Souten no Ken

Wanted - the King of Death

In 1932 on Kenshiro Kasumi's (Yan Wang) wedding day, his friend Pan Guang Lin and fiancé Pan Yu Ling wait for him in a church in Shanghai. However he goes to fight the Hong Hua Hui gang himself and then leaves for Japan. In 1935 Emperor Puyi of Manchuko arrives in Japan to promote friendly relations between the allied nations. The Emperor decides that he wants Yan Wang, the possessor of Hokuto Shinken technique, in his Imperial Guard, but his food taster, Li Yong Jian from Shanghai and the Qing Bang gang, denies any knowledge of him. Meanwhile, Kenshiro is teaching at Towa Women's University and accidentally embarrasses Aya Kitaoji, daughter of the university's founder. In Ginza, Kenshiro meets Pan Guang Lin and picks a fight with the Emperor's guard from Hiei who was following Lin to find Yan Wang. The guard announces that the Hong Hua Hui massacred all of the Qing Bang and that he wants to kill Yan Wang to save his own position. Angry with his attitude and the news, Kenshiro kills the Emperor's guard and his men. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Code of Duty

While the Emperor panics over the possibility of being poisoned, Jin Ke-Rong learns that the men tracking Li Yong Jian are dead. Kenshiro meets Li Yong Jian and recalls 3 years earlier when he wiped out the leaders of the Hong Hua Hui for his friends Pan Guang Lin's group the Qing Bang. Li tells him that Pan Guang Lin is dead, killed by the Hong Hua Hui. After he leaves, Li realizes that he is dying of poison and decides to end his life. Later, Kenshiro reveals himself to the Emperor as Yan Wang and berates him for treating Li badly. The Emperor respects Kenshiro's loyalty to his friend, and challenges him to a fight, expecting to die, but Kenshiro departs, leaving him alive. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Successor to Hokuto

Li jumps to end his life by falling on concrete to make his face unrecognisible, but is saved at the last moment by Jin Ke-Rong who wants Li as bait to trap Kenshiro. When Kenshiro realizes what Li has planned, he goes to find him. Meanwhile Jin Ke-Rong tells Li of the time he encountered Kenshiro in Shanghai when they fought to a draw, with Kenshiro not even using his Hokuto. Kenshiro finally finds Jin and they engage in a contest of strength, but this time Kenshiro uses his Hokuto, immobilizing Jin, then preparing to kill him. (Source: Wikipedia)

Wish Upon the Blue Sky!

Kenshiro decides to let Jin live, and as Li lays dying from the poison, he reveals that the Hong Hua Hui also killed his fiancé Yu Ling as he hands Kenshiro a letter from her. Kenshiro recalls how Yu Ling found and saved him after a battle. Jin volunteers to return Li's body to Shanghai, while Kenshiro plans to take his revenge there. Meanwhile in Shanghai, the battle-scarred remnants of the Hong Hua Hui have sent assassins to Japan to kill Kenshiro. Kenshiro takes leave from the university, with thanks from the founder Takeshi Kitaoji. Kenshiro saved him and his daughter Aya years earlier from Hong Hua Hui kidnappers while they were in Shanghai. Aya gets a lift with the Vice-Principal to the docks where they encounter a group of gangsters whom the Vice-Principal vainly tries to scare off. However a young man with a resemblance to Kenshiro successfully intervenes and reveals that he is Kenshiro's younger brother, Ramon Kasumi. Aya tearfully watches Kenshiro leave for Shanghai. (Source: Wikipedia)

In Shanghai

Kenshiro arrives in Shanghai and finds the city is controlled by the Hong Hua Hui by paying off the leaders of the French Concession under Jean Carnet although they have little respect for him. Later, as the Hong Hua Hui execute a minor drug dealer for using another supplier and threaten his young accomplice, Kenshiro appears as Yan Wang, saving the boy and killing the Hong Hua Hui. The boy, Zhi Ying, steals Kenshiro's bag and takes it to his father Ye who is covered in bandages. However, the father Ye is an old friend of Kenshiro and former member of the Qing Bang, but has been tortured by the Hong Hua Hui. When the Hong Hua Hui appear in an operation to round up the Qing Bang and further humiliate Ye, Kenshiro retaliates, causing their trucks to crash and burn, killing them all while keeping his presence a secret. Ye tells Kenshiro that he received his injuries in the "Game of Death", a fighting contest run by the Hong Hua Hui which takes place in the "Great New World" building in which many Qing Bang have died. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Execution Game

