Fist of the North Star/Characters: Difference between revisions

* [[Berserk Button]] - Don't abuse a kid in front of Kenshiro or let him find out you killed them. Just don't. Zeed, Spade, Diamond, The Godland Army, Jackal, The Kiba Clan, Jagi, Souther, etc. all learned this the hard and painful way.

** It's also a VERY bad idea to abuse women in front of Kenshiro, see the Wife-Basher Basher entry below.

* [[Bruiser With a Soft Center]] - Yuria doesn't love Kenshiro for his hyper-masculinity, but rather for his gentle, sensitive and kind-hearted side.

* [[Bullying a Dragon]] - Are the thugs and mooks really that dumb to try to taunt and torment this guy?

** English dub movie: [[Lex Lang]]

* [[Nice Guy]]

* [[Papa Wolf]] - You'll be even ''more'' dead if you mess with innocent children.

* [[Rapid Fire Fisticuffs]] - The ''Hokuto Hyakuretsuken''<ref>the North Dipper Hundred Crack Fist</ref>, delivered with his trademark ''"ATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!"'' [[Kiai]].

* [[Shipper On Deck]] - Believes Lin should love Bat, not him, {{spoiler|and he gets them together at the end of the manga}}.

* [[Meaningful Name]] - Named after the flying rodent of the same name, according to an interview with [[Word of God|Buronson]] on the Japanese ''Raoh Den'' DVD.

* [[Ship Tease]] - While it might be debatable in the first series [[Relationship Upgrade|it's definitely romantic in the later part of the manga]].

* [[Tender Tears]] - An adoptive big brother like Ken tends to even make the snarkiest [[Jerkass]] kid grow up to be just as sensitive and kind-hearted as a man.

* [[Took a Level In Badass]] - Bat took one after the [[Time Skip]], having grown up and become the leader of the Hokuto Army.

* [[Nice Girl]]

* [[Tender Tears]]

 

== Shin ==

* [[Finger Poke of Doom]]: Shin can kill you just by poking his finger straight into your heart. Many of his other moves are jabbing motions intended to drive his hand straight into the enemy.

* [[A God Am I]]

* [[I Love You Because I Can't Control You]]: Shin loves Yuria because she is an emotionally strong-willed woman whom he sees as a challenge to make ''willingly'' fall in love with him.

* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]] - Subverted ''so'' hard by Jagi's influence.

** English dub movie: [[Michael McConnohie]]

*** [[Relationship Voice Actor]]: Shin and Yuria were voiced by [[Michael McConnohie]] and Melodee Speevack whom are [[Happily Married]] in real life.

* [[Posthumous Character]]: In the manga, his character was fleshed out throughout postmortem flashbacks after his arc was over, particularly when it came to his position within the ''Nanto Rokuseiken''; the revelation about Yuria's survival was one.

* [[Rival Turned Evil]]

* [[Giant Mook]]

* [[Tattooed Crook]]: His notable "Z-666" tattoo on his forehead.

* [[Warmup Boss]] - Whose spectacular death sets these ground rules for the audience 1) [[Muscles Are Meaningless|Size means squat-all]] in the Hokuto universe and 2) if you have a mohawk, prepare to explode.

* [[Would Hit a Girl]] / [[Would Hurt a Child]] : Kenshiro was exhausted and dehydrated to the point of death when he was trapped in that cell with Bat... and then hearing that Zeed is infamous for the above two tropes gave him the [[Heroic Second Wind]] to LITERALLY tear the bars off his prison to kick evil's ass.

* [[Gonk]]

* [[Kevlard]]: Practically the [[Trope Codifier]].

* [[Macho Camp]] - One of the fairly uncommon confirmed cases of this in the whole ''shounen'' genre namely in the TV show, as just before he fought Kenshiro he was admiring Kenshiro's marvelous physique in a flirty tone of voice. (Though that doesn't seem to be the case in the movie though.)

* [[Minor Injury Overreaction]] - Despite his enormous frame, a paper cut can send him into a wild frenzy.

* [[Rummage Sale Reject]] - [[Averted Trope|Averted]]. The Colonel holds the distinct honor of being the only character in the entire franchise (not counting ''[[Souten no Ken]]'') to wear a complete and recognizable modern set of clothing that is not deshivelled, torn, missing sleeves or liberally mixed with Arabic/Medieval/Viking elements.

