Baki (2018, Netflix)

Grappler Baki is a shonen manga that ran from 1991 to 1998.  It focused on the exploits of the titular Baki, a martial artist who aspires to be the world's strongest man, and to defeat his father (who currently holds that title).

The manga eventually led to more than a few spin-offs and anime, including Baki, an anime released in 2018 on Netflix.  This manga follows the, "Most Evil Death Row Convicts Saga," which sees 5 death row convicts break out of prison and come to Japan, "to know defeat."  The story unfolds violently from there.

Pros:

• Some of the scenarios are bat-shit insane (e.g. the fight on a moving rollercoaster).
• I watched all 13 episodes available (despite the numerous cons listed below)

Cons:

• The occasional switches from 2D to 3D animation during fight scenes are jarring
• The abilities and resilience of the human, not supernatural fighters stretches credulity (e.g. one fighter being set on fire with gasoline and still recovering, a fighter having his throat slit and not receiving medical attention for what must've been hours and still surviving). 
• It seems like those who live and die depends more on how important they are to the plot than anything to do with human anatomy.
• Baki's relationship with Kozue Matsumo is awkward and stilted.  Their scenes together seem really out of place when placed in context with the rest of the anime
• Moreover, Kozue and her mother are the only two women in the entire anime.  Kozue's mother doesn't speak more than 4-5 lines.
• The art style is not your typical anime fare.  In defense of the show, however, it seems the anime is more interested in portraying intense martial arts action than fitting any predetermined aesthetic. 
• Still, Baki almost constantly looks distant, bored, and disinterested
• The 2nd fight between Doppo and Dorian felt anti-climactic (especially since Dorian was defeated handily)
• Also, WTF was up with Dorian and Retsu's final interaction?
• The story ends on a cliffhanger.  Obviously the series is meant to keep going, as the final episode is still introducing new characters.
• (nit-pick) Despite being called "Baki," the titular character doesn't actually appear in all the episodes.  Then again, it seems like the story is more about the fights than any individual character.
• (nit-pick) Doppo Orochi looks like a cheap Sagat rip-off

Conclusion:
I gave this anime a shot due to the YouTuber, "Super Eyepatch Wolf."  While he did not unequivocally recommend this or any version of Baki, he said the Netflix version would be a good place to start to see if modern Baki was my jam.  After watching 13 episodes, I can say that it is not.  I am still morbidly curious to see where the story goes from here, but I just don't care enough to seek out the rest of this anime, or to delve into other versions of the anime and manga.  I think the story succeeds for its ridiculous scenarios, but falls flat in far too many other ways to justify my continued attention.

Final Score:
4.5/10