The fourth line in the Hokuto no Ken catalog from Bandai’s Popy division in 1985, the Saikyo Higi Set (最強秘技セット, “the set of supreme techniques”) takes its idea all the way, immortalizing the secret arts of Hokuto Shinken. Each boxed set, sold for 1,000 yen, gathers two painted vinyl figures recreating a technique, Kenshiro and his victim caught at the moment of fatal impact.
Details
Two boxed sets found, five references in all
No.1 stages the Hokuto Zankai Ken, Kenshiro driving his thumbs into the temples of his target, none other than Spade. No.2 depicts the Hokuto Kaikotsu Ken, the technique that shatters bones from within, pitting Kenshiro against the Colonel of Golan. Where Popy’s other 1985 lines settled for bare vinyl, the Saikyo Higi Set offers sizeable painted sculptures, faithful to the box illustrations.
The series does not stop there. In 2000, the Japanese specialist press listed five references and photographed a third boxed set, the Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken, Kenshiro facing Zeed. It also named a Kōkin Bundan Kyaku, the technique that severs the leg tendons. Yet even Japan’s biggest vintage dealers have only ever offered the first two boxed sets. The three other references, perhaps left at the stage of photographed prototypes, as the unreleased scenes printed on the box backs suggest, should be considered unconfirmed at retail.
The back of the boxes, adorned with photographs of the figures in action against a backdrop of ruins, recalls the definition of Hokuto Shinken, the assassination art that strikes the keiraku hiko vital points to destroy the body from within. A pedagogy of violence typical of the era’s merchandising, while the anime was on the air.
Details
| Scene | Kenshiro versus Spade |
|---|---|
| Contents | two painted vinyl figures |
| Price | 1,000 yen |
| JAN code | 4902425037332 |
| Manufacturing | Bandai, Popy division, Japan |
| Release | 1985 |
Details
| Scene | Kenshiro versus the Colonel of Golan |
|---|---|
| Contents | two painted vinyl figures |
| Price | 1,000 yen |
| JAN code | 4902425037325 |
| Manufacturing | Bandai, Popy division, Japan |
| Release | 1985 |
Details
| Status | photographed painted by the press in 2000, never seen at retail |
|---|---|
| Attested by | backs of boxed sets No.1 and No.2, and the press in 2000 |
| Source | Figure Oh No.34, World Photo Press, 2000, p. 22 |
Finding them today
Like all of Popy’s 1985 output, these boxed sets are rare, especially complete and sealed, and are hunted on Yahoo! Auctions and Mercari, the Hyakuretsu Ken and the two missing references even more than the others. The Saikyo Higi Set rounds out the period Popy lines, alongside the Zenshin Kado Kenshiro, the Sakuretsu Ogi dioramas, and the Jigoku no Kenshi sets. So many different takes on a single licence, in a single year, Bandai’s first steps on Hokuto no Ken.
Sources
- Saikyo Higi Set No.1 and No.2 boxes, Bandai Popy division, 1985, fronts and backs.
- Figure Oh No.34, World Photo Press, July 2000, page 22, series listed under the name 北斗最強秘技シリーズ.