Sōkoku no Garō

Bloody Wolf's Darkness Blue: Fist of the North Star - Rei Side-Story (蒼黒の餓狼 -北斗の拳 レイ外伝-, Sōkoku no Garō Hokuto no Ken Rei Gaiden) is a manga series authored by Yasuyuki Nekoi that was serialized in the Weekly Comic Bunch from 2007 throughout 2009, lasting six collected editions. It is a spinoff of Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara and the second one published in Comic Bunch following Legends of the Dark King. The title centers around Rei, a master of the martial art of Nanto Seiken, and his activities prior to meeting Kenshiro in the original series.

Prior to the publication of the main serial, Nekoi authored two different one-shot stories starring Rei under the title of Hokuto no Ken Rei Gaiden - Kareinaru Fukushūsha (華麗なる復讐者, "The Splendid Avenger"), which were published in the April 5, 2006 and January 8, 2007 issues of Comic Bunch. Neither one-shots were included in the collected editions.

Plot

Rei, the master of the elegant assassination art of Nanto Suichōken, returns to his home village after the Nuclear War, only to find his parents mortally wounded and his sister Aili missing. With his dying breath, Rei's father tells him that a man with seven scars on his chest was the one who attacked them and kidnapped Aili. Now Rei wanders the wasteland as he encounters numerous bandits and warlords, including acquaintances from his training days at the Nanto Seiken school, in his quest to find and rescue Aili. The story takes place before Rei's meeting with Kenshiro in Fist of the North Star.

Characters

• Rei (レイ), the successor to Nanto Suichō Ken of the Nanto Rokusei Ken who abandons his humanity to search for his sister Aili after she is kidnapped by a man with "Seven Scars". Much like during his debut in Fist of the North Star, in this spinoff Rei is a morally ambiguous antihero who forges temporary alliances with anyone who can help him find Aili, then killing or betraying them when they are no longer useful.
• Yuh (ユウ, Yū), a young drifter accompanying Rei on his search for Aili who tells him that she may be at Asgarzul, a city created to shelter women. Yuh claims to be a practitioner of Nanto Seiken but this is actually a ruse.
• Freeda (フリーダ, Furīda), the leader of the Valkyries, the elite guard who protect Asgarzul.
• Eva (エバ, Eba), the Queen of Asgarzul who, after Rei's arrival at the city, was mysteriously murdered by a Nanto Seiken practitioner.
• Zan (ザン), the successor to Nanto Kōjaku Ken who conspires with Rofuh to conquer Asgarzul. He is later revealed to be a double agent working for Yuda.
• Juda (ユダ, Yuda), the successor to Nanto Kōkaku Ken of the Nanto Rokusei Ken whose style rivals Nanto Suichō Ken, and who deeply hates both Rei and Rofuh. He and his army attempt to take over Asgarzul.
• Shu (シュウ, Shū), the successor to Nanto Hakurō Ken of the Nanto Rokusei Ken and a good friend of Rei.
• Rima (リマ, Rima), a former guardian of Asgarzul who becomes Rofuh's right hand man. He is the product of genetic experiments done by government scientists prior to the nuclear fallout.
• Karen (カレン), a practitioner of Nanto Hisui Ken who knew Rei during his days of training, and joined Ken-Oh's campaign after her brother was killed.
• Rofuh (ロウフウ, Rōfū), the former successor to Nanto Suichō Ken and Rei's master who seeks to conquer the heavens and take back the title of successor after the nuclear war.
• Linlei (リンレイ, Rinrei), Rofuh's wife and a practitioner of Nanto Suichō Ken who gave up successorship to him.
• Amiba (アミバ), a martial artist who competed with Rei for Nanto Suichō Ken successorship.
• Shin (シン), the successor to Nanto Koshū Ken of the Nanto Rokusei Ken who becomes the wasteland conqueror known as King.
• Masaya (マサヤ), Karen's brother who practices Nanto Hisui Ken and dies as a member of Shu's army.
• Jagi (ジャギ), the man with "Seven Scars" on his chest who kidnaps Aili. He is not referred to by name and only appears during flashbacks.
• Aili (アイリ, Airi), Rei's sister who is kidnapped by Jagi.
• Ryuroh (リュウロウ, Ryūrō), the strategist of the Nanto Rokusei Ken who practices Nanto Ryūō Ken.

List of volumes

• Volume 1: ISBN 978-4-10-771359-9
• Volume 2: ISBN 978-4-10-771379-7
• Volume 3: ISBN 978-4-10-771414-5
• Volume 4: ISBN 978-4-10-771459-6
• Volume 5: ISBN 978-4-10-771481-7
• Volume 6: ISBN 978-4-10-771502-9

External links

• Sōkoku no Garō at Comic Bunch