He rules from atop a pyramid built by children, retreats before nothing and regrets nothing. Souther, the Holy Emperor, master of Nanto Hōō Ken and bearer of the General’s Star, is one of the most memorable villains in Hokuto no Ken, invincible until Kenshiro uncovers the secret of his body, a heart located on the right side. His cry against Kenshiro, which became his motto, ‘No retreat! No surrender! No regrets!’ (退かぬ！媚びぬ！省みぬ！), has echoed down the decades. So has the interest of figure makers. From the resin kits of the 1990s to the articulated PVC of 2025, by way of arcade prize machines and parody, Souther has been sculpted, painted and reinvented by a dozen manufacturers, each leaving its own mark.
The kit era
It all starts with resin. Before 1998, Kaiyodo devoted an entire line of garage kits to the series, to be assembled and painted by the buyer, many of which bear the signature of Katayama Hiroshi. Souther appears in a 1/15 scale set that sellers refer to as set A, alongside Shû and Amiba. His instruction sheet presents him under his full title, ‘Souther of Nanto Hōō Ken, the General’s Star’ (南斗鳳凰拳 将星のサウザー), and the kit, once removed from its bag, measures about 14 cm. The Kaiyodo garage kits remain collector’s items today, often sold unassembled and unpainted.
The Japanese-style action figure
In 1998, Kaiyodo and its subsidiary Xebec launched the Violence Action Figures, which collectors call 199X. Souther arrived in November 1999, at 2,600 yen, sculpted by Urabe Katsumi, with his shoulder guards, sword, mask and cape. A Black Limited Edition followed.
Ten years later, the same company returned to the series with its Revoltech Hokuto no Ken REVOLUTION line, launched for the series’ 25th anniversary. Matsuura Ken sculpted No.012, released on 1 July 2009 at 2,490 yen, with his spear, mask, a storage case and a Revoltech coin. A nice touch, the Shû figure, released two months earlier, gave access to a downloadable papercraft capstone for the pyramid, enough to re-enact the scene. And the cover of volume 7 of Hokuto no Ken Ichigo Aji shows Souther himself playing with figures modelled on the Revoltech ones. The Holy Emperor returned in May 2015 in the Legacy of Revoltech line, LR-034, at 4,300 yen before tax, this time without the storage case or the Revoltech coin.
The prizes
In the early 2000s, Souther could also be won in arcades. Vol.3 of Sega’s Hokuto no Ken Collection Figure, in 2002, brought him together with Shû and Ryūga on Kaiyodo prototypes about 14 cm tall, then the blister card edition of the six Nanto stars reissued him in 2003 with a new paint job. Sega also made a super-deformed version of him in its Tinibiz-Joy line, as part of a set featuring Raoh, his horse Kokuō, Souther, Shû, and Toki.
Statues, busts, and small formats
The year 2006, which saw the saga’s return to the big screen, brought a wave of Souther figures. Noda-Ya closed out its Hokuto no Ken Statue Series in August with the crown jewel of the line, Souther in cold cast at 1/6 scale, standing 38 cm tall, sold for 20,895 yen, sculpted by 関東武久 (romanisation not established), with standard shoulder guards, dragon-shaped shoulder guards, and a throne-shaped base. A limited green version was reserved for the shop. In March 2016, the team announced they had found a few Souther figures forgotten in their warehouse for ten years, and promptly put them back on sale.
On 15 September 2006, Kaiyodo added him to its Bust Collection Nanto Rokuseiken, a polystone bust at 4,500 yen, titled ‘Nanto Hōō Ken, the General’s Star’, repainted in May 2007 by Yatake Yoshinori.
That same year, he slipped into pockets with the Movie Figure Collection, roughly ten centimetres tall for 300 yen, and the Seven-Eleven and Suntory Boss Figure Collection, in the film’s colours. He had already been the ninth and final character of the first wave of the All Star Retsuden, 4 cm capsule figures at 100 yen each.
The Holy Emperor does not take himself seriously
Souther also lends himself to mockery, and manufacturers have not held back. In February 2009, the CRAZY HEADS line by LINDA gave him a bobbling oversized head atop a 27 cm body, at 3,800 yen before tax, with his line ‘the heavens need no second polar star’ (天空に極星はふたつはいらぬ!!) printed on the box. The limited edition ZACCA P.A.P was produced in a run of 300 units.
In September 2017, Embrace Japan went even further by basing its figure on the parodic gaiden Hokuto no Ken Ichigo Aji. Under the title ‘Holy Emperor Souther with the turban kid’ (聖帝サウザー様 with ターバンのガキ), Itō Yoshinori, from the GEKOKUJYOU studio, stages the running gag of the turban kid stabbing the emperor in the thigh. At 1/8 scale, about 23 cm tall and priced at 17,280 yen, the box holds nine heads, four right hands (one holding a strawberry), and even a Raoh helmet.
Finally, in August 2024, the Qualia pen rests have him raise his arms to hold a pen, under the slogan ‘you are already setting it down’ (おまえは もう 置いている！), a twist on Kenshiro’s iconic line.
Thrones, palanquins, and creators
At the other end of the scale, high-end resin. The very first piece from SpiceSeed, in 2015, already featured Souther, on the giant throne drawn by a motorcycle for his entrance, sculpted by Matsuura Ken. Its second version, measuring 48 × 68 × 64 cm, was offered at 398,000 yen before tax until June 2024. The studio then brought the emperor down from his palanquin, standing, with a second horned-mask head, announced at 84,480 yen including tax.
Photos of the standing Souther: @YOSUKE_KIMURA69, @_sumii_hkt.
The character also inspires independent creators. At Wonder Festival 2024 Winter, during the exhibition for the series’ 40th anniversary, Souther stood on the Sculborns booth.
Italian sculptor Riccardo Aversa, alias Hiryu Studio, has devoted two resin pieces to him, one at the top of the pyramid, the other a 1/8 scale diorama of him on his throne.
Hiryu Studio: © Riccardo Aversa · artstation.com/riccardoave.
In Hong Kong, the studio Marco Art made him the tenth character in its series in June 2022, at 1/6 scale and 34 cm tall, with two heads and a removable cape.
© Marco Li · marcoarthk.com
Today’s articulated figures
The most complete version of Souther may be the one from Medicos. In its Super Action Statue line, supervised by Tetsuo Hara, he was released in May 2023 at 8,600 yen before tax, sculpted by Ryuta Sato, with his spear, sword, mask, a shouting head and a laughing head. Reissued in June 2025, he was even sold in a box set with Kenshiro.
Three months later, the DIGACTION line from DIG scaled him down to 8 cm, at 5,500 yen, sculpted by 上原創 (romanisation not established), with the spear needed to re-enact the scene where he impales Shû. The DIG shop bonus is a nod to those in the know, a figure of Ōgai, the master he killed with his own hands.
Still at the top of the pyramid
Resin kit, action figure, prize, bust, gashapon, bobble-head, pen rest or statue costing several hundred thousand yen, Souther has taken every form imaginable. Each manufacturer has brought its own reading, majesty for SpiceSeed, articulation for Kaiyodo and Medicos, humour for LINDA, Embrace Japan and Qualia. Thirty years and many figure lines later, the Holy Emperor has still neither retreated nor abdicated.
