| Baki the Grappler | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover, featuring Baki Hanma | |
| グラップラー刃牙 (Gurappurā Baki) | |
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| Genre | Martial arts[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Keisuke Itagaki |
| Published by | Akita Shoten |
| English publisher |
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| Imprint | Shōnen Champion Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Champion |
| English magazine | Raijin Comics(2002–04) |
| Original run | September 30, 1991 – present |
| Volumes | 154(List of volumes) |
| Manga parts | |
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| Original video animation | |
| Directed by | Yuji Asada |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Yoshihisa Araki |
| Music by | Takahiro Saito |
| Studio | Knack Productions |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | August 21, 1994 |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Video game | |
| Fighting Fury | |
| Developer | Tomy |
| Publisher | Tomy, Midas Interactive |
| Genre | Fighting |
| Platform | PlayStation 2 |
| Released | |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
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| Written by | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Music by | Project Baki |
| Studio | Group TAC |
| Licensed by |
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| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| English network |
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| Original run | January 8, 2001 – December 24, 2001 |
| Episodes | 48(List of episodes) |
| Original video animation | |
| |
| Directed by | Teiichi Takiguchi |
| Produced by | Yu Kiyozono |
| Music by | Kenji Fujisawa |
| Studio | Telecom Animation Film |
| Released | December 6, 2016 |
| Runtime | 15 minutes |
| Original net animation | |
| Baki | |
| Directed by | Toshiki Hirano |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Tatsuhiko Urahata |
| Music by | Kenji Fujisawa |
| Studio |
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| Licensed by | |
| Released | June 25, 2018 – June 4, 2020 |
| Runtime | 24 minutes |
| Episodes | 39(List of episodes) |
| Original net animation | |
| Baki Hanma | |
| Directed by | Toshiki Hirano |
| Music by | Kenji Fujisawa |
| Studio | TMS Entertainment |
| Licensed by | Netflix |
| Released | September 30, 2021 – August 24, 2023 |
| Runtime | 24 minutes |
| Episodes | 39(List of episodes) |
| Original net animation | |
| Baki-Dou | |
| Studio | TMS Entertainment |
| Licensed by | Netflix |
| Released | 2026 – scheduled |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Baki the Grappler (Japanese:グラップラー刃牙,Hepburn:Gurappurā Baki) is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byKeisuke Itagaki. It was originally serialized in theshōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Champion from September 1991 to 1999 and collected into 42tankōbon volumes byAkita Shoten. The story follows teenager Baki Hanma as he trains and tests his fighting skills against a variety of different opponents in deadly, no-rules hand-to-hand combat.
The series was followed by five sequels in the same magazine;Baki (バキ; officially romanized asNew Grappler Baki: In Search of Our Strongest Hero), which was serialized from 1999 to 2005 and collected into 31 volumes,Baki Hanma (範馬刃牙,Hanma Baki; officially romanized asBaki: Son of Ogre), which was serialized from 2005 to 2012 and collected into 37 volumes,Baki-Dou (刃牙道,Baki-Dō;lit. 'Baki's Way'[2]), which was serialized from 2014 to 2018 and collected into 22 volumes, a fifth series, also namedBakidou (バキ道,Bakidō;lit. 'Baki's Way') but with Baki's name written inkatakana instead ofkanji, serialized from 2018 to 2023 and collected into 17 volumes, andBaki Rahen (刃牙らへん,Baki Rahen;lit. 'Baki and Others'), serialized from 2023.
A 45-minuteoriginal video animation (OVA) was released in 1994. A 24-episodeanime aired onTV Tokyo between January 8 and June 25, 2001, and was quickly followed by a second 24-episode series from July 22 to December 24, 2001. Anoriginal net animation (ONA) was released onNetflix between June 25 and September 24, 2018, followed by a second season that was released on June 4, 2020. A third series was released from September 30, 2021, to August 24, 2023, and an anime adaptation ofBaki-Dou has been announced. The OVA was the first to be licensed and released in North America, in 1998 byCentral Park Media, followed by the original manga series in 2002 byGutsoon! Entertainment (incomplete), and finally both anime series in 2005 byFunimation Entertainment. Media Do International began releasing the second manga series digitally in August 2018. In May 2025, Kodama Tales licensed the first manga series for a worldwide English release.
TheBaki series is one of thebest-selling manga series of all time, with over 100 million copies in circulation.
Baki Hanma is raised by his wealthy mother, Emi Akezawa, who also funds his training in the hopes that he can be a powerful warrior like his father, Yujiro Hanma. Around the start of the series, Baki outgrows traditional training and heads out to follow the path of his ruthless father's training, and meets many powerful fighters along the way. Eventually, Baki fights his father and is beaten without a challenge. Emi, who tries to save him, is killed by Yujiro, causing Baki to hate him.
