“Fist of North Star” is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara that ran for 245 issues in the Weekly Shonen manga anthology from 1983 to 1988. Toei Animation converted it into two anime TV series with a total of 152 episodes that aired from 1984 to 1988.
Since then, various anime films, OVAs, video games, and live-action films based on manga have been released. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world when the land is barren, the water is poisonous, and technology is useless. Water shortage is further monopolized by the powerful, leaving the weak powerless. Kenshiro, master of the combat style known as “HokutoShinken” aka “Fist of the North Star,” joins the battle of the oppressed peasants and fights for their survival. The manga’s vivid violence and savagery rival any R-rated film, and it drew the ire of many parents when it was first released. Despite several trims made both during and after production, there are plenty of action moments to enjoy, which would not have been possible without the villains’ forceful and fierce personalities. So buckle up as we take a look at the top ten most powerful villains from “Fist of the North Star.”
Raoh
Raoh, popularly known as the King of Fists, is a major adversary in the classic anime and manga “Fist of the North Star”, serving as the series’ main and final antagonist. Raoh is represented with a white complexion and blonde hair in the original manga color images. He is Ryuken’s oldest foster son, Toki and Sayaka’s elder brother, and Kaioh’s younger brother. Raoh was orphaned after his mother died and he was brought to the mainland by Jukei, along with his younger brother Toki and the newbornKenshiro, to study with Ryuken, the master of HokutoShinken.
Raoh has been driven by a tremendous desire to develop and become the strongest since his boyhood, owing in large part to the death of his parents, which spurred him to become stronger to live. As he trained and matured, his ambitions began to grow, and he became a supremely ambitious guy who sought more power and might to conquer even the sky itself. Ryuken started to dread Raoh’s might as he developed a powerful and deadly combat style, and he picked Kenshiro as his successor to HokutoShinken.
Raoh then violated the 1800-year-old Hokuto law by refusing to relinquish his power. Ryuken attempted to stop him from utilizing the Hokuto technique, but Raoh murdered him and fled the temple to fulfill his desire. He earned the nickname Ken-Oh and gathered an army to conquer the wasteland.
Jagi, Amiba, Yuda, and Ryuga were among those who joined his cause. Well, we will discuss them later in this video. Raoh possesses remarkable combat prowess as a HokutoShinken master. As was the case with Rei, he exploits the buried vital spots to inflict a long and excruciating death on any who oppose him. Raoh also incorporated Cassandra’s stolen martial arts into his combat style, displaying moves from both Nanto Seiken and Rakan Ni Ken in the TV series.
Even though Raoh was usually confident of his power and willingness to confront any challenger who came before him, he was not entirely fearless and was easily destabilized in the face of a person with forlorn eyes, because only an individual who has known love can feel despair, which Raoh had discarded for his grand plans.
Kaioh
Moving on, up next we have Kaioh. Kaioh is the first Ruler of Asura and the major adversary of the Land of Asura storyline in Fist of the North Star. He is Raoh’s, Toki’s, and Sayaka’s older brother. He is also known as the Demon Kaioh or the Creator of the New Century. His face is first hidden under an iron helmet, but he subsequently removes it to display his startling likeness to Raoh.
Years back, Kaioh trained with his younger brother, Raoh, and did not want to fight for a cause in which he did not believe. When the palace was caught on fire, the two boys discovered their mother holding their comatose sibling Tokiin her arms. She immersed herself in water and gave her life to save Hyo and Kenshiro, the infants. Kaioh sobbed at the burial service since the ritual was unable to bring his mother back. Kaioh gave up on love after burying his mother at Lake Masho, and darkness began to flood his head.
As the first step in his road to power, he killed his dog, Ryu. Kaioh is a shattered man who has committed his life to evil and the annihilation of all traces of love in himself and the world.
