I first saw this over 10 years ago as a rental. In the eyes of everyone that saw it with me, it's a classic. It is short... VERY short. It's almost like they expect you to know everything about all the characters and left 45 minutes worth of backstory, character development and plot on the cutting room floor. So while 45 minutes isn't much, if you editted out all the fluff in a DragonBall Z episode, you'd probably only have about 4 minutes. Thus, this is the equivalent of 10 episodes of your standard fighting anime.

What sells it is how over-the-top it can be. It could be a lot worse, but for its time, it was pretty impressive. For example, when he fights the huge guy behind on the cover, the huge guy breaks his hand (the bone pops out the skin) when he punches Baki in the face. You'd think Baki would be in a lifelong coma after charging into a punch like that from such a large man, but he gets up with a wry grin and a swollen eye and says, "Crying over a broken hand?"

That's just part of the first fight.

Although it's not on par with Fist of the North Star for ludicrous brutality and machismo, it's up there. I actually like that from time-to-time, but most people don't. I give it 5 stars, most people would consider it worthy of a rental.

If you're a Baki fan like me, get this. Think of it as a prequel to the Anime series. Only gripe? 45 minutes.

Once in a while, I like to kick back and watch an anime that's got nothing but lots of good old dirt-under-the-nails FIGHTIN'. You can't go wrong with a title like "Grappler Baki: The ULTIMATE FIGHTER", can you? So I gave it a rent and checked it out. And you know what? I was pretty impressed. There's a lot to enjoy in this flick, most of which is the fighting itself. The fight scenes were well done; not on par with, say, the choreographed genius of "Street Fighter: the Animated Movie", but they hold their own. A lot of the moves hurt just to look at (like when a shoulder gets separated and they show you an inside-the-body shot of the bones coming apart) and the animation is pretty decent as well. There's not much story here; just a guy named Baki who wants to be the best fighter in the land and the people he goes through to get there. The final battle, though, between Baki and the "Cord Cutter" (speaking of painful techniques, ever have someone pull on your NERVES?) is a sight to behold. All in all, a decent fight flick that will keep you entertained for almost an hour. The only real problems I saw were the crowd shots (completely still and noiseless; I guess they were completely mesmerized by the fight) and the dubbing. It wasn't bad, but I've heard a LOT better. But hey, if you like the fightin' stuff, you'll enjoy it. Great action and a minimum of sentiment. It's a good combination.

Grappler Baki: Ultimate fighter is an anime that was released in the late 90's and is based of the early issues of Grappler Baki the manga. The story kicks off right away at the Japanese Karate Competition. Baki is a last minute entry and basically wipes the mat with every opponent that is thrown his way, including the students of the world's greatest karate dojo. You soon find out that this competition was all just a warm up for Baki as he finds himself at the underground arena defending his championship title against Kosho Shinogi, The Cord Cutter. Shinogi uses a style of karate that can severe nerves beneath the skin and make his enemy immobile, or even blind. This fight can well be Baki's last.

Now on to my opinion of the anime; nearly flawless. Now take into account that this anime has very little storyline, yet I feel it's better than it's 2004 counterpart. It has everything you need out of an action anime; Action. The fights are superb and brutal, and even with the lack of story the characters are intriguing. They also kept this anime short and sweet, running at about 90 minutes which in my opinion is perfect length. I give this one an 8.5-9 out of 10.

There is a 1/2” crack in the dvd and the movie will not play

The tournament is deadly as can be and only the chosen can be pick to fight in the shinshinkai underground tournament. Baki is an excellent fighter who can not be defeated and when he come up against a fighter who can pull your nerve cords from your body he has trouble figuring out how to beat him.

The Baki saga has had numerous incarnations since its original manga debuted in early 90s by Keisuke Itagaki, who coincidentally is the father of Paru Itagaki creator of Beastars. The character's first anime outlet was a 45-minute one-shot by Knack Productions in 1994 based on the original manga series which was American's first real introduction to the character until the manga itself was released by Gutsoon Entertainment nearly a decade later. The initial watching of the OVA might make 90s otaku believe the anime was just trying to appeal ultravoilence and unrealistic fighting tournament arcs in shonen manga, however it does contain a certain appeal despite its lack of character development which was ejected to make time for a single anime chapter.

Baki Hanma is a champion in the world of underground fighting who specializes in karate. After winning a match at the beginning of the feature, the majority of the story is located in an hidden section underneath a stadium in downtown Tokyo which has apparently been around for over centuries as a place for grievances to be settled in mortal combat instead of on the battlefield. Baki's solo match is against a mighty fighter known as the Cort Cutter who can dig into his opponent's flesh and sever their nerves with his bare fingers causing the poor dope to either lose all motion in a limb or go completely blind in one eye. No matter the outcome, the corrupt upper class who run this fight club can fix nearly any injury with their state of the art health program which is almost on the level of mutant superpowers, leaving us to believe that Baki will still continue to face even tougher fighters while trying to live up to his father's impossible legacy which in itself is an overused trope in shonen anime.

The OVA has some impressive fight choreography which borders on something a little more grounded like Street Fighter or as bombastic as Dragonball, but too much time is given to explaining the bizarre world that permits this kind of competition in it. When the Baki franchise was allowed to expand into its various TV and ONA series, this singular OVA doesn't give much chance for a deep plot. Upon first watch, you might not feel as motivated into exploring the Baki iceberg as it more talks about the supporting characters and not the titular fighter. For a one-shot to dwell more on world building instead of giving life to the cast is its biggest setback.

Silly but fun

Cette série est une série culte en manga. L'esthétique peux rebuter au premier abords (avec les gueule de certain persos et les muscle de partout), mais l'histoire se suit agréablement et les combat sont bien retransmis. Une trés bonne série pour tous les amateur de baston.