'Baki' Part 3 questions the very purpose of martial arts: Is it strengthening the weak or boosting the strong?
Spoilers for 'Baki' Part 3 'The Great Raitai Tournament Saga'
Netflix's hit anime series 'Baki' has finally entered the 'Great Raitai Tournament Saga' but beyond the flying fists and overflowing adrenaline, the tournament brings one of the franchise's biggest questions to the fore. After all, the battles in 'Baki' are more than just about two people, more often than not, it's about two competing ideologies. Perhaps the biggest question in the world of 'Baki' is the very purpose of martial arts. On the one hand, we have people like Baki Hanma (Nobunaga Shimazaki) and Sea King Ryu (Shozo Iizuka) who stand for the more traditional approach to martial arts, attempting to strengthen and protect those weaker than themselves.
Countering this, we have the imposing Yujiro Hanma (Akio Ōtsuka) whose only desire is to be the strongest being there is. To Yujiro, martial arts is just a means to an end, a way of ensuring that the strong continue to dominate the weak. This conflict arises in the very first episode when Yujiro goes up against Ryu. However, we don't exactly get a straight answer here because Yujiro effortlessly rips off Ryu's face and defeats him unceremoniously. Considering the sheer power that Yujiro wields, one might be tempted to say that he is right. However, the truth is a lot more complicated than that.
While Yujiro may scarcely have tasted defeat, Baki has been brought down many times over the course of his life. In the eyes of his father, Baki might not exactly be weak but he isn't close to strong, at least not for the longest time. But despite his defeats and apparent weakness as compared to some of the opponents he's faced, Baki has always found a way to rise above and become better. His whole life is a testament to the idea that one can use martial arts to become stronger than before and that you don't have to bring destruction to others in order to build yourself up.
Ultimately, there's no right answer to this question. But as with all great questions, the search for truth is a whole lot more fun than just knowing the answer.
All 13 episodes of 'Baki' Part 3 are currently available for streaming on Netflix.
