Fist of the Blue Sky
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| Fist of the Blue Sky | |
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| 蒼天の拳 (Souten no Ken) |
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| Genre | Historical fiction, Action, Drama |
| Manga: Fist of the Blue Sky | |
| Authored by | Tetsuo Hara |
| Publisher |  Shinchosha |
| Serialized in | Comic Bunch Raijin Comics (2004) |
| Original run | May 2001 – ongoing |
| No. of volumes | currently 16 |
| TV anime : Fist of the Blue Sky | |
| Directed by | Yoshihiro Yamaguchi |
| Studio | Souten Studio |
| Network | TV Asahi |
| Original run | October 4, 2006 – March 14, 2007 |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
Fist of the Blue Sky (蒼天の拳, Souten No Ken) is a prequel to Tetsuo Hara and Buronson manga and anime Fist of the North Star series, authored by Tetsuo Hara and supervised by Buronson.[1] It stars Kenshiro's predecessor (and Ryuken's older brother) Kasumi Kenshiro, 62nd inheritor of Hokuto Shinken or "God Fist of the North Star." Instead of a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-like landscape, the story takes places in actual historical setting in the 1930s Shanghai, China during the Second Sino-Japanese war.
Beginning publication in 2001, the series reached its 16th volume tankōbon in publication in Japan on February 9, 2007. An animated version aired from October 4, 2006 to March 14, 2007.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The main protagonist of this story is Kasumi Kenshiro, better known as "Yan Wang" or "The King of Death" (derived from the myth Yan Luo Wang), Kasumi is a laid back and chain-smoking Tokyo professor who possesses the deadly Chinese assassin martial art Hokuto Shinken (Kasumi's personality is different from Kenshiro) who travels to Shanghai after hearing the news of his Triad friend Pan Guang-Lin and his sister Yu-Ling (Kasumi's love interest) are in trouble.
In Shanghai, Kasumi has to fight the three Hokuto families like Hokuto Sonkaken, Hokuto Sōkaken, and Hokuto Ryūkaken (based on the royal families of Romance of the Three Kingdoms). At the same time Kasumi has to help Pan's "Qing Bang" Triad gang against the immoral "Hong-Hua" Triads in gaining territory and influence of Shanghai.
Many of the plot points mentioned in the comic contain some real historical facts, like how Shanghai was controlled with International Settlements (the story focus mainly on the French settlement) during the 1930s. Also seen are Jewish refugees who escaped from Nazi persecution in Europe, and the invasion of China by the Japanese Army. Chiang Kai Shek and some real historical Kuomingtang figures appear in the story as well.
Tetsuo Hara wanted the fights in the manga to look more traditional Chinese martial arts, so the action is somewhat faster and more detailed than those in Fist of the North Star. Hara went to Shanghai in person to get his inspiration.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Hokuto Shin Ken （北斗神拳）
"Big Dipper God Fist"
- Kenshirō Kasumi （霞拳志郎, Kasumi Kenshirō） (character voice Kōichi Yamadera)
- Main character. 62nd successor to Hokuto Shin Ken. Known in Shanghai as "Yán Wáng" （閻王, En'ō）. Loves smoking cigarettes, reading, and has a good smelling instinct. His fighting technique is similar to Toki, in which he fight in a fluid and smooth fighting style. In Japan, he's a lecturer at a women's university.
- Ramon Kasumi （霞羅門, Kasumi Ramon） (c.v. Takashi Kondō (young) / Mugihito (old))
- Kenshiro's younger brother, destined to become Fist of the North Star's Ryūken, 63rd successor of Hokuto Shin Ken. (Who later adopted Kenshiro, Raoh, Toki and Jagi). It was revealed that he named the baby Kenshiro (from Hokuto No Ken), as an honoring to his brother Kasumi Kenshiro and also he bears a similar resemblance to his late brother.
