Long before Kenshiro said, You're already dead, a different Kenshiro walked the violent streets of Shanghai. The city is in constant crisis as two mafia families battle one another for supremacy. In the crossfire, a little girl named Erika is orphaned and soon taken under the wing of martial artist Liu Fei-Yan. Sorrow seems to follow the girl, as every time Fei-Yan attempts to hand her off, her new guardians end up dead. Fei-Yan decides to bring the girl to a man named Guise but instead crosses paths with powerful Kenshiro Kasumi. (Source: ANN)

A mysterious man known as the King of Death roams the streets of pre-war Shanghai in this action-packed prequel to Fist of the North Star. Shanghai in the 1930s is a dangerous place. Foreign governments and Chinese factions have carved the city into different quarters, each with its own laws and government, and all rife with corruption. As the major powers vie for political control, the streets are left to local gangs. Life is cheap, and death is always near. In days past, one man walked these mean streets battling the forces of evil. He was known only as Yan Wang, the King of Death. Few knew who he really was, but many knew that he was a master of Hokuto Shinken - Fist of the North Star - a lethal martial art. He disappeared years ago after dispatching the city's worst gangsters, and is now rumored to be in Japan. Various people have come to Japan in search of him, but who will find him first?

In the Victorian era, the British Empire is bustling with the energy of the steam-powered industrial revolution. Following in the footsteps of his famous family of inventors, James Ray Steam enjoys his youth in Manchester helping at local factories and stealing components for his own creations. One day, he receives a package containing a strange ball with an attached valve from his grandfather, who has been working in the United States alongside Ray's father. However, it is not long before people from the O'Hara Foundation storm into his house demanding he hand it over. Confused and afraid, Ray attempts to flee to the home of his grandfather's colleague, Robert Stephenson, with pursuers hot on his trail. While Ray seeks to piece together the secret of the ball and discover the power it contains, it seems practically everyone in the British Empire is ready to seize it from him.

Four additional short stories of the Steel Angels: Saki becomes a film actress, Karinka goes on a blind date with Kamihito, Kurumi practices the art of becoming a traditional Japanese woman, and the rest of the Steel Angels engage in a contest to win Nakahito's heart. (Source: ANN)