Kaioh would detest and wage war on love because of the loss of his mother. This occurrence, along with the fact that he was forced to lose his fights against a younger and less experienced Hyoh in order to encourage him, despite Kaioh being the superior fighter, made him despise the HokutoSke line, blaming it for his mother’s death and his repeated humiliations. He’s equipped in unique armor that helps him emphasize his demonic aura. Among his abilities is Manipulation of Matoki, which is the demonic aura, Martial arts mastery, superhuman power, superhuman stamina, and superhuman endurance. His goal was to eliminate both HokutoSoke and HokutoShinken in order to make room for the reign of HokutoRyuken. Kaioh is the manga’s final and most powerful major villain, as well as Kenshiro’s final opponent in the TV series.
Jagi
Jagi is the main adversary of the Jagi storyline in Fist of the North Star. He was one of the four stepsons of Ryuuken, the teacher of the Hokutoschool. Jagi, the second youngest, was the least proficient, which caused him to acquire an inferiority complex and rely on cunning methods rather than pure martial arts aptitude to win. Jagi was despised for his nasty methods that sought success at any cost, such as using a shotgun or spitting needles.
Jagi acquired a tremendous loathing for the youngest Hokuto sibling, Kenshiro, for his amazing skill from an early age, a hatred that would later characterize him as he got older and became Rei’s archenemy.
Jagi believed that brothers should honor their elders and that it was inexcusable for a younger brother to outperform him. Even as a child, he was the most aggressive of the brothers, attempting to murder Yuria’s dog and frightening another youngster called Juuza with a knife. Jagi’s character flaws include him being dishonest, cruel, and a petty individual which harmed his abilities as a martial artist, causing him to lag behind his siblings.
While outwardly thinking of himself to be superior to Kenshiro in every manner, Jagi suffered from an inferiority complex, which caused him to obsess on his hatred towardsKenshiro from boyhood till the end of his life. Because of his inferiority mindset, Jagi relied on gimmicks like spitting needles or wielding a shotgun to win battles.
After his deformity, Jagi pondered suicide but vowed to live only for the sake of inflicting pain on Kenshiro. Jagi’s lunacy drove him to murder numerous individuals at random for perceived resemblances to Kenshiro; he even regularly murdered his own troops, believing they were mocking him.
He showed no remorse for the killings he perpetrated, smirking, and stated he could waste as many children as he wanted when Kenshiro reminded him of Aki’s death. Jagi was a scared coward who liked assaulting people who were weaker than him and sucking up to the more strongRaoh. Even in death, Jagi showed no remorse for his heinous acts and continued to maintain his authority over Kenshiro.
Yuda
Yuda is the Nanto Kkaku Ken style’s successor and one of the Nanto Rokusei Ken. He carries the fate of the “Star of Enchantment/Beauty,” also known as the “Star of Betrayal/Deception.” Yuda is the primary antagonist in Fist of the North Star’s Yuda’s Arc. He is a wicked renegade warlord that controls his own army known as the UD Gang, which plunders villages and abducts beautiful women to serve Yuda, and was on Rei’s last kill list. Yuda is known among the Nanto Rokusei Ken for abandoning them in order to align himself with Raoh, taking 27 Nanto Seiken with him.
Yuda’s treachery is only equaled by his extreme narcissism. He maintains a harem of concubines who are forced to admire his beauty and who he delivers to his men after their usefulness has ended.
Despite his cleverness and talent in his chosen craft, Yuda’s infatuation with beauty frequently works against him; he explodes into blind anger if his looks or skills are insulted, and he may even be frozen with amazement by methods that surpass his own beauty.
His feud with Rei of Nanto Suichoken began long before the nuclear war when both Rei and Yuda trained at the same Nanto martial arts school, and Yuda, along with many other Nanto cadets, witnessed Rei’sbeautiful Nanto Suicho Ken technique.
