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    Fist of the Blue Sky
    File:FistoftheBlueSky1.jpg
    Volume 1 cover
    蒼天の拳
    (Sōten no Ken)
    GenreHistorical fiction, Action, Drama
    Manga
    AuthorTetsuo Hara, Nobuhiko Horie
    PublisherError creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: convert: command not found Shinchosha
    DemographicSeinen
    MagazineError creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: convert: command not found Comic Bunch
    Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: convert: command not found Raijin Comics (2003-2004)
    Original runMay 2001 – ongoing
    Volumescurrently 17
    TV anime
    DirectorYoshihiro Yamaguchi
    StudioSouten Studio
    NetworkError creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: convert: command not found TV Asahi
    Original runOctober 4, 2006 – March 14, 2007
    Episodes26

    Fist of the Blue Sky (蒼天の拳, Sōten no Ken) is a manga series by Tetsuo Hara with plot supervision by Buronson, serialized in the Weekly Comic Bunch since 2001.[1] It is a prequel to the popular 1980s series Fist of the North Star, which Hara originally co-wrote with Buronson. Set primarily in Shanghai during the 1930s, the series centers around the 62nd successor of the Hokuto Shinken style, Kenshiro Kasumi, the namesake and predecessor of Fist of the North Star's own Kenshiro. It has been adapted into a 26-episode anime series that aired from 2006 to 2007.

    Plot overview

    The main protagonist of this story is Kasumi Kenshiro, better known as "Yan Wang" or "The King of Hell" (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 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, the Hokuto Sankaken (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 in Shanghai.

    Many of the plot points mentioned in the comic contain real historical facts, such as 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 historical Kuomingtang figures appear in the story as well.

    Tetsuo Hara wanted the fights in the manga to look more like 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.

    Media information

    Manga

    Fist of the Blue Sky has been in serialization in the Weekly Comic Bunch since the magazine's first issue, published with the cover date of May 29, 2001[2]. New chapters of Sōten no Ken are published irregularly in the magazine. Currently, there are 18 collected volumes (tankobon) of Sōten no Ken published in Japan.[3]

    An English version of Fist of the Blue Sky was serialized in the now-defunct Raijin Comics published by Gutsoon! Entertainment from 2003 and 2004. Only the first four collected volumes of this English edition were released before Gutsoon went out of business. While its art is less "dated" than its predecessor, its more hard-boiled and unapologetically masculine approach to the series was unfortunately believed to be as much of a turn-off to American fans as the original manga's frequent violence mixed with campy fashion. Ironically, Hara's compatriot Buronson has lucked out better domestically with that same gritty style when he worked on Sanctuary and Strain. [At least enough for those titles to finish their U.S. run, anyway.] Also of irony is that Buronson's one-shots-King of Wolves and Japan-seem to do better in the U.S. than either Fist, in spite of them containing more violence than those other manga. No other company has picked up the license yet.

    Also, Fist of the Blue Sky volumes 13-15, mark the first time in history that an unknown American artist, named Jeremy Mauney, was able to work as a full-time assistant illustrator on a popular Japanese manga title. Jeremy's illustration contributions to Fist of the Blue Sky/Fist of the North Star manga also include later volumes of the full color Fist of the North Star: Master Edition and Japanese cell-phone (keitai) versions of Fist of the North Star. Jeremy Mauney was hired by Tetsuo Hara in person only 2 days after Jeremy arrived in Tokyo, Japan. He was then personally trained by Tetsuo Hara and his staff for several months before contributing heavily to Fist of the Blue Sky. Jeremy worked and contributed to the manga series from 2005-2006.

    Japanese volumes

    Vol. Release date [3] ISBN
    01 2001-10-09 ISBN 4-10-771000-9
    02 2001-11-09 ISBN 4-10-771016-5
    03 2002-05-09 ISBN 4-10-771036-X
    04 2002-08-09 ISBN 4-10-771051-3
    05 2003-01-09 ISBN 4-10-771073-4
    06 2003-05-09 ISBN 4-10-771089-0
    07 2003-09-09 ISBN 4-10-771112-9
    08 2004-01-09 ISBN 4-10-771129-3
    09 2004-05-09 ISBN 4-10-771151-X
    10 2004-08-09 ISBN 4-10-771167-6
    11 2004-12-09 ISBN 4-10-771189-7
    12 2005-03-09 ISBN 4-10-771206-0
    13 2005-07-09 ISBN 4-10-771225-7
    14 2006-01-09 ISBN 4-10-771258-3
    15 2006-07-09 ISBN 4-10-771281-8
    16 2007-02-09 ISBN 978-4-10-771318-6
    17 2007-09-08 ISBN 978-4-10-771356-8
    18 2008-03-08 ISBN 978-4-10-771387-2

    English volumes

    Vol. Release date [4] ISBN
    01 2003-06-18 ISBN 0-97-250378-1
    02 2003-09-09 ISBN 1-93-245403-9
    03 2003-11-18 ISBN 1-93-245409-8
    04 2004-03-17 ISBN 1-93-245422-5
    05 Unpublished ISBN 1-93-245433-0

