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Fist of the North Star
File:Fotns01.jpgFist of the North Star Vol. 1 DVD
Genre	Adventure, Drama, Martial arts, Romance, Science fiction
Manga
Written by	Buronson (story) Tetsuo Hara (art)
Published by	Shueisha Jade Dynasty Star Comics Granata Press
Anime
Directed by	Toyoo Ashida
Studio	Toei Animation
Anime
Fist of the North Star the Movie
Directed by	Toyoo Ashida
Studio	Toei Animation
Anime
Fist of the North Star 2
Directed by	Toyoo Ashida
Studio	Toei Animation
Anime
New Fist of the North Star
Directed by	Takashi Watanabe
Studio	Toei Animation
Anime
New Savior Legend
Directed by	Takahiro Imamura
Studio	TMS Entertainment
Manga
Heaven's Tyrant: Raoh Side Story
Written by	Youkow Osada
Published by	Shinchosha
Manga
Yulia Side Story
Written by	Ayumi Kasai
Published by	Shogakukan

Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳, Hokuto no Ken, literally Fist of the Big Dipper) is a manga series that was originally serialized between 1983 and 1988 in the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump, created by Tetsuo Hara and Buronson.

It has spawned two TV anime series (based on different story arcs of the comic), two films (one of them a live-action version) and a trilogy of OVA films titled Shin Hokuto no Ken (The New Fist of the North Star). A manga prequel has since been made titled Sōten no Ken (Fist of the Blue Sky), starring the original protagonist's uncle, which is currently being serialized (as of 2004) in the weekly Comic Bunch in Japan. It was serialized in Raijin Comics in North America until June 2004. As of 2006, the series is having a reincarnation, with an online video game (MMORPG), and a new series consisting of 3 movies and 2 OVAs and an arcade fighting game. Template:Spoiler

History

The original pilot version of Hokuto no Ken, published in the April 1983 edition of Weekly Shonen Jump: Special Edition, was set in a contemporary setting and told the story of a teenager by the name of Kasumi Kenshirō (霞 拳四郎), the successor of the "Hokuto Shinken" style (God-given Skill of the North Star), a deadly martial arts technique which kills or cripples opponents internally by striking pressure points. Kenshiro fought against a rival martial arts clan known as the Taizanji Kenpo (泰山寺拳法, Mt. Taishan Temple Martial Arts), which secretly controlled the Japanese government and were also responsible for the death of Kenshiro's girlfriend.

The second pilot, titled Hokuto no Ken II, published in the June 1983 edition of Weekly Shonen Jump: Special Edition, had Kenshiro aiding a young couple who deserted the Taizanji. The second pilot presented the first and only appearance of the Taizanji's supreme commander, whose face was never shown.

These beginnings would give way to a manga revision and several adaptations.

Main characters

• Kenshiro, ケンシロウ ("Kenshirō")
• Yuria, ユリア (Sometimes translated as Julia and sometimes pronounced in translation as "Yulia")
• Batto, バット (Sometimes translated as Bart from the original Bat)
• Rin, リン (Sometimes translated as Lynn or Lin)

The Story

When Hokuto no Ken was picked up to become a weekly series, manga writer Yoshiyuki Okamura (岡村善行, Okamura Yoshiyuki) (under the pen name of Buronson (武論尊)) was assigned by the editors of Shonen Jump to work with Hara as a scenarionist for the series. Buronson decided to ditch the original premise of the two pilot chapters in favor of the Hokuto no Ken that is known today.

The series told the story of a now grown-up and scarred Kenshiro (who never used his surname and always had his given name spelled in kana) who swears to protect the helpless populace of a post-apocalypse world from the wild gangs of bikers and bandits who prey on them.

Kenshiro's old friend Shin, who uses Nanto Sei Ken (南斗聖拳, Fist of the South Dipper), abducts his girlfriend and leaves him for dead. Afterwards, Kenshiro wanders the wasteland where he meets the young, innocent "Rin" and the not-so-innocent "Batt" (Their actual names are "Lynn" and "Bart," but this is the closest one can come in Japanese. The English-dubbed anime series uses these correct English names). Together they meet a wide range of friends and foes (but mostly foes) on their long journey.

Its style of dramatic, shocking, and literally explosive battle sequences caused much heated arguments over its content. Human bodies are chopped, exploded, diced, and smashed in fist-to-fist battles as though they had been struck with highly destructive objects. As Kenshiro blasts his opponents, he makes sounds similar to those of Bruce Lee's animalistic wails.

The story of Fist of the North Star has been told in several different forms.

Manga

The original incarnation, consisting of the following:

• Hokuto no Ken (Pilot)
• Hokuto no Ken II (Pilot)
• Hokuto no Ken (series, 27 collected volumes)
• Souten no Ken (series, 14 collected volumes as of January 2006)

Anime series

The two ongoing animated versions, told over a combined 152 episodes and consisting primarily of the following story points:

Part 1: Southern Cross

• After his girlfriend Yuria is abducted by his traitorous friend Shin, Kenshiro wanders from place to place with Bart and Lynn trying to find Shin's newly constructed city, Southern Cross.
• Ken fights Shin and learns that the absent Yuria has committed suicide.

Part 2: Fūun Ryūko Hen

• Ken meets Rei, a Nanto Seiken disciplined warrior, and fights the Kiba Clan.
• We learn more about Rei, whose sister Airi was kidnapped by a man with seven scars on his chest (Jagi).
• Ken and Rei destroyed the Kiba Clan and saved Airi in the process, Airi mentions the one who kidnapped her was Jagi.
• We begin learning of Ken's past with his training brothers: the noble Toki, and the now-corrupted Jagi and Raoh.
• Ken discovers his brother Jagi is alive and wreaking havoc while impersonating him.
• Rei and Ken discover that the soon-to-be-stopped Jagi is the one that kidnapped Rei's sister Airi. Also Jagi admitted it was he who deceived Shin to betray Ken and steal Yuria away.
• Ken finds out his remaining brothers (Toki and Raoh) are still alive after killing Jagi.
• Ken decides to search for Toki and liberate Cassandora prisoners from Raoh's iron fist.
• Ken and Rei each encounter and fight Raoh. Rei is fatally wounded, and Ken barely survives thanks to Toki's intervention.
• Rei has three days to live after his battle with Raoh. It is discovered that Mamiya used to be a slave for Yuda, another Southern style practitioner, thus Rei decides to avenge her honor before his death.

Part 3: Ransei Hadō Hen

• Ken runs across Shū and helps in his fight against Souther.
• Raoh kills Kōryū and duels with Toki.
• Raoh's lieutenant Ryūga attacks Toki to draw out Kenshiro.
• Ryūga realizes that Raoh's methods will not make the world better so he challenges Kenshiro to see if Ken is strong enough to be the saviour of mankind.
• Ryūga laments that because he was related to Yuria he was unable to be with her.
• Ryūga purposely inflicts a mortal wound on himself before fighting Ken. This is because he knew Yuria loved Ken and Ryūga did not want to live knowing that he killed Ken.
• Ken defeats Ryūga; Toki and Ryūga die together.
• Ryūga dies satisfied that Ken is strong enough to defeat Raoh.

Part 4: Saishūshō

• The Nanto Goshasei attack Raoh.
• Ken and Raoh learn that Yuria is actually alive and each race to get to her first.
• Ken and Raoh have their final battle.
• Ken strikes a fatal blow to Raoh's heart, but Raoh commits suicide without any regret, knowing Kenshiro as his brother (and also his love to Yuria).
• Ken leaves with Yuria; Black King (Raoh's battle horse) decides to follow Ken. Lynn and Bart decide to let Yuria live out her remaining life with Ken before she dies of cancer.

