Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen

So this will include a spoiler or two so there is that. The last season left us off with Baki going to this tournament to help him recover his fighting spirit. And we continue with the tournament starting and finishing after around 7 episodes.
(Small Spoiler so small it doesn’t matter) when its Baki’s turn to fight he fights against Mr. poison hand man, Baki negates the poison and somehow this helps him in the long run.

This is great an all. An by all means if you like hearing about fighting instead of seeing it then this season/show is definitely for you. During the final fight ... between Yujiro and Kako in the tournament it was about 7 to 5 minutes of fighting And 30 minutes of explanations of fighting, techniques and classic “this guy is not as strong as he looks.

Muhammad Ali Jr. was in this, oh did I mention Muhammad Ali Jr. was in this.
I bet you didn’t know Muhammad Ali Jr. was in this. They go beyond to signify that both Muhammad Ali Jr. and Muhammad Ali are in this. But to the point where there are around 4 episodes surrounding only Muhammad Ali Jr. during those episodes, there were fights so it was entertaining in that sense. But besides that it was lacking. As well as Muhammad Ali Jr. hits on and tries to marry Baki’s girlfriend.

The ending song was probably the best part about the sound, and the only credit I can give to it. In one episode when Baki is jogging, the sound of him stepping isn’t synched to the animation, and made me physically cringe hearing it.

The characters are the typical ones you could expect from a fighting anime, they fight and explain things that happen. Most of them are from previous seasons too so they are already known. Does that mean they are the best characters created, no it does not.

I didn’t like this, I got bored after the tournament and on the 12th episode I got excited again because it hints at Baki fighting his father, finally. And in the episodes prior it was Baki fighting none other than Muhammad Ali Jr. which was not exciting like it was hyped up to be.

The art is the typical style for Baki, a fast blur to make it seem like it was inhuman. It’s not necessarily bad I like it for this kinda style, but it makes some of the characters look as if they don’t know what’s happening, and or have a dumb look on their face when they don’t mean too.

Also the tournament takes place over the span of one day.

I wrote notes as I was watching and I stopped after the tournament because there was nothing else to take note of. If you like surprises and interesting fighting styles then hey this might be for you. If you like long drawn out explanations about those fighting styles and the people using them then again this is for you. But I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and wouldn’t tell people openly I watched it even though I am.

I will say this to defend Baki, the fights were entertaining no matter how dumb or slow they took. Each was unique to an extent where it didn’t seem old and already used. The techniques introduced are new and interesting they are just talked about a lot.

Ok that’s it, overall I gave this anime a 5.

If you liked Baki before you will probably still like this one to get ready to see the next season.

Allow me to just say a couple of things before I get started:
1) the original Baki from 2001 is still the best;
2) Netflix continues to stain Baki's legacy and the sequel is actually worse than last season.


Animation:
1) incredibly inconsistent and CGI usage is cringy. The characters' bodies change in the middle of fighting (ex: Yujiro's devil back muscles disappear and reappear at will; Baki's body proportions; etc.)
2) it's 2020. It's about time we see movement in fights rather than random lazer beams. Hajimo no Ippo is also an old school anime with a rough art style and managed to update its ... visuals while maintaining its visual style.
3) Chest without nipples, regardless of gender, will always look weird


Sound:
1) I hated the OP but enjoyed the ED
2) the soundtrack is pretty good overall
3) sound effects make no sense: whenever a wooden door is smashed, it sounds the exact same as when you smash a window.
4) the script that seiyuus follow do not match the animation (ex: a character is laughing but visually, it looks like they're talking regularly)


