The world’s strongest man is getting his promo on before his deadliest bout.
On December 8, Netflix started streaming a teaser trailer for Baki. The 90-second promo includes English subtitles, and previews the show’s main plot beats.
Baki will launch on Netflix on December 18. The show’s first cour hit Japanese TV on July 1. The show’s second cour kicked off on Tokyo MX on September 30, and on Netflix Japan on September 24.
Toshiki Hirano (Devil Lady, Vampire Princess Miyu OVA) is directing the 26-episode series at TMS Entertainment, with Fujio Suzuki (Warau Salesman NEW, 009-1) providing character designs. Tatsuhiko Urahata (Black Bullet, GATE) is in charge of series composition.
Baki focuses on the manga’s “Most Evil Death Row Convicts” arc, which is set near the start of the Baki manga. The section revolves around five condemned criminals who escape from prison and make their way to Tokyo. There, they decide to pit their fists against Japan’s finest fighters in an underground martial arts tournament. Baki, himself, stands at the top as champion.
Netflix describes Baki as:
The protagonist, Baki Hanma, trains with an intense focus to become strong enough to surpass his father, Yujiro Hanma, the strongest fighter in the world. 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 grow bored of life itself, and they now seek out Baki in the hopes that he can overwhelm and utterly crush them. In this crisis, other underground martial art warriors gather to fight by Baki’s side: Kaoru Hanayama, Gouki Shibukawa, Retsu Kaioh, and Doppo Orochi. An epic showdown between violent death row inmates and Baki and his friends begins! More than 63 million copies of the original manga series have been printed and the series will be comprised of 26 episodes for Netflix, produced by TMS Entertainment.
© Itagaki Keisuke (Weekly Shonen Champion) / Baki Production Committee
2016 marked the 25th anniversary of Keisuke Itagaki’s original Baki the Grappler (Grappler Baki) manga, which debuted in the pages of Weekly Shonen Champion in 1991. The series ran through 1999, and spanned 42 collected volumes.
Sequel series Baki launched in Weekly Shonen Champion in June 1999. The title ran in the publication through November 2005, spanning 31 compiled volumes.
Baki Hanma kicked off in the following issue of Weekly Shonen Champion, which hit newsstands on December 1, 2005. Baki Hanma ran through August 16, 2012, spanning 37 compiled books.
The most recent series, Baki-Dou ran in Weekly Shonen Champion. The title ran from 2014 through 2018, spanning 22 compiled volumes.
Baki the Grappler received two TV 24-episode anime adaptations in 2001, as well as a 1994 OVA. Central Park Media released the OVA in the west on VHS and DVD, while Funimation distributed the TV adaptations.
Source: YouTube (Netflix)
Netflix Streams Subtitled Baki Anime Trailer – Samantha Ferreira
