Product Details

• Format: AC-3, Animated, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: Japanese, English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Section 23
• DVD Release Date: July 20, 2010
• Run Time: 325 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003JMJ5WK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,364 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KING:COMP COLLECT - Blu-Ray Mo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For "Hokuto no Ken" and Raoh fans, a Raoh-driven anime series. No English dub audio track though!, October 1, 2009

By 

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Legends of the Dark King - A Fist of the North Star Story (DVD)

In 1983, the manga "Hokuto no Ken" (Fist of the North Star) was unleashed in Japan. Illustrated by Tetsuo Hara and written by Buronson, the manga went on from 1983-1988 and has spawned anime TV series, two films, OAV's, novels, video games and more.

Needless to say, in Japan, this series has been a staple of storylines that has touched Japanese pop culture showcasing good vs. evil as the series focused on a post-apocalyptic era in which the world now unstable with fear across the land. Where power is justice and power ruled. Those without power are left in fear. Those who have power command great armies or a ragtag group of the men who have succumbed to evil.

"Hokuto no Ken" featured four adoptive brothers who were taught the "Hokuto Shinken" (aka "God Fist of the North Star"). The four are eldest brother Raoh, Toki, Jagi and Kenshiro. With the main storyline focusing on the eldest, Raoh and the youngest Kenshiro. In the "Hokuto no Ken" (Fist of the North Star) series, Kenshiro has been chosen as the successor to Hokuto Shinken, a martial art that is 18-centuries old and involves using the body's 708 vital pressure points to either destroy or heal a person from within. Kenshiro is a man who is in love with Julia and instead of having a happy life, his evil brother Jagi uses his influence over Shin, who controls the rival to "Hokuto Shinken" known as Nanto Seiken (aka Sacred Fist of the South Star). If Hokuto Shinken is the Yin, Nanto Seiken is the Yang. Two can't exist without each other.

Earlier on, Shin has defeated Kenshiro but given a chance to live when Julia gives herself to Shin in order to rescue Kenshiro. Because of this pain, Kenshiro has learned from sorrow and vowed to get better, fight alongside the people and defeat evil. Meanwhile, his brother Raoh is the opposite. Jealous that his younger brother was chosen as successor, his goal is to conquer lands using his power and rule the world with fear, having not experienced sorrow.

Raoh can be seen like a Japan equivalent to Darth Vader, Cobra Commander or Megatron. Villains with power and despite being evil, their fan following is tremendous. In fact, he's so popular that back in 2007, a mock funeral was held for the character in order to promote the theatrical release of "Raoh Den Gekito no Sho" (a retelling of the final battle between Kenshiro vs. Raoh). And thousands of people attended the mock funeral, and many genuinely mourned Raoh as a man who touched their lives (despite not being a real person).

With the popularity of Raoh, a 13-episode series based on the 2006-2007 manga by Youkow Osada ("Gear Rally", "Toto", "TRIBAL12') was created to show how Raoh alongside Souga and Reina, and later a few other key members of his army known as "Kingdom of the Fist" were able to take on other evil/powerful sects around the country and completely drive fear around the world.

The series featured anime production by Satelight ("Geneshaft", "Heat Guy J", "Macross Zero", "Genesis of Aquarion", "Hellsing Ultimate", etc.) and was directed by Masashi Abe ("Blue Gender", "Solty Rei", "Tokko", ""Inuyasha", etc.), a screenplay by Hiroshi Ohnogi ("Aquarion", "Arjuna", "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood", "Macross Zero", etc.) and character designs by Hirotaka Marufuji ("Death Note", "Pokemon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life").

The series would primarily focus on Raoh and give us a perspective of his side of the story and despite being a villain, he is the protagonist of the series and we see how he eventually becomes a demon.

The main characters of "Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story" are:

* Raoh - The eldest of the adoptive brothers who were trained by Ryuken, the previous Hokuto Shinken master. Wants to be the greatest martial artist in the world but is jealous that his younger adoptive brother Kenshiro was chosen as successor to the Hokuto Shinken. Also, the woman he loved, Julia, has chosen Kenshiro. Refusing to give up the Hokuto Shinken style, he has taken the name Ken-Oh (King of Fist) and together with childhood friends Souga and Reina, the three take part in developing one of the most feared armies in the land. Bringing fear to everyone around them.
* Souga - Raoh's strategist. Known as Souga the Swift Footed for his incredible speed and Songshan Whirlwind Kick, he assists Raoh in developing the King of Fist army.
* Reina - Sister of Souga and the female captain of the Royal Guards. She is known as Reina of the Twin Blades and is fantastic with her swordsmanship. Although, Raoh and Souga accept their demonic side in conquering the world, she has a compassion because deep inside, she cares for Raoh and loves him.
* Sakuya - The mysterious woman who becomes the tactician for the King of Fist Army. Deadly, mysterious and becomes a rival to Reina for the attention of Raoh.
* Ryuga - Master of the Taishan Heavenly Wolf Fist and the right hand man of Raoh. Fast, furious and incredibly deadly, earlier on, he is a rival to Souga.
* Ulghur - A convicted killer who the prison warden at Cassandra have tried to execute five times but he has survived each execution. Seeing his potential, Raoh makes Ulghur the warden of Cassandra and using the city as a prison.
* Toki - One of the four adoptive brothers that learned the Hokuto Shinken but unlike Raoh, chooses not to fight and uses his martial art technique to heal people. Because he is knows the destructive power of Hokuto Shinken, Raoh wants Toki to join him at his side of the King of Fist army but Toki will never do such thing. His goal is if he ever runs into his adoptive brother Kenshiro, he will work with him. Because of that, Raoh has Toki imprisoned in Cassandra.

