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

Oct 6, 2023

coolman6446

Recommended

Before watching this series, I only knew Hokuto no Ken (HNK) because of the iconic "you're already dead" scene as well as it inspiring some aspects of the Yakuza series. I started watching this series on a random whim and I am thankful for doing so.

HNK felt like the anime equivalent of Yakuza: A series with a strong story and entertaining fights while still having comedy sprinkled throughout. It does a great job of starting off as a goofy, over-the-top action show and slowly transitions to a more plot heavy one that still recognizes to not take itself too seriously. That being said, there are ... some amazing twists and moments in the series that hit me hard in the feels.

In conclusion: I は SHOCK at how great this series is. Hands down my favorite!

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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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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Mar 18, 2017

InkSpider

Not Recommended

NOTE: There are going to be some spoilers in this. Yes, I know I’m not supposed to do that on this site, but I can’t critique Fist of the North Star to any satisfying degree without talking about certain specific details. If you don’t want the show spoiled, stop reading now. If you don’t care, go right ahead.
The Positive Side: This is a show about a man who looks, and talks, and fights like Bruce Lee, traveling a nuclear wasteland and making comically evil people explode with his fists. For what it’s worth, Fist of the North Star embraces what it ... is with every fiber of its being, and never once attempts to be anything else. There’s a kind of courage in treating an absurd premise as seriously as Fist of the North Star does, a kind of charming naivete. It’s a bit like the anime equivalent of a B-movie.
Fist of the North Star hails from the bad old days of anime, the 80’s and 90’s, so the art isn’t very polished and the relative sizes get pretty wonky, but there are some beautifully painted settings, and the action feels consistently dynamic, hot-blooded and over-the-top.
Some of the music is pretty great, and the opening theme of Part 1, “Ai no Torimodose!!” (yes, that second exclamation mark is absolutely mandatory) is sure to put you in the right mood for this show, with its echoing shouts of “You hua SHOCK!” and its dramatic, fatalistic lyrics.
The story is very melodramatic and morally uncompromising, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While the characters are exaggerated, there are still moments where we are moved by their suffering.
The simplicity of the show’s morality has a certain charm as well: when evil people do evil things, the hero shows up and punches them to death, and all is well again. Don’t you wish the real world was this simple?
If I could separate Part 1 from the rest of the series, I would give it a 7 out of 10. There’s a surprising sophistication to the irony of the plotting, and the anti-villain, Shin, is memorable and intriguing, but his sympathetic aspects never detract from his menace.
The Negative Side: This show neatly captures both everything good and bad about Shonen. The series comes to a neat close in Part 1, and then insists on dragging on for a hundred more episodes, well after the show’s artistic merit has been wrung dry.
This show is very repetitive, which is fine if you consistently enjoy watching our hero, Ken exploding bad guys, but gets boring pretty quick if you’ve grown used to more mature anime. Adding to this repetition is an abundance of animation recycling. I hope you liked that shot of Ken using the 100 Crack Fist of the North Star on Zeed in the first episode, because you’re going to see that about fifty more times before the series is done.
The character development is also lacking. While a few of the major villains are well-developed, the majority of the villains are two-dimensional, which isn’t too bad at first, but becomes truly grating as the series wears on and we are forced to trudge through one heartless, irredeemable megalomaniac after another. Kenshiro is supposed to be loved for his compassion and kindness, but that’s a bit hard to buy when you look at the sheer number of creative and sadistic deaths he inflicts on his foes. Ken’s sympathy is also hindered by how over-powered he is compared to the majority of his foes. For every villain who manages to significantly injure Ken, there are a dozen whom he effortlessly slays with a single blow.
There are a few side characters who are more interesting than Ken himself, but nearly every single hero not named “Kenshiro” dies a tragically stupid and pointless death trying to stop some over-powered villain. It’s not only predictable, but irritating to watch characters we care about strive so hard to live honorably and justly (like Kenshiro gets away with constantly), only to be effortlessly slaughtered by a villain to get the point across that the villain is a threat.
It’s a bit unsurprising that a Shonen from the 80’s would have trouble with gender, but the way Fist of the North Star’s handles women is consistently cringe-worthy. A disproportionate amount of time is built setting up Rei, a supposed hero who, to the modern audience, is more likely to come across as a sex criminal than a crusader. It is very hard to weep for Rei’s death when his first interaction with a major character (Mamiya) consists of him leering at her and ripping away her bath-towel. I was honestly amazed the scene didn’t end with Rei raping Mamiya. This isn’t the only time he forcefully strips her of her clothing, and to make matters worse, Rei and Mamiya are set up as love interests to each other later on. Insisting that a woman become romantically invested in a man who sexually harassed her the first time they met isn’t just unrealistic, it’s insulting.
Mamiya does her best to serve the role of the powerful, independent and capable woman, but gets hit very hard by what I like to call “Sakura Syndrome”, named after Naruto’s Sakura Haruno. Sakura Syndrome is when a female character in a Shonen is supposed to be a competent warrior, but never (or nearly never) wins a significant fight. Sakura Syndrome is generally the result of a Shonen that wants to make a female character a badass, either to placate feminists or for purposes of fetishism, but also wants to make sure that the male heroes stay firmly in the spotlight at all times. Mamiya mows down plenty of random mooks with her razor yo-yos, but the moment she is placed in a fight against anyone important enough to be given a name, she is doomed. Mamiya also espouses the philosophy that one cannot be a woman and a warrior at the same time. Because, you know, it’s not like there’s thousands of women enlisted in the Armed Forces at this exact moment. Eventually, Mamiya gives up on her career as a warrior and gets shoved back into the kitchen, which begs the question of why Fist of the North Star played with creating a female warrior in the first place.
Part 1 is worth watching if you like action series and don’t mind melodrama and cheesy dialogue, but if you go any further than that, you’re wasting your time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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