Hokuto no Ken 2 (北斗の拳2, Hokuto no Ken 2)

• The peaceful time doesn't last long after Raoh's death, the world starts returning back to injustice.
• Lynn and Bart start a resistance group called the Northern Star Army to fight against the tyrannical Gento Kō Ken Empire.
• Kenshiro returns to the land, destroying several Gento Kō garrisons. By now, Yuria has passed away.
• Kenshiro sets out to take down the Gento Kō Ken Empire, which threatens to kill all martial artists in order to rule the world.
• Falco appears, reluctant to help the fake Gento Emperor who is holding Lynn's twin sister hostage.
• Kenshiro and Falco battle, eventually deciding they are both equals.
• Ken destroys the Gento Kō Empire and the remaining army.
• Lynn is kidnapped and taken to the barbarous land of Asura. Ken follows to save her and finds the birthplace of Hokuto Shin Ken (China).

Hokuto No Ken 2 Part: 2

• Kenshiro and Falco arrive in Asura.
• Falco is fatally wounded by a heninger called Sunagumo. Ken presses some tsubo points on Falco so that he can fight one last battle and cut Sunagumo in two halves. Falco dies in the end, but knows that his wife is pregnant, thus his Gento martial art will continue to live after his passing.
• Shachi is introduced and Lynn is taken hostage by the warlord Kaiser who is planning to hand her over to Han as a gift.
• Shachi secretly observes Ken's fights so he can learn Ken's style and try to find weaknesses in Hokuto Ryuken style so he can get revenge.
• Ken meets and defeats Han, learning that he is from this country as well.
• First encounter between Ken and Kaio with the latter the winner and Lynn as a hostage. Ken, almost dead, is brought away by Shachi.
• In order to push Hyo against Ken, Kaiou cowardly kills his sister, and Hyo's fiancée, Sayaka.
• After the clash between him and Ken, Hyo recovers his past.
• Shachi dies by the hands of Kaiou while Ken masters the secret of Hokuto hidden in a statue.
• Last match, after hitting Lynn with the Shinkanaku, Kaiou is beaten hard by Kenshiro and injured to death. Kaiou dies engulfed with Hyo into a flux of lava. Lynn is recovered by Bart and he's destined to marry her.

Differences between the Manga and Anime

• The first season of the anime is drawn from the first three volumes of the manga. However, the battle between Kenshiro and Shin occurs at the end of the season (Shin dies in the first chapter of the manga's second volume). Because of this, thugs like Jackal and the GOLAN commandos are shown as being agents of Shin, instead of acting in their own interests.
• Like most manga-derived anime series, there are many filler episodes used to keep pace. The first season is the most obvious, featuring a large number of throwaway Nanto Seiken practitioners in Shin's employ.
• Many scenes involving the death of children are rewritten in the anime, showing Ken save the child at the last moment due to the use of pressure points.
• Ken shows much less variety in fighting styles. He often uses the Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken (his rapid-fire punch combination), mainly to reuse animation cels and cut expenses. Also his occasional use of nunchaku in the manga is not seen as often in the anime.
• The anime ends at Kaio's death, ommitting the later story with Ryuu.
• In HnK2, Jakou's sons are replaced by an additional two Gento Kou Ken fighters, named Taiga and Baltz.
• Bloodshed is rarely, if ever, shown in the TV series. Most of the 'explosion' scenes have the blood whited out.

The Animated Movie

A compilation of the story as told within the series' first two seasons, the Fist of the North Star animated movie holds a certain level of notoriety for being arguably one of the most violent works of anime ever created. The movie was intended to be a big-screen treatment of the manga, and avoid the watering-down of violence that came with the TV series.

In a notable deviation from the series, the film finds time to begin with a detailed peek at the Earth as it was before and during the fabled nuclear devastation. Starting with a calm, surreal look at various points of mother nature, a brief on-screen message then informs the audience of the imminent calamity, followed by unsettling scenes of human life consumed in flame.

Meticulous details were incorporated into creating and depicting lifelike and extremely violent deaths. The opening fight between Ken and Shin is far more brutal than that of the series. More than one opponent of the fantastic heroes has their head explode or body ripped to shreds in full graphic view of the audience. Even in Japan, the original version of this film was eventually toned down to include the occasional video distortions present in its official U.S. edition. The movie, released in 1986, came out just after Vampire Hunter D (1985) and just before Akira (1988). The violence level in the Fist of the North Star movie is much more explicit with only the most violent scenes in both of the other films as the lowest level "par for the course" in this bloody post-apocalyptic tale. The movie's tagline is "Believe him when he says You are already dead."

Certain major differences between the series and the movie are mentioned below:

• Ken's second oldest brother, Toki, is never mentioned or seen in the movie.
• Mamiya, a very capable and strong woman, is never mentioned in the movie, partly because Yuria never commits suicide.
• Kiba Daiō, leader of the Kiba Wolf Clan, is defeated by Ken and Rei in the series in an attempt to rescue Rei's sister. In the movie, Ken rescues Airi from Jagi, and instead Raoh defeats Kiba Daiō in his quest for power.
• Several minor characters are omitted or slightly changed in the movie (due to time constraints). For example, the Colonel and Jackal are portrayed as henchmen that are killed off by Shin and Jagi respectively.
• When Ken reappears to save Bart and Lynn, he is sporting a beard. The bearded Kenshiro was so popular that it was included in Hokuto no Ken 2.
• There were two endings to the movie. One of these, in which Kenshiro loses to Raoh, was used in the American release by Streamline. The other, in which the two fight to a draw as in the original story, was the original ending shown in Japan.

The live-action movie

Arguably the black sheep of the franchise, this 1995 film created by American director Tony Randel and starring Gary Daniels has a mixed reception among fandom. Some are acceptant of it, while detracting voices cite poor production values, too many deviations in this original script co-written by Peter Atkins & Wynne McLaughlin, and an inherent inability to capture the narrative quality of the anime and manga versions. The Japanese version, renamed Hokuto no Ken: Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳～フィスト・オブ・ザ・ノーススター～), was released in VHS the same year by Toei Video. Two editions were available, a subtitled one (字幕) and another one (吹替) dubbed by the '80s TV series' original cast. A Behind the Scenes of Hokuto no Ken: Fist of the North Star (ビハインド・シーン・オブ北斗の拳～フィスト・オブ・ザ・ノーススター～ ) documentary VHS was released two weeks before the movie itself by Toei Japan. The Japanese DVD edition released in 2004 contains both English and Japanese audio tracks but not the documentary.

New Fist of the North Star OVAs (新・北斗の拳, Shin Hokuto no Ken)

From 2003 to 2004, an Original Video Animation series featuring Kenshirō and known as New Fist of the North Star was released. The OVA contained only three episodes based on the novel Jubaku no Machi by Buronson and Hara. The new series has received much positive feedback, though some diehard fans of Hokuto No Ken have been a little disappointed. The scenario has not been well elaborated and the new series relies much more on the animation.

In the post-apocalyptic world, water has become toxic except for a few safe and preserved reservoirs. A man named Sanga has constructed a fortified zone called The Last Land. While Sanga's men go out and seek water through violent means, they encounter Kenshiro who desires to end their reign of terror.

Another point of contention is the recasting of Kenshiro, now played by Takehito Koyasu. Similar to the current trend of American animation, celebrity voices were also employed, including musician Gackt and wrestler Magnum Tokyo.

It was fully licensed by ADV Films, despite the fact that the original series only had 36 episodes released in the US, thus being an incomplete license. This has led to some speculation that Saint Seiya may get similar treatment in the near future, known as the "Fist of the North Star" theory. (For additional information involving the licensing issues at hand see Toei Animation)

Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu (新救世主伝説, New Saviour Legend)

Beginning in 2006, new movies and OVAs are scheduled to be released. Preview trailers can be seen on the Official Japanese Hokuto no ken Site. The first part of it, "The Legend of Raoh: Martyred Love Arc" (ラオウ伝　殉愛の章, Raoh Den Jun-ai no Shō), debuted March 11th and also has a new version of Ai o Torimodose by Crystal King. New characters include:

• Reina (played by Kou Shibasaki): A female general that serves Raoh.
• Sōga (played by Unshou Ishizuka): Reina's brother. He helped Raoh assemble an army.

