Baki is one of the most popular martial arts anime of all time. Despite its somewhat bizarre style and narrative structure, Baki and its sequels have captured the hearts of fans around the world, as witnessed by the ongoing manga series and continuing anime adaptations. The list is going to include 20 Baki characters, ordered from 20th to 1st place, based on their strengths and abilities. The list is going to include some basic information on the selected powerful characters, from which you’ll be able to induce why we have positioned them as we have on our list. So, who are the strongest Baki characters?
20. Spec
19. Kureha Shinogi
18. Kaiō Dorian
17. Gaia
16. Mohammad Alai Jr.
15. Doppo Orochi
14. Gōki Shibukawa
13. Katsumi Orochi
12. Kaoru Hanayama
11. Jack Hanma
10. Kaiō Retsu
9. Izō Motobe
8. Oliva Biscuit
7. Kaiō Kaku
6. Pickle
5. Yūichirō Hanma
4. Nomi no Sukune II
3. Musashi Miyamoto
2. Yūjirō Hanma
1. Baki Hanma
20. Spec
Full Name: Spec
An American who escaped from a prison submarine locked in the middle of the ocean. Of a fairly playful nature, he is the most colossal of those condemned to death. Despite his ubiquitous smile, he’s a bloodthirsty killer. His fighting style is characterized by the use of brute force, although he sometimes uses tricks to gain an advantage in a fight.
After meeting the participants of the Basem*nt Tournament, he challenges Hanayama to single combat. He is the first of the assassins to be defeated. Despite his old age (97), his physical strength is phenomenal.
Indeed, it will hit the head of the Statue of Liberty several times, from the inside, which will cause large cracks on it. It will begin to crumble but will be replaced by Navy officers.
19. Kureha Shinogi
Full Name: Kureha Shinogi
An awesome doctor and top athlete, he claims to have the power of a boxer, the flexibility of a wrestler, and the speed of a sprinter. Convinced of being an exceptional individual, he challenged Baki in order to attract Yūjirō’s attention. However, he will be defeated by the hero.
Subsequently, he will register for the Basem*nt Tournament where he will ask to meet his younger brother, Kōshō. Believing that the latter has finally surpassed him, he gives up the fight and leaves the field open to his brother, thus putting an end to their conflict. He, therefore, lost in the first round.
18. Kaiō Dorian
Full Name: Kaiō Dorian
An American who should have been hanged but who survived by killing all the guards. He is distinguished from other convicts by his extremely cunning and devious mind. Physically, he is a colossus with a slender body and all in muscle, his beard, his light hair, his serene gaze, his freedom of action, and of mind sometimes give him the appearance of a philosopher of antiquity.
Indeed, Dorian does not hesitate to call on a whole arsenal of gadgets and tips during his fights. In addition to his intelligence and great culture, Dorian is also an expert in Chinese martial arts and seems to have a special relationship with Retsu Kaiō.
17. Gaia
Full Name: Gaia / Nomura
His real name is actually Nomura; Gaia is a mercenary considered the greatest specialist in survival in hostile environments and combat in natural environments. At the head of a group of 5 mercenaries, each more formidable than the next, Gaia sows terror and death on the battlefield where he is known as “Mr. War”.
Gaia is actually Nomura’s second personality who manifests when the danger and the urge to kill get too strong. Nomura, at the base, was only a vulgar soldier assigned to medical support who gradually sank into violence. However, after seeing death in the face, he gave birth to a second personality: Gaia.
16. Mohammad Alai Jr.
Full Name: Mohammad Alai Jr.
Son of the famous boxer Mohammad Alai, Alai Jr is the worthy heir of his father. A pugilist endowed with an extraordinary talent, he is able to compete with any type of opponent thanks to his only fists. He appears in the second part of Baki where he presents himself as the main rival of our hero. He will also give Doppo, Shibukawa, and Jack Hanma a lot of trouble before losing some of his splendor at the end.
In addition to being a great fighter, he is also an incorrigible seducer who does not hide his attraction to the beautiful Kozue. Another important detail: his father is an old friend of the Ogre, and one of the few people he respects.
15. Doppo Orochi
Full Name: Doppo Orochi
Doppo Orochi is considered by many to be the greatest living Karateka. Leader of the Shinshinkai, a Japanese dojo comprising more than a million disciples, he is a super-fighter capable, as his name suggests, of slaughtering tigers with his bare hands (He will also specify that the animal was close to two meters and fifty long, and two hundred and sixty kilos). He once met Yūjirō, who left both scars on his face.
He will face the Ogre again, on the sands of the arena. Defeated once again, Yūjirō will take an eye from him this time. He will compete in the strongest underground arena tournament, where he will lose to Gōki Shibukawa, a great master of ju-jitsu. He is the kind of mentor, from whom Baki will learn a lot.
14. Gōki Shibukawa
Full Name: Gōki Shibukawa
A one-eyed 74-year-old man, he is the founder of an aïki-jiu-jutsu school. During the tournament in the basem*nt arena, he created a surprise by reaching the semi-finals despite his small build. He is also the only combatant present who can fight seated. His very advanced techniques, consisting mainly of using the strength of the opponent against himself.
