Baki Watch Order: The Complete Guide
If there is one thing anime fans struggle with, it is watching long-running series in the right chronological order. In most cases, you’ll find that either they skipped some movies between the anime series or they didn’t even know they existed entirely. One of the most difficult anime to follow in the right chronological order is Baki, and I’ve decided to make a detailed list of the best watch order for the fan-favorite martial arts anime.
Baki is a martial arts series adapted from the manga Baki the Grappler that was authored by Keisuke Itagaki. The narrative follows teenager Baki Hanma as he trains with a devoted fixation to become powerful enough to transcend his father, Yujiro Hanma, the strongest martial artist in the world. As of writing this article, Baki presently has three different anime adaptations and two OVAs.
The Baki series is one of those anime that has numerous characters that appear and then disappear for a long time, only to reappear again much later in the series. The issue with the Baki franchise isn’t that it is challenging to follow. Rather, it is that the series isn’t released in the proper in-universe chronological order.
The Baki franchise consists of:
- Baki The Grappler: The Ultimate Fighter (1 episode OVA, released in 1994)
- Baki the Grappler (48 episodes anime series, released in 2001)
- Baki: Most Evil Death Row Convicts Special Anime (1 episode OVA, released in 2016)
- Baki (39 episodes anime series, released in 2018)
- Baki Hanma – Son of Ogre (12 episodes anime series, released in 2021)
Unlike the release order, I will detail how a newcomer to the Baki franchise should watch the anime to follow the story in the proper in-universe chronology.
Baki the Grappler (2001)
Released in 2001, it largely follows Baki’s obsession to become the best fighter and surpass Yujiro Hanma, his father, a man who has earned the nickname “ogre”.
Season 1: Kid Saga/ Underground Arena Saga
| Number Overall | Number in Season | Translated title / Original Japanese title | Episode Air Date |
| 1 | 1 | Stirrings of Destiny / Moving Towards Destiny | January 8, 2001 |
| 2 | 2 | Those Who Squirm / The Ones that Squirm | January 15, 2001 |
| 3 | 3 | The Beast of Yasha Crag / The Monster of Yasha Cave | January 22, 2001 |
| 4 | 4 | The Fang and the Tears / The Fang and Tears | January 29, 2001 |
| 5 | 5 | A Warrior’s Heart / A Warrior’s Heart | February 5, 2001 |
| 6 | 6 | Spirit / A Man’s Stand | February 12, 2001 |
| 7 | 7 | Gripper / Gripping Attack | February 19, 2001 |
| 8 | 8 | Demon | February 26, 2001 |
| 9 | 9 | The Division / Parting | March 5, 2001 |
| 10 | 10 | Battlefield | March 12, 2001 |
| 11 | 11 | Gaia | March 19, 2001 |
| 12 | 12 | Bite Marks | March 26, 2001 |
| 13 | 13 | The Midnight Hour / Challenge | April 2, 2001 |
| 14 | 14 | Lullaby / After Having a Dream | April 9, 2001 |
| 15 | 15 | Reflections / Slave | April 16, 2001 |
| 16 | 16 | Coming Home / Road to the Sacred Land | April 23, 2001 |
| 17 | 17 | Champion / The Gathering | April 30, 2001 |
| 18 | 18 | The Cord-Cutter / The Chord-Cutter | May 7, 2001 |
| 19 | 19 | The Right To Fight / Opponent | May 14, 2001 |
| 20 | 20 | An Honorable Loss | May 21, 2001 |
| 21 | 21 | An Unlikely Challenger / Killer Instinct | May 28, 2001 |
| 22 | 22 | Head-On Collision | June 4, 2001 |
| 23 | 23 | Medical Miracle / Fighting God, Satan! | June 18, 2001 |
| 24 | 24 | The King’s Ransom / The Devil’s Payback | June 25, 2001 |
Season 2: Maximum Tournament Saga
| Number Overall | Number in Season | Translated title / Original Japanese title | Episode Air Date |
