Baki and Kengan Ashura are iconic series within the martial arts genre. Both shows feature inhumanely strong martial artists that strive to achieve different objectives, ranging from lofty goals like being the "Strongest Man on Earth" to fighting for the protection of corporate rights.
Baki and Kengan Ashura are often compared due to their similarities, leading fans to assume that the author of Kengan Ashura got inspiration from the Baki series before creating his unique version. Viewers often debate on the martial arts show that is superior between Baki and Kengan Ashura; however, considering different factors and aspects of both series is necessary for a close-to-accurate decision.
Storyline
Baki’s storyline tends to be a bit simplistic, starring a teenage boy with the goal of defeating his all-powerful father, revered as the "World's Strongest Creature." Besides the show's main premise, there is little character development, especially among characters. In Baki, there is no refreshing or distinct narrative apart from the main narrative, making the show's plot borderline monotonous and straightforward. Every martial artist in Baki has one goal: To Be the Strongest. While this is an interesting narrative, there are only a few occasions where characters fight for other reasons.
On the other hand, Kengan Ashura adopts Baki's tournament-based style, but the reasons behind each fight are different and more interesting compared to Baki. Kengan Ashura features a storyline involving the conclusion of business contracts by using gladiator-based tournaments, which has been the routine for the characters since the Edo Period. Also, the plot mirrors reality, even though it’s a bit exaggerated. This makes the series satisfying to watch and read, compared to Baki, where superhuman feats range from defeating a pre-historic elephant to fighting a caveman that existed during the dinosaur era.
Storyline: Kengan Ashura.
Fighting Strength
Baki and Kengan Ashura both show characters with superhuman strengths and feats. Even though the shows are based on regular martial arts, the executions are on a grander scale. In Kengan Ashura, some characters can evade bullets, toss their opponents like rag dolls, and trade blows that carry a lot of weight. A classic illustration was where Kiozan Takeru flung Sekibayashi Jun, who weighed over 150kg, into a wall, smashing it in the process.
Even though Kengan Ashura has quite strong characters, most Baki characters are monstrosities. The lead character's father, Hanma Yujiro, visibly cracked the concrete ground of an arena with just his bare fists. Yujiro also brought down a large-sized pre-historic elephant that destroyed countless armor tanks easily, with just a few attacks. Another character, Spec, escaped from an underwater prison 200 meters below sea level and swam through the underwater currents with an approximate flow of 200 mph without even flinching.
Spec also shot himself, proving his invulnerability, mental instability and strength to fellow fighters. Finally, Baki’s characters possess high durability; they can receive crippling attacks and still fight like they are unharmed.
Fighting Strength: Baki.
Gory Fights
In both shows, fights can become pretty intense and gory. One of the nastiest fights in Kengan Ashura was the battle between Muteba Gizenga and Meguro Misaki. Gizenga was an infamous blind mercenary well-known for his brutality. Single-handedly, he was able to clash with a rebel troupe threatening to overtake the government. On the other hand, Meguro Misaki is a twisted psychopath and a judo expert that relishes murder. In the fight between these two, Muteba manages to damage his opponent, but Misaki still rips out Muteba’s eyes. This fight, amongst other events, make Kengan Ashura a gruesome series.
However, Baki does it better when it comes down to goriness. During the Ratai Tournament, Hanma Yujiro dueled the Sea King Ryu, a Chinese martial arts master known for his incredible fighting skill. However, the anticipated fight ended after Hanma ripped out his opponent's face within a few seconds. Another gruesome fight in Baki was shown when Yanagi, a notorious criminal, escaped from prison.
Before Yanagi escaped, he placed his mouth on a prison guard’s ear and exerted a force that blew the guard’s brains out, portraying Baki as a gruesome show. As highlighted earlier, Baki characters are very durable, so duels sometimes get messy when characters refuse to yield when fighting.
Gory Fights: Baki.
Martial Arts
Both series have martial arts at the epicenter of their storyline. However, the execution methods of both anime differ significantly. In Baki, the character choreography and designs before executing a move are fun to watch. However, all the flashy choreography usually boils down to one move or a couple of moves. Generally, Baki adopts instinct-based fighting, with few exceptions like the practitioners of Karate and Chinese martial arts, but the fights still result in executing a strike, and the characters' thought process narration behind each strike.
However, Kengan Ashura, especially the manga, portrays various fighting styles readers can relate to, giving the story a striking effect. Kengan introduces readers to an in-depth review of the martial arts world, featuring styles like Sumo wrestling, and Karate, among others. Kengan Ashura’s author describes fights in an interesting manner, absorbing readers into the fight, which makes it a fascinating read.
Martial Arts: Kengan Ashura.