Baki the Grappler
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| Baki the Grappler | |
|---|---|
| グラップラー刃牙 (Grappler Baki) |
|
| Genre | Action, Martial arts |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Keisuke Itagaki |
| Publisher |  Akita Shoten  Raijin Comics (former) |
| Serialized in | |
| Original run | – |
| No. of volumes | 62 - Ongoing |
| TV anime : Grappler Baki TV | |
| Directed by | Hitoshi Nanba |
| Studio | |
| Network | TV Tokyo FUNimation channel & CoLours TV
Other networks:
|
| Original run | 8 January 2001 – 25 June 2001 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| TV anime : Grappler Baki: Maximum Tournament | |
| Directed by | |
| Studio | |
| Network | |
| Original run | 23 July 2001 – 24 December 2001 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| OVA: Grappler Baki: The Ultimate Fighter | |
| Directed by | |
| Studio | |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Released | 21 August 1994 |
| Runtime | |
Baki the Grappler or Grappler Baki (グラップラー刃牙) is a manga and anime series by Keisuke Itagaki.
The 24 episode anime aired in Japan between January 8, 2001 and June 25, 2001. A second 24 episode series called Grappler Baki Maximum Tournament was released on 22 July 2001. The story revolves around Baki Hanma and his quest to proclaim himself as the strongest grappler in the world, thus taking the title from his father. Baki also fights to gain the trust of his overly psychotic mother, which gives Baki a minor Oedipus complex.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
- Baki Hanma (範馬刃牙 Hanma Baki): The main character, and son of Yujiro Hanma. He has been training in martial arts since the age of three, and has trained under various teachers and coaches throughout his life. At the age of thirteen, he decided to take his training into his own hands and left the coaches to perform more intense training "in his father's footsteps." He later meets with his father and becomes disillusioned as to his father's true character, and afterwards, aims to defeat and kill his father. His fighting style is called "total fighting," and includes techniques from many different martial arts.
- Yujiro Hanma (範馬勇次郎 Hanma Yūjirō): The father of Baki and Jack Hammer/Hanma. He is the strongest creature in the world, and is known to have mastered all styles of unarmed combat. His repertoire apparently includes all of the well-known fighting styles (such as boxing, tae kwon do, judo, jujutsu, wrestling, street-fighting, and so on) as well as some more esoteric ones (such as the udonde or uzunde style, an actual system used in the Motobu style of karate). He has been fighting on the battlefields, using only his bare hands, since the age of sixteen, when he fought against both American and Vietcong in the Vietnam War. Since then, it appears that he has obtained respect from the American forces, and has begun fighting as a kind of mercenary for them. It is said that when he stopped fighting for survival but for pleasure during the wars the image of the demon's face appeared on his back. Below is a list(no order) of styles Yujiro has fought and won against:
- Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
- Kickboxing
- Judo
- Sumo Wrestling
- Greco-Roman Wrestling
- Various forms of Karate including Doppo's Shinshinkai
- Aikido
- Street Fighting and baki
- Jujutsu
- Boxing
- Military fighting tactics of Green Berets, Navy Seals, and Army Airborne
- Yoga
- Tae-kwon-do
- Doppo Orochi (愚地独歩 Orochi Doppo): A karate master and head of the shinshinkai-kan (a karate style which seems to be inspired by the real-life style of kyokushin karate). One of the only people in the world able to stand toe-to-toe with Yujiro. He whips his students into shape by fighting them regularly, and practices all of his karate techniques at least one thousand times daily. A very devoted karate practitioner, and a mentor of Baki's. Also the instructor of Katou and father of Katsumi. He eventually fights the escaped American convict Dorian in the 'Search of our Strongest Hero' manga series. Dorian manages to cut off Doppo's hand with a strange wire-cutting technique in which he uses a wire blade projected from a lighter. Doppo later avenges this loss when he, Katsumi, and Retsu track Dorian down. Shortly after this however, Dorian escapes from the hospital and uses an explosive that is implanted into his hand to blow off part of Doppo's face.
