OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Grappler Baki: The Ultimate Fighter

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 Cord 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.