Details
- Authors
- Paul Gaussem, Guillaume Lopez
- People
- Buronson, Nobuhiko Horie, Tetsuo Hara
- Language
- French
Edition
- Publisher
- Third Éditions
- Release
- July 6, 2023
- Price
- €24.90 (First Print €29.90, EPUB €11.99)
- Pages
- 248
- Format
- Hardcover, hardback, 160 × 240 mm
- ISBN
- 978-2-37784-402-9 (First Print 978-2-37784-403-6, EPUB 978-2-37784-412-8)
- ASIN
- 2377844022
Staff
- Publisher
- Third Éditions
- Editorial Directors
- Nicolas Courcier, Mehdi El Kanafi
- Editing
- Ludovic Castro
- Editorial Assistants
- Ken Bruno, Damien Mecheri
- Texts
- Paul Gaussem, Guillaume Lopez
- Copyediting
- Hélène Furic
- Proofreading
- Charles Vitse
- Layout
- Bruno Provezza
- Standard Cover
- Nicolas Côme
- First Print Cover
- Daniel Warren Johnson
- Cover Design
- Marion Millier
- Afterword
- Philippe Bunel
- Digital Version
- Primento
Written from the digital edition (full text checked)
Where to find it
Buy on Amazon France Third Éditions (publisher)Affiliate link. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
EssayHokuto no Ken
Dans les arcanes de Hokuto no Ken. L’héritier de l’apocalypse (2023)
Overview
Dans les arcanes de Hokuto no Ken. L'héritier de l'apocalypse (In the Arcana of Hokuto no Ken: The Heir of the Apocalypse) is a French-language essay by Paul Gaussem and Guillaume Lopez, published by Third Éditions, a Toulouse-based publisher. Paul Gaussem writes about martial arts cinema and Japanese animation for several websites and magazines. Guillaume Lopez created Hokuto no Run, a YouTube channel devoted to the anime series. Their book studies the contexts, influences and themes of the manga by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara and of its animated adaptations, rather than its story. The foreword specifies that Souten no Ken, the video games and the merchandise are only touched on in passing.
The first part, “Création,” traces the careers of the two authors and the birth of the series in Weekly Shōnen Jump. The second, “Décryptage,” places Hokuto no Ken in the history of post-apocalyptic fiction, studies its martial arts and the figure of Kenshiro, then its influence on other mangaka. The third, “L'héritier en mouvement,” follows the Tōei Animation anime series, the 1986 film, its French version, the live-action adaptations, the OVA Shin Hokuto no Ken and the Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu saga. It contains three previously unpublished interviews with Masami Suda, Junichi Hayama and Hironobu Saito. The book is dedicated to the memory of Masami Suda, and journalist Philippe Bunel wrote the afterword.
The standard edition has a cover by Nicolas Côme, the First Print edition, sold on the publisher's website, a cover by Daniel Warren Johnson.
The first part, “Création,” traces the careers of the two authors and the birth of the series in Weekly Shōnen Jump. The second, “Décryptage,” places Hokuto no Ken in the history of post-apocalyptic fiction, studies its martial arts and the figure of Kenshiro, then its influence on other mangaka. The third, “L'héritier en mouvement,” follows the Tōei Animation anime series, the 1986 film, its French version, the live-action adaptations, the OVA Shin Hokuto no Ken and the Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu saga. It contains three previously unpublished interviews with Masami Suda, Junichi Hayama and Hironobu Saito. The book is dedicated to the memory of Masami Suda, and journalist Philippe Bunel wrote the afterword.
The standard edition has a cover by Nicolas Côme, the First Print edition, sold on the publisher's website, a cover by Daniel Warren Johnson.
Table of contents
Opening
- Forewordp. 7-14The authors present their project starting from the French broadcast of the series in 1988, define its scope, and introduce themselves.
Part I: Creation
- Tetsuo Hara, Heir to American Pop Culturep. 17-36Biography of Tetsuo Hara, from his influences to his early career, with a section on Nobuhiko Horie, his editor.
- Buronson, Heir to Historyp. 37-58Biography of Buronson through sports, the military, poverty, and his vigilante stories, then his collaborations with other artists.
- The Genesis of Hokuto no Kenp. 59-78The birth of Hokuto no Ken in the Weekly Shōnen Jump: formation of the duo, working conditions, origin of the seven scars, the second part and final chapters, and the relationship between the two authors.
Part II: Decryption
- A World and Its Apocalypsep. 81-110Post-apocalyptic fiction, from Go Nagai and Katsuhiro Otomo to George Miller, then the world imagined by Hara and Buronson up to the Land of Shura.
- A Martial and Merciless Worldp. 111-124The fighting schools of the series, Hokuto Shinken and Nanto Seiken, and their roots in the Chinese chivalric novel.
- A World Imploring Its Messiahp. 125-138The figure of Kenshiro and his models, from the cinema of Chang Cheh to Bruce Lee, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, then his brothers Toki, Raoh, and Jagi.
- The Heir's Legacyp. 139-146The series' influence on other manga artists, including Masanori Morita, Hirohiko Araki, and Kentarō Miura.
Part III: The Heir in Motion
- The Golden Agep. 149-192The animated series by Tōei Animation, its staff and music, with three exclusive interviews (Masami Suda, Junichi Hayama, Hironobu Saito), then the 1986 film, the French version, parodies, live-action films, and the OAV Shin Hokuto no Ken.
- The Expanded Universep. 193-224The films and OAVs of the Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu saga, from Raoh Den Jun'ai no Shō to ZERO Kenshiro Den, the short film Legend of Heroes, and Ten no Haoh.
End of Volume
- Conclusionp. 225-230The authors' conclusion.
- Afterword by Philippe Bunelp. 231-238Afterword titled "Espoir et châtiments" (Hope and Punishments), written by journalist Philippe Bunel.
- Bibliographyp. 239-246Audiovisual sources, French editions of the manga, books, Japanese magazines, articles, and websites consulted.
- Acknowledgmentsp. 247The authors' acknowledgments and a dedication to the memory of Masami Suda.
Table of contents translated and entry compiled by Hokuto Chronicles from the original book. First published on October 5, 2026. © 2026 Hokuto Chronicles. Any reuse, even partial or reworded, must credit Hokuto Chronicles with a link to this page.
Extras and supplements
- No supplements reported
AI-assisted translation This page was translated from the original French using AI, with human review. Some wording may be imperfect. Read the original French version