- Tesshin Kasumi （霞鉄心, Kasumi Tesshin）
- Father of Kenshirō and Ramon; he was the 61st successor of Hokuto Shin Ken. He once fought Wèi Ruì-Yīng, founder of Kyoku Jūji Sei Ken, to a draw. Tesshin remarked that Ruì-Yīng may have been able to defeat him had he not lost a leg.
[edit] Hokuto Sanka Ken （北斗三家拳）
The "Three Big Dipper Clan Fists". The three clans are branches of the original Hokuto Shin Ken formed during the Three Kingdoms period in China to act as secret guardians of the royal families of each of the three kingdoms.
[edit] Hokuto Sonka Ken （北斗孫家拳）
"Big Dipper Sūn Family Fist"
- Máng Kuáng-Yún (芒狂雲, Bō Kyōun) (c.v. Kiyoyuki Yanada)
- Also known as Líng-Wáng (靈王, Reiō). Mastered the forbidden art of "Pressure Point Displacement". He was the one that took Pan Yu-Ling's memory because he fell in love with her, but also because he thinks this is a fitting punishment to Kenshiro. He got his wish to "fight someone worthy of taking my life" granted by the Old Taoist Fortune Teller. He was already dying from a slow decaying death from his self inflicted pressure points by then.
- Charles de Guise (シャルル・ド・ギーズ, shärl di-'gēz) (c.v. Taiten Kusunoki)
- A French Jew and colonel in the French army that works with the Qing-Bang. Although he knows Sonka Ken, he prefers using conventional fighting methods like guns and swords. He has a sister, Sophie, who suffered trauma resulting in memory suppression due to her experinces in escaping from Nazi Germany as her husband (a non-Jewish German who was prohibited from marrying her by Nazi law) got sent to a concentration camp. When she regained her memory by Kenshiro's acupressure, she was assassinated by Zhang Tai Yan. De Guise was eventually killed by Liú Fēi-Yàn when he was deemed unfit to take care of Erika.
[edit] Hokuto Sōka Ken （北斗曹家拳）
"Big Dipper Cáo Family Fist"
- Zhāng Tài-Yán (張太炎 Chō Taien) (c.v. Hōchū Ōtsuka)
- The Hóng Huá Huì's No.2 man. Has a big sex drive, although he appeared laid back, he can be destructive when angered, his attacks are based on cutting and slicing with his hands. He assassinated Charles de Guise's little sister with a time bomb. Later on he became the new Master of Hokuto Sōka Ken after a showdown fight with his Father and earned his approval.
- Zhāng Dà-Yán (章大厳 Shō Daigen) (c.v. Seizō Katō)
- Master of the Sōka Ken. Father of the Hong Hua Hui boss, Zhāng Liè-Shān. He killed Zhang Tai Yan's mother but spared Zhāng Tài-Yán's life when he tried to commit suicide. Noticing the young Tài-Yán's talent, he adopted him and trained him in Soka Ken. Eventually Dà-Yán passed on the title of Sōka Ken Master to Tài-Yán after Tài-Yán defeated him. However, Dà-Yán then died as a result of injuries from the fight.
- Wǔchāmén-Dǎng (五叉門党 Goshamon-Tō)
- An order of monks who serve Zhāng Tài-Yán. Each is known only by the number of stars they have tattooed on their heads.
[edit] Hokuto Ryūka Ken （北斗劉家拳）
"Big Dipper Liú Family Fist". Same style as Hokuto Ryū Ken （北斗琉拳） from Fist of the North Star.
- Liú Zōng-Wǔ （劉宗武, Ryū Sōbu）
- Driven by for revenge for his dead family, Zōng-Wǔ turned evil and joined the Nazis as a German army officer even though he is Chinese. He had the chance to kill Adolf Hitler, but didn't because he felt Hitler is too pitiful a prey for him to kill.
