Hokuto no Ken

In the year 19XX, after being betrayed and left for dead, bravehearted warrior Kenshirou wanders a post-apocalyptic wasteland on a quest to track down his rival, Shin, who has kidnapped his beloved fiancée Yuria. During his journey, Kenshirou makes use of his deadly fighting form, Hokuto Shinken, to defend the helpless from bloodthirsty ravagers. It isn't long before his exploits begin to attract the attention of greater enemies, like warlords and rival martial artists, and Kenshirou finds himself involved with more than he originally bargained for.

Faced with ever-increasing odds, the successor of Hokuto Shinken is forced to put his skills to the test in an effort to take back what he cares for most. And as these new challenges present themselves and the battle against injustice intensifies, namely his conflict with Shin and the rest of the Nanto Seiken school of martial arts, Kenshirou is gradually transformed into the savior of an irradiated and violent world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kenshirou Main

Kamiya, Akira Japanese

Raou Supporting

Wakamoto, Norio Japanese

Rei Supporting

Shiozawa, Kaneto Japanese

Toki Supporting

Horikawa, Ryo Japanese

Jagi Supporting

Totani, Kouji Japanese

Souther Supporting

Ginga, Banjou Japanese

Juuza Supporting

Yasuhara, Yoshito Japanese

Shin Supporting

Furukawa, Toshio Japanese

Shuu Supporting

Mori, Katsuji Japanese

Bat Supporting

Ichiryuusai, Teiyuu Japanese

Maseba, Yutaka Producer

Macek, Carl Producer

Ashida, Toyoo Director, Episode Director, Screenplay

Itano, Ichirou Episode Director, Animation Director

Reviews

Nov 12, 2009

nicepants

Recommended

When I first started Hokuto no Ken, I did not know a thing about Fist of the North Star. I had heard the name before, and I knew it was a popular franchise with bloody exploding heads. When I started watching the series, it looked so incredibly 80s.

In fact, the Shin arc made me stop watching it for a while. The endless mooks in poorly drawn 80s style really turned me off. A few weeks later, I decided to try it again. I am so absolutely glad I did. Hokuto no Ken is a post-apocolyptic epic, and I don't use that term lightly.

The story is ... fairly simple. Shin (Kenshiro's rival) steals Yuria (Kenshiro's love), and Ken goes to rescue her. However, in the background, darker, more dangerous forces are moving. The story is cunning in its simplicity, and quite well executed.

The art is of course, very old, and often shows its age. It is the biggest downfall the series has. The series is backed up by strong, memorable music, and one of the most comically catchy OPs (YOU WA SHOCK!) I've heard.

One of the things that Hokuto no Ken does interestingly is the characters. 90% of the major characters are large, stoic men, with pecs of iron and manly logic. The two children, Bat and Lin, are there to cheer Ken on, and be terrified/annoying, respectively. The men Ken meets are almost all evil beyond redemption. However, in the legions of mooks and generic evil, are some interesting, legitimately cool characters, such as Rei, Juza, Toki and Raoh.

To today's viewer, it would seem like you've seen all the elements of this before in other things. The reason for this is that Hokuto no Ken has inspired every single action show to come from Japan, especially the long-running shounen of today, in some form or another.

I cannot give this series a 10, between the early filler (which is just about completely gone after the Shin arc), and the recap episodes. I will, however give this a 9. What I thought would be a hilariously corny 80s romp through a field of exploding heads turned out to be a amazing, epic journey though a post-apocalyptic wasteland, starring, the manliest man to ever be placed on paper. With exploding heads.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Feb 21, 2023

VasileTraian

Mixed Feelings

'Fist of the North Star' is about heads and body parts exploding. That's it. There is no plot. You may be tricked into thinking there is one, but there isn't. It's just Kenshiro, the main protagonist, walking straight, as random shit happens around him.

'Fist of the North Star' has no characters. You may be tricked into thinking there are characters, but there aren't. They are just props which Kenshiro ruthlessly destroys. Never, at any time, ever, does any spark of intelligence or emotion ever ignite in these people's (inevitably exploding) heads. They exist to have their heads exploded. Sure, they are capable of speech, motion, ... and basic interaction with other props, which only exist to make the viewer believe there is a stake at hand. But of course there isn't, our main man Ken will just dispatch them easily.

Is there a weakness to Hokuto? Probably. Does it matter? No, because Ken simply cannot be defeated. You know that. There is no sense of danger, or any reason to root for Kenshiro, because you know he will win .This, ironically, diminishes the man's qualities, instead of enhancing them.