Remaining Scheduled Works:

• The Legend of Yulia (ユリア伝, Yuria Den) in 2006 as an OVA
• The Legend of Raoh II: Fierce Fighting Arc (ラオウ伝Ⅱ 激闘の章, Raō Den II Gekitō no Shō) in 2007 as a movie
• The Legend of Toki (トキ伝, Toki Den) in 2007 as an OVA
• The Legend of Kenshirō (ケンシロウ伝, Kenshirō Den) in 2008 as a movie

Practitioners

Template:Spoiler The following is a list of the story's gifted characters and the various disciplines in which they are skilled. Characters are listed in order of age with the youngest first.

Hokuto Shinken

Nanto Seiken

Nanto Rokusei Ken

The Nanto Rokusei Ken are the six primary styles of Nanto Seiken, the 102 other branches being their tributaries. Each of them has a fate linked to a certain star in the Nanto constellation (aka the Milk Dipper, part of Sagittarius in Western astrology). Yuda (Japanese for Judas) betrayed the Nanto Rokusei Ken and joined Raoh's army; after this, the fates of all of the Nanto stars turned tragic.

Other Nanto practitioners

• Jackal (Explosive Kill Fist, in the anime only, as he was merely a brute in the manga)
• Colonel (Silent Fist)
• Amiba
• Nevada
• Dagarl
• Beji and Giji (Paired Kill Fist)
• Rizo
• Harn Brothers (Paired Hawk Fist) (Very clearly modeled on the Road Warriors)

Nanto Gosha-sei

The five Gosha masters are sworn to protect the Last Nanto General. There is conflicting information as to whether the Gosha fist is a Nanto style or something completely separate.

• Fudō (of the Mountain): A giant Nanto Goshasei Fighter. Fudō was once a terrible outlaw known as "Akki no Fudō" (Fudō the Ogre). Fudō attacked the Hokuto dojo and terrified the young Raō. But a very young Yuria stood up to him, risking her life to save some puppies from Fudō's rampage. Fudō learned from her courage that life is the most important thing on earth. Fudō the Ogre became Fudō of the Mountains, one of the five Nanto Goshasei; the guardians of Yuria. Once an orphan himself, Fudō also took care of orphaned children. After trembling in the presence of Kenshirō's Musōtensei, Raō decided to eliminate the first person who ever frightened him, and challenged Fudō to battle. Raō ordered his own men to shoot him if he took a step back. Fudō was able to make him do so, but Raō's men shot Fudō instead and killed him.
• Hyūi (of the Wind): One of the five Nanto Goshasei and leader of the Wind Army. He fought Kenshiro (in the anime, not in the manga) only to lose to inform him that another Nanto Goshasei would come after him and Raoh, the other Hokuto Shinken practitioner. He was killed by Raoh after trying to thwart his attempts for world conquest.
• Jūza (of the Cloud): Jūza's self-styled martial art was the best of the Goshasei. Jūza had grown up with Yuria and wished to marry her, but his dreams were crushed when he learned she was his half-sister. As a result he became like a gigolo and chased all the pretty girls but not really loving any of them. A free-spirited type, Jūza did not wish to fight Raōh for the sake of the Last of the Nanto Rokusei Ken until he learned that she was Yuria. Jūza was actually able to briefly take Kokuō from Raō, which was a first. Roah sits down on a boulder and refuses to move until his horse comes back. Eventually Juza comes back to fight Raoh, and Juza definitely gives Raoh a tough fight. Raoh is just too strong and eventually Juza is hit with a fatal blow. Juza falls on his back apparently dead. As Raoh begins to walk away, Juza's body leaps up for one last attack which Raoh blocks. Before Raoh counterattacks however, he realizes that Juza is dead and that his body was still trying to attack, so he lets Juza's body fall to the ground lifeless. Raoh, comments to himself, "Juza truly was terrible" in respect for the tough battle Juza gave him.

• Rihaku (of the Ocean): Attempts to save Yuria from Raoh. His daughter Toh, to buy him time, professes her feelings for Raoh and then kills herself when he rejects her in favor of Yuria. Rikahu later becomes the elder statesman of Lin and Bat's "Hokuto Army" after Ken leaves with Yuria.

• Shuren (of the Fire): Another one of the five Nanto Goshasei Generals and leader of the Red Army. Shuren wishes to avenge Hyūi's death at the hands of Raoh, and he shows his commitment to this cause by lighting a funeral pyre for Hyūi which also burns down his castle, leaving him and the Red Army with no home and only a desire to fight Raoh. He, as his name suggests, has the ability to control and manipulate fire, using it in such moves as the Gosha Enjou Ken (Gosha Passionate Flame Fist). Shuren confronts Raoh and his army during a march in a valley, but is swiftly defeated by the much more powerful Raoh. Shuren shows his anger over Hyūi's death his devotion to last Nanto General, Yuria. Shuren tries one final, self-immolating attack which, after being countered by Raoh leaves him burnt to a crisp. After this, Raoh wonders how anyone could have such a burning devotion to The Last General of Nanto Roku Sei Ken

Taizan-ji Kenpō

• Ryūga (リュウガ, Ryuuga, Ryuga): Neither embracing the Hokuto nor Nanto style, he is master of "Taizan Tenrō Ken" (Taishan Heavenly Wolf Fist). Ryūga is of the Tenrō-sei or solitary star of Sirius; the Lone Wolf. His unique Taizan Tenrō Ken scoops out chunks of flesh from his enemies, letting them experience bitter cold before death. He is the older brother of Kenshiro's beloved Yulia. Having despised the chaos and turmoil that followed the post-apocalyptic world, he joined Raoh believing that his iron fist would bring stability and order back to the world. The Tenrō was destined to help Hokuto. As a result, Ryūga destroyed those who opposed Raoh and set out to fight Kenshiro in order to discover who was stronger among the two. After attacking Toki to draw out Kenshiro, Ryūga's mentality began to change. Just before his fated duel with Kenshiro, Ryūga slit his belly already believing that it would be he who would put an end to Raoh's regime of terror.

Gento Kō Ken

• Falco: (Gold) Successor to Gento Kō Ken. Although Jakō orders him to kill the Hokuto and Nanto fighters in the name of the Gento Empress, he is a honorable man. When the Emperess is discovered alive, he turns against Jakō and kills him. His right leg is a prosthetic, the original was offered to Raoh to convince him to leave the Gento village alone. Later on, when fighting Falco, Kenshirō disables one of his own legs out of respect for his brother's acceptance of it. He pursues the kidnapped Lin to Shura Island, but dies after battling a Shura demon.
• Soria: (Purple) One of Falco's proteges, he seeks out and challenges Kenshiro.
• Shōki: (Red) An old friend of Falco's. When Ken and Yuria set out after Raoh's death, Shōki allowed them to live in his home village. Later, he attempts to kill Jakou and is seemingly killed by Falco in a ruse. One of Jakō's sons sees through the ruse and kills Shōki with a spear. Shōki dies after seeing Kenshiro one last time.
• Boltz: (Blue) (Anime only)
• Taiga: (Green) (Anime only)
• Jakō: Not a martial artist, he has kidnapped the Gento Empress and ordered Falco to destroy the Hokuto and Nanto fighters. Ostensibly, this is because they attempt to outshine the Gento imperial star (Polaris). In reality, when Raoh was about to leave the Gento village after Falco convinced him to leave it alone, Raoh told Falco that Jakou had evil intentions and that Falco should kill him. Falco was unable to at the time because his mother had raised both of them as their sons and would have been heartbroken. Later, Jakou took the Empress hostage and threatened to kill her if the Gento fighters did not do his bidding.
• Lui: Lin's twin sister. Empress of the Gento. Only one of the children was permitted to live, but Falco could not bring himself to kill Lin and instead left her in the care of his aunt and uncle.

