Kicking off this list is the concluding fight of the season, Baki vs Alai Jr., the fictional son of Mohammad Alai (who is obviously based on the legendary Muhammad Ali). While a good number of viewers may reasonably find this concluding fight anti-climatic, one has to remember a fight’s a fight. It doesn’t matter if it happens in a ring, an octagon, or even in anime, and this fight is living proof of that.

Not only in pro wrestling or in combat sports, no matter how hyped a fight can be, fights in the world of anime can also be squashes (a pro wrestling term for quick matches), and Baki vs Alai Jr. shows that’s ok. You have to remember that the fights in the world of Baki have no rules, and Baki exploited that. Baki knew there were weaknesses in Alai’s style, so he took advantage of them by striking first, striking hard, and with no mercy. If he didn’t, he would’ve lost instantly himself.

In a true David Vs. Goliath battle in the world of Baki, we have Mohammad Alai Jr. Vs Jo Kaioh. While Alai Jr. is a little taller than average as a teenager, let’s just say if Andre the Giant, The Big Show and Yao Ming all stood on each other’s shoulders, they’d form Jo Kaioh. As most martial arts instructors would tell you, if you fight a taller opponent, you gotta get on the inside and hit your closest target. As Jo attempts a roundhouse, Alai Jr. immediately counters with an uppercut to the family jewels, but Jo makes a quick recovery! And when Jo went for a back fist, Alai countered with a right cross to the chin for the knockout! While Alai Jr. didn’t exactly strike first, he countered and struck hard by ending the fight in two fights! To quote MMA legend Rickson Gracie, this fight shows that if size were everything, the elephant would be the King of the Jungle, and once again proves it’s the lion.

For the first time in almost five years, Baki and Yujiro get into a little backstage scuffle at the Raitai Tournament. After Baki recovers from his poisoning, he gets into his father’s face saying he wants to kick his ass. Yujiro knows Baki still doesn’t have what it takes to take him man-to-man and decides to teach him a lesson. He strikes first by grabbing him by the face, and then he strikes hard by throwing him through the wall (and 20 feet out of the arena). Baki takes the pain like a man but by the time he runs back in to confront Yujiro, he is gone showing that he’s at least capable of mercy.

If there is one fight that truly puts the no mercy in this series, it would have to be when Alai Sr. challenges his own son to a fight. So, where’s the no mercy in this? Alai Jr. is broken just about everywhere throughout his body as he attempts to fight other characters such as Jack (Baki’s half-brother), Gouki, and Doppo. Junior tries to plead with his father that he’s injured, but his father tells him in Johnny Lawrence’s style to be a man and to never back down from a challenge. Junior takes his father’s bait, fights him crippled, and gets his ass handed to him. The fact that his own father fights his son all bandaged up is certainly a lower tactic than sweeping the leg, and would make John Kreese proud.

At number one, we have to give it to the first fight of the season, Yujiro vs Ryu Kaioh. Not only does Yujiro embody Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy in this opening bout, to him, it’s a way of life. To him, No Mercy is about making you suffer. Forget the fact that this fight shows how strong he is, it shows that Yujiro is a maniac that needs to be locked up in an asylum, and we’re talking somewhere as impenetrable as Area 51! To sum it up, Yujiro toys with Kaioh like how Anderson Silva toyed with Forrest Griffin, and he shows no mercy by ripping the flesh off his face and throwing it into the crowd. While Baki fights dirty at times to survive, to Yujiro it’s like a game of Animal Crossing. If anything, John Kreese and Terry Silver would gladly give the Cobra Kai dojo to Yujiro for his actions in this fight alone.