Summary

• Baki is a unique anime combining realistic fighting with absurd moments, establishing its distinct character.
• Wind Breaker, God of High School, and Megalo Box are recommended for Baki fans looking for more hand-to-hand combat shows.
• One Punch Man shares the same level of absurdity as Baki, providing a hilarious and entertaining watch for fans.

Baki is one of the most captivating, heart-pounding, and absolutely absurd anime centered on fighting. The series is set around the titular Baki as he looks to get strong enough to defeat his father in hand-to-hand combat. While most of the show is realistic, there are a few moments where it throws logic out of the window.

These moments are insane to watch and also give Baki a lot of its character as a show that doesn't take itself too seriously. It knows when to be realistic and when it can have a little fun, like when Baki fights an imaginary praying mantis.

There are plenty of animes out there based on fighting, but they're not like Baki. To be a good comparison to Baki, a show needs to have two of three qualities: it needs to have a good martial arts base, it has to supplement the fighting with humor, or, it has to have some of the best fights ever animated.

10 Wind Breaker

The High School Baki Should Be Going To

Wind Breaker was the breakout anime hit of the Spring 2024 season. It showcased great fights, amazing characters, and some of the quickest world-building any fighting anime has featured. It's a great choice for Baki fans because Wind Breaker is about fights more than anything else. Like Baki, each of the side characters in Wind Breaker brings something fun and interesting to the table. They all have their own design, their own general energy, but above all, each character has a unique fighting style designed to push the limits.

Main character Sakura is the type of person to head straight into battle, while his friend Suo is more likely to fight defensively, manipulating his opponent before they ever throw a punch. Wind Breaker's fights and side characters are well animated, making it a worthy choice for someone who wants something like Baki.

9 Fire Force

Fired Up Fights With Booming Bass

Fire Force might not have all the realistic premises that Baki sometimes brings to the table, but the cores of both shows are the same. While Baki fights with his hands, Shinra from Fire Force fights with his feet, using his innate power to defeat his enemies. Like Baki, Fire Force is at its best during its fights. Fights in Fire Force are incredibly well animated, featuring beautiful colors, booming audio, and lighting effects to get the most out of every encounter.

Baki fans will like that Fire Force doesn't take itself too seriously either. Shinra is a pretty funny character in and of himself, but there are plenty of side characters in the show that are also great for a couple of laughs. Fire Force is a great comparison to Baki because the series is easy to follow, has great fights, and plenty of humor to back it up.

8 Record of Ragnarok

Tournament Style Fighting for the Fate of the World

Baki features several tournament arcs across its series. Whether Baki is fighting in a tournament to save his own life in China, fighting convicted inmates who found their way to Japan, or fighting in the Underground Arena, he's probably fighting in a tournament. Record of Ragnarok is a series entirely set in a tournament, wasting no time on developing unnecessary characters or worlds. It's straight to the point it what it wants to do and it accomplishes its goals well.

Record of Ragnarok features two people fighting. That's it. While the characters in the fights usually have some form of power, they usually end up fighting each other with their bare hands or a simple weapon. Record of Ragnarok makes no claims to be an anime that will make you think. Instead, it offers some of the most brutal and most satisfying fights anyone can watch.

7 Dragon Ball

Before He Became a Super Saiyan God, Goku Was a Martial Artist

Goku is a lot of things. He's a dad, a grandfather, a Super Saiyan God, and more. Before all that, he was a martial artist, winning his fights through punches and kicks just like Baki. While all of Dragon Ball can be a worthy comparison to Baki, the earliest series is the closest comparison. The original Dragon Ball didn't have as many techniques or forms like Ultra Instinct and instead focused on hand-to-hand fights.

Like Baki, Dragon Ball also features a lot of tournament arcs that put everything outside of fighting in the back seat.

Even the modern Dragon Ball series, Dragon Ball Super, features a fantastic tournament arc that fans of Baki would love. Like Baki, Goku is solely focused on getting stronger and is willing to fight whoever he can to do so.