Hokuto Ryū Ken

• Shachi

A foreigner of Asura, son of a pirate. Learned Hokuto Ryu Ken after accidentally killing some Asura soldiers when they harassed his girlfriend. Begged Jukei to teach him Hokuto Ryu Ken because Shachi couldn't wait for the "saviour". Shachi lost his humanity when he learned this forbidden art until he met Lynn. Died from bloodloss during a battle against Kaio.

• Han

One of Kaio's general, whom always in danger of being assassinated. Claims to have lost count of disposing assassins after the 100th time. Told Kenshiro that he is from Asura country during a battle with Ken. His fists were so fast they could not be seen when attacking. Kenshiro clobbers his sight and then massacres him with the 100 punches.

• Hyō

Kenshiro's actual biological brother, Kaio killed his fiance and laid the blame on Kenshiro. Ken defeated Hyo and knew the truth about his fiance death. Promised to kill Kaio but forgave Kaio due to their deep friendships, died from his injury after destroying Kaio's elite army of thousand man. As they die, Hyo apologizes to Kaio for not being stronger, because if Hyo was stronger Jukei would not have had to force Kaio to be subservient to Hyo, which was one of the sources of Kaio's hatred.

• Kaiō

Oldest brother of Raoh and Toki, got two scars on his face. He was so powerful that he had to wear special armor to harness keep his energy focused. He hated all that Hokuto Shin Ken stood for because Jukei told him that he was destined to be a servant of Hokuto Shin Ken instead of a successor. Kaio secretly hated Hyo for this since he was more powerful than Hyo but was forced by Jukei to lose matches to Hyo.

During their early training he was forced to lose matches to Hyo because Jukei believed Hyo was of the proper bloodline to be the successor. In one such instance Kaio and Hyo were set to fight on a small suspension bridge. Jukei told Kaio to let Hyo win to boost Hyo's confidence. Kaio was determined to beat Hyo regardless of Jukeis order, but in his attack, Kaio slipped off the bridge and Hyo saved him from falling which further enraged Kaio. Eventually Kaio conquers the land and Hyo is made second in command to Kaio which Hyo is content with since he has always acknowledged Kaio's superiority.

Kaio was the last one Kenshiro battled with before saving Lynn. Ken striked him with a "Friendly strike fist of the north star", so that Kaio wont feel pain before he dies. Kaio then proceeded to bury himself into a flux of lava.

• Jūkei

An old man who appeared in the prequel Fist of the Blue Sky as a young boy. Taught Kaio, Han, Shachi and Hyo the art of Hokuto Ryu Ken. Also he is the guardian of Hokuto No Ken clan. Killed his own family during a demonic possession from this Hokuto Ryu Ken until Kasumi Ramon (Ryuken) stopped him. Was killed by a brainwashed Hyo at the end, died with regret.

• Kuro-Yasha

A very short dwarfish man, whom worked as a servant of Hokuto bloodline, when Kenshiro was a baby, Kuro-Yasha could already feel an aura of love and friendship from baby Kenshiro. He attacks with iron claws while jumping in the air. Died from his injury after valiantly assisting Hyo against Kaioh's elite army.

Styles

Hokuto Shinken (Big Dipper God Fist)

The 1800-year-old Chinese martial arts style used by Kenshiro and his brothers, Hokuto Shinken attacks the human body from within—accomplished by striking or grasping various areas and driving one's energy inside. This will usually result in almost instant death, cause the opponent to become crippled, or occasionally rob the victim of their own physical control. The technique also increases the practitioner's strength tremendously, and can allow them to perform miraculous feats of healing.

Like Nanto Seiken, it can only have one successor at a given time. Usually, it is passed down from father to son or some other blood relative; it was passed on to Ramon Kasumi (aka Ryuken) after Kenshiro Kasumi was presumably killed (see Fist of the Blue Sky). Anyone else schooled in Hokuto Shinken not selected as successor must vow to give up the art or be forced to either have their fists destroyed or their memory removed.

Ryuken had a series of students who grew up as if they were brothers. The ones shown in the manga are Kenshiro, Jagi, Toki, Raoh, and Kim. Kim was eliminated from the rite of succession early on and was kicked out of the dojo. Toki was eliminated much later due to his nuclear accident which brought on a terminal illness. Jagi was presumably eliminated due to his underhandedness and clear lack of ability compared to his other brothers. Finally, Raoh and Kenshiro were put to a test where they were both confronted by a wild tiger and had to prove their merit as an assassin. Kenshiro was able to cause the tiger to submit quietly to death whereas Raoh caused the tiger to fear death and attack him. Kenshiro was seen as having a true assassin's style and was therefore chosen as the 64th successor to Hokuto Shinken. Raoh told Ryuken that he was making a mistake. Ryuken told Ken that the tiger submiting quietly to death showed that even if Raoh is the strongest, Ken's style is truly the fearsome/terrible one.

After Ken was chosen Jagi was outraged and tried to rally his brothers to kill Ken so Raoh could be successor, however Toki supported Ken, and Raoh did not care because he refused to give up the Hokuto style anyway. He believed since he was the strongest that he did not need to be named successor to conquer the world. Jagi decided to attack Ken alone but was defeated easily by Ken. When Jagi lunged to attack Ken he "slipped" and Ken took advantage of it to beat Jagi. Jagi made excuses saying that if he had not slipped he could have beat Ken, but it was later revealed that Jagi did not slip, but that Ken was so fast that he struck Jagi's pressure points before Jagi even knew what happened. To stop himself from dying from Ken's attacks, Jagi used his Hokuto skills to hit his own pressure points to stop his head from exploding, but it was not enough to stop permanent damage from occurring. Jagi remained scarred and had to wear braces on his head thereafter.

The four primary contenders for the Hokuto Shinken style all had at least a basic level of mastery of this martial arts form. The anime series states that Hokuto Shinken is an ancient art of 2000 years and cannot be mastered by anyone without the utmost spirit and determination. Even Jagi, the least skilled of all the brothers, has a fighting prowess that can put non-users to shame. Toki (not present in the animated movie) was firmly embedded in the healing aspects of the powerpoints of Hokuto Shinken even before the nuclear war. Kenshiro's kind but strict nature made him the best choice to carry on the Hokuto Shinken style. Raoh's unforgiving, selfish, and brutally violent nature cost him the chance to succeed as the 64th successor.

After Kenshiro defeats his one time friend, Shin, Kenshiro is made aware that someone has committed horrible atrocities in his name. This person turned out to be Jagi, and starts off the second season of the series with Kenshiro's quest to make contact with all of his brothers. As the story moves along the audience gets a better picture of what Kenshiro went through in his quest to be the heir to the Fist of the North star.

Toki is highly respected by Kenshiro, not only for his martial arts mastery, but for his kind demeanor. Toki is characterized by his long white hair, small headband, and kind face. A liberal interpretation of his appearance and actions can be made to say that he is a Christ like figure. Toki tells a story from before the war when Ken, Shin, Raoh, and even himeslf all had feelings for Yuria. Shin and Raoh both only thought of themselves and viewed Yuria as a trophy to be won. Toki, however, defended Yuria against one of Raoh's unwanted advances on one occasion before the nuclear war. Kenshiro recalls that Toki was once so skilled in Hokuto Shinken that he would have probably become the next successor if it were not for the radiation sickness that he received when he sacrificed himself to save Kenshiro and Yuria.

Toki and Raoh are natural brothers, and are adopted by Ryuken after the death of their parents (later in the manga, this was retconned into the two coming from Shura Island with Kenshiro). Ryuken was originally unwilling to adopt both children, and cast them from a cliff, telling them that the child who made it back up would be his successor. To his surprise, Raoh scaled the cliff with one arm, carrying Toki with the other. Ryuken then adopted both children and began to instruct Raoh in Hokuto Shinken. Years later, after watching Toki beat up a bully many times his size, Ryuken realized that a martial arts genius was hiding in the younger brother as well and allowed Toki to come into the dojo with Raoh. This was the beginning of their tragedy, because they both knew that they would be fated to battle for the succession. Toki had once promised Raoh that if Raoh were to turn to evil, Toki would stop him. Although Toki tried to honor this promise, he was devastated by his illness and unable to stop Raoh. Raoh then freed Toki from his obligation and told him to battle his illness instead.

