Baki: the heterosexual answer to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Gone are the flamboyant poses and cheeky musical references, replaced with nothing but bad haircuts and pure, unleaded testosterone. The characters of Baki are some of the strongest fighters anime has to offer, and ranking them is no easy feat.
10. Katsumi Orochi
Katsumi Orochi has been a martial arts genius since birth. Big whoop, so is everyone else on this list. That’s practically a Baki prerequisite. He came into his true power after being taught by Doppo Orochi, one of the strongest creatures (because I’m not sure that dude counts as human) on Earth.
Katsumi Orochi’s claim to fame? His fast punch. How fast is it? Mach 1. That’s right, this kid’s fists break the sound barrier. And he’s the LEAST powerful person on this list. What does that say about the rest?
9. Izou Motobe
Izou Motobe is a weapons specialist, boasting to have mastered every handheld weapon known to man. While this is a monumental impressive feat that has never been achieved by any other martial artist on Earth, it actually takes points off here. Why? Because for every other fighter on this list, their hands are all they need. Still, Motobe is one of the most celebrated fighters in the world, and not an old man to be trifled with.
8. Sea King Retsu
Sea King Retsu didn’t earn the name “Sea King” without a struggle. His claim to fame is that he defeated a world-renowned martial artist in less than a minute. Embarrassing. He is perhaps the world’s greatest practitioner of the art of Chinese Kung Fu. Despite his talents, he suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the prehistoric Pickle (yes that’s a man’s name).
7. Biscuit Olivia
Despite having the silliest name on this list, Biscuit Olivia is anything but a goof. He is housed underneath a maximum security prison containing some of the world’s most dangerous inmates and is only released when the government wants to make criminals disappear. How strong is Biscuit? Strong enough to take a point-blank shotgun blast to the chest and just walk it off. Teddy Roosevelt, eat your heart out.
6. Gouki Shibukawa
Gouki Shibukawa is a mysterious figure known as “The Master”. In a world where people can shrug off shotgun shells to the pecs, a title like “The Master” means that whoever bears it is a supernatural force NOT to be reckoned with. Gouki is so strong that he has beaten fighters half his age with nothing but a handshake. A secret handshake that would be best to remain so.
5. Doppo Orochi
Doppo Orochi is a monster. This musclebound cyclops is easily one of the most intimidating characters in the series, and the only person that Yujiro Hanma seems to respect. He is known as the King of War, and is a master of the art of karate. He has lost only a handful of fights, the most famous of which was his bout with Baki’s father. And if that heartless bastard Yujiro still thinks Doppo is worthy of respect after taking an L, then the rest of the world ought to as well. Remember the kid on this list that throws punches at the speed of sound? Doppo is the man who taught the little squirt how to do it.
4. Pickle
I’m not sure if Pickle even qualifies as a man, he’s more of a force of nature. Pickle is an eight-foot-tall prehistoric being whose pastimes include beating the petroleum out of literal dinosaurs with his bare hands. He hails from the Jurassic Period but ended up in modern times because plot. Due to his prehistoric pedigree, fighters from across the world have flocked to fight and fall to the guy. Pickle fought countless warriors in the arena in succession, and each one fell. Jack Hanma. Sea King Retsu. None could hold a candle to this cucumber monikered blowtorch.
3. Sea Emperor Kaku
Sea Emperor Kaku is the oldest fighter in the Baki series, and he’s been walking the Earth for 160. Those are some biblical Old Testament patriarch numbers right there. Like a fine wine, Sea Emperor Kaku’s combat abilities seem only to ripen with age. He is a master of the arts of Retsu and Ryuu, and is one of the few characters in the series to be able to hold his own against Yuijiro Hanma. He is, without question, the greatest living martial arts practitioner in the entire world. He fought Yuijiro Hanma to a standstill, much to the thrill of the arena crowd.
2. Baki Hanma
The series protagonist Baki Hanma is the world’s strongest teenager, bar none. His Hanma blood, abnormal muscle structure, and brutal training methods have shaped him into one of the most formidable fighters in the entire series. The boy consistently faces off against fighters with decades more experience and training and comes out on top. He was even able to survive a bout with the natural disaster that is Pickle. His goal? To someday surpass the world’s strongest man. A man known as …
1. Yujiro Hanma
Yujiro Hanma is without a doubt the strongest being in the entire world. In fact, he is officially recognized by all the world’s governments to be so. Known as The Ogre, the man has signed peace treaties with entire countries in order for nations to avoid getting on his bad side. And he has a lot of bad sides. He’s like a dodecahedron of bad sides. He’s fought wild animals like tigers and bears with ease and even stopped an earthquake with one punch because it was interrupting his training.
That kind of commitment is what it takes to become the strongest being in the Baki universe. So what are you waiting for? Go hit the gym, the wilds of Siberia, and then the San Andreas fault line. Gotta train like Yujiro if you’re gonna get anywhere in life.
(featured image: Netflix)
