is a fictional character in the manga series Fist of the North Star created by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. He is the eldest of four honorary brothers (including the protagonist Kenshiro) who trained in the ancient assassination art of Hokuto Shinken. Following his introduction in Chapter 42 of the original manga, Raoh serves as Kenshiro's primary rival and adversary during a great portion of the series, being in the case, the main antagonist of Fist of the North Star, having already taken the mantle of , a tyrannical warlord that seeks to dominate the post-apocalyptic world. In contrast to Kenshiro's title as the "Savior of Century's End", Raoh is commonly referred as the within the story.
Following the conclusion of his story arc, Raoh plays a significant role in the remaining chapters of the manga. He would also go on to play a major role in subsequent books and anime adaptations that were published after the original manga and its original anime. He serves as a central character in The Legends of the True Savior movie series and was the protagonist in his own spinoff manga and anime series Legends of the Dark King.
Character overview
Raoh is the eldest of the four adopted children trained by Ryuken, the previous Hokuto Shinken master. The manga gives two different origins through the course of the story. In his first origin, Raoh and his biological younger brother Toki, were adopted by Ryuken after their real parents died. The second (and real) origin shows that a young Raoh and Toki, along with an infant Kenshiro, were actually refugees from the Kingdom of Shura who were sent to Japan to be trained in the art of Hokuto Shinken by Ryuken after their homeland was torn apart by a civil war. Raoh trained under Ryuken along with Toki and Kenshiro, as well as another student named Jagi. In spite of his ambitions to become the greatest martial artist in the world, Raoh lost the rights to the Hokuto Shinken succession to Kenshiro. Refusing to give up the style, Raoh killed his sifu Ryuken in combat and leaves to become the savior of the world.
Legends of the Dark King
With the aid of his childhood friends Reina and Souga, Raoh gradually builds his army. Later he conquers the Dungeon City of Cassandra and takes over Goram the Demon King's castle as his own while taking the name of . Among his many subordinates are his adoptive brother Jagi, the Toki impersonator Amiba, Uighur the Warden of Cassandra Dungeon, Juda of the Nanto Seiken school, and Ryuga, the elder brother of Kenshiro's fiancée Julia, among others. Raoh also took a giant black stallion named as his personal steed. After his attempt to recruit Ryuroh into his army, Raoh became more cruel in his campaign. Eventually, Raoh confronts Souther and the two battle until it ends in a stalemate and a temporary ceasefire between their armies.
Fist of the North Star and "Legends of the True Savior" Raoh first appears in the story after Kenshiro and his allies have destroyed Cassandra. Raoh and his army begin to occupy Mamiya's home village afterward. Rei is the first warrior to challenge him, but he proves to be no match against Raoh and is defeated. He is then challenged by both, Ken and Toki, and managed to thwart both. In the end, Raoh fights Ken again and the battle between the two men end in a stalemate, with both too wounded to continue fighting. As revealed in The Legends of the True Savior segment, Legend of Raoh - Chapter of Love in Death, after being forced to kill Souga in a ruse to boost his army's morale and dissuade them from revolting, Raoh's army battles Souther's army until Reina is injured while saving an infant caught in the crossfire. Raoh then saves Reina's life by striking a pressure point and entrusts her to Toki, leaving with her the pendant she gave to Raoh when he left the Land of Asura as a child.
After Souther's defeat, Raoh re-emerges to resume his "conquest of the heavens". He gauges the extent of his recovery by challenging Koryu, Ryuken's former rival for the Hokuto Shinken succession and defeats him. Raoh then challenges his brother Toki to a fight and defeats him, but spares his life out of sympathy because Toki was already dying from a terminal disease. Raoh later fights the warriors of the Five Chariots, who challenge Raoh on behalf of the Last General of Nanto Seiken. When Raoh discovers that the Last General is actually Yuria, he rushes to the capital of Nanto to capture her only to be confronted by Kenshiro, who has now mastered the ultimate Hokuto Shinken technique of Musō Tensei, the Unconscious Transmigration of Souls. Raoh manages to escape from Ken and takes Yuria captive with him.