He is nonetheless defeated by the extreme brute force of Jack Hammer in the next turn, who to defeat him performs an attack without gaining momentum (this way Jack manages to counter the Aiki, and Shibukawa is forced to use his own. force to throw Jack, which does not work due to the huge difference in muscle mass and weight).
In the new series, he comes face to face with Yanagi, the man who punctured his left eye several years ago.
13. Katsumi Orochi
Full Name: Katsumi Orochi
The adopted son of Doppo, he was nicknamed “the ultimate karate weapon”. He is recognized in the world of martial arts for his exceptional physical qualities and his innate talent for Karate. Despite all this, his relative mental weakness prevents him from coming out of his father’s shadow and making a place for himself in the pantheon of martial arts.
During the Basem*nt Tournament, his fight against Hanayama during the tournament is found to be harder than expected, and he is forced to use the most formidable techniques of Karate to overcome it. But he can’t do anything against Retsu Kaiō’s powerful techniques in the next round and will literally be humiliated by being knocked out with one hit.
12. Kaoru Hanayama
Full Name: Kaoru Hanayama
Leader of the Yakuza, he is a muscular colossus whose terrifying grip is famous in the combat world. At 15, he was in command of one of the largest clans in Japan. It was at this time that he took it into his head to face Hanma Yūjirō, the strongest man in the world.
Baki (13 years old at the time) challenges him and for the first time in his life, Hanayama experiences defeat against the two Hanma (father and son).
Despite his total inexperience in martial arts, his staggering physical abilities made him defeat a specialist in Japanese Kempo in the first round of the tournament. Eighth finalist. He will reappear several times thereafter, for the first Baki / Yūjirō fight, then for the Underground Arena tournament.
11. Jack Hanma
Full Name: Jack Hanma / Jack Hammer
Half-brother of Baki and eldest son of Yūjirō Hanma, Jack is the result of the latter’s union with a Canadian soldier during the Vietnam War. Jack was born in prison, following the rape of his mother by Yūjirō. He has only one goal: to take revenge on his terrible father by all possible means, even if it means abusing dangerous substances.
His fighting style is a synthesis of the deadliest martial arts, it will be noticed that he also often uses bites, thanks to his jaw and his powerful teeth. Like Baki, Jack seems to display a seeming nonchalance most of the time, but once the fight begins, he displays the strength and ferocity of a savage beast.
He maintains a relationship of rivalry with his brother Baki, mixed with mutual esteem and respect. During the tournament, he successively beats: a Brazilian Ju-jutsu practitioner, a Kenpoka, a Russian wrestler (A. Galeyn) and Gōki Shibukawa to reach the final. He is finally defeated by his younger brother after a merciless fight.
10. Kaiō Retsu
Full Name: Kaiō Retsu / Liè Hǎiwáng
A genius fighter; he embodies the quintessence of 4,000 years of Chinese martial arts. In the first round of the underground tournament, he faces a Russian wrestler with staggering abilities. But he makes short work of it. In the second round, he is confronted by Mount Toba, the wrestler of impressive measurement, who once faced Baki.
Toba still hasn’t recovered from his knee injury, so Retsu employs the trick, and is content to burst Toba’s knee, who under duress is forced to give up. In the third round, he beats Katsumi Orochi in a single blow, because the latter too underestimated Chinese Kempo.
Retsu is nevertheless defeated in the semi-final against the impressive rage of Baki, which sounds like the “awakening of the blood of Hanma” in the young hero.
9. Izō Motobe
Full Name: Izō Motobe
Budoka emeritus, an expert in Jiu-jutsu and in many Japanese armed techniques, like many others, has a number of scores to settle with Yūjirō Hanma. It is in this spirit that he first appears to Baki, with the firm intention of assessing his potential. It is then a severe lesson for the hero, who makes several trips to the mat without being able to reply.
Afterward, Izō met Yūjirō again but suffered a crushing defeat again, and in the Basem*nt Tournament, he was beaten in the first round to everyone’s surprise. For the remainder of the tournament, he will just have the role of luxury commentator and support for the other competitors. In NGB he will still have his heyday since he will rout the criminal Yanagi in a radical way.
Freed from the rules of the underground arena prohibiting the use of weapons, his true value will also appear during a clash against Musashi Miyamoto in the Baki Dou series.
8. Oliva Biscuit
Full Name: Oliva Biscuit
An American of Cuban origin, he is a person living on the margins of the law. He lives in a prison but owns his apartments, library and storeroom. He is the person who takes care of recovering escaped prisoners who enjoy too much freedom.
Massive and muscular in the extreme, he possesses a power and a musculature defying the imagination which allows him to compensate for his poor technique and to endure without batting an eyelid the blows which are brought to him. He is also an old acquaintance of Yūjirō (aged 18) during the war between the United States and Hanma Yūjirō.
We will know more about him in the rest of the second season but it will be necessary to wait for the third to be entitled to a real confrontation between Mr. Oliver and a member of the Hanma family. It seems to be inspired by the famous Bodybuilder Sergio Oliva.
