Baki Hanma

Baki's hand-to-hand combat techniques are also varied. Developed and refined throughout the series, his fighting style is clearly a blend of martial arts, integrating movements from various disciplines, primarily karate and professional wrestling, and, to a lesser extent, judo, kempo, and jiu-jitsu. This includes both original moves and moves from his former rivals and opponents, acquired through his training, creativity, and experience. He is known for his unusual training methods, which include shadow boxing, imagining that his next opponent is actually right beside him. This allows him to anticipate every move of his opponent in the actual fight and also helps him identify their weaknesses long before the combat. Although he cannot master any fighting style instantly like his father, Baki is able to learn them much faster than others and, combined with his imaginative abilities, makes him almost as skilled as Yuujirou.

At the end of the third season, before Baki's final fight against his father, he demonstrates such great strength that he manages to completely vaporize a boxing machine target with a casual punch. At this point, it can be safely assumed that Baki is possibly the second strongest character in the series (being equal to or superior to Kaku Kaiou). Baki was still shown to be far inferior to Yuujirou until his demonic back activated. When Baki's demonic back appeared in his fight against Yuujirou, he demonstrated enough power to actually injure Yuujirou (something no other character had shown to be capable of doing). Baki ends up losing to Yuujirou in an exchange of blows until one of them falls, although there is still enough of a difference between them that Yuujirou manages to stop and let Baki attack him, since Baki can no longer fight effectively due to injuries and fatigue. However, Yuujirou admits in the end that he can no longer be considered the strongest creature alive, since Baki is worthy of being considered his equal for having forced him to exert himself even more than before.

Baki was able to withstand Pickle's "Strength Test" attack, as Pickle charged at Baki with a force comparable to that of a Triceratops. Baki managed to knock Pickle down in two blows, using a double kick and a high spinning kick to Pickle's face. Baki endured the pain and survived a somersault from Pickle from the top of the kourakuen arena. Baki demonstrated his genius by knocking Pickle out with a light touch to the chin. Baki narrowly avoided Pickle's attacks, deflecting them with a skin blow. Baki also demonstrated his mastery of the Five Animals martial art, combining the styles of all the dinosaurs and making Pickle believe he was more dangerous than them. Near the end of the fight, Baki managed to match Pickle's speed and pushed him back. Baki challenged Pickle to a no-holds-barred fight, but lost due to Pickle using a jujutsu technique (Aiki). However, Baki managed to instill fear in Pickle, thus becoming the victor.

In the Hanma Baki series, Baki decides that the only way to become stronger is to send himself to the same prison where Biscuit Oliva is being held and fight him. To this end, Baki kidnapped the US president under heavy security, only to request a transfer to Arizona Prison and face Oliva. To get Oliva's attention, Baki escaped the maximum-security prison, dodging bullets and defeating guards in the blink of an eye. Even cornered by five guards armed with M-16 rifles, Baki managed to rip the buttons off their uniforms and break the warden's glasses. Thus, he reversed the situation, taking them hostage, even though they were armed. Baki finally managed to fight Oliva and kicked him so hard that he threw him far away. Baki also managed to get up and kick Oliva after being thrown against concrete walls and falling from the top floor of the prison. He managed to knock Oliva out by taking advantage of the half-second Oliva was preparing to move. Baki manages to defeat Oliva in a duel of pure strength, in a frank exchange of blows until Oliva gives up.

