Baki the Grappler has some of the best fighters with godly abilities, but one that stands out is Pickle. Pickle belongs to the prehistoric era. He traversed the same paths as dinosaurs, the most enormous beasts known to mankind, which explains his inhuman strength and primal instincts.
But is Pickle’s monstrous power an indication of an unknown link of his to the Hanma Clan? There have been endless speculations about Pickle being a part of the Hanma bloodline. Let’s find out if there is any truth to it.
Pickle is a primitive man belonging to the Jurassic period who was frozen in a saline rock until recently. The surprising turn of events brought him from prehistoric life to the modern age, leaving him feeling disconnected and out of place. However, the only connection he bore to the present world was through fighters as strong as him. He is certainly a beast of a human, but the Hanma clan, including Yujiro and Baki, as well as Jack, are a tough match for him.
As he tries to make sense of his new life and competes with the finest martial artists and fighters of the present time, it’s impossible to ignore his uncanny resemblance with the Hanma bloodline.
Pickle’s Abilities and Techniques
Physical Strength
Pickle’s strengths and abilities need no introduction. After all, he survived the Jurassic era when the most monstrous predators of all times dominated our planet. He tackled those beasts, even a T-Rex, with bare hands and defeated them every single time. For someone who had dinosaurs for meals, his power needs no validation.
With a rock-solid neck, it’s almost impossible for him to have a concussion or suffer from any damage to the nervous system, no matter how severe the blow is. Other than Yujiro, hardly anyone can compete with him as far as neck strength is concerned.
He also has one of the strongest core muscles that can stop even a 9mm shot to his stomach. That’s why no amount of blows and strikes can leave any sustaining damage to his body.
Another vital part of his body is his sharp canines and massive jaw. Just like most prehistoric creatures, Pickle often relied on his jaws as a weapon during his fights. His canines have been piercing through tough dinosaur skin for years. It’s no wonder he could easily pick up Jack and swing him away with his teeth alone – and without breaking a sweat.
Along with physical strength, he is also enviably faster than most of the Hanma men. In fact, during his time with the dinosaurs, speed was one of his biggest weapons that gave him an edge over the monstrous but comparatively slow beings.
Weaknesses
As mighty and powerful as he is, Pickle is surely not without his weaknesses. One of his most notable fears is the fear of wasps, which first found its place in him during his early years in the Jurassic period. He knows that wasps might not kill him, but they can surely harm and inflict severe pain.
Another disadvantage that he has against the Hanma men is his sheer lack of technical expertise. He might be strong and capable, but he relies too much on brute force and unplanned attacks. While they might work against an average human being, it won’t be enough to confront Yujiro or even Baki, who spent years training in different martial arts techniques.
On the brighter side, Pickle has shown promising signs of adaptability and a knack for learning, which suggests that he might be able to master the technical skills in the seasons to come.
Techniques
Pickle feeds off of his primal instincts and unplanned moves. Here are some of his most common fighting techniques:
Bite
Pickle has strong jaws. He is, after all, a primitive man, so he retains most of his animalistic habits, which imparts him with unmatchable biting power in most fights. The first glimpse of this technique was seen in his fight against Kaiou Retsu. Needless to say, the man who chewed raw human flesh and feasted upon dinosaurs with his bare teeth has the biting power of a beast. For instance, the first time he used his teeth against Jack, he tore away half his face in a single try.
Stomp
Pickle is quite literally a giant in front of most men in the series, including Yujiro and Baki. Standing tall at over 8 feet, he towers over his opponents, which makes using his feet easier. Stomping is one of his most vicious moves, which was seen only once when he fought Baki Hanma.
Rear Naked Choke
The rear-naked choke is one of the most interesting techniques we have yet to see Pickle use in a fight. He used this technique to fight off dinosaurs far taller and bigger than him. The technique requires you to get on the opponent’s back and choke their neck from behind with both your arms. The word “naked” here suggests that you don’t need any martial art uniform or tools to perform this technique. If done correctly, this technique will immediately restrict the blood flow to the opponent’s brain, causing them to lose consciousness.
Leaning Forward Stance
This technique brings out the true beast in Pickle. Here, Pickle gets on all fours and lowers his upper body while simultaneously raising his legs. Then, he launches himself with lightning speed at the opponent. The move is incredibly fast. It’s almost invisible to naked eyes and yet so powerful that it can bring down even dinosaurs in one go, let alone humans. The first time he used this technique was in his fight with Kaiou Retsu. Later, other fighters, including Kaiou Retsu and Jack Hanma, were seen adopting the move.
Aiki
Despite being from the Jurassic era, Pickle uses the ancient Jujutsu technique called Aiki where he blends with the opponent and manipulates their actions before delivering his strikes. So far, Pickle has used this move only once – in his fight against Baki Hanma.
Tackle
Tackling is also one of Pickle’s primal fighting techniques where he launches either his entire body or his shoulder on the opponent, bringing them crashing to the ground in a single, swift move. Considering how monstrous his body is compared to other fighters, it’s hard to recover from this blow. He has used this move twice – first in a fight against Kaoru Hanayama and the second time against Baki Hanma.
