Souten no Ken (Fist of the Blue Sky)

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Japanese: 蒼天の拳

More titles

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 22

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 5, 2006 to Mar 15, 2007

Premiered: Fall 2006

Broadcast: Thursdays at 02:40 (JST)

Producers: TV Asahi

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: APPP

Source: Manga

Genre: Action

Themes: Historical, Martial Arts

Duration: 27 min. per ep.

Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 6.70¹ (scored by 3,751 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #5867²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #5829

Members: 12,496

Favorites: 22

Available At

Official Site

Resources

AniDB

ANN

Synopsis

A mysterious man known as "the King of Death" roams the streets of pre-war Shanghai in this action-packed prequel to Fist of the North Star.

Shanghai in the 1930s is a dangerous place. Foreign governments and Chinese factions have carved the city into different quarters, each with its own laws and government, and all rife with corruption. As the major powers vie for political control, the streets are left to local gangs. Life is cheap, and death is always near.

In days past, one man walked these mean streets battling the forces of evil. He was known only as Yan Wang, "the King of Death." Few knew who he really was, but many knew that he was a master of Hokuto Shinken - Fist of the North Star - a lethal martial art. He disappeared years ago after dispatching the city's worst gangsters, and is now rumored to be in Japan. Various people have come to Japan in search of him, but who will find him first?

Edit

Background

No background information has been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding background information here.

Edit

Related Anime

Adaptation:	Souten no Ken
Side story:	Souten no Ken Specials
Sequel:	Souten no Ken: Regenesis

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kasumi, Kenshirou

Main

Yamadera, Kouichi
Japanese

Ryuuken

Supporting

Kondo, Takashi
Japanese

Zhang, Taiyan

Supporting

Ootsuka, Houchuu
Japanese

de Guise, Charles

Supporting

Kusunoki, Taiten
Japanese

Mang, Kuangyun

Supporting

Yanada, Kiyoyuki
Japanese

Pan, Guanglin

Supporting

Terasoma, Masaki
Japanese

Kitaoji, Aya

Supporting

Hisakawa, Aya
Japanese

Pan, Yuling

Supporting

Hisakawa, Aya
Japanese

Ye, Ziying

Supporting

Satou, Yuudai
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Yamaguchi, Mihiro

Director

Honda, Yasunori

Sound Director

Shimizu, Kazunobu

Episode Director

Kusunoki, Naoki

Episode Director

Edit

Opening Theme

"Bara ga Saku Bara ga Chiru" by Rina Aiuchi

Edit

Ending Theme

	1: "Kokoro no Rhythm Tobichiru Butterfly" by Doa (eps 1-12)
	2: "Kissing 'til I die" by Jun Manaka (eps 13-??)

Reviews

Jan 14, 2018

mudkip266

Recommended

My overall thoughts on this anime: amazing ideas that were poorly executed. Having already watched the original 80's anime Hokuto no Ken, I thought I'd give this one a try. This anime had a lot of potential, as the interaction with the gang wars and the destiny of Hokuto make room for an intricate storyline with complex characterization. However, the anime suffered from a rather sluggish storyline and inconsistent animation quality. I've never read the manga for this series, so perhaps it was better able to achieve what was intended.

Story: 6/10
There were a lot of parts where the anime didn't need to dwell ... as long as it did. There were a lot of fights which would make up an entire episode without driving the storyline. Furthermore, plot holes, inconsistencies (with the original Hokuto no Ken), and a lot of plot threads that weren't adequately resolved. For me, its one saving grace was setting the anime in 1930's Shanghai. Again, just poor execution.

Art: 7/10
Besides an inconsistent plot, the art quality was also inconsistent, ranging from quite beautiful to abhorrent. When the art was good, it felt very much like Tetsuo Hara's style had been faithfully translated into the anime. Characters' outfits were nice and I especially enjoyed seeing Kasumi Kenshiro in a suit. Otherwise, perhaps due to lack of budget, there were too many parts that I could barely watch due to how poor the animation was (and don't get me started on the extra 4 episodes). Overall? I quite liked the animation style, and I wish the animators had the time and resources to fix a lot of it.

