On July 3, the team behind BAKI-DOU: The Invincible Samurai took the stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center for “Bring It On, BAKI-DOU!“, the franchise’s official Anime Expo 2026 panel, which paired a behind-the-scenes look at the latest anime in the BAKI franchise with a live performance of one of the season’s signature fights.
Hosted by MC Andrew Alandy, the panel brought both sides of the production together on one stage: Yuki Yokoi, Director of the Promotion Department at Akita Shoten, publisher of the original BAKI manga, and Takayoshi Aso, Producer at TMS Entertainment, which produces the anime. They were joined by actor, martial artist, and choreographer Kaz Kobayashi.
The panel opened with a series overview and a screening of the BAKI-DOU Part 1 PV before moving into a moderated discussion across three themes: the journey from concept to anime adaptation, the production challenge of layering authentic swordsmanship onto the series’ grappling foundation, and the response to the latest season.
Yokoi framed where the new arc sits within the franchise, sharing, “The earlier series was about a fight between father and son that reached its resolution. This series is about facing a greater power in the wake of that resolution. What’s really special this time is that we’ve introduced the sword, and with the sword comes the idea of death, a concept that’s new and deeply meaningful to this series.”
Aso spoke to what drew the production team to the material, saying, “When we spoke with the director, one of the things we focused on was how we could take the strongest swordsman in the Sengoku era and bring him into conflict with the fighters of today. As Yokoi-san said, we’re bringing in the sword, and when you bring in sword battles, you bring in death. So we’ve thought a lot about that tension, the possibility of death, and how to convey it to the viewers.”
Drawing on his own background in swordsmanship, Kobayashi spoke to the historical Musashi, his record of more than sixty undefeated bouts, and to what the anime captures about real sword combat. “When I first heard of the concept, I knew Musashi was the only one who could have been chosen,” he said. “For his time, he was a symbol of ultimate strength, and going beyond that, his techniques weren’t just about fighting. They were rooted in the truths of survival, which you can see in the anime as well.”
The back half of the program built toward the panel’s centerpiece. After a solo Iai demonstration by Kobayashi as the revived Musashi, Logan Chitwood, who plays Yujiro Hanma to an online following of more than 25 million, joined him for a live, choreographed performance of the Episode 12 “Yujiro vs. Musashi” battle, staged in two parts against the season’s footage.
Choreographed by Kobayashi, as he and Chitwood carried the fight across the panel room, attendees rose to follow the action, with the performance closing to thunderous applause from the audience.
The show then turned to the audience as attendees competed in two challenges: a Yujiro grip-strength contest hosted by Chitwood and a sword-reaction challenge hosted by Kobayashi, for a set of limited BAKI-DOU original towels. As a final surprise, a manga volume signed by Itagaki-sensei was awarded through a hall-wide game of rock-paper-scissors against Yokoi.
Both parts of BAKI-DOU: The Invincible Samurai are now streaming exclusively on Netflix. Audiences can watch the full season by visiting https://www.netflix.com/bakidou. The original manga is on sale in Japan from Akita Shoten, with the English edition available from Kodama Tales.
Synopsis
Deep beneath the Tokyo Skytree lies a secret laboratory owned by Mitsunari Tokugawa, the world’s greatest combat enthusiast. There, a forbidden experiment is about to take place…
Using cutting-edge scientific technology, the experiment seeks to clone and resurrect the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto from his remains, bringing him back into the modern world.
Known as the ultimate warrior, the sword saint, the peerless master whose name embodies every title of strength and praise imaginable, Musashi’s return sends shockwaves through modern-day Japan, and soon, the entire world, plunging it into a state of crisis.
Baki, Yujiro, and the underground arena’s fiercest fighters, warriors who live solely for battle, are all drawn into this time-transcending showdown.
The ultimate battle to determine the strongest in history now begins…!!
Staff
Original Work: Keisuke Itagaki BAKI-DOU (AKITA SHOTEN “Shonen Champion Comics”)
Director: Toshiki Hirano
Series Composition: Tatsuhiko Urahata
Character Design: Shingo Ishikawa
Prop Design: Yasuhiro Moriki, Masahiro Sugiyama
Art Direction: Seiko Akashi, Sachiko Kigasawa
Background Art: Seiko Akashi
Color Design: Hiromi Miyawaki
Director of Photography: Tatsuo Noguchi
Editing: Yuriko Sano
Sound Director: Yasuyuki Urakami
Sound Production: AUDIO PLANNING U
Sound Effects: Masahiro Shoji (Fizz Sound Creation)
Music: Kenji Fujisawa (Team-MAX)
Animation Production: TMS Entertainment
Production: BAKI-DOU Production Committee
Theme Songs
Part 1 Opening Theme Song: “FURUBOKO” by WANIMA
Part 1 Ending Theme Song: “Mountain Top” by Novel Core
Part 2 Opening Theme Song: “MUSASHI” by Chevon
Part 2 Ending Theme Song: “KATANA” by J SOUL BROTHERS III
Cast
Baki Hanma: Nobunaga Shimazaki
Yujiro Hanma: Akio Otsuka
Musashi Miyamoto: Naoya Uchida
Mitsunari Tokugawa: Shinpachi Tsuji
Sabuko Tokugawa: Masako Nozawa
Sea King Retsu: Rikiya Koyama
Kaoru Hanayama: Takuya Eguchi
Doppo Orochi: Takayuki Sugo
Katsumi Orochi: Yoshihisa Kawahara
Goki Shibukawa: Bin Shimada
Izo Motobe: Yusaku Yara
Jack Hammer: Kenta Miyake
John Horner: Tetsuo Kanao
Hitoshi Nonomura: Jin Domon
Sea Emperor Kaku: Kenichi Ogata
Chiharu Shiba: Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Kureha Shinogi: Ken Narita
Gaia: Ayumu Murase
Pickle: Takeshi Kusao
Narration: Toru Furuya
Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/bakidou
Official Website: https://baki-anime.jp/
X: (Japanese) https://x.com/baki_anime
(English) https://x.com/teambaki_en
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