* [[Social Darwinist]]: Believes that men who are unfit to join his army must be eliminated.

 

== Jackal ==

* [[Monstrosity Equals Weakness]] - Literally being the size of a 10-storey-tall building is STILL not enough to survive Kenshiro's wrath.

* [[Psychopathic Manchild]]

 

== Rei ==

 

* [[Adaptation Dye Job]]: From black in the manga to light blue in the Toei anime. This caused some problems when it was time for him to be [[Locked Into Strangeness]]. The 1986 movie streamlined this by giving him white hair from the beginning.

* [[Badass]]: Rei is the ''only'' hero other than Kenshiro to take out a major villain in the original series.

* [[Badass Long Hair]]

* [[Famed in Story]]: If Kenshiro is about to instill an asskicking on someone and reminisces about following the path laid by those who came before him, Rei will ALWAYS be shown front and center, even over Toki.

* [[A Good Way to Die]]

* [[Go Out With a Smile]]: [[Double Subversion|Double subverted.]] After bidding his friends goodbye with a warm smile, Rei is stricken with a look of intense pain just before dying... but when Mamiya looks up to see the Omen Star of Death gone, she sees Rei's smiling face right next to the Big Dipper.

* [[He's Back]]: When he loses it against Raoh's men who are brutalising Lin and other villagers, reclaiming his humanity and living up to his title of the Justice Star.

* [[The Messiah]]

* [[Names to Know In Anime]]: His original VA is [[Kaneto Shiozawa]]. After his death, [[Shinichiro Miki]] succeeded him in the movies, while [[Isshin Chiba]] provides Rei's voice in the fighting game. Then, in ''[[Hokuto Musou]]'', apparently [[Takehito Koyasu]] is now voicing him.

* [[Real Men Wear Pink]]: Literally, with his pale pink protective cloth that make people believe the one coming to them is a woman.

* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: Just as he rises to his destiny as the Star of Justice, he pulls a [[Senseless Sacrifice]].

* [[Tragic Hero]]

* [[Token Good Teammate]]: In the Dream Mode of ''Hokuto Musou'' he becomes this for the Nanto side when [[I Have Your Wife|Souther/Thouzer took hostage of Airi]]. Shew also counts, but Rei's the more visible example. Well, that and Shew isn't a playable character.

* [[Wife Basher Basher]]: "I think we're both here for the same reason... we are both weak to the tears of a woman."

 

 

* [[Big Badass Wolf]] - His entire clan's thematic motiff is that of wolf-skin clad Mongolian Warriors.

* [[Made of Iron]] - Literally, when he uses a technique that looks suspiciously familliar. Though it can be dispelled by hitting certain pressure points.

* [[Moral Myopia]] - He mourns the deaths of his sons and begins seeking retribution, despite the fact that his clan is just as guilty of many atrocities.

{{quote| '''Random Son:''' "I thought you loved us Papa!! We're of the same blood right?"<br />

'''Kiba Daioh:''' "Oh shut it!! As long as I'm alive I can conceive as many bastards like you as I want!! Now stall them (Kenshiro and Rei) so I can escape!!" }}

 

== Airi ==

* [[Sibling Rivalry]] - Most prominently with Raoh, since Toki and Kenshiro actually cared for Jagi and tried to not be competitive, but eventually Raoh overshadowed Jagi WAY too much for the rivalry to be sustained. However, when his rivalry with Kenshiro blossomed, it became the driving force in Jagi's life.

** Add to this that by the point the news of Kenshiro's succession reached him, [[Interrupted Suicide|he was right about to commit suicide]]. As the news got to him, his rivalry with Kenshiro had become the ''sole'' driving point in life, since he technically already had [[Despair Event Horizon|lost all hope in life]].

* [[Sleeves Are for Wimps]]

* [[Start of Darkness]] - The ''Gokuaku no Hana'' spinoff series is all about this, which gives Jagi a [[Belated Backstory]] in an attempt to make him into a [[Sympathetic Murderer]].

* [[Token Evil Teammate]] - In the Dream Mode of ''Hokuto Musou'' he becomes this for the Hokuto side.

