Meanwhile, Holyland always tries to make the story as realistic as possible with actual martial arts. Both are more realistic in terms of story and fighting style, and not too overwhelming. Baki may not have great story depth and character development, but his main strength is not in the story, but in the combat. People are always excited about the fight because it is unpredictable, and this is a fight between the strongest, so it will be interesting to see who will win in the end. The way Keisuke Itagaki draws each character in Baki is also unique, with each character having an odd-looking face and an overly stocky body, making this manga unique in its own way.