| 25 | 1 | The Opening / Start | July 23, 2001 |
| 26 | 2 | Reverse / Super A-Class Reserver | July 30, 2001 |
| 27 | 3 | Darkness from Light / The Ultimate Goal | August 6, 2001 |
| 28 | 4 | The King Returns / Here comes the King | August 13, 2001 |
| 29 | 5 | User / The Right to Fight Him | August 20, 2001 |
| 30 | 6 | The Tigerslayer Returns / The Professionals | August 27, 2001 |
| 31 | 7 | Fighting the Past / The Surpasser | September 3, 2001 |
| 32 | 8 | Eras End / The Reason why He Can’t Lose | September 10, 2001 |
| 33 | 9 | Measure of a Man / The Warrior VS. The Chivalrous | September 17, 2001 |
| 34 | 10 | Robe of Death / The Fighter | September 24, 2001 |
| 35 | 11 | The Chained Patriot / The Fang | October 1, 2001 |
| 36 | 12 | Survivor / Extreme! Orochi Ryu | October 8, 2001 |
| 37 | 13 | Misdirection / All Out! | October 15, 2001 |
| 38 | 14 | Deception / Pro Wrestling Show | October 22, 2001 |
| 39 | 15 | The Ace and the Serpent / Fate! Sonic Fists | October 29, 2001 |
| 40 | 16 | How to Build a Better Monster / Men Who Threw Away their Future | November 5, 2001 |
| 41 | 17 | Doppo vs Shibukawa / Doppo Orochi, Being Active! | November 12, 2001 |
| 42 | 18 | Warriors Legacy / The Successor | November 19, 2001 |
| 43 | 19 | Monster / Tatsujin VS. Monster | November 26, 2001 |
| 44 | 20 | The Finals / Fight for Victory | December 3, 2001 |
| 45 | 21 | Blood Battle / Secret War in Vietnam | December 10, 2001 |
| 46 | 22 | Soldiers Misfortune / The Evolved Genius | December 17, 2001 |
| 47 | 23 | Final Strike / Resolution | December 24, 2001 |
| 48 | 24 | Public Enemy Zero / Encounter | December 24, 2001 |
Baki the Grappler: The Ultimate Fighter (1994)
Following the events of the Underground Arena Saga from Season 1, this one-short anime special covers the first two fights of the manga where Baki has to prove his worth when he encounters Shinogi Kosho, also known as the Cord-Cutter, a fighter who is known for ripping out and severing people’s jugular veins.
Baki: Most Evil Death Row Convicts Special Anime (2016)
Released 15 years after the ending of the Baki the Grappler anime, this OVA was released in 2016 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Baki franchise. It is an adaptation of the second manga series and follows the events of five death row convicts who break out of prisons from around the world to journey to Japan.
Baki (2018 – 2020)
Having been introduced to the death row convicts arc from the 2016 OVA, the story is continued in a two-season adaptation in which the five deadly inmates plan to seek out Baki and challenge him to a fight to death. The series began streaming on the popular streaming platform Netflix on June 25, 2018.
Season 1: Most Evil Death Row Convicts Saga (2018)
| Number Overall | Number in Season | Episode Title | Episode Air Date |
| 1 | 1 | Synchronicity | June 25, 2018 |
| 2 | 2 | Dark Martial Arts | July 2, 2018 |
| 3 | 3 | They’re Finally Here!! | July 9, 2018 |
| 4 | 4 | The Battle Begins!! | July 16, 2018 |
| 5 | 5 | Want Some More? | July 23, 2018 |
| 6 | 6 | Sergeant Katahira’s Report | July 30, 2018 |
| 7 | 7 | A Formidable Team | August 5, 2018 |
| 8 | 8 | A Match vs a True Fight | August 13, 2018 |
| 9 | 9 | Shaken Shinshinkai!! | August 20, 2018 |
| 10 | 10 | Air Duel | August 27, 2018 |
| 11 | 11 | Tiger Killer | September 3, 2018 |
| 12 | 12 | Candy | September 10, 2018 |
| 13 | 13 | Mr. Oliva | September 17, 2018 |
| 14 | 14 | Ungranted Freedom | September 24, 2018 |
| 15 | 15 | Tremendous Muscle Power | October 1, 2018 |
| 16 | 16 | Slash | October 8, 2018 |
| 17 | 17 | Dad! | October 15, 2018 |