In the second series of the manga, when Baki is 17 years old, he demonstrates great progress. During physical education class, Baki was able to do 10 pull-ups in 2 seconds (breaking the bar in the process), jump 6 meters high over a 6-meter gap from a standing position, and break his arm cast into pieces simply by flexing it. He was fast enough to effortlessly dodge a bandit's chain, which had a rock attached to the end to cause blunt force trauma, while the bandit managed to swing the chain at speeds exceeding 160 km/h. He also took a knife from another bandit's hand without the latter even seeing him (the bandit managed to swing the knife back and forth at speeds imperceptible to the human eye). Baki fought one of the fugitives, Sikorsky, and easily won by crushing his testicles. Their fight was interrupted twice by Biscuit Oliva. Baki demonstrated the ability to kick Oliva, who weighs 180 kg, with a back kick. He also fought two fugitives simultaneously, Sikorsky and Ryuukou Yanagi, and easily defeated them. When Baki was poisoned by Yanagi, he participated in the Chinese Tournament and recovered. His body regenerated, and Baki commented that he felt as light as a feather. Baki defeated Shunsei Kaku in just 2 seconds, without his opponent managing to land a hit. It's worth noting that, at this point in the story, Baki was already considered one of the strongest characters in the series, with strength, speed, stamina, and an arsenal of techniques superior to most others (with the exception of Yuujirou Hanma, Biscuit Oliva, and Kaiou Kaku). Despite this, Baki doesn't appear much in combat during the remainder of the second season. Baki's final fight against Mohammad Alai Jr. was an easy victory, in which Baki effortlessly dominated him and nearly killed him, until Alai Sr. intervened.

Baki's strength steadily increases throughout the series. Early on, at age 17, Baki was already the champion of the Tokyo Underground Dome. Initially, he demonstrated bench pressing over 145 kg during training. At first, Baki was shown to be on par with Mount Toba, a fighter strong enough to easily defeat Junichi Hanada and destroy his bicycle. Baki's strength continued to grow at age 17 until he was able to face and defeat Kureha Shinogi. As Baki never stops getting stronger throughout the series, it's difficult to define a precise level for his strength. Early in the anime, at age 13, Baki was able to defeat 37 out of 100 thugs single-handedly. When confronting Kaoru Hanayama, he easily subdued several men who tried to restrain him and kicked Hanayama's 113 kg table out the window. He also showed enough speed to catch a knife thrown 4.5 meters away.

Baki's strength increased even further during his fight against Gaia, when he learned to utilize his endorphins to enhance his strength and speed. By activating his endorphins, his body can also react and move on its own, without conscious effort. When Baki, at age 13, faced Yuujirou Hanma, he demonstrated enough strength to withstand Hanayama's punches (which are powerful enough to crack a fence) without suffering damage. He was able to push Hanayama's 159 kg body 30 meters away with a single punch and proved to be faster than the boxer Yuri Chakovsky, easily dodging all of his blows. Baki had enough stamina to fight for 12 hours straight against Hanayama and Yuri without stopping, all while wearing a 20 kg training belt, declaring that the 12-hour session was just a warm-up.

In time, Baki finally achieved the confrontation he had pursued his entire life: the ultimate battle against Yujiro. Father and son destroyed streets, buildings, and everything around them as they fought. The combat was so brutal that it seemed impossible for any human to keep up. Even without completely defeating Yujiro, Baki achieved something no one had accomplished before: making the strongest man in the world recognize him as an equal. For the first time, Yujiro saw his son not as a weak child, but as someone worthy of facing him.
After that, the world moved on, but the fighters continued to seek ways to surpass their own limits. Jack Hanma went on to further modify his own body, becoming increasingly monstrous in his obsession with power. Meanwhile, Baki continued training and facing new challenges, now carrying the recognition he had pursued throughout his life.

Some time later, five extremely dangerous criminals escaped from prisons around the world and went to Japan in search of the "perfect defeat." These men plunged the country into chaos, attacking fighters and civilians indiscriminately. Baki and the other warriors faced each of them in violent confrontations. During this time, Baki nearly died after being severely poisoned, hovering between life and death for a long period. He managed to survive and recover, becoming even stronger.

As he matured, Baki began to develop a closer relationship with Kozue Matsumoto. For the first time, he experienced a somewhat normal life away from constant fighting. This ended up changing his mindset and further strengthening his determination.

Later, Pickle emerged, a prehistoric man found frozen after thousands of years. Pickle had survived the age of dinosaurs by fighting directly against gigantic creatures. When he awoke in the modern world, several fighters tried to confront him, including Baki and Jack. Many were violently defeated. Baki managed to fight him on equal terms, while Jack suffered a humiliating defeat.

After that, scientists managed to clone the body of Miyamoto Musashi, the legendary Japanese swordsman, and brought his soul back to the new body. Musashi began to walk through modern Japan as if he were still at war. Unlike modern fighters, he did not see combat as a sport, but as murder. Several warriors tried to stop him, but few managed to survive his attacks. Even Yujiro recognized Musashi's monstrosity.

