Heart of Madness

[noonekillsthiskenny]

I'm reading the Raoh Vs Toki part(just after Souther arc) and It brought to mind some questions about succession. It's mentioned several times throughout the manga and anime that the failed sucessors of both hokuto and nanto can no longer practice and that their fists are broken/sealed and their memories erased. Is this only if they decline to give up the art? If they willingly swear never to practice again will they be allowed to retain their abilities?. The reason I ask is that Koryu is killed by Raoh and he was a failed successor who lost to Ryuken but he still has all of his abilities and is able to fight with Raoh using hokuto shinken. Did he just give up martial arts?
Also i have noticed some difference in translations in the different versions of HNK manga and anime that refers to the practicer having their memory erased...the streamline dub of the 80's movie says the practicer will become "a mindless vegetable" whereas other versions say their memory is erased(presumably of just the martial art) I would assume this is the case since it seems a bit harsh to completely destroy someone's quality of life just cause they failed to be successor.

[Seiken]

First of all, disregard the Streamline dub. Most of the script was rewritten for the English version.

This topic has been discussed many times on HoM. There appears to be an unwritten rule that failed successors can keep Hokuto Shinken if they exhibit self-discipline of the art. Toki and Koryu are both examples of this. Those who cannot be trusted to do this will have their knowledge erased or their fists crushed so that they may never fight again.

You have to wonder what Kenshiro was thinking when he let Jagi live. He had a moral duty to kill him, but his naivety held him back. Maybe he was hoping Ryuken would do it for him, but of course he never got past Raoh.

Also, Nanto Seiken has 108 different schools and many masters, even if there is one recognised successor for each school. The only Nanto Seiken style that can have one practitioner is Nanto Ho'o Ken - Souther's style.

[noonekillsthiskenny]

Thanks for clearing that up.....I should have known with regards to the streamline dub...most dubs from that time are pretty inaccurate. I much prefer the subbed version. I just remembered the line from back in the day when most anime was dubbed on VHS.