Kenshirō

Kenshiro
Kenshiro, as depicted in the manga.
Name in Kanji	ケンシロウ
Name in Romaji	Kenshirō
Alternate spelling(s)	Kenshirow, Kenshiroh, Kenshirou, Kensiro
Fighting Style	Hokuto Shin Ken
Allegiance(s)	n/a
Family	Hyō (older brother) Raoh (adoptive older brother) Toki (adoptive older brother) Jagi (adoptive older brother) Yuria (fiancée) Ryuken (adoptive father/sifu) Ryu (adoptive nephew) Kenshiro Kasumi (uncle)
Position(s)	The 64th Successor of Hokuto Shin Ken
Appearances	missing data
Voice actor(s)	Akira Kamiya Takehito Koyasu (Shin Hokuto no Ken) Kunihiro Kawamoto (Legend of Heroes) Hiroshi Abe (Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu) Katsuyuki Konishi (Hokuto Musou)

Kenshirō (ケンシロウ) (Ken for short) is the main character of the Hokuto no Ken manga, anime and related media. He is the 64th successor of the Hokuto Shin Ken style and considered one of the greatest successors in its history.

His famous catchphrase Omae wa mo shindeiru! (You're already dead!) is dealt to many an opponent he has killed before they know it.

Origin

Kenshirō was originally an orphan from Taiseiden, Shura and a descendent of the Hokuto Sōke bloodline. He was sent to the mainland by Jukei as a baby to be adopted by Ryūken, master of Hokuto Shin Ken. Ryuken named him after his older brother Kenshirō Kasumi, since they shared the same Big Dipper-shaped birthmark on their heads.

Kenshirō watched his adoptive brothers train in the art of Hokuto Shin Ken and decided to join them in the fight to become Ryūken's successor. Despite being younger and more naive than his older brothers, Kenshirō was a keen student and ultimately earned the title of successor.

Character overview

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

Kenshirō survived his wounds and spent the next year wandering the wasteland for his revenge. During this time, he learned the ruthlessness needed to survive in the war-torn age and also 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 now leader of the eponymous King organization. After defeating Shin's best henchmen, he infiltrated his headquarters, Southern Cross, to deal with him once and for all. Driven by his new strength, Kenshirō 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 Kenshirō's technique, Shin then leapt to his death from the palace balcony, as Yuria did before him.

Kenshirō continued to journey the wasteland, never staying at one place for long, as the curse of Hokuto only leaves chaos in its wake. He made a career of destroying those who preyed on the weak and innocent, such as the Golan, Jackal and the Fang Clan, which earned him the reputation as a savior of the people. He also discovered that his three older brothers, and fellow Hokuto Shin Ken practitioners, Jagi, Toki and Raoh had all survived the nuclear holocaust. Jagi, the second-youngest, had always hated Kenshirō and was now committing acts of carnage in his name. He was also responsible for manipulating Shin into madness. Kenshirō caught up with Jagi and delivered him a gruesome death. Kenshirō then fought against his second-oldest brother Toki, who had turned to evil after the holocaust, but this was in fact Amiba, who was posing as Toki. The real Toki was imprisoned at Cassandra by Raoh, the oldest brother, who was now under the title Ken-Oh (拳王 Fist King) and aimed to conquer the world with an iron fist. With the help of Rei and Mamiya, Kenshirō toppled Cassandra and was reunited with Toki. Toki became a valuable ally to Kenshirō and stopped his first fight with Raoh, as they were on the verge of killing one another.

Kenshirō joined forces with Shuh, leader of a rebel outfit against Souther, the Holy Emperor, and master of Nanto Hōō Ken, who enslaved young children to build his empire. Kenshirō was overcome by Souther when his pressure-point attacks had no effect on Souther's body. Close to death, Kenshirō was rescued by Shuh's young son Shiva, who sacrificed his life in the process. However, Shuh was later executed by Souther at the summit of the Holy Pyramid in retaliation. Kenshirō recovered from his wounds and this time he uncovered Souther's secret (his heart was on the opposite side and the position of his vital points were reversed). Kenshirō took pity on Souther's tragic past and killed him with a merciful technique, bringing an end to the Holy Emperor's empire.

