New Grappler Baki

Author: Keisuke Itagaki
Artist: Keisuke Itagaki
Published: 1999
Licensed: No
Scanlated: Yes
Length: 31 volumes (complete)

Let’s get some chronology out of the way: Grappler Baki is a 90-volume-and-counting story that continues to this day. Broadly speaking, there are 3 main series that tell the story. The first is Grappler Baki (42 vols), the second is New Grappler Baki (31 vols), and the third is Baki: Son of Ogre (18 vols at the time I’m writing this).

New Grappler Baki is the middle storyline. It’s the only manga of the series that is both completely published and completely scanlated. Most fans watch the 48 episode anime series Baki the Grappler, which summarizes the first manga, and go on to read New Grappler Baki. That’s not a bad way to go about things, though I maintain that the manga is immensely superior to the anime. I’ve read about 64 volumes total of this manga franchise, so I’m no expert, just a huge fan.

The plot in a sentence: Baki Hanma (our hero) seeks to defeat Yuujiro Hanma (his father). Baki’s father is the strongest man on the planet, a force of chaos that can topple armies without breaking a sweat. Like most shonen, the main plot takes a backseat to the myriad of characters that step in and out of this world, where strenuous martial arts training can turn anyone into an uebermensch.


It is so easy to lose yourself in these battles and characters. Punches send people flying, ammunition shells are tossed into mouths and chewed up, and kneecaps explode. Nevertheless, the martial arts techniques appear interesting and somewhat legitimate, as do the injuries characters sustain (the latter realism being to a fault, if anything). In addition, most characters are motivated purely by a passion for fighting. Don’t get me wrong, there are bad guys and we’re usually rooting for one party over another in any given battle, but the desire to become stronger and overcome one’s personal limitations underlines the series in a refreshing way.

Imagine if you will, two enormous and powerful men deciding to engage in battle. This endeavor is done entirely for sport, to perhaps prove one school of martial arts superior, or something else equally basic. Anything goes, and whatever honor is exhibited by each fighter isn’t praised, but is merely accepted as personal preference. The battle begins, with artwork that pulls us in and demands our attention. The fight is a meteoric event, a clash of titans that resembles a lightning storm as much as it resembles a street brawl. As strikes are exchanged, the fighters’ ideologies bubble to the surface, and as their personal histories flash before their eyes, their life philosophies are challenged, defended, and uplifted.


Muhammad Ali, retired with Parkinson's disease,
interrupts a fight by punching Baki in the face.
This manga is a blatant exploitation of the male power fantasy. Over here in reality, we know the unfortunate truth about combat: human biology is enormously vulnerable, and no amount of training or hard work can change that. An unexpected grazing of the chin can be enough to make the most battle-hardened man lose consciousness, and a stab to the gut would put anyone out of commission. But you can forget all of that when you’re reading Baki, because these characters have pushed far beyond those limiters, purely by how badass they choose to be.

At the same time, adorable touches here and there both ground the story and make it feel relevant. When Yujiro Hanma infiltrates Washington DC to mock Former President Bush about his effeminate driving, it’s handled with a humor and matter-of-factness that just works. And don’t worry, I won’t spoil a thing about what happens when Yujiro meets Muhammad Ali and decides to size him up. You’ll have to read the manga to see what I mean.