Gurappurâ Baki

This 1994 OVA is an adaptation of two of the battles at the beginning of the original Grappler Baki manga. I'd say for what it's worth, it's a pretty fun OVA, the animation is mostly good, and the English dub is even alright for it's time, however, it does have a problem. The original manga series it is adapting is quite long, lasting 42 Volumes, while this OVA only adapts a fraction of the first 2-3 Volumes, and not all of it. The 45 minute OVA fails to tell the story of the manga, we see Baki fight in against two of the opponents he fights, but we are never told why he does, or what his motivations are at all. If you want to start watching Baki without reading the manga, you'd be better off with one of the later anime adaptations. However, I would say this OVA is worth watching if you would like to see a contemporary adaptation of the Baki manga in its early stages, I say this having read the first few volumes of the Grappler Baki manga beforehand.

This movie is about fighting. I can tell you that without spoiling anything, this movie mainly consists of 2 two fights in an arena. And guess what? In 45min minutes that is quite a good entertainment. The first fight is OK and has some surprises and the second one gets weird with strange techniques and stuff. The animation itself was well done. 45min is a short time for a story to develop so there isn't really much going on besides fighting. What bothered me was a bit the slight homo-erotic components and transgender looks of the second fighter, that made this anime kinda weird. But still it's enjoyable, if you're in the mood for a not so long anime and you like fighting-sports you can watch this.

Amusing ultra-violent anime full of exaggerated character designs and scenes. A young talented martial artist comes from several victories with just one blow in a fighting tournament where everything is allowed. Then, he is selected by the event managers to fight a much taller and very arrogant adversary. Eventually, he will have a much worse challenge, in a deadly underground version of that tournament. In the end of the short TV film, there is the impression that it was just a TV episode, lacking a proper end.

This is an OVA short film created to promote the Baki manga as an anime. The film features two fights where Baki goes up against two formidable opponents.

The film is 45 minutes long, which is enough time to tell a compelling story. However, it fails to present a coherent narrative and feels more like watching an extended episode from a series without a proper beginning or ending. While the show effectively establishes Baki's characteristics and his determination to fight, it does not explain his underlying motive for participating in a tournament against more skilled and imposing martial artists. There is a lack of depth in the portrayal of the supporting characters, aside from Baki. The first fight match was flat, while the second match was intriguing. If the creators had developed a more cohesive story, they could have provided a more fulfilling viewing experience.

The animation is good for its time of release. The fighting sequences were animated and framed well. The music was used minimally. I watched it in English dub, and the voice acting was good enough for the experience. This OVA is available on YouTube for free. I suggest watching it at 1.5x speed if you feel it is slow-paced.

In conclusion, I watched it because I had already watched Baki the Grappler (2001) Anime and plan to watch other Baki anime too. Even if you didn't watch this OVA, it doesn't matter because it doesn't provide new information about Baki or any other character. Consider it as a TV filler film or to gauge the audience's response to making Manga as Anime.