After being beaten, Baki travels around the world continuing his training. Years later, he finds an underground fighting arena where he fights some of the most powerful fighters of various styles ofmartial arts. It is here he truly begins to hone his martial arts skills. He intends to get stronger, surpass his father, and continue to endure and survive the numerous hurdles he encounters in his journey.
When asked how he is able to continue the series for over 30 years,Keisuke Itagaki said he believes it is because of all the eccentric characters; "It's not me who comes up with the story, the characters create it."[3] He said he learned the importance of creating interesting characters in his first ten minutes atKazuo Koike's Gekiga Sonjuku school for aspiring manga artists, which he joined in 1987.[3] Itagaki also said he is always thinking of how to create non-traditional conclusions to the fights, in order to avoid the continuous introduction of increasingly stronger opponents often seen in battle manga, citing the Baki versus Yujiro fight as a good example.[3]
Itagaki said he gives even the toughest male characters their own kind of beauty.[4] He created Baki Hanma by copying an illustration of a girl byKeibun Ōta and adding masculine touches, such as raising the eyebrows and thickening the neck.[4] He used feminine eyes in the style of artistPater Sato as reference for those of the character Kaoru Hanayama.[4] Although he always draws the hands of characters in the series large, Hanayama's hands in particular are made large enough to completely hide his face.[5] Before he came up with the "demon face" that appears on Yujiro's back, Itagaki considered giving him a dragon tattoo where the limbs of the dragon blended into his own. But then he saw a photograph of a bodybuilder whose back looked like aHeikegani crab, which resemble human faces, and got the idea to deform it even further and use a more ferocious expression.[5]
Itagaki imitated the ending scene of the 1982 American filmRocky III for the match between Antonio Igari and Mount Toba inGrappler Baki Gaiden.[6] When it was announced that theBaki Hanma series would be ending in ten chapters, Itagaki had not yet thought up what he would draw.[4] He also said that he originally decided thatBaki Hanma would be the end of the franchise. But, just before the fight between Baki and his father was to begin, he suddenly had the thought, "What would happen if Musashi Miyamoto was born in the modern day?", leading toBaki-Dou.[3] When asked about the titles ofBaki-Dou andBakidou, Itagaki said that with the story of a parent-child conflict concluded inBaki Hanma, he shifted to the theme of "What does it mean to be strong?" and the worddō (道, 'way') came to mind.[3]
Baki the Grappler was serialized inAkita Shoten'sWeekly Shōnen Champion magazine from September 30, 1991,[7] to 1999, with the chapters collected into 42tankōbon volumes. It was licensed for a North American release byGutsoon! Entertainment, who published the first 46 chapters in their English-language manga anthology magazineRaijin Comics.[8] The magazine's first issue was released on December 18, 2002, but in July 2004 it was discontinued. Four collected volumes were planned by Gutsoon!, but it is unknown if they were released. In May 2025, Kodama Tales announced it had licensed the series for a worldwide English release.[9] They will publish thekanzenban edition both physically and digitally, starting in October 2025.
The second manga series, simply titledBaki, was serialized inWeekly Shōnen Champion from 1999 to November 24, 2005,[10] and collected into 31 volumes. It is licensed for English release by Media Do International, who released it digitally between August 2018 and August 2019 and stated that a future print release was possible.[11]
Baki Hanma was serialized inWeekly Shōnen Champion from December 1, 2005, to August 16, 2012,[10][12] and collected into 37 volumes. It was followed byBaki-Dou, which was serialized inWeekly Shōnen Champion from March 20, 2014, to April 5, 2018,[2][13] and collected into 22 volumes. The fifth series has the same name as the fourth, but with Baki's name written inkatakana instead ofkanji.Bakidou was serialized inWeekly Shōnen Champion from October 4, 2018, to June 15, 2023,[14][15] and collected into 17 volumes.Baki Rahen began serialization inWeekly Shōnen Champion on August 24, 2023.[15]
Two guidebooks,Baki Ultimate Book: Grappler Side, Byakko no Sho (BAKIアルティメットブック GRAPPLER SIDE 白虎之書) andBaki Ultimate Book: Fighting Side, Seiryū no Sho (BAKIアルティメットブック FIGHTING SIDE 青龍之書), were published by Akita Shoten on August 26, 2004. They compile the characters, events and battles fought up until volume 23 of the second manga series.[33][34] San-ei Shobō published a two-volumemook series on March 6, 2019;Saidai Tournament-hen primarily covers the original manga, whileGekitotsu Chijō Saikyō-hen covers the subsequent series up toBaki-Dou. Each includes an interview with Itagaki, but the first also includes an interview withTenshin Nasukawa and the second includes one withRiho Yoshioka.[35] The artbookBaki 30th: The Artwork of Baki was published by Akita Shoten on December 6, 2024. It includes art from the series' 30-year run, including select fight scenes and famous quotes, as well as artwork originally created for a 30th anniversary exhibition held atTokyo Dome City Hall in 2022.[36]
A 45-minuteoriginal video animation (OVA) created byKnack Productions and directed by Yuji Asada was released in 1994. The story is a close adaptation of the first few volumes of the original manga, adapting the Karate Tournament arc (not adapted in the later TV series) and Baki's fight withShinogi Koushou, later adapted in theepisode 18 of theBaki the Grappler TV series. It was licensed and released under the titleGrappler Baki: The Ultimate Fighter in North America byCentral Park Media on VHS on December 1, 1996, and on DVD on December 1, 1998.[37]Manga Entertainment later released it in Australia and the United Kingdom.
