Keisuke Itagaki’s Baki the Grappler was probably one of the first series that redefined anime and manga fighting sequences. The battles and 1-on-1 fights in Baki were completely different from what fans had normally seen in other anime and manga series; thus, it helped the series skyrocket toward success in a very short period of time.
While the series became popular because of his extraordinary fights, there were some chapters that were so explicit that Weekly Shonen Champion, the publisher of Itagaki’s Baki, had to ban these chapters from being released. Although the contents of Baki are quite mature, this particular edition shocked everyone.
The scene involved the protagonist of the series, Baki, and his love interest, Kozue. The edition had an intimate interaction between the two characters, but it was so detailed and magnified that it was removed from the original manga series and did not make it into the anime series.
Baki Earned Fame Because of its Unique Fighting Style
Itagaki’s magnum opus is a combination of all the popular and secret fighting styles from all over the world. The series has managed to include this unique array of combats that were never seen before in the anime or manga industry. Furthermore, these fighting styles are portrayed in such a way that they are easy to understand for fans.
Underground tournaments, conflicting family relationships, the urge to become the strongest and attain power, and other themes helped Baki become one of the biggest martial arts anime and manga series of all time. Techniques like the Demon Back, Niten Ichi-ryuu, Aiki, Vice Grip, etc. added a new form of intrigue to the narrative of Baki.
The story mostly revolves around Baki, his relationship with his father (the strongest character), and his quest to become stronger than him and finally beat him. However, it also focuses on other small narratives that add more quality to the series’ overall narrative.
The One Explicit Baki Edition That Didn’t Make the Cut
Itagaki’s masterpiece featured a storyline that became too explicit and uncomfortable for Weekly Shonen Champion to publish with the rest of the series. This storyline was comprised of eighty-four pages, and it revolved around the first lovemaking of the series protagonist, Baki, and his companion, Kozue, thus making it a little too mature for a Shonen manga series.
This edition was called the S-X edition, and it was moved to the Seinin line of Weekly Shonen Champion. However, it never got printed, so there is no official reprint or translation of the highly intense scene between Baki and Kozue. It’s astonishing to see that the part of the manga that got banned did not involve some brutal fight scenes but an intimate interaction.
The main reason behind the s-x edition not being published in the series was Itagaki’s habit of exaggerating and detailing every scene, irrespective of its importance in the Baki anime and manga series. The same was done with the eighty-four-page-long portrayal of Baki’s intimate relationship with his love interest.
You can watch Baki on Netflix.
