A Punch to the Gut of Expectations:


This anime is about Baki Hanma, who pursues being the strongest man to defeat the man he despises, his father, Yujiro Hanma. The first season covers the five death penalty prisoners who wish to face defeat as they never have in their lives. The second season covers the Raitai tournament between Chinese Sea Kings and foreign fighters.

[spoiler]This anime had a good start as the five prisoners escaped from prison to find the champion of the "Strongest Man in the World" tournament (from Baki the Grappler 2001). The five prisoners posed a serious threat with their fighting skills and presence. Their fight sequences with other characters and Baki were good. The threats and action sequences are not focused mostly on Baki, who lacks a character arc in the story; he just attempts to have sex with Kozue and fights at last just to give a lead to the next season. Yujiro Hanma was just used as a filler element in some episodes. I got bored most of the time and procrastinated to complete the season as much.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]The second season covers the Raitai tournament, which Baki is compelled to participate in to heal. He came to treatment after getting poisoned in the first season. The tournament begins typically as a one-vs.-one match and later turns to a five-vs.-five-team match, which was not convincing enough and made the tournament and story short. The last four episodes are wasted to set the next show and new threat for Baki. One good thing in the show is that it showed that Yujiro Hanma can be defeated. Teasing Jack Hanma was also unnecessary, as he is not needed for any aspect of the story other than to show that he rehabilitated from drugs and got stronger naturally.[/spoiler]

The animation was good and admirable, as they are stunning to watch. The voice acting was decent, as I watched in the English dub. The music was decent for the action genre. I knew nothing about Manga; I am not satisfied with this anime with its lack of a proper storyline and character arc.

In conclusion, I am heavily disappointed with this anime watching it after Baki the Grappler 2001, which has good story and character arcs. I wouldn't recommend this show if you expect action with good story writing. If you enjoy fight scenes with context, then it's for you.