Sound: 7/10
Sometimes, the sound quality was palpably poor, and a lot of soundbytes were re-used throughout. Otherwise, it didn't really take away from the series.

Character: 7/10
I'm not too sure how to judge this aspect of the anime. There were some scenes in which the way the writers intended to portray Kasumi Kenshiro came out quite beautifully and the distinction between him and his namesake was clear. However, this was too often poorly executed, and Kenshiro was too similar to Kenshiro II. As well, several of the characters feel as though they were rehashed from the original Hokuto no Ken series. Other characters are unclear in what their motivations are and why they're acting as they do. However, a lot of this is at least forgiven through Kenshiro's character growth and Yu-Ling's fine characterization. So overall, characterization largely suffered from poor execution.

Enjoyment: 7/10
This was definitely not the best series I've ever watched. There were some parts at which I was only watching for the sake of completing the series. Otherwise, there were other parts I genuinely enjoyed. I think my favourite thing about Kasumi Kenshiro is that his weaknesses are made clear, and he's made out to be a very human character. So overall, my enjoyment ranged between genuine love for this series and wishing to bang my head against a wall.

Conclusion:
I gave this series an 8/10. Reason being, the worst parts of Souten no Ken were in the 4 unaired episodes. Thus, I'm trying to make a distinction between those and the series that actually aired. With that, I plan to read the manga when I have the opportunity, as there's likely a lot of story that the anime never managed to cover.

Open

Gift

May 9, 2012

Donwun

Mixed Feelings

Thoughts Before Watching: Hell yeah a prequel to one of the most classic fighting Anime’s of all time hell yeah, maybe ill get to see how cool things where before the nuclear apocalypse and possibly how it all came to be…..especially with updated animation, bring it on!

Thoughts After Watching: Seriously is that it…..scratches head continuously

Animation

Well it’s definitely an improvement compared against the 80’s series but the characters and movements / motions feel painfully stiff. As usual the character designs are very templated but that itself is a common trait of this franchise. Sadly another bad thing is this anime has the look of an old ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

One Main Character (3)

by Gino99

40 Entries · 10 Restacks

Recommendations

More news

Recent News

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Why Do People Want Souten no Ken as Top Anime? Pages_Pages - Jan 23, 2023	1 replies	by ChouunShiryuu »» Jan 24, 2023 8:43 AM
Poll: Souten no Ken Episode 22 Discussion Ranxomare - Feb 14, 2017	3 replies	by 0ni_Link »» Jul 23, 2022 7:58 PM
Poll: Souten no Ken Episode 2 Discussion UnculturedWhitey - Mar 28, 2013	4 replies	by 0ni_Link »» Nov 5, 2021 5:38 PM
Poll: Souten no Ken Episode 21 Discussion Ranxomare - Feb 14, 2017	1 replies	by Unkrowned »» Dec 29, 2019 1:12 AM
Poll: Souten no Ken Episode 20 Discussion Ranxomare - Feb 12, 2017	1 replies	by Unkrowned »» Dec 29, 2019 12:59 AM

Recent Featured Articles

Top 10 Hip-Hop Music Videos feat. Badass Anime Rap

Yo! Check it out yo! Japan is famous for its unique adaptations of hip-hop music. But what about vise versa? There are actually quite a few anime-inspired rap lyrics in western music. Let's explore some famous anime references in hip-hop, as well as the array of rap tunes and rappers in anime!

by ansalin

54,733 views

Collection History and Culture Music Video

Souten no Ken

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Kasumi, Kenshirou

Ryuuken

Zhang, Taiyan

de Guise, Charles

Mang, Kuangyun

Pan, Guanglin

Kitaoji, Aya

Pan, Yuling

Ye, Ziying

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Souten no Ken

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-