Raoh is a large and massive man that towers even over the large frame of Kenshiro. Raoh has a square expressionless face and almost always wears a large helmet and rides a massive black horse. Raoh's single minded ambition and determination fuel his black heart with a lust for power. Even though Raoh loses the contest for successor, he none-the-less continues to use Hokuto Shinken for his own purposes. While it is obvious in both the series and the movie that other characters (Shin, Rei, Jagi, Toki, etc) all possess enough skill to dominate the violent masses, only Ken and Raoh seem to defeat other notable fighters with relative ease. Raoh is such a powerful fighter that the movie ends anti-climatically when Raoh actually defeats Kenshiro in a one-on-one fight of the film's US release. The aforementioned scenario did not occur in the manga or the Japanese series or movie. Only after this confrontation does Raoh seem to understand the words that Ryuken mentioned to him so long ago, "Power without perception means nothing."

The second half of the series continues with Kenshiro's quest of defeating the remaining Nanto Seiken successors and building his strength to defeat and end Raoh's terror. During this part we learn more about Raoh's past and story as a sympathetic character. At volume 13, it turns out that Yuria never died from her suicide attempt and she is also a Nanto Seiken successor as the "Motherly Star" (hence Ryuken once foretold that the world will be in peace when Hokuto and Nanto join forces). When Raoh knew Yuria was alive he took her as a hostage and forced Kenshiro into life-and-death combat once and for all.

Nanto Seiken (South Dipper Holy Fist)

Nanto Rokusei Ken (South Dipper Six Holy Fists)

The Nanto Seiken style sets generally tend to consist of styles that focus on dazzling maneuvers and using energy to pierce, cut, and dice enemies and objects. Often, they focus on speed, to slice the opponent, and let them fall apart afterwards. Sometimes this will happen so fast, the opponent will not even realize they're dead. It can be debated that, in the manga, air pressure may be used to slice the opponent instead of energy.

Nanto Koshū Ken

Nanto Koshū Ken (South Dipper Lone Eagle fist) is a very direct style of Nanto Seiken. It focuses on stabbing and thrusting attacks, seemingly being most useful at a close range. Often, the slicing will be simulated via tearing, where the user will put his hand into an opponent's body, usually torso, and pull it to either side.

Nanto Suichō Ken

Nanto Suichō Ken (South Dipper Waterfowl fist) is the most graceful of the Nanto Seiken styles. With a focus on grace and aerial attacks, its primary usage is for medium-range attacks.

Nanto Kōkaku Ken

Nanto Kōkaku Ken (South Dipper Crimson Crane fist) is a style based on long-range, vertical attacks. It can attack a wide vertical range, and seems to cause more damage when used for vertical slices.

Nanto Hakurō Ken

Nanto Hakurō Ken (South Dipper White Heron fist) is a kick-based style, somewhat rare in Hokuto no Ken. Whereas most Nanto Seiken styles primarily use the hands, Nanto Hakurō Ken primarily uses the feet (though it still uses the hands). The user can attack a wide range around them, even a spinning kick that decimates those around them.

Nanto Hō-Ō Ken

Nanto Hō-Ō Ken (South Dipper Phoenix Fist) is the most powerful form of Nanto Seiken. It is a free-form style, without stances or forced routine. The user has the ability to glide forward, leading into a powerful scissor attack. There can absolutely be only one successor to this style; the successor must kill his teacher. The ultimate technique of this style is Tenshō Jūji Hō, the Heaven-soaring cross phoenix, which takes a stance with the user's arms held out evenly, like a cross. As the name suggests, it's launched into a powerful aerial attack. This is the only stance taken in Nanto Hō-Ō Ken, and is only taken when a worthy opponent appears.

Nanto Goshasei (South Dipper Five Chariots Stars)

The Nanto Goshasei styles revolve around the use of elements, but still share much in common with the normal Nanto Seiken. Read: Its ability to slice the opponents. However, all forms of this use different techniques and attack styles to do so.

Wind

The Gosha Wind style is a style based on swift maneuvers, aerial attacks, and apparently long-range attacks, though it has been seen used as a "Shield" of sorts. This style uses air pressure and cutting winds to slice the opponent to pieces. Due to this usage of wind, it can be used as a long or short range style.

Fire

The Gosha Fire style seems to use linear lines of heat to cut through the opponents (basically burning through them). If the opponent has been damaged, due to the large amount of heat, he will burst into flames. The user, if willing to sacrifice himself, can well up the heat in his own body, causing spontaneous combustion.

Mountain

The Gosha Mountain style seems to be based on crushing force, pressure tearing the opponent down the middle. Unlike most other Nanto styles, it is not graceful in the least. It is blunt and powerful. As opposed to the fine, linear slices of the other Nanto styles, the attack size of this style is rather large. To further clarify, if an opponent is sliced down the middle of his body, the pressure will crush through the opponent, effectively removing the middle third of the body.

Cloud

The Cloud style is a free-form style, apparently without set stances. As opposed to cutting, the cloud style seems to be based on defeating the opponent in a series of long, quick, smooth motions.

Ocean

The Ocean style doesn't see much use in the anime series. Noticeably, the user seems to be able to increase his body size, curl into a ball, and send himself flying through the air, destroying whatever is in his path.

Minor Nanto styles

Most of these are barely even worth mentioning. Most of them were seen only in the anime series, as well. Filler was needed in the anime, to lengthen the story, especially the Shin arc. According to the anime, Shin taught his generals some Nanto powers, who used their limited Nanto Knowledge to make their own styles.

• Nanto Muon Ken (Silent Fist)

Seems to be mainly for use with claws, needles, and stabbing weapons. Apparently just improves the speed and cutting quality of attacks.

• Nanto Sōzan Ken (Paired Kill Fist)

A strange knife-throwing style, that requires two users, facing each other, with the opponent in the middle. They throw the knives between each other, around the opponent. One user throws underhand and catches overhand, the other used throws overhand and catches underhand. They slowly move in, barely noticeable, until they are close enough to attack with the knives.

• Nanto Sōyō Ken (Paired Hawk Fist)

Mentioned, but not used. All that's known is that it requires two users.

• Nanto Shōten Ken (Ascension Fist)

A style based on speed, agility, and height. The user can jump extraordinarily high, throw objects with stunning accuracy and speed, and produce two mirage duplicates around him, with which he can rotate for an illusion.

• Nanto Kōmori Ken (Bat Fist)

Involves the usage of gliders and claws. Mainly involves diving down onto the opponent.

• Nanto Bakusatsu Ken (Explosive Kill Fist)

Creative, rough fist to fist art that uses explosives and jumping techniques.

• Nanto Anshō Ken (Dark Bell Fist)

A style based on use of sound waves and hypnosis. The style's sound waves tend to come from bells.

• Nanto Ryūjin Ken (Dragon King Fist)

A set of styles. The first one is fire boxing, in which the user can safely engulf his skin in flames to destroy his opponent. Also in this style, the user can breathe fire. However, if the user is incapable of breathing, the fire can not escape, and the fire will destroy them from the inside out. The second part of this style is an illusion-based style, which also uses knife-throwing. The user apparently could use small crystal orbs to give the illusion of a dragon, which would be hiding knives or flames.

• Nanto Ningen Hōdan (Human Cannonball)

Closer to a move than a style. It involves the user being equipped with a sword (apparently katana) and fired into the air via cannon. The user, upon getting above his target, can hold their sword outwards and drop down suddenly and with great, violent force. This is more of a siege style than a fight style.

Taizan-ji Kenpō (Mount Tai Temple Martial Arts)

An ancient fighting style developed at the Taishan Temple in Shanxi, China. The Taizan fighters grew corrupt and eventually carried much influence over the Japanese government in the 1980s before the nuclear war (This may not be in continutity; it directly refers to the two Hokuto no Ken tryouts, in which the Taizan fighters were the main enemies. When the series proper began, most of the backstory was drastically retooled). In the 1990s, many of the Taizan fighters became part of Raoh's army.

