HOKUTO NO KEN

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ActionSouten no Ken
ANIME ActionHokuto no Ken 2
MANGA ActionHokuto no Ken
ANIME ActionHokuto no Ken: Raoh Gaiden Ten no Haoh
MOVIE ActionHokuto no Ken Movie
MOVIE ActionHokuto no Ken: Raoh Gaiden Junai-hen
MOVIE ActionHokuto no Ken: Raoh Gaiden Gekitou-hen
OVA ActionHokuto no Ken: Yuria-den
OVA ActionHokuto no Ken: Toki-den
TV SHORT ComedyDD Hokuto no Ken
ANIME ComedyHokuto no Ken: Ichigo Aji
MOVIE ActionHokuto no Ken Zero: Kenshirou Den
ONA ActionSouten no Ken: REGENESIS 2
SPECIAL ActionHokuto no Ken: LEGEND of HEROES
ANIME ComedyUrusei Yatsura
Not Available ActionHokuto no Ken: FIST OF THE NORTH STAR

REVIEWS

• 

  WanderingSage

  96/100
  One of the original shounen shows. An absolute must watch martial arts romp that might change your life.

  Fist of the North Star was one of the very few anime that I can say really changed the way that I approached life. The characters of Hokuto no Ken, especially Kenshiro inspire me even to this day, and when I'm unsure of the right course of action, I generally ask myself two very important questions:

  1.) Is this something that Kenshiro would do.
  2.) Is this something that would make Kenshiro go on a righteous rampage that would end with my head exploding and him telling me that "you're already dead".

  One may be able to slide by if you can't answer question one in the affirmative, and one really doesn't want to fail question two, just in case Kenshiro finds out what you did.

  I have on occasion looked at a heavy barbell that I'm about to deadlift, told the barbell that it was already dead, and proceeded to set a personal record.

  I first watched this show many years ago, probably back in the early/mid nineties, long before the modern tropes and current memes of anime took hold. As I've rewatched it a couple times over the years, I can say that it is as fun and as good to watch as the first time, even though it's dated by today's standards.

  With regards to the technicals, This is definitely an 80s anime in that it has the art style of the time and the familiar 80s style sound tracks. The voice acting is good for one of the early shows as well. I'm not exactly sure how Kamiya held those "AH-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA"s as long as he did, but the man deserves serious credit. Other major characters, especially Rei and Raoh have great voice actors as well. The theme "YOU WA SHOCK" is pure 80s power rock and sets the stage for what is to come. The ending theme speaks to the loss and tragedy that the world suffers through and the journey Kenshiro is on. For what at first glance is a cheesy martial arts anime (and let's face it, this is definitely a cheesy martial arts anime), there is surprising depth in emotion and feeling watching this show.

  The story is a bit of Mad Max combined with old school Martial Arts flicks. Kenshiro was obviously inspired visually by Bruce Lee. The story itself is one of survival in a world post apocalypse. Rule by the ruthless and the strong is the norm, and the weak are cast aside and exploited. Kenshiro is the main protagonist and the show follows him using his powerful martial arts "Hokuto no Ken" style to basically become a messianic figure of hope for the downtrodden. Kenshiro is also an interesting study in manliness, as he is able to shed tears freely when they are warranted, and while it isn't shown often, has a huge heart. He embodies the paladin in ways that many that carry the title can't quite live up to. Kenshiro runs solo by default, yet finds allies and antagonists along his journeys that are as memorable and amazing as he is. It's hard to discuss some of them without running into spoilers, but suffice it to say, the heroes and villains in this journey are memorable and iconic and have their own amazing stories.

  The villains in the story that Kenshiro fights run from run of the mill Saturday morning cartoon villains to more complex men that have their own agendas that may be ruthless, but fall a bit more on the grey end of morality. For a few of the antagonists, a case could be made that given the state of the world, what they are doing, while not nice, would more or less be warranted. It is the nature of these early shounen shows that episodic simple villains or lesser lieutenants are sometimes overcome on the way towards somewhat longer battle arcs with a major antagonist.

  While I realize that Fist of the North Star may not be for everyone, much like Bruce Lee advised us many years ago it should best be approached with a "don't think, feel" mindset. The show is distilled testosterone and manliness in its greatest form. It's the rise of and fall of powerful men who wish to impose their will on the world instead of just living in it. It's the manly tears that you feel when someone larger than life falls. It's the feeling of righteous justice that one feels when a horrible villain is given no quarter and, much to his inevitable shock and horror Kenshiro tells them that "Omae wa mou shindeiru" (you are already dead). There's something of the pure romanticism in this show behind the overpowered machismo that seems to be missing from modern action/adventure pieces in our postmodern age.

  While this show is obviously dated nowadays and is going on 35 years old, and has a few issues due to its age and the general nature of shounen shows; It demands to be watched, if for no other reason than to get an understanding of how the shounen genre used to be and where it came from. Hokuto no Ken is a must watch for anime fans as it has had such a huge influence on the industry, to the point of bleeding into the pop culture of Japan.

  This is also a great show to watch to cleanse the palate of all of the pretty boys and cute girls shows that saturate modern offerings and take yourself back to a time where protagonists were not someone that you could simply relate to in their slovenly, yet comforting mediocrity, where things are simply handed to him without anything being done to earn it. There was a time when the protagonist was someone that you could aspire and look up to, because they embody an ideal and a struggle against the odds. Then, after watching a few episodes, you use that manly energy to go build something, lift something, or conquer something.

  This show gets an unqualified recommendation.

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• 

  DKClaude

  100/100
  The father of the Shounen Anime is here, showing how an action packed anime should really be

  

  Tired of the same old shounen anime, where it seems that everything is solved by a teenager protagonist that is overpowered but refuses to beat the crap out of the villain, but instead talks and convinces the villain to surrender? Do you want something more manly, more inspiring, and more exciting? Do you want charismatic characters that have unique styles and personalities, and can sometimes be as amazing as the protagonist itself?

