Exiled in Japan, the former truant Kenshirō returned to China to seek revenge. He thought his whole group was destroyed, but he had just freed his former leader. Is this the first act in a coming gang war?
Find a group
Since the first volume of the series, Kenshirō acted alone but a group is gradually reconstituting around him. He discovered a former second knife of the Jade Syndicate fallen into poverty. In this volume three he saves his leader Pan Guanglin who begins to create a new mafia by recovering their old headquarters. The rival clan, the Poppy Union, is now a crime. Indeed, during Kenshirô's exile, they won the gang war and ruled the city of Shanghai with the European and Japanese colonizers. Having killed the two leaders of the poppy, Kenshirō revived the war. Tian le Moine who becomes the new leader of the union, intends to avoid the return of a rival. His nickname comes from his baldness but, having become rich, he had a metal wig screwed on his head! At the same time, Kenshirō wants to avenge the death of his lover. He is reunited with his killer Mang Kuanggyun who is also a former member of his warrior sect, Hokuto Shinken. However, the fight is uneven as Mang can circulate the energy of his body thus becoming unbeatable. Soten No Ken, proposed by Mangetsu, is an adventure story that by its dishevelled rhythm can be reminiscent of the serial novels of thenineteenth century to the Three Musketeers. It is absolutely not necessary to seek realism but to enjoy the many adventures, often unexpected and sometimes agreed. If we appreciate the black humor, the deaths of the leaders of the Poppy Union are hilarious. In addition, screenwriter Buronson offers an increasingly delirious gallery of characters. Mang Kuanggyun nicknamed Linwang, is a shady warrior who now has an arm locked in a metal ball. A lost love resurfaces. We even meet a French soldier from Guise, ruling the French quarter of Shanghai.
Find Ken
Over the volumes, the reminders of Buronson's first series, Hokuto no Ken (Ken The Survivor), are more numerous. The atmosphere is more and more heavy and even the "heroes" kill in cold blood. The fights are more and more delirious as are the powers of the fighters: Linwang can bend the steel with thought, Kenshirō will use his healing power. A fighter is possessed by the god of dementia to strengthen his power. Someone's memory can be erased by putting your hands on it. This link with the original series also exists because Tetsuo Hara is also at the brushes and finds his flamboyant gore. The draftsman doesn't care about realism or anatomy. Linwang has a huge arm that falls on his knees. He even has fun using Christ figures in the middle of this gang war: when Kenshirō wears Pan, we see the influence of the pietà of the Renaissance. However, unlike Hokuto no Ken, the main character here seeks to find his love. Even if the historical context is not important, the very negative view of Japanese colonization in China is fair and quite rare in manga. This fifth volume of Soten No Ken adds a new layer of war madness. Kenshirō has managed to resurrect his clan and demonstrates his strength against a former martial arts rival. However, there is a long way to go for the Jade syndicate to regain its beauty. If he had been able to act discreetly until now, the gang is now unleashing an open war and the sequel promises to be even bloodier. You can find on these links chronicles on the first volume of the series and on the last volume of Keiji, another series by Tetsuo Hara.
