Ai wo Torimodose!! / Yuria… Eien ni

Opening and ending theme of the first three parts of the Hokuto no Ken television series, “Ai wo Torimodose!!” and “Yuria… Eien ni” are performed by Crystal King, a duo-vocal group from Sasebo featuring Mush Yoshizaki’s baritone and Masayuki Tanaka’s soaring high voice. The single was released on October 5, 1984 on Canyon Records, six days before the first episode.

The group had never written for animation, which at the time was considered a separate genre reserved for specialized singers. In a 2026 interview with Young Guitar, Mush Yoshizaki recalls that the commission came through Canyon after the success of the manga’s first volume, and that the members first immersed themselves in the volumes and storyboards provided by the production, discovering beneath the violence “the love, friendship, and humanism” of the story. The lyrics came first, penned by pianist Kimiharu Nakamura, with the famous “You wa Shock” appearing in the very first line, the reading of which was reportedly enough for guitarist Michio Yamashita to compose the melody “in an instant.”

The B-side, a symphonic ballad arranged by keyboardist Hiromi Imakyurei, accompanies the episode endings. Never reissued on CD in its original form, the single received its first 7-inch vinyl reissue in February 2023, with the original 1984 gatefold sleeve, released on the same day as the Hokuto no Ken Original Songs compilation.