7. Kaiō Kaku
Full Name: Kaiō Kaku (Sea Emperor Kaku) / Guō Hǎihuáng
This old man, who is well over a hundred years old, is in fact the oldest and most powerful of the active Kaiō. He is, therefore, one of the greatest fighters in the world, so much so that even Baki’s father recognizes his worth.
Although he travels most of the time in a wheelchair, he is nonetheless an extremely formidable fighter to the point of being able to hold his own against Yūjirō himself. His fight against the Ogre was the pinnacle of the second series. He appears during the “Rai Tai” Tournament accompanied by two terrible fighters: his son Kaku Shunsuei and the formidable Long Shun Bun.
6. Pickle
Full Name: Unknown
This character arrived in the third series (Baki: Son of Ogre), and is in fact a prehistoric man who was discovered during excavations in a power station in Colorado (United States). He was kept in a huge layer of salt ice next to a Tyrannosaurus.
He was revived by plant scientists but, far from being docile, Pickle destroyed everything in his path including an experimental combat robot in an attempt to capture the US military.
It was only when Strydum came to see him in a friendly manner that he was able to take him to Japan to fight. Pickle possesses superhuman physical power surpassing (by far) any other character in the series. His savagery even prompted him to eat Retsu Kaio’s right leg after a fight that felt more like foraging for Pickle. He is steadily becoming more on par with Baki.
5. Yūichirō Hanma
Full Name: Yūichirō Hanma
Not much is known about Yūichirō’s personality, but Mitsunari Tokugawa notes that he is the complete opposite of Yūjirō. This implies that he can be much nicer than him, as revealed by the fact that he strongly supports Baki in the fight against his father against Yūjirō’s wrath. Moreover, Yūichirō appears to be a very carefree and calm person.
This can be seen as one of the reasons Yūjirō is so hard on Baki as it reminds Yūjirō of his own father. There is some evidence that it can be shown quite ruthlessly during the Battle of Okinawa when Yūichirō brutally fights and beats American soldiers in completely cruel ways (for example, by twisting his neck and breaking bones).
However, this can somehow be justified as they are invading his house.
4. Nomi no Sukune II
Full Name: Nomi no Sukune II
The descendant of Nomi no Sukune is a very stocky and muscular man with jet black hair styled in a ponytail. His body is well rounded to give the best posture and strength possible as a sumo wrestler. For a very tall and imposing man, he has very gentle features; Baki Hanma even says that her face is rather feminine.
His clothing is similar to that of a standard sumo wrestler, he wears white stripes around his waist, as well as a tight, rope-like belt to keep his pants in place. When Nomi first met Baki, Nomi wore big, casual clothes, a black hat that covers his head, and a pair of sandals.
We don’t know much about his personality. Unlike the well-known warrior Musashi Miyamoto, Nomi appears to have a simpler mindset. He is quite humble and always seems to speak calmly, even when in a fight.
3. Musashi Miyamoto
Full Name: Musashi Miyamoto
Musashi is extremely simple. He acts more or less like an ambitious, fame-seeking martial artist who desires new fame and the fame he once had. Unlike all the other fighters, Musashi is “alone” and spiritually estranged from the rest of the world, even more so than Pickle himself. Unlike him, however, Musashi was unable to adapt to the modern era.
The samurai’s distorted state of mind is seen several times in the manga’s fourth series, suggesting that Musashi actually feels no semblance of sympathy toward others and is only considering sparing those he pities. He cares little about who he hurts or is maimed who is unlucky enough to challenge him.
2. Yūjirō Hanma
Full Name: Yūjirō Hanma
Father of Baki, and Jack Hammer, he is also called “The Ogre” because of the evil face that appears on his back muscles when they are stretched to the extreme. Yūjirō masters many different fighting styles such as ju-jitsu or Kenpō, but always fights with bare hands. His prowess dates back to his childhood since he had already mastered all martial arts from the age of sixteen.
He was also behind the destruction of several Green Berets, SEAL, and DELTA FORCE units, when he was still only a teenager. He perfected his combat techniques on various battlefields including Vietnam, killing Americans and Vietnamese just in order to improve his skills. It is on this occasion that he will meet Oliva Biscuit.
He is the end goal of most of the fighters Baki faces, and of his son himself. He is a ruthless, cruel being who lives only to crush and subdue his adversaries. The one and only person to have earned his respect to date is none other than Mohammed Ali, or at least his alter ego: Mohammad Alai, featured in the manga.
1. Baki Hanma
Full Name: Baki Hanma
The main protagonist of the story is the son of the Ogre, Yūjirō Hanma. He only lives to overtake (or at least outmatch) Yūjirō. The manga sees him confronting ever stronger opponents, so he can move forward on the path that will allow him to catch up with his father.
Thirteen years old at the start of the story, he turns eighteen at the end of the original plot. His genes, inherited from the Ogre, sometimes lead him to acts of rare violence during his battles. Behind his back will be the grim “Face of the Demon” as he battles Jack Hammer in the Underground Arena Tournament Final.
Measuring 1.67 m, Baki Hanma, despite his age, still performs daily strength training and tai-chi-chuan.