Kenshiro, Ye and his son enter the "Great New World" and see the arena with a red-hot furnace chimney in each corner. Huang Zi Fei announces the next contest in which the huge foreign fighter Goran is matched with a Qing Bang member, who only manages to survive for a short time. Kenshiro discovers that Ye's brother Zhang has joined the Hong Hua Hui. They follow when Huang visits a church for confession and Kenshiro overhears him bribing the priest for forgiveness for his multiple sins. Kenshiro then enters the confessional and forces the priest to tell him Huang's sins. At the next fight, Jean Carnet refuses to bet with Huang as his champion Goran is a sure bet to win, however Huang has arranged for Goran to die. Kenshiro enters the ring covered in bandages, disguised as Ye, and taunts Goran who offers Kenshiro a free punch. Kenshiro accepts the offer and sends Goran flying with his first punch. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Battle

Kenshiro's punch stuns Goran who accidentally grabs a red-hot chimney. Goran recovers and starts attacking Kenshiro, removing some of the bandages, potentially exposing him as Yan Wang. Meanwhile Ye prepares to blow up Huang and himself with hand grenades, but is discovered by Charles de Guise. After taking some punishment from Goran, Kenshiro demonstrates his martial arts. When Huang realizes Kenshiro's identity, he orders him shot, but Charles de Guise stops the French troops from firing. Pretending to surrender, Goran grabs Kenshiro in a Muay Thai head-lock, but it has little effect and Kenshiro uses Tomon Ketsu Ha Shiso to destroy Goran's bones and he collapses. (Source: Wikipedia)

Pray to the God of Hell

Wu Dong-Lai of the Hong Hua Hui leaders hears of Yan Wang's appearance in Shanghai. At the "Great New World", Charles de Guise insists the winner be congratulated by Huang but he declines. Suddenly Wu's men arrive to shoot Yan Wang, but Kenshiro avoids them and kills Huang instead. Charles de Guise realizes that Kenshiro poses a threat to French power in Shanghai. Wu of the Hong Hua Hui leaders puts a high price on the head of Yan Wang hoping that bounty hunters will take care of him. Meanwhile Kenshiro sits in a bar where a gang leader discusses plans to collect the bounty by poisoning him. The barman recognizes Kenshiro and poisons his drink, but the gang leader drinks it instead and dies from the poison. Kenshiro disguises himself and catches up with Ye who tells him that de Guise said that his friend Pan Guang Lin is still alive in a prison where Wu is having his legs slowly eaten alive by rats. (Source: Wikipedia)

A Destiny Steeped in Blood

Ye tells Kenshiro that Wu Dong Lai hates Pan Guang Lin because he desired the actress Mei Yu, who was in love with Pan. Kenshiro finds Mei Yu and reveals his identity, but she berrates him and Pan for abandoning their women. Meanwhile Wu tells the Hong Hua Hui leaders that he has hired Ling Wang to take care of Yan Wang. Kenshiro tells Mei Yu about how he killed Yu Ling and Pan's benefactor Boss Weng, who betrayed Pan in a bid for control of the Qing Bang. She tells him that Yu Ling's murderer was Ling Wang. Elsewhere Ling Wang arrives in Shanghai and taunts Pan in his prison cell. (Source: Wikipedia)

Battle of the Hokuto Masters

To help Kenshiro find Wu, Mei Yu invites Wu to her birthday party. De Guise tells Kenshiro that Wu will be at the party and that Ling Wang, the possessor of the Hokuto Sonkaken is in Shanghai. Kenshiro attends the party disguised as a waiter, but so does Ling Wang, and they encounter each other in the foyer while Wu is creating mayhem by randomly shooting his gun. Wu leaves and de Guise is eager to watch the battle between the two Hokuto masters. Ling Wang tries to drain Kenshiro's Qi, but is unsuccessful and Kenshiro attacks. The fight ends in a draw, with both suffering broken arms, but Kenshiro is able to deduce Pan's location by the smells he detected on Ling Wang. (Source: Wikipedia)

Ask the Dragon

As de Guise tells Mei Yu that Guang Lin is still alive, Kenshiro dons a steel brace for his broken arm and goes with Ye to rescue him. From the smells and other clues, they deduce the location as the Gongzhou Citadel on the banks of the Suzhou River. Kenshiro uses the Dragon Medallion given to him by a Taoist master of astrology years earlier to decide if he should first protect Mei Yu or save Guang Lin. The answer is to save Guang Lin, but Ling Wang appears and blocks their car with his broken arm encased in steel. However, they manage to avoid him and drive off in the now damaged car. Meanwhile Wu is at the Gongzhou Citadel preparing to drop Guang Lin into a vat of boiling oil to kill and cook him in a surprise meal for Mei Yu. At that moment, Kenshiro, Ye and his son arrive to rescue Guang Lin. Wu tries to escape, but Kenshiro dumps him in his own vat of boiling oil. (Source: Wikipedia)