    Anime

    A weekly anime series based on Sōten no Ken aired on Japan's TV Asahi on Thursdays at 2:40am from October 4, 2006 to March 14, 2007. The series has a total of 26 episodes, but only 22 episodes were actually aired on TV. The series was intended to be a full-fledge adaptation of the manga, but truncates the story at the end of Vol. 8. It is believed that the series' low ratings (an average of 1.2) led to the show's cancellation.[5] The complete series has been released on DVD, including unaired episodes and uncensored content. In a bonus interview with executive producer Nobuhiko Horie included in Vol. 9 of the Sōten no Ken DVD release reveals that North Stars Pictures has plans to produce a continuation of the Sōten no Ken anime adaptation.

    Episodes

    No. Episode Title Airdate
    1 "Wanted - the King of Death"
    "Shōkinkubi En'ō" (賞金首・閻王)     		2006-10-04
    2 "The Code of Duty"
    "Kōko no giki" (江胡の義気)     		2006-10-11
    3 "The Successor to Hokuto"
    "Hokuto o tsugumono" (北斗を継ぐ者)     		2006-10-18
    4 "Wish Upon the Blue Sky!"
    "Sōten ni negae" (蒼天に願え)     		2006-10-25
    5 "In Shanghai"
    "Shanhai ni tatsu" (上海に立つ)     		2006-11-01
    6 "The Execution Game"
    "Gyakusatsu no shokei yūgi" (虐殺の処刑遊戯)     		2006-11-08
    7 "The Battle"
    "Gekitotsu" (激突)     		2006-11-15
    8 "Pray to the God of Hell"
    "Jigoku no Kami ni inore" (地獄の神に祈れ)     		2006-11-22
    9 "A Destiny Steeped in Blood"
    "Chi nurareta shukumei yue ni" (血塗られた宿命ゆえに)     		2006-11-29
    10 "Battle of the Hokuto Masters"
    "Hokuto dōshi no tatakai" (北斗同士の戦い)     		2006-12-06
    11 "Ask the Dragon"
    "Ryū ni toe" (龍に問え)     		2006-12-13
    12 "Signal of Resurrection"
    "Fukkatsu no noroshi" (復活の狼煙)     		2006-12-20
    13 "At The End of Madness"
    "Kyōki no hate ni..." (狂気の果てに)     		2007-01-10
    14 "Journey of Fate"
    "Unmei no tabi" (運命の旅)     		2007-01-17
    15 "The Beautiful Horse Bandit"
    "Utsukishi bazoku" (美しき馬賊)     		2007-01-24
    16 "Seeking Refuge"
    "Ansoku no chi o motomete" (安息の地を求めて)     		DVD
    17 "Death Sentence! The Fallen Palm"
    "Shi no senkoku! Datenshō" (死の宣告！堕天掌)     		DVD
    18 "The Aura of Hokuto Sōkaken"
    "Hokuto Sōkaken no tōki" (北斗曹家拳の闘気)     		DVD
    19 "An Undaunted Offering of Flowers"
    "Kizentaru kenka" (毅然たる献花)     		2007-01-31
    20 "A Trick of Fate"
    "Unmei no itazura" (運命の悪戯)     		2007-02-07
    21 "A Burning Confrontation"
    "Moetagiru taiji" (燃えたぎる対峙)     		DVD
    22 "The Secret Technique of Zhāng Tài-Yán"
    "Chō Taien no ōgi" (張太炎の奥義)     		2007-02-14
    23 "The Unforgettable Pain"
    "Wasureinu itami" (忘れ得ぬ痛み)     		2007-02-21
    24 "A Deep Strong Memory"
    "Fukaku tsuyoki omoi" (深く強き想い)     		2007-02-28
    25 "A Banquet and a Gunshot"
    "Shukuen to Jūsei" (祝宴と銃声)     		2007-03-07
    26 "To a Better Tomorrow"
    "Yori yoi ashita e" (より良い明日へ)     		2007-03-14

    Theme songs

    Opening theme
    "Roses Bloom, Roses Scatter" (薔薇が咲く 薔薇が散る, Bara ga Saku Bara ga Chiru) by Rina Aiuchi
    Ending themes
    1. "The Rhythm of the Heart is a Fluttering Butterfly" (心のリズム飛び散るバタフライ, Kokoro no Rizumu Tobichiru Batafurai) by doa
    2. "Kissing til i die" by Jun Manaka

    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.

    External links

    References

    1. ↑ AnimeNfo information on Fist of the Blue Sky
    2. ↑ "週刊コミックバンチ★コアミックス：バンチアーカイブス：バンチ表紙全集2001年" (html). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "週刊コミックバンチ★コアミックス：コミックス情報" (in Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
    4. ↑ "Amazon.com".
    5. ↑ "hashihime 橋姫: Current Anime TV Ratings in Japan". Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
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