Souten no Ken: Difference between revisions

The main protagonist of this story is Kasumi Kenshiro, better known as "Yan Wang" or "The King of Hell" (derived from the myth [[wikipedia:Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology)|Yan Luo Wang]]). Kasumi is a laid back and chain-smoking [[Tokyo]] professor who possesses the deadly [[wikipedia:China|Chinese]] assassin [[martial art]] [[Hokuto Shinken]] who travels to [[Shanghai]] after hearing the news of his [[Triad society|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 [[wikipedia:Shanghai International Settlement|International Settlements]] (the story focus mainly on the French settlement) during the 1930s. Also seen are [[wikipedia:Jews in China|Jewish refugees]] who escaped from [[wikipedia:Nazism|Nazi]] persecution in Europe, and the invasion of China by the [[wikipedia:Imperial Japanese Army|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 ''[[Hokuto no Ken]]''. Hara went to [[Shanghai]] in person to get his inspiration.