Baki’s Girlfriend Suffers the Same Fate as Many Other Female Characters in the Manga

If you don't watch a lot of anime, then it could be pretty easy to lump it all under a single umbrella, but the truth is, there are tons of different genres and sub-categories of anime. Folks who love Cowboy Bebop probably aren't going to rock with something like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and if you're into Hunter x Hunter then maybe Lupin the III won't be your cup of tea.

Baki Hanma is a very specific type of anime too in that it's extremely violent and hyper-masculine. And even though lots of folks watch it for its action, and ridiculously jacked dudes, there are some narrative questions a lot of people have. For instance, what happened to Baki's girlfriend?

If you watch a single episode of Baki, then there are a few things made immediately clear: The anime is obsessed with the male form. Sure, it's grisly and there's tons of gut-wrenching, brutal action, but a lot has been discussed about Baki's apparent sexualization of male characters. Most of the storylines in the anime focus on male/male relationships.

The female characters in the anime and manga are often either not portrayed in the best light (like Baki's mom, who has an odd relationship with her son, or Biscuit Oliva's wife who treats him with utter contempt).

Then there are characters who are used as plot vehicles, like Baki's girlfriend Kozue. In the anime, Kozue's tears help to heal Baki, and when he sleeps with her, he becomes stronger.

Baki and Kozue are featured as being pretty hot and heavy in the anime and they clearly have a fondness for one another, but fans soon noticed that as the series progressed, they started seeing less and less of the grappler's main squeeze. So what happened to Kozue? Are they still together?

A lot of longtime fans of the series have noticed that there's a specific point in the series where Keisuke Itagaki seemingly "abandons" all of the female characters in the manga. Kozue does small make returns in the manga, however. In chapter 186 of the "Son of Ogre" storyline, Kozue actually does appear right before Baki fights his dad, the world's most vicious and accomplished martial artist.

Their relationship did seemingly take a hit in the series, however, when Kozue ends up mired in a relationship love triangle between herself, Baki, and Mohammad Alai Jr. (yes, not very subtle with the nomenclature). While Kozue ultimately ends up going back to Baki, things between the two never really stayed the same.

Audiences of the anime did notice that Kozue was absent from the series, with many wondering when she is going to return. But if the anime is true to the manga, then viewers can expect to see a lot more fighting and training for epic battles instead of seeing relationship building between Baki and Kozue, or any of the other characters and their significant others for that matter.