The best-kept secret of the Hokuto no Ken Fist of the North Star 2026 anime launch was not the cast, nor the broadcast date. It was the ending. Revealed only at the end of the first episode on the night of April 10 to 11, 2026, Toshi, singer of X Japan, performs a cover of Ai wo Torimodose !!, the legendary opening theme of the original 1984 anime. A bold choice, charged with emotion, that immediately triggered a wave of reactions around the world.
Ai wo Torimodose !!: a legendary song
Ai wo Torimodose !! was originally the opening of the first Hokuto no Ken animated series, broadcast on Fuji TV from October 1984 to March 1987, performed by the group Crystal King. For millions of fans in Europe and Japan alike, this melody is inseparable from the world of Kenshiro. The first few notes are enough to bring back decades of memories for an entire generation.
The song is not merely a popular theme: over the years it has become a cultural symbol in its own right, regularly cited among the most iconic anime openings of all time. The decision to use it as the ending of the new anime, rather than as the opening, is a bold narrative choice. It repositions the song no longer as a triumphant introduction, but as an emotional conclusion to each episode, a way of closing the loop between the Hokuto no Ken of 1984 and that of 2026.
The band Alexandros handles the opening of the new anime with the track “Hallelujah”, a more modern song that intentionally contrasts with Toshi’s nostalgic ending. This duality between modernity and legacy neatly sums up the production’s approach for this new adaptation.
Toshi, 19 years old in 1984
In his responses published on Dengeki Online, Toshi shared his deep connection with the work. He was 19 years old when the anime first aired on Fuji TV in October 1984. The impact it had on him at the time, he says, remains etched in his memory with pristine clarity. Being entrusted with this song that has crossed so many eras and is engraved in the souls of so many people is, for him, an immense honor. He approached every note with determination, confronting the story of a destiny that carries both love and sorrow.
His favorite character is Kenshiro, for his silent strength, that of someone who knows grief. His favorite line is Raoh’s: “I have no regrets in my entire life!!”
Who is Toshi?
Toshi, whose real name is Toshimitsu Deyama, was born on October 10, 1965, in Okayama. He is the lead singer of X Japan, the Japanese rock band founded with Yoshiki that revolutionized the Japanese music scene in the 1980s and 1990s. X Japan is considered one of the most influential groups in the history of Japanese rock, having played a major role in the birth of the Visual Kei movement.
His powerful voice and his ability to convey complex emotions make him a natural performer for a song like Ai wo Torimodose !!, which blends the energy of combat with the melancholy of lost love. The fact that he himself grew up with the original 1984 anime adds a personal and authentic dimension to this cover.
An ending that hit like a bomb
The broadcast of the first episode of Hokuto no Ken 2026 on the night of April 10 to 11 triggered an immediate reaction on social media as soon as the episode ended, the moment the first notes of Ai wo Torimodose !! in Toshi’s version rang out. Japanese, European, and American fans shared their reactions in real time, many describing an unexpected wave of emotion at this direct bridge between 1984 and 2026.
This is the kind of musical casting decision that transforms a simple anime into a cultural event. The production of Hokuto no Ken 2026 was clearly aware of the symbolic stakes of this ending, and chose to reveal it only at broadcast to maximize the surprise effect.