"Legends of the Dark King" features 13 episodes on 2 DVD's. Here are the following episodes with spoiler-less summaries:

DISC 1:

* EPISODE 1 - My Fists are for the Heavens! - How Raoh, Reina and Souga began their quest to form an army.
* EPISODE 2 - Kings Understand Kings! - How Raoh came to earn the respect of a powerful black stallion named Black King.
* EPISODE 3 - No Castle Can Stand Against Me! - A mysterious woman named Sakuya comes to offer her service to Raoh and help take down a castle.
* EPISODE 4 - These Fists Are For Other People! - Raoh encounters a convicted felon named Uighur who has survived five executions. Raoh encounters the huge behemoth.
* EPISODE 5 - Rival Siblings!- Raoh learns of how his brother Toki is using his power to help people. Because Raoh believes he should be the one helping the people of the country through fear, he comes to Toki with an ultimatum.
* EPISODE 6 - The Demon Awakens! - Raoh takes on Ryurou, a master of the Southern Star Flowing Seagull Fist.
* EPISODE 7 - The Blue Wolf Tears Across the Earth! - Ryuga inspired by Raoh, offers to help Raoh and becomes his right hand man.

DISC 2

* EPISODE 8 - Wailing Resounds Through the Darkness - Souga and Ryuga resolve their differences by fighting each other.
* EPISODE 9 - A Woman's Battle - Reina defies Raoh's orders and scouts a new country in the South.
* EPISODE 10 - Fists Smashed in Hot Sand! - Souga and his group investigate a country that is said to reappear and disappear in the desert.
* EPISODE 11 -The Holy Emperor Cometh! - Sakuya finds out the identity of the Holy Emperor but by meeting him without informing Raoh, is now branded a traitor and is imprisoned. Raoh goes to the Holy Emperor's land to confront him.
* EPISODE 12 - The King of Fist's Office is Falling! - A trap was set by Juda, while Raoh and his men met with the Holy Emperor, the Holy Emperor has his troops attacking the King of Fists castle.
* EPISODE 13 - I Walk the Path of the Heavens - The final episode - Raoh who knows the Hokuto Shinken vs. the Holy Emperor Thouzer, the successor of the Nanto Houken fight to the death.

VIDEO & AUDIO QUALITY:

"Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story" is presented in 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen. Hirotaka Marufuji wanted to make sure that the artwork of the series was close to Youkow Osada's manga with the strong black lines and corners and curves were represented well. For the most part, because the era takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, you can see there was quite a difference between the blue skies and vibrant setting before the war and now the grayish atmosphere after the war. But overall, animation was good and there is emphasis on dark strokes around the characters and a detail on the ravaged backgrounds.

Despite being a television series, there is still a good amount of severed limbs and bloody violence in the series. Not as hyper-detailed as what we would see in a "Hokuto no Ken" OVA series or film but still, good amount of violence which is expected from a "Hokuto no Ken" related title.

As for audio, the series is featured in Japanese with English subtitles. Audio is featured in Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital and there were some scenes where destruction can be heard through the surrounds and certain music that lingered on via LFE that had my subwoofers going for a bit. But for the most part, the series is front and center channel driven. Dialogue is easy to understand and for the most part, voice talent did a good job. Takashi Ukaji who has done the voice of Raoh in the previous live-action film and film series does a great job. The series also features well known voice talents such as Mai Nakahara (who plays Reina), known for doing the voices for May Wong in "Kaleido Star", Nagisa Furukawa in "Clannad", Eina in "Gravion", Mai Tokiha in "My Hime" and "My-Otome" and... Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars it's bland... but, i guess for diehard FotNS fans, it's a must, November 9, 2010

By 

GrayD "GrayD" (Wayne, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

i really enjoyed the Fist of the North Star (FotNS) series. having introduced to it by the movie, i hunted down the series to watch the whole shebang and it was worth it. it had it's annoyances, but the overall arc of it was well done enough for me to give the series a solid 5 stars *****!

note that i try to omit spoilers and i apologize if any get in by accident.