- Xià Wén-Lì （夏文麗, Ka Bunrei）
- Liú Zōng-Wǔ's former lover. She had her breasts ripped off by him when she attempted to dissuade him from joining the Nazis. She then became a Buddhist nun, but in spite of what Zōng-Wǔ did she still loves him deeply.
- Jūkei （ジュウケイ）
- An orphan young boy whose sister was killed. He will eventually become the Hokuto Ryū Ken master from Fist of the North Star.
[edit] Kyoku Jūji Sei Ken （極十字聖拳）
"Southern Cross Holy Fist". Not related to Nanto Sei Ken from Fist of the North Star, it's actually an offshoot of Hokuto Ryūka Ken.
- Wèi Ruì-Yīng （魏瑞鷹, Gi Zuiyō）
- The grubby founder of Kyoku Jūji Sei Ken. Ruì-Yīng was at first the most promising student of Hokuto Ryūka Ken of his generation, but left after he become disgruntled since he considered all other practitioners of Ryūka Ken too weak by his standards. When he left he asked his Hokuto Ryūka Ken master for the right to challenge Hokuto Shin Ken in order to become the strongest Hokuto Master, but was refused. He then fought his own master but was hit with a poisoned arrow in the leg during the process, which he then chopped off. Wèi Ruì-Yīng later fought Kasumi Tesshin, Kenshirō's father and 61st successor of Hokuto Shin Ken, to a draw.
- Biāo Bái-Fèng （彪白鳳, Hyō Hakuhō）
- Wèi Ruì-Yīng's elder student. Prepared for death, he challenged Kenshiro, but was shot to death by the Nazis before their actual duel.
- Liú Fēi-Yàn （流飛燕, Ryū Hien）
- Wèi Ruì-Yīng's second student. Nicknamed the Death Bird Demon (死鳥鬼, Sǐ Niǎo Guǐ), he befriended Erika and risked his life to protect her. He killed Charles de Guise because he thought de Guise cannot bear the responsibility of protecting Erika.
[edit] Seito Gek Ken （西斗月拳）
"West Dipper Moon Fist". A martial art of the Yuezhi people. Shuken studied this martial art and blended it with his Hokuto Sōke no Ken to create Hokuto Shin Ken.
- Yasaka (ヤサカ) - A mysterious green-eyed warrior. A decendant of the Yuezhi whom carries their nearly 2000-year grudge against the Hokuto. Works as a bodyguard for Dù Tiān-Fēng. Claims his name is ancient Hebrew for "to see God".
- Yahma (ヤーマ) - a female practitioner from 2000 years ago that was the lover of Shuken.
[edit] Qīng Bāng（青幫）
Qīng Bāng (青幇, Chinpan) is the Shanghai "Green Gang".
- Pān Guāng-Lín （潘光琳, Han Kōrin） (c.v. Masaki Terasoma)
- Leader of the Qīng Bāng, also close friend of Kenshiro. While Kenshiro was away from Shanghai, his Triad gang members were killed one by one. He was tortured for a period of time by the Hong Hua, thus losing his feet from flesh eating rats. Kenshiro saved his life by amputating his already poisoned feet. He now walks with two prosthetic iron shoes.
- Pān Yù-Líng （潘玉玲, Han Gyokurei） (c.v. Aya Hisakawa)
- Pān Guāng-Lín's sister and Kenshirō's girlfriend. She had her memory erased by Máng Kuáng-Yún for a time period, and was adopted by a nomad warlord in Northern China and became the horse bandit leader Lǐ Xiù-Bǎo (李秀寶, Ri Shūhō) fighting small guerilla battles against the Imperial Japanese Army, gaining a sense of hatred against the Japanese. She also learned some Praying Mantis martial art. She eventually regains her memories in Shanghai after meeting Kenshiro again, and soon marries him. After Guāng-Lín was crippled in a failed assassination attempt, she succeeds her brother as leader of the Qīng Bāng.
