Kenshiro

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You are already dead (お前はもう死んでいる)
—Ken's catchphrase

Kenshiro (ケンシロウ, Kenshirō), also simply known as Ken (ケン, Ken), is the main protagonist of Fist of the North Star. He is the youngest of the four sons adopted by Ryuken and the rightful 64th successor of the Hokuto Shinken (北斗神拳, lit. Big Dipper God Fist) martial art and is considered to be one of the greatest successors in its 1,800 year history.

Appearance

Legends ReVIVE Kenshiro.png
Kenshiro is a man of 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) tall height[1][2] with an extremely muscular build. He has fairly short, unkempt almost spikey hair and short wide eyes. He bears a similar appearance to that of his uncle Kenshiro Kasumi, who he was also named after.

He often wears a blue jacket-like shirt with a red undershirt, or no undershirt at all exposing his chest, with mettalic shoulder pads and a leather cufflet on his right arm and bandages on his left arm. He also wears pants of similar coloring and a belt and boots.

His most recognizable feature is seven circular-shaped scars on his chest in the shape of the Big Dipper given to him by his former rival Shin.

Ken's apperance is highly influenced by that of martial artist Bruce Lee as well as action film actor Yūsaku Matsuda and the Mad Max film series.[3]

Color Schemes

The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
Colored MangaAnime1986 MovieOVA2006 Movies
Skin(Tan)
Hair(Fades from blue to black)
Eyes(Light blue)
Outfit
(Generally blue clothes, reddish-brown belt and accessories, dark gray shoulder pads)
Skin(Pale)
Hair(Very dark brown)
Eyes(Black)
Outfit
(Navy blue clothes, black belt and boots, dark gray shoulder pad)
Skin(Tan)
Hair(Brown)
Eyes(Dark brown)
Outfit
(Navy clothes, red undershirt, dark gray sholder pad)
Skin(Tan)
Hair(Dark brown)
Eyes(Very dark brown)
Outfit
(Navy and blue clothes, red undershirt, dark gray sholder pads)
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Brown)
Eyes(Dark gray)
Outfit
(Blue clothes, gray accessories, silver sholder pads)

Personality

Although emotionally repressed and stoic like many male heroes in 1980s media, Kenshiro is notable in manga and anime culture of the time 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 despairing over, the suffering of innocents and the deaths of his few noble enemies. He is also shown to be more openly unhinged on the rare occasions where he does get angry, and rather than deny or attempt to rationalize it, he fully accepts his rage and his wish for revenge, along with the motivation they give him, disregarding any moral ambiguity.

Abilities

Hokuto Shinken

As the 64th successor of the ancient Chinese martial art Houkoto Shinken, Ken can perform many attacks utilizing hidden pressure points to cause the victim to explode, be controlled involuntarily or otherwise incapacitated. It can also be used to heal certain physical and psychological wounds, such as restoring a person's voice, eyesight or memories, though the main purpose of Hokuto Shinken is assassination.

Hundred Crack Fist(北斗百裂拳 Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken, lit. Hundred Rending Fists) Link to this section
Debut: Chapter 1: A Cry from the Heart / Episode 1: God or Devil!? The Mightiest Man Appears in Hell
Kenshiro Hundred Crack Fist.gif

Kenshiro unleashes a flurry of one hundred punches which target the victim's pressure points, triggering the violent explosion of internal organs

He also uses a stronger version called Thousand Hand Destruction Fist (北斗千手壊拳, Hokuto Senjukai Ken) where he punches his opponent, giving off the illusion of a thousand fists punching them.


Healing Link to this section
Debut: Chapter 1: A Cry from the Heart / Episode 1: God or Devil!? The Mightiest Man Appears in Hell
DIOHealingPucci.png

Kenshiro can heal others by gently striking their pressure points to do things such as restore Rin's ability to speak or Airi's ability to see.