He does not organically push boundaries. He does not learn. He does not grow. He does not become better,because he does not make mistakes.
Kenshiro is not the ultra alpha supra manly man he is praised to be. He is just a boring brick viciously hurled at a window.
Joining him in his adventures as a viewer is a lot like watching a Windows XP screensaver, but with more movement.

There are some kids who join Ken in his murderous rampage of brain dead, deformed beast men, but to this day I have no idea why they exist there in the first place. Nor do I really care about it. I want to see heads explode. Oh yeah, and there's a woman who probably does something.

And no, I cannot be accused of being ignorant and not following the story. I am sure whoever wrote this crap wanted me to not care. Otherwise they wouldn't make everything so void of life and uninteresting.

So is there any reason why you should enjoy this?

Yes!

1. The exploding heads: there is something cathartic about them. Maybe they remind me of simpler, more playful times. They are the main selling point of FOTNS, and I bought it, because sometimes you just need to let your brain rest and let your body take over.

2. Raoh. If he was a character in an actual anime, I would have loved him. Too bad he is wasted here, just another piece of flesh to receive Kenshiro's beating.

3. The Art. It is beautiful. Definitely not the best, there are countless others waaaaaay better; but there is something entrancing about it, and one of the reasons I came back to watching this stupid show, despite taking me more than two years to complete. That, and exploding heads, of course.

4. Ken's voice. It is really cool.

5. The goons' voices. They are actually funny at times. If you're not paying attention, you might confuse them for living, breathing characters, just because of the voice acting.

6. ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA

7. The memes.

That being said, is it worth watching 'Fist of the North Star'? Possibly not. Watch the YouTube shorts for the exploding heads, and rid yourself of the plodding, uninteresting story. And follow the memes.

Is it enjoyable? Surprisingly, yes. But there's a catch. Should you find yourself loving FOTNS, there's a solid chance you're more alike to the goons Ken effortlessly humiliates, rather than Ken himself. Take what you want from this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 24, 2024

Deago

Not Recommended

First of all, let's talk about the repetitive nature of the show. It seems like every other episode features the same formula: some evil guys do some evil things, Kenshiro shows up and beats them up, the evil guys inform their boss, the boss becomes enraged and sends his minions after Kenshiro, Kenshiro beats them up, then Kenshiro beats their boss, and the episode ends. Rinse and repeat. This formula is so predictable it becomes tedious after a while, and you can easily predict what's going to happen next.

The repetition doesn't stop there, the show also reuses a lot of animations, which is a common ... practice in anime but can get annoying when it's overdone. You'll see Kenshiro using the same moves over and over again, ripping his shirt(s) again and again, and the show will often reuse the same stock footage of characters screaming and punching the air. This just adds to the overall feeling of sameness that permeates the show.

Now, let's move on to the supporting characters. Bart is supposed to be the comic relief, but he's just not that funny. Lin, on the other hand, is just a damsel in distress to be rescued by Kenshiro. She's merely a helpless girl who constantly puts herself in danger, and it gets old after a while. Mamiya was initially presented as a strong and independent woman, but her character development is stunted and she eventually becomes more of a love interest for Kenshiro. And Toki was just a Jesus Christ

Rei is probably the most interesting supporting character, but after his story ended, he was reduced to being a sidekick to Kenshiro. His initial storyline about searching for his sister's kidnapper and avenging his parents was intriguing, but then I guess the writer ran out of ideas for him.

As for the villains, there are a lot of them, but most of them are forgettable. They're just there to be beaten up by Kenshiro and move the plot along. The three main villains who are actually related to the main plot are Shin, Souther, and Raoh. Shin is the best of the bunch, with a tragic backstory and a personal connection to Kenshiro that makes their fights more meaningful. Souther is an interesting character as well, but his motivations are a bit muddy, and he doesn't get as much screen time as he deserves. Raoh is a 'big bad' dark messiah dictator who is there to be defeated by Kenshiro in the end.

In terms of animation and music, the 1984 Fist of the North Star TV anime is acceptable but not exceptional. The animation was decent for its time, but it doesn't hold up well compared to modern anime. The music is forgettable, with a lot of generic rock tracks that don't add much to the show.

Overall, it is badly written, with retcons and plot rehashes that make it hard to watch after King arc (the first arc). It has some interesting ideas and characters, but it's hampered by its repetitive formula and lack of depth. If you're a fan of classic anime or martial arts stories, you might enjoy it. However, if you're looking for something with more substance and originality, you might want to look elsewhere. I would recommend the more recent pentalogy (3 movies + 2 OVAs) if you want to explore the main plot with a more streamlined presentation and the retcons were fixed by adding foreshadowings.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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