I waited a long time to watch "Baki", but that's good, I won't suffer in anticipation of next season. This expectation would be all the more painful because the second season ended during an important event and I don't have to explain how annoying it is when we get in in some series that has an open ending. Even more so when it comes to a really awesome title! I did not expect that the intellectually low-profile murder will give me such a portion of pure fun. But on the other hand, it is not surprising, because the story is responsible for Keisuke Itagaki, the daddy of the young lady who gave us one of the most interesting manga of recent years, or "Beastars".
The plot is simply infantile - just imagine our Earth inhabited by people, different from us only in that they have the inexhaustible potential for muscle development, increasing the level of strength and improving skill in martial arts. And they are moving with each other and ... that's generally the majority of what "Baki" has to offer its viewers. You will ask - "where is the talent you are writing about? Can anyone write such a thing? " In dialogues between characters, in their interactions, their presentation, presenting new threads - forgive the generalities, but it is so good that I do not want to spoil too much. I will limit myself to throwing a link to one of the actions that best illustrates this. As well invented and written scene as all bed situations of Haru, the heroine of "Beastars". This scene is even more powerful because the role of Yuujirou was played by one of the most masculine Japanese voice actors - Akio Ohtsuka (Skull Knight from "Berserka"), All For One from BnHA, Bryan Hawk from HnI, Uvogin from HxH). I can't imagine that another seiyu will play the role of Ogre.
Also, for example, the strongest hero in this fairy tale is a mountain of muscles. Such a mountain from "Game of Thrones", only in the form of muscular Saiyan from the Saga with Cell in DBZ. The comparison with "Dragon Ball" is perfectly in place, because Yujiro Hanma deals with the army as easily as Cell, and in later volumes the whole world feels when he is crushing with another. Does he do pushups there, all in all a small difference, my association is only one thing - the DBZ movie "Battle of the Gods" and the title clash, which was felt throughout the planet. Not only that, many complain that in DBZ so many beings from around the universe train martial arts, accumulating ki energy, and their main hobby is fighting and training. Itagaki tightened the screw even more and we have at least one fight in each episode. I write at least because sometimes we have 2 duels per episode. They present different levels, some of them I missed when writing to people on mobile phones, others were like a child (roller coaster fight <3!), But you can't say they are repetitive. Or otherwise, even if it didn't catch my eye. The fact that I missed some of the fights was more because of the level of animation, lines, CGI, but that's a topic for another paragraph.
Were it not for the author's talent and ingenuity, "Baki" would be a murderous one of many - such as 6, 7/10 for a good, relaxing series with muscular men in the background, but nothing (or little) above that. Assuming it would do a good studio and the mangaka would really do its work. Keisuke Itagaki went the other way and decided to push the gas as far as possible. Not only does he keep it like that all the time, he jumps on the roof of the car in the strongest moments (putting the concrete block on the gas p ... e) and dances the macaroni completely. I know that there are stronger and more absurd titles than "Jojo's Bizzare Adventure" or "Baki 2018" (or at least I heard about them from mango hipster), but I have never come across such an absurd, but longer series. Yes, longer manga has happened (such as "The Legend of Koizumi", in which the known Japanese prime minister smashes with John Paul 2, or other Pope, Adolf H. in the form of Ssj 1, Putin, etc.), but never I saw a long anime. There were individual films not exceeding 45 minutes or short series. Netflix flies quite quickly with the story and I am full of admiration for the author that he has been keeping cut for so many years and history is not boring, and what is more, he can still surprise. Especially since it's easy to put such a concept. Although it is relatively easy to come up with such a story, some cool characters, it is difficult to pull it through so many chapters that it will not become boring and too repetitive. Because the story is written from the first chapter in a way over the top, it is easier for us to accept the totally abstract ideas of the author (which would be more difficult if he introduced it gradually). If Itagaki would follow a more classic path, he would set unnecessary restrictions on the plot. In the end he would touch the wall, refer to all known martial arts, types of martial arts, simply exhausted the subject. Thanks to his ingenuity, this border moved sooo much forward. Some examples - absurd resistance to blows (throwing dumbbells, weights at the opponent, attacking with explosives, poisons, muscles blocking attacks with a knife, sword), impossible modifications to your body (retractable knives, explosives working a bit like tank reaction armor), various applications murderous objects in combat, such as throwing a grenade at an opponent just before the explosion, flammable raw material for burning, a special line for cutting off limbs or a severe wound.
Speaking of which, I will come to form. I don't remember some of them, some of them blended me with an excessive resemblance, but there are a few that have broken my beret. Not because they have an extended character or complex personality. Instead, they are characteristic and consistently written, making it hard to forget about some of them. I have already written everything important about Ogre, so I will take care of my favorite - Orochim Doppo vel. Japanese God of War vel. Torah Koroshi. One of the few people in the world who has balls to stand in front of old Baki in the arena and not shudder with fear. I immediately liked him for his opening design. Like many warriors in this world, he is guided by his own understanding of honor and it is very difficult to break his fighting spirit. Besides, I really liked Gouki Shibukawa and Oliva Biscuit. The first for modesty, which hides destructive strength, while the second for looseness and professional approach to the mercenary's work. I love to watch how Biscuit beautifully deletes its opponents with one precise shot in the face. In addition, there were some nice characters, but they didn't buy my attention like above. Well, apart from the title Bakim, because I forgot about him. He's cute, naïve like a battle hero, but horribly dangerous. Not only does he have the best genes in the entire manga, he was also trained by him in martial arts. He taught him both the techniques of mediocrity and the better warriors. I honestly admit that in the first half I didn't really like him very much and in my mind, how I composed this text, I wanted to write that the side characters are much more interesting than the protagonist. Fortunately, from some point, with each subsequent episode, I began to like him more and more.
The soundtrack consists mainly of instrumental pieces to emphasize the mood of specific situations. For example, the arrival of a dangerous guest, an intense clash, some reference to eastern martial arts, a sadder moment, or an epic scene. This does not mean, however, that the muse in "Bakim" is bad. On the contrary, it fits well with this type of story and complements it equally well. Just as endings are in my opinion so-so, so openings are a miracle. Aggressive, strong, metal - it's hard for me to imagine a better intro to a fairy tale, whose leading issue is fighting, smashing murders, and breaking bones. Both are listened equally well while watching anime, as well as outside of it, e.g. when driving a car or exercising, both very well motivated to squeeze additional reps.
Finally, I left myself the only thing I can't praise. It's about the quality of the animation. While the characters sometimes look nice (especially when they are not moving or their movement is minimal), I have not noticed a single fight that would look ok. Each has larger or smaller defects, but none have fallen below an acceptable level. Probably not one will complain, but it doesn't make much sense. While watching the excerpts on YT, I was disturbed by animation and I was a bit grumbling about my friend and friend on the messenger, but when watching the episodes I didn't notice it that much. Well, maybe apart from a few individual scenes, but the choreography of the fights and the plot effectively made me forget about them for too long.
To sum up - a great fairy tale, I had fun like a pig, so I rated "Baki" on +8/10 with a heart. Maybe someday I'll make up for the previous series, because a friend recommended. All in all, after the 3rd season there will be a good opportunity, because knowing life, we'll wait for 4, and I will probably be even more excited about this cartoon.