Spoiler warning*
I always saw Hokuto no Ken as a series that makes you aware of what true love can feel like. The good and sad parts of it. You cry as you watch the lessons told within, but it makes you realize, "I am crying because I can love." "This is a side of love I didn't think too much about." I think I had the preferred viewpoint going into this. I always thought that Lin and Ken should be together. Hokuto no Ken 1 played so much into this. I was so curious about this in HnK 2. That was my obsession.
Bat loved her too. But he was raised by Kenshiro. He was like a son who understood Kenshiro's selflessness without realizing he would become a fine example of it. As much as he did, he felt Ken and Lin was better for her instead of him. But once the final scene started, I was torn apart. Bat surrendered Lin to Ken. But Ken gave this look at her. A look that tore me to shreds as I was watching it because I felt I understood what that look meant.
Ken always had Yuria in his heart. As stubborn as I was, Lin was never going to be for Ken. They do a flashback showing Lin's affection towards Ken. Ken was thinking about all this in that moment. He knows that his destiny is one that brings misfortune to his lover. Yuria died because of his art. But he never let Yuria go from his heart. He knows that Lin is a woman who has suffered, and that she would continue to do so if Ken got with her. He let her go because he wanted a better life for her that he knew he could not provide.
This really is a series you can't really score unless you watch the end. I do have my complaints such as the underuse of Bat and Lin, parts of the story that felt made up on the spot, and some side characters I felt nothing for, but it makes up for it at the end in a big way. The entire core of the Lin and Ken story since Hokuto no Ken 1 comes full circle in the last episode of Hnk 2. And it is not over yet. Those who have watched this must take the path of the last part of the story that happens after in the manga. The great conclusion. It is something I will not comment on because of spoilers.
I think Kaioh had some of the most impactful backstories. The art also takes a sinister tone shift once he is introduced. Unfortunately, his fight felt among the weaker ones. I still loved the Han fight. Built up around the great song "Kill the Fight." You could say there was little depth to Han himself as a character, though the fight is incredible through it's primal and manly execution. He felt more like an introduction for Kenshiro about what was to come in this strange land.
Hokuto no Ken 2 also touches upon how your friends become a part of you. The love of friendship. As Kenshiro wanders, he takes certain gear from his fallen comrades. I teared up through the different interpretations of love painfully told to me through characters such as Shachi, Rock, and Ein.
The last episode makes an interesting use of all the OPs and EDs since the beginning of Hokuto no Ken 1. I didn't think too much about it, but it made more sense to me now because they were outright telling you what these songs symbolize through the storytelling here. Tough Boy was about Kaioh that I did not realize until I saw it just now again.
The last episode of HnK 2 addresses something that the series has been trying to build up emotionally in you since the beginning of HnK 1. Then it all explodes in you in those last minutes. I always wondered about the ED. It was clear. "I don't like love, cause I love you." It's a reflection of Lin's thoughts about Ken under the context that she understands what it would mean to be with him. It would be impossible. I slowly came to realize this as I was watching it. I was in denial, and the series made sure to punish me after setting me up like this with a deep sorrow.
After Ken tells Bat to take care of her, they play "Silent Survivor." Ken knows he has a destiny where he is forced to be alone. The battle is all he has left. He comes to terms with this. He understands the danger he can become to people who get close to him.
Then they play "Dry Your Tears" as he gallops away on Koku. He reflects on all his friends and battles. His opponents were people that could love, and he came to understand that despite their contradictions, they were capable of loving someone too.
In the end, this is the song I listen to and think about the most. It really symbolizes Hokuto no Ken in the sense that it makes you realize what love is; the more painful side of it. It is because we feel this pain that we know we can love.