- Yáng Měi-Yù (楊美玉, Yan Bigyoku) (c.v. Sayaka Ōhara)
- Pān Guāng-Lín's actress girlfriend.
- Yè （葉, Yō） (c.v. Kinryu Arimoto)
- Nicknamed "Two-Pistol Yè". He was horribly burned by the Hóng Huá Huì and disfigured. He was probably modelled after the character Darkman (Tetsuo Hara is known to use pop icons in his comics).
- Yè Zi-Yīng (葉子英, Yō Shiei) (c.v. Yūdai Satō)
- Son of Yè, a streetwise kid (around 12-14 year old) also a sidekick of Kenshiro, he is reminiscent of Bat from Fist of the North Star.
- Lǐ Yǒng-Jiàn (李永健, Ri Eiken) (c.v. Umeji Sasaki)
- Worked as an assassin for the secret society Qīng-Bāng and was called The Sleeping Dragon (睡龍, Shuì-Lóng). A good friend of Kenshirō Kasumi. Years later, the old man worked as a food taster for Emperor Pu-Yi and traveled with him to Japan. He was captured by the Hóng-Huá Society and was interrogated as to the whereabouts of Yán-Wáng . Even when they cut off his toes, he refused to tell them anything. Died in the first issue from illness.
[edit] Hóng Huá Huì （紅華會）
Shanghai's evil "Red Flower Gang" (紅華会, Kōkakai). Most of them were maimed in some way by Kenshiro during a previous visit to Shanghai prior to the start of the series. Based on the real life Shanghai Red Gang (紅幫 Hóng Bāng).
- Zhāng Liè-Shān （章烈山, Shō Retsuzan）
- The gigantic leader of the Hóng Huá Society. He is the son of the Hokuto Sōka Ken master, Zhāng Dà-Yán, and Zhāng Tài-Yán's older half-brother. He is also a general in the Kuomingtang army (reflecting real historical support the Kuomingtang received from various Triad gangs), but works in secret with Chinese communist groups as well to his own benefit. His father did not train him in Hokuto Sōka Ken, but due to his giant stature and overwhelming physical strength he is still deadly wielding a pair of matching giant sai.
- Huáng Xī-Fēi （黄西飛, Kō Seihi） (c.v. Yōsuke Akimoto)
- The Number Three Boss after Zhāng Liè-Shān & Zhāng Tài-Yán. Due to injuries he suffered at the fists of Kasumi Kenshiro, he must wear a metal contraption on the left side of his head and body. Whenever he moves he always shouts, "A-I-TA!" in pain.
- Wú Dōng-Lái （吳東來, Go Tōrai） (c.v. Chafurin)
- The Number Four Boss comes from the province of Canton. Due to injuries he suffered at the fists of Yán Wáng, he is wheelchair-bound and must wear a metal contraption with a crank to raise and lower his head. Jumpy and triggerhappy, he'll shoot anything that bothers him. A slovenly womanizer, Wu desired Pān Guāng-Lín's actress girlfriend Yáng Měi-Yù. The insanely jealous Wu held Pan in his dungeon, intending to use him as the "tiger-meat" in his "Dragon-Tiger Stew". Wu never got the chance, because Yan-Wang knocked Wu into his own boiling cauldron, killing him.
- Chén Jùan-Mín （陳狷民, Chin Kenmin） (c.v. Issei Futamata)
- Nicknamed "Weasel" Chén, he has a metal hand.
- Píng Yīng-Zhèng （憑英正, Hyō Eisei） (c.v. Katsuhisa Houki)
- Has a metal jaw. Shot to death by Yè.
- Mù Dà-Hóng (沐大洪, Moku Daikō) (c.v. Masuo Amada)
- Wears dark glasses and has a metal plate on his head. Shot to death by Yè.
- Tián Xué-Fāng （田學芳, Den Gakuhō）(c.v. Minoru Inaba)
- Once nicknamed Shuǐ Hǔ Tian for the bald patch atop his head, he now wears a heavy iron toupee. Died from drowning in a bath house after Kenshiro disabled his arms and legs.
