Watching 'Baki' Season 1 Part 2

If you have already read my piece on the first half of the season, you would know how I feel about it. For those of you that have not, I was less than impressed with the presentation of the show. That being said, there was a certain allure to the show that made me count down the days till the remainder was dropped on Netflix. Having now watched the remaining 13 episodes, my opinion of the show has been completely turned around.

The fidelity of the show is up to a greater standard. The movement of the characters were a lot smoother, and the change between 3D animation and 2D animation was far less distracting this time around. There was a distinct weight to the characters that was not present in the first part of the series, where they seemed elastic and weightless.

There seemed to be a lot less fighting this half of the season, and so I was left to really enjoy the scenery around the characters, and the characters themselves. The thick line work that govern the confines of the characters made the colors in the show pop all the more, much in the same way the thick line work makes Attack on Titan stand out. It actually felt as if I was watching an anime, unlike the first half where it had more in common with an anime styled fighting game.

With two of the five criminals having been dealt with, there was more time left for the development of the remaining three. This helped develop the character of Doyle, and his relationship with Retsu and Katsumi. These moments were some of the best instances of the show outside of the scenes that include Baki and Kozue.

The fact that there is a romantic aspect to the show allows there to be a reprieve from the sheer amount of testosterone that is oozing from every pixel on screen. The chemistry between Kozue and Baki was adorable to say the least, and their actions show just how much they care for each other. This led to two of the funniest moments that I have watched on screen in the past few weeks. In fact, they had me laughing well after the moments had passed.

The heart that Kozue brings to the show is infectious and her presence is very noticeable in the second part of the season as she has a greater role to play. She earns a lot of points for being incredibly loyal to Baki and going so far as to talk down and hold her own in a verbal spat against Hanayama, another character I liked more and more as the show progressed.

If you are starting the story of Baki with this incarnation of the show as I did, it is only at this point when you truly get a sense of the characters and their personality. Knowing them better makes every punch that they throw exciting as we want them to beat their opponent to a pulp. It is a testament to the strength of the character writing that one of the criminals end up being incredibly likable by the time his character arc came to a close, so much so that you were cheering for him at times during the show.

The fighting that is involved is just as over the top as it was in the first part of the series. It can take one by surprise by the sheer ludicrousness of what is occurring on screen, in addition to being so over the top at just how manly this collection of men are. The show gives most of the male characters the combined alpha male level of both Alexander the Great and Kamina from Fate/Zero and Gurren Lagann respectively. In a way, this works to the shows advantage as it makes everyone have a level of charisma that is unique to their own creed, fighting style, and personality, which in turn makes each of them interesting as a result.

While the positives of the second part does not erase the qualms that I had with the first part of the show, it does go a long way into making me like the show a great deal. The show goes so far as to even make a point of showing how love is a great thing, while men are beating each other to a bloody gory mess because fighting is what they love to do.

If I had to watch the entire thing again, knowing that this is how the show ends I would be happy to watch it all over again, faults and all, because in its own way, it adds to the personality of the show as a whole.