Hokuto no Ken

"Hokuto no Ken" ("Fist of the North Star," 1984) took its cue from the Australian movies, MAD MAX (1979) and THE ROAD WARRIOR (aka MAD MAX 2, 1981), and pioneered a new style of violent animated action on Japanese television. It presented a more exaggerated version of the movies' post-apocalyptic landscape and its roving bands of savage bikers with Mohawk haircuts, spiked leather and bulging muscles who ravage the budding communities trying to rebuild society in a bleak and devastated terrain. Into the role of defender of the weak steps Ken, master of Hoto Shin Ken, or Fist of the North star, an intricate martial arts system that wreaks havoc on his opponents' nervous systems and causes all kinds of fatal disfigurements, usually an exploding decapitation. The stoic, deadpan Ken brooks no argument with those who offend him and spends most of the series ridding the landscape of these musclebound cretins. To balance out the constant violence with regular doses of sentiment, Ken's empathetic qualities are drawn out by the presence of two children, an adolescent harmonica-playing boy and a young girl saddled with a puppy, who become Ken's companions for much of the series.

While the violence is quite gruesome, the gore is muted by depicting the exploding heads in silhouette or shadow and having the spurting body fluids colored neutral hues. The carnage is, nevertheless, particularly satisfying because we get to watch dozens of murderous thugs get wasted, one by one, in colorful and imaginative ways. (The 1986 animated feature version of this series, also called FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, was much more explicit in its bloodshed.)

The first series lasted for 109 episodes, from 1984 to 1987, while a second series (1987-88) lasted 43 episodes. A number of episodes from the first season have been released in the U.S. and include the first story arc (22 episodes), which involves Ken's quest for vengeance against Shin, his one-time buddy and master of the Fist of the Southern Cross, who took Ken's girl away from him--by force--and left him with a seven-mark scar in the form of Ursa Major, the Big Dipper (or Great Bear) constellation. The second story arc gave Ken a new and equally formidable opponent in Raoh, master of Nanto Suichoken, a technique which literally slices opponents into pieces.

The animation does an expert job of recreating the stark imagery of the original manga (comic book), which was written by "Buronson" and drawn by Tetsuo Hara, capturing the near-desert landscape and spectacular urban ruins in evocative detail. The character design is equally well-etched, with great linework applied to even the most transient characters. Color is used well in both the parched quality of the arid landscape and the flamboyant nature of the rampaging biker gangs with their clown makeup and playing card gang motifs. There's a wash quality, suggesting water colors, in some of the background art. It should be pointed out that the hard-edged look and tone of the series is something traditional pen-and-ink animation could do so well but is much harder to achieve in the overly slick digital animation era in which anime finds itself today. A series like FIST is more to be valued because of the near impossibility of duplicating such an effort today.

For me Fist of the North Star will and always be the "BEST" that Manga's ever produced.

Violence and humor were here. I'm amazed to just realize that this was made in 1984 as I first viewed this back in 1993 assuming it that it came out then?

Brilliant artwork excellent voice-over characterization really help give this film a convincing approach as to how well you immerse yourself with both plot and character details.

Don't let this one pass you by, Fist of the North Star rules. . ..

Fist of the north star is easily my favorite anime movie ever. The film is set in a post apocalyptic wasteland where Ken the fist of the north star searches for his kidnapped girlfriend after being brutally beaten and thrown in a chasm. There's lot's more to it than that though, He has some evil brothers that want to kill him because he is the true prophet and they want his title. Ken joins up with a couple of kids and a deadly guy named ray who slices his enemies apart in some of the most brutal violence in film history. The intensity of the action alone in this movie makes it worth seeing. You see characters screaming battle cries and destroying cities with their fists, slicing and dicing they're enemies apart graphically, and causing bad guys' heads to explode with ken's touch of death. The plot although not explained well enough sometimes, is also very good and the voice acting is also good (look for the voice of the guy who played the father in the fresh prince of bell air as the leader of the guys in bear hides.) The animation dosen't flow flawlessly like in something like ninja scroll or akira but as in a lot of anime with limited budgets they make it look excellent with a minimalist style. The drawings are superb and add to the epicness of the story giving the characters huge pumped up bodies and absurd amounts of power. (punching over buildings, breaking tables due to intense mental powers, crushing peoples heads effortlessly) Some people might not like the over the top presentation of characters being fifty feet tall in one scene and then being in proportion to everyone else the next, but you must understand this is just to present the terrifying presence and power of these characters. I think it's brilliant. Rent it at all costs!!

