Anime
TL;DR
Baki the Grappler OVA (1994): The Ultimate Fighter
グラップラー刃牙 (Gurappurā Baki)
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Character design
Combat/Action
Visual
Grappler Baki (Japanese: グラップラー刃牙 Hepburn: Gurappurā Baki), known as Baki the Grappler in North America, is a manga series written and illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki.
The animation is pretty good for the time (1994). The action is visceral and brutal. The art style is pretty traditional compared to the manga version.
The ending theme is “Baki no Theme” (刃牙のテーマ) by Tamotsu Mizutani.
Baki is a likable character, despite very little backstory or dialog is given to him. We see he is a happy and almost innocent boy, if not for the gory martial art competition he is participating in.
The story is a simple one really if you can even call it a story. It focuses mainly on the fight between Baki and Shinogi. This show isn’t concern about story or plot, it is an exposition driven narrative used to set up a sequence of gory combats. Oddly enough, it does a good job at it.
I recommend this OVA to fan of the competition shows. Please be warned, the combat can be gory and hard to watch at times. Grappler Baki contains graphic violence and is intended for mature audiences.
Long ago, Youma, shape changing demons, took human form to live in disguise in human towns, feeding on them in secret.
A secret, nameless society has discovered a way of implanting Youma flesh into humans to create hybrids powerful enough to defeat the Youma. A hybrid’s standard abilities include faster healing, limited shape modification, the ability to detect Youma and other hybrids, and overall enhanced physical prowess allowing them to wield massive claymores, for which they are named: Claymores. For reasons not divulged, only women are selected to be Claymores. They are often chosen for implantation after being the sole survivors of a family attacked by a Youma; this ensures their loyalty and willingness to endure the painful hybridization process.
The society sends Claymores to towns that can afford their fees to kill Youma. The society is often strict and harsh; Claymores who break the rules risk being hunted down by their fellow warriors.
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Photo by Nicolas LB, Jon Flobrant, and Yvette de Wit on Unsplash.