Grappler Baki: Saidai Tournament-hen

Grappler Baki II is the second season to the action/shonen show, Grappler Baki. Story: Well, one interesting aspect about the storyline in this anime is that pretty much all 26 episodes take place in one day. As far as the story itself goes, it's nothing too special, it's just a tournament of 30+ fighters, with some plot twists and flashbacks thrown in to broaden the storyline and characters. Having a tournament in a shonen show is a terribly overused technique, but I cannot refrain myself from admitting that it is a very effective cliche. A tournament is thrilling to watch, since you wonder who will makeit to the later rounds and who will not. The tourney in Grappler Baki II is, thankfully, not too predictable, so, while the story is a bit bland and uncreative, it is still marginally effective. Art: It's ok. I'm tempted to simply leave it at that. Character designs are ok, the animation is...ok. Overall, the art department is exceedingly average, not bad not good. The art won't amaze you, but it will not bother you either. Sound: The soundtrack in the show is done quite well, the songs fit the action well, but towards the end, i found myself wishing for a larger selection of music, since the songs tend to get very repetitve. Pretty much each background piece of music is used in almost every episode at least once. The opening and ending songs were fairly decent in my opinion. Character: This could have been much worse. There are lots of characters in this anime, and we actually get a decent background about most of them. The problem is that none of them are particularly interesting or genuine, and i found it hard to care for any of the numerous supporting characters. But what about the main cast? Nothing too new, Baki is hellbent on defeating his father, while simultaneously failing to advance an oddly uninteresting romantic subplot that the creators couldn't decide whether to flesh out or not. His father is still a complete bastard, who loves fighting, grinning cockily, and apparently interrupting the tournament whenever he feels like. So, nothing too outstanding in the character department, but again, could have been worse. Enjoyment: In the end, i had the same basic problem with this season as i did with the previous season. It all just comes down to a bunch of badass looking badasses that fight each other in a badass fashion. It's entertaining to watch, as long as you keep your brain turned off. Admittedly, the fight scenes are well done, but a show can't thrive on just the action segments, it also needs a strong plot and characters, which is the area where Grappler Baki stumbled for me. The show is comparable to an average action film, moderately enjoyable to watch, but rather unimpressive as a complete work. If you are a big fan of shonen shows and action in general, add 2 points to this score, if you have a general dislike for the genre, subtract a couple. Overall: 6/10

I'm a huge fan of the first season of "Grappler Baki", and the second season, which covers the Maximum Tournament saga, is a continuation of the same theme. If you didn't enjoy the first season, you won't like this. Every single episode is devoted to the 38 fighters in the tournament and their encounters with one another, and God, what encounters. As viciously brutal, bloody, and uniquely choreographed as the fights in the first season are, they pale next to the fights in the Maximum Tournament. I have watched thousands of action movies, but there were instances of the Maximum Tournament where my head jerked back, and thenslowly shook in disbelief that such a simultaneously awesome and violent scene was filmed. As with the first season, every fighter is different, and has their own peculiar personality and style. There are Japanese pro wrestlers, world champion boxers, Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic champions, judokas, karate practioners, Vale Tudo and streetfighting experts, kung-fu guys, Brazilian Jui-Jitsu experts, and a dozen other styles and hybrids. Virtually every characters is at least interesting, and some are especially likeable and cool, such as Orochi Doppo, a heavily-scarred old man who resembles a jolly old uncle, wears an eyepatch, has a physique that would make Arnold jealous, and constantly cracks jokes. Karou Hanayama is another favorite, a stoic, gigantic crime boss, wearing an elegant suit, glasses, and stab and bullet wounds along his face and upper body. His calm, understated personality and ruthless effiency would make Ogami Itto proud. Watching these fighters having their skulls shattered, their windpipes smashed, and repeatedly beaten to bloody pulps in graphic detail is a sight to behold, since the show takes the time to make one genuinely care about each fighter. The season peaks at the perfect time, too; Baki, the hero, gets more vicious, focused, and intense in each episode, and the fights become more and more spectacular every time. It all comes to a head in Episodes 22 and 23, with a gritty, emotional battle royale-style final that truly defies the imagination. At one point, one of the tournament organizers wants to stop the match, as it has gone from life-threateningly brutal to downright grotesque. At that point, the 70 year old, 3 foot tall patron of the Underground Arena, Tokugawa Mitsunari, largely comic relief until then, pulls out a dagger and holds it to the organizer's throat, making it perfectly clear what will happen if he goes through with that decision. Finally, Episode 24 is a neat bonus, as it offers more backstory for Yujiro and his experiences fighting in the jungles of Central and Southern America, as well as introducing the unbelievable badass known as Biscuit "Oly" Oliva (who plays a huge role in the manga continuation). After watching these two amazing Baki seasons, I can only hope that they eventually make an anime of the Convict and Chinese Tournament sagas.