With the final battle with Raoh drawing near, the mysterious Last Nanto General appeared to challenge Raoh's hegemony. It turned out the General's identity was actually Yuria, Kenshirō's betrothed. In truth, she had been saved by the Nanto Gosha Sei after attempting suicide at Shin's palace and her survival was kept a secret to protect her from Raoh. Kenshirō fights Raoh using the ultimate Hokuto Shin Ken technique Musō Tensei, drawing on his profound sadness and sacrifice, which causes Raoh to retreat. However, Raoh takes Yuria with him and prepares to kill her if it will imbue him with the same power. Kenshirō and Raoh finally have their last battle, with Raoh having killed Yuria to summon the power of Musō Tensei. Kenshirō's greater grasp of death and sacrifice gives him the edge over his older brother and leads him to victory. Yuria awakens after the battle, as she was actually put in a false state of death by Raoh, who was unable to kill her when he realized she was terminally ill. After Raoh's death, Kenshirō spends his next few years living in peace with Yuria, whose disease had been subdued by Raoh's power.

The later half of the manga (and the corresponding Hokuto no Ken 2 anime adaptation) sees Kenshirō joining forces with the grown-up Bat and Lin, who have now formed the Hokuto Army to oppose the corrupt Gento Kō Ken warriors. The story eventually takes Kenshirō to his birthplace, the Land of Shura, where he learns of his heritage and fights against the warlords who oppress the land: his estranged blood-brother Hyoh, and the nefarious Kaioh, Raoh's other blood-brother. The final story arcs of the manga (which were not adapted for the TV series) see Kenshirō 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, Kenshirō journeys into the desert alone to fulfil his destiny as the Hokuto Shin Ken successor.

Personality

Although still emotionally repressed and stoic like most male heroes in 1980s media, Kenshirō is notable in anime culture for being a sensitive and kind-hearted man who broke the established "men don't cry" cultural stereotype. He is famous for openly lamenting, if not outright crying, for the suffering of innocents and the deaths of his few noble enemies. This trait is unfortunately downplayed in the 1980s anime adaptations, but returns to the franchise in the modern adaptations.

Voice actors

Kenshirō was voiced by Akira Kamiya in the TV series and 1986 movie, Ryō Horikawa voiced the child-aged Kenshirō in flashbacks. The role of Kenshirō was recast to Takehito Koyasu in the 2003 OVA series New Fist of the North Star and then given to Kunihiro Kawamoto in the 2005 Fist of the North Star arcade game and the 2006 CG animated short film Hokuto no Ken: Legend of Heroes. In the Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu movie series, Kenshirō is voiced by Hiroshi Abe and by Eiji Hanawa as a child. For the Ten no Haō PSP game, Kenshiro is voiced by Hideo Ishikawa. He is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi in Hokuto Musou.

English voice actors that have voiced Kenshirō includes John Vickery in the Streamline Pictures dub of the 1986 movie, Lex Lang in the Manga Entertainment dub of the TV series and Robert Kraft (voice actor) in the ADV Films dub of New Fist of the North Star. In the English version of Hokuto Musou (Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage), he is played by Kaiji Tang. Gary Daniels played Kenshiro in the 1995 live action film.

Reception

In a survey conducted by the Oricon in 2007 between 1,000 people, Kenshirō ranked third place as the "strongest manga character of all time".

Character Rating

From Hokuto no Ken: Kyūkyoku Kaisetsusho: Seikimatsu Haō Retsuden.

• Level: AAA
• Power: 4
• Speed: 5
• Skills: 5
• Looks: 5
• Charisma: 5

Top 50 Secrets

Translated from the 1986 magazine Hokuto no Ken Special: All About the Man.

