Bandai Namco has officially unveiled the fourth character that will be coming to Tekken 8 as part of its Season 3 Character Pass. Rather than digging into its deep history, however, the company has decided to bring in a new crossover character in the form of Yujiro Hanma from the manga/anime Baki the Grappler. Check out the teaser trailer announcing the character below.
It is worth noting that Bandai Namco hasn’t officially unveiled how Yujiro will look in the game – the teaser only makes use of artwork from throughout the manga’s pages to showcase him. He’ll join the roster in early 2027.
Yujiro is the father of the protagonist Baki and serves as one of the primary antagonists throughout the manga series. Interestingly, the father-son drama that forms the throughline for the manga also happens to make Yujiro a perfect fit for the Tekken roster. The fighting game’s plot essentially kicked off several decades ago due to Heihachi’s hatred of his own son, Kazuya.
In the manga, Yujiro describes himself as the “Strongest Being on Planet Earth”. Throughout the series, he has shown himself to be capable of almost-impossible feats of strength, endurance, speed, agility, and flexibility. His entire goal throughout the story is to have a child who could one day surpass him in all aspects of combat, which also leads him to torment Baki on a regular basis in an effort to make him stronger.
The Season 3 Character Pass will kick off its release schedule on May 27th with the arrival of Kunimitsu. Roger Jr. follows her in Autumn, and Bob, who made his debut in Tekken 6, this Winter.
While Kunimitsu originally made her debut with the original Tekken, this one is actually Kunimitsu 2 – the daughter of the original. The current incarnation made her canonical debut with Tekken 7, but her mother has had several appearances, including the non-canon Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
If you’re curious about her fighting style in Tekken 8, check out the gameplay reveal trailer that was released earlier this month. The trailer focuses on Kunimitsu using her martial arts, ninjutsu and agility to take down foes. Some of her moves include counters, teleports, and even mid-air counters.
As for the story implications of Kunimitsu’s arrival, the kunoichi seems familiar with Tekken 8 newcomer Reina, as well as Raven, a pupil of her father. How these story developments will play out over the course of Tekken 8‘s lifetime remains to be seen, however.
Meanwhile, Yujiro’s arrival marks the fighting game’s second major crossover character, with Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive Rosfield having debuted in the Season 1 Pass. Interestingly, rumors at the time had indicated that it was going to be Final Fantasy 7‘s Tifa Lockhart instead. In a strange turn of events, Tifa is rumored to be instead coming to Street Fighter 6 as part of its next season pass.
