Exceedraft E13 presents a repeated emphasis on bare hands that matches the episode's "low-tech" premise as well as its accessible and affordable yet nonetheless skillful ways to advance the story. It reflects an approach to storytelling that’s personalised and open-handed, befitting both the personal stakes and personality of Okuma Ken, who plays a central role in resolving the case of E13.
While Ken's powerful signature kick distinguishes E13’s content, its title emphasises the hand with the kanji '拳' ('ken') in '禁断の地獄拳' ('Kindan no jigoku ken'). This kanji is also the kanji for Ken's name. '拳' literally means 'fist' and its writing includes the character '手' ('te') for 'hand'. That's the same character for '空手' ('karate') which is the martial arts central to E13. The characters for 'karate' literally means 'empty hands' which reflects the empty-handed state of those who practice it. The focus on fighting empty-handed distinguishes the karate sparring of E13 in contrast to the many Exceedraft episodes centred on cases featuring futuristic weapons and technology.
Another common use of ‘拳' is in ‘じゃん拳' ('janken'). It’s the Japanese name for the game of rock-paper-scissors which is exclusively played with bare hands. Games are important in E13 which has the deadly games of Fujio's illegal matches and the mental and physical game which Ken plays against him. Ken himself likes to connect with other men through playing competitive sports that are each a different kind of game.
We see E13's first focus on actual hands in the scene of Fujio gouging out the eyes of one of his fighters who wants to stop fighting in his deadly matches. It presents Fujio as a villain willing to literally get his hands dirty to punish whoever he perceives as a potential threat that he must eliminate. Our close view of Fujio's brutal act promises more close-ups on the violence to come in E13. It prepares us for further closeness, at a distance perhaps too close for comfort, to better see every minute change in the unfolding of the case.
We get our next emphasis on hands when Ken holds on to Kosaku as a sign of their mutual trust during their playacting with their captain to fool Fujio's minion. They're dressed in their undercover outfits for Kosaku and Hayato to appear as thugs menacing Ken for failing to pay up his debts.
As indicated by Kosaku wearing Redder's colour, he takes the lead here as the team's undercover specialist after having convinced Commander Isshiki to let the team undertake an undercover operation to save Ken's friend. While Ken is being threatened and hurt, he clutches Kosaku's arm, appearing to be in pain while in truth fully putting his life in the hands of his two teammates who are backing him up.
For Ken and Kosaku in particular, their mutual reliance reverses the tension between them in the scenes of one or both of them grabbing the other in an aggressive manner.
On Ken's part, he relies on Kosaku a lot emotionally and their fights arise whenever Kosaku is too insecure to offer the kind of support that Ken seeks to quell his own insecurity. They're at their best working together when they play unique roles most suited for them for helping others, like in their skit and banter for cheering up Masaru's friend in E10.
They exhibit a similar confidence in their performance for the case of E13 which puts into play their special skills, namely Kosaku's disguises and Ken's karate, allowing their personal and professional capabilities to overlap.
Hands come into focus again in the fight that sets up Exceedraft's rescue of the case's central victim. Kogure, Ken's old karate club friend, fights under the influence of a performance enhancing drug which suppresses his ability to think clearly. He's unable to recognise Ken and only starts thinking for himself once more after Ken performs Kogure's signature technique on him.
As Ken performs the jab and kick combination that only Kogure can do, he lands quick and powerful blows with his hands, then his legs. The alternation of different kinds of attacks with his upper and lower half reinforces Ken's complete dominance of the fight and his strength as a fighter. Ken's body is both his weapon and his way of communicating his strong will to save his friend. Each of his blows punctuates his appeal for Kogure to remember what truly matters to him, reinforcing Ken's total immersion of himself in the fight.
What both men do with their hands to each other’s karate gi re-establishes the mutual support between them. After Ken performs his signature 'Great Whirlwind Kick' on Kogure, Kogure appears unaffected as he pins Ken down. But his apparent attack is only a cover for them to talk without being overheard by the criminals who seek to harm them. More on the effect of Ken’s signature move on his fight against Kogure in this essay!
During their conversation, we see up close Kogure's hands grasping Ken's gi and pulling Ken closer as they smile at each other. Their physical closeness brings home the reversal in the fight with the restoration of Kogure's wits and his emotional closeness with Ken.
Grabbing the gi is also a common move in Japanese martial arts, though that’s more of the case for jujutsu and judo rather than karate. Earlier in the Rescue Police series, we’ve seen it done during the friendly judo sparring between Ryoma and Daiki in Solbrain E51.
Having Ken and Kogure do the same emphasises the physical intimacy in a clash between two fighters that brings to their fight a personal quality. As Kogure asks Ken to throw him at Fujio, he treats his body as a weapon to strike back at his true enemy in a further reversal of his fight with Ken. Ken's hands then enable the reclamation of Kogure's agency.
A deleted scene only included in the preview for E13 shows us a greater focus on Ken's hands for his second fight against Fujio. When we're first introduced to the events in E13 after the outro in E12, we see Ken removing the gloves of his Try Jacket. After Ken throws his gloves aside, the camera then pans away to focus on them falling among the rest of Ken's protective gear. Taken together, these shots bring our attention to Ken’s bare hands and more importantly, what he's capable of doing with them.
E13 itself just features Ken taking off his helmet before cutting to him standing in his karate gi. Shots focusing on Ken's gloves specifically have been removed, most likely due to time constraints.
But we still get our emphasis on Ken's hands in a close-up of his fist clashing against Fujio's fist. Their fight is already underway when the meeting of their fists marks a turning point in the show's visual presentation.
The meeting of their fists presents a visual symmetry that's replicated once the camera cuts back to their fight. After their fists clash, we first see the setting sun, then its effect on the ongoing fight. Backlit by the sunset, the bodies of Ken and Fujio are presented in silhouette. The change in visual presentation created by the cinematography distinguishes the fighters from those watching them and suggests them to be equal in their ability and immersion in the fight.
n contrast to the aggressive clashing of fists between Ken and Fujio, we get after Ken’s victory against Fujio the gentle clasping of hands between Ken and Kogure. The camera focuses on them shaking hands, followed by Kogure clasping Ken's hand with his other hand.
Having both his hands on Ken leaves Kogure less capable of launching threatening attacks and so becoming defenseless, emphasising his complete trust in Ken. As hands become an instrument for connection rather than destruction, Ken's fight in E13 is truly over.
E13's repeated emphasis on hands turns our attention to the close contact between bodies made possible by the lack of elaborate and expensive props for the episode's case. In place of flashy special effects, E13 deploys simple and accessible ways in its scriptwriting and cinematography to create entertainment and meaning. We're brought to the episode's important turning points marked by the meeting of bodies as the camera is worked like a set of hands exhibiting its free range of motion to push or pull at our attention.