Summary
- Baki and Baki Hanma have some of the most brutal and over-the-top martial arts fights in anime history.
- Yujiro Hanma's match against Kaku Kaiou ends with a surprising twist as Kaiou fakes his death to survive, earning respect from the fighters watching.
- Gaia's fight against Sikorsky is unique as it is won by dominating his opponent through the use of the environment, rather than pure strength.
The various Baki series are home to some of anime's most graphic and downright ridiculous fight scenes, with three complete adaptations to choose from following the conclusion of Baki Hanma on Netflix in 2023. There are, however, ten that stand out above the rest.
With an eclectic cast of characters that constantly test their strength in battle, there's no shortage of memorable fights to be discovered in the anime. However, each of the ten confrontations on this list demonstrates why this franchise is beloved by shonen fans - they're bloody, they're action-packed, and most of all, they're completely absurd.
10 A Young Baki Fights a Giant Monkey in the Mountains
Baki Hanma vs Yasha-Zaru - Episode 04, The Fang and The Tears (Baki the Grappler, 2001)
While far from the strongest opponent Baki would face, his fight against the Yasha-Zaru was a real test of his strength and battle sense. Knowing that his father had bested one was also a driving force for Baki to take on the powerful creature, leading to a brutal fight inside a makeshift arena of fire atop a mountain. They proved evenly matched, with Baki landing flurries of punches and kicks, while the Yasha-Zaru was able to inflict deep wounds with its teeth and claws. Despite sustaining heavy damage, Baki knocked the beast down with a powerful strike to its windpipe, whereupon it stopped the battle, acknowledging him as the stronger fighter.
This battle in particular would prove important by awakening Baki's ability to become incredibly focused when in a near-death state, something that would be critical in his many fights later on in the series. It also clued him into adopting fighting styles that suited the opponent, as the Yasha-Zaru was largely unaffected by his traditional martial arts moves. Baki overcame this battle by fighting like a beast himself, allowing himself to be scrappier, ferocious, and unpredictable.
9 Yujiro Hanma Kills a 146-Year-Old Man in Battle... For a Short While
Yujiro Hanma vs Kaku Kaiou - Episode 34, The Title of Strongest (Baki, 2020)
A centenarian grandmaster of Chinese Kenpo faced off against Yujiro Hanma in the finals of the Raitai Tournament, producing one of the most memorable fights in the series. Despite his age, Kaiou Kaku showed that he could go toe to toe with the strongest man in the world by making use of Xiaoli - a method of using Yujiro's strength against him. Despite this, Yujiro slung the 146-year-old man around the arena, smashing him into walls and landing numerous powerful blows. This was one of the clearest demonstrations of Yujiro's monstrous strength, as while the series made it clear he was immensely strong, few people were ever able to continue fighting after receiving more than a single blow.
However, what truly makes this match stand out is how it concludes. The fight ends abruptly when Kaiou Kaku goes motionless, whereupon medics are called into the arena, declaring him dead. To everyone's surprise, he revives himself shortly after being stretchered backstage, having faked his death to survive. Kaiou Kaku proves himself to be an incredibly sharp fighter despite his advanced age, and conceding the match without losing his life to Yujiro earns him a lot of respect from the warriors watching in the stands. Many of them, Baki included, were able to see the two of them fighting seriously for the first time.
8 A Mass Murderer is Beaten in a Fight by a Man Who Throws Teeth with the Force of a Shotgun
Gaia vs Sikorsky - Episode 23, The Real Attack, (Baki, 2018)
The Gaia and Sikorsky fight is one of the most unique in the series, as the match isn't settled by immense displays of strength, and defeat isn't brought by death or knockout. A returning character from Baki the Grappler, Gaia is unmatched when it comes to using the environment as a weapon, which he displays during his fight with Sikorsky, a mass murderer and escaped convict. Using sand from the arena floor, Gaia creates smokescreens to become nearly invisible, landing unpredictable strikes upon his opponent. Inside the sand are teeth and bone fragments from the many prior battles held in the arena, which Gaia hurls at Sikorsky with incredible force.
These attacks only hurt Sikorsky very briefly despite Gaia's strength, but with his inability to see his opponent or do anything about the constant assault, the convict starts to feel helpless. He eventually ends up in the fetal position, teeth chattering out of fear of an opponent that could kill him at any time, and that there is nothing he can do about it. Not only does Sikorsky concede the match out of pure terror, but he does so before ever managing to land a blow on Gaia. It's a very rare instance of a fight in Baki Hanma that is won by dominating the enemy without the use of pure strength.