Baki Hanma was born carrying an impossible burden. His father, Yujiro Hanma, was already known throughout the world as the strongest man on Earth, someone capable of defeating entire armies single-handedly. From a young age, Baki was raised believing he needed to become strong enough to face his own father. His mother, Emi Akezawa, didn't give him genuine affection; she was obsessed with Yujiro and saw her son only as someone who could impress him.

Even as a child, Baki began training relentlessly. He faced adult fighters, survived in forests, battled wild animals, and put his own body in extreme situations to grow faster. After years of brutal training, he believed he had finally reached a level worthy of his father's attention. Yujiro appeared, faced his son without difficulty, and completely shattered his hopes. During the confrontation, Emi tried to protect Baki, but Yujiro killed her in front of him. From that moment on, Baki lived only to surpass his father.

Years later, Baki entered the world of Japan's underground arenas, a subculture where the most dangerous fighters on the planet clashed. There he met legendary figures like Doppo Orochi, Kaoru Hanayama, and Retsu Kaioh. Each fight brought Baki a little closer to the level he desired to reach.

During this period, Jack Hanma, his half-brother, also emerged. Jack was also Yujiro's son and deeply hated his father. Unlike Baki, he chose to sacrifice his own body to gain power, using heavy drugs, surgeries, and inhumane training methods. The two ended up facing each other in a gigantic underground tournament organized by Mitsunari Tokugawa. After brutal battles against various fighters, Baki defeated Jack and became the champion of the underground arena.

Baki is a boy approximately 1.67 m tall. His appearance changes drastically throughout the series as he ages. His first appearance, at the beginning of Grappler Baki, when he is 17 years old, is that of a somewhat childlike boy with short hair and long hair at the nape of his neck. Throughout the series, Baki's body is shown to be covered in scars, the result of the arduous and rigorous training he undergoes, with the exception of his face. Another striking feature of Baki is the mole just above his upper lip, on the side (a physical characteristic he shares with his mother, Emi Akezawa).

In the flashback, when Baki was 13 years old, his appearance had changed slightly. His hair was shorter, spiky, and orange in color (most likely because he was trying to look more like his father).

In the second series of the manga, when Baki is 17 years old, his appearance reverts to the initial version from the beginning of Grappler Baki, with a more mature air. A carefree, almost weary demeanor replaces his childish posture. His hair is now much longer, reaching below his ears. Baki's appearance at age 18 in the third series of the manga does not differ much from his previous appearance in New Grappler Baki. The only changes in his appearance are that his hair is now curlier and he has grown to 167 cm (5'6").

From childhood, Baki's body underwent intense physical training; Baki is very muscular, flexible, and resilient. His physique is the result of constant and rigorous combat training, and is far beyond that of a typical teenager. His bones and muscles are also described as superior to those of an Olympic athlete.

Baki's relationship with his father is very ambiguous and sad. Baki almost always speaks of him with great reluctance and anger. At the same time, it's clear that Baki isn't indifferent to what Yuujirou thinks of him. Although they are mortal enemies, Baki and Yuujirou manage to work as a team when necessary (such as during the Great Chinese Tournament). Neither of them says it directly, but they feel a strange familial connection between them, even though Baki sometimes calls his father by his name. This is evident when Baki invites him to dinner or when they suddenly start acting out a scene where they pretend to eat together during the battle. Baki and Yuujirou seem to have strong feelings for each other, although these feelings aren't typically familial. The deeper psychological aspect of this complex relationship is best demonstrated during the final fight in the third volume of the manga. Furthermore, even wanting to defeat his father, Baki respects Yuujirou's strength, openly acknowledging him as the most powerful creature in the world. Rumina Ayukawa pointed out that, despite considering Yuujirou his enemy, the way Baki describes his father's strength suggests that he admires him in a certain way.