* [[The Unfavorite]] - Jagi feels this way because of not being taught Hokuto Shinken.

* [[Unreliable Narrator]]: Though ''Jagi Gaiden'' is commendable in '''not''' making everyone else in Jagi's life a [[Jerkass]] (like most [[Sympathetic Murderer]] retellings unfortunately do) while still making him a ''genuinely'' sympathetic victim, unless the manga itself is endorsed as canon [[Word of God|by Buronson and Hara]], it can only be at best viewed as the warped and deeply biased flashbacks of an already mentally-disturbed individual; further twisted out of context by an exploding brain in the final moments of his life.

* [[Used to Be A Sweet Kid]]

** Subverted upon Kenshiro's succession (when Jagi found out) and when he's dying -- Jagi came to hate Ryuken, but never could completely turn himself away from Hokuto Shinken.

 

* [[Evil Genius]]

** [[Mad Scientist]]: Fits the mold without the look. Amiba taught himself a few Hokuto Shinken essentials as well as new ground simply via trial and error at the expense of quite a number of lives.

* [[Minor Injury Overreaction]]

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: [[Word of God]] says his appearance is modeled after [[Highlander (Film)|Christopher Lambert]].

 

== Uighur ==

* [[Tragic Hero]]

* [[Weak but Skilled]]: Sort of. Due his illness, he's the physically weakest of the Hokuto Brothers, but both Kenshiro and Raoh admit they're ''far'' outskilled by him.

* [[Worf Had the Flu]] - Raoh states that Toki had surpassed him in strength, but Toki's radiation poisoning severely weakened him in both of their fights.

 

----

* [[Adaptation Dye Job]] - From silver hair in the manga to black in the Toei anime.

* [[Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence]] - His death could be interpreted as this, since not only did he not leave a body behind when he died, but also died without regrets, a sign of higher understanding of the human condition.

* [[Aloof Big Brother]]

* [[Names to Know In Anime]] - His original VA is [[Kenji Utsumi]], but for ''Hokuto Musou'', he's voiced by [[Fumihiko Tachiki]].

* [[Necessarily Evil]] - Bringing peace to a wartorn planet with sheer brute force.

* [[Noble Demon]]

* [[Stab the Sky|Punch The Heavens]]

* [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You]] - He helps Kenshiro escape from Souther's men at one point, and has him bandaged up after the defeat by Souther for this very reason in ''Raoh Den - Jun Ai no Sho''.

* [[Posthumous Character]] - Became one in the story arcs following his death. It was easy to tell if a character was going to be important by whether or not Raoh was somehow involved in their back-story (see Falco, Jakoh, Akashachi, or any of the ''Hokuto Ryūken'' practitioners). Bonus points if the character was actually related to Raoh (like Raoh's brother Kaioh, or his son Ryu from the manga-only final chapters).

* [[Serious Business]] - He had a real-life funeral arranged for him, although mainly done as a publicity stunt for the second ''Raoh Den'' movie.

* [[Showthe Forehead]] - a truly dedicated example. Not only is his hair particularly short-cropped, it's ''also'' slicked back. He wouldn't want anyone to miss out on the most imposing, serious forehead in the world.

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] - Kenshiro's [[Rival Turned Evil]] who attempts to conquer the world and falls in love with Yuria before being defeated by Kenshiro in a [[Tear Jerker|tearking]] rematch. Are you sure we're not talking about Shin?

** Even their aliases are similar (Shin = King, Raoh = ''Ken-oh'' = "The King of Fist").

* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]

* [[Villain Protagonist]]: Raoh is arguably the protagonist of the series in the original saga's last storyline, as all the major battles feature him and revolve around his ambition and eventual redemption.

* [[Wife Basher Basher]]: Not only is Raoh one of the few tyrants in the post-war world to have ''never'' struck a woman, he himself '''despises''' those who do so. This is demonstarted in the manga wherein he ''literally'' SLAPS THE HEAD OFF A RAPIST who served in his army upon finding out the bastard has been up to his old tricks in his absence. This major [[Pet the Dog]] moment is unfortunately ruined in the animated adaptation, wherein the slapper is changed to Kenshiro.