1. Head Volume = 59cm
2. Hearing Ability = Can hear a whisper from 2km away
3. Height = 185cm
4. Eyesight = Can see the aura of a living creature in pitch black darkness
5. Kinetic Vision = Can intercept a quick arrow the moment it is shot
6. Sense of Smell = About as good as a hound
7. Neck Thickness = 45cm
8. Bust = 132cm
9. Arm Thickness = 48cm
10. Waist = 90cm
11. Weight = 100kg
12. Hip = 105cm
13. Reach = 187cm
14. Leg Thickness = 63cm
15. Leg Length = 92cm inseam
16. Shoe Size = 29cm
17. Body Characteristics = Index and middle fingers are forged by doing two finger handstands in order to better pierce vital points
18. Sense of Taste = Sensitive enough to detect poisonous food and such.
19. Voice = Can mimic many sounds, including animal cries.
20. Breathing Capacity = 8700 c.c.
21. Grip = Unmeasurable
22. Arm Strength = Unmeasurable
23. Walking Ability = Unmeasurable
24. Strength of His Back = Unmeasurable
25. Muscle Strength = Can repel the bullet of a small caliber gun when its strained
26. Leg Speed = Can move 100m in 9 seconds in steps
27. Fist Speed = Throws 50 punches in three seconds while performing the Hundred Crack Fist
28. Jump Strength = 9m a step
29. Punching Strength = Can split a rock that has 5m of thickness
30. Kick Strength = Can send a 200kg man flying 25m into the air
31. Diving Time = 53 minutes
32. Resistance to Poison = Can endure five times the dose of Potassium Cyanide required to kill an ordinary man
33. Fasting Resistance = Body can remain strong for three months without eating
34. Sleep Resistance = Can spent an entire week without sleeping
35. Memory Capacity = Can memorize up to 50,000 words after reading them once.
36. Birthdate = 1970s (20 or so years before the Nuclear War)
37. Blood Type = Unknown
38. Favorite Techniques = Can use techniques from the 108 sects of Nanto Sei Ken in addition to Hokuto Shin Ken
39. Favorite Weapons = Nunchaku, six-sectioned staffs, throwing knives and such
40. Special Skills = Has an internal biological clock with a margin of error of more than three seconds in a month
41. License = Initiated into the secrets of Hokuto Shin Ken passed between a single line of successors
42. Habit = Cracks his fingers before a fight
43. Talking Habit = Unknown, because he is too taciturn
44. Hobby = Developing new secret techniques
45. Favorite Food = There's not much of a room for likes and dislikes at the end of the century (or the post-apocalyptic world)
46. Esteemed Acquaintance = Ryuken, Raoh, Toki, and Shuh
47. Ideal Woman = Yuria
48. Favorite Clothes = Strong leather jeans that allows him to move easily
49. Clinical History = None
50. Academic Background = Well-versed in the super specialized education received from Ryuken. His specialty is in the field of Chinese medicines

Gallery

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  Kenshiro as he appears on the cover of Hokuto no Ken Vol. 1 (Jump Comics edition)

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  Kenshiro in Toki Gaiden

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  Kenshiro in the first manga

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  Kenshiro in the begin of the anime series

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  Kenshiro in the anime series Hokuto no Ken 2.

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  Kenshiro fights his older brother, Hyoh

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken 3 for Family Computer, as depicted in regular battles.

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken 3 for Famicom, as depicted in boss battles.

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken 4 for Family Computer.

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken 5 for Super Famicom.

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken 6 for Super Famicom (face shot).

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken: Shinpan no Sōsōsei Kengō Retsuden (illustration)

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  Kenshiro in Fist of the North Star: Legend of Raoh - Chapter of Love in Death

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto Musou (game original outfit)

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  Kenshiro in Hokuto Musou (source material outfit)

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  a spirit that appears to help Kenshiro against Kaioh.

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  Kenshiro in the pilot manga.

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  Kenshiro with beard.

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  Kenshiro's brief clash with Shin in the 1986 film.

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  Kenshiro unleashing his fighting aura.

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  Kenshiro cloaked.