Fans of the anime series Baki have been looking forward to a season 4 for quite some time now, but it appears that this technically won’t be happening—but before you fall into a pit of despair, not to worry, because this isn’t technically true either. You see, Baki will still continue, but the final arc of the anime’s story will end with a brand-new anime series entitled Baki: Hanma.
This new series will premiere on September 30, 2021, and fans can look forward to an epic, climactic showdown. Baki: Hanma will serve as a sequel to the original Baki anime, so fans can look forward to this upcoming Netflix Original this year.
What Is Baki Hanma?
For a little context, the Baki anime—just like many others—is based on the manga series with the same name by Keisuke Itagaki. Given the manga’s popularity, TMS Entertainment picked up the manga to be adapted into an anime, which also proved to be just as popular. TMS Entertainment will continue to be the production company for Baki: Hanma, too, so fans can expect the same level of quality and professionalism.
Baki: Hanma follows the story of a boy who spent most of his life, including his childhood, training to try and beat his father, Yuujiro. As it happens, Yuujiro is one of the strongest people in Baki’s universe. And even though Baki is recognized across the globe to be super strong, he still hasn’t reached Yuujiro’s level.
The most dysfunctional father-son relationship of all time reaches its climax when Baki Hanma faces off against the Ogre himself in next year’s season of Keisuke Itagaki’s brutal fight series! pic.twitter.com/Y0mEC8PmS8
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) October 27, 2020
Meet the Characters
Here’s a quick refresher of who the various main characters are, as you’ll be meeting them once again once Baki: Hanma premieres.
Baki Hanma
The titular Baki Hanma is the protagonist of the Baki the Grappler series. Baki has been training intensely since he was thirteen years old to try and follow the footsteps of his father, Yuujiro. As Baki grows up to become a similarly strong fighter, he aims to fight and defeat his father.
Yuujiro Hanma
Yuujiro Hanma is Baki’s father and the series’ main antagonist. As it happens, he’s also the strongest character in the Baki universe. Yuujiro works as a freelance assassin for different organizations and governments. The franchise doesn’t mention how much these organizations actually pay him for his services, but seeing as Yuujiro seems to have expensive tastes, it’s most likely a considerable amount.
Doppo Orochi
Doppo Orochi is a karate grandmaster; in fact, he’s a 10th dan already and is the Shinshinkai Karate School’s head. Without a doubt, Doppo Orochi is one of the strongest characters in the Baki franchise, especially since he has trained and practiced martial arts for at least 50 years. Doppo Orochi has various nicknames and titles, including Tiger Slayer and God of War.
Kaiou Retsu
Kaiou Retsu is one of the main characters in the Baki anime and manga. An expert at Chinese Kenpo, Kaiou was initially one of the antagonists in the series, but he became a main character eventually later on in the series.
Gouki Shibukawa
Gouki is a jujutsu master who takes part in the underground fighting arena. As time passes, he becomes one of the important characters in the series. Even though Gouki is already sixty years old, one should never underestimate him. After all, he has been a trained fighter even before World War II.
Kaoru Hanayama
Similar to the other characters on this list, Kaoru Hanayama is one of the strongest characters in Baki. Not only that, but he’s also considered as the strongest Yakuza in the entirety of Japan. Kaoru has various scars on his body due to multiple wounds, which has consequently caused his back tattoo to look like a jigsaw puzzle.
Katsumi Orochi
Katsumi is the adoptive son of the aforementioned Doppo Orochi and a 3rd dan Shinshinkai Karate prodigy. He’s also an incredibly strong fighter and is nicknamed Lethal Weapon.
Biscuit Oliva
Biscuit is an assassin who works for none other than the United States government. But other than that, he’s also known as a special jailer in the Arizona State Prison. What makes Biscuit different is that he has what seems to be an iron body, and he’s seemingly invulnerable to most things.
Jack Hanma
Jack is a Canadian pit fighter and the son of Yuujiro and Diane Neil, a Canadian United Nations operative whom he met during the Vietnam War. As such, he’s also the half-brother of Baki. Just like Baki, Jack also wishes to become stronger than his father and has wished so since he was a child.
Season 4 Trailer
Given the end of Baki Season 3, fans expected that this upcoming fourth installment would follow the Great Raitai Tournament Saga arc. However, it seems that the recent trailer is suggesting otherwise. In the last season’s finale, Baki and his father Yuujiro were nearly about to fight with one another. This is a scene that many fans are looking forward to, as it’s considered to be one of the most epic anime fight scenes ever.
Meanwhile, five death row inmates are on their way to escape from their cells once more, with a character name Ryuukou Yanagi successfully escaping at the end of Season 3. Given what we do know about the original manga series, we expect that all the five death row inmates will have successfully escaped by the early parts of Season 4.
However, based on the most recent trailer, it appears that Baki may have traveled to the Arizona State Prison in the United States, where he’ll come face to face with new faces. Given the setting, this might mean that Baki will square off with none other than Biscuit Oliva, one of the most formidable opponents in this franchise.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, Baki fans are super excited for the upcoming Baki: Hanma later this month. It’s always such a thrill whenever a studio chooses to keep an anime series going, and for Baki fans, they can cherish this moment as we draw closer and closer to this supposed fourth installment.
Are you ready to watch Baki as he continues his journey to become the strongest fighter? Don’t forget to tune into Netflix this September 30 for Baki: Hanma!