BIG MEN DOING MAN SHIT returns triumphantly for a second season and there is more man than ever. Baki is peak testosterone fueled fun and it's a joy from beginning to end. Do yourself a favour and don't pass up on this! This entire season is just a tournament arc and it takes full advantage of that fact and brings forth the best you could expect from something like this. Tons of varied and compelling fighters, each with a unique personality and of course a unique fighting style. The different matches all present something fresh and different and the whole season is engaging throughout. There ishard hitting action in basically every episode, the storylines are easy to follow and there is sufficient depth to keep this from being just fighting without any meat on its bones. If you love martial arts, you will also love this, as its chock full of ridiculous love letters to them. Some of these fighters are what I imagine those tai chi/wing chun wankers in China THINK that they look like. In any case, I personally love me some good ol' fashioned martial arts mayhem and this anime scratched that itch bountifully. Now, this season is not without issues. Firstly, the first season already had its moments when the animation drops the ball, but here you can really feel that the budget was slashed significantly. In the fights themselves, it works well and there are some cool moments, but there are plenty of occasions when the animation is quite lacking. The flashbacks and recaps are back too, so that definitely hurts the pacing. Also, this anime is blessed with one of the worst openings I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing. Piss poor 2001 era Nintendo 64 quality CGI combined with a song that is nothing but nonsensical ingurish lyrics over the most un-catchy and devoid of beat or melody track to ever exist. I have no idea how this thing was approved. If the internet were more popular back then, I'm pretty sure they would've seen the backlash and maybe reverted to the old opening, which I would've been fine with to be completely honest. In conclusion, Baki is not Berserk, it's not One Piece and it's not Death Note. You don't come here for sophisticated storytelling, deep worldbuilding or deep psychological tension. No, you come to see great fights between massive muscular men brandishing all kinds of martial arts, each pushed to realms of absolute absurdity. Baki knows what it is and what it's supposed to be and delivers on its strengths. While this particular anime suffers from some poor management and budget cuts at times, while its age might put some people off, this is still a thoroughly enjoyable experience worth having. Despite its flaws, this is one my favourite tournament arcs in all of anime, with all the good aspects of a tournament distilled to their purest form. So be the bigger man and give this a watch, I firmly believe you won't regret it.

Baki the grappler II: Overall Rating 9/10 If you want a better understanding on Baki the grappler II, I highly recommend that you watch the prequel before seeing this. Baki the grappler II takes place 4 years after all the events of the first one. All grown up and now champion of the underground tournament baki's back and ready for more action. His goals remain the same as in the first one, to become the world's strongest man alive. I have to say after seeing this I felt like I was watching someone else playing a videogame tournament and me in the audience cheering on thechamp. The hype was exactly like the first one, scratch that I think it was better. Baki is now 17 years old and alot more mature in this one. He doesn't get angry over little things anymore, he's more relaxed and cool headed. Instead of using his head as a weapon he uses it to think strategically. He tries his best to find that certain achilles heel/weak point on his opponent's fighting style. Baki has earned his respect as the new undeafeated champion of the underground tournament and for that he must defend his title against the world's best. Before I continue there's something you should know, the events of Baki becoming the new underground champ probably happened in the manga. I haven't seen it so that's what probably happened. Let's continue shall we, fighters all across the world with different stature want a taste of the young champ. Some of the Characters from the prequel make an apperence, and have also have improved greatly in there fighting skills. New and even formidable opponents await the young fighter. The way the new fighters are presented in terms of back story and character development are pretty much the same as it was from prequel, they just have more screen time. It was really interesting seeing moves from different martial art styles being used here, and let me tell you there are alot of martial art styles presented in this anime. Baki the grappler II has top notch action and alot of fighting scenes combined with a tounament like setting. The pace of the story is alot faster than the prequel. New martial artists testing there skills against one another, it felt like a little taste of heaven in a way for fight fans and action fans. Baki continues his journey towards his father's title of being the strongest creature on the planet. Is a dream only a dream or will the young fighter succeed in making his dream possible?

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