Kenshiro is the youngest of four adopted sons trained by the previous
Hokuto Shinken successor,
Ryuken. As a child, he was sent to Japan, along with his future nemesis
Raoh and Raoh's brother
Toki, to escape from their homeland, the war-torn Land of Asura. Along with Raoh, Toki and a fourth student named
Jagi, Kenshiro, the youngest of the four, was trained in the art of
Hokuto Shinken and eventually named successor by Ryuken. After surviving the nuclear war, he tried to live in peace with his fiancée
Yulia, until Jagi instigates
Shin, a jealous rival from the Nanto Koshuken school, to challenge, then defeat Kenshiro. Shin then engraved the iconic seven scars on Kenshiro's chest by stabbing Kenshiro with his fingertips and left him for dead. Prior to this event, he was more forgiving of his enemies, as shown in a flashback of Jagi's failed assassination attempt against him, in which Kenshiro chooses to spare Jagi's life after defeating him. When Kenshiro later fights his old rivals in the present, particularly Shin, Jagi, and Raoh, they all remark on Kenshiro's acquired mercilessness. The initial story arc centers around Kenshiro's quest to reclaim Yulia from Shin. He meets a pair of orphans who follow him in his journey:
Bat, a thief; and
Lin, a young girl rescued by Ken. Throughout the course of the series, Kenshiro protects the weak and innocent from the numerous gangs roaming the post-apocalyptic wasteland, eventually gaining his reputation as the "Savior of the Century's End." Kenshiro's skills improve through his encounters with members of the
Nanto Roku Seiken and his Hokuto brothers. In the intervening years between Kenshiro last encountering his brothers, Toki decided to use his powers in a way that brought no pain, through healing and painless attacks, while Raoh became considerably more misguided, intent on becoming the 'Conqueror of the Century's End' through ruling the wasteland with an iron fist. Kenshiro eventually confronts and defeats Raoh and is reunited with Yulia, and lives with her until she eventually dies from a terminal illness brought on by radiation sickness. However, Raoh's prior intervention has extended Yulia's life expectancy from months to several years. Years later, Kenshiro joins forces with the now-grown Bat and Lin, who have formed the Hokuto Army to fight off the now-corrupt
Gento Kōken warriors. The story eventually takes Ken to the Land of Asura, where he learns of his
Hokuto Sōke heritage and fights against the warlords who control the Land of Asura: his estranged blood brother
Hyoh; and
Kaioh, Raoh's other blood brother. In the end, Kenshiro takes Raoh's orphaned son,
Ryu, under his wing, before continuing on his own, the future of humanity finally sealed with the defeat of Kaioh. Kenshiro is also known as , due to the seven scars engraved on his chest patterned after the shape of the
Big Dipper (the symbol of the
Hokuto school), as well as . Kenshiro's famous
catchphrase just prior to an enemy's death is . ==Voice actors==