For martial arts fans, Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura is one of the most exciting anime crossover of the year. This new Netflix venture brings together two popular stories, each loved by many fans.
Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura Overview
Baki, published in Akita Shoten’s “Weekly Shonen Champion,” is a famous martial arts manga with over 85 million copies sold. It follows Baki Hanma, the youngest underground fighting champion, as he faces tough battles, especially against his father, Yujiro Hanma, who is known as the “strongest creature in the world.”
On the other hand, Kengan Ashura, another hit manga, is a top favourite on the Ura Sunday website and the MangaONE app. It tells the story of Kazuo Yamashita, an ordinary office worker, who gets involved with Ohma Tokita, the mysterious boy. But this was only the beginning, as he also found himself entangled with Kengan matches, which are intense fights used by companies to settle business disputes.
Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura is a new film, available only on Netflix, that combines these two worlds in an epic showdown. Starring Nobunaga Shimazaki and Tatsuhisa Suzuki as lead voice cast, and under the director, Toshiki Hirano, this crossover is a must for anime lovers.
– Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura Review Contains Minor Spoilers –
Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura Review and Recap
This movie is one of those unexpected delights that no one asked for, but everyone is thrilled to have. Who would have thought the two anime, which are so similar that many consider Kengan Ashura to be a blatant rip-off of Baki, would come together for a collab? Kengan Ashura heavily takes inspiration from Baki, and it shows, but it also has its uniqueness, and perhaps their similarity coupled with some dissimilarities are what makes this movie an absolute treat for the fans.
From the title, one might think that we will get an average fighting episode between the protagonists of the two franchises, but we get more than that. There is a proper explanation behind the fight that ensues, and the two worlds are blended in a way that is believable. Both the masterminds behind the Underground Arena and the Kengan Association hail from the same Tokugawa clan, and the current heads are also shown to be pretty close. It is through this connection, that Mitsunari and Katahara Metsudo decide to pit their fighters against each other over a drink, and the rest becomes history.
In the movie, we see three proper fights. In the first round, Saw Paing goes against Hanayama, and they set the stage for the upcoming battles. After them, we see Jack and Raian have a go at each other and then comes the final showdown with Baki and Ohma. All these fights were great to watch because of how well-matched the opponents were.
Saw Paing, who is a hyperactive and fast fighter, cross hands with the naturally gifted Japan’s strongest Brawler, Hanayama. On the other hand, we have Raian, genetically engineered to fight from birth, opposite of Jack, who went to extreme lengths of doping and artificial growth treatments in pursuit of strength. Both these fights present very interesting results towards the end.
However, the main fight is the highlight of the show. Both Baki and Ohma are absolute beasts, who have only one goal in mind and that is to be the best. Even they acknowledge that they are too similar to each other, and this makes the fight even more memorable.
Verdict
This movie is made for the fans, so if you are not aware of the shows separately, you will not like this crossover, nor will you understand it. Plus, rather than a movie, this feels more like a special episode with a longer run time. So, if you expect a fully fleshed-out story, you are not going to get it. Fights are all that is available here.
Hence, the enjoyment of this movie is very subjective, and I would urge you to see Baki and Kengan Ashura first, before watching this.
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