| 18 | 18 | Thanks | October 22, 2018 |
| 19 | 19 | Admission of Defeat | October 29, 2018 |
| 20 | 20 | Saga | November 4, 2018 |
| 21 | 21 | Punishment | November 11, 2018 |
| 22 | 22 | Clash of the Alphas! | November 18, 2018 |
| 23 | 23 | The Real Attack | November 25, 2018 |
| 24 | 24 | Defeat | December 2, 2018 |
| 25 | 25 | God and the Devil | December 9, 2018 |
| 26 | 26 | The Centennial Tournament | December 16, 2018 |
Season 2: Great Chinese Challenge Saga / Godlike Clash of the Kids Saga (2020)
| Number Overall | Number in Season | Episode Title | Episode Air Date |
| 27 | 1 | Begin! The Centennial Tournament | June 4, 2020 |
| 28 | 2 | Turnaround | June 4, 2020 |
| 29 | 3 | Revived! | June 4, 2020 |
| 30 | 4 | Team Formed! | June 4, 2020 |
| 31 | 5 | Hand Pocket | June 4, 2020 |
| 32 | 6 | Excellennnnt! | June 4, 2020 |
| 33 | 7 | Kaioh | June 4, 2020 |
| 34 | 8 | The Title of the Strongest | June 4, 2020 |
| 35 | 9 | The Master vs the Boxer | June 4, 2020 |
| 36 | 10 | Stand and Fight | June 4, 2020 |
| 37 | 11 | Awakening | June 4, 2020 |
| 38 | 12 | Completion | June 4, 2020 |
| 39 | 13 | Revenge Tokyo | June 4, 2020 |
Baki Hanma – Son of Ogre (2021)
Serving as a sequel to the second season of the Netflix anime series Baki, this 12-episode anime series was released in 2021. As Baki still strives to surpass his father, he goes to Arizona State Prison to take on the infamous convict known as Mr. Unchained.
| Number Overall | Number in Season | Episode Title | Episode Air Date |
| 1 | 1 | The World’s Strongest Senior | September 30, 2021 |
| 2 | 2 | Mixed species’ martial arts | September 30, 2021 |
| 3 | 3 | Prison and Hell | September 30, 2021 |
| 4 | 4 | The Second | September 30, 2021 |
| 5 | 5 | Terrible Triplets | September 30, 2021 |
| 6 | 6 | Man of the Sea | September 30, 2021 |
| 7 | 7 | Hyper male and Hyper male | September 30, 2021 |
| 8 | 8 | Gilberto Style | September 30, 2021 |
| 9 | 9 | Decision Time | September 30, 2021 |
| 10 | 10 | Can’t you laugh? | September 30, 2021 |
| 11 | 11 | The Prison Guard talks about it | September 30, 2021 |
| 12 | 12 | Beyond the Brawn | September 30, 2021 |
The second season of Baki Hanma – Son of Ogre was announced on March 24, 2022, with no set release date. From the recently released trailer, the main antagonist seems to be Pickle, an eight-foot-tall caveman warrior from the prehistoric era. A sneak peek of him was shown in the season finale of Baki Hanma’s season 2.
He is a brutal warrior who was frozen while fighting a dinosaur and is somehow still alive in the present day. After being reanimated, Pickle becomes a problem to others with his caveman demeanor, thus making him Baki’s next challenger.
Must I Follow This Baki Watch Guide?
Most anime fans that have already watched Baki will be curious to know if one needs to strictly follow this watch guide. You don’t need to follow this watch guide if you have already watched the Baki franchise. This watch order serves as a guide for newcomers to the franchise that might be confused about which anime version comes first and if skipping some versions will affect their viewing experience.
Since the animation quality of the older installments might be lower than the recent installments of the franchise, skipping the first two entries in the watch guide will not impact your viewing experience, and it does not affect the plot of the 2018 Baki series on Netflix. However, they are still entertaining to watch if you don’t mind the vintage quality of anime. If you are only watching the Baki series on Netflix, you can skip the two OVAs without much worry that you’re missing a lot.