• Taizan Tenrō Ken (Taishan Sirius Fist) - A freezing, flesh-scooping style.
• Taizan Ryū Sōjō Ben (Taishan Style Twin Streak Whip) - A whip-wielding style.
• Taizan Yō Ken (Taishan Bewitch Fist) - Uses ribbons and spikes

Kazan Saigoku Ken (Mount Hua Western Peak Fist)

A few characters used martial arts related to Mount Hua, most notably the entire Kiba clan. Bask also used this style, as did a spearman on the Land of Asura. There is no official name given for the main branch of this martial art.

• Kazan Kakuteigi (Huashan Horn Resisting Sport) - An old sumo skin-hardening technique
  • Shōkei Ken (Hieroglyph Fist)
  • Yōmetsu no Kata (Ominous Destructive Form)
  • Kazan Bunretsu Ken (Huashan Split Fist)
  • Kazan Kakutei Harite (Huashan Horn Resisting Slap)
• Kazan Gunrō Ken (Huashan Wolf-Pack Fist)
  • Daraidai (Thunder Strike Pedestal)
  • Kazan Kakuteigi (Huashan Corner Resist Sport)
  • Kazan Kōgai Kohō (Huashan Steel Armor Technique)
• Kazan Gokuaku Sō (Huashan Hell Grasp Claw)
• Saigoku-Ha Ginsō (Western Peak Sect Silver Spear)

Gento Kō Ken (Original Dipper Imperial Fist)

The Gento Kō Ken style was created to protect the "Tentei" (Heaven Empress). Their symbol is the Tentei star, also known as the Taikyoku-sei (Polaris). The Gento Kō Ken style focuses on use of ki energy, usually projected outwards as a blast, or sometimes a shield. It uses ki like a blade, to destroy the opponent's body on a cellular level. This style gets surprisingly little use in the series, save for Falco of the golden style. This style is based on and ranked by colors. It is unclear what, if any, constellation that "Gento" refers to. Many fans speculate it is the Little Dipper because it's a dipper-shaped constellation that contains Polaris.

The colors are:

• Gold

The Gold style is the absolute strongest, generally used for varying types of blasts and projectiles. Noticeably, it can also freeze and cut opponents.

• Purple

The Purple style seems to be based around rings of energy, theorizing that they're unavoidable.

• Red

The Red style gets absolutely no use in the series. One attack is seen in the anime, and it seems fairly generic.

• Blue

Anime-only style. The Blue style seems fairly generic as well. Notably, the sole user of it uses a spear, but it's unknown if this is universal or just a personal preference. (The Blue and Green styles were created for the anime to take the place of Jakou's sons)

• Green

Anime-only style. The Green style never sees any use in the series.

Hokuto Ryuu Ken (Big Dipper Lapis Lazuli Fist)

Derived alongside Hokuto Shinken from the original Hokuto Souke ruling family of Shura Island. Its first practitioner was Ryuoh. Practitioners of Hokuto Shinken regard its existence as heresy. While it shares many of its basic attacks with Hokuto Shinken, its essence is deeply rooted in channeling of essence and magic. The effort required to control these energies drives many of its practitioners mad with hatred. The last master of the art, Juukei murdered his own family and attempted to kill Ryuken, who was able to restore him to sanity. Later, Juukei sent Kenshiro, Raoh, and Toki to Ryuken, believing that Raoh would succeed Ryuuken as the Hokuto Shinken successor and free his motherland of Shura from the evil of Hokuto Ryuu Ken. Later, unable to wait for Raoh, he trained Kaioh (Raoh's older brother), Han, and Hyoh (Kenshiro's natural brother) in Hokuto Ryuuken. To his dismay, rather than fight against the evil of Shura, they joined in it. He later joined a resistance movement against the Shura, reluctantly teaching Shachi Hokuto Ryuu Ken to help him fight against the Shura soldiers.

When Kenshiro followed Lin, Juukei was distraught that it was not Raoh who had succeeded Ryuuken in Hokuto Shin Ken. After Han was killed, Juukei, believing that Kenshiro could not raise his hand against his own brother, sought out Hyoh in combat. He had erased Hyoh's memories of Kenshiro years before so he could focus on the fight. Attempting to undo this erasure, he discovered that Kaioh had modified his memories and was slain by Hyoh. Although Hyoh was eventually able to regain his memory, he was defeated by Kaioh, unable to stop Kaioh's fall to evil. Kaioh later became himself again and destroyed himself with molten lava after being defeated by Kenshiro, bringing Hokuto Ryuu Ken to its end.

Towards the end of the manga, the true relationship between Hokuto Shinken and Hokuto Ryuuken is brought to light. The Hokuto Souke, practitioners of Hokuto Ryuuken, ruled Shura Island during the time of the Gento Empire's fall several thousand years ago. To ensure that they could bring peace in the violent times, the rulers of the family decided that next son of the line would be their successor and invent the world's deadliest fist. The two princesses of the Hokuto line gave birth on the same day to two sons, Shuken and Ryuuoh. To prevent division among the family, it was decided that one of the infants would die. Ohka, the eldest of the sisters, gave her life to protect both children, when she discovered that her sister Shume was ill and would not survive to see her son grow up. Shume's son Shuken never forgot the love his mothers showed him. Becoming the successor, he developed Hokuto Shinken. Ryuuoh threw away love, and mastered the family art of Hokuto Ryuuken. Kenshiro and Hyoh are descended from Shuken; Kaio, Raoh, Toki, and Sayaka are descended from Ryuuoh.

Due to his lineage, Hyoh had knowledge of the 'original' Hokuto (the precursor to Ryuuoh's refined Hokuto Ryuuken). He refused to use this style, believing that it was for Kenshiro only. He is later able to pass on this knowledge to Ken, and Kenshiro discovers the truth behind the two styles: Hokuto Ryuuken is ultimately a passive style based on distorting the enemy with 'evil' ki, and it cannot stand against Hokuto Shinken, which was designed to be used in an active role. Ultimately, however, the deciding factor between Kenshiro and Kaio is Kenshiro's compassion. Kaio, thinking only of himself, does not understand death and cannot carry the spirits of others on inside him the way Kenshiro can. driving him to fight. Thus, the differences between the two reflect the differences between their ancestors.

Hokumon no Ken (Fist of the North Gate)

An inferior offshoot of Hokuto Shin Ken started by a former Hokuto Shin Ken student that failed to be successor. Seiji from Shin Hokuto No Ken (New Fist of the North Star) used this style.

Goodies

• Shitajiki Shitajiki
• Yuria lighter Yuria lighter
• Metal slot lighter Metal slot lighter
• Trading cards Trading cards

Sammy owns the Japanese license for Hokuto no Ken and had released four pachislot machines (mix between a pachinko and a slot machine) with their derivative shitajiki, trading cards, zippo lighters, their scale model metal lighters and moneyboxes and the multiplatform million-seller simulator game ("Jissen PachiSlot Hisshou Hou!"). Sammy had also released Hokuto no Ken licensed pachinko machines and their video game counterpart ("Jissen Pachinko Hisshou Hou!"). Keshi series (including SDkeshi) were released in Japan by Bandai during the 1980s.

