Baki Season 4 - What We Know So Far
"Baki the Grappler" is an action-oriented martial arts anime and manga series created by Keisuke Itagaki and originally published in Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine starting in 1991. The manga follows the exploits of Baki Hanma, a talented teenage martial artist with the ultimate goal of defeating his father Yujiro, "the strongest creature on earth." Since the conclusion of its original manga series, "Baki the Grappler" has received four sequel series. The most recent of which, "Baki Dou" began publication in 2018 (via Anime News Network).
The series received its first anime adaptation with a 45-minute OVA (original video animation) released in 1994, followed by a 24-episode series in 2001 (via Baki Wiki). Most recently, Netflix began releasing adaptations in 2018 under the simple name "Baki." The third and most recent season in this adaptation, titled "The Great Raitai Tournament," released in 2020. Now fans are wondering when they'll get to see Season 4.
What is Baki Season 4's release date?
Thankfully, Netflix has decided to continue adapting the series with another new entry. Season 4 of "Baki" is called "Baki Hanma: Son of Ogre" and is slated to release on Netflix sometime in the near future. However, it is unclear if this will be released as another season of Netflix's existing "Baki" series or if it will be considered its own show. Regardless, the official teaser trailer for this upcoming sequel was released back in September 2020. However, no official release date for the new series was given. As a result, there is no real definitive release date at the moment.
That being said, Netflix's teaser does state that the show will be "coming soon." This has led most major sources, such as IMDb, to predict "Baki Hanma: Son of Ogre" as sometime in 2021. Though Netflix has not come out with any official or specific release date, the 2021 estimation is a fair one. Assuming all things go well, fans have a good chance of returning to the world of "Baki" sometime very soon.
Who will be in Baki Hanma: Son of Ogre's cast?
As of this moment, there have been no official casting announcements for "Baki Hanma: Son of Ogre." That being said, fans can expect to hear the usual voice actors make a return for this entry. Netflix's "Baki" series cast actor Nobunaga Shimazaki as Baki, with Tôru Furuya acting as narrator. Meanwhile, actors Troy Baker and Kirk Thornton portrayed the same respective roles in the English Dub (via IMDb). The same pattern can likely be expected for major characters such as Retsu (Rikiya Koyama/Kaiji Tang) and Kozue (Sora Amamiya/Cherami Leigh).
The missing element in this situation will be in the series' newcomer characters. Since no casting announcements have been made, it's impossible to determine who will be joining "Baki's" ever-growing cast of fighters. Unfortunately, fans may not be able to learn the identities of the show's newest actors until Netflix actually releases the upcoming series.
What will Baki Hanma: Son of Ogre be about?
Following up "The Great Ratai Tournament" arc, "Baki Hanma: Son of Ogre" will likely prove itself a faithful adaptation to its namesake. As the third manga series in the "Baki" line, "Hanma Baki: Son of Ogre" continues Baki's story as he trains and faces new opponents in preparation for facing his father in hand-to-hand combat. Assuming the show stays faithful to this plot line, major story arcs will include Baki's bouts with characters such as Biscuit Olivia and the prehistoric caveman, Pickle.
This simply scratches the surface, however, as even side characters in the "Baki" universe get their own arcs and their own crucial fight sequences. The development of Retsu's character, for instance, will likely continue in "Son of Ogre." As always, however, there is no telling for sure what this series will look like until Netflix releases it. Until then, fans can satisfy their appetite for "Baki" by re-watching the anime's previous seasons or even delving into the manga.