Netflix’s Baki, an anime adaptation of Keisuke Itagaki‘s Baki the Grappler manga and a continuation of Group TAC’s 2001 series, premiered its second season in June 2020. The first season of the streaming service’s anime focused on the “Most Evil Row Convicts” arc, which saw five high-profile offenders travel to Japan in the hopes of tasting defeat, while the second season is centered on a Chinese martial arts tournament that draws the world’s best fighters.
“Baki” is a popular sports anime franchise that has ridiculous fights and a superb art style. Anime fans, fighters, and sports fans alike can all agree that Baki is a great anime. With its high octane fights and characters with amazing abilities, it’s easy to see why this series has been so popular. If you’re looking for more anime like Baki, then look no further! Here are 20 anime recommendations just as action-packed as Baki:
Killing Bites
The anime is about people who are infused with DNA from specific animals. They can turn into their animal forms, and the show focuses on fighting, which has a lot of fan service in it as well.
Yuuya Nomoto discovers his pals brutally took the life of by Hitomi Uzaki, the high school girl they tried to abduct. He finds himself being wagered as the prize for a fight to the between two Therianthropes, super-powered, human-animal hybrids developed through advanced gene therapy, after being forced to drive her to an undisclosed location. As one of these hybrids, Hitomi uses her ratel genes’ speed and fearlessness to brutally dispatch her enemies and save Yuuya from certain .
Yuuya awakens hours later, hoping that the whole thing was just a nightmare, to discover that he has become deeply involved in a mysterious proxy war among four large Japanese conglomerates, with the victor taking economic control.
His life is now linked directly to Hitomi’s ability to participate in underground fight club matches known only as taking the life of Bites as her sole, albeit unwilling, investor.
Basilisk
The Iga and Kouga families have a long history of animosity toward one another in Basilisk. After a brief lull in hostilities, they find themselves at loggerheads again when they both claim to be the next shogun.
This problem necessitates a bloody battle royale pitting ten members of both clans against one another. Kennosuke Kouga and Oboro Iga are caught in the middle of this feud.
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Kinnikuman
Kinnikuman has been around for decades, and it’s a hybrid of intense, suspenseful action with ridiculous fighting stereotypes. The anime essentially boils down to heightened takes on WWE matches in major arenas across America or Japan–that is until you get past the first few episodes where everything else unfolds behind-the-scenes between two opposing sides who want nothing more than absolute power over one another!
Kinnikuman doesn’t take itself nearly as seriously compared to Netflix‘s Baki. Still, there are some entertaining moments, thanks mostly to clever jokes set up by hilarious character designs throughout each episode and awesome cliffhangers during fight sequences.
Diamond no Ace
This is just a sports anime with none of Baki’s bloody knuckles and monstrous back, but this series is worth checking out. Eijun Sawamura, the anime series’ protagonist, enjoys baseball and is a middle school’s baseball team member. He has an unusual pitching style by nature, but due to a lack of control, he throws a stray ball and loses the final match of his middle school tournament. When he and his teammates are in high school, they vow to work hard and make it to national tournaments, and then a scout reaches out to Eijun with a scholarship for Seidou High School, amazed by his unusual pitching style.
Eijun agrees to pursue the scholarship after receiving encouragement from his friends. However, once he begins attending Seidou, he finds himself among baseball players of exceptional ability. Eijun decides to work hard and become the team’s star player, but he must act quickly because the title is up for grabs by a fellow first-year student named Satoru Furuya.
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Karate Baka Ichidai
An action-packed anime that also teaches viewers about Karate is what this series is all about. The anime’s premise is intriguing, and that’s why I decided to watch it. Asuka, a former Kamikaze pilot, is the story’s protagonist. Before reading about the legendary swordsman Eiji Yoshikawa, I lived as a hooligan and used his martial arts skills and aggression to solve problems.
He grows in his understanding of Karate and develops a new outlook on life. Yasunobu Oyama, a real-life karate master, is the inspiration for this anime’s storyline. With 47 episodes, the anime clocks in at around 24 minutes per episode.
