Bat is a young boy who accompanies Kenshiro in his journey. Bat left his home village to fend for himself so that his adoptive mother Toyo could take better care of her other orphans. He was eventually imprisoned in Lin's home village for trying to steal food and was locked in the same cell as Kenshiro, where the two met for the first time. After escaping, Bat decides to follow Kenshiro as his self-appointed sidekick, hoping to use Ken's strength to gain food for himself, but gradually matures as he witnesses the many tragic events, including the death of his adoptive mother. He grows up and forms the Hokuto Army with Rin to fight the Heavenly Emperor's Army, becoming a wanted fugitive. As a young adult, Bat has rudimentary martial art skills, along with limited knowledge of
Hokuto Shinken. At the end of the manga, Bat gives up on his love for Rin so she and Kenshiro could get married and finally, live the happy life they deserve so much. He presses Lin's pressure points to make her forget about him and manages to reunite Rin with an also amnesiac Ken, but fate forces him to pose as Ken in order to fight against Bolge, a blind and dangerous thug with a grudge against Ken. Bat is captured and horribly tortured by Bolge, but does his best to leave a convincing impersonation of Ken, hoping that with his death, the real Ken gets declared officially dead and future thugs leave him alone. Just before Bat's death, the real Ken rescues him and defeats the entire thug gang, moved by Bat's ultimate sacrifice. Rin decides to stay behind and guard Bat's grave forever, only to discover that Ken managed to revive Bat by pressing a hidden pressure point. In his final panels, Rin is happily hugging a fully revived, yet still unconscious Bat. Bat was voiced by
Mie Suzuki (as a child) and
Keiichi Nanba (as an adult) in the original TV series, by
Daisuke Namikawa in the
Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu films, by
Ayumi Tsunematsu in the
arcade game by Sega, by
Junya Enoki in
Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star. In English dubbed versions, Bat was voiced by
Tony Oliver in 1986 movie and by
Gary Dubin in the TV series. He was played by
Dante Basco in the 1995 live-action movie.
Rin is a young orphaned girl who befriends Kenshiro while working as jailer in the village where Kenshiro and Bat also met. After Kenshiro helps her recover her voice (having been traumatized in the past, witnessing bandits slaughter her family) and rescues her from the clutches of Zeed's gang, Rin decides to follow "Ken" and eventually finds him, joining him in his journey. Rin flowers into womanhood, and forms the Hokuto Army to rebel against the Heavenly Emperor's Army. She later learns that she is actually the twin sister of Lui, the current Empress, and was secretly given up for adoption by Falco after he was given orders to kill one of them. Rin was voiced by
Tomiko Suzuki (as a child) and
Miina Tominaga (as an adult) in the original TV series and 1986 movie, by
Maaya Sakamoto in the
Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu series, by
Miwa Kouzuki in the
fighting game version by Sega, and by
Ryōko Maekawa in
Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star. In English dubbed versions, she was voiced by
Holly Sidel in the 1986 movie and by
Sandy Fox in the TV series. Rin (as Lynn) was played by
Nalona Herron in the 1995 live action film.
Mamiya is a female village leader who bears resemblance to Kenshiro's fiancée, Yuria. She has limited skill in the martial arts, and uses weapons such as bladed yo-yos, bow and arrows, and
emeici in combat. In the past, Yuda slaughtered Mamiya's parents and kidnapped her with the intent to make her his concubine, branding her with the "UD" mark on her back. She eventually managed to escape, and in her humiliation, renounced her womanhood and became a warrior. Mamiya recruits Ken and Rei as guardians of her village and later accompanies the two for several arcs of the story. During the trio's time together, Mamiya, due to her similar attributes with Yuria, feelings for Kenshiro, though he does not acknowledge it; she also becomes the object of Rei's affections. However, burdened by the shame of her past, she is never able to express her love in return. In order that she would never forget him, Rei uses his final living days to challenge Yuda, whom he defeats and avenges the crimes that Judas committed against Mamiya in the past. Moved by his sacrifice on her behalf, Mamiya is able to re-embrace her womanhood, renouncing her life as a warrior. Following Rei's death, she only makes sporadic appearances through the remainder of the manga. She reappears in Episode 114 of the sequel TV series. Mamiya was voiced by
Toshiko Fujita in the series,
Naomi Shindō in the video game ''
Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage, and Karin Nanami in Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star
. In English dubbed version of the TV Series she is voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and in Ken's Rage'', she was voiced by
Laura Bailey.
Airi is Rei's younger sister, who was kidnapped by Jagi on the day of her wedding and then sold to slavery. The Fang Clan managed to get a hold of her after killing her previous captor and used her as leverage against Rei. Such was Airi's suffering at the hands of the Fang Clan that she blinded herself in despair. Rei rescued her with the help of Kenshiro, who restored her eyesight. She remains in Mamiya's village and gains the courage to stand up and defend herself with the help of Rin when Kenoh's army invades the village. Like Mamiya, Airi reappears in Episode 114 of the sequel TV series.
