Raoh

infobox animanga character
series = Fist of the North Star


creator = Tetsuo Hara, Buronson
alias = Ken-Ō ("Fist King"), The Emperor, The Conqueror of the Century's End
title = The Eldest of the Four Hokuto Brothers.
relatives = Unnamed mother
Kaioh (biological older brother)
Toki (biological younger brother)
Sayaka (biological younger sister)
Ryuken (adoptive father and sifu)
Jagi (adoptive younger brother)
Kenshiro (adoptive younger brother)
Ryu (son)

nihongo|Raoh|ラオウ|Raō|, or nihongo|Ken-oh|拳王|Ken'ō|lit. "Fist King" , is a fictional character and the central antagonist of Buronson and Tetsuo Hara's "Fist of the North Star" manga, anime, and other related works. He is also the protagonist of Youkow Osada's manga and anime, "Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden: Ten no Haoh".

Character overview

Raoh is the last of the four Hokuto Brothers introduced in the original "Fist of the North Star" manga. The manga gives two different origins to the character. In the first origin, Raoh and Toki are revealed to be blood-related siblings who lost both of their parents and were then picked up by Ryuken, who came to their home village to adopt one of them as his student. The second origin reveals that Raoh and Toki are actually natives of the Land of Asura, who fled from their homeland after the death of their mother to travel to the "Eastern Land" with an infant Kenshiro, leaving behind their older brother Kaioh and a sister named Sayaka.

After the brothers were picked by Ryuken, the two were trained in the art of Hokuto Shinken along with Kenshiro and a fourth student named Jagi, until reaching adulthood. When Kenshiro is named successor by Ryuken, Raoh refuses to give up the art and then slays his master. After the nuclear war, he takes on the mantle of Ken-oh and builds an army of followers, which includes Jagi, Amiba, Uighur, Yuda and Ryuga, and rides a large black stallion named Kokuoh-Go.

In his first appearance, he easily defeats Kenshiro's ally, Rei, and proves to be more than a match against Ken and Toki. His first fight with Ken ends in a stalemate and leaves the two alive, but seriously injured. After he recovers from his wound, he challenges his master's former rival Koryu, and then Toki, defeating both. Afterwards, he is challenged by the Nanto Goshasei, the guardians of the Last Nanto General. As he fights each of the Goshasei, he eventually learns the Last General's true identity, Yuria, and rushes to the Nanto Capital to claim her for himself.

After killing all of the Goshasei (with the exception of Rihaku, who survives his attack), he takes Yuria to the Hokuto Renkitōza to lure Ken for a final battle. Prior to the battle, he learned that Yuria is dying from the same terminal illness that killed Toki, and his sorrow for her enables him to learn the "Musō Tensei" technique and be evenly matched with Kenshiro. Despite this, he still loses the final battle. After accepting his defeat and recognizing Kenshiro as a worthy successor, he lift his fist in the air, proclaims "he has no regrets" and then transfers his life energy to the sky, restoring light to the world.

His presence figures prominently in the story arcs following his death (and the corresponding "Hokuto no Ken 2" anime series) through posthumous flashbacks establishing connections between Raoh and several characters such as Falco, Akashachi and Kaioh. He leaves behind an orphaned son named Ryu, whom Kenshiro takes as his apprentice during the last few arcs in the manga.

Voice actors

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Raoh was voiced by Tesshō Genda in the 2006 CG animated short film "Hokuto no Ken: Legend of Heroes". In the "Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu" movie series, Raoh is voiced Takashi Ukaji and as a child by Shigeru Shibuya. Ukaji will cast Raoh again in the upcoming anime "Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden: Ten no Haoh".

In culture

To promote the theatrical release of "Raoh Den Gekitō no Shō" (an animated retelling of Kenshiro's final battle with Raoh), the producers of the film conducted a mock funeral service that was held at the Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin on April 18, 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1674440.ece|title=Fantasy funeral brings out thousands of real mourners - Times Online] [ cite web|url=http://www.animaxis.com/en/zine/newsletter/view.asp?id=N001799|title=Real-Life Funeral Planned for "Fist of the North Star" Character Raoh] A recording of the funeral service was included as a bonus feature in the Japanese DVD release of the film.

Notes and references