6 God of High School

Another High-Flying Fighting Tournament

God of High School can be seen as a mixture of Baki and Record of Ragnarok. It's another great series focused on a tournament and is centered on great hand-to-hand combat. Like Record of Ragnarok, God of High School features characters with impressive abilities that supersede human limits. Jin Mori, the main character of God of High School, is one of the flashiest fighters in anime and is always able to put on a stellar performance. The series is also great because it doesn't waste time on any useless plot points.

Instead, it focuses all of its energy on its amazing fight scenes. They're well choreographed, feature enough realism for Baki fans to appreciate, and happen fast enough to keep anyone wanting more. God of High School is an easy series to watch that would be an excellent choice for a Baki watcher who wants more fights with a little less reality.

5 Megalo Box

Futuristic Fights Centered on Realism

Gearless Joe is the only man in Megalo Box to fight without the assistance of any gear. He's solely focused on getting better without the help of any machinery and doesn't do a bad job of it. While Baki can be seen as a light-hearted series with fun characters and hilarious moments, Megalo Box is anything but. Megalo Box is set in a brutal, unforgiving world that Gearless Joe, or the Stray Dog, is barely surviving in. It makes his fights intense, violent, and gripping through his sheer desperation to win.

Megalo Box is the most serious comparison to Baki in tone. While their flavor might not be the same, they both feature a couple of key similarities. Both series have strong-willed protagonists, feature top-tier hand-to-hand combat, and are some of the easiest watches in anime.

4 One Punch Man

The Absurdity of Baki in a Nutshell

One Punch Man is in a league of its own. It's hilariously simple, using one of the most straightforward premises any anime has ever presented: what if someone could beat everyone with one punch? The series takes this awesome concept and runs with it, creating one of the greatest anime series of all time. It's the one series that can compare to Baki in its sheer ridiculousness. No other shows can kick logic and reasoning to the curb quite as well as Baki and One Punch Man can.

Saitama, the main character of One Punch Man, got stronger through a simple workout regiment of 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run every day. Using this workout system, he's seemingly become the strongest creature in existence, defeating whoever he needs to while barely lifting a finger. It's that kind of logic-less hilarity that makes One Punch Man a great show for any Baki fan to watch.

3 Hajime no Ippo

The Grandfather of Fighting Anime

Hajime no Ippo paved the way for a lot of fighting anime. It wasn't the first, but it's certainly one of the best. Out of every anime series to compare Baki too, this series might have the most serious fighting moves. Characters in Hajime no Ippo have superhuman abilities, but Baki characters have them too. While Baki is a series set in reality, characters like Katsumi Orochi have added imaginary ts to their bodies in order to get stronger, showing that adhering to reality isn't a top priority in either series.

Hajime no Ippo is much older than many other Baki comparisons, giving this series an entirely different feel than a lot of other choices. It's also a show that focuses on boxing more than any other martial art, making it a great choice for fans of boxing as well.

2 Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf

A Worthy Comparison to Baki

Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf is the fastest paced show that can be compared to Baki. It features so many great fights in quick succession that some fans online got overwhelmed and complained that there were too many fights. Like Baki, Garouden isn't afraid of using legitimate martial arts moves and in its show. It also does a great job of breaking down each move and why it works, letting fans who aren't familiar with the latest t-locks in on the action.

Outside its comparison to Baki through its realism, Garouden is brutal. Characters don't stop fighting until they're physically incapable. Main character Juzo Fujimaki even gets knocked out at one point in the series and continues to fight through his subconscious alone. Garouden is violent, it's bloody, and above all else, it's awesome.

1 Kengan Ashura

Such a Close Comparison, the Two Had To Fight Each Other

While there are a lot of close comparisons to Baki, none are quite as good as Kengan Ashura. It feels like the two series were designed to be watched together, and it's hard to believe that anyone who likes Baki wouldn't also like watching a few rounds of Kengan. The series are so similar, Netflix put together an event where the two characters fought each other in glorious combat. Ohma Tokita and Baki Hanma are two of the most dangerous characters, not only within their respective series, but in all of anime.

Baki and Ohma both know what it means to have their backs against a wall. They've fought enemies stronger than them with nothing more than their fists on numerous occasions and can't wait to do it again. In a world of people focused on money, control, and fame, Baki and Kengan Ashura feature two incredible characters who would sacrifice it all if it meant they could fight each other.