Ryuga is the elder brother of Yuria and the older half-brother of Juza. He is the successor of the style, which allows him to scoop out chunks of his enemies' flesh while leaving them with a feeling of coldness. He represents the solitary star of , which is neither part of the
Hokuto nor
Nanto constellations. After the nuclear war, Ryuga pledges his loyalty to Raoh, believing that his tyranny will restore order to the world. However, he begins to doubt Raoh's methods when he meets his sister's fiancée Kenshiro, the other
Hokuto Shinken master. Ryuga decides to challenge Kenshiro by kidnapping Toki and keeping him captive in his castle. Kenshiro defeats him, only to find out that Ryuga was already dying, having
slit his own stomach before the battle. He shows Kenshiro the locket of Yuria, whom he holds dear, and realizes Yuria has made the right decision by choosing Kenshiro before dying. Ryuga was voiced by
Hideyuki Hori in the original TV series,
Daisuke Sakaguchi (as a child) in the
Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu series, and by
Daisuke Matsubara in the
Ten no Haoh anime series.
John Swasey voices him in the English dub of Legends of the Dark King.
Ein is a famed tracker and a bounty hunter who fights with an unorthodox . He is hired to capture Kenshiro, but after a brief fight with Ken, he begins to respect him. He has a daughter named Asuka, who he protects with his very life and is the reason why he earns money. He sacrifices his own life to save Bat, Mew, Rin and Lui from a flooding cell. Kenshiro is given Ein's gloves by Asuka after his death in which he was seen wearing throughout the rest of the series, until it is finally destroyed in his showdown with Han.
Harn Bros ; :
Voiced by:
Daisuke Gouri (Buzz) and
Yutaka Shimaka (Gill) : and are two dangerous brothers that were captured by Ein in the past through luck and wit (ironically they would be rescued by Ein and Kenshiro). They are masters of and have a grudge against Falco for killing several Nanto masters. In the original manga, Buzz is killed after detonating a decommissioned nuclear mortar in a failed attempt to take Falco's life, while a distraught Gill lives on and is convinced to join the Hokuto Army. He is finally seen holding Ein's lifeless body during the destruction of the capital before being phased out from the series. In the anime, both Buzz and Gill die during the explosion. The scene in which Gill holds Ein's corpse has been maintained replacing the Harn with a generic fighter. Buzz is also known as due to a misprint in the manga (which was fixed in the Kanzenban edition), which is the name used in the TV series.
Lui is the twin sister of Rin and the . Only one of the children was permitted to live, but Falco could not bring himself to kill Rin and instead left her in the care of his aunt and uncle. Lui is kidnapped by Jaco and locked underground in the Imperial Palace as a means by Jacó to blackmail Falco, her protector. Bat, Rin and Ein sets off to the Imperial Castle to free Lui, while Kenshiro is fighting Falco. When Rin meets Lui for the first time, she learns the truth about her heritage. After Lui is freed, Falco turns against Jaco and kills him.
Akashachi ; :
Voiced by:
Daisuke Gōri,
Nobuaki Kakuda (2007 movie) : Father of Shachi and also a one legged and one eyed pirate with a metal claw, who transported Kenshiro reluctantly to Shura. He gave a mission to Kenshiro to find his son Shachi that somehow got lost in Shura. Albeit he is portrayed as a brutal pirate in the beginning, he did reveal his good side at the end especially when he tried to save a fatally injured Kenshiro. Raoh personally thanked Akashachi at some point, as he helped Raoh as an ocean transport. In Raoh Den, he cried for Raoh when Koku-oh brought his ashes to Reina. He was killed by Kaioh's hidden crossbow when rescuing Kenshiro; however, he did manage to find his son Shachi, as well as meeting his love, Leia, whom he blessed before passing away. After his death, his son, wore his eye patch in his memory.
Leia ; :
Voiced by:
Masako Katsuki : A native girl of Shura who breaks Shuran law by preaching against violence. She becomes Shachi's girlfriend which makes him choose to stay in Shura, but later comes to an agreement with Shachi to distance herself from him for her protection. However before Shachi's final battle with Kaioh she travels with him, and eventually holds Shachi and sheds tears for him as he dies.
Ryu ; : Introduced late in the manga's run, Ryu is the orphaned son of Raoh with an unknown mother, who was raised by the Hakuri family after his father's death. Ryu already possess wit and courage at a young age, as he stands up against a group of bandits threatening his village. He is already acquainted with his "Uncle Kenshiro" when he first appears, who introduces him to his father's steed Kokuoh. After Ryu's foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hakuri, are killed, Kenshiro takes Ryu as his apprentice and travels with him for a few story arcs before Kenshiro abruptly leaves him under the care of Balga and his son, so that Ryu can train on his own. Ryu never appears in the TV series, as the post-Kaioh chapters of the manga were not adapted, but he makes a unvoiced appearance in a flashback in
New Fist of the North Star.
