Like every Friday, we revisit a line of Hokuto no Ken figures. This week, we focus on a series that left its mark on many collectors: the Seikimatsu Gekitoroku Figure Collection (北斗の拳 世紀末激闘録フィギュアコレクション) by Kaiyodo. Seventeen painted figures standing 10 cm tall, sold at 1,100 yen (tax included) each, spread across seven volumes between 2007 and 2008, and sculpted from start to finish by the same man, Matsuura Ken.
The concept is simple: recreate the iconic scenes from the original work by offering characters that no one else was producing. Nearly twenty years later, the series remains one of the most comprehensive ever dedicated to the manga’s cast.
Kaiyodo and Hokuto no Ken, an enduring story
Kaiyodo opened on April 1, 1964 as a model kit shop near Doi Station in Moriguchi, in the suburbs of Osaka. The workshop began producing its own resin kits in 1980, opened a gallery in Tokyo in 1984, and then shifted from retail to manufacturing. The headquarters are now located in Kadoma, still in Osaka Prefecture, and the company prides itself on an organization where the sculptors themselves drive the projects.
Kaiyodo crossed paths with Hokuto no Ken very early on. Its official timeline dates the Kenshiro, Raoh, and Rei figures to 1988, presenting them as the company’s first finished and painted figures. Ten years later, in 1998, the Hokuto no Ken action figure line (the famous 199X) is described by Kaiyodo as the first action figure entirely produced in Japan, earning the company a huge commercial success.
A collection designed for the entire Hokuto no Ken universe
The series’ promotional text, featured on the back of the boxes and in the product listings of Japanese retailers, clearly states its intent: “More than twenty years after the start of its publication, Hokuto no Ken has lost none of its popularity. Here is the launch of a collectible figure series that will sculpt the world of Hokuto no Ken, this treasure trove of fascinating characters.”
The lineup of the range speaks for itself. Alongside Kenshiro, Raoh, Toki, Rei, and Jagi, the series sculpts Ryūken the master, Yuda of the Nanto Koukaku Ken, Falco and his loyal general Solia, the jailer Uighur of Cassandra prison, Kaizer, Kaioh, Jûza, Fudô, Kenshiro with goggles (Land of Shura version), and finally Heart to close out the series. Characters that very few manufacturers offer, including Kaiyodo itself.
A release spread across seven volumes
Each volume carries a subtitle referencing a key moment from the saga. Vol.1, “Oni no Naku Machi, Cassandra Densetsu” (the city where demons weep, the legend of Cassandra), opens the series in early 2007 with the trio of Kenshiro, Toki, and Uighur. Next comes Vol.2, released on June 30, 2007, with Raoh and his master Ryūken. Vol.3, “Innen no Kettou, Nanto tai Nanto” (the fated duel, Nanto versus Nanto), arrives in August 2007 for the Rei versus Yuda showdown. Vol.4, “Shinseiki Souzou, Kyuseishu Futatabi” (creation of a new century, the savior returns), comes out in October 2007 with three figures tied to the general of Gento.
Vol.5 in December 2007 then takes the collection to the Land of Shura, introducing Kaioh, presented by Kaiyodo as the most powerful figure in the Land of Shura and the elder brother of Raoh. Vol.6 and Vol.7 close out the series during 2008, the last one in April, under the title “Kyofu, Chikara koso Seigi no Seikimatsu” (fear, strength is justice, century of the end), featuring Jagi and then Heart.
As early as Vol.2, Kaiyodo announced that fifteen prototypes were already completed. This detail is significant because it indicates that the series was planned from start to finish before it even had to prove itself in stores, a rare occurrence in the world of collectible figures, where subsequent waves most often depend on sales of the first.
Matsuura Ken, a sculptor at the heart of the range
All seventeen pieces are credited to the same sculptor, Matsuura Ken (松浦健), who appears on Kaiyodo’s official list of creators alongside Yamaguchi Katsuhisa, Matsumura Shinobu, and Kagawa Masahiko. For this type of product line, manufacturers often distribute prototypes among several workshops to meet deadlines. Here, a single person sculpted all seventeen pieces, and the consistency of style from one volume to the next stems from that.
This series was not an isolated chapter in his career; it was the beginning of a long relationship with the franchise. As early as September 2008, Kaiyodo launched Revoltech Hokuto no Ken Revolution for the manga’s 25th anniversary, approximately twenty articulated figures ranging from 145 to 160 mm released through November 2010. He handled the prototyping for the bulk of the line, with a few exceptions, as the Japanese product listings credit him notably on No.001 Kenshiro from September 2008 and on No.014 Raoh and his Kokuoh from September 2009. He then picked up the torch again in 2014 and 2015 for the Legacy of Revoltech relaunch, with entries including Shin (LR-027), Yuria (LR-028), Toki (LR-030), Kaioh (LR-031), Shû (LR-033), Souther (LR-034), and the final battle Kenshiro (LR-039).
Outside of the series, he is also credited at Kaiyodo with several Vulcanlog releases, including four versions of pitcher Bonda Natsunosuke from the baseball manga Gurazeni in 2016, and a sword-wielding hunter from Monster Hunter in 2017. From the 10 cm fixed figure of 2007 to the 145 mm articulated Revoltech of 2015, the same sculptor defined what Hokuto no Ken characters look like at Kaiyodo for nearly ten years.
Availability and the secondhand market
Long out of production, the series surfaces in small quantities on the Japanese secondary market: Mandarake, Suruga-ya, Yahoo Auctions Japan, and AmiAmi pre-owned. A few references also pop up occasionally on Amazon Japan, such as Uighur, Kaioh, or Heart, with highly fluctuating availability.
Owning all seventeen references remains an ambitious goal, as secondary characters like Solia, Kaizer, or Ryūken are particularly rare, and “full comp 全17種” lots immediately attract collectors’ attention whenever they appear. On the Souten no Ken side, Kaiyodo applied the same formula to the world of Kasumi Kenshiro with the Shanghai Buyuroku Figure Collection line.
Nearly twenty years after its release, the Seikimatsu Gekitoroku Figure Collection remains one of the most ambitious lines ever dedicated to Hokuto no Ken, both for the breadth of its cast and the consistency of its sculptures. The complete details of all seventeen pieces, volume by volume, can be found in our line overview page.
