Durian is one of the five death row inmates who appears in the Baki series' Most Evil Death Row Inmates arc. During his time on death row, he endured 10 minutes of hanging at the time of his execution, and managed to escape by killing all the prison guards, doctors, priests, and others present. With a fighting style based on Chinese martial arts, he overwhelms his opponents with weapons made from special fibers and hypnosis. In this article, we'll take a look at Durian's characteristics, personality, and strengths.
1. What are Durian's characteristics?
Source: Baki © Itagaki Keisuke (Akita Shoten) / Baki Production Committee
He is an American death row inmate who looks like an elderly white man. At the time of his execution, he endures hanging for 10 minutes and escapes by killing everyone present. He also has a background in Chinese martial arts and is the first Westerner to receive the title of "Kaioh" in the past. His name at that time was "Dorian Kaioh." As for his fighting style, while he has a high level of skill in Chinese martial arts, he also uses thin, strong special fibers as weapons and employs hypnosis. He is also adept at catching his opponents off guard, for example by suddenly bursting into tears and desperately pleading for his life, before launching an attack when they let their guard down. Here, we will clarify Durian's characteristics through the techniques he uses.
①Chinese Martial Arts
Source: Baki © Itagaki Keisuke (Akita Shoten) / Baki Production Committee
Durian is the first Westerner to achieve the title of "Kaioh". Not only does he have high skills, but there are also episodes from his training period where he was able to make a hole in a mountain using only his fists and feet, which amazed Kaioh Retsu and his friends.
② Hypnosis
Source: Baki © Itagaki Keisuke (Akita Shoten) / Baki Production Committee
One of Dorian's special techniques. He shows his opponent a hallucination of defeating Dorian, and then beats them down in reality. He used this tactic to defeat Kato of the Shinshinkai.
2. What is Dorian's personality like?
Source: Baki © Itagaki Keisuke (Akita Shoten) / Baki Production Committee
Even from Dorian's fighting style, even though he has the skill to fight head-on, he uses tactics such as hypnotism and crying, which at first glance seems to be a cowardly way of fighting. However, Dorian himself seems to be dissatisfied with the style of pretending to admit defeat and then attacking, as he has never been able to get his way and has never truly won. He also confides in Kaioh Retsu about this and expresses his desire to "beat him", but when Retsu tells him "your wish will not come true", he is completely defeated, and unable to bear the stress, his mind breaks down and he regresses to childhood. It seems that his strength is supported by his strong will.
3. How strong is Dorian?
Source: Baki © Itagaki Keisuke (Akita Shoten) / Baki Production Committee
Although his fighting style has been controversial, he has shown his ability by pushing Kato and Suedo of Shinshinkai to the brink of death and defeating Katsumi Orochi. He also put up a good fight against Doppo Orochi, once admitting defeat, and then blowing up Doppo's face when he returned home with a bomb hidden in his right hand. Also, like Retsu Kaioh, he has earned the title of "Kaioh" in Chinese martial arts, so his strength is well-known. After regressing to childhood, he was seen begging for candy and was completely different to how he was before, but in the Chinese Grand Martial Arts Tournament arc, he climbed onto the pounding table with the same spirit and fought Yang Kaioh, only to be defeated easily. However, Dorian finished the fight without taking any damage, showing his presence even after regressing to childhood.
Summary
Source: Baki © Itagaki Keisuke (Akita Shoten) / Baki Production Committee
Among the five death row inmates, Dorian has a unique fighting style. It's rare to see him use hypnotism or crying. The only thing he has in common is Igari Kanji. His passionate and dazzling fighting style in his match against Baki is similar to Dorian's. Why not enjoy the anime and keep an eye on Durian's role in the Most Evil Death Row Convicts arc, which will be made into an anime in 2018?
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