Games

• Hokuto no Ken (NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801, Fujitsu FM-7 by Enix)
  • 1986.05: 北斗の拳  Japan 5 floppy disks adventure game
• Hokuto no Ken (Japan: Sega Mark III, Overseas: Master System by Sega)
  • 1986.07: 北斗の拳  Japan 1 Mega cartridge which was reskinned for the West ('86) and emulated on PlayStation2 ('04)
  • 1986.XX: Black Belt  United States Kenshiro was redesigned and renamed Riki (unlicensed by Toei)
  • 1986.XX Black Belt  Europe Kenshiro was redesigned and renamed Riki (unlicensed by Toei)
• Hokuto no Ken (Famicom, by Toei Animation/Shouei System)
  • 1986.08: 北斗の拳  Japan
• Hokuto no Ken 2 : Seikimatsu Kyuseishu Densetsu (Famicom, by Toei Animation/Shouei System)
  • 1987.04: 北斗の拳2 世紀末救世主伝説  Japan
  • 1989.XX: Fist of the North Star  United States (Taxan)
• Hokuto no Ken : Shin Seikimatsu Kyuseishu Densetsu (Megadrive)
  • 1989.07: 北斗の拳 新世紀末救世主伝説  Japan Was reskinned for the West ('90)
  • 1990.XX: Last Battle  United States Kenshiro was redesigned and renamed Aarzak;Batt became Max, Linn became Alyssa, Falco became the Duke and Han, Hyo and Kajou respectively Gromm, Gross, Garokk; the gore was entirely removed (unlicensed by Toei)
  • 1990.XX: Last Battle  Europe as above (unlicensed by Toei)
• Hokuto no Ken 3 : Shin-Seiki Souzou Seikenretsuden (Famicom by Toei Animation/Shouei System)
  • 1989.10: 北斗の拳3 新世紀創造 凄拳列伝  Japan
• Hokuto no Ken : Seizetsu Juban Shobu (Game Boy, by Toei Animation/Nintendo)
  • 1989.12: 北斗の拳 凄絶十番勝負  Japan
  • 19XX.XX: Fist of the North Star  United States
• Hokuto no Ken 4 : Shichisei Hakenden Hokuto Shinken no Kanata e (Famicom, by Toei Animation)
  • 1991.03: 北斗の拳4 七星覇拳伝 北斗神拳の彼方へ  Japan

• Hokuto no Ken 5 : Tenma Ryuseiden Ai★Zetsusho (Super Famicom, by Toei Animation)
  • 1992.07: 北斗の拳5 天魔流星伝 哀★絶章  Japan
• Hokuto no Ken 6 : Gekito Denshoken Haou eno Michi (Super Famicom, by Toei Animation)
  • 1992.11: 北斗の拳6 激闘伝承拳 覇王への道  Japan
• Hokuto no Ken 7 : Denshosha eno Michi (Super Famicom, by Toei Animation)
  • 1993.12: 北斗の拳7 伝承者への道  Japan
• Hokuto no Ken (Sega Saturn by Banpresto)
  • 1995.12: 北斗の拳  Japan
• Hokuto no Ken (PlayStation by Banpresto)
  • 1996.08: 北斗の拳  Japan
• Punch Mania ~Hokuto no Ken~ (Arcade, by Konami)
  • 2000.03: パンチマニア ～北斗の拳～  Japan
  • 2000.XX: Fighting Mania ~Fist Of The North Star~  United States
• Hokuto no Ken : Seikimatsu Kyuseishu Densetsu (PlayStation, by Bandai)
  • 2000.10: 北斗の拳 世紀末救世主伝説  Japan
• Punch Mania ~Hokuto no Ken 2 Gekitou Shura no Kuni Hen~ (Arcade, by Konami)
  • 2000.12: パンチマニア ～北斗の拳2 激闘 修羅の国編～  Japan
• Typing Ougi Hokuto no Ken Gekiuchi (PC/MAC)
  • XXXX.XX: タイピング奥義　北斗の拳　激打  Japan
• Typing Ougi Hokuto no Ken Gekiuchi SE (PC/MAC)
  • XXXX.XX: タイピング奥義　北斗の拳　激打 (SE)  Japan
• Typing Haou Hokuto no Ken Gekiuchi 2 (PC/MAC)
  • XXXX.XX: タイピング覇王　北斗の拳　激打 2  Japan
• Typing Shuugyou Hokuto no Ken Gekiuchi Zero (PC/MAC)
  • XXXX.XX: タイピング奥義　北斗の拳　激打 Zero  Japan
• Typing Hyakuretsuken Hokuto no Ken Gekiuchi 3 (PC/MAC)
  • XXXX.XX: タイピング百裂拳　北斗の拳　激打 3  Japan
• Hokuto no Ken Mobile (i-mode, EZweb, Vodafone, by Square-Enix)
  • 2003.XX: 北斗の拳  Japan service available in Japan only
• Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.11 Hokuto no Ken (PlayStation 2, by Sega)
  • 2004.03: SEGA AGES 2500 シリーズ Vol.11 北斗の拳  Japan Bundled w/Mark III version ('86)
• Jissen PachiSlot Hisshou Hou! PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken (PlayStation 2, by Sammy)
  • 2004.05: 実戦パチスロ必勝法! PACHISLOT北斗の拳 通常版/限定版  Japan Normal & Limited editions
• Jissen PachiSlot Hisshou Hou! PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken Plus (PlayStation 2, by Sega/Sammy)
  • 2005.02: 実戦パチスロ必勝法! PACHISLOT北斗の拳 Plus 通常版/限定版  Japan Normal & L.E.
• Jissen PachiSlot Hisshou Hou! PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken DS (Nintendo DS, by Sega/Sammy)
  • 2005.02: 実戦パチスロ必勝法! PACHISLOT北斗の拳 DS  Japan
• Jissen PachiSlot Hisshou Hou! PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken Portable (Sony PSP, by Sega/Sammy)
  • 2005.06: 実戦パチスロ必勝法! PACHISLOT北斗の拳 ポータブル  Japan
• Jissen Pachinko Hisshou Hou! CR Hokuto no Ken (PlayStation 2, by Sega/Sammy)
  • 2005.12: 実戦パチンコ必勝法! CR北斗の拳  Japan Based on the Denshou & Kyouteki pachinko
• Hokuto no Ken (Arcade, by Sega)
  • 2005.12: 北斗の拳  Japan Atomis Wave mainboard by Sammy
• Hokuto no Ken Online (Windows XP by GungHo Online Entertainment)
  • 2006.XX: 北斗の拳オンライン(仮)  Japan Temporary named MMORPG

Game peripherals

• PachiSlot Controller (PlayStation 2, by Sega)
  • 2005.07: 実戦パチスロコントローラ  Japan PachiSlot special peripheral
• Jissen PachiSlot Controller Mini (PlayStation 2, PlayStation by Sega Logistic Services)
  • 2005.07: 実戦パチスロコントローラ mini  Japan PachiSlot special peripheral
• Jan Jan Bari Bari Pachinko Controller (PlayStation, 2 by Sega Logistic Services)
  • 2005.12: ジャンジャンバリバリ パチンココントローラ  Japan Pachinko special peripheral

Pachislot machines

• PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken Kenshiroh version (by Sammy)
  • 2003.XX: PACHISLOT北斗の拳 ケンシロウ・バージョン  Japan
• PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken Raoh version (by Sammy)
  • 2003.XX: PACHISLOT北斗の拳 ラオウ・バージョン  Japan
• PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken Battle version (by Sammy)
  • 2003.XX: PACHISLOT北斗の拳 バトル・バージョン  Japan
• PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken Yuria version (by Sammy)
  • 2003.XX: PACHISLOT北斗の拳 ユリア・バージョン  Japan

Pachinko machines

• CR Hokuto no Ken (Sammy)
  • 2002.XX: CR 北斗の拳  Japan
• CR Hokuto no Ken Denshou (Sammy)
  • 2005.XX: CR 北斗の拳 伝承  Japan Blue model bearing Kenshiro
• CR Hokuto no Ken Kyouteki (Sammy)
  • 2005.XX: CR 北斗の拳 強敵  Japan Red model bearing Raoh

