During the
streaming special "It's Hokuto no Ken Day! Get together, the four
brothers!!" it was confirmed that the manga Fist of the
North Star: Elegy of Ken-Oh's Army Grunts (Hokuto no Ken: Ken'ō-gun
Zako-tachi no Banka), by Hiroshi Kurao, will have a short anime
that will premiere in January 2026.
A
spinoff that turns tragedy into comedy
Unlike the
epic original story, this spinoff focuses on the privates of Ken-Oh's army,
with humor that parodies the absurdity of their situation. The promotional
slogan says it all: "Three meals a day, room included, no
experience necessary!" The protagonist, Nobu, gets a
job as a simple henchman in the middle of the post-apocalyptic era of the year
199X, but soon discovers how difficult it is to survive in an environment where
the dead outnumber even new recruits.
From
manga to anime
The work
was originally published on Coamix's Manga Hot app between
November 2017 and February 2020, accumulating three compilation volumes, with
the last one released in March 2020. Now, his peculiar style of black humor and
social satire will make the leap to animation with a short format that promises
to exploit the absurd situations of Ken-Oh's henchmen to the fullest.
Hokuto
no Ken is still more alive than ever
This
announcement is in addition to the new anime of the original manga Fist
of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken), which will also see the light of
day in 2026. While one bets on the epic and dramatic tone that
characterizes Buronson and Tetsuo Hara's work, Elegy
of Ken-Oh's Army Grunts will serve as a light and comedic counterpart
for longtime fans and curious newcomers.