 

* [[A Good Way to Die]]

* [[Graceful Loser]] - ''"Rei, you're the one man that I admired. The strongest, most beautiful man in the world. At least let me die in your arms..."''

* [[Minor Injury Overreaction]] - You don't want to damage Yuda's "beautiful" face.

* [[Narcissist]] - ''And how!''

* [[Razor Wind]]: ''Nanto Kokakuken'''s speciality is to send vacuum waves that slice enemies at long range.

* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]] - Yuda is named after Judas Iscariot, the infamous 13th disciple who betrayed Jesus Christ. Yuda himself betrayed the Nanto Seiken school by joining Raoh's army at the time of the Nuclear War.

 

* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: In the anime, not long after Shuu's blood seeps out from under the stone that crushed him, the Holy Cross Pyramid starts to inexplicably crumble and collapse, and Souther makes no attempt to escape its destruction.

* [[Relationship Voice Actor]] - [[Banjo Ginga|In the anime and fighting game he is]] [[Metal Gear Solid|Liquid Snake]], [[Akio Ohtsuka|in the movie he is]] [[Metal Gear Solid|Solid Snake]]

* [[Start of Darkness]] - It began with 'To master Nanto Hō-ōken... you have to be ''tricked'' into killing your beloved master and father'.

* [[Straw Vulcan]] - It can be said that Souther is a heavy-handed (though totally valid) example of the kind of villain you become when you cynically claim to give up your emotions.

* [[Tragic Villain]]

* [[Used to Be A Sweet Kid]]

** If you successfully use Souther's "Fatal KO" ''Tensho Jujihou'' in the fighting game, he poses and declares while an image of his late master appears and declares, "Your Holy Cross Pyramid will be completed soon!"

 

* [[Messianic Archetype]] - See [[Kung Fu Jesus]] above.

* [[Nice Guy]] - "Though my eyes have lost their light, the tears refuse to run dry."

* [[Papa Wolf]] - Arguably the greatest in the series next to the big guy Fudoh himself... his love for his children conflicted with his duty as a warrior; costing him a priceless opportunity to slay a ''completely defenceless'' Souther; then his dignity, and finally his life.

* [[Tender Tears]] - Has a heart that is softer than both Kenshiro and Toki's.

* [[Tragic Hero]]

{{quote| Ryuga is the master of Taizan Tenrōken (the Mount Tai Sirius Fist), a style in which he scoops the chunks of his victims' flesh while leaving them with a feeling of bitter coldness. Ryuga's star is the Heavenly Wolf Star, also known as Sirius, a solitary star destined to serve the Hokuto Shinken successor. Ryuga is actually Yuria's elder brother, who pledged his loyalty to Raoh after witnessing the chaos of the post-war era. At first, he believes that only Raoh can restore peace and order through his sheer force, but begins to question his loyalty when he meets Kenshiro, his sister's fiancee.}}

 

* [[Dead Little Sister]] - Granted she was still alive, but neither he nor Ken knew that at the time.

* [[Death Equals Redemption]] - Invoked this by committing sepukku before fighting Kenshiro.

* [[Tragic Villain]]

* [[We Hardly Knew Ye]] - Unlike most of Kenshiro's friends and rivals, we never see his upbringing in flashbacks. His absence in Yuria and Juza's flashbacks is odd too.

 

== Hyui ==

* [[Kiai]]: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHbgoLFvpmE EEEEAAAAUUUUUAAAAHHHH!!!]"

* [[Razor Wind]] - Controls the actual element of wind, whereas the other Nanto fighters concentrate air pressure.

* [[We Hardly Knew Ye]]

 

== Juza ==

[[File:hkf_juz_4242.gif|frame]]

 

* [[Badass Normal]]

* [[Bishounen]]

* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]

* [[Demoted to Extra]] - The fight scene between himself and Raoh was omitted in the ''Shin Kyuseishu Densetsu'' movies and he only makes a cameo appearance as one of the spirits attending Ken and Yuria's wedding in the last of the five films, ''Kenshiro Den''.

* '''[[Determinator]]''' - Especially in the [[Adaptation Expansion]] final fight against Raoh where he keeps on fighting ''even after he's dead.''

* [[Eighties Hair]] - the kind that would put any other Casanova to shame. Allegedly an obsessively maintained coiffure.

