I remember once reading of this über-violent Mad Max-esque series. And whoa, did it surprise me to find 4 dvds of it for a ridiculously low price too. I’d expect Igatona to know something of this series aswell)
Sure, it’s not so crisp-looking and sounding as you’d expect of a martial arts series, but it’s from 1984 so it shows some scars of time. And yes, it’s got plenty of blood, guts and and other gruesome stuff in it, so it’s pretty justifiable that the labels have a rating of 15-18 on 'em, after I watched the first DVD.
Basically, it’s about this person Kenshiro (Ken), who is the sole inheritor of the Hokuto Shinken martial arts style (Fist of the North Star) and his brother Shin, happens to be the Fist of the South Star. and well, what do you know, Shin’s evil. And he has Ken’s girl. And thousands of ugly thugs with mohawks to ravage the innocent ordinary people with. Combine this with spine-wreaking, skull-smashing and arm-severing Martial Arts moves (HUNDRED CRACK FIST OF THE NORTH STAR) from Ken as he continues looking for his brother and give him the asskicking of his life as he helps out the poor and the weak in the desolate world.
(And yeah, Excel’s moves in Excel Saga are borrowed from here. Except that the thugs here die a gruesome death and don’t get turned into Puchikos.)
What you gonna do when Kenshiro makes you say ‘hidebu’? >:E
Mab, there’s a remake/follow-up/cash-cow milking called “The NEW Fist of the North Star”, if you liked the original series, czech that out.
Before there was Dragonball Z, there was Fist of the North Star.
Except FotNS is more serious (and WAY more bloody) than DBZ.
Here’s the story: WWIII happens, the world is reduced to primitive levels (except for cars and bikes. Where they do get the gas?) Pretty much Mad Max setting.
A family of Martial Artists (not just Ken and Shin, there were like six to eight of them) try to either help the survivors, or rule them. I think they’re all brothers, thought they may be in name only. Each has his own personal style, named after a constellation. They don’t blow up mountains, but are still superhumanly powerful. Ken’s is of course, The Fist of the North Star. He’s notable for his overly huge muscles (lots of guys like that in this anime) and for having scars in the form of the Big Dipper constellation in his chest (Not an accident. Ouch.) Guy is grim and silent, but some kids provide humor. It must be noted that SOME of the main characters are dying from radiation… and no, they don’t get cured. I’ll let you guys find out which.
This was a hyper-violent, pessimistic series starring mainly adult characters, and therefore unusual for Anime. But it was very popular back in the day. And it introduced many concepts used later in Martial Arts animes.
Trivia bit: The Author of the manga is called “Buronson”. This is believed to be a tribute to… Charles Bronson. (DEATH WISH movies.)
I was a fan of FotNS. Cool anime. I heard about the new ones…are they any good? How many episodes in the original series? Did they ever complete the whole story?
I never saw FotNS. I did, however, play the NES game based on said anime. and it was pretty cool.