Hokuto no Ken 2 begins from few years after the original series; Bat and Lynn have grown up and started a rebel army against a new Holy Capital Empire which has taken over after Kenshiro disappeared from limelight after Yuria's death. Slave trade and draconian laws naturally do not motivate our hero to stay out of the way for long.
The Holy Capital arc is probably my favorite story arc of the whole HnK series, right there with the very first (with Shin). Why? It sticks to the basics. Also, Falco is among my favorite supporting characters right after Rei. Seeming like a villain at first, his soldiers' eagerness to give up their lives for him makes Kenshiro suspicious about his true intentions. Also spicing up things is a nonchalant but skilled martial artist and bounty hunter named Ein whose loyalties lie with his mysterious "woman". Another interesting detail is that the primary villain of the arc, Jakoh, is not a fighter in the slightest and deathly afraid of the dark (Jakoh was actually voiced by the same guy who took over the narration for Banjo Ginga after the first story arc of the original HnK).
Unfortunately, the Land of Asura arc is where everything falls flat on it's face. At first, the concept of Kenshiro traveling over the sea to a land inhabited by nothing but warriors sounds too good to be true...and it is, because this place is filled with innocent farmers and the like to be saved from the evil people. But that's not the only bad thing. The original series' ugly habit of introducing cool supporting characters only to kill them off a few episodes later increases tenfold here; pretty much *everyone* besides Kenshiro can and WILL die, leaving me more frustrated than happy. Also, the 'history of hokuto shinken' gets even more confusing here, as if the series had been written as they went on without any actual plot outline thought out. Last and worst, the whole 'bad guys get redeemed at death' gets a very ridiculous aspect when the main bad guy, Kaioh, has absolutely no redeeming aspects whatsoever! How can you try and save someone who has absolutely no likable qualities? And the fact that Kaioh is practically a rehash of Raoh, down to the same voice actor, doesn't help things.
The only thing that saves this series is it's ending. Kenshiro rides off into the sunset with faces of enemies from the past, starting from the very beginning of the original series, which is a very touching and almost nostalgic experience after watching the whole series. Like, it's been a long road, but it's finally over. Also, I noticed that the character designs have improved a great deal, you can no longer tell from the face who's a bad guy and who's not. Oh, and how could I forget the music? "Tough Boy" is definitely a tough competitor for the classic "Ai o Torimodose" for sure!
Seriously though, I'd recommend you to only watch the Holy Capital arc and skip the Asura arc completely if the former didn't end in a cliffhanger, which creates a very annoying dilemma; so much crap just to see how Kenshiro saves Lynn.
The Holy Capital arc is probably my favorite story arc of the whole HnK series, right there with the very first (with Shin). Why? It sticks to the basics. Also, Falco is among my favorite supporting characters right after Rei. Seeming like a villain at first, his soldiers' eagerness to give up their lives for him makes Kenshiro suspicious about his true intentions. Also spicing up things is a nonchalant but skilled martial artist and bounty hunter named Ein whose loyalties lie with his mysterious "woman". Another interesting detail is that the primary villain of the arc, Jakoh, is not a fighter in the slightest and deathly afraid of the dark (Jakoh was actually voiced by the same guy who took over the narration for Banjo Ginga after the first story arc of the original HnK).
Unfortunately, the Land of Asura arc is where everything falls flat on it's face. At first, the concept of Kenshiro traveling over the sea to a land inhabited by nothing but warriors sounds too good to be true...and it is, because this place is filled with innocent farmers and the like to be saved from the evil people. But that's not the only bad thing. The original series' ugly habit of introducing cool supporting characters only to kill them off a few episodes later increases tenfold here; pretty much *everyone* besides Kenshiro can and WILL die, leaving me more frustrated than happy. Also, the 'history of hokuto shinken' gets even more confusing here, as if the series had been written as they went on without any actual plot outline thought out. Last and worst, the whole 'bad guys get redeemed at death' gets a very ridiculous aspect when the main bad guy, Kaioh, has absolutely no redeeming aspects whatsoever! How can you try and save someone who has absolutely no likable qualities? And the fact that Kaioh is practically a rehash of Raoh, down to the same voice actor, doesn't help things.
The only thing that saves this series is it's ending. Kenshiro rides off into the sunset with faces of enemies from the past, starting from the very beginning of the original series, which is a very touching and almost nostalgic experience after watching the whole series. Like, it's been a long road, but it's finally over. Also, I noticed that the character designs have improved a great deal, you can no longer tell from the face who's a bad guy and who's not. Oh, and how could I forget the music? "Tough Boy" is definitely a tough competitor for the classic "Ai o Torimodose" for sure!
Seriously though, I'd recommend you to only watch the Holy Capital arc and skip the Asura arc completely if the former didn't end in a cliffhanger, which creates a very annoying dilemma; so much crap just to see how Kenshiro saves Lynn.