A 15-minute original animation DVD (OAD), referred to asBaki: Most Evil Death Row Convicts Special Anime (バキ 最凶死刑囚編SP(スペシャル)アニメ), was included with the limited edition of the 14th volume ofBaki-Dou on December 6, 2016. However, it adapts the arc of the same name from the second manga series, which is titled simplyBaki. Created byTelecom Animation Film, it was directed by Teiichi Takiguchi and focuses on five inmates who break out of prison from around the world and travel to Japan.[38][1]
A 24-episode anime series aired onTV Tokyo between January 8, 2001, and June 25, 2001. The anime was produced byFree-Will, a musicrecord label. A second 24-episode series, titledGrappler Baki: Maximum Tournament (グラップラー刃牙 最大トーナメント編), as it tells the story from that part of the manga, aired from July 23, 2001, to December 24, 2001. All of the series' music was written and composed by "Project Baki", and all the theme songs were performed byRyōko Aoyagi. The first anime's opening theme is "Ai Believe" (哀 believe), while its closing theme is "Reborn". For the second series, "All Alone" is used as the opening and "Loved..." as the closing.Baki the Grappler: Original Soundtrack was released on March 27, 2003.
Both series were licensed for a North American English release byFunimation Entertainment. They released both series as one on 12 DVDs, each with four episodes, beginning on June 14, 2005, with the last released on February 27, 2007.[39] Two box sets were released on January 23, 2007, and March 25, 2008, the first included volumes 1-6 (1st series), while the second included 7-12 (2nd series).[40][41] A set including every episode was released on September 2, 2008.
Funimation's English version was one of the launch shows on their own television channel,Funimation Channel, which debuted on June 19, 2006.Baki was broadcast on weekends at 11:30 pm,[42] switching to the 10:00 pm slot on September 4, 2006.[43] Dubbed in English, the episodes were edited for time but do not appear to have been edited for content. The opening theme is the song "Child Prey" by Japanese metal bandDir En Grey, which is signed to Free-Will.
In December 2016, it was announced that the "Most Evil Death Row Convicts" arc of the second manga series would be receiving an anime television adaptation.[38] TitledBaki, like the second manga series, the 26-episode series is directed byToshiki Hirano atTMS Entertainment with character designs handled by Fujio Suzuki and scripts overseen by Tatsuhiko Urahata.[44] It began streaming onNetflix on June 25, 2018, in Japan, and started streaming on December 18, 2018, outside Japan.[45][46][47] The series then started airing on several Japanese television channels beginning withTokyo MX1 on July 1.[48] Its opening theme song is "Beastful" byGranrodeo and its ending theme "Resolve" is performed byAzusa Tadokoro with lyrics byMiho Karasawa.[49]Sentai Filmworks released it on Blu-ray on May 25, 2021, with a new English dub.[50]
Netflix renewed the series for a second season on March 19, 2019.[51] On March 5, 2020, it was announced that the main staff TMS Entertainment would be returning to produce the second season with the addition of a new character designer and art director. The 13-episode second season covering the "Great Chinese Challenge" and the Alai Jr. arcs was released exclusively on Netflix on June 4, 2020. Its opening theme is "Jounetsu wa Oboete Iru" performed byGranrodeo and its ending theme is "Dead Stroke" performed byEna Fujita.[52]
In September 2020, it was announcedHanma Baki: Son of Ogre will be adapted as the third series and the sequel to the second season of the Netflix series.[53] The 12-episode series was released on Netflix on September 30, 2021, asBaki Hanma.[54] The show's opening theme is "Treasure Pleasure" performed byGranrodeo[55] while its ending theme is "Unchained World" performed byGenerations from Exile Tribe.[56] A second season was announced on March 24, 2022.[57] The first half of the second season was released on July 26, and the second half on August 24, 2023. The second season has two openings and two endings. The first part's opening theme is "The Beast" byWagakki Band, while Upstart performs its closing theme "Wilder". The second part opening is "Sarracenia" bySky-Hi, whileBe:First performs its closing theme "Salvia".
