A lot of anime viewers have a weekness for the “cute girls doing cute things” genre, and I love the “manly men doing manly things” genre.

I have a soft spot for that certain aesthetic in anime and manga. There is nothing more entertaining than seeing over-the-top burly, muscular characters fighting over something very, very important – the love of their life, the name of the family, execution of justice or plain old “saving the world”. I simply adore it. It fills me with hype, power and happiness.

But if you know your manly stories, you know that they come in different flavours.

Some are straight up serious Seinen. Berserk and Fist of the North Star fit the bill, with dark stories and adult themes, where characters are hurt and justice must be served. A dystopian setting helps and the main characters themselves are not without sombre back stories. This is intense and serious.

Some others are fun Shonen. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Toriko would fall into this category. There are serious moments, sure, but the main attraction is “fun”. Strong characters having big fights and a lot of comedy on the side. Have fun, sit back, enjoy the sillyness!

And then there is Grappler Baki.

I picked up this show because it was a special offer at an anime convention. Both boxsets, 48 episodes, for about 20€. I couldn’t argue at the value, and the guys at the booth were really happy when I bought them. “This was the first anime we ever licensed! We didn’t know what to do back then and we have way too many around! Thank you for buying them!” They are now the German distributors for Akame ga Kill, Free!, Assassination Classroom, Kill la Kill and Sword Art Online, and, well, they had to start somewhere.

Look those covers. I couldn’t walk past them.

I had heard of Baki before, on the the AnimeHERO, an English-speaking hispanic anime reviewer, who specialises in MANLY anime and Seinen. Of course I am subscribed to him, what do you think. It’s right up my alley!

Anyways, here I am with my two DVD boxes. And I decided to check them out – what is this manly show? I have now watched 7 episodes out of 48, what are my impressions?

Baki and his dad. Not the best of relationships.

The series falls oddly between those two previously mentioned groups.

There is a family drama going on. Baki, a young 13 year old delinquent, is overshadowed by the legacy of his father and the protection of his mother. His dad was the hardest arsehole out there, and after he disappeared and left the underworld in ruins, the yakuza are out after his son. Baki’s mum has a big buisness and wants to do everything for her son. Baki himself cannot be bothered with all of this. He simply wants to be the strongest, on his own merit. And defeat the yakuza that simply want to kill him because of his father.

And thus starts the story. Baki wants to be strong, and for that he has to defeat many foes. So, a battle anime it is. The concept is also nothing new. Baki himself is strong, but small, of compact build. And right on episode 2, he goes into a training arc in a forest, to fight … a mountain gorilla.

You see, this series tries to be serious and then it doesn’t. It stikes a very strange balance between the two, while being visually over-the-top.

We need to talk about the character design.

Baki himself is a great protagonist. Happy, but strong-willed if the situation calls for it, and a delinquent with a heart of gold. He will find his way through life, even if that means getting beaten down once in while.

Look at that happy face.

Small, but not to be underestimated.

So far, so good. He is the burly version of the protagonist of Haikyuu! Small, with flaming orange hair and incredible jumping power. Just with less volleyball and more gangsters.

I also love the design of Baki’s mother. This is something I have always loved about those “manly” series. If you have strong guys, you can’t just make women frail and weak. (Looking at you, light novels.) No, they have to be badasses as well.

Like “Lisa Lisa” from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Baki’s mother. Hard buisnesswoman with a softer side.

The happy boss of everything.

The idea of “manlyness” transcends gender. Everyone, man or woman, gets badass. I love this concept. We all get “badassery equality” over here.

Well, that poses a question: How much is “too much”?

That dude is 13 years old? 

The inside of the first box. Baki fighting the mountain gorilla, but what is this background? Are we looking at someone’s back or front? Do these muscles even exist?

WHAT THE

WE HAVE REACHED THE OUTER LIMIT OF MANSERVICE

WAT

SO MANLY THE DOOR BROKE

WOLF HELICOPTER PUNCH

JUST HOW HUGE ARE YOU JESUS

I FORGOT ABOUT THE GORILLA

And I am only 7 episodes in. The design and situations are ridiculous. Too much. Of everything. With the two of my other favourite series that are visually different, I know which artstyle I am at. Kaiji and Akagi are pointy and expressive, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is colourful and fabulous, but this is just: muscles. Muscles everywhere. So many.

And the series is not attempting to be anything supernatural! It is essentially a family drama set in the underworld. And yet: gorilla fights. Baki is simultaniously too serious and too silly, stuck in an odd limbo balance.

Baki is a 90’s manga and it shows. But this over-the-top attitude has something really charming to it. The anime is from 2001, but they respectfully kept the cheesy nineties feeling. The eurobeat soundtrack that occasionally shows up is fantastic, straight out of Initial D. And as I am enjoying this anime in the German dub, that is equally over-the-top, I am really having fun.

I like this series. It has everything I wanted from it, big and small muscly men fighting for a bigger cause, a lovely protagonist and a lot of episodes to dig myself into. I can even continue to read the manga afterwards if I want to! I am excited to see what is about to come, as at the end of episode 7, it is revealed that Baki’s father comes back! Now the story really starts! The artstyle is not fantastic, but, hey, it actually fits the story! If it finds its balance and knows what it wants, this series will become really great. But even now, I am having fun!

I am glad that I bought this series. Because sometimes, what you need in life, is just a lot of manly men doing manly things.