The Baki franchise is all about determining who the strongest fighter is, but which characters actually stand at the top of the franchise?
Any long-running action comic franchise will inevitably leave fans wondering which characters are strongest. And of course, not all of them see each tantalizing matchup happen. This leaves fans theorizing and often debating how different characters match up.
This is true of Baki, but it’s particularly awkward in the series. Multiple arcs have been seemingly hurried to a conclusion by writer Keisuke Itagaki, leaving the strength of many fighters unclear. Add to that the simple fact that retcons are inevitable in a 30-year-old story, and it leaves plenty of room for interpretation regarding who the strongest fighters are. Still, there is a generally obvious hierarchy regarding who the strongest fighters in the Baki Hanma franchise are.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead for Baki-Dou and Baki Rahen)
The strongest Baki fighters, ranked
Once upon a time, famed comic book writer Stan Lee mused about fans asking him about hypothetical fights his characters. His conclusion was, effectively, that it doesn’t really matter because “the writer can do whatever he wants.” In similar discussions, he noted that the character that wins is effectively decided by what would make a better story.
That applies to Baki as well, with Itagaki leaving himself a great deal of flexibility in terms of how any given matchup between two characters would go. Still, he has also established something of a hierarchy in the series. A top-10 Baki characters list breaks down thusly:
- Yujiro Hanma
- Baki Hanma
- Miyamoto Musashi
- Jack Hanma
- Pickle
- Katsumi Orochi
- Izou Motobe
- Kaio Kaku
- Kaio Retsu
- Nomi No Sukune II
While the top of that list is fairly rigid, things become largely open to interpretation after the top four.
Yujiro Hanma is Baki’s strongest character
The one character whose strength is firmly cemented is Yujiro Hanma. His entire character effectively boils down to being “the strongest” and this is demonstrated regularly throughout the series.
Even in his fights against Doppo Orochi and Kaio Kaku, the only moments of weakness were him being taken aback by their techniques. After this, he encountered no real trouble on the road to literally beating them to death. The lone fight where he actually encountered difficulty was against Baki at the end of Baki Hanma but even still, there wasn’t any serious indication that he was potentially facing defeat.
Yujiro is the lone character in the series that Itagaki has been historically protective of. Even in the case of Baki, he has lost on multiple occasions.
Baki Hanma, Miyamoto Musashi, and Jack Hanma are the strongest characters, next to Yujiro
Miyamoto Musashi and Baki Hanma are the definitive strongest behind Yujiro, but there’s a debate to be had regarding which one is stronger. The fight between the two doesn’t have a decisive conclusion, and both fought Yujiro to something akin to a stalemate.
Which one is stronger between these two is ultimately open to debate. Baki likely gets the nod based on being the main character, but Musashi was also protected by Itagaki in a way akin to Yujiro.
Jack Hanma, or Jack Hammer depending on which piece of media is being consumed, is a late comer to the list. His name might also be a surprising one for those who have only watched the anime.
Jack went through a resurgence as the main character of Baki Rahen. During that tenure, he beat several powerful opponents, most notably Pickle. Pickle himself has seemingly become weaker with time as he starts speaking and acclimating himself to society.
Fighters such as Pickle, Katsumi Orochi, Biscuit Oliva, and many others arguably rank in the top five
Past that top four, the discussion of “strongest Baki characters” is largely open for debate.
Though the top-ten is rounded out by six such characters, there are many others who could reasonably be included in the top 10 including Biscuit Oliva, Gouki Shibukawa, Doppo Orochi, Mohammad Alai Jr, and Kaoru Hanayama. The order therein is also largely debatable, as many of the fights in Baki have uncertain conclusions or were invalidated with a rematch.
The list might not even end there. Beyond these recurring secondary characters and one-arc protagonists are others that could potentially be reintroduced with an off-screen power-up, most notably the most evil death row inmates. There are also plenty of other threatening characters whose strength hasn’t been fully explored, like Kaio Ryuu and Yuu Amanai.
This is a fairly populous tier within the “strongest Baki characters” hierarchy. Ultimately, Itagaki is well-served keeping the relative strength of characters somewhat vague. While there’s a recurring theme of building up a weaker character ahead of a match with a stronger one, it’s also better from a narrative perspective to keep things vague.
Kiyosumi Katou, Kosho Shinogi, and many others at the bottom of the tier list
While there are a number of characters that fit into the top 10 and the fringes outside it, basically everyone else in the series can be lumped together.
Being a recurring character doesn’t necessarily translate into being strong in Baki. There are numerous characters who have appeared across multiple Baki series, but have very little to show for it. Still, there are many different characters who could hypothetically beat each other, but are provably a cut below the likes of Shibukawa, Hanayama, or Doppo.
Kiyosumi Katou, Kosho Shinogi, Kaio Jyaku, and Iron Michael have all made appearances across multiple Baki series, with little success to show for them. Though they may have wins or strong showings against more prominent characters, there’s not enough to show that would place them above any given one-off character.