Story and characters:
1) Similar to last season, Netflix still can't produce accurate subtitles.
2) The fights' predictability make them unsatisfying to watch
3) SPOILER: last season, it was clearly stated that Muhammad Ali is the real great late boxing champion Muhammad Ali in real life. Someone still thought it would be a great idea to have a BOXING athlete to be concerned over someone sitting down in the middle of the ring. I'm pretty sure that knowing that boxing is only practiced when both athletes are standing upwards is common knowledge. This piece of plot would've been fine if they just thought of a famous MMA fighter instead.
4) SPOILER: on the 3rd episode, there's this guy sucking on a piece of candy during his match. Eventually, he's forced to spit it out. A couple of events later, another character enters the arena, picks up the dirty ass candy piece (it was even visually dirty), licks it up and feeds it to the 1st guy. This scene was just plain disgusting for no good reason. The same point could be made by having the same guy give a brand new piece of candy to the other dude. I almost threw up.
5) SPOILER ABOUT THE ENDING: everything about the ending is stupid, disgusting and insulting. Junior's strategy is to provoke jealousy so Baki fights him, going as far as telling Kozue that her job is being (someone's) woman. The entire thing from start to finish is cringe. Baki's response and philosophy to Junior's plan is correct (something along the lines of "Kozue is a free woman and she's free to date whover she wants") but Junior still goes on this insane idea that if he defeats Baki, then Kozue will develop feelings for him. The next few episodes are about Junior's challenging characters from last season in one poor attempt at nostalgia that ultimately ends up with him having his limbs, feet, hands and fingers broken. Yet, Netflix still thought it would be exciting and entertaining to watch a close-to-paraplegic man to be beaten up to a pulp. Eventually, Baki accepts to fight Junior but only if he's fully recovered and in his top shape (contradicting every character that beat up Junior before). This fight lasted 3 seconds. So much "hype", so much blood, sweat and tears to get this "fight for the woman" and it ends in 3 seconds. However, Baki doesn't waste time celebrating an easy win and challenges Yujiro. Yujiro gets so excited to the point that Netflix decides to punch every viewer in the gut by pushing a "THE END" screen on the 12th episode. But there are 13 episodes, right? Yes, unfortunately. The 13th episode is a "special" that last 24 minutes and it's about the police officer investigating the Death Row inmates from last season. Does it sound interesting? It's because it's not and I'm furious with whoever is in charge of this Netflix adaptation. Oh and here's a bonus: Kozue leaves Baki alone after a stupid 3 word conversation after challenging Yujiro for a fight, runs into Junior and both hug it out crying. Kozue used to be the best character in the entire Netflix adaptation and now there are no good characters left. Great job, Netflix. Great job!


Overall, this sequel is a 5/10 for me and I honestly would not recommend any of the Netflix series to anyone, regardless if they're major fans of Baki or not.

There's some good things about this anime but there's also some very glaring flaws. If you enjoy fantasy/adventure with a fighting atmospere I say go for it but if you're expecting epic fight scenes and satisfying character growth and depth you're much better off watching something else (I'd suggest Kenichi at least).

It definitely has it's enjoyable parts mostly at building up to fights between a protagonist and antagonist along with some great brief explanations of techniques being used and the feats accomplished by the opponents. The animation creates a tense atmosphere and has some ... fairly interesting damage taken by characters. If you don't know much about martial arts or the limits of the human body then you might not even notice the bad parts I'm about to mention next. In that case I'd say just go watch it and decide for yourself.
On the other hand. I'd say this is more a fantasy rather than a martial arts anime since during each fight a protagonist has some insurmountable magical ability or technique that gives them an inescapable edge and so the result is a fore gone conclusion and there's no way they could have ever lost that fight. At best there's a quick haphazard summary of what's happening. At worst the badass characters that got built up for sometimes several episodes get knocked out in one hit and without landing a single hit or even throwing a single attack. That's just unrealistic and in any real fight it's a close back and forth battle until someone makes a crucial mistake that the other capitalises on.

Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen

After the very tough but amusing Convicts arc, we actually got a sequel to everyone's surprise. After the relatively poor results of the new Baki 2016 series, I didn't expect it to stay alive, thank God I was wrong.

This next season is all about Baki's recovery after being poisoned and the 4000-year-old traditions of the 4000-year-old Chinese Raitasai Tournament which is held every 100 years. Hoping that 4000-year-old Chinese martial arts and broken bones can heal Baki, Retsu Kaioh kidnaps the dying Baki to save him.

Now comes the most important point, if you are not a Baki fan "yet" or the ... show has not convinced you yet, then you should draw a line here. Baki won't change much and every season has the same weak points. This series is only for people who can do something with it and are seduced by its bizarre silliness.

[Story 2]

And also here the anime presents us with what it is capable of. Namely, to show mind-bogglingly bizarre fights in which the opponents crash into each other without any significant context and break all their bones double and triple. As before, Baki has enormously slow pacing and some episodes feel like an eternity.

