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KEN: Le Survivant de l’Enfer (The French “Fist of the North Star”) Posted by on Jun 24, 2012 in Culture, Vocabulary

In the early 1990s, French teenagers did not exactly watch TV programs like “SpongeBob SquarePants” or “Hannah Montana”…

The show you are about to discover today was then considered the ultimate dessin animé (cartoon) not to miss on French TV for the 12-year-old boys on Wednesday afternoons.

And nevermind that the storyline featured some pretty violent scenes!

A fact which would eventually lead a consortium of concerned parents and even politicians (such as Ségolène Royal, the ex “partner” of French President François Hollande) to pressure the French TV channel TF1, leaving it no other choice in the end than pulling the plug for good on the show, to the greatest chagrin of millions of French kids who were ready to skip school just to watch an episode!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-NV7FG3974

Set in a Mad Max-like post-apocalyptic world, “Ken, le survivant” (“Ken the Survivor”) tells the story of a warrior named Ken (or “Kenshiro” in the original Japanese anime “Fist of the North Star”), a Master of a martial art known as “Hokuto.”
The first French doublage (dubbing) of this cartoon is to this day deemed controversial: The fans of the original show see the “tongue-in-cheek” French style as an affront to the original Japanese version, while others seem to enjoy the various jeux de mots (puns) it often contains, such as the constant references to the martial art of “Haut Couteau de Cuisine” (literally “the High Kitchen Knife”) instead of “Hokuto”!
♦ Intro to “Ken, le survivant” (“Ken the Survivor”, or “Fist of the North Star”) ♦
An exclusive Transparent French Blog Translation:

Ken, survivant de l’enfer

Ken, the Survivor of Hell

Ken, souvent croise le fer

Ken, often crosses swords

Ken, dans le chaos des esprits

Ken, in the chaos of minds

Ken, contre les fous les bandits

Ken, against madmen and bandits

Ken, survivant de l’enfer

Ken, the Survivor of Hell

Ken, souvent croise le fer

Ken, often crosses swords

Ken, dans le chaos des esprits

Ken, in the chaos of minds

Ken, contre les fous les bandits

Ken, against madmen and bandits

Héros du futur, il fait respecter la loi

Hero of the future, he enforces the law

Il est l’héritier des plus grands maîtres chinois

He is the inheritor of the greatest Chinese masters

Il n’a qu’un seul but, il n’a qu’un seul idéal

He has only one objective, he has only one ideal

Combattre et détruire les Forces du Mal

To fight and destroy the Evil forces

Ken, survivant de l’enfer

Ken, the Survivor of Hell

Ken, souvent croise le fer

Ken, often crosses swords

Ken, dans le chaos des esprits

Ken, in the chaos of minds

Ken, contre les fous les bandits

Ken, against madmen and bandits

C’est avec Julia sa fidèle compagne

It’s with Julia, his faithful compagnon

Qu’il fait régner la loi dans les villes et campagnes

That he enforces the law in the cities and the countryside

De la bombe atomique, il est le survivant

Of the atomic bomb, he is the survivor

Utilise sa force contre tous les méchants

Uses his force against villains

Ken, survivant de l’enfer

Ken, the Survivor of Hell

Ken, souvent croise le fer

Ken, often crosses swords

Ken, dans le chaos des esprits

Ken, in the chaos of minds

Ken, contre les fous les bandits

Ken, against madmen and bandits

Ken, survivant de l’enfer

Ken, the Survivor of Hell

Ken, souvent croise le fer

Ken, often crosses swords

Ken, dans le chaos des esprits

Ken, in the chaos of minds

Ken, contre les fous les bandits

Ken, against madmen and bandits

Ken!

Ken!

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