Signal of Resurrection

To save Guang Lin's rotten lower legs, Kenshiro amputates them and fuses the wounds with gunpowder. While talking with de Guise, Mei Yu realizes that his plan is to join forces with Guang Lin to resurrect the Qing Bang and control Shanghai with them. However Ling Wang, standing outside overhears with his powerful hearing and angry at being used, prepares to attack de Guise. De Guise successfully manages to defend himself against Ling Wang using his own Hokuto Sonkaken techniques, so Ling Wang leaves to pursue Yan Wang. Tian Xue Fang joins the remaining Hong Hua Hui leaders, struggling to stay upright after having a steel toupee fitted to his head. Meanwhile, in a set-up, a newspaper article announces Ling Wang's death and funeral to be held at the "Great New World", officiated by Pan Guang Lin. As Kenshiro and Ye lead the funeral procession, all the Qing Bang members who have been in hiding join the procession and Guang Lin emerges from the coffin to be acclaimed as their leader. Meanwhile, Ling Wang finds and confronts Kenshiro who wants to know why he killed Yu Ling. Ling Wang tells Kenshiro it was because she left him for Kenshiro after he was used by Boss Weng to assassinate the other Qing Bang leaders. Then the Hokuto battle between them begins. (Source: Wikipedia)

At The End of Madness

Mei Yu and Pan Guang Lin are tearfully reunited, and Guang Lin is grateful to de Guise for his help. Jean Carnet and Tian Xue Fang realise they must cooperate despite their disgust at each other to defeat the re-formed Qing Bang. Meanwhile, De Guise offers gold to Guang Lin to help him regain power, but Mei Yu stops him, suggesting de Guise cannot be trusted. Kenshiro and Ling Wang engage in battle, and Kenshiro is surprised that striking at his pressure points is ineffective. Ling Wang reveals that he sacrificed his sanity and used opium to attain Hikou Heni, the ability to move pressure points within the body. However, Kenshiro manages to defeat him, but refuses to kill him, and Ling Wang reveals that Yu Ling is still alive. (Source: Wikipedia)

Journey of Fate

Ling Wang tells Kenshiro that a year earlier, during the upheaval in Shanghai, he was about to kill Yu Ling, but spared her although he wiped her memory so that she no longer knows or loves Kenshiro. Kenshiro however doesn't care, happy that at least she is still alive. Meanwhile, Tian Xue Fang arrives at the hotel to kill Yan Wang, and accidentally blows it up, but Ling Wang and Kenshiro escape by diving into the river. De Guise confronts Carnet about his involvement with Hong Hua Hui and provides fake documents for him to leave. Kenshiro tries to save Ling Wang, but he dies, refusing to divulge Yu Ling's location. Later Kenshiro tells Guang Lin what happened, and telling him that Yu Ling is better served by not being involved with them again. Kenshiro and Guang Lin start their takeover of Shanghai, beginning with the corrupt priest. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Beautiful Horse Bandit

Pan Guang Lin re-asserts he authority as leader of the Qing Bang, including eliminating Carnet and the traitor within their midst while Kenshiro eliminates Tian Xue Fang. Meanwhile, elsewhere in China a woman bandit leader, Li Xiu Bao, rescues her followers from the invading army. One of the rescued men recalls how Ling Wang delivered her with amnesia and how she rose to become their leader. Great Master Wang tells her that a man called Kitaoji could be called on in a time of need. (Source: Wikipedia)

An Undaunted Offering of Flowers

Kitaoji and Kenshiro discuss the political climate and the expansionist intentions of Japan and hoping that Shanghai will be a haven for displaced people. Zhang Tai Yan arranges a meeting of all the Hong Hua Hui crammed onto a ship and notifies them that some people from the plains will arrive. A train full of bandits arrives in Shanghai and begin causing trouble, menacing and shooting anyone in their way. Then a second train full of them arrives and Tai Yan gives them permission to loot the city. In an effort to control them, Kenshiro drives a bus into a group of them, and Ye shoots the rest. Meanwhile, De Guise has invited the bandit Li Xui Bao and her group to help deal with the bandits. In a public gathering she approaches the severed heads of three bandit leaders to pay her respects even though they were not her people. Kenshiro detects something familiar about her, but Tai Yan arrives, prepared to kill her for interfering in his plans, but instead he is smitten by her beauty. Kenshiro then realizes that Li Xui Bao is Pan Yu Ling. (Source: Wikipedia)

A Trick of Fate

The Secret Technique of Zhang Tai-Yan

The Unforgettable Pain

A Deep Strong Memory

A Banquet and a Gunshot

To a Better Tomorrow