Who Is Baki’s Real Father & Why Is He So Strong?

One of the things that we know about Baki Hanma in the Baki manga and anime is that he is innately strong due to his genetics. That means that he was born naturally talented and with the potential to become one of the world’s strongest fighters. He did just that by winning the Maximum Tournament at a very young age as a teenager. It was his father’s genetics that allowed Baki to become extremely strong. So, who is Baki’s real father, and why is he so strong?

Baki’s real father is Yuujirou Hanma, who is often regarded as the strongest fighter in the entire world. It is the fact that Yuujirou is so strong that Baki was able to develop into a young prodigy quite early. Of course, Baki’s goal is to defeat his father so that he can become the strongest fighter.

The thing about Baki is that this storyline has always focused on the never-ending cycle of a Hanma trying to surpass his father, and that’s the same for Baki and Yuujirou, who is yet to see someone close to his strength. So, with that said, let’s look into Yuujirou Hanma more to see why he is so important and why he is incredibly strong. 

Yuujirou Hanma’s Background Explained

There is no doubt that the Baki manga and anime storyline revolves around Baki Hanma, a strong martial arts prodigy that developed as one of the toughest fighters in the world at a very young age. Baki’s strength and talent seem innate, as he was already defeating grown men and incredibly strong fighters when he was still a teenager. And the reason why Baki is so strong is his genetics, as he is the son of Yuujirou Hanma.

Yuujirou Hanma was already incredibly strong during his younger years, as it was when he was just 16 years old that he participated in the Vietnam War to hone his skills as a warrior. During that time, he became an incredibly dangerous opponent to the Americans in Vietnam, as he was destroying entire battalions of soldiers on his own. During his time in Vietnam, he raped Diane Neil out of anger when he found out that she betrayed him and was a Canadian spy the entire time. Diane went on to bear Jack Hanma, who is Baki’s older brother.

The Americans became desperate enough to call for the help of a convict named Biscuit Oliva, the strongest fighter in the USA. While the battle between Yuujirou and Oliva was a stalemate, it was clear that Hanma was stronger. Due to America’s desperation, the country allied with Yuujirou. As such, Yuujirou defeated an entire country all on his own.

Yuujirou appeared at a big banquet where he met Emi Akezawa, who was married to a wealthy man named Eiichi Akezawa. The attraction between Yuujirou and Emi was clear, and that was when Hanma decided to murder Eiichi and have sex with Emi. While they were never married, Emi got pregnant and bore a son named Baki, who we all know is the main character of the Baki manga and anime storyline.

During Baki’s childhood, Emi took charge of his training and often paid well-trained fighters to fight him. However, Yuujirou appeared out of nowhere and saw his son for the first time. He was disappointed at how “weak” Baki was, and that was when he took the boy from Emi so that he could take charge of his development.

Unlike Yuujirou, Baki wasn’t a bloodthirsty warrior who only wanted to fight and kill people to prove he was strong. While Baki was innately strong, he had a good heart that allowed him to choose who he needed and wanted to fight. And he didn’t fight to be bloodthirsty as he tried to avoid taking lives as much as possible.

The difference between him and his father was established when Baki befriended a two-meter intelligent ape named Yasha-Zaru. However, Yuujirou murdered the ape and used its head to taunt Baki into attacking him, as it was clear that the younger Hanma had a kindhearted personality that felt sad when he saw what happened to his friend.

Yuujirou trained Baki well enough that he was able to win the Maximum Tournament. However, Yuujirou was disappointed that his son didn’t want to take lives during the tournament. Baki was different from his father, even though he had the innate talent that allowed him to develop at a rapid pace.

During the Great Chinese Challenge Saga, Yuujirou fought alongside Baki and the other Japanese fighters against some of the greatest martial artists in China. The tournament occurs once in a hundred years, so Yuujirou was excited to participate. He fought Kaiou Kaku, who was strong enough to match Yuujirou until his sudden “death” due to old age. Baki subsequently fought and defeated Muhammad Alai Jr. and announced that he would challenge his father to a fight.

Why Is Yuujirou Hanma So Strong?

There is no doubt that Yuujirou is currently the strongest fighter in all of the Baki storyline. However, similar to why Baki is so strong, Yuujirou is strong because he was born the son of a strong fighter named Yuuichirou Hanma, the strongest fighter of his time as well. Yuuichirou also defeated America singlehandedly when the USA attacked Okinawa during World War II. However, unlike his son, Yuuichirou was more like Baki because he was kinder and carefree.

Yuujirou also possesses the “demon back,” which is a rare occurrence when a person’s back muscles are somewhat deformed and can form the face of a demon. In that regard, Yuujirou seems blessed with innate physical abilities that allow him to become stronger than any other human being.

Of course, Yuujirou’s bloodthirsty and cruel nature also made him one of the strongest people in the world. Unlike Yuuichirou and Baki, Yuujirou wasn’t afraid to kill or brutalize people. That bloodthirsty nature allows Yuuichirou to fight without anything restraining him from completely brutalizing or even killing his opponents. Of course, in Baki’s case, he often held back or pulled his punches because he didn’t have the bloodthirsty nature of his father.

Yuujirou’s pursuit of strength made him more powerful than any other man on the planet. Ever since he was young, he was obsessed with being the strongest, and that was one of the reasons he tried to fight the strongest fighters in the world. Yuujirou wanted to be the strongest, which made him stronger than anyone else.