Trivia

• The Mad Max movies were the inspiration for the art design of Hokuto no Ken. Mel Gibson's character Max Rockatansky (Mad Max) was the inspiration for Kenshiro. The character Spade is almost identical to The Road Warrior's villain Wez. Spade first appeared in Tetsuo Hara's manga Mad Fighter. Virginia Hey's Woman Warrior character (The Road Warrior) is very similar to Mamiya, the both of them using a crossbow, having long red hair and wearing comparable clothes.
• Bruce Lee was also an inspiration for Kenshiro. Karate champion Chuck Norris, aka Bruce Lee's rival in Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon), was probably a strong inspiration for Shin—the physical similarities (moves, kicks, stature, haircut and profile) are striking in the motion captured Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 11 game. Also in the Mark III version, Shin's bouncy steps are those of Chuck Norris in the Colosseum when he tries to imitate Bruce Lee's footwork.
• In the mid-1980's Hokuto no Ken featured a remarkable number of characters with art designs plainly based on contemporary Western celebrities, including but not limited to Richard Gere, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, the Road Warriors Animal and Hawk, Dolph Lundgren, and Sylvester Stallone (Kenshiro himself, making him at this point a composite of Bruce Lee, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone; in the first Shura Island story arc, Ken is often seen in black leather and sunglasses, imitating Stallone in Cobra).
• Kenshiro's saying お前はもう死んでいる (omae wa mou shindeiru) means "You are already dead". Please note that "omae" is not a polite way to address someone.
• There was a legitimate public outcry with the violence of the series in Japan when the original full length movie was first released (since the series was marketed towards young boys).
• In the first series of 109 episodes the deaths and violence was not much above par for shonen anime at the time. However the overwhelming gratuitous violence of the movie forced the second anime version of the series to edit out most of the blood and violent deaths. In a similar vein, the Fighting Mania games only vagely show the death scenes of the anime and manga
• Shin Hokuto No Ken (New Fist of the North Star) is set after the end of the manga and anime series since Kenshiro made several refereences to Raoh's teenage son and that Lynn and Batt are nowhere to be seen (it is suggested that they ended up married).
• Hong Kong one time published a Chinese version of the weekly comic with the same name, however the quality was not up to par with the original and hence disappeared quickly in Hong Kong market.
• In France, the actors in charge of the dubbing were so offended by the serie's violence that, after a few episodes, they agreed to continue the work only if they could actually turn it into a spoof : this resulted in a totally over-the-top French dubbing, complete with idiotic puns, grotesque one-liners, and extreme overacting by all performers. The French dubbed version has a cult following for that specific reason. The final ten episodes, which were not shown on French television but only got a DVD release, have a normal dubbing made by other actors. The French adaptation of the Hokuto No Ken manga did not suffer the same treatment as the anime, and was preserved in its authentic form.
• Fist of the North Star is one of the most parodized works in mangaka and doujin circles, for example:
  • In Abenobashi, Sasshi, the male protagonist, must fight against a kung-fu fighting alternate version of his best friend's French-obsessed dad, and is trained by a panda until his weakling frame grows so big and strong it's identical to Kenshiro's, complete with the torso scars and all. He ends up losing his hulking visage in a comedic way, of course.
  • In episode 8 of Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), Onizuka parodies Kenshiro by drawing seven stars on his chest and attacking a thug with Kenshiro's trademark "Hokuto Hyakku-Retsu Ken" (Or Hundred Crack fist of Hokuto) complete with trademark battle-cries.
  • The "Shinken" concept is regularly referenced/parodied in the comedy manga (also published in Weekly Jump) and anime (also made by Toei) Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, starting with Bo-bobo's style "Hanage Shinken" ("True Skill of the Nose Hair", since the first kanji has been changed from 神, which can be read as "shin" and stand for "God", and 真, also read as "shin" but stand for "True").
  • In School Rumble, Harima Kenji is shown drawing a comic of himself as Kenshiro while he battles Karasuma (as Shin) for the Tenma's (as Yuria) love.
  • In the Game Boy Advance video game Double Dragon Advance, Billy and Jimmy Lee strike similar poses like Kenshiro during the cut-scenes.
  • In volume 7 of Eichirou Oda's One Piece, a chef's knife has the Japanese writing for "Hokuto no Ken" on it.
  • The game Final Fight Revenge contains an homage to Hokuto no Ken. In one of Cody's victory poses, he walks away from his defeated opponent and says, "You're already dead." His opponent is then struck by a series of attacks and falls down.
  • In the anime Gantz, Kato is telling Fist of the North star as a bedtime story for his little brother and imitates the famous atatatatata ta sound and quotes the お前はもう死んでいる (You're already dead) catchphrase.
  • In The Super Milk-chan Show the characters watch a show called "Police of the North Star" which has the catch phrase "you're already arrested."
  • The four Project A-Ko films feature a teenaged schoolgirl named Mari, who sports the same eyebrows and steely gaze as Kenshiro. She also utilizes the "Southern Cross Fist of the Okugi School" and informs people that they are about to die before using the technique. Like Kenshiro, her muscles bulge and rip her shirt when she becomes enraged.
• Both Taiwan and Korea have illegally produced live-action adaptations of Hokuto No Ken.
• Most grunts utter nonsensical words as they explode after being hit by Hokuto Shin Ken. One famous example, "hidebu" (ひでぶ), which Heart utters, became a famous catchphrase in Japan. Buronson explains that "hidebu" is originally intended to be "itebu" (いてぶ), which is an invented portmanteau of "ite" ("it hurts") and the sound of a fat man exploding, but was read as "hidebu" because of his bad writing.
• Japanese wrestler Jushin "Thunder" Liger invented the high-flying wrestling maneuver the shooting star press based on a move performed by Jagi in the manga.
• WWE wrestler John Cena stated on a segment of WWE's "5 Questions" that the 1986 movie compilation was his favorite animated feature film.

See also

• List of animated feature films

Media link

• Ai o torimodose 40-sec sample - Opening theme performed by Crystal King
• Hokuto no Ken The Movie trailer - Video trailer for the theatrical edition (not recommended for children)
• Hokuto no Ken 2 TV series teaser - Video teaser for the TV series sequel (not recommended for children)
• Jissen PachiSlot Hisshou Hou! Hokuto no Ken Plus w/PachiSlot Controller (black edition) Trailer - PachiSlot Plus game for PlayStation 2
• CR Hokuto no Ken trailer - Footage from the pachinko machine

External links

• Hokuto no Ken official website  Japan - The franchise's mainsite
• Shin Hokuoto no Ken official Toei Video website  Japan - Dedicated to the new OVA series
• Hokuto no Ken AtomisWave game official website (Sega 2005)  Japan - Sega's 2D fighting game running on a Sammy mainboard
• PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2003)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot machine
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou Portable Hokuto no Ken official website (Sega 2005)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for PSP
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou DS Hokuto no Ken official website (Sega 2005)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for NDS
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2004)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for PS2
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou Hokuto no Ken Plus official website (Sammy 2004)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for PS2
• CR Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2004)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachinko machine
• CR Hokuto no Ken Denshou/Kyouteki official website (Sammy 2005)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachinko machine
• Pachinko Hisshou Hou CR Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2005)  Japan - Dedicated to the pachinko game for PS2
• Punch Mania Hokuto no Ken official website (Konami 2000)  Japan - Dedicated to the arcade machine
• Punch Mania Hokuto no Ken 2 official website (Konami 2000)  Japan - Dedicated to the arcade machine
• Toei Anime Special Hokuto no Ken  Japan - BroadBand VOD service
• Hokuto no Ken mobile game official website (Square/Enix 2003)  Japan - Dedicated to the mobile game
• 北斗練気闘座 世紀末拳法流派 (Hokuto Renkitouza Waza List) - Exhaustive moves list
• Gashapon Collection Reference - Fist of the North Star Page  United States
• hokutonokentoy.com  United States - A site dedicated to all the great action figures the series has produced
• Fist of the North Star ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Hokuto Bloodline  United States - International Hokuto no Ken Community

• Manga series
• Fist of the North Star
• Anime dubbed into English
• Post-apocalyptic fiction
• Dystopian fiction
• Adventure anime
• Adventure manga
• Drama anime
• Drama manga
• Martial arts anime
• Martial arts manga
• Romance anime
• Romance manga
• Science fiction anime
• Science fiction manga