He ends up developing the demonic face on his back while fighting his brother, but only for a brief moment. Unlike Yuujirou, he chooses to control his murderous intent and fight his battles fairly and honorably, regardless of the outcome. Many of Baki's unusual training methods often earn him the admiration of many of the fighters in the Underground Arena; for example, shadow training, that is, visualizing a fight against an opponent, is an important part of Baki's regimen—sometimes his visions take on an almost human form, and since he can easily remember and replicate any technique he sees, this gives him a considerable advantage over his opponents, as he can "fight" them and learn their weaknesses before actually facing them.

Normally, Baki never actively fights anyone weaker than himself and has no desire to hurt the thugs who constantly try to attack him. This version of his personality, however, underwent a huge contrast later in "Baki the Fighter," when Baki was 13 years old. At this point in the story, Baki is an arrogant and impulsive punk who is always looking for a fight with those he wants to prove his worth to. He likely developed this attitude because of his desire to be as strong as his father. This aspect of his personality, however, is short-lived, as at the end of "Baki the Fighter," Baki reverts to his usual self, gentle and calm, although he still tries to surpass Yuujirou. At this point, he proclaims that he no longer wants to be the strongest man in the world. Even so, he would be happy to be a little stronger than his father, even stating that if Yuujirou were the weakest man in the world, he would be content to be only the second most vulnerable. However, when Yuujirou finally recognizes him as the strongest boy in the world, Baki begins to feel bored and distant, accepting Musashi Miyamoto's challenges. The second Nomi no Sukune is a way to alleviate his boredom and feel connected to the world again.

Baki is also very polite to people when he's not training or fighting, demonstrating good manners and refinement, likely due to being born and raised in a wealthy family with luxuries until the age of 13. It's also worth mentioning that, despite inheriting Emi's fortune, he doesn't use the money much and lives frugally. Although polite, Baki can be very provocative with his opponents to make them fight him using their full strength. He believes that a true fighter doesn't need rules, excuses, or conditions to fight, considering that if he wants to, he just has to fight and that's it.

Baki has a strong sense of love and respect for those close to him. He is known for being very protective of his girlfriend, Kozue Matsumoto. He can become aggressive if she feels threatened, such as when Sikorsky kidnapped her and Baki immediately hunted him down to defeat him. In the second season of the manga, he demonstrates being very attached to his girlfriend, who has become a great source of strength for him through her constant love and emotional support. Later, however, this situation changes, and they likely begin seeing each other less frequently. At a certain point in the manga, Mohammad Alai Jr. tries to win Kozue's affection, which leads to complications in the relationship between her and Baki. Possibly, this was the cause of this change.

His intelligence is immensely high in terms of martial prowess; he is an ingenious and tactical fighter who utilizes multiple combat styles simultaneously when facing his opponents. He employs cunning and pragmatic tactics to gain an advantage over opponents, such as blinding them using their own blood. He knows how to shake someone's brain with a well-aimed punch to the chin. He is able to imagine and even interact, to some extent, with mental visualizations of creatures and individuals to develop new stances and techniques without the need for their physical presence. At the same time, he dedicates a significant portion of his time primarily to training or fighting, and much of his formal education is spent sleeping in the classroom.

Throughout most of the series, Baki is generally a carefree, quiet teenager, dedicated to training and sometimes aggressive. He aims to defeat his father, Yuujirou Hanma, arguably considered the strongest man in the world. However, Baki's dream is not to replace Yuujirou as the strongest man, but rather to become strong enough to defeat him. This goal stems from a natural desire to surpass his father and avenge the death of his mother, Emi Akezawa, who was murdered by Yuujirou.

Baki trains almost constantly, day and night, trying to hone his skills as quickly as possible. As a relatively well-known martial artist (among those familiar with the Underground Arena), Baki frequently engages in fights with various people, sometimes intentionally, other times due to bad luck and circumstances beyond his control (usually the latter). However, during the process, Baki realizes that the quickest and most effective way to get stronger is to fight people stronger than him, so that his body strengthens and he can learn from the experience, an aspect of the Hanma bloodline. At one point, Baki realized that his fighting style was very different from Yuujirou's. He stated that building relationships with strong opponents gives him incredible strength, while his father believes that everyone should be brutally defeated to obtain absolute power. Baki is also often very merciful to his opponents, which always irritates Yuujirou.