I’ve recently been watching a Manga cartoon about a young man called Baki Hanma who is a martial arts fighter of some talent and renown. There are some interesting sub-themes about self worth and how one finds it. There are also echoes of Freud’s death instinct (Thanatos.)

As the picture above shows, Freud’s idea can be seen in a variety of ways, some curative and helpful. At other times thoroughly destructive. Like all our drives. The Baki series consists mainly of impossibly muscled martial arts fighters attempting to destroy all their opponents and emerge as the One. (Along with this is a wish to know defeat. A possible expression of Thanatos? Perhaps there is a curious relief in knowing that one can be defeated? A reminder of one’s mortality? As Shakespeare’s Henry IV says “Uneasy lies the head that bears the crown.”.)

A film critic offers this summary of Baki, “Five of the world’s most violent and brutal death row inmates are gathering to face Baki. Their objective is to taste defeat – their unmatched strength and skill have led them to become bored of life itself, and they now seek out Baki in the hopes that he can overwhelm them and utterly crush them.” (Greenlight Factory)

One sequence in the film caught my attention. Two of the protagonists are in combat. Biscuit Oliva is fighting Yurijo Hanma. We watch Oliva display a dazzling array of moves: kicks, blocks, punches, lightning fast ducks and swerves in a display that would shame any of our current WWF champions. Sadly, Oliva is not fighting the real opponent, who stands behind him watching. Hanma has hypnotised him (although why is not clear). Thus Biscuit is fighting the fight he believes he needs to, in order to win. Hanma is behind him, watching. It is a rather sad vignette but one which struck me as full of psychological meaning.

As a therapist I see many people in distress. I see men who have problems with their anger and women who have problems with anxiety and depression. In most cases the men have an angry father and grandfather standing behind them whilst the women have a depressed and anxious mother and grandmother. In these cases, my patient is fighting the wrong battle. Their challenger is standing behind them watching whilst they tire themselves out fighting the foe only they can see. (But who is still real and alive.)

In the Manga version, Biscuit Oliva is certain that he is triumphing over his opponent. How can he not win? He fights so hard and with such focus, employing his vast strength along with every move he has in his repertoire.. Sadly the real enemy stands behind him. Watching. Unseen. Unaffected. So many of my patients are doing the same. Fighting the battle they believe they have to fight. A husband who doesn’t love them properly. A wife who is out at work all day and “neglects” them. Children who will insist on being their own people.

Much of my work is in helping my patient to understand that they are fighting themselves. The enemy is not Anger or Depression or Anxiety. These are shadows and formidable but not the real challenge. The work is to help them see that they are fighting a shadow who, whilst a part of themselves, is not the Truth about them. With this realisation, the work can then continue. The work is of self-acceptance, of choosing when a battle has to be fought or when to walk away. To use their energy to heal and not destroy.

And before I leave, may I offer my apologies if I have misnamed my fighters. I am not an expert on Manga in general and Baki in particular. If you’re enticed into the world of Baki, he can be found on Baki./Official Netflix Site.