As revealed by Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine, Baki manga creator Keisuke Itagaki is set to write an epilogue story for Kanji Igari as a memorial to real-life wrestler Antonio Inko, from whom the character was inspired.
The decision for the epilogue story was made after the unfortunate demise of the wrestler on October 1, 2022. The memorial epilogue is set to launch in the 48th issue of Weekly Shōnen Champion on October 27, 2022.
Baki manga creator Keisuke Itagaki is set to publish a special epilogue chapter as a memorial to Antonio Inoki
Baki manga creator Keisuke Itagaki will publish a special epilogue chapter for Kanji Igari. It will be a memorial to the late Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, who passed away on October 1, 2022. Kanji Igari's character was based on Antonio Inoki, whose real name was Kanji Inoki. Thus, the manga creator made the decision for an epilogue chapter to pay his respects to the late wrestler.
The same was announced by the 47th issue of Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine on Thursday, October 20, with the special epilogue chapter itself to be published in the 48th issue, which is set to be released on October 27, 2022.
As part of the memorial, Akita Shoten initially published the nine chapters of Baki The Grappler Gaiden (Outside Story) manga on the Manga Cross website on October 6, 2022. This manga features the fight between Kanji Igari and Mount Shōhei Toba, published in 1999.
Weekly Shōnen Champion to release the next chapter of Yuria Fujita's Yūenchi: Baki Gaiden in November
Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine also announced the next chapter of Yuria Fujita's Yūenchi: Baki Gaiden (Amusement Park: Baki Side Story) will be published in the magazine's 52nd issue, which is set to be released in November.
Yuria Fujita's Yūenchi: Baki Gaiden is the manga adaptation of the novel series Baku Yumemakura's Yūenchi: Baki Gaiden by Yumemakura. The series was first released in Weekly Shōnen Champion in May 2018, with artwork provided by Yuria Fujita, who later started adapting it into manga chapters. The light novel series was based on Keisuke Itagaki's Baki manga franchise.
The original manga series Baki The Grappler by Keisuke Itagaki was serialized from 1991 to 1999 in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine. These chapters were compiled into 42 volumes by Akita Shoten, which went on to sell more than 63 million copies worldwide, leading to the production of two TV anime.