7 Baki's Life is Saved by His Mother, at the Cost of Hers
Baki Hanma vs Yujiro Hanma (1) - Episode 14, Lullaby/After Having a Dream (Baki the Grappler, 2001)
Despite a terrible upbringing, the death of Baki's mother marked an important turning point in how the young boy saw his father. He was trained in martial arts from a young age for his eventual confrontation with Yujiro, and while his progress was incredible, the gap in power between the two remained enormous no matter what he did. Baki continued to train with the hope of winning the affection of his parents, where eventually he was called to spar with his father as a test of his ongoing progress. Despite the so-called test, Yuujiro brutalized his son, continuing to attack him long after he had ed out.
While initially remaining on the sidelines rooting for Yujiro, his mother chose to intervene when it became clear that Baki wasn't going to survive the onslaught. It took Baki being beaten within an inch of his life, but Emi Akezawa's death marks the one and only time she displayed any sort of affection for her son, realizing her feelings only as he neared death. The aftermath of the fight puts Baki down the path of revenge, leaving on a journey in search of strong warriors, to improve himself and his skills before fighting his father once again.
6 A Karate Prodigy Punches a Primitive Human So Hard, He Mangles His Hand
Katsumi Orochi vs Pickle - Episode 19, "Moment of the Heat" (Baki Hanma, 2023)
With the appearance of Pickle, the primitive human that survived being frozen for millions of years, many of Baki Hanma's strongest fighters took to intense training just to stand a chance against him in battle. Among them was Katsumi Orochi, the young karate master and close friend of Kaiou Retsu, who had recently lost his own fight with the prehistoric warrior. Seeing the Chinese kenpo master in a hospital bed, missing one of his legs after it was devoured by Pickle, provided him with the drive to push his limits and develop a fighting technique that could give him an edge in combat.
This resulted in the perfection of his Mach Fist, allowing him full control over the relaxation and tensing of his muscles. In battle, it meant he could throw punches and kicks with the ferocity of a whip crack, allowing his limbs to strike at unbelievable speeds. This technique was enough to floor Pickle, but the sheer force of throwing punches and kicks at such high speed left his own body devastated. While Katsumi loses the match and one of his arms, the gruesome battle showed the human body pushed to its limits, and that even the seemingly invulnerable Pickle might eventually be bested.
5 Baki Summons an Imaginary Dinosaur to Beat the Prehistoric Man
Baki Hanma vs Pickle - Episode 24, "Final Form" (Baki Hanma, 2023)
While this fight featured the two strongest warriors besides Yujiro, it proved not just to be an incredible spectacle, but a catalyst for Baki to realize his feelings towards his father. He was able to work through his past trauma while on the receiving end of powerful attacks, allowing him to reach a higher level in his quest to become the strongest human. Baki would put his newfound iration for his father to practical use by quickly learning how to predict and dodge Pickle's movements, confusing him by traveling at speeds so quick, it looked like he was teleporting around the arena.
Baki would also strike fear into the prehistoric human by taking the fighting stance of a dinosaur hybrid - projecting himself as a towering beast with the jaws of a tyrannosaurus rex, the talons of a pterodactyl, and the horns of a triceratops. While the present-day representative gained an upper hand in the fight, he would ultimately choose to end their match in a traditional, no-tricks fistfight. Pickle emerged victorious due to his outrageous stamina, but it would be Baki who managed to win the respect of his opponent. Had Baki chosen to continue fighting as he had been, it might well have meant defeat for Pickle.
4 An Escaped Death Row Convict Defeats His Opponent By Using Hypnosis
Dorian vs Kiyosumi - Episode 09, "Shaken Shinshinkai!!", (Baki, 2018)
One of the five death row convicts that would travel to Japan looking for defeat, Kaiou Dorian would prove himself to be a terrifying opponent. Not only was he a master of Chinese kenpo like the other Kaious, but he epitomized the term no-holds barred, bringing everything from fishing wire to explosives into his battles. Kiyosumi Katou would follow him into his hideout in the sewers, hoping to best him while he recovered from the injuries of a prior fight, but the cocky karate practitioner would quickly realize he had bitten off far more than he could chew.
