Kenshiro and Kaioh continue their battle. Elsewhere, Hyoh still isn't at full strength and as Tao sees to his wounds, Black Yaksha appears. He tells them that Kenshiro has begun to fight against Kaioh. Hyoh wonders if all of this could be his fault, he might be the reason that Kaioh become a Demon. He remembers that Kaioh was very strong, and looked up to by the other children in the Land of Asura. However, Jukei did not like that he was better than Hyoh, to the point where he forced him to lose a fight against him, or he would kill Raoh and Toki. Kaioh lost the fight on purpose, and was humiliated. Just then a deranged Asura called Zebra attacks them.

In another village, some Asuras are looking for a woman for Samoto, their master, to marry. They don't have much luck until they see Lin. Meanwhile, Hyoh finds out from Zebra what Kaioh did to Lin, before defeating and killing him. Back at the fight, Kenshiro and Kaioh continue to strike each other. As they get up, Kaioh says there is no saving his lost heart now. But Kenshiro tells him that he must... as when he became the successor to the North Star divine fist, he made a promise with Raoh...

Raoh told Kenshiro that he had a brother who he was separated from when they were young. Raoh is sure that he will have to fight Kenshiro some day, but should he lose, he wanted Kenshiro to find and tell his brother something. He wanted him to tell him that he understood the pain he was put through, and that he has always respected him more than anyone. He then tells Kenshiro that should his brother turn to evil, he must be defeated by him. He has seen the great potential within Kenshiro's fists. In the present, Kaioh just laughs, and calls his deceased brother pathetic. He uses a technique called maryu karetsu ha (dark dragon rending wave) which blasts Kenshiro back, but he survives it and gets back up. Kenshiro says that he will now fulfil the promise he made with Raoh. Kaioh says he will not allow himself to die, and the fight continues.

Manga Differences

-The Asuras kill a man they find when they are looking for women. In the anime, they just toss him aside.

-In the manga, Samoto looks completely different, and is some posh guy who wants to find a woman to marry. More info on this in the next episode.

-There is a scene where Kenshiro and Kaioh fight in the boiling hot water around the tomb, but they get out of it pretty fast. This is not in the anime.

-As the fight continues, Kaioh accidentally hits the tombstone and then tells Kenshiro how it was his fault his mother died, revealing that the place is the burial ground for her. He then tells him what happened to his mother. In the anime, this flashback was used earlier, in the previous episode, and at no point does Kaioh hit the grave by mistake.

-The manga has Kaioh destroy his armor, revealing lots of scars all over his body that he has gotten over the years. This does not happen in the anime.

-When Zebra first attacks, there are some other guys around who get hit by his axe and die in the manga. They aren't there in the anime.

-The manga has an additional flashback scene which isn't in the anime. It has Raoh actually arriving in the Land of Asura, at a point where Kaioh had conquered around half of the land. Raoh had heard rumors about it being turned into a land of demons, meaning he would have to take it sooner or later. He tells Kaioh he would not attack now, as he has other things to do, such as defeating Kenshiro. But he tells Kaioh that one ruler of the world is enough, and then leaves.

Kaioh sees his brother as another trial he must overcome, and hits a pressure point on himself to stop him feeling any memories of Raoh.

-The flashback scene with young Kaioh and Hyoh has Black Yaksha present in the manga, but he isn't there in the anime. He is replaced with someone who slightly resembles Han.

Notes

-This episode's preview -shown at the end of the previous episode -has a difference with the below shot:

Episode 148	Episode 149

Kenshiro doesn't get anywhere near as bright in this episode than he does in the preview.

-Zebra's voice actor, Koji Totani, has previously voiced several other characters, including Fox, Jagi and Han.

-Samoto's voice actor, Masaharu Sato, has also previously voiced many other characters, including Boogal, Taiga and Xie.

-Kaioh's horse is never seen again after this episode.

-The flashback scene with Kenshiro and Raoh has been widely criticized by fans, as it shows Raoh actually speaking to Kenshiro as if he had some respect for him back then. It was previously established that when Raoh found out Kenshiro had been chosen to become the North Star divine fist successor, Raoh believed Ryuken had made a bad choice and in choosing Kenshiro, as it could mean the end of the entire style. And then later on, when Raoh and Kenshiro meet for the first time in a while, Raoh clearly thought Kenshiro was just trash, refusing to get off his horse to fight him and being surprised he was even still alive from living as he had been. So why the sudden personality change for Raoh?

Errors

-At one point near the end of the episode, Kenshiro suddenly has a chest wound as he goes to punch Kaioh, which he didn't have a few seconds a go. This is because this animation of Kenshiro punching is actually taken from the Kenshiro vs. Solia fight, all the way back in the fifth episode!