so, what is the Legends of the Dark King (LotDK) about? Raoh, the central figure of this series, is a very popular character and a series dealing with him seems to be quite reasonable to flesh out the story. where did he get his horse? what was he doing while Kenshiro is out there doing good things? what drove Raoh and changed him to become the unstoppable force that he is? who are his two assistants, Souga and Reina? um, wait, never mind that last one.

it's been a while since i have seen the original series, but i don't recall any Souga and Reina. ok, so they added new characters, not a big deal at all as long as it makes it better. problem is, it didn't. and that is the main problem i have with the Legends of the Dark King series. it changes things or adds things that do not necessarily make it better. if they had, i would have welcomed them with open arms.

the new characters of Souga and Reina... why are they there? they're sort of a fighting version of Bat (sans humor but, has a rocket leg) and Lynn (all grown up with swords). i'm not sure why they're bothering to help Raoh. their relationship is hinted at, but it was a weak connection to me. well, the bigger problem is, why does the invincible Raoh need or want these two underlings? Raoh only needs himself. then, there's Sakuya, who was not in the manga, to add another dimension to the story. i found her to be vaguely interesting at first, but by the end, she was more annoying than anything else. so, too many bland new characters, not enough Raoh.

the music in the original series was really fitting and enjoyable. both ridiculous and melodramatic - just like the series. the music in LotDK is totally forgettable. i highly recommend getting the soundtracks to FotNS if you can. so, bland music.

the art is based on the manga drawn by Yuko Osada (you can see him in the bonus featurette) and of course, it is re-imagined. problem is, we now get generic style mixed with DragonballZ, last airbender and Cowboy Bebop (Spike Spiegel is in LotDK, i swear). any of those by themselves would be fine but, it just seems derivative here when FotNS already has a strong style tradition. i mean, Raoh has a very characteristic forehead... why get rid of it and make Raoh look like a teenager? at first, i thought it was because LotDK was a prequel of some sort, but it really isn't. it is parallel to the FotNS series. again, in my opinion, the art changes were not for the better. FotNS was totally ridiculous and over the top. LotDK looks like any other generic anime that comes out. so, bland art.

the storyline is very uneventful. while the series is only 13 episodes, that should be enough to have some epic battles. but, alas, no. it is a lot of exposition (which FotNS also had) with tiny amounts of battles (which FotNS had gobs and gibs of). in fact, Raoh seems to be barely in the storyline. many of the episodes deal with Souga, Reina and Sakuya with Raoh making cameo appearances to mutter a few lines like, "I will go straight through the enemy." one basic problem is that Raoh's story doesn't have a major foe (other than Kenshiro which is FotNS). so it lacks that drama as you know Raoh will totally and easily crush anyone he meets. well, except Raoh's final fight which conveniently and unsatisfactorily ends. i won't bother with nitpicking with things like, Raoh can blast holes through mountains, why is he standing outside an iron wall unable to get in? i did like Raoh's battle against "Pluto" which was interesting. so, bland overall story line.

very little ridiculous and over the top violence and campy lines. this is FotNS where Kenshiro says things like "dahdahdahdahdahdahdahdahdahDAH!" and "You are already dead." with total conviction. when two heroes battle in FotNS, it is a meeting of titans. what the heck happened in LotDK? you may see a standoff... things are looking good, but then, they talk it over and nothing happens. argh! a tease of a battle. and not sure how others feel, but i don't want to see Souga and Reina fight b/c they really don't have any special martial arts. they're just very good at kicks and swordfighting. i want to see more of Raoh using Hokuto Shinken. the best fights are done by Ryuga whose blows are so powerful, they rip out chunks of his victims. very bland fights overall with a couple of exceptions.

if you really really like FotNS and you need a further helping of the series, this helps as long as you don't expect too much. the bluray quality was quite good and the english subs were very well done. the video is widescreen (currently, the aspect ratio in the specs at amazon is incorrect). the audio options are english dub or japanese with english subs. it also had a japanese featurette (with english subs) that showed some of the dubbing process as well as short interviews with voice actors and others. i always find it pretty remarkable how the voice actors really take their craft seriously in Japan. overall production of the bluray set is very well done.

this is a great time to be a fan of FotNS. i highly recommend the new sets being released currently as well as the movie. if you really need more, LotDK can help.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark and Bloody, November 29, 2010

By 

menapheno - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legends of the Dark King - A Fist of the North Star Story (DVD)

I had just finished watching this dvd set. It is one of the better animes that I have seen so far. The strategies that were used in the movie were clever. It is very brutal and bloody anime. I gave it an overall 4 star only because it left me hanging at the end. And there is no second season to finish the story. If you like Ninja Scroll, then you will like this dvd. It has the same feel/vibe to it. They just need to finish the series and then it will be one of classics.
*Good job on the previous reviewer who gave good synopsis on the characters and plot.