Balga ; :
Voiced by:
Masaki Terasoma (2007 movie) : One of Raoh's former generals. After Raoh died he didn't have a reason to fight and lost his "sting" as one of the hardhitting Generals of Raoh's army. Therefore he became soft and Kōketsu took advantage of that and enslaved Balga. He had to work hard in order to keep his son and the other children alive. Later as Kenshiro arrived with Ryu (Raoh's son) they defeated Kōketsu and left Balga in charge of the land, protecting the people and reclaiming his honor. After Baran is defeated, Kenshiro leaves Ryu in Balga's care. In the movie
Raoh Den: Gekitō no Shō, it is established that Balga was the unnamed soldier that shot Raoh in the leg with an arrow to stop him from killing Yuria; it's also established that he was Raoh's most trusted soldier and cried for Raoh knowing that he would lose to Kenshiro after being captured by Rihaku.
Others ; : An elephant-sized black
stallion whom Raoh rides as Kenoh. A wilful and strong creature, Kokuoh has only allowed Raoh, Kenshiro, Juza and Bat to ride him. After Raoh's death, he becomes Kenshiro's steed. He dies of old age during the manga's final arc. ; :
Voiced by:
Ryūji Saikachi : A farmer whose life is saved by Ken early in the story. Ken helps him deliver a bag of seed rice to his village, but he is shortly killed by Spade. In the TV series, Misumi is named . ; :
Voiced by:
Reiko Suzuki (TV series), Seiko Fujiki (
Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu movie series) : Bat's foster mother. Kenshiro helps her dig a well to feed her adopted children. She is later wounded by Jackal, who attacks her village. She reconciles with Bat before dying from her wound. Toyo appears in the movie ''Raoh Den: Jun'ai no Shō'', where she is renamed . ; :
Voiced by:
Kyōko Tongū (TV series), Tōko Aoyama (
Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu movie series) : One of Bat's adopted brothers, who leads Kenshiro to Toyo's village. In the manga, Taki is killed by a thug while stealing water from a neighboring village. In the TV series, Taki is saved by Ken at the last moment. He appears in 2006 movie ''Raoh Den: Jun'ai no Shō'', where he is renamed . ; :
Voiced by:
Ryō Horikawa : Mamiya's younger brother, who is captured and slain by the Fang Clan. ; :
Voiced by:
Keiichi Nanba,
Miyu Irino (
Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu movie series) : Shu's son. He saves Kenshiro after he is captured and tortured by Thouzer, and accompanies him through the desert to return to Thouzer's city, when a group of Thouzer's men surround him and Kenshiro. Shiba selflessly sacrifices himself by detonating some sticks of
dynamite to kill the soldiers, horrifying Kenshiro in the process. ; :
Voiced by:
Mika Doi (TV series),
Yuko Kaida (
Legend of Yuria) : The daughter of Rihaku. She disguises herself as the Last General of Nanto and then attempts to dissuade Raoh from taking Yuria by offering herself to him instead. After being rejected, she takes her own life in front of him. ; :
Voiced by:
Kuniko Ogawa : Falco's wife. When the Empress Lui was kidnapped, she became Jacó's woman to learn the whereabouts of the Empress. She later discovers she is pregnant with Falco's child. ; :
Voiced by:
Saori Sugimoto : Ein's young daughter, to whom he refers to as his "girl". In the TV series it was further established that she was his adopted daughter, whom he adopted from a young widow that used to take care of him. The widow was killed by bandits and Ein adopted Asuka as his own. ; :
Voiced by:
Nozomu Sasaki : Leia's younger brother. He looked up to Shachi as his idol and joined the Shuran training camp against his sister's wishes to follow in Shachi's footsteps. Tao deserted the training camp when he was ordered to kill a friend in combat. ; :
Voiced by:
Gara Takashima : The younger sister of Kaioh and Hyoh's fiancée who hoped that someday Hyoh would bring peace to Shura and they would cross the sea together. In order to manipulate Kenshiro and Hyoh into fighting each other, Kaioh kills Sayaka and then tells Hyoh that Kenshiro was the culprit. This triggers Hyoh's demonic aura, erasing the good moods and pity he still showed with his people. ; :
Voiced by:
Shigeru Chiba :A short dwarfish man who worked as a servant of the main Hokuto bloodline. He wields two long claws in battle. He assists Kenshiro and Hyoh, but dies fighting Kaioh's elite army. ; :
Voiced by:
Kazumi Tanaka : The second-in-command of Hyoh's army. He serves Hyoh rather than Kaioh due to Hyoh's more forgiving nature. When Hyoh turns insane after Sayaka's death, Nagato and his four subordinates renounces their position due to Hyoh's change of attitude. Hyoh considers this an act of treason and kills him. ; :
