Series synopsis
Baki the Grappler, also known as グラップラー刃牙 is a Japanese animation action & adventure drama television series that premiered on TV Tokyo on January 8, 2001. It ended on December 24, 2001. It stars Masami Kikuchi, Kazuhiro Nakata, Hidetoshi Nakamura and Sachiko Kojima.
Baki Hanma is a young fighter who yearns to follow in the footsteps of his father, Yujiro, and become the strongest fighter in the world. Through that he trains tirelessly and fights constantly to hone his skills and develop his body to achieve these goals. Many intense battles lay ahead of Baki as he goes about his quest to be the best and ultimately take the title of "King" from his father.
Premise
Baki Hanma is a young fighter who yearns to follow in the footsteps of his father, Yujiro, and become the strongest fighter in the world. Through that he trains tirelessly and fights constantly to hone his skills and develop his body to achieve these goals. Many intense battles lay ahead of Baki as he goes about his quest to be the best and ultimately take the title of "King" from his father.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Masami Kikuchi as Baki Hanma (voice)
- Kazuhiro Nakata as Kōshō Shinogi (voice)
- Hidetoshi Nakamura as Captain Gary Strydam (voice)
- Sachiko Kojima as Kozue Matsumoto (voice)
- Masayuki Nakata as Kaoru Hanayama (voice)
- Mugihito as Doppo (voice)
- Takehiro Murozono as Kiyosumi Katō (voice)
- Toru Okawa as Antonio Kanji Igari (voice)
Supporting cast
- Hiroshi Naka as Goki Shibukawa (voice)
- Masaya Takatsuka as Yuu Amanai (voice)
- Keiji Fujiwara as Kasumi Orochi (voice)
- Kouichi Sakaguchi as Jack Hanma (voice)
- Takayuki Fujimoto as Musashi (voice)
- Kunihiko Yasui as Retsu Kaioh (voice)
- Masayuki Omoro as Izo Motobe (voice)
- Mitsuru Miyamoto as Kureha Shinogi (voice)
- Yurika Hino as Emi Akezawa (voice)
- Tomohiro Nishimura as Chiharu Shiba (voice)
- Kenji Nomura as Yujiro Hanma (voice)
Guest cast
- Naomi Kusumi as Mitsunari Tokugawa (voice)
Episodes
This series spans 2 seasons with 48 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 24 | January 8, 2001 | June 25, 2001 |
| Season 2 | 24 | July 23, 2001 | December 24, 2001 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Stirrings of Destiny Baki Hanma fights a gang of 100 thugs; afterward, he is walked home by Detective Kido and his partner, who watched the fight. Baki then trains and thinks about what he should do to get stronger. Meanwhile, Kuriyagawa, the man who hired the thugs to fight Baki in order to test his strength, pays the gang's leader. Also, Baki watches a sparring match between Yuri Chakovsky, the international welterweight boxing champion, and Dinoy, Thailand's Muay Thai champion. |
January 8, 2001 |
| 2 |
Those Who Squirm Baki spars with Yuri. Meanwhile, Kuriyagawa meets with Kaoru Hanayama, a gangster and renowned brawler, to set up a fight with Baki. |
January 15, 2001 |
| 3 |
The Beast of Yasha Crag Baki meets his friend Reiichi Ando in the woods and stays with him. While there, Baki adopts some of Ando's training techniques, and he camps alone on Yasha Rock, hoping to fight with the Yasha Ape. |
January 22, 2001 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Opening Mitsunari Tokugawa announces his plans for a world martial arts tournament, and fighters from around the world gather for it. In the first fight of round one in the A-Block, Baki Hanma fights Artemis Regan, a professional wrestler; in the second fight of round one in the A-Block, Vale Tudo master Zulu fights Muay Thai master Dentoranee Jitpika. |
July 23, 2001 |
| 2 |
Reverse In the third A-Block match of round one, heavyweight kickboxing champion Rob Robinson takes on the professional wrestler Anton Igari; in the fourth A-Block match of round one, Motobe Izo fights the grand sumo Kinryuzan; in the first B-Block match of round one, the Sambo master Sergei Taktaroff fights Retsu Kaio, a master of Chinese Kenpo; in the second B-Block match of round one, Kato fights the son of the Yasha Ape. |
July 30, 2001 |
| 3 |
Darkness from Light Baki saves the Yasha Ape's son from Katsumi; in the third B-Block match of round one, Hanayama fights the Japanese Kenpo master Inagi Bunnoshin; in the fourth B-Block match of round one, Roland Gustaf, a catch-as-catch-can wrestler, fights Orochi Katsumi. |
August 6, 2001 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | TV Tokyo |
|---|---|
| First aired | January 8, 2001 |
| Last aired | December 24, 2001 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Tuesday |