Kenshiro

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Kenshiro is a male anime and manga character who features in Fist of the North Star.

Contents

Biography

Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken v1 #1.

Kenshiro (Japanese: ケンシロウ, Hepburn: Kenshirō) was the youngest of four adopted sons that were to be trained by the Hokuto Shinken master Ryuken. As a child, he was sent to Japan, along with Raoh and his brother Toki in order to escape from their homeland which was the war-torn Land of Asura. Along with Raoh, Toki and a fourth student named Jagi, Kenshiro, the youngest of the four, was trained in the art of Hokuto Shinken and eventually named successor by Ryuken.

After the nuclear war of 199X and the death of Ryuken, Kenshiro left with his fiancée Yuria in orer to find a future for themselves in the post-apocalyptic world. However, this was curtailed by Shin, a rival from the Nanto Koshū Ken school, who defeated Kenshiro and engraved the trademark seven scars on his chest, before kidnapping Yuria for himself.

Kenshiro survived his ordeal and spent the next year wandering the wasteland for revenge. During this time, he developed the killer instinct needed to survive in the war-torn age and befriended two young orphans, Bat and Lin, who followed him on his journey. He discovered that Shin had assumed the title of 'King' and was leader of the eponymous KING organization. After defeating Shin's four generals, he infiltrated his capital city, Southern Cross, to settle things once and for all. Driven by his new strength, Kenshiro soundly defeated Shin but he was too late to rescue Yuria. Before his death, Shin revealed that Yuria had already committed suicide to stop his violent ambition. Refusing to die from Kenshiro's technique, Shin leapt to his death from his palace balcony, as Yuria did before him. Kenshiro continued to roam the wasteland, never staying at one place for long, as the curse of Hokuto leaves only chaos in its wake. He made a career of destroying those who preyed on the weak and innocent, such as Golan, Jackal and the Fang Clan, which earned him a reputation as a savior among the people. He also discovered that his three older brothers and fellow Hokuto Shinken practitioners: Jagi, Toki and Raoh, had all survived the nuclear holocaust. Jagi, the second-youngest, had long hated Kenshiro and was now committing acts of carnage in his name. It was also revealed that Jagi manipulated Shin into taking Yuria, as well as murdered Rei's parents and abducted his sister. Kenshiro caught up with Jagi and subjected him to a gruesome death. Afterwards, Kenshiro fought against his second-oldest brother, Toki, who had succumbed to madness after the apocalypse, when in actual fact this was Amiba, a jealous rival of Toki who was impersonating him. The real Toki was imprisoned at Cassandra by Raoh, the eldest brother, who had taken the title Ken-Oh (拳王 King of Fists) and aimed to bring order to the world by force. With the help of Rei and Mamiya, Kenshiro toppled the great prison and was reunited with Toki. Toki would become a valuable ally to Kenshiro and intervened during his first fight with Raoh, as the two were on the verge of killing one another.

Kenshiro joined forces with Shu, leader of a guerrilla group against Souther, the Holy Emperor and master of Nanto Hōō Ken, who enslaved children to build his empire. Kenshiro was defeated by Souther when his vital point attacks had no effect on Souther's body. On the brink of death, Kenshiro was rescued by Shu's son, Shiva, who gave his life to aid his escape. However, in retaliation, Souther stormed the rebel hideout and had Shu executed at the summit of the Holy Pyramid. During their rematch, Kenshiro uncovered Souther's secret: the position of his heart and his vital points were reversed. Kenshiro took pity on Souther's tragic past and killed him with a merciful technique, bringing an end to the Holy Emperor's reign.

With the final battle with Raoh drawing closer, the mysterious Last Nanto General emerged to challenge Raoh's conquest. The Nanto General's real identity is revealed to be none other than Yuria, Kenshiro's betrothed. She had been saved by the Nanto Goshasei after attempting suicide at Shin's palace and her survival kept a secret to protect her from Raoh. Kenshiro fights Raoh using the ultimate Hokuto Shinken technique Musou Tensei, drawing on his profound sadness to make Raoh tremble in fear. However, Raoh kidnaps Yuria during his escape and prepares to kill the woman he loves if it will grant him the same power. Kenshiro and Raoh have their final battle at the Hokuto Renkitōza, with Raoh having killed Yuria to unlock Musou Tensei. Kenshiro's greater understanding of life and death gives him the edge over his older brother and leads him to victory. Yuria awakens after the battle, as Raoh had actually put her in a false state of death when he realized she was terminally ill. After Raoh's death, Kenshiro spends his next few years living in peace with Yuria, whose disease had been subdued by Raoh's power.