PS The rapper Jeru the damaja samples and quotes the opening voiceover of fist of the north star on his album The sun rises in the east!

"Fist of the North Star", originally called "Hokuto no Ken", is an Action/Fighting-Anime which aired on Japanese TV from 1984 to 1987. This anime is based on the popular Manga series with the same name, and was produced by Toei Animation and Fuji Television Network.

Basic plot: In the year 199X a nuclear war has wiped out most of the humanity, and there seems to be no life on Earth. The surviving people, fighting over the remaining amount of food and water, are either killed or becoming slaves for punk-like people and villainous giants.

The series follows our hero Kenshiro, the successor of the Hokuto Shinken, a secret martial arts style which can literally make his enemies explode from the inside. Kenshiro, who's fiancée Yuria has been taken away by Nanto Seiken master Shin, wanders around the wasteland with seven scars on his chest. And together with two kids (Bat and Lin), he goes around and saves the weak and innocent people from the gruesome acts of the said enemies, while he sets out to save Yuria from his rival Shin.

The animation style is good, even though it seems to be dated as the anime was made during the 80s. Many of the scenes with heads and bodies exploding has been toned down probably in order to avoid eventually censorship, but still this anime has loads of action scenes and some scenes of humor and dramatic to make the fans of 80s action-filled anime entertained. This is a classic fighting anime after all.

The soundtrack is also good, and fits very well with many of the dramatic and battle scenes taking place. The theme song "Ai Wo Torimodose" by Crystal King is catchy as well.

Because of all of the things I've mentioned here in this review: By all of the fighting anime I've seen, like "Bleach", "Naruto" and "Dragonball", this one has to be the best fighting anime series I've watched so far, if not the best anime TV-series of all time.

The Malay DVD box I've got as a Christmas gift, as bought through eBay before Christmas 2013, contains as follows: The original 109-episode series and it's 43-episode long sequel, and six movies which also includes the 1986 movie remake.

Worth checking out if you're into action-packed anime, regardless if it was made in 1984 or 2014. A true classic after all. My overall rating: A well deserved 10/10.

The characters aren't mutated warriors like that other fellow said (at least not in the original japanese version). These people are extremely gifted martial artists. Kenshirô, the main character, is a master assassin and the next in line to take over the Hokuto shin ken art. As Ken is chosen to be the master of the art by his teacher, his older school brothers (mainly the menacing Rao) are outraged by this and choose to violently leave the order, killing their teacher in the process. Keep in mind that only one master can be chosen and the rest of the students must either have their memories erased or their ken (fists) destroyed. Apparently the art is only meant for the best warrior and no internal struggle must persist. The character, Shin is a master of the Nanto sei ken (south fist or something like that). He is the first of four other nanto masters who will confront Ken.

Anywho, one can describe Kenshirô as a mix of Mad Max and Bruce Lee with a Road Warrior/kung fu/samurai flick backdrop. The series goes on as Ken battles his brothers, the nanto masters, and a bunch of other freaks with some flash backs here and there to help explain the story. The great thing about this series are the characters. They're not just evil dudes who kill kill and kill. Not only are they extremely colorful, they all have their reasons for their actions. You'll find that most of the major villains are regarded as heroes by the end.

Because this series is based on a comic book, you can expect to find some glitchy plot holes. But don't worry, the characters and the action are enough to make you forget about these plot holes.