Yuda professed his thoughts of envy and adoration for his opponent after his defeat before fatally hurting himself by thrusting Rei’s hands into his own chest. He finally admits that Rei was always the more powerful and attractive combatant, dying in Rei’s embrace. It was the first time pompous Yuda unwittingly accepted that someone in the shape of Rei may be more lovely in both look and competence.
Yuda’s ego could not accept the fact that the beauty of Rei’sSuichkenstyle was overshadowing his Kkakuken style, and instead of genuinely expressing his adoration to Rei, Yuda could only communicate his admiration in a highly twisted manner.
Amiba
Amiba, the self-proclaimed prodigy with an insane superiority complex, who started as a learner of Nanto Seiken, but believing he could learn any martial art at record speed, he switched to HokutoShinken. In the manga and anime Fist of the North Star, Amiba is a key adversary and the main antagonist of the arc’s Miracle Village. Amiba was a juvenile martial arts talent who studied martial arts with martial arts, Nanto Suich Ken, but he was not picked as successor, prompting Amiba to depart and seek renown elsewhere.
Amiba sought Toki to study Hokuto Shin Ken and become famous, but Toki graciously declined to share his expertise with Amiba owing to the vows of Hokuto Shin Ken requiring his quiet. He went to the Village of Miracles to establish his value, and while experimenting on his own, he nearly killed an old man with his attempts.
Toki stepped in to defend the guy, smacking Amiba away and advising him not to practice a martial technique he hadn’t yet mastered. Amiba witnessed Toki’s ability to heal people via the usage of Hokuto Shin Ken and was venerated as a savior. Amiba was enraged at this, as well as all of the acclaim heaped on Toki, and vowed vengeance on both Toki and the Village of Miracles.
When Raoh imprisoned Toki in Cassandra, Amiba used the chance to exact his revenge by imitating Toki and damaging his reputation. He partnered with Jagi, who assisted in making Amiba resemble Toki and even wounded his back with a club to replicate Toki’s scar. Amiba then learned enoughHokuto Shin Ken skills from Jagi to properly mimic Toki.
He conducted “new pressure point testing” on real persons and informed Raoh of his findings. He also stated that he could learn any martial technique in a short amount of time. In Ten no Ha, he designs a style based on HokutoShinken, which he labels Hokuda Shin Ken. Kenshiro eventually utilized ZankaiSekihoken, prompting Amiba to unintentionally walk off the edge of a high-rise building.
During his research, Amiba uncovered numerous additional critical spots, including one that can immobilize a person and others that greatly enhance a subject’s muscular growth – the latter, however, backfired and caused his hands to burst. It’s unclear if this was due to Amiba’s misunderstanding of the points or just an error he made in his growing rage and desire to defeat Kenshiro.
Han
Han is the Third leader of the ruthless authoritarian kingdom of Asura’sand a villain in Fist of the North Star. Han battles using hurricane-like HokutoRyuken techniques that are so quick that the human eye cannot follow them and casts no shadow. Even Shachi, one of the Lands of Asura’s best fighters and a fellow practitioner of HokutoRyu Ken, was unable to keep up with Han’s motions during their first confrontation.
Han was a master of the HokutoRyuken, Kenshiro’sHokutoShinken’s sister fighting technique. Despite his strong abilities, Han is unable to execute AnryuTenha, ranking him as the least powerful Rasho. Han is a tall, strong man with piercing green eyes, slicked black hair, and a tiny mustache to match.
He is regarded as an extremely attractive man, receiving a perfect five in looks in the series’ official character stat reference. As the Land of Asura’s Third General, Han reigned alongside his fellow commanders Hyoh and Kaioh. With his life in continual risk of assassination owing to being the weakest Rasho, he claims to have lost count after murdering the 100th assassin.
Han regularly bemoaned the dullness of his daily existence because no one could present him with a meaningful challenge, and he would spend his time playing chess against himself. Despite his ferocity, Han is less ruthless than Kaioh because he occasionally spares his would-be assassins, primarily because he believes they are not worth murdering or can provide him entertainment.
