Jackal

Jackal
	; Jackal, as he appears in the manga.
Name in Kanji	ジャッカル
Name in Romaji	Jakkaru
Fighting Style	Explosives and hidden blades (Nanto Bakusatsu Ken in the anime)
Allegiance(s)	Shin (TV series); Jagi (1986 movie)
Family	Jill (girlfriend)
Position(s)	Biker Gang leader
Appearances	Manga (ch. 17-25), Anime (ep. 11-13), 1986 movie, DD Hokuto no Ken (ep. 2)
Voice actor(s)	Masayuki Katō (TV series); Hiroshi Ōtake (1986 movie); Masaya Takatsuka (Shin Hokuto Musou); Taichi Hamada (DD Hokuto no Ken); Kozo Dozaka (Legends ReVIVE); Tom Wyner (TV series dub); Carl Macek (1986 movie dub)

Jackal (ジャッカル, Jakkaru): Jackal is the leader of bandit gang (called The Warriors in the TV series), who fights with concealed blades and explosives. He is more intelligent and cautious than the average outlaw, with his motto being "If you want to survive in this age, avoid picking fights with people stronger than you". As such, Jackal is wary of Kenshiro's true power and uses underhanded tactics to avoid fighting him directly.

Appearance[edit | edit source]

Jackal is a muscular dark-haired man with hazel-colored eyes who wears his hair in a mullet and has facial hair in the form of a goatee.

He wears a furred coat that has a plate of armor over it that protects his heart, two furred arm warmers with spiked plates of armor over them, fingerless gloves, a metal cup over his groin, and two poleyns above his fur-trimmed boots.

Personality[edit | edit source]

Jackal takes utmost caution in his villainous life, and takes preparations to gain a leverage against anybody, no matter how strong they are, such as strapping rows and rows of TNT on his chest to threaten Toyo with a suicide bombing that would wipe her and her children out.

He has no emotional attachment to his henchmen, as he was perfectly fine having one of them die at Kenshiro's hand to demonstrate his Hokuto Shinken style to the rest of his underlings.

He is shown to be completely unfettered whenever he feels that his victims can't fight back, as he stabbed Toyo, an elderly lady in such a way that she would die slowly and painfully, showing that he is also spitefully sadistic, and he also planned to kill off Toyo's adopted children one by one in front of her eyes by hanging them.

Abilities[edit | edit source]

Intelligence[edit | edit source]

He is repeatedly shown to be a crafty and strategic-minded individual. Rather than fight face-to-face in direct combat like most denizens of the world, Jackal prefers to use deceptive and pragmatic methods in a fight. He will attempt to study his opponent to learn their strengths, so he knows what to look out for, and even their weaknesses if possible.

Physical Strength[edit | edit source]

Despite his disdain for up close & personal combat, Jackal is shown to be strong enough to kill two of his subordinates by pressing their heads together and compacting them.

Weaponry[edit | edit source]

His two main weapons of choice are sticks of dynamite, which he wears as a suicide vest to threaten others, and he also tosses them as grenades, and a pair of wrist-mounted blades that normally remain hidden.

Manga & TV series[edit | edit source]

Jackal is introduced as a patron of a bar, watching some of his goons battle Kenshiro after they provoke him. He overhears Taki requesting aid for his adoptive mother, Toyo, and is tempted by the prospect of a village with a functional well. However, instead of attacking outright, Jackal opts to hang back and observe the village from afar, hoping to attack it after Kenshiro leaves. Several of his minions are less wary and attack the village immediately - although they are slaughtered by Kenshiro, their presence puts him on the alert for bigger trouble. Despite his concerns, Kenshiro eventually leaves Toyo's village with Bat and Lin after digging a new well.

Jackal leads his gang in a full-scale assault, only to narrowly avoid being shot by Toyo's rifle. Enraged, he stabs the old woman and (on the suggestion of his new lieutenant, Fox) threatens to hang the orphans in her care, one by one. Fortunately, Kenshiro returns to help the villagers, forcing Jackal and his gang to flee - but as a parting gift, the villain straps dynamite to several children and sends them into the village for Kenshiro to find. This leads to the death of Toyo, who is mortally wounded while shielding a child from the dynamite she removed from him.

Following this incident, Jackal finds himself being hunted down by Kenshiro, who is infuriated and disgusted by Jackal's cruelty. The outlaw leader escapes into Villainy Prison, where he used to be an inmate himself before breaking out, and tricks the monster Devil Rebirth into believing they are brothers, gaining a powerful ally against Kenshiro. However, Kenshio defeats Devil, who accidentally pins Jackal down with his hand when he asks for his "brother's" help. The two are quickly blown up with a stick of Jackal's own dynamite.

In the TV series, Jackal and his gang are underlings working for the King organization. Jackal's fighting-style is also referred to as Nanto Bakusatsu Ken. In this version, Joker blackmails Jackal into releasing Devil Rebirth, in order to kill Kenshiro.

1986 movie[edit | edit source]

Jackal makes a short cameo in the theatrical movie, as a member of Jagi's gang. Jagi kills him after he recoils in horror at his unmasked face.

Video Games[edit | edit source]

In Hokuto no Ken 3, Jackal battles Kenshiro after the defeat of Devil Rebirth.
Jackal appears as an enemy NPC in Hokuto No Ken for PlayStation covering the events of the manga. He is not a fightable enemy.
It is revealed in Hokuto no Ken Online that Jackal has a lover called Jill, alias Vixen.
Jackal appears as a character in Shin Hokuto Muso's Legend Mode. There is a minigame where Kenshiro must chase down Jackal from a rooftop and attack him with thrown objects.