- Gouki Shibukawa: Master of the ancient jujutsu arts used by the samurai soldier-warriors of feudal Japan. Is sixty years of age, and has trained since prior to WWII, in the "old days" of the martial arts. His art makes use of the martial arts principle of aiki, which uses the opponents' attacks against him. Manages to make it all the way through to semi-finals in the Maximum Tournament series and battles against Jack Hammer. He later teams up with Baki to face the Japanese convict Yanagi Ryukou in the 'Search of our Strongest Hero' series.
- Kaoru Hanayama: Fifteen-year-old yakuza leader and strongman. His grip is so strong that if he grabs an opponent's arm, he can usually cause it to explode from restricting the blood flow. He is also a yakuza level fighter and it is unknown if he has trained in martial art styles. Has memorable battles with Baki Hanma, Katsumi Orochi, and the infamous showdown with the convict Speck. Speck manages to place a handful of bullets into Hanayama's mouth and slam it shut, causes them to explode and creating two large holes in Hanayama's mouth. Although Hanayama won the battle, he wears a facemask for most of the series. Later on, he is shown surgically treated.
- Amanai Yuu: Yujiro's apprentice. Yujiro meets him in America, where he is serving as a bodyguard to the President. It is unknown whether he is Japanese or American, but it is most likely that he is American but of Japanese descent. His style is based on "love," in contrast to Yujiro's style, which is more aggressive and based on rage. Battles Orochi Doppo in the Maximum Tournament.
- Retsu Kaiou: Kenpo practitioner. Trained in China and became the heir to the kenpo style in his temple. Makes it to the semi-finals of the Maximum tournament and is pitted against Baki Hanma. In the 'Search of our Strongest Hero' saga, he has encounters with the British convict Hector Doyle and American convict Dorian. Teams up with Baki, Yujiro, and Mohammad Ali Jr. in the Chinese tournament saga.
- Jack Hammer (or Jack Hanma): Pitfighter from Canada. He is the son of Yujiro and a Canadian soldier woman who Yujiro met in Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. Like Baki, he has since childhood wished to surpass his father Yujiro in strength and martial ability. His obsession to defeat his father led to extreme overtraining and overworking of his body which led to the deterioration of his body, claiming he will never be able to defeat his father with normal training. After his encounter with the Yujiro inspired scientist, he received from him steroids to match his overtraining and has gained his immense power. One of his main techniques is biting, and he can bite hard enough to easily crush wood with his teeth. Fights Baki Hanma in the finals of the Maximum Tournament and then Yujiro shortly afterwards. Makes an appearance in the "Search of our Strongest Hero' series and battles against the Russian convict Sikorsky and Mohammed Ali Jr.
- Strydum: An American soldier and Yujiro's companion and comrade-at-arms. Originally met Yujiro as an enemy in the Vietnam War. Developed an admiration for Yujiro, and now he travels, fighting with him on the battlefields of the world. Is also a friend and mentor of Baki's.
[edit] Manga volumes
Baki mangas so far (chronologically):
- Grappler Baki - (Volume 1 to 42, complete)(The champion saga, the kid saga, and the maximum tournament saga).
- Grappler baki Gaiden :Igari vs mount toba - (Complete)(immediately after the maximum tournament).
- Baki: The search of our strongest hero - (Volume 1 to 31, Complete) (The prisoners saga, the chinese challenge saga, the Ali jr saga).
- Baki saga - (Complete)(Side story that develops at the same time as volume 15).
- Grappler Baki: Scarface, the legend of the invincible fist - (Volume 1 to 3, ongoing)(Hanayama Kaoru special).
- Grappler Baki: Dragon side, Grappler side - (Complete)(compendium of the characters and events of the world of Grappler baki, covers until volume 23).
- Grappler baki: tiger side, fighting side - (Complete)(Compendium of every battle fought and its results on the world of Grappler baki, also covers until volume 23).
- Hanma Baki : Son of ogre (Volume 1 to 4, ongoing)(the final saga).
[edit] Airing outside Japan
Hawaii-based TV station KIKU aired the FUNimation Productions licensed version of the series during the August and October 2006 period. Dubbed in English, the episodes were edited for time but does not appear to be edited for content. The Opening Theme for the anime is a song titled Child prey by popular Japanese rock band Dir en grey.
