A new Anime is currently topping the Netflix charts. It is not only a success for the streaming service in Germany but also in other countries.
Which anime is it? Baki-Dou is the latest anime from the famous martial arts manga series by Keisuke Itagaki. Chronologically, the series is a direct sequel to Baki Hanma. On February 26, 2026, the anime premiered with 13 episodes, exclusively on Netflix.
- Baki and the other underground fighters have reached their peak and are getting bored. There seems to be no worthy opponent left.
- Fight promoter Tokugawa, meanwhile, aims to resurrect Miyamoto Musashi, the strongest samurai in Japanese history.
- The experiment succeeds, and Musashi awakens in the modern world. Since he poses a great threat, Baki and his comrades must now face the samurai fighter.
The anime is especially celebrated for its absurdity. There are often hand-drawn scenes where muscles and facial expressions are prominently displayed. Even in the manga, the muscle-packed characters look like chiseled sculptures, where veins seem to pop out at any moment.
New anime leaves many other series behind
How successful is it? In Germany, according to Netflix Tudum, the anime is in 1st place among all English-language series. Looking at the global ranking, the series is still in a solid 2nd place.
Only the mini-series The Art of Sarah
is above Baki-Dou. Even in Japan, the land of animes, only the mini-series and Jujutsu Kaisen are ahead of Baki-Dou.
Thus, Baki-Dou has entered the top 10 of series in 51 countries. In just 4 days, it was viewed 3.4 million times.
How is the anime received? On several rating platforms, the anime is well received. On IMDb, it has a rating of 7.5/10, while on My Anime List, it scores 7.45 points, rounded to the same value.
Viewers are thrilled by the portrayal of Miyamoto Musashi and his cold aura. They especially praise the fight between Retsu and Musashi as a highlight of the season. The voice actors also receive positive remarks, with even the original Japanese voice of Son-Goku from Dragon Ball voicing a shaman.
Apart from the big fights, the animation reportedly appears stiff. Many also criticize the one-sided battles and that the story feels somewhat rushed.
For MeinMMO editor Niko, the anime is one of the best series ever. Almost a year ago, he discovered a new game based on the anime that captures the brutality of Baki well. You can find out what his exact impressions were here: A new game on Steam adapts a brutal anime, inspired by a Nintendo classic
