This movie was released in 1986. It was intended as a big screen treatment of the manga for the fans, so Ken never yells out his moves (subtitled with kanji) because the audience is supposed to know them already. The events shown had NO corellation to the manga or TV series. Think of it as a mirror universe, or something. Apocryphal movie versions of anime are common in Japan (i.e. Macross, Dragonball, etc.) The movie condenses the story of the manga, ending with the first battle with Raoh. Mamiya and Toki are nowhere to be seen, but most of the other HNK characters of that time make cameo appearances. The "savior" themes heavily present in the anime are played up even more in this movie, but in the end it is strongly implied that Rin is the Savior, and that Ken is her guardian.

There appears to have been two endings filmed for this movie; one where Kenshiro and Raoh fight to a draw like in the manga, and a second where Ken loses to Raoh. The second ending is used in the American dub and in the manga adaptation of the movie.

Streamline pictures claimed they used the "Raoh Wins" ending to "add a sense of finality" to the story for the US audience, for as we all know, Americans hate an ending where the good guys win. For more information about Carl Macek and Streamline Pictures click HERE or refer to the main page.

After the fight, the whereabouts of Yuria are unknown, both in Japanese and English. Where did she go to? The last shot of her she was with Rin and Bat. Perhaps this was some sort of foreshadowing she was still alive? I think that this movie was the first time it was mentioned that Yuria was of Nanto blood.Unfortunately all video versions of this movie were censored due to enraged parents in Japan, so the most violent scenes are "blurred" to cover up some of the carnage.

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