He eventually fights Kenshiro after the latter arrives at his castle to rescue Lin, who Shachi had brought there earlier as part of his plot to have Han face Kenshiro. In his moments of death, before falling into the river below, Han warns Kenshiro that he will never vanquish Hyoh and that only sorrow and death await him if he does not turn back.
In the series, Han is portrayed as a vicious and heartless martial artist who cares for no one’s life, not even his own. Han feels no regret for the men he has murdered. Above all, Han is fascinated with seeking a new challenge in his life. Despite his vicious nature, Han was described as being like a brother to the aristocratic rasho, Hyo, implying that Han has some redeeming traits.
Souther
Souther is the lone heir of the Nanto H Ken style, as well as one of the Nanto RokuSei Ken. He carries the fate of the Star of Leadership, also recognized as the Polar Star and the Southern Cross. The Star of Leadership, also known as the Polar Star and the Star of the Southern Cross, is represented by Souther. The Star of Leadership is the central star in the Nanto Constellation, ruling over the other five stars. Because the Star of Leadership governs over the Nanto constellation, none of the other Nanto heirs can beat him.
He is the main antagonist of the Souther’s Arc and a prominent adversary in the manga and anime Fist of the North Star. In addition to his combat technique, Souther has an odd attribute he refers to as his ‘Emperor’s Armor,’ which prevents assaults on his pressure points from working.
In actuality, he has dextrocardia with situsinversustotalis, which means that all of his organs, including his heart and pressure points, are mirrored from their original places. Souther was a brutal tyrant who ruled his legion with an iron grip and spared no one in his ambition to establish his Holy Empire.
Killing opponents in cruel ways, taking and using hostages, and even enslaving children to build his mausoleum, reasoning that children would be far more unwilling to resist than adults, reveal a cold and evil mind that easily establishes him as one of the series’ most malignant antagonists, leaving streaks of villages ransacked and scores of people killed. Even thoughSouther is a skilled fighter at par with Kenshiro and Raoh, it is the mystery hidden within his body that makes him really terrifying.
Traditional HokutoShinken tactics are useless against him due to his dextrocardia and inverted pressure point positions, which is how he destroyed Kenshiro and made Raoh afraid of facing him. When his secret is revealed, he is subject to its consequences just like any other fighter, although remaining a dangerous opponent. Tenshi H, his greatest strike and only posture, is an aerial technique that attacks through the opponent’s defenses as he glides.
Shin
Shin is the heir of Nanto Kosh Ken, one of the Nanto Rokusei Ken martial arts traditions. He carries the destiny of the Star of Martyrdom, who is destined to live and die for love, as the former primary adversary of the first arc plot. Shin was Kenshiro’s old buddy who had a crush on his fiancee Yuria for as long as he could remember. Despite this, Shin originally believed that Yuria would only adore Kenshiro.
During the chaos of society collapsing before the apocalypse, a young Shin attempted to maintain order, saving a fellow adolescent named Heart, who subsequently became one of his disciples. Following the nuclear war and the death of Master Ryuken, Jagi prodded Shin into approaching Kenshiro and claiming Yuria for himself.
Shin confronted Kenshiro and incapacitated him with the Nanto Gokuto Ken technique before inking seven scars in the shape of the Big Dipper on his chest to force Yuria to declare her love for him. Shin and his troops seized the old Kant area the next year. To win her love, he took the title of KING and built Yuria the city of Southern Cross. His continuing crimes, on the other hand, prompted her to commit suicide by leaping from the palace balcony.
Yuria survived thanks to NantoGoshasei’s assistance, who came to the Southern Cross to save Yuria from Raoh’s impending invasion. Shin committed Yuria to the Goshasei and allowed his reputation to be sullied by claiming to be her killer. Kenshiro then penetrated Shin’s stronghold, and the two battled once again.