Dorian would continue with his unconventional strategies, dipping his hands into grease and shards of glass to use as weapons, while Kiyosumi opted for his usual mix of karate techniques and underhanded ideas. The tide of the battle quickly moved against the convict, with Kiyosumi attacking the man with glass bottles and punches to the groin, but his overwhelming victory proved to be nothing more than an illusion. Dorian reveals that he had placed Kiyosumi under a powerful hypnosis, and as such there was nothing he could possibly do to win. Furious at being toyed with, Kiyosumi lunged at the man, but Dorian promptly ended the fight by slicing his neck open with fishing wire.
3 A Karate Grandmaster Only Stops Fighting After Being Punched With a Bomb
Orochi Doppo vs Dorian - Episode 12, "Candy", (Baki, 2018)
Kaiou Dorian would find someone who could keep up with his chaotic fighting style; Doppo Orochi, a karate grandmaster and one of the few fighters that even the mighty Yujiro Hanma respects, would show him exactly what it means to be tenacious. The two warriors would clash numerous times, continually escalating to the point where bones were broken and appendages were removed. In one instance, after having an arm sliced off by Dorian's fishing wire, Doppo responded simply by smashing him in the face with what was left of it. After falling under the same hypnosis as Kiyosumi Katou, the combat veteran continued as normal, his hardened battle senses taking control.
Doppo caused immeasurable damage to Dorian, shattering many of his bones, causing massive internal bleeding, and completely breaking his spirit by having an unconscious Kiyosumi finish him off. However, after being taken to a hospital for treatment, Dorian would escape out of a window to enact his own revenge, taking Doppo by surprise and striking him in the face with a bomb he had hidden inside his wrist. Kaiou Retsu would subsequently finish the fight for good with a single blow, due to the damage already inflicted by Doppo as well as the collateral damage from his own bomb.
2 The "God of War" Loses an Eye to the World's Strongest Man
Orochi Doppo vs Yujiro Hanma - Episode 23, "Medical Miracle/Fighting God, Satan!", (Baki the Grappler, 2001)
Long before having to deal with death row convicts and prehistoric humans, fights were considerably more organized. However, it is in one such fight between Doppo Orochi and Yujiro Hanma that the karate master truly puts everything on the line, intending to either win or die trying. Doppo is more than capable of keeping up with the world's strongest man, the scars from their previous encounters showing that he has the experience and technical know-how to tussle with the demon. While at first he appeared to have the upper hand against Baki's father, Yujiro decided to get serious by proudly showing off his demon-like musculature.
Doppo is overwhelmed and swiftly defeated, but as Yujiro leaves the arena in triumph, the karate grandmaster gets back to his feet. As a sign of respect, he returns to the fight, gouging out one of Doppo's eyes and striking a near-fatal blow to his heart. While ultimately proving to be little challenge to Yujiro, the fight serves as an early barometer for his fighting prowess, especially when it comes to Doppo's superiority against most other people. It's also a rare instance of Yujiro acknowledging another warrior, which he would maintain throughout the rest of Hanma Baki.
1 A Yakuza's Face Explodes After Being Punched With Bullets in His Mouth... But He Wins Anyway
Kaoru Hanayama vs Spec - Episode 05, "Want Some More?", (Baki, 2018)
This anime has multiple confrontations between martial arts masters and million-year-old humans, but the best fight in the entirety of Baki Hanma belongs to the showdown between Kaoru Hanayama, a teenage yakuza leader, and Spec, a sadistic serial killer. After being bludgeoned with a park bench, Kaoru unleashes a ferocious barrage of punches, knocking some of the convict's teeth out. Pretending to cower in fear, the Spec grabs a fistful of pistol bullets and forces them into Kaoru's mouth, detonating them with a powerful uppercut that blows the young man's face apart. Not to be outdone, Kaoru promptly hurls Spec into a power line.
The teenager is attacked with a steel pipe, has his head stamped on repeatedly, then gets a flashbang grenade detonated in his face, but nothing proves effective in shutting down Kaoru's advance. In desperation, Spec attempts to kill Kaoru with a chokehold, but it ultimately proves to be his undoing thanks to the absurd grip strength of the young yakuza leader. After using it to tear chunks out of his arm and thigh, Kaoru finally triumphs by choking Spec until he loses consciousness, towering over his opponents' body and screaming in victory. This fight has everything, from pure displays of strength to absurdity and gore, which makes it a good candidate for the best fight in all of Baki.