Voiced by:
Mika Doi : The sister of Shume and mother to Ryūō. A woman of the Hokuto clan, Ōka and her Shume gave birth to their respective sons on the same day. However, the priests of the Hokuto clan forbade the existence of two possible successors and choose to sacrifice expose both children to a pack of hungry wolves. Realizing that Shume was dying of a terminal illness and would not live to see her child grow, Ōka gave away her life in order to concede the successorship to Shume's son. ; :
Voiced by:
Yuriko Yamamoto : The mother of Shuken. She was already suffering from a terminal illness when she gave birth to Shuken and wished for her son to be the Hokuto successor, going as far as to take Shuken away during the sacrificial ritual the priests set up to determine the successor. ; : The ancestor of Kenshiro and Hyoh. A practitioner of the original Hokuto Sōke style. He was destined to be sacrificed by the Hokuto priests as a part of a successorship ritual, but was spared by the compassion of his mother and his aunt's sacrifice. He is founder of Hokuto Shinken. In the manga
Fist of the Blue Sky, it is revealed that he created Hokuto Shinken by blending the Hokuto Sōke style with
Seito Gekken. ; : The ancestor of Raoh, Kaio and Toki. His mother Ōka sacrificed her life so that he and Shuken would grow up together. Ryūō grew up without the love of his mother and lost all respect for love. Since Ryuoh was part of the Hokuto Sōke, he and all of his descendants were born with a
Big Dipper-shaped birthmark on their head as proof of their bloodline. The anime establishes Ryuoh as the founder of Hokuto Ryūken, although this is later contradicted in
Fist of the Blue Sky, which establishes
Hokuto Ryūken as an offshoot of the
Hokuto Ryūkaken branch formed centuries after
Hokuto Shinken's foundation. ; : The ruler of the Sava Kingdom and Master of . He is the father of three spoiled sons (and one daughter) that don't like each other, as they three fight to be the leader of the land. Attempts to hire Kenshiro to kill his three sons to prevent a civil war. ; : One of the Viceroys of the Sava Kingdom and the eldest son of Asamu. He was born under the sign of the Red Emperor and bears a resemblance to his father. He competes with his brothers for the successorship, but the three decides to set aside their differences when they learn their father is dying. He is later killed when he is struck from behind by one of the bandits threatening his kingdom. ; : The second Viceroy of Sava and Asam's middle son. He was born under the sign of the Blue Emperor. After the death of Asam and Kai, he attempts to leave the Kingdom along with Satora, but Satora forces him to stay. ; : The third Viceroy of Sava and the youngest of Asam's sons. He was born under the sign of the Yellow Emperor. After the deaths of Kai and Asam, he concedes the throne to Bukō and follows Kenshiro and Ryu to the Kingdom of Blanca to see his fiancee Luseli. ; : Princess of the Sava Kingdom and the young daughter of Asam. She is the one who seeks Kenshiro's help in order to solve the dispute between her three brothers. ; : Princess of the Blanca Kingdom and Satora's fiancee. She was saved by Baran, whom bares some resemblance to his younger sister who died many years ago. ; : Lin's pet dog. Appears only in the TV series during the early episodes, but disappears after the Thouzer arc. ; :
Voiced by:
Kazumi Amemiya (episodes 12-21) →
Yumiko Shibata (episode 73) : A young girl who appears in the early episodes of the TV series as Yuria's personal servant in Southern Cross. She provides emotional support to Yuria after learning about her situation and makes an escape attempt with Yuria, hoping to reunite her with Kenshiro. Shin catches the two in the act and decides to punish Saki. However, instead of killing her, she is sent back to her home village. She later appears in the Ryuga arc, where she is shown to be the caretaker of Shin's and Yuria's graves. ; :
Voiced by: Masashi Hironaka (episodes 131-133) : A young man form the Land of Shura who appears only in the
Hokuto no Ken 2 anime series. As the leader of a band of cowboy-like fighters, Rock intends to bring peace to the Land of Shura after it is discovered that the man who killed Han was not Raoh but actually Kenshiro, and his father and younger brother are both killed by Shuras following this revelation. When they discover that Kenshiro and Hyoh, the second general of Shura, are biological brothers, he and his gang set out to defeat Hyoh before the two brothers face each other. Hyoh's army slaughters Rock's men and leave Rock fatally wounded. Rock tries to tell Kenshiro that Hyoh is his brother, but succumbs to his wound before he can do so. ==Villains==