The plot itself is non-existent, as it's just a tournament arc from start to finish, and there's likewise no depth behind the enemies. They are 4000-year-old Chinese punching bags that are just to show how "cool" the underdog team is. The only interesting fight was between Yujiro and the Chinese monster Kaku Kaioh but that's about it, this climax was just average.


[Characters 3]

They are still the same characters and they are still massively linear and monotonous. Their only character trait is that they are Badass and have infinite blood.

And Yujiro.

[Music 6 / Animation 5]

In terms of animation, this season has improved and finally reached the average you would want to see. Unfortunately, the pacing ensures that the fights are nonetheless far too slow. And the narration is a disaster.

Musically, the intro is well done, as are the soundtracks. Especially the one by Yujiro.



[Conclusion 4]

Again, this season doesn't manage to come close to being average. Baki may be likable and occasionally amusing but has almost no qualities aside from that. It's a simple fan-service-oriented fighting anime/manga which can only hold people through personal tastes. And that works at least well enough for me to still enjoy reading the manga.

[Enjoyment 5]

Roleply scenario: I am enjoying the show and then the show ends.

[Action!]

Am watching the show.

"I really like this show."

Ending happens.

... "I really dislike this show."

[And scene.]



Ahem, This show was very entertaining for the most part. I enjoyed a lot of the fights, and for the most part I enjoyed everything else. What I did not enjoy was the ending. The ending felt like this show was a huge waste of time, and a huge waste of time it was. I simply cannot reccomend watching this show untill the next season is released, if such a thing even happens that is. It ends in a horrible way. It sets something up, and then gives you a middle finger and says "lol, we got lazy and didn't feel like ending it in a satisfying way whatsoever."

English.
A season that concludes this anime, which I think lasted just enough and was necessary. In addition to giving us this ending, it also gives us hints of a battle that will be epic.
Look, I don't think this season is better than the previous ones, but the story gives us a fairly interesting new tournament. It may not be the best or have a satisfactory resolution, but it still entertained me and lived up to my expectations.
The animation improved a bit, especially in the fights, because they removed the 3D style, which honestly didn't suit the series at all.
What else can I say other than ... what I said before? It was a satisfying season for those who've seen the previous seasons as well as for fans of the series. Specifically, I think if you've seen the previous seasons, you won't be disappointed. However, if you want to start with this one, I don't think it's the best option because you'll have to understand a lot of the context that was seen in the second part of the first season.
Still, it's super entertaining, its battles are great, and I think if you don't have anything to watch, this is a good option. A series recommended for all lovers of martial arts and, more specifically, fighting anime.

Español.
Una temporada que da fin a este anime que pienso que duro lo justo y necesario que además de darnos este final también nos da indicios de una batalla que será épica.
Miren está temporada no creo que sea mejor que las anteriores pero la historia nos da un nuevo torneo bastante interesante, puede que no sea el mejor o que no haya tenido una resolución satisfactoria pero aún así me entretuvo y cumplió con todo lo que esperaba.
La animación mejoró un poco y más en cuestión de las peleas porque quitaron este estilo 3D que la verdad no le quedaba a la serie para nada.
Qué más puedo decir aparte de lo que ya dije con anterioridad, fue una temporada satisfactoria para los que ya vieron las temporadas pasada como para los que son fans de la serie, en específico creo que si viste las anteriores temporadas no te decepcionará la serie pero si quieres empezar con está no creo que sea la mejor opción, porque tendrás que entender mucho contexto que se vio en la segunda parte de la primera temporada.
Aún así es súper entretenida, sus batallas son geniales y creo que si no tienes nada que ver está es una buena opción, una serie recomendable para todo amante de las artes marciales y más en específico de los animes de peleas.

I'm a big fan of the Baki series but I was very disappointed with this season. As far as tournaments arc go this was a really short tournament arc not helped by the hype and build up to it as the most prestigious tournament ever featuring the best practitioners of Chinese martial arts in the world. There's a lot of padding and anti-climatic fights in the anime.

Also I know it's a Japanese manga so natural bias is normal but they really crap on Chinese representatives apart from Retsu and Kaio Kaku everyone else got decimated and not even close to the threat level of ... the convicts in the previous season.

The fight choreography and animation was never what the Baki series has been known for, but was always more known for being crazy and ridiculous. Those over the top moments were the highlight in this arc too, I just wish it had more compelling adversaries for Baki & Co to face.