Good or Evil?
The Mysterious North Star Lapis Lazuli Fist Appears!!
-From RQ87's Fist of the North Star site

Hokuto no Ken 2 episode 16
Episode 125 overall
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For a detailed overview of this episode, click here.

As Kenshiro fights Alf, Lin is taken by Shachi, a master of the North Star lapis lazuli fist.
Original broadcast date: July 30th, 1987

Contents
1) Synopsis
2) Manga differences
3) Notes
4) Errors


Synopsis

Alf finds Kenshiro, and the two start to fight. Alf uses his yutou sekien bu (red circle dance) to poison Kenshiro and make it look like there are many of him. But Kenshiro counters this by creating multiple images of himself, which hit all of the Alfs. Alf dies seconds later. Kenshiro is taken to Lin's cell, but he finds that it is empty.

This is because a rag has already taken Lin away, not revealing where they are going or why. An Asura finds them and wants to know why Lin is out here, as she is meant to be becoming an Asura's bride. He gets angry with the rag and tries to attack him, only for his strike to miss. The rag reveals that he isn't a rag at all, and is actually Shachi, a master of Hokuto ryuuken (North Star lapis lazuli fist). Shachi says that he is a Rakshasa, a dreaded man-eating monster, before using the katsu hagan (scold grasp) technique against the Asura and killing him.

Shachi says that North Star lapis lazuli fist is a sparkling gem, which means that of all the martial arts styles in the world, the one he has mastered shines the brightest. He knows Kenshiro is strong, and he will kill many Asura. His appearance here will no doubt shake up the Land of Asura. But he believes Kenshiro will perish with the Asuras one day. On that day, his style, the other form of the North Star, will shine. He attempts to leave with Lin, only for Kaiser to show up and challenge him. Meanwhile, Kenshiro saves a young renegade Asura called Tao, who asks him if he is a master of the North Star lapis lazuli fist. Kenshiro says he isn't, and finds out from Tao that a man known as Shachi has mastered the North Star lapis lazuli fist. Kenshiro has heard that name before, as it is the name of Akashachi's son! Kenshiro looks up into the sky and sees the big dipper... and realizes that the North Star divine fist isn't the only martial art to bear the North Star name.

Manga Differences

-The opening scene is different, as in the manga, Kenshiro's fight against Alf takes place next to a waterfall. In the anime, it is in front of the building which Lin is being kept in.

-In the manga, the rag (who is Shachi) watches the whole fight between Kenshiro and Alf. After the battle, Shachi says that Kenshiro uses one of the North Star styles. Kenshiro says there are no "styles" of the North Star, there is only one -the North Star divine fist. Shachi says there is another, and there is a master of it in the Land of Asura somewhere. He then asks Kenshiro why he is here, and Kenshiro says he is looking for Lin. Shachi says that he's never heard of her and then leaves. None of this happens in the anime, as Shachi leaves the fight early.

-In the manga, when Shachi enters the building, many other Asuras are still around, and some are talking about Alf, who they've heard has been defeated. When Shachi enters Lin's cell, he brings some food for her. None of this happens in the anime.

-In the manga, Shachi reveals that he is not a rag to Lin when she is still in her cell. In the anime, he doesn't do this until later. He's also not wearing a shirt in the manga, but has one in the anime.

-In the manga, when some Asuras find that Lin's cell is empty, then report it to Kaiser, who dispatches one Asura to go and find her. This scene is not in the anime.

-The fight between Shachi and the Asura who finds him and Lin is longer in the manga. The Asura tries some rapid strike attack, but when his hand hits Shachi, his fingers break. This is not in the anime.

-The manga has a scene that takes place just after Shachi tells Kaiser he is a Rakshasa. The scene involves Kenshiro entering a village, and meeting some villagers who point out the village leader. They say that three days ago, the Rakshasa came to their village and did something to the Asura in charge of the place. The Asura has been standing still for 3 days, as his legs can't move. He can't speak either, and was told he will die when the Big Dipper shines in the sky.

The stars then happens to be clearly seen above, and the Asura explodes. Kenshiro recognizes the technique, known as gen on kai (phantom dark destruction) but there seemed to be something different about it. This scene is not in the anime.

Notes

-This episode's preview -which was shown at the end of the previous episode -has a small difference in it:

Episode 124	Episode 125

In the preview, this shot features black blood. In the episode itself, the blood is white, and the shot was zoomed in slightly.

-Oddly, Sha and Zhan still wear masks, even though they have names -it's implied that once an Asura earns their name, they no longer have to wear their mask anymore. Maybe Sha and Zhan just really liked their masks.

Errors

-Previously, it has been established that Kenshiro is resistant to all poisons. Yet here, Alf's poison does seem to do what it is supposed to do on him.
-When Kenshiro starts punching Alf, he's wearing a glove on both hands, he's only meant to wear one on his right hand. Then during the close up shots that follow, the glove is missing.
-The glove is missing again during this shot.