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Heart (ハート), often referred to as Mr. Heart, is one of the four main lieutenants of Shin within the KING organization in Hokuto no Ken. Recognizable by his immense corpulence and grotesque appearance, he nonetheless possesses a calmer and more polite personality than most of KING's other officers. Behind this almost courteous demeanor, however, lurks an extremely dangerous fighter capable of descending into murderous rage at the mere sight of his own blood.
Heart is one of Shin's main enforcers alongside Spade, Diamond and Club. Like the other officers of KING, his name is inspired by a playing card. Tasked with maintaining Shin's authority over the territories controlled by the organization, he practices Kenpō Goroshi (拳法殺し, "Destroyer of Martial Arts"), a style based on his extraordinary corpulence that makes his body capable of absorbing and neutralizing most martial arts techniques.
Unlike the majority of antagonists from the early part of the series, Heart is relatively calm and respectful toward his own men. He does not hesitate to reprimand certain soldiers when they are needlessly cruel or disrespectful. This demeanor, however, disappears completely when he sees his own blood.
Heart's body possesses an exceptional characteristic: his immense mass of fat acts as a protection that absorbs a large portion of physical impacts and martial arts techniques. This unusual resistance allows him to survive attacks that would normally be fatal to an ordinary fighter.
But behind his almost comical appearance lies an unstable personality. At the slightest wound, Heart completely loses control and enters a state of uncontrollable rage during which he attacks everything around him, including his own men. This brutal transformation makes him one of the most unpredictable members of KING.
When Kenshiro reaches Southern Cross, Heart stands in his way to protect Shin. Convinced that his body is invulnerable to Hokuto Shinken techniques, he accepts the fight with confidence. At first, Kenshiro's attacks do indeed seem ineffective against the immense mass of KING's lieutenant. But Kenshiro quickly realizes that Heart's true weakness lies hidden beneath his layer of protective fat: he then unleashes the Hokuto Jūha Zan (北斗柔破斬, "Soft Penetrating Blade of Hokuto"), a series of rapid kicks that harden the opponent's fat so as to penetrate it and strike the vital points it conceals.
Mortally wounded, Heart explodes in a scene that has become famous among fans of the series, notably thanks to his cry "Hidebu!", which remains one of the most iconic lines in Hokuto no Ken.
Despite his relatively short appearance, Heart became one of the most popular antagonists in the series thanks to his extravagant design and atypical personality. His mix of violence, unintentional humor and physical power made him a character regularly reused in video games, spin-off manga and parody works within the Hokuto no Ken universe.
Heart also appears in the prequel manga Heart of Meet - Ano Hi no Yakusoku, a spin-off story published in the first volume of Hokuto no Ken Ichigo Aji. The story reveals that Heart's real first name is Alfred and that he was once a sickly teenager from a wealthy family. Kidnapped by bandits, he watched his older sister Sarah get killed before his eyes as she tried to save him, her blood splattering his face and triggering an uncontrollable rage within him. This trauma is the origin of his fear of blood and the furious transformation it causes. Rescued by a young Shin, then a teenager himself, Alfred went on to follow the one who would become his leader, which explains his unwavering loyalty to him in the original manga.
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