Baoh is a series created by Hirohiko Araki, known worldwide for creating the globally praised generational manga and anime - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. But before gaining world wide fame, Araki dabbled in works such as Buso Poker, Magical Boy B.T. , Gorgeous Irene and ....... Baoh. Fans of JoJo that watch Baoh will notice a lot of design choices that were also used in JoJo, from Baoh's Kars-like design, to Baoh's giant plethora of skills that only come to light when he needs them to, thus making it feel like he is making them up on the spot, similiar to Jonathan's early plethora of Overdrives. Baoh is a short movie that delivers a rushed albeit a high quality product with interesting characters and story, that ends on a very hype sequel bait. But alas, nearly 30 years later , we sadly never received one, making Baoh's seemingly unfinished tale feel like a punch in the gut.

Baoh starts off on a very strong note. A group of armed men chase a strange girl through several train carts, until she runs all the way to the engine,where a capsule holds our titular protagonist. Baoh's awakening sets the tone for the rest of the show, as he not only crushes a grunts arm in his intro, he also throws them under the train wheels. This display of gore pales in comparison to things that Baoh can and will do throughout the movie, but it still lets you know what to expect. After the girl detaches the carts from the train, and she and Baoh escape, the plot gets set in motion, as several grunts are sent after Ikurou Hashizawa (Baoh) in order to destroy him completely, as retrieval is deemed impossible.

The introduction part of Baoh showcases a beautiful atmospheric OST and incredibly smooth animation that very much stays consistent throughout the entire show. The artstyle with more washed out colours compliments the series's darker atmosphere well, and the attention to detail is amazing. Baoh's eyes will be empty and his face expressionless when he is fully Baoh, but will have irises and will show emotion when Ikurou is in control , and these are very easy to notice when he is around Sumire, the girl. The fights are usually short with Baoh easily dispatching his foes, however a few fights are longer, mostly the ones against the series's "sub-bosses". Regardless of lenght , all fights that Baoh is in are very memorable, as he dispatches his enemies in the most interesting ways, from cutting them to pieces, to crushing them, to melting them and more.

However, Baoh's plot was definetly rushed, even in the source material. Characters that felt like they deserved more screentime get very little, certain characters never get properly explained, and the antagonists dissapear too quickly. As mentioned before, the movie ends with a cliffhanger that heavily hints at a sequel that one hopes will end all the plotlines started in the original, or just shed some light on them. But unfortunately, there is no sequel , and there seemingly might not ever be. Therefore, Baoh suffers a bit from forever staying a standalone piece.

To cut it short, Baoh is an amazing piece from a great author, that suffers from incredibly fast pacing and the lack of a sequel that it set itself up for. Regardless of that, Baoh offers crispy smooth animation, great gritty action and an a beautiful OST that supports its scenes well. Certainly a recommended watch.