After more than a year out the ring, Baki Hanma is back for season 4 with the anime returning to the Netflix streaming platform.
I present ‘The Baki Rule’… Ridiculous characters and a ridiculous art style plus ridiculous fight sequences, all equals ridiculous fun.
The over-the-top nature of the Baki anime is probably the main reason why it has become one of Netflix’s most popular original anime series in recent years.
The story follows baki, a 17-year-old who is known as the second strongest fighter in the world – only behind his father, Yujiro. On his path to be the greatest fighter, Baki fights death row inmates, martial arts grandmasters and everyone in-between.
Season 3, titled ‘The Great Raitai Tournament Saga’ released in June 2020 and finally, over one year later, we know what the future holds!
RESIDENT EVIL: Will Infinite Darkness return for season 2?
— Amal (@Amal48992681) July 8, 2021IS BAKI HANMA SEASON 3, 4 OR A SEQUEL IN THE FRANCHISE?
In September 2020, it was revealed that the Baki Hanma – Son of Ogre manga (a continuation to the original series) would be adapted into another anime broadcast.
Fans of Baki understandably breathed a sigh of relief, but many were confused as to if this was season 3, 4 or a fully-fledged sequel.
This is because Netflix released the two-cour first season as two separate seasons, which was later referred to as ‘Parts’.
This means that the latest Baki instalment is technically Part 3 in Japan and Part 4 internationally for the franchise.
However, Netflix currently labels ‘Baki Hanma’ as a separate series to the previous three seasons, meaning it is technically a sequel to the ‘Baki’ anime.
KUROKOS BASKETBALL: Why season 4 is unlikely to be produced
BAKI HANMA | OFFICIAL TRAILER | NETFLIX ANIME
BAKI HANMA: RELEASE DATE AND TIME
The teaser trailer from July stated that Son of Ogre would be “coming soon”, with later confirmation that a Fall launch had been targeted.
On September 2nd, the streaming giant uploaded the official trailer for Baki Hanma, which revealed that a date had been set for September 30th.
Netflix then released all 12 episodes of Baki Hanma on Thursday, September 30th at 12 AM PDT (3 AM EDT/8 AM BST).
The opening theme song is titled ‘Treasure Planet’ and is performed by Granrodeo. Whilst the ending theme from Generations from Exile Tribe being titled ‘Unchained World’.
The new content launched with both subbed and dubbed options available – an issue of criticism previously when part 3 released without an English option.
You can check out the trailer below.
DRAGON BALL SUPER: Why has the series been cancelled?
At the time of writing, four new characters have been revealed – although technically this consists of six individuals.
Kenji Nojima will voice Jun Guevara, a former pirate and an alternative version of the infamous Che Guevara. Fans will recognize Nojima from his previous voice roles in Sailor Moon (Mamoru Chiba), Haikyuu (Kita Shinsuke) and Moriarty The Patriot (Charles Augustus Milverton).
Yasuhiro Mamiya will be playing Iron Michael, an American heavyweight boxing world champion and Baki’s new cellmate. Mamiya is best-known for voicing Magma in Dr Stone and Gigantomachia in My Hero Academia.
Koichi Yamadera will play three prison guards called Lips, Teeth and Tongue. Yamadera has featured in countless iconic anime, including Sword Art Online (Heathcliff), Gin Tama (Shoyo Yoshida) and Cowboy Bebop (Spike Spiegel).
The final character is Bob McCarthy, another prison guard from the Arizona jail who is voiced. McCarthy will be voiced by Masashi Ebara, who also voiced Raizo from One Piece and Sword Art Online’s Godfree.
Without talking about spoilers from the original manga series or the potential storylines relating to the other anime, all five are expected to be free by season 4’s opening scene.
ONE PIECE: Debate over Yamato’s gender finally ended
The fourth instalment of the Baki storyline was expected to continue with the arc of The Great Raitai Tournament Saga, but the teaser trailer suggests otherwise.
In the previous finale, Baki and Yujiro were about to square off in, what should be, one of the greatest anime fight sequences ever made.
Meanwhile, the five death row inmates were beginning to escape from their jail cells once again – with Ryuukou Yanagi escaping in the season 3 finale.
However, the latest trailer for Baki Hanma indicates that our main character has decided to leave for Arizona State Prison in the US, where he will face off against some new faces.
This article will be updated as more information on season 4 is revealed.