Is Pickle a Hanma?
Pickle is often believed to be the missing link in evolution. His body structure and muscle development neither resemble the human species in his time nor those of the modern era. It is also believed that Pickle grew out of the ape stage much before the entire human species, which makes him a little like a superhuman, just like the Hanma bloodline.
All men of the Hanma bloodline are known to possess immense power, determination, bravery, and constant lust for blood and power, which makes fighting the sole purpose of their lives. These personality traits closely resemble Pickle’s nature, who was born in the era of the dinosaurs and hunted the T-Rex for meals. Completely savage and wild, fighting, hunting, and devilish powers come naturally to him.
Considering how powerful the men from the Hanma bloodline are, it only makes sense that they descended from someone equally powerful, just like Pickle.
Fighting Style
Another similarity between Pickle and the Hanmas is their fighting style. Yujiro and Baki have a unique fighting style where they flex their back muscles while standing with their arms and legs stretched apart. The most intimidating fighting stance original to the Hanma clan has an uncanny resemblance with Pickle’s natural fighting stance. Pickle might not have gone through any training professionally. Still, he is the only one who can give the Hanmas a tough competition, which gives wind to the possibility of their connection.
At the same time, Pickle recognizes the Hanma men as worthy opponents. While he treated all his other opponents as mere prey, the Hanma men could actually rattle him. He might have sensed their unfathomable power, similar to his own kind.
First, he fears Jack when he sees him like a wasp during their fight. Wasps are perhaps the only thing that the Jurrasic era giant is afraid of. They might not kill him, but they can surely cause him immense pain. Secondly, he views Baki as a hybrid of multiple beasts due to his expertise in different martial art styles.
Even when Yujiro confronts him, Pickle views him as some dangerous unknown beast who possesses unimaginable power. Pickle is certainly strong and mighty but having sensed power similar to his own in another man certainly intimidated him.
Body Structure
Speaking of body structure, Pickle and Yujiro share a similar build, the only difference being that Pickle is much taller. Their commonalities include broad shoulders and a muscular back that tapers into a small waist and athletic limbs that are agile and flexible. Even the infamous demon back that’s believed to be a gift to the Hanma bloodline bears a resemblance to Pickle’s back muscles.
Yujiro has a unique set of back muscles, which he can flex into the demon’s face in order to unlock his devilish powers. Once this stage is achieved, Yujiro or Baki will become a hundred times more powerful, strong, and swift, making it impossible for anyone to take them down. While Pickle’s back muscles haven’t been exclusively labeled as the demon face, the structure does look like one. Also, once he takes this stance, his power and endurance double, and he becomes uncontrollably savage, a lot like Yujiro with his demon back.
Another similarity between Pickle and Yujiro is their neck structure. Pickle almost has an indestructible beck with strong vertebrae that are impossible to dent. Yujiro, too, has one of the thickest and strongest necks in the series.
Also, considering that Pickle was one of the first men to walk the planet, he is undoubtedly the origin of numerous bloodlines. So, there might be a high chance that Pickle, the Jurassic era giant, and the modern-age monsters of the Hanma clan share the same bloodline.
Is Yujiro a Pure Hanma?
As far as the connection between Pickle and the Hanma bloodline is concerned, a popular school of thought is that Pickle is the original Hanma, whereas Yuuichirou, Yujiro, Baki, and all others are mere hybrids.
This theory stems from the fact that the purer the blood is, the better they fight and the stronger they are. This explains why Jack Hanma, Baki’s half-brother, is not as powerful as the original men of the Hanma clan. Jack has to go through multiple rounds of surgery, drug abuse, and years of consistent training to be at par with the Hanma men, and even then, he lacks their demon back superpower.
Pickle, on the other hand, is a lot more intimidating. In fact, the first time Yujiro tried to test Pickle’s power, he was somewhat startled and had to use all his techniques to bring down Pickle. Pickle being stronger and more intimidating suggests that he might have an even purer form of the Hanma blood.
There is no sure way to prove if Pickle is really a part of the Hanma lineage. But that doesn’t take away the fact that he bears numerous similarities with them, as discussed above. This suggests that Pickle’s original descendants, whoever they are, could not have been too different from the Hanma clan.
Wrapping Up: Is Pickle a Hanma?
Pickle and all the other men of the Hanma lineage portray great levels of power, strength, determination, and a constant lust for fighting throughout the series. Through bloodline or not, the two are certainly connected in a way. Pickle and the Hanma men, especially Yujiro, are at par with each other in terms of power and are also one another’s greatest enemy. If a full-fledged fight were to break out between the two titans of different eras, it would be interesting to watch who would win — the Jurassic era, dinosaur hunter, or the modern-day strongest creature in the world.
We hope this has helped answer the question, “Is Pickle a Hanma?” If you enjoyed this article, take a look at the other article on Comic Bento. We have guides and explanations for all of your favorite superheroes and anime series.
