The Strongest Creature on Earth is stepping into a new ring — and an unexpected one, to boot. Following the announcement of Kunitmitsu, Bob, and Roger Jr. as the DLC characters for Season 3, Bandai Namco has unveiled Yujiro Hanma from the Baki the Grappler series as the latest addition to the Tekken 8 roster.
The brawler is set to launch sometime in Winter, or early 2027, joining previous crossover characters from Tekken 7 and after that include Akuma (Street Fighter), Negan (The Walking Dead), Geese Howard (Fatal Fury), Noctis (Final Fantasy XV), and Clive (Final Fantasy XVI). Also known as “The Ogre” in Keisuke Itagaki’s long-running manga, Yujiro is the main antagonist and father of protagonist Baki Hanma, with his reveal trailer highlighting his signature Demon Face technique — allowing members of the Hanma family to forcefully flex their back muscles to form the face of a demon — and his overwhelming, brutal natural strength.
One of the best-selling manga of all time, the Baki series has over 100 million copies in circulation and follows the titular teenager as he trains and tests his fighting skills against a variety of different opponents in deadly, no-rules hand-to-hand combat. It was adapted into a 45-minute original video animation (OVA) in 1994 and two 24-episode anime series in 2001, while a third series ran from 2021 to 2023.
As for Tekken 8, the ongoing third season is largely focused on gameplay adjustments that fit into the theme of going back to the basics. It offers access to Kunimitsu, Bob, Roger Jr., and Yujiro, the Subsea Lockdown stage, 120 hours of DLC Early Access, and an exclusive Season 3 Aurora Outfit Pack. There’s no exact release date for the last three characters, who are scheduled for release in Summer, Autumn, and Winter, respectively, but Kunimitsu will be officially available starting 2 June.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