Rainbow
This anime depicts the true horrors of life in prison in a very realistic way. Everyone who enjoys anime should watch this show. The year is 1955, and the anime takes place in Japan. Mario Minakami, one of six students at Shounan Special Reform School, begins his journey there. They’ve been charged with serious offenses, which has led to their arrest. When Rokurouta Sakuragi, an older boy, ends up staying with the boys, the boys are forced to share a room with him.
Inflicting brutal suffering and humiliation on Rokurouta and the others, prison guard Ishihara has a personal grudge against the former boxer. The prison doctor, Gisuke Sasaki, also mistreats the boys. Although the situation appears hopeless, the boys vow to meet outside of prison when their sentences are over. But what are the plans for them in the future? In total, there are 26 episodes in the series, each clocking in at 22 minutes.
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Air Master
There are a lot of strong, masculine characters with overpowering presences and exaggerated physiques in the anime in this list, which emphasizes their aggressive natures. A breath of fresh air, Air Master, is a new take on combat with a female protagonist who trades her precision training for brutal street battles against adversaries. By winning all her matches, she challenges the preconceptions of her gender.
Koukou Tekken-den Tough
Original Video Animation’ Koukou Tekken-den Tough’ was released in January 2002. After reading the anime’s title, you may wonder if the anime is based on Namco’s popular fighting game, “Tekken,” after reading the anime’s title. Separate from the manga, this anime has its own distinct style and plotline. Professional wrestling and the Nanshin Shadow Style, a secret and deadly martial art, focus on this film.
The Shadow style emerged victorious in an underground fight between combatants from these two styles many years ago. As of now, the pro wrestling side’s representative is out for revenge and wants to destroy the Nanshin Shadow Style in any way he can. His father, Nanshin Shadow Style’s former champion and current holder of the title, Kiichi, is responsible for protecting the martial art form and preventing it from being extinguished.
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a very entertaining shonen anime that centers around Kenichi, a bullied high schooler. Centering around his training at Grand Master Kensei’s dojo and featuring over-the-top battles with various tough opponents, this action-packed series will have you on your feet or on the floor laughing from episode one!
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Mutsu Enmei Ryuu Gaiden: Shura no Toki (Time of Shura)
“Shura no Toki” is a samurai anime based on a Japanese samurai story. When it comes to the samurai aspect of this anime, it’s a strange one because the main characters don’t use a sword. Mutsu Enmei Ryu is the martial art that the anime is based on. With speed and strength, the user can defeat multiple armed adversaries with this unarmed martial arts style.
It follows the lives of three generations of Mutsu fighters, each of whom had their own unique style. It’s fascinating to watch them take on some of the most powerful and fearsome warriors of their time. The fight scenes are entertaining and well-done enough to warrant praise. Not a single extravagant fantasy move is to be found here.
Record Of Ragnarok
Fighting series in anime can look at seismic fights among gods and goddesses for the fate of the universe as easily as two scrappy nobodys with a grudge to settle.
While the Gods decide to rule over humanity’s fate, Ragnarok attempts to strike a middle ground by placing the power in the hands of unexpected humans who must use godly weapons to their advantage in order to maintain the balance. Baki may not have had actual gods, but the Record of Ragnarok’s characters is reminiscent of Baki’s aggressive behavior and powerful nature.
Tenjou Tenge (2004)
As a fan of action anime that takes place in the high school setting, Tenjou Tenge is an excellent choice because it focuses on martial arts and fighting. Souichiro Nagi is the main character of the anime, and he and his best friend, Bob Makihara, are aiming to become the best high school fighters in the entire student body. Toudou Academy, which is a one-of-a-kind school, may make it diffi for them to realize their dream.
The school’s main focus is not on academics but rather on reviving martial arts as a distinct ural tradition. It’s no surprise that the school is awash in the best fighters. Maya Natsumi and Masataka Takayanagi, two strong upperclassmen, completely overwhelm the duo. As a result, they became even more committed to training properly and became the best fighters after interacting with their powerful elders.
Fist Of The North Star
True to its reputation, the Fist of the North Star can be found in nearly every martial arts anime. Hokuto no Ken or Fist of the North Star follows Kenshiro, a martial artist who actually knows where to attack anyone to cause them to lose limbs in graphic fashion in a post-apocalyptic world.
