Forty years after its release in Japan, the 1986 Hokuto no Ken film is returning to the big screen in Italy. Under its local title, Ken il Guerriero – Il film, it will be shown in a new remastered edition on November 30 and December 1 and 2, 2026, for three days only. Advance ticket sales open on October 30.
Three days of screenings with Nexo Studios
The event is organized by distributor Nexo Studios as part of its “Anime al Cinema” program, in collaboration with publisher Yamato Video. The film will be shown dubbed in Italian and, at some screenings, in Japanese with Italian subtitles. The list of participating theaters will be published soon on the Nexo Studios website.
Nexo announces a “new remastered edition” (nuova edizione rimasterizzata) but has not yet specified the resolution or the source of the master. The poster, which reads “The legend returns” (La leggenda ritorna), shows a 14+ rating in Italy.
Toyoo Ashida’s film
Directed by Toyoo Ashida for Toei Animation, written by Susumu Takaku and with Masami Suda as animation director, the film brings back the team behind the TV series. It condenses the first part of the story into 110 minutes: Kenshiro roams the devastated lands in search of Yuria, who has been kidnapped by Shin, meets Rei and Jagi along the way, then faces Raoh. The story takes significant liberties with the manga and the TV series, and, made for theaters, it boasts richer animation and detail than the series.
The music is by Katsuhisa Hattori, and the song Heart of Madness is performed by Kodomo Band. The film’s original soundtrack and the anime comics adapted from its footage are covered on the site. Full details are on the official Nexo Studios page.
