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7View all imagesShin Kyuseishu Densetsu Hokuto no Ken Toki Den, released in France under the title Hokuto no Ken : La Légende de Toki, is a Japanese OAV directed by Shizuno Kobun, produced by North Stars Pictures and released directly to video on March 26, 2008 by Amuse Soft Entertainment. Fourth installment of the Shin Kyuseishu Densetsu (Legend of the True Savior) pentalogy, it retraces the destiny of Toki, from his childhood to the duel that pits him against his brother Raoh.
Of all the heirs of Hokuto Shinken, Toki is the one who combines the talent, righteousness, and heart of a successor. But Sara, the female doctor of the Hokuto temple, reveals to Ryuken that illness will claim his life before long. The old master then designates Kenshiro, in accordance with Toki's own wish, and Toki leaves the temple to devote his remaining days to healing the inhabitants of a world on the brink of ruin, followed by Sara, who has never stopped watching over him. When Kenshiro triumphs over Souther and proves himself as the true successor, Toki decides to honor, before his life fades away, the promise exchanged with Raoh in their childhood: a duel between brothers, at the pinnacle of the art of Hokuto.
The second and final OAV of the pentalogy produced for the 25th anniversary of Hokuto no Ken, the Toki Den falls between the last two films and develops what the manga had only sketched: the way in which Toki, barred from the succession by illness, chose to put Hokuto Shinken at the service of the desperate. The OAV introduces an original character, Sara, a woman doctor devoted to Toki to the point of sacrifice, voiced by seiyu Hirano Aya. The story culminates with the fratricidal battle promised since childhood, one of the dramatic high points of the original work.
Direction was entrusted to Shizuno Kobun, with a screenplay written solely by Nobuhiko Horie. The character design marks the return of a historic figure of the franchise: Hayama Junichi, who cut his teeth as an animator on the 1984 television series and then on the 1986 film, before taking on Hokuto no Ken 2 in 1987 as the very first animation direction of his career. A disciple of Suda Masami, the historic character designer of the anime, he gives the Toki Den a graphic identity directly rooted in the saga's origins. Animation was handled by studio A.P.P.P. under the production of TMS Entertainment, with Kuwabara Satoru as art director and Okazaki Hideo as director of photography.
The original soundtrack is composed by Kajiura Yuki. The main theme, « Hanamori no Oka », is performed by FictionJunction KAORI, one of the vocal offshoots of the composer's FictionJunction project; the track was released on February 25, 2009 on the album Everlasting Songs.
| Toki | Horiuchi Kenyu (堀内賢雄) |
|---|---|
| Sara | Hirano Aya (平野綾) |
| Kenshiro | Abe Hiroshi (阿部寛) |
| Raoh | Ukaji Takashi (宇梶剛士) |
| Ryuken | Otsuka Chikao (大塚周夫) |
| Direction | Shizuno Kobun (静野孔文) |
|---|---|
| Screenplay | Nobuhiko Horie |
| Executive production | Nobuhiko Horie |
| Character design | Hayama Junichi (羽山淳一) |
| Art direction | Kuwabara Satoru (桑原悟) |
| Sound direction | Koyama Satoru (小山悟) |
| Photography | Okazaki Hideo (岡崎英夫) |
| Editing | Takuma Jun (田熊純) |
| Music | Kajiura Yuki (梶浦由記) |
| Animation | A.P.P.P. |
| Production | North Stars Pictures, TMS Entertainment |
| Video release | Amuse Soft Entertainment |
In Japan, the OAV was released on DVD on March 26, 2008 by Amuse Soft Entertainment in two editions: a collector's edition (8,190 yen) including the film, a bonus DVD with an interview and an animated manga, as well as four postcards. A standard edition (6,090 yen) was limited to the film and two trailers. The OAV was remastered in high definition (1080i) as part of the Blu-ray BOX set Shin Kyuseishu Densetsu Hokuto no Ken, released on February 26, 2021 under the KINEMATICS label (reference KTCS-001, 23,000 yen excluding tax), where it shares a disc with the Yuria Den.
In France, Kazé released the DVD on June 23, 2010 under the title Hokuto no Ken : La Légende de Toki, as a single edition (24.95 euros): the film in French and subtitled Japanese versions, accompanied by an interview with Tetsuo Hara. The two OAVs of the pentalogy were later collected in a complete box set by Kazé, alongside the box set compiling the three films, released on September 24, 2014.
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