[edit] Others
- Aisin-Gioro Puyi （愛新覺羅溥儀, Aishinkakura Fugi） (c.v. Hiroshi Yanaka)
- Former emperor of China, then emperor of Manchukuo. Purely a puppet of the Japanese Empire, the neurotic Puyi becomes terrified of being assassinated. On April 6 1935, Puyi came to Japan under the cover of a "Japan-Manchuria Friendship Envoy" to employ the legendary Hokuto Shin Ken successor Yan-Wang as his bodyguard.
- Jīn Kè-Róng (金克榮, Kin Katsuei) (c.v. Ryūzaburō Ōtomo)
- The Captain of the first regiment of Puyi's Imperial Guard, and is known as the "Fist Hero of Hebei". He is a master of Bājíquán, and fights with a metal fan. Years ago, when was working as a bodyguard in Shanghai he was scarred in a fight with Kenshirō Kasumi.
- "The Taoist" （道士, Dōshi） (c.v. Masaru Ikeda)
- A mystical old fortune teller, who appears time to time out of nowhere to talk to (or sometimes taunt) Kenshiro. Other people may or may not notice his appearance or existence, as he seems to possess some kind of mysterious ability to make bystanders forget about him. He gave a "fate medallion" to Kenshiro as a flip coin to help him make a decision when facing a serious dilemma. He also grants worthy people connected to the Hokuto clan a wish about their fate. His identity and agenda have yet to be revealed.
- Erika Arendt (エリカ・アレント)
- A Jewish girl with a photographic memory, Erika has a catalogue of Jewish people called "The List of Hope" memorized. Nazis pursue her to get this information, and she comes under the protection of Liú Fēi-Yàn.
- Horse Bandits (馬賊, Bazoku)
- A group of lawless non-Han Chinese bandits roaming in the countryside whom later hired by the Hong Hua Triads to cause chaos in Shanghai. They adopted Yu-Ling when her memory was erased.
[edit] Various Look-a-likes
Tetsuo Hara's has a habit of using real life famous pop icons in his artworks, here is a rough list of famous character that he borrowed from.
- A barman that looks like Rowan Atkinson.
- A kickboxer that resemble Mike Tyson.
- Ye's bandaged face and his clothing look similar to Darkman.
- The horse bandits looks like bandits from any Spaghetti Western movies.
[edit] Trivia
- Kasumi Kenshirō's full name was originally used in the pilot version of the Hokuto no Ken manga. However, the protagonist of Souten no Ken (蒼天の拳?), is written with these Kanji: 霞拳志郎. The name of the protagonist of the Hokuto no Ken (北斗の拳?) pilot is written slightly differently: 霞拳四郎.
- Given the time period of Kenshiro's birth in 197X and the apocalypse started in 199X, his true age is up to debate amongs the reader. If Kenshiro was born in late 1970 and the Apocalypse started in the early 1990s Kenshiro was probably a young teenager and thus the world that Kenshiro lived as a saviour happened later. However if Kenshiro was born in the mid 1970's and the apocalypse started in mid 1990's Kenshiro was in his early 20 when he first met Lynn and Bat.
- Historically one of the reason that Liú Zōng-Wǔ could become a German Nazi officer although he is Chinese was that during the early 20th Century, China was in a semi alliance with Germany. In which both country relied heavily on each other for exchanging raw materials from China while Germany provide advisors and technology. Also the use of C96 guns and the Potato Masher hand grenade can be seen throughout the manga. Also Chiang Kai-Shek son Chiang Wei-Kuo was officially a graduate of German Wermacht.
[edit] External links
- Fist of the Blue Sky at the Internet Movie Database
- Anime Souten no Ken Official Homepage (Japanese)
- Comic Bunch - Coamix (Japanese)
- Universal Pictures DVD (Japanese)
