Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story
北斗の拳 ラオウ外伝 天の覇王In the wastelands following the great nuclear war, a legend grew of a man. “Hokuto No Ken.” The Fist of the North Star. Master of a legendary fighting technique. A man of impossible strength and endurance. Yet before Ken claimed the title of the Fist, there was another master, trained in the art of Hokuto Shinken, the King of the Fist, the Divine Fist of Heaven. Raoh: the ultimate assassin, the ultimate warrior. This is the story of the world before Fist of the North Star, and how one man took the future of a savage world into his deadly hands and reshaped its destiny. Not as a hero but as a conqueror. For in the mind of the man called Raoh, the only way to save Mankind is to grind it under his giant heel! The greatest battle is about to begin in Legends of the Dark King ~ Fist of the North Star! (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
Reviews
ankunding.corene - 2013-03-15 13:07:41
This is a supplementary series based on Hokuto no Ken, meant to cash in on the recent Hokuto no Ken revival that has been going on in Japan the past few years. In it, we see that Raoh wasn't just sitting around waiting for Kenshiro. He was building an empire. And along the way, he encountered many of the side characters that helped make the original series awesome.The series does a great job of showing Raoh develop and grow, while at the same time not deconstructing the character or anything foolish like that. You get to see Raoh, armed with a core staff, start with literally nothing, not even his horse (though we get a nice origin story for it).The animation, voice acting, and character design are only average, which hurts the series. Everything about Hokuto no Ken is larger than life, and a stifling production budget is always disappointing. There are still enough "fuck yeah" moments to carry the series, and it's easily digested at 13 episodes.Despite the fact that Kenshiro never has a proper cameo in this series, I found myself getting increasingly excited as his progress was brought up and mentioned in a very peripheral way. When I finished the last episode, I was totally pumped and eager to revisit the original manga and anime. Therefore, I judge this series as a success.I think the ideal audience for this anime is anyone who loves the original story, but won't get turned off if and when the side story deviates from the established "canon."