Due to the fact that the original anime for Fist of the North Star aired in the 1980s, the animation is a little out of date, but the story and characters are fantastic. Check out TMS Entertainment’s Fist of the North Star: The True Savior, a five-movie series.
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Drifters
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to see some of the most famous historical figures in the world battling it out in a bloody battle, Drifters is for you. After tasting , Toyohisa Shimazu begins on an unexpected journey that sees him teaming up with Nobunaga Oda and taking on an especially crazy Jeanne d’Arc, among other things.
Drifters, like Baki, features characters battling to the for supremacy in a battle-to-the- format. Even though Drifters’ action scenes are more focused on weapons than on hand-to-hand combat, they are just as exciting as Baki’s brawls.
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Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho is a wonderful anime that has been thrilling audiences for years. Based on the manga by Yoshihiro Togashi, it tells of delinquent turned spirit detective Yuusuke Urameshi and his many adventures with demons to solve mysteries in this universe’s lore. The second season follows the Dark Tournament, where Urameshi and friends square up against the spirit realm’s strongest fighters, which can be considered one of, if not THE, best tournament arcs ever seen within Japanese animated programs, as well as being a must-watch material for Baki fans!
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The God Of High School
The God of High School is the perfect mix between more grounded martial arts from a series like Baki, but also occasionally leaning into hyperbolized shonen combat staples that populate something like Dragon Ball Z. The anime revolves around a mysterious competition held by all-powerful beings with one dedicated protagonist, Jin Mori, as they fight for victory in an intense showdown between different styles and eras, while there’s genuine strategy integrated into every match!
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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
A ural phenomenon, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure deserves all of the attention it has received. The third chapter of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Stardust Crusaders, is arguably the best chapter of the series, focusing on the Joestar lineage. However, it’s a solid start.
On the other hand, Baki is a lot more aggressive, but JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s battles tend to be physically and mentally exhausting. It’s not just the characters that make this series stand out; it’s also the quality of the writing and animation.
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Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo)
There are a lot of similarities between Baki’s street fighting and Fighting Spirit’s boxing, but Baki’s is a different beast altogether. It comes down to a battle of wits and technical prowess in both of these games.
The Baki anime of 2001 focuses more on the protagonist’s development as a fighter than the first season of the Netflix continuation. All of Fighting Spirit’s seasons are dedicated to Ippo Makunouchi’s physical and mental training.
Takamura Mamoru intervenes and saves Makunouchi Ippo from being bullied and beaten by his classmates one day. The boxer Takamura saves Ippo and brings him to his gym when he faints. It takes Ippo some time to adjust to his new environment. Takamura asks Ippo to hit a punching bag with a photo of one of the bullies on it, and Ippo does so. Ippo’s desire to learn from Takamura is sparked by this newfound desire. Takamura demands that Ippo complete an insurmountable challenge in a week to prove that he’s ready for training. In order to complete the task, Ippo worked tirelessly for himself and his mother and thus began his journey into the boxing world.
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Megalo Box
For decades, Ashita no Joe has been a popular boxing series that has undergone a number of creative updates. A dystopian future is the setting for Megalo Box, the most recent adaptation, which incorporates steampunk elements into the boxing action. While Megalo Box is renowned for its intimate, hard-hitting fights, it also explores the psychological and physical toll of boxing. There is a more mature approach to combat in the second season of the anime, and it’s not just for the sake of entertaining fights.
Kengan Ashura
For Baki fans, Kengan Ashura should be a no-brainer. To be fair, Kengan Ashura’s animation style takes some getting used to, but the game excels in every other area. Underground battles decide the fate of business deals in this alternate reality, where each company has its own representative. In essence, this means that Shobun Ron’s origin story includes Kengan Ashura. This tournament, called the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, decides who will organize these fights.
MMA fighters, sumo wrestlers, serial takers of lives, and a wide variety of strong opponents square off in Kengan Ashura’s fast-paced action sequences. Even though anime isn’t always easy to watch, it’s always worth it.
So, there you have it! If you’re looking for a bloody fighting anime that is similar to Baki!, these are 20 great recommendations. We hope this list helped you find your next favorite show, and we can’t wait to hear about the ones we missed. Leave us a comment if we left out any of your favorites or what else should be on our lists in the future so we can keep making them bigger and better over time!