Personal Skills

  • Intelligence:

Top 50 Secrets

Translated from a 1986 magazine special Hokuto no Ken Special: All About the Man, 50 secrets about Kenshiro were revealed including miscellaneous abilities and statistics.[4]

Link to this section Top 50 Secrets
The magazine cover
  1. Head Volume: 59 cm
  2. Hearing Ability: Can hear a whisper from 2 km away
  3. Height: 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
  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: 45 cm
  8. Bust: 132cm
  9. Arm Thickness: 48 cm
  10. Waist: 90cm
  11. Weight: 100 kg
  12. Hip: 105 cm
  13. Reach: 187 cm
  14. Leg Thickness: 63 cm
  15. Leg Length: 92 cm inseam
  16. Shoe Size: 29 cm
  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 100 meters in 9 seconds in steps
  27. Fist Speed: Throws 50 punches in three seconds while performing the Hundred Crack Fist
  28. Jump Strength: 9 meters a step
  29. Punching Strength: Can split a rock that has 5 meters of thickness
  30. Kick Strength: Can send a 200 kg man flying 25 meters 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 spend 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 Shinken
  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 Shinken 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 Acquaintances: Ryuken, Raoh, Toki and Shu
  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

Character Rating

Taken from Hokuto no Ken: Kyūkyoku Kaisetsusho: Seikimatsu Haō Retsuden.[5]

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

Background

Kenshiro as a child

Kenshiro was originally an orphan from Taiseiden, Shura in the Republic of China and a descendent of the Hokuto Sōke bloodline. He was sent to the mainland by a former master named Jukei and was adopted by Ryuken, the master of Hokuto Shinken. Ryuken named him after his older brother Kenshirō Kasumi, since they shared the same Big Dipper-shaped birthmark on their heads.

Kenshiro watched his adoptive brothers train in the art of Hokuto Shinken and decided to join them in the fight to become Ryuken's successor. Despite being younger and more naive than his older brothers, Kenshiro was a promising student who ultimately earned the title of successor.


Relationships

Allies

  • Yuria: Yuria is Ken's fiancée, who he is devoted to dearly. They originally planned to get married and live a happy, simple life but the nuclear war complicated their plan.
  • Bat:
  • Rin: Introduced as a scared young girl who lost her ability to speak, Ken restored it and went on to save her after getting held hostage by Zeed.
  • Toki: Ken held his older brother Toki to great regard for his grace and practive of healing those in need with Houkoto Shinken. In the past when Toki saved Ken and Yuria during the nuclear war by allowing them to be the ones to go in the nucelar shelter he was greatly moved.
  • Shu:

Enemies

  • Shin: Shin was Ken's first major rival, taking his fiancée Yuria away from him and giving him the seven scars on his chest. After their battle when Shin took his own life, Ken gave him a proper burial and even honored him for loving the same woman as him.
  • Jagi: Ken's elder brother who impersonated him to do evil. Jagi was very jealous of Ken becoming the one true successor of Houkoto Shinken, claiming that a little brother could never surpass an older one. When Ken scarred Jagi's face after a battle in their past, he declared to one day get revenge on Kenshiro.
  • Souther: Ken's elder brother who impersonated him to do evil. Jagi was very jealous of Ken becoming the one true successor of Houkoto Shinken, claiming that a little brother could never surpass an older one. When Ken scarred Jagi's face after a battle in their past, he declared to one day get revenge on Kenshiro.
  • Raoh: Although Ken respected his older brother Raoh,

Quotes

Quote.png Quotes
Show AllEnglishJapaneseRomaji
  • You are already dead (お前はもう死んでいる)
    —Ken's catchphrase
  • You don't deserve to live beyond today!
    —Kenshiro, Chapter 2: When the Fury of Heaven Strikes

Creation and Development

Gallery

MangaAnimeGamesOther
StoryChapter CoversVolume Covers
StoryDesign Sheets

Trivia

Notes

  1. Note: Implied but not confirmed
  2. Note: Based on age

References