Kenshiro vanquished Shin by striking his vital spots in the shape of Shin’s insignia, the ‘Bloody Cross,’ inspired by Shin’s statements after their first combat. Shin, who insisted that Yuria had died, refused to die at Ken’s hands and committed suicide by jumping from the royal balcony as Yuria had done before him. Kenshiro buried his slain competitor after the combat out of respect for their common love for the same woman.
Jakoh
Jakoh is one of the several antagonists in Fist of the North Star, acting as the anime’s major adversary in season 5. He was the Imperial Capital’s Viceroy, and he imprisoned the Celestial Empress, Lui, and coerced Falco into annihilating the Hokuto and Nanto warriors. Jako believed they would challenge his hegemony and eclipse Gento’s imperial star, Taikyokusei. Jakoh initially appears after Falco reports to him without annihilating the Hokuto Army and orders the GentoKoken master to kneel.
When Shoki, Kenshiro’s short-term companion, enters the throne room and tries to execute the usurper, Falco stops him, placing him in a fake condition of death, he states that Hokuto and Nanto are wicked. Jako is pure wickedness from the bottom of his heart. He’s a power-hungry dictator who controls with an iron fist and hides behind the Celestial Emperor’s authority to explain his horrible crimes.
Jako, who is cowardly, crafty, and selfish, utilises many methods to protect himself from damage, including kidnapping and keeping the Celestial Emperor hostage in order to get Falco to fight for him. Jako often abuses his staff, including his sons Jask and Sheeno. Jako has a severe dread of the dark, which he acquired when Raoh raided his town and located him among the villagers, taking him by the collar and informing Falco that Jako was wicked and needed to be cleansed.
Since then, Jako has been afraid of the North Star and anybody who unites with it, fearing that they would thwart his intentions. His achluophobia is so bad that he carries a generator on his back, which is connected to three lights that continually illuminate him. Despite being a non-action major villain in the manga and anime, Jakoh is a boss on the NES platform and Ein’s final opponent in Punchmania 2, where he throws knives. However, his weak and timid character resurfaces when Jakoh attempts to flee during these encounters and calls guards, only attacking directly in desperation.
Falco
Falco, also known as the Golden General and the strongest heir to Gento K Ken, is a revered but dreaded warlord who serves the Tentei. In Fist of the North Star, Falco transforms from a supporting adversary to a supporting protagonist. Falco is a master of GentoKoken and a dedicated servant of the Celestial Emperor.
He destroys competing for martial arts schools in his honor and even murders the elder of Mamiya’s village in order to erect a memorial to honor the dead Hokuto and Nanto fighters who perished during Kenshiro’s voyage. He also has a prosthetic limb because his actual one was sacrificed to Raoh during a prior confrontation.
When he discovered that Jakoh was exploiting him, he was told to assassinate either Lin or Lui so that Lui could be the Tentei. Instead of carrying out the deed, he smuggles Lin to a couple’s house. Falco fights with two Nanto Seiken users, Buzz and Gill Harn, masters of Nanto Soyo Ken, during the Hokuto Army’s conflict.
After a bloody battle, Falco emerges triumphant, despite Buzz’s attempt to murder him with a mortar shell, but Falco’s warriors sacrifice themselves to rescue their master. Falco’s combat style gives him a wide range of options, including area of effect and projectile attacks, allowing him to strike adversaries from practically any range and attack big crowds with varying degrees of timing and effect.
His gameplay’s Strong Attacks allow him to charge and power up the attack based on the string completed, at the loss of some Aura gauge. To avoid overspending his Aura, it is recommended that he knows when to perform his most powerful strikes, including when to refresh the Aura gauge and who is being engaged.
GentoKouken will annihilate foes based on the type of attack used; “fiery” attacks will create a flame-like plume around their foes before incineration, “icy” attacks will create a consecrating cold convalescing collapsing implosion as the foe freezes to the core, and basic “light” attacks will vaporize the foe brightly.