The official website hokuto-anime.com has just published the announcement for episode 7 of the anime Hokuto no Ken – Fist of the North Star 2026. Titled “The Ultimate Assassin” (究極の暗殺者), it will air on Friday, May 8, on Prime Video. Kenshiro ventures alone into God’s Land and finds himself facing a new kind of opponent.
Hokuto no Ken Episode 7 “The Ultimate Assassin“
Here is the official summary translated from the hokuto-anime.com website:
Kenshiro infiltrates God’s Land alone, the Golan’s headquarters. There he encounters Mad Sarge (マッド軍曹), the brutal instructor in charge of training soldiers. A former member of the elite Red Berets unit, renowned for his formidable combat abilities, Mad Sarge launches a full-force attack against Kenshiro at the head of his men.
Portrait of Mad Sarge
Behind the red beret he wears at all times, the sole remnant of his membership in the Red Berets, an elite unit of which he is one of the last survivors, lies an uncompromising combat philosophy. His specialty is the knife, which he wields with terrifying precision, capable of striking ten times in a single second on the same opponent. But his true trademark is guerrilla warfare: he never fights on equal terms; he traps, he surrounds, he wears down.
His role as instructor within the Golan reveals the full extent of his cruelty: even training exercises are deadly. He forces his recruits to fight each other to the death, believing that only the survivor deserves to fight under his command. This is the man Kenshiro faces alone in the Golan’s headquarters, without support and in enemy territory.
In the manga and the 1984 anime, Mad Sarge had a memorable line when facing Kenshiro: “The Red Berets are cannon fodder compared to me.” Kenshiro responded with the same disarming calm he shows to all his opponents. The confrontation between trained military violence and the pure martial art of Hokuto Shinken is at the heart of episode 7.
Saitō Jirō, Mad Sarge in the 2026 new adaptation
Mad Sarge is voiced in the 2026 new adaptation by Saitō Jirō, whose participation had already been announced during the episode 6 preview. His official comment at the time had drawn smiles: while rehearsing the character’s lines at home, he had received a worried visit from his landlord. Episode 7 will be the opportunity to hear his performance.
Episode 7 cast
Kenshiro: Takeuchi Shunsuke
Bat: Yamashita Daiki
Lin: M.A.O
Shin: Yusa Koji (likely flashback appearance)
Mad Sarge: Saitō Jirō
Broadcast
Episode 7 will be available on Friday, May 8, 2026 on Prime Video with English subtitles and dubbed, simultaneously with the Japanese broadcast on TOKYO MX and BS11 (Friday 25h).
