Intense Fighting Manga: Baki The Grappler

Baki the grappler manga recently got a new adaptation by Netflix. Because I enjoy sports manga, I did not doubt to dive in and expected story like hajime no ippo.

It was not like hajime no ippo, While ippo still realistic to some extent, Baki is filled with fantasy and told in a fun crazy way. Just after watching the first  few episodes, I was impatient and went through reading the manga it was based on in one go. The manga is created by Keisuke Itagaki and now have been told over three sequel, with the latest one titled baki dou.

the story of Baki follow the story of Hanma Baki the son of the strongest person on earth Yuujiro Hanma. In addition, to overcome him he has to face many opponents in a tournament and in general. It was based on real fighting technique, but it was by no means real.

The movement of the technique and the impact of each hit are expressed very well by the unconventional arts. As you read through each series you will notice that the arts improved quite a lot, and you may not recognize the same character because they look so different (especially if you see the old anime adaptation).

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Every person are drawn with lots of muscle and have their own unique build. The fight between each legendary person in the story was awesome. They are not afraid to include real person as a influence and reference. You can find barrack Obama, or Trump cameo, and you can find Muhammad Ali involved in the story as well.

Some people are experts at using karate, judo, taekwondo, and boxing. Some are using brute strength, and there are some that is compensating their technique with weapons, or underhanded tricks.

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The story is usual, but the fight are so ridiculous it is fun. The character while not have that much personality and pretty simple, but every specialized technique they use and how they clash against each other is worth to follow. I really recommend this manga for those that enjoy fighting story, competition, and sport