Baki the Grappler Vol-4: Tough Love (2001)
Released by: Funimation
Running Time: 100 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

This is it, the moment this series has been building up to since episode one, the battle between son and father, experience VS spirit; it all happens here and boy is it packed with some twists and turns that no one could have anticipated. Having become a fan of this series I was ecstatic to finally get my hands on this release and the payoff was great, albeit different from what I expected.

Let’s go right into it and find out what’s happening here and where Baki is headed by the end of episode sixteen.

Story

"Tension is high as the big showdown approaches. Baki gathers with friends and former foes from his past to engage in some last minute training before his father, Yujiro arrives. It's Baki vs. Yujiro in a no holds barred grudge match to determine superiority once and for all! Or is there much more at stake than meets the eye? Whose side will Emi choose: The man she loves or the son who desperately wants to love her? " -- DVD Box

Review

The fourth volume in Funimation' s release of Baki the Grappler features episodes thirteen through sixteen in the series, which include:

Episode 13: The Midnight Hour
The time is near for the ultimate showdown between Baki and his father, but there is still a lot of work to be done yet. In Baki’s case this means bringing in everyone he has fought up to this point to help him train and warm up as he heads into the upcoming match. Meanwhile the Ogre (as Baki’s father is referred to by all who fear him) has his eyes set on Gaia for his own training purposes. When the moment finally arrives Baki unleashes a furious blitzkrieg, but is he in over his head?

Episode 14: Lullaby
The fight of the century is finally underway, but despite everything Baki has been through and the fighting level he has attained his attacks don’t even register with Yujiro and when the Ogre finally let’s loose Baki is barely able to hang on! Can a mother who has ignored her son in favor of her husband throughout his entire life finally notice him and change the course of everything that is unfolding? Baki’s life may depend on it.

Episode 15: Reflections
Detective Kido reminisces about Baki and learns what has happened to the youth he used to keep an eye on and where he is headed. Baki’s road has certainly been a difficult, but who knows what potential lies ahead!

Episode 16: Coming Home
While searching for new challenges in South America Baki hears that there is an ultimate fighting tournament in Japan that brings together the world’s strongest fighters. Hoping to run into Yujiro there he sets off to join in this secretive sporting event, but does he have what it takes to break into their ranks?

Going into this DVD I had one concern, given that the series continues after this first story arch wraps up and that was whether Baki would beat his father in combat or not. While within the context of this first storyline beating his father, showing his superiority and winning his mother’s affection would prove to be a nice wrap up, going forward it would be a calamity since Yujiro has been established as the most powerful man in the world (something that is reinforced in episodes 13 and 14 of this DVD to an unbelievable degree) and any challenges that come after him would be child’s play to Baki if he did indeed win. So in other words the show would really have nowhere else to take Baki to if he won here, but by the same token if lost miserably to his father the entire build up would have been a large waste.

Thankfully the way it actually unfolds is a simple, but effective outcome that avoids the pitfalls of the two scenarios described above and actually helps setup the next storyline beautifully!

Basically what happens here is that Baki is pronounced a success by Yujiro, who thanks everyone present for helping bring his son up to his present level of fighting prowess, but ultimately their levels are nowhere near close as demonstrated by the Ogre’s handling of his son’s many attacks, which to everyone on hand look tremendously powerful, but to Yujiro who is on the receiving end of the onslaught they appear to be no more than small mosquito bites.

For Baki’s father this is about taking his son to the next step, but for his mother it is about pleasing the man she adores and giving him what he wants most, even if that costs her the son that they conceived and that she raised over the past 13 years. At least at first this was Emi’s motivation, but as the fight rages, her emotions begin fluctuating and her maternal instincts start taking kicking in, ultimately driving her to protect her son from her husband even if it means that she must sacrifice herself. This leads to one of the most interesting scenes I’ve ever seen in one of these fighting shows as Yujiro takes on his wife and delivers a deadly hug to her that while life-ending helps open her eyes and heart for the first time as a mother to Baki.

Now, having lost against Yujiro as a fighter as well as his mother, Baki reaches a new path that will take him around the world in search of new opponents that will help him attain new heights as a fighter, a road that ultimately will take him back to Japan and a secretive tournament where the world’s top contenders get together to prove who is the most powerful man in the world. This is where he hopes he will once more run into his father, in the hopes that this time he will defeat him and avenge his mother.

After watching this DVD I have to say that I really liked the way everything was handled in the Yujiro VS Baki showdown. Like I said this could have spelled disaster for the storyline if they had let Baki win, but having him not only lose tremendously to his father, but also have Yujiro kill Baki’s mother, the one person who Baki really looks up and loves, is a brilliant way to set up the 2nd story arch for the series. Now rather than having our protagonist go into random encounters with other opponents a true tournament structure has been setup so that he can begin the process of building up his skills as he takes on the world’s greatest fighters. It killed me when the DVD ended as I really wanted to get going with this new story, but now I have something to really look forward to in the next month or two!

As with the previous episodes the productions values here were quite good with a solid frame rate, sharp looking visuals, a varied color palette and neat visual effects. The action scenes are depicted with a lot of kinetic energy and interesting angles that add to their explosiveness onscreen. The one thing that I continue to not be impressed by are some of the character designs, especially Baki’s, which remind me a lot of hybrid anime drawings by people trained in more Marvel/DC-like comic art style.

As far as the audio component of goes I loved all aspects of it. The soundtrack in particular noteworthy with several good techno pieces that pump up the action and add another layer of energy to the fighting/training scenes (as if they weren’t energy-packed already). The voice acting was on-target with everyone putting in a solid performance on both the Japanese and English dubbed tracks.

The DVD itself is an all around well packaged product with a variety of extras that round off the episodes in this volume on a positive note. DVD extras include director/actor commentary for episode 14, episode summaries, clean copies of the opening and ending themes, character profiles, an art gallery and previews of other Funimation releases. Inside the DVD box there is also a small booklet with more info on the company’s other properties and releases as well as little cardboard cutout pieces with the characters from the show in them. Both the audio and video transfers are crystal clear with no real issues to speak of.

Final Thoughts

This show is getting better and better and now it’s ready to explode as Baki enters a world class fighting tournament! If you enjoy the fighting anime genre you’re going to love this series. This show’s approach to the long running genre is one of the cleanest and easiest to follow that I’ve found, since it has a straight forward attitude that doesn’t waste time trying to teach you fighting styles or their history so it’s especially approachable for new fans.

Very recommended.

Jeffrey Couto