Baki the Grappler

Baki the Grappler
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Baki Hanma
グラップラー刃牙
(Gurappurā Baki)
GenreMartial arts
Manga
Written byKeisuke Itagaki
Published byAkita Shoten
English publisher
  • NA:
    • Gutsoon! Entertainment (former, first series)
    • Kodama Tales (current, first series)
    • Media Do International (second series)
ImprintShōnen Champion Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Champion
English magazineRaijin Comics (2002–04)
Original runSeptember 30, 1991 – present
Volumes154
Manga parts
  1. Baki the Grappler (42 volumes)
  2. Baki (31 volumes)
  3. Baki Hanma (37 volumes)
  4. Baki-Dou (22 volumes)
  5. Bakidou (17 volumes)
  6. Baki Rahen (5 volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by
Written by
Music by
  • Project Baki (series 1)
  • Kenji Fujisawa (series 2–4)
Studio
Original run 2001 – present
Episodes139
Anime series titles
  1. Baki the Grappler (48 episodes)
  2. Baki (39 episodes)
  3. Baki Hanma (39 episodes)
  4. Baki-Dou (13 episodes)
Further information
Original video animation
The Ultimate Fighter
Directed byYuji Asada
Produced by
  • Chiaki Yasuda
  • Tsuneo Seto
Written byYoshihisa Araki
Music byTakahiro Saito
StudioKnack Productions
Licensed by
ReleasedAugust 21, 1994
Runtime45 minutes
Video game
Fighting Fury
DeveloperTomy
PublisherTomy, Midas Interactive
GenreFighting
PlatformPlayStation 2
Released
  • JP: October 12, 2000
  • UK: July 26, 2003
Manga
Scarface/Kizuzura
Written byYukinao Yamauchi
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintShōnen Champion Comics
MagazineBessatsu Shōnen Champion
Original run20052015
Volumes11
Manga parts
  1. Scarface (8 volumes)
  2. Kizuzura (3 volumes)
Manga
Baki Domoe
Written byNaoki Saitō
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintShōnen Champion Comics
MagazineBessatsu Shōnen Champion
Original runJune 12, 2012October 11, 2014
Volumes3
Manga
Kenjin
Written byKengō Miyatani
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintChampion Red Comics
MagazineChampion Red
Original run20132014
Volumes2
Original video animation
  • Baki: Most Evil Death Row Convicts
Directed byTeiichi Takiguchi
Produced byYu Kiyozono
Music byKenji Fujisawa
StudioTelecom Animation Film
ReleasedDecember 6, 2016
Runtime15 minutes
Manga
It Doesn't Even Matter if Kaioh Retsu is Reincarnated into Another World!!
Written bySai Ihara
Illustrated byEiji Mutsui
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintShōnen Champion Comics
MagazineMonthly Shōnen Champion
Original runNovember 6, 2020 – present
Volumes14
Manga
Yuuenchi
Written byBaku Yumemakura
Illustrated byYuria Fujita
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintShōnen Champion Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Champion, Manga Cross
Original runMarch 17, 2022 – present
Volumes8
Manga
Gaia & Sikorsky
Written byTakaaki Hayashi
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintShōnen Champion Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Champion
Original runOctober 6, 2022 – present
Volumes9
Manga
Hana no Chiharu
Written byTomokazu Omatsu
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintChampion Red Comics
MagazineChampion Red
Original run2023 – present
Volumes3
Anime film
Baki Hanma vs. Kengan Ashura
Directed byToshiki Hirano
Written byAtsuo Ishino
Music byTeam MAX
StudioTMS Entertainment
Licensed byNetflix
ReleasedJune 6, 2024
Runtime65 minutes

Baki the Grappler (Japanese: グラップラー刃牙, Hepburn: Gurappurā Baki) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki. It was originally serialized in the shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion from September 1991 to 1999 and collected into 42 tankōbon volumes by Akita 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 as New 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 as Baki: 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'), which was serialized from 2014 to 2018 and collected into 22 volumes, a fifth series, also named Bakidou (バキ道, Bakidō; lit.'Baki's Way') but with Baki's name written in katakana instead of kanji, serialized from 2018 to 2023 and collected into 17 volumes, and Baki Rahen (刃牙らへん, Baki Rahen; lit.'Baki and Others'), serialized from 2023.

A 45-minute original video animation (OVA) was released in 1994. A 24-episode anime aired on TV 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. An original net animation (ONA) was released on Netflix 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 of Baki-Dou was released on February 26, 2026. The OVA was the first to be licensed and released in North America, in 1998 by Central Park Media, followed by the original manga series in 2002 by Gutsoon! Entertainment (incomplete), and finally both anime series in 2005 by Funimation 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 and announced its intentions to license the following five series as well.

The Baki series is one of the best-selling manga series of all time, with over 100 million copies in circulation.