During a screening event for the Baki Hanma season 2 finale held in Tokyo on Sunday, it was announced that an anime adaptation of Keisuke Itagaki’s first Baki-Dou manga has been given the green light. TMS Anime revealed a promotional video to announce this exciting news.
Itagaki’s original Baki The Grappler martial arts manga serialized for 42 volumes in Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine from 1991 to 1999, amassing over 63 million copies in circulation. The sequel manga, Baki, continued for 31 volumes from 1999 to 2005, with Media Do releasing the English version.
Subsequently, Itagaki penned the 37-volume Hanma Baki manga, which ran in Weekly Shōnen Champion from 2005 to 2012. The first Baki-Dou manga, the fourth installment in the franchise, commenced in March 2014 and concluded in April 2018 after 22 volumes.
The latest Baki-Dou manga began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Champion in October 2018, concluding in June. It’s worth noting that the new Baki-Dou manga features different characters for “Baki” in the title compared to its predecessor, albeit retaining the name “Baki-Dou.”
The anime adaptation of Itagaki’s Baki (New Grappler Baki: In Search of Our Strongest Hero) manga debuted its first season on Netflix in June 2018, running for 26 episodes until December 2018. Netflix released the first 13 episodes outside of Japan in December 2018, followed by the second half of the season in March 2019.
Subsequently, the Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen anime premiered worldwide on Netflix in June 2020, with all episodes available at once. Baki Hanma, the third Baki series on Netflix and a sequel to the Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen series, debuted globally on Netflix in September 2021, comprising 12 episodes.
The second season of Baki Hanma, featuring the “Tale of Pickle & The Pickle War Saga” story, premiered worldwide on Netflix on July 26.
