Baki-Dou Season 2 Theories And Predictions: Will Musashi Return Again?

The first season of Netflix’s acclaimed fight anime, “Baki-Dou” concludes Miyamoto Musashi’s arc with a somewhat anticlimactic, shocking end as arguably the greatest swordsman of the country perishes as unexpectedly he had been resurrected in the first place. Musashi’s final showdown with Baki Hanma had its moments, but it ended right before the conflict could have reached its peak, leaving fans wondering whether there is a possibility of Musashi’s return in the upcoming seasons. Let’s discuss the possibilities as hinted at by the ending of the first season, and also speculate what more can be expected from the upcoming second season of “Baki-Dou”. Do keep in mind that spoilers from the source material will feature in this speculation.

Will Musashi Return in the Second Season?

After Tokugawa’s medium sister, Sabuko separated Musashi’s soul from his cloned body, the chapter of rebirth of the legendary Sengoku era warrior comes to an end. Sabuko gave Musashi a second chance to return to the mortal plane, and she also acted as the instrument to make his soul return to the afterlife. Tokugawa decided not to arrange a funeral for the clone corpse, which has acted as the perfect host to Musashi’s soul by engaging in several jaw dropping fights with modern Japanese martial artists. Using his influence to  convince both the authorities and the fighters,  Tokugawa made adequate arrangements to keep Musashi’s cloned body in permanent stasis in a cryogenic chamber. For him, even without the soul, the body represents Musashi in his most pristine condition – neither alive nor dead. Tokugawa hopes Musashi’s soul will return to this fabricated vessel in future, implying there is a possibility that Musashi will continue to be a credible threat in the upcoming season. However, the thing is Baki Universe’s narrative doesn’t operate like traditional shounen fight mangas, and characters don’t just stick around without cohesive purpose. The motive behind introducing Musashi and pitting him in the modern fighting arena was to show how philosophy involving conflict has evolved over the years, how fighters choose non fatal approaches yet maintain dominance and pride. Musashi never showed inclination to adapt to this changed world order, and reasonably, time wasn’t kind to him. There is a definitive lesson involving Musashi’s presence, which Baki perfectly encapsulates in the final showdown. So long story short, even though mangaka Keisuke Itagaki has left the door open for Musashi’s return, he won’t come back for now, at least not in the next season. 

Yujiro’s Involvement in US Politics

One of the most interesting aspects of the first season of “Baki-Dou” was Yujiro’s influence in the US government, which hilariously alluded to real world political scenarios by introducing leaders like Barack Ozma, Trunp and Hinary. As it turns out, due to his history with the US government, Yujiro gets to have complete immunity from the influence of the so-called superpower, and every elected POTUS has to take an oath of complete non aggression in his presence. The second season of “Baki-Dou” might highlight the history to highlight why Ronaldo Regan agreed to comply with Yujiro in the first place and set the tradition of the US government maintaining truce with him. In the manga, Yujiro also interacts with one of Trunp’s influential billionaire friends, Elos, and surely fans are waiting to see their conversation play out in the upcoming season of the anime series. Additionally, Yujiro’s father, Yuichiro, who had some incredible feats of his own as well, squared off against an entire troop of US military and survived – which is quite an interesting story which should be utilized as a flashback subplot in the upcoming season. It will also allow viewers to learn more about the less discussed relationship dynamics between Yuichiro and Yujiro, and explain why Baki’s father turned out the way he did. 

Will Motobe’s Arc Continue?

Veteran, unconventional, opportunistic brawler, Izou Motobe was undoubtedly the standout character in the first season of “Baki-Dou”, and remains as the only character who thoroughly defeated Musashi by knocking him out. However, Motobe’s victory came at a great personal cost, as he became a paraplegic due to sustaining severe injuries during the battle. It will be interesting to see in which capacity Motobe’s presence affects the future story arc of Baki. As an oddball character, Motobe is always an intriguing part of the existing lore and hopefully showrunners find a way to make him remain narrative wise relevant. 

Who is the Next Fighter in the Baki Universe?

Musashi’s story has come to an end, and it’s time for a new combatant to challenge the martial art legends of modern Japan. Although the ending of the first season has not provided any hint, manga readers have an idea about who the next fighter is going to be. Sukune II, descendent Nomi no Sukune – the legendary creator of Sumo wrestling in Japan, is going to test the mettle of martial artists and Baki Hanma in the upcoming season. Musashi’s arc was thrilling, but having a swordsman slice martial artists left a bad taste in viewers’ mind, even when all the zaniness of “Baki” series are considered. It will be much more riveting to see differing disciplines of martial artists clashing with each other, and reassess their fight philosophy anew. 

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