We’ve been given a first glimpse of upcoming martial arts anime Baki in action thanks to a teaser trailer from animation studio TMS Entertainment, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be pulling any punches! Adapted from Keisuke Itagaki’s manga Baki the Grappler, the 26-episode series will premiere on Netflix this summer in Japan and this autumn worldwide.

This isn’t the first time that Baki has made the small screen, with the fighter garnering an OVA back in 1994 and two 24-epsiode series in 2001. The new Netflix-licensed TMS series will be adapting the manga’s ‘Most Evil Death Row Convicts’ arc, which sees hard-as-nails protagonist Baki Hanma taking on some of the globe’s most violent inmates in a series of no-holds-barred arena battles. Why? Well, it’s all part of Baki’s quest to surpass his father Yujiro ‘Ogre’ Hanma by becoming the strongest grappler in the world.

Directed by Toshiki Hirano (Vampire Princess Miyu, Magic Knight Rayearth), the series will star Nobunaga Shimazaki – whose anime credits include Haruka Nanase in Free!, Shinichi Izumi in Parasyte and Manato in Grimgar – in the central role of Baki.

Baki Promo Video