Hokuto no Ken Episode 3
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In the City Without Light, a Lone Fist Burns! The Furious Death by the Five Exploding Fingers
-From Rage Quitter 87's Fist of the North Star site


For a detailed overview of this episode, click here.

Ken and Bat encounter two more of King's forces: Diamond and Club.
Original broadcast date: 25th October 1984

Contents
1) Synopsis
2) In the manga...
3) Errors



Synopsis

The mysterious man known only as "King" finds out that one of his men, Spade, has been killed, but he still has more cards to play. Meanwhile, Bat happens to see Lin in a truck with several other prisoners, which is heading towards Dorado city. He and Ken also head to the city and encounter Diamond, another one of the King's men who wields a staff. Kenshiro fights and defeats Diamond with a technique called Koushu Hagan Ken.

Club finds out about this and he sends out his forces to find the man with seven scars, who is now in their city. Bat sneaks around the place and eventually finds Lin, but she can't escape due to her being chained. Bat can't break the chain, so he heads back to Ken. Together, the two of them enter the city again during the night, and as Bat uses an axe to free Lin, Ken confronts Club in a caged arena.

The two briefly fight, but Kenshiro quickly destroys Club's hands with a move called Goshi Retsu Dan. Club still tries to slice Kenshiro, but his attack is avoided and he is hit again. Ken has hits a pressure point called "Meimon" and tells Club that he only has 30 seconds left to live before his own muscles snap his spine in half. Club dies, and Lin is reunited with Ken. Upon hearing this news, King decides to send out the monstrous martial artist killer, Heart, to stop Kenshiro for good.



In the manga...


-The manga starts with two guys reporting to Shin (King) that Spade is dead. For the anime, they switched it to the end, and that they report that Club and Diamond have fallen.

-Shin is with two ladies for this bit. Yuria is not present.

-Shin also kills the two guys reporting to him much more violentally in the manga -his hands go through their chests and out of their backs.

-Club, Diamond and Heart are all present during the above execution. In the anime, only Heart is present due to Club and Diamond being dead already.


-Kenshiro and Bat do not find Lin in the manga. That doesn't happen for a few more chapters.

-Ken and Bat enter Southern Cross (Shin's city) rather than Dorado city. This is the point where the manga and anime start to differ greatly in terms of storyline, as I'll explain in the next few episodes.

-The manga has Ken and Bat find a dead man with a note saying that more executions will happen to villagers if the man with seven scars keeps proceeding. This is never seen in the anime.

-Diamond's method of villager abuse is much more cruel in the manga -he has an adult hung and then has their daughter put underneath them to support their weight, if they collapse, their father dies. This was changed to something not as horrifying in the anime, as a father is made to shoot a tin can off his son's head.

-Ken kicks a rock into Diamond's mouth when he first sees him.

-Diamond's death is more violent.

-The guy who has his zuzetsu pressure point pressed has a completely different design.

-Club is more evil in the manga -he offers his opponents their freedom if they can touch him. One manages it, so Club slices his head into three pieces.

-Ken doesn't rip his shirt in the manga, and the fight between him and Club is much shorter.

-Ken makes Club tell him about his master. He learns he uses a strange fighting style.

-Club's death is more violent, as his stomach blows outwards.

-Shin witnesses Club's death from his castle.



Errors

-One shot of Diamond has him missing the face paint around his mouth.

-When Diamond swings his staff around his head, Ken's red shirt can be seen, even though it was destroyed seconds a go.







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