Hanma Baki VS Kengan Ashura

As much as I love both series this felt like a huge let down. There's only so much you can get out of an almost hour and a half special and to no one's surprise we didn't get much. On paper this could've been cool as hell but it just ended up being predictable and I see I'm not alone on this. I started off excited for this then halfway through I was bored to point where I was basically forcing myself to finish it out of obligation.

It's cool to see these characters interact with each other but honestly it's the equivalent of a kid picking up their favorite action figures, smashing them together, and pretending that they're fighting. This really should've been a season crossover so the characters have more time to interact/play off one another.

Baki Hanma and Ohma Tokita, the film's two main characters, both want to be the strongest man for their own reasons. They finally have a chance to confront one another in a tournament.

As I watched both shows-all of Baki's and Kengan Ashura's-I had great hopes and enjoyed them all. With scenes that incorporated characters from both programs and connected them to backstory, the film got off to a strong start. It was entertaining to watch the fights. However, the story was just passably good, and the cinematic adaptation was subpar. The fact that Baki and Ohma's match ended in a tie would have been advantageous because it prevented one show from being held concurrently, but it would have been handled differently.

The animation appears Although Kengan Ashura was created in 3D, I am happy they chose to use 2D animation. Although Kengan Ashura is an excellent program, the 3D animation is the one thing that bothers me about it. The English dub voice acting was good. It had good music.

To sum up, I am dissatisfied with this film because it was not up to the both shows as they were entertaining to me.

Cons: Just fan service but not even good one. It's a one hour movie not a limited series. Plenty of empty talking and flashbacks to avoid actually animating fights. The fights are very lame and badly animated ; for something that both series are about martial arts, there's barely any martial arts, it's just a slug fest between all characters. The ending was very cliche and predictable and the power scaling at the end makes no sense with Baki after fighting Pickle and his father. Between this and Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf that Netflix has recently released, it's really disappointing the state of martial arts anime that feel empty,devoid, and lack any substance with their stories or with the martial arts techniques, to them a martial arts anime is just punching with occasionally a kick without superpowers. It would be nice if they got people who actually knew something about martial arts involved in these projects and not just people who watch some stuff online and think this would "be cool , let's just add that in there".

It was a cliche ending that you could see happening before the film dropped, it had the potential to be so much better than it was but it just leaves you feeling empty, it was absolutely average, entertaining enough to watch but felt rushed as though they didn't have enough run time to make something as epic as they could have. We can only hope for a part two that makes this one seem better. There were some epic moments that could have been developed into something amazing but it just feels like the ball was dropped even though there was so much hype and anticipation around the show. As mentioned a part 2 to tie the two together would be its only saving grace in my opinion.

Is an exhilarating, high-octane experience that brings together two of the most iconic fighters in the anime world. The film presents a clash of titans-each representing their unique universe-delivering an action-packed story with intense combat sequences and an undercurrent of rivalry that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The animation is striking, bringing the fierce battles to life with detailed, fluid movements that capture the raw power and precision of each fighter. Every moment feels impactful, with the choreography perfectly capturing the essence of both series-brutal yet calculated, showcasing the unique fighting styles of the characters. The pacing is relentless, keeping the energy high throughout the movie without ever losing momentum.