Netflix has a big year planned for the world of anime this year, with some major originals set to arrive as a part of the streaming service’s roster. Next month, the streaming service is planning to unveil the likes of The Ramparts of Ice, Dandelion, and return to the Grand Line with One Piece’s Elbaph Arc. However, one of the biggest anime of the year has already unveiled its opening episodes, though in a way that some might not have expected. Baki The Grappler has been a part of Netflix’s anime roster for years, and its latest anime is in desperate need of a comeback.
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Baki-Dou: The Invincible Samurai arrived on Netflix last month, not only bringing back some of our favorite fighters from the franchise, but it also introduced a wild threat to the brawlers’ lives. Musashi Miyamato, the real-life samurai who made his name legendary thanks to the battles he took part in our world, was brought back from the dead in traditional sci-fi fashion. To give the warriors of the present, a research facility created a cloned body for the legendary swordsman, while a spiritual medium returned the warrior’s soul to his body. While all thirteen episodes of the series are available to stream, they end in such a way that a second season effectively needs to happen to placate anime fans, ourselves included.
Baki Must Return
So how does Baki-Dou: The Invincible Samurai end? Musashi Miyamoto has been making his way through Baki and his allies in a tour de force of fighting. Easily dispatching quite a few of the fighters, Musashi seemingly met his match in coming head-to-head with Yujiro Hanma, Baki’s father, who is also referred to as the Ogre. Unfortunately, the match came to an end before a true victor could be chosen, thanks to the wild card known as Izo Motobe. In a wild twist, Motobe hurled himself into the battle to save Yujiro from a hit from the resurrected samurai, which the Ogre wasn’t too thrilled to see.
Throughout the first season of this sequel series, Motobe has been trying to save his friends from Musashi, even going so far as to defeat them in combat. Such was the case with Jack Hammer, aka Jack Hanma, Baki’s twisted brother, who was defeated despite his massive frame and love of violence. With Izo and Musashi still walking the world, the season does end on quite the cliffhanger, though, as we write this article, a second season has yet to be confirmed.
Baki’s Wild Ride
The first season covered a lot of territory from the source material, though Musashi’s arc is far from over if they decide to move forward with Baki-Dou’s potential second season. One of the major confrontations that needs to be animated is that between Baki and Miyamoto, as the duo had an opening brawl with a rematch sorely needed. Despite the Son of the Ogre taking on the title of the world’s strongest creature, he was unable to come close to beating the swordsman, making for quite a conundrum for the titular warrior.
While far from confirmed at this point, more manga arcs have been created by franchise writer Keisuke Itagaki. Once the fight with Musashi finished in the printed story, the series proceeds to resurrect a legendary sumo wrestler to fight the cast next. Then the series proceeds to follow Jack Hammer as he attempts to save face and hit a level that has seemingly only been achieved by his brother and father, Baki and Yujiro. Considering the success of the anime so far, it wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise if all of the manga was adapted to the screen in the future.
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Image Courtesy of Disney -
Image Courtesy of Netflix
