Baki: What Is “Demon Back” & Who Has It?

The world of Baki has a lot of prominent characters that were able to showcase their innate strength and fighting abilities. Of course, the strongest characters in the storyline tend to be the ones that were pre-determined to be stronger than anyone else because they possess something called the demon back, which allows them to become more powerful. But what is the demon back in Baki?

In Baki, the demon back or the demon face is an innate ability that allows the person to flex his back aggressively to force the muscles to form the face of a demon. This allows the user to enhance his physical abilities beyond their normal limits. Only the Hanma family possesses this ability.

Even though the Baki universe is kind of grounded when compared to other anime because it focuses more on martial arts and “realistic” fighting, the fact is that this manga and anime is actually pretty exaggerated because the different characters possess abilities that are well beyond superhuman. The demon back is one of those abilities. Now, let’s look at what the demon back is.

Demon Back Explained

The storyline of Baki is home to the Hanma family, which is a select group of people with incredible abilities. One such ability we know exists is the demon back, which we often see Yuujirou Hanma using. Of course, Yuujirou is known as the strongest creature on Earth in the Baki universe, and this demon back is one of the reasons why he is so strong. But what exactly is the demon back?

Those who possess the demon back in Baki flex their backs forcefully and aggressively. Doing so forces the back muscles to change shape and form a figure similar to a demon’s face. While this may seem purely aesthetic, the demon face back actually has a purpose. That’s because it is an ability that allows the user to increase his power well beyond its limits.

In that sense, whenever the demon back is activated, the user becomes stronger, faster, and more durable than ever. Yuujirou activates his power a few times when fighting some of the most powerful characters in the Baki storyline. And whenever he uses it, he becomes strong enough to take attacks that would have killed other fighters.

But while the demon back may seem like an ability, it is a pre-determined genetic advantage allowing the user to go beyond his normal limits. The only reason it is called an ability is that those who can use it have to “activate” it at will. As such, it isn’t permanent, as those who use the demon back need to use it to access the advantages that such power allows them to have.

Who Possesses the Demon Back?

As mentioned, the demon back is not an ability per se because only those who are pre-determined by their genetics can use this power. That means that it is an advantage that only those who are gifted enough can use, and that’s why the storyline of Baki relies heavily on characters that were already innately strong from the very start. And the thing about the demon back is only a few characters in the storyline have it.

That said, only select members from the Hanma bloodline has access to the demon back, which transforms the person’s back into the face of a demon and enhances the user’s strength, speed, agility, stamina, and durability. So, while it may be true that only the Hanma family members can use this ability, not all have been shown to possess it.

In the Baki storyline, only three people have displayed the ability to use demon back. These are Yuuichirou Hanma, Yuujirou Hanma, and Baki Hanma. Of course, Yuuichirou is seemingly the first person to possess this ability, as we aren’t sure whether or not the ancestors of the Hanma family have it. But we all know that he passed it on to his son, Yuujirou, who passed the same genetic ability to his son, Baki.

While Jack Hanma may be the firstborn son of Yuujirou, he doesn’t possess the demon back. Yuujirou said this could be due to his “impure” bloodline, as we all know that Jack isn’t of full Japanese descent. It also goes without saying that Jack didn’t care for his body well enough during his younger years, so he became weak and frail. Yuujirou also said that Jack wasn’t born with the luck of the devil. As such, Baki is the only one of Yuujirou’s two sons that possess this incredible power.

Pickle, a caveman that lived millions of years ago, seemingly possesses back muscles that resemble the demon back. However, it was never confirmed whether or not he has the demon back or is related to the Hanma family in any way. As such, only Yuuichirou, Yuujirou, and Baki are confirmed to possess this ability.

Is Demon Back from Baki Possible?

While the demon back does have a purpose in the Baki storyline, we also know that it is incredibly unique in terms of its appearance, as not even the most muscular characters in the manga or anime don’t have this kind of a back unless they could use demon back. But is demon back actually possible in real life?

We all know it is impossible to obtain the same strength, durability, and speed enhancements that a member of the Hanma family gets whenever he activates the demon back. As such, there’s no way for any person to achieve this feat, as the demon back is akin to the Super Saiyan transformation in Dragon Ball, which can enhance the person’s abilities whenever it is activated.

Aesthetically, the demon back is seemingly impossible to achieve, even for the most muscular men in the world. Those who train their backs using pull-ups and bent-over rows will never achieve the demon back because this seems biologically impossible for any person to achieve, as back muscles were never meant to look like the face of a demon.

Nevertheless, there might be a chance that a person with a genetic deformity can achieve the aesthetic looks of the demon back. Of course, we aren’t taught enough in medicine to tell whether or not such a physical deformity is possible. But chances point to the possibility that the demon back doesn’t exist due to how the back muscles of a human being were never meant to appear like the face of a demon. Then again, it doesn’t hurt to train your back muscles to their limit to achieve a look that is as close to Yuujirou Hanma’s demon back.