AtAnimeJapan 2024, Netflix announced a crossover anime withKengan Ashura, titledBaki Hanma vs. Kengan Ashura, which premiered on June 6 of the same year.[58]
In March 2024, it was announced that theBaki-Dou manga will receive an anime adaptation by TMS Entertainment.[59] It will premiere on Netflix in 2026.[60]
There have been a few video games based on the series. Afighting game developed byTomy was released for thePlayStation 2 asGrappler Baki: Baki Saikyō Retsuden (グラップラー刃牙 バキ最強列伝,Gurappurā Baki - Baki Saikyō Retsuden) in Japan in 2000 and asFighting Fury in the United Kingdom during 2003.[61]Baki the Grappler: Ultimate Championship was released forAndroid in 2017. A card game for web browsers calledTyping Grappler Baki was created. Another browser game,Hanma Baki - Baki, was for Yahoo! Mobage. The fighting gameBaki Hanma: Blood Arena came out on September 11, 2025.[62] Yujiro Hanma appears as an unlockable character in the PlayStation 2 game,Garōden: Breakblow – Fist or Twist.
The underground arena arc ofBaki the Grappler was adapted into aplay written and directed by Daisuke Tanaka, who previously adaptedSakigake!! Otokojuku, with Hideaki Okuzumi in charge of the fighting and action scenes.[63] TitledBaki the Grappler Stage: Underground Arena Arc (刃牙 THE GRAPPLER STAGE ―地下闘技場編―), it ran atShinjuku Face from December 4 to 8, 2024. The production starred Yugo Sato as Baki, Momoka Onishi as Kozue, Sho Higano as Katsumi and Haruto Sakuraba as Hanayama. Actual martial artistsTaishin Kohiruimaki andKozo Takeda played Shuumei Kanou and Doppo, respectively.[63]
By May 2021, the variousBaki series had over 85 million collected volumes in circulation;[64] it had over 100 million copies in circulation by May 2024.[65] TheBaki Gaiden: Scarface spin-off series had 3.5 million copies in print by February 2019.[66]
Allen Divers andJason Thompson, both writing forAnime News Network, briefly described the series as "very compelling" and a "demented fighting manga", respectively.[67][68]
Anime News Network had four different writers review the first volume of the second manga series. Faye Hopper scored it the highest, four out of five, and wrote that she was captivated the entire read with its appeal lying in "its absurdity held up by its absolutely incredible artistry." Amy McNulty gave it a 2.5 rating and also praised Itagaki's art, but felt the character designs were not particularly memorable. She also wrote that the volume "succeeds in identifying the stakes, but it completely fails in anchoring the reader with characters to care about." Rebecca Silverman and Teresa Navarro both gave it a 2 and noted its status as a "set-up book," with each new character introduced in the same manner. Both Hopper and Silverman said thatBaki reminded them ofJoJo's Bizarre Adventure.[69]
Reviewing the first 24 episodes of the 2001 anime, Mark Thomas of Mania Entertainment gave it a B− rating, stating that fans ofshōnen and fight series would enjoy it, but others should look elsewhere. He felt it had plenty of good, realistic fight scenes, but fell short on the story. Explaining that despite a lot of story arcs, it ultimately feels like a setup for the second season.[70] Thomas gave the same rating to the final 24 episodes, and "mildly recommended" the series. While he started to enjoy this set more thanks to its more action focus, he stated that not showing Baki's final fight with Yujiro, which was built up the entire show, really ruined it for him.[71]
Baki influenced the appearance of the character Gai Tendo in the 1999 video gameBuriki One.[72] The 2012 comedy filmGraffreeter Toki is based on the March 2011play of the same name, which in turn was inspired byBaki the Grappler.[73]
Sociologist Junko Kaneda interpretedBaki the Grappler as homoerotic and published an essay book about it titledNotes of a Girl Who Spent 30 Hours a Day for 300 Days Thinking "So Baki The Grappler Is BL, Right?" The essay was adapted into a live-action television series titledA Story of Grappler Baki and Me that was broadcast onWowow in August 2021.[74]
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