Afterwards, Kenshiro went about teaming up with the adult Bat and Lin, who have formed the Hokuto Army to oppose the tyrannical Jakou and his Imperial forces. The story eventually takes Kenshiro to his birthplace, the Land of Shura, where he learns of his heritage and fights against the warlords who oppress the land. This includes his estranged blood-brother, Hyoh, and the sinister Kaioh, Raoh's other blood-brother. The final story arcs of the manga (which were not adapted for the television series) see Kenshiro taking Raoh's orphaned son, Ryu, under his wing before continuing on his own where he settles the love triangle between himself, Bat and Lin. At the end, Kenshiro heads into the desert alone to fulfill his destiny as the Hokuto Shinken successor.

Overview

Personality and attributes

He came to receive seven scars that were engraved on his chest and formed the shape of the Big Dipper leading to him being known as the Man with Seven Scars (七つの傷の男, Nanatsu no Kizu no Otoko). Whilst wandering the post-disaster Earth, he came to be known as the Savior of the Century's End (世紀末救世主, Seikimatsu Kyūseishu). Due to his martial arts skill, he was also known to some of his enemies as the Man of Hokuto.

Kenshiro is extremely selfless, putting himself in harm's way for the innocent and the weak. Kenshiro despises injustice and cruelty wherever he sees it. He is often motivated to go out of his way in his quest for days at a time and for many miles off his path in order to deal with a threat to a local population of innocents.

Although he hates cruelty, Kenshiro is ready to use violence without hesitation. He is also shown to be more openly wrathful on the rare occasions where he does get angry. Rather than deny or attempt to rationalize his feelings, he fully accepts his rage and his wish for revenge. He embraces the motivation they give him, disregarding any moral ambiguity.

He was famous for openly lamenting, if not outright despairing over, the suffering of innocents and the deaths of his few noble enemies.

Kenshiro was also shown to be more openly unhinged on the rare occasions where he does get angry, and rather than deny or attempt to rationalize it, he fully accepts his rage and his wish for revenge, along with the motivation they give him, disregarding any moral ambiguity.

Powers and abilities

It was noted that his sense of taste was sensitive enough to detect poisonous food. He was also capable of mimicking many sounds, including animal cries.

He was trained in the ancient art of assassination called Hokuto Shinken which allowed Kenshiro to defeat his adversaries through use of hidden meridian points. This led to him becoming the 64th Successor of Hokuto Shin Ken.

Notes

  • Kenshiro was created by Tetsuo Hara and Buronson where he featured in the setting of Fist of the North Star.
  • Manga artist Tetsuo Hara was a fan of Hong Kong martial artist Bruce Lee as well as action manga series and the Japanese action film star Yūsaku Matsuda where he combined the appearance and character traits of Lee and Matsuda when he came up with the character design of Kenshiro.
  • Hara and his editor Nobuhiko Horie realized they needed a secret signature martial arts technique, but were at a loss for ideas until Horie browsed a used Chinese book store on Suzuran Street in Jinbōchō, Tokyo.
  • He later found an anecdote of a medical student in China, who, after overstimulating an acupressure point in order to help an eye issue, had instead made the condition worse.
  • Horie believed that destroying bodies by attacking pressure points was perfect for a shōnen manga, as it allowed someone small to take out a much bigger opponent.
  • The editor also derived the manga's title and the name of the technique from a Chinese constellation myth that features two sages, Hokuto and Nanto, the gods of death and life respectively.
  • Horie pictured the manga's protagonist, Kenshiro, as the son of Hokuto.

In other media

Films

Video games

Appearances

  • Fist of the North Star:

External Links

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