BAKI: THE SEARCH OF OUR STRONGEST HERO is the official name of the 4th saga in which Baki will find strongest enemies in his path, and the way to challenge his dad once again, and this time… To lose is to die.

Hanma Baki (named “Wild Fang” by his father) is a boy born under an unlucky star. Since the day of his birth, Baki has been rigorously training at all kinds of martial arts, strengthening himself at his father’s command. For he must obey his father’s rule that at his “coming of age” Baki surpass his own father, Hanma Yuujiro, “the most powerful creature walking on earth.” Baki’s life has been nothing but trouble.
This has given Baki a wild nature and convinced him that “to be the most powerful” is his way of life. Tenacious and fearless under all adverse conditions, Baki continues his training looking for new masters and new challenges to strengthen his personality and become “the strongest man on earth.”
That road is a lonely one and Baki experienced the cruelty of his sick dad in a move that would change his life forever.

The following is a summary of the 42 books of the first series, if you have seen the Baki series already, this will give you an idea of the main events of the manga and will bring you up to speed so that you can follow the 2nd series that we are releasing. They are meant to compare the events of each Baki book with the anime series, and to give you an update on certain events in the story. Attention: these summaries may contain spoilers about the series, if is not your wish to know what happens in the story, do not continue reading.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 1:
(beginning of the “Champion saga”) Baki participates in the Shinkaikan Karate tournament and fights Suwedo, wins with a high kick, Orochi Doppo is introduced. Kato Kyosumi meets Baki.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 2:
Kato faces Motobe Izo’s student and wins, Motobe Izo (judo master) is introduced. Baki goes home to train (rents an apartment where he meets Kozue chan, his girlfriend), Doppo tells Kato about the Korakuen underground arena below Tokyo dome, Takayama of the boxing club challenges Baki but loses without even fighting, Orochi and Kato visit the underground arena for the first time, Tokugawa Mitsunari is introduced.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 3:
Story of the underground arena and first battles; Baki faces Shinogi “cord cutter” Kousho, Tokugawa remembers the first time he met Baki, Baki wins by K.O after an arm lock and a punch (second part of the Baki ova, and revisited in the second season of the TV series), Captain Stridam is introduced.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 4:
Next opponent for Baki is decided, Stridam updates Baki about his dad’s whereabouts, Baki trains judo with Izo to confront the wrestler Hanada, Hanada abuses his powers with other wrestlers but has an “accident” and is replaced by “Mount Toba” a 6’6” wrestler, Baki starts the fight with “Mount Toba.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 5:
Baki remembers his dad’s cruelty when fighting (to lose is to die) and gets fierce, Yuujiro appears, Baki is beaten and Toba does his deadly supplex twice but in the process he injures his right knee and loses his might, Baki wins by KO by kicking Toba’s right knee (a warrior’s ending) and Yuujiro gets mad at this, he enters forcefully into the arena, and the “Polar bear battle” flashback is told. Yuujiro knocks Baki down with one finger and disrespectfully asks Tokugawa to be part of the underground arena, Orochi Doppo enters to confront Yuujiro and a fight card between Doppo and Yuujiro is organized.
Yuujiro enters in a Boxing gym to beat everyone up.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 6:
Yuujiro beats up everyone in the boxing gym pretty bad, Doppo shows Baki a demonstration of his deadly karate moves that leaves him speechless, Yuujiro is intercepted on the street by Motobe Izo but Izo loses the fight badly, Baki keeps on training and helps Takayama who was losing against street punks, Yuujiro harasses another wrestling gym, beating everyone up. Sleeping in his hotel he is scared by someone that destroys his door, he can’t see who this person is, someone enters into a circus and kills a big white tiger with his bare hands, then goes to the hospital, this is Shinogi Kureha, the big brother of Kousho who is an underground surgeon that possess a perfect body.

At this point, RAIJIN COMICS finished it’s run of the American version of “Baki The Grappler” and went out of business, rumors are that they lost the rights of Baki in America, the TV series of Baki is licensed by Funimation.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 7:
Doppo says goodbye to his wife, Stridam remembers how he met Yuujiro and how terrible the man is, the battle between Yuujiro and Orochi starts in a violent way, Baki and Kureha are preparing in their rooms for a match, after strange techniques Yuujiro is finally pushed back to the corners of the arena and when he sees Baki he does the “back demon” muscle technique, Stridam again remembers when Yuujiro killed the 5 best death squads from the USA, finally Yuujiro attacks Orochi in a vicious way taking one of his eyes and wins the battle with a straight punch to the heart that literally kills Orochi Doppo, but he dies standing up, the team tries desperately to revive Orochi without success.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 8:
Kureha revives Doppo giving him a massage “straight to the heart” and revives him. Baki gets the message from all the people Kureha has operated on but not cured completely. Baki fights Kureha, Yuujiro interrupts the fight when Baki is losing but Baki tells him to go back. Baki wins the fight by a K.O with a straight punch that breaks the stomach of Kureha and makes him cough blood all over.

GRAPPLER BAKI BOOK 9 (End of “The Champion Saga”):
Baki says good bye to Kozue chan very early in the morning and starts his morning run towards an unknown place, on the way, he remembers all the battles and his dreams, in the morning he arrives to the place where a huge tree is standing, and he starts meditating…(This is the end of the first season of the TV series). (Start of “The kid Saga” and first episode of the TV series ) Baki meditates looks back on his life from his birth until the day that a detective of the juvenile police Kidoo found him. They both went together to meet the gang of 100 thugs that Baki fought alone but he only defeated 37. His dad covered himself with deer blood and entered into a cavern of vampire bats, 1000 bats attacked him but he managed to kill all of them, Baki went to train to the gym but trashed the gym after he realized how useless the training was, then Baki went to school where five of the top athletes were picking fights with all the gangs, he challenged the athletes to battle in the gym and all of them attacked Baki at once, the household servant paid for the punk’s services in hiring the 100 thugs, Baki defeated 2 athletes.

To be continued...