* [[A Good Way to Die]]

* [[Go Out With a Smile]]

* [[Mighty Glacier]]

* [[Nice Guy]]

* [[Papa Wolf]] - Threaten one of Fudoh's children and he'll ''destroy'' you.

* [[Tender Tears]] - Of love shed for children in suffering.

{{quote| The Chariot Star of the Ocean and leader of the Nanto Goshasei. Unlike the other Goshasei members, Rihaku possesses no martial arts training, but he is a military strategist. He prepares a series of booby traps for Raoh when he attacks the headquarters in search of Yuria.}}

 

* [[Sole Survivor]] - Only Rihaku survives his battle with Raoh and helps Bat and Lin form the Hokuto Army in the second series.

 

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]] - Blatantly based on Hawk and Animal Warrior of WWF fame.

* [[Scary Black Man]] - Played straight initially with both brothers, but averted with Gill in the manga. See [[He Will Not Cry So I Cry for Him]] above.

* [[Tragic Hero]]

 

* [[Ki Attacks]]: He uses ''Gento Ko Ken''. His color is gold.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]] - His design is based on [[Dolph Lundgren]]

* [[Worf Had the Flu]]: Kenshiro notes that Falco was still recovering from their fight when the [[Mook]] overpowered and wounded him to death. As soon as Kenshiro restores him a semblance of health, he proves him right by wiping the floor with his killer.

* [[Worthy Opponent]]- He starts out like this, but once the Empress is rescued by Bat and Lin, he does a [[Heel Face Turn]] and kills the true mastermind Jakoh. Unfortunately he does not last long as one of Ken's allies.

* [[Dirty Coward]]

* [[Expy]] - Based on [[Batman]]'s nemesis, the Joker.

 

== Solia ==

{{quote| A General of the Imperial Army and fellow practitioner of the ''Gento Kōken'', also known as "Solia of the Purple Light". He once lost one of his eyes during a sparring match with Falco, but still respects the man in spite of that. He challenges Kenshiro under orders from Falco.}}

 

* [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]] - His death in the manga.

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]

* [[Mysterious Watcher]]

 

== Han ==

* [[Face Heel Turn]] - The noblest of Shura's overlords until the death of Sayaka sends him [[Ax Crazy]].

** [[Heel Face Turn]] - When he is reunited with Kenshiro and finds out that Kaioh lied to him.

 

== Kaioh ==

{{quote| The [[Big Bad]] of the second series, Kaioh is the First Rasho, as well as the strongest of the ''Hokuto Ryūken'' masters. Kaioh is covered in a black armor which he wears not for protection, but to control the dark energy he possesses known as ''Matouki'' (the evil [[Battle Aura]]), which can only be possessed by those who were driven insane by ''Hokuto Ryūken''. It turns out that he is Raoh and Toki's true blood brother, who went [[Ax Crazy|insane]] after his mother died while protecting an infant Kenshiro.}}

 

* [[Chinese People]]

* [[Composite Character]] - Think Souther's [[Oedipus Complex]] turned [[Up to Eleven]] mixed with Raoh's character design, add a few facial scars, shake and bake. Heck, even the manner in which Kaioh dies {{spoiler|jumping into the air and falling into Kenshiro's fist}} is exactly identical to the blond-haired Nanto Hōōken master's.

* [[Chinese People]]

* [[Dropped a Bridge On Him]]

* [[Wolverine Claws]]

 

* [[Fat Bastard]]

* [[Hoist By His Own Petard]]: Dies when one of his own traps springs on him.

* [[Rummage Sale Reject]]: Surprisingly averted, as his outfit is even MORE normal and recognizable than the Colonel's.

* [[Token Motivational Nemesis]]: For Ryu

* [[Meaningful Name]]: He has grafted weapons all over his body, and even added metal plating to his skull for protection. Another translation for his name is [[Star Trek (Franchise)|"Borg"]].

* [[Mook Promotion]]: The final villain of the manga is a bandit Kenshiro spared.

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: After Ken uses his most famous finishing move, and most of Bolge explodes, he's still capable of getting up and fighting back.

* [[Senseless Sacrifice]]: Bat almost has one of these.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Fist Of The North Star]]