Baoh the Caller (1989 Video) User Reviews

A smile for tomorrow to dry your tears of today

[myfinchums-79896 · 7/10 · 18 June 2021]

46min anime about two people with mutant abilities, one is a little girl with a pet squirrel pokémon and the other is just typical anime dude... he's a guy who gets powers blah blah blah. There isn't much characterization here. The underlying story about an organization that controls and tries to harness the power of 'Boah' (and others) is the most interesting stuff. That, and the well directed violent battle scenes; great use of POV and close-ups. Very reminiscent of JoJo at times, and unfortunately there is a bit of dog torture, I'm not sure why Araki has (or had) that fixation.

The English dub sounds bad, just VHS quality; and they turned down the music it seems... I usually prefer the dub but here you gotta go with the OG Japanese track, my copy is great quality.

This gets an easy recommend, it doesn't drag at 46 minutes (the start is a little cheesy), it's unorthodox and bloody and kept me entertained and interested 'till the end.

Make sure you watch through the credits.

BAOH - Exciting anime thriller with strong story and artwork

[BrianDanaCamp · 16 December 2004]

BAOH (1989) is a 46-minute anime adaptation of a manga miniseries that has been published in English in two volumes. It's a fast-paced science fiction thriller marked by a genuinely exciting and suspenseful storyline, interesting characters and lots of well-staged, spectacularly gory action. It's also distinguished by great artwork and detailed design. My only complaint is that it's all too short and would have benefited from expansion to two parts or full-scale feature-length theatrical treatment. Even so, it's an entertaining ride for fans of hard-edged anime action.

The plot involves an experiment by Doress, a secret corporate group--with government ties, of course--which results in a 17-year-old boy being given superhuman powers that continue to evolve and get more powerful each time he is attacked. The boy, Ikuro Hashizawa, escapes custody from a moving train and eludes military pursuers thereafter with the help of a nine-year-old psychic girl, Sumire, who is also sought after by Doress. Each time the pursuers catch up to them, Ikuro, under the growing power of Baoh--the name given the lab-created entity implanted in the boy--transforms into an increasingly sophisticated monstrous killing machine and plows through the bad guys with lethal precision, slicing, dicing and decapitating--in bright primary colors--as he goes. Eventually, the girl is abducted, forcing Ikuro to seek her out in the organization's underground headquarters and storm his way through their defenses, including a giant American Indian warrior named Walken who puts up the most brutal fight Baoh has ever faced.

The animation follows the lead of the manga pretty closely, not only in the actual events of the story, but the design of the characters and the style of the action and violence. The only major difference is the cutting of some of the incidents that happen during the two lead characters' flight to freedom. Made in 1989, BAOH relies on the strong suits of the animation of that period--bright colors, bold, strong lines and clear, straightforward, detailed design.

From the creator of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (aka. The greatest thing in the universe) comes... no that.

[mahmus · 4/10 · 21 April 2020]

*A bunch of dogs are kicked and killed on the first two minutes*

*A dog gets mauled by a tiger*

Yup, definitely Araki.

*A bunch of dogs are kicked and killed on the first two minutes*

*A dog gets mauled by a tiger*

Yup, definitely Araki.

I haven't read the manga, but I'm sure it must be better than this.

A True Classic From A Classic Creator...

[jameshemphil · 9/10 · 24 January 2022]

Baoh the Caller, called Baoh the Visitor when I watched it back in the 90s, is a true classic of the era and the genre. It's a true memory of what used to be, as opposed to modern anime, and it really shows just what anime used to be. It's exciting and beautifully animated, and when you see the hero striking a pose before shooting lightning bolts from his hands...you know INSTANTLY where it came from. This isn't a spoiler, but unlike some other "screaming and shooting lasers" anime like DBZ, when Baoh roars it sounds less like a roar and more like a man in an echoing room howling! Absolute classic. 90s anime-cool designs and great fight scenes, especially the English Dub. Ah, the memories...

Take a Baoh

[NoDakTatum · 8/10 · 9 December 2023]

Japanese anime is an acquired taste, either you find it pretty cool, or you are bored stupid by it. This one is pretty cool. Dubbed in English, Baoh is actually Ikuroo (voiced by Brian Hinnant), a seventeen year old amnesiac traveling with young girl Sumire (voiced by Kem Helms). The opening chase onboard a train shows Sumire has special powers. Ikuroo has escaped from a pod being controlled by evil Dr. Kasuminome (voiced by Mike Way). He refers to Ikuroo as "Baoh." Kasuminome has found a way to speed up evolution with the help of a parasitic worm that lives in the host experiment. The worm changes the host as needed, usually making them unstoppable in a fight. The villains send cyborg hitman Dordo (voiced by Dave Underwood) to kill Ikuroo and Sumire after others have failed. Ikuroo keeps recovering from seemingly deadly wounds, the only way to completely stop a baoh is to shoot it in the head and then torch the body. Dordo is dead, but Walken (voiced by Chuck Denson) waits in the wings. Walken is a powerful Native American. The bad guys capture Sumire and use her to lure Ikuroo to the secret lab, unaware that Ikuroo is experiencing baoh powers that no one could foresee. At fifty minutes, the action is quick and the plot sparse as Ikuroo finally meets his evil creator, and tries to rescue Sumire.

Unlike a lot of anime I have seen, this piece does not feel like the first episode of a series we never get to complete. The story is self contained, but does leave room for a sequel. Ikuroo's baoh is pretty cool looking, as is the giant Walken. The pace is brisk, and the gore is heavy. Kiddies expecting Pokemon will be grossed out and probably have nightmares. I could easily picture this as a live action, big budget action flick. The story is certainly interesting, if not overpopulated with characters, and the hero is likable, whether severing his own arm in order to escape Walken or giving Sumire a mouthful of his own blood to revive her after an attack. "Baoh the Visitor" is nothing earth shattering, but plenty entertaining. Ignore the lousy end credits songs, the nerdy baoh powers literally spelled out for you on the screen, and enjoy the carnage.

Only in Anime...

[LoneWolf6 · 14 March 2002]

A boy is experimented upon by the government after an accident that leaves his family dead. Only in anime is this a recurring theme (government using children or adults) for their own purposes. I wonder why this is? Of coarse he escapes and uses these "experiments" to his advantage. There isn't much more to the story except some brutal sci-fi carnage, but in my opinion if you mix sci-fi and violence it should be brutal. There are other characters of coarse but not worth of mention. The diolage is laughable and pure cheese but adds unintentionable comedy to this violent tale. If you like anime and your sci-fi bloody check it out!