DD Hokuto no Ken (websérie)

DD Hokuto no Ken (DD北斗之拳) is a short animated web series of 12 episodes of approximately three minutes each, directed by Kajio and produced by North Stars Pictures. The first animated incarnation of the parodic DD universe, it imagines a world where nuclear flames never ravaged the Earth and transposes the Hokuto brothers into contemporary Japan. Presented at festivals as early as 2009, it was broadcast on television on Kansai TV from January 11 to April 5, 2011.

Synopsis

199X. The world was not engulfed in nuclear flames. In the 21st century, in a Japan so peaceful it could make you yawn, practitioners of Hokuto Shinken search in vain for a use for the most powerful assassination art in history. From the Abeshi-sō apartment, in the Kichijoji district of Tokyo, the four Hokuto brothers each live through the Heisei era in their own way. The eldest, Raoh, asserts his iron grip on highway construction sites, Toki puts his art to use treating patients at an osteopathy clinic, Jagi follows his own path as the leader of a biker gang, and the youngest, Kenshiro, drifts from one odd job to the next, piling up failures as he searches for his reason to live. A brand-new legend of Hokuto, as sad as it is hilarious, begins here.

A parody for the 25th anniversary of Hokuto no Ken

Produced in 2008 as part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Hokuto no Ken, the same commemorative wave as the anime Ten no Haoh and the Soul Wedding, the web series applied for the first time in animation the "DD" (Design Deformation) concept, which would lend its name to an entire lineage of parodic works. Its title is written DD北斗之拳, with the archaic character 之, a spelling that officially distinguishes it from the 2013 TV series (DD北斗の拳). Screened at the Shibuya Shōfuku Mandōga festival in February 2009, it was then broadcast weekly on Kansai TV, as part of the program Anime Wa~ku!, from January 11 to April 5, 2011, as well as on the satellite channel TwellV.

In this universe, the characters' career changes are what make the parody so entertaining. Kokuoh, seized as collateral for one of Raoh's debts, pursues a career in horse racing under the name Black King. Souther runs the construction company Seitei Kensetsu, whose motto is "I don't back down! I don't flatter! I don't have regrets!", and plans a museum-mausoleum in KITIJYOJI, before being arrested for concealment of a corpse, the mummified remains of his master Ōgai sitting prominently in his office, by Shu, who has become a police inspector. Shin reigns as the number one host of the club Lonely Eagle, Yuria runs the club Nanto dressed in the armor of the Last General of Nanto, Yuda manages a beauty salon, Rei works as a model, Fudo hosts an exercise show for children, and Ryuken serves oden at his street stall named Hokuto no Ken.

Production and distribution

Direction was entrusted to Kajio, with a screenplay by Umemura Shinya and character design by studio black-box; the music was composed by KAZSIN, the duo also found that same year on Ten no Haoh. On the voice acting side, only one name was officially credited at the time, and a notable one at that: Chiba Shigeru, legendary narrator of the 1984 series, who here provides the narration as well as the role of reporter Muscle Chiba. The other voice actors, never officially announced, have since been identified, including Koga Kazushi, who lends his voice to both Kenshiro and Souther.

A concept that works

The web series is the matrix of the entire DD universe. Kajio derived from it the manga DD Hokuto no Ken, launched in the inaugural issue of Monthly Comic Zenon in December 2010 by North Stars Pictures and published until August 2016, which itself served as the basis for the 2013 TV series, a separate production with a new setting and a new cast. The web series also spawned a spin-off manga, a collaboration with the PRO TEC HEAD brand, and the social game DD Hokuto no Ken Seikimatsu Baito Kyuseishu Densetsu, launched in April 2012 on Mobage, DeNA's mobile gaming platform.

Cast and staff