  Let's go back 37 years go, returning to 1984 where we will find the solution for your problems: Hokuto no Ken, or Fist of the North Star for those who like to call it like that too.
  In my first review here, I want to show you the power of the 80's anime, and try convincing you that besides being famous for it's violence, Hokuto no Ken is more than just brutes hitting each other.

  

  Hokuto no Ken tells the story of Kenshiro, the only sucessor of a 2000 year old assassination martial art called Hokuto Shinken, that can defeat oponents with swift strikes, making them explode from inside, and it can only have one sucessor. But of course, if you are here reading this review and thinking about giving a chance for this anime, you already know that much.

  And you also know that this anime is something fully action packed, with tons of blood, exploding heads, amazing fights, etc...
  But let's talk about something that you might not expect: this anime has a really wonderfull and great story too.

  This anime is more of a journey. Kenshiro's journey, that starts with him going on a quest for revenge after his best friend stole his wife from him after leaving him deadly injuried on the desert, waiting for death. But this is just the beggining of a journey that will lead Ken to face formidable oponents going from ruthless emperors that slaves children, to even enemies that were once dear brothers to him.

  Also, this is worth noting. Kenshiro is a good and righteous person. He helps those who are in need, and don't think twice before helping someone in danger. But he also can be ruthless with those he considers unworthy of living. THIS is a trait that you rarely see on protagonists nowdays. Usually someone can kill a city of innocents, and just be forgiven. Not for Kenshiro. Kenshiro punishes those who commit crimes and hurt good people. For him, it's not a matter of revenge, it's a matter of punishment.

  

  (Kenshiro after bandits killed an old man, and stole his seeds that he was supposed to deliever just to eat. Kenshiro proceeds to kill EVERY SINGLE bandit right after)

  This is something I love, this is something unusual for most shounen protagonists I've saw. You can be good, but you don't need to be an angel. Kenshiro thinks it's right to kill bastards that live by abusing and hurting others. And if you are satisfied seeing bad people getting what they deserve.... you will love Kenshiro.

  But although yes, he IS strong, and he can defeat most punks with his fingers alone, Kenshiro also must face enemies that knows dangerous martial-arts and can sometimes, leave Kenshiro defeated on the ground. And this, is also something that I love about this anime. Kenshiro is strong, but there are people who can be as strong or even stronger than him. Ken evolves during his journey after facing foes like no other.
  And while yes, those guys can be really jackasses most of times, they do have strong motivations and interesting backstories. And even after Ken defeats them, Ken will respect the honor of these amazing foes.

  It's an amazing journey, where Ken will find great friends like Mamiya, Toki and Rei, but also amazing enemies like Shin, Souther and Raoh. And these characters are so great that you might fidn yourself crying alonside Kenshiro sometimes.

  But that's it for the journey, plot and characters, let me talk about the anime itself for a bit.

  Being honest here, althought It's a great anime and it IS my favorite anime of all time, it's not flawless.
  The anime is really showing it's age with sometimes robotic animations and recycled scenes. But at least, the anime gets more "polished" with time.

  

  The first arc can be really tiresome, because it's packed with fillers (it took about 24 episodes to Ken face shin, while it took 1 volume in the manga), but the anime itself doesn't have a whole lot of fillers at least.
  The pacing can be a little bit troublesome, but the main fights, are simply great and will make it worth it. Ken Vs. Souther or Ken Vs Raoh, are amazing and exciting fights.

  The OST... is amazing.
  Ai wo Torimodose is one of the most catching openings that exist, and the fights have amazing tracks, and some scenes have gorgeous music too.
  Silent Survivor and Heart of Madness really give that 80's vibes, and it's amazing.

  So in summary, Hokuto no ken delivers what it's promissed: a fully action-packed anime with amazing characters and fights and with great story alongside. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, and since it shows it's age, some people might have some prejudice or worries with it. But if you did enjoy everything I told here, from characters and protagonists personality, to its journey and evolution as a character, I have no doubt that you should try giving it a shot.

  "Pick a spot, I'll make sure... to bury you there." _ Kenshiro

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• 

  Objectivity

  100/100
  I will conquer the heavens. Even if the opponent is God himself.

  I will describe this show like this: brilliant composer Nozomi Aoki

  

  and mediocre director Toyou Ashida, i think that if not for this director, this work could have been many times better, I don't even want to insert a picture of him, so much so he was such a talentless principal.. I will not take into account the filler series because it is generally trash. Music is the highest degree of this work, each track is perfect for all moments. The composer pulled this show out very much, gave soul and sincerity. if the story would still be invented by the director whom I mentioned, then it would not be watchable at all, even with this masterpiece music. Therefore, let's thank Yoshiyuki Okamura or just Buronson for the story and characters,

  

  and also how brilliantly Okamura presents his world, shows it violent, the way it should be, shows everything thoroughly. There is no other anime that shows it so in theme and perfect, in many shitty anime show just cruelty for the sake of cruelty, but here is a perfect balance, here - the ideal, as the world is, so is the ordinariness in it. that's good, but when things happen just because, that's bad. Nobody has firearms, that's bullshit to me. In the beginning some old lady with her kids has a AK, and then no one else has one, not even the army. Hmm.... Shu's eyes were cured simply because, Kenshiro's eyes were cured simply because, and you can still find quite a few such moments, and problems with animation, well, animation can be forgiven after all, it's 1984. Sometimes it happens that the characters just don't open their mouths when they speak, and in this case, by the way, the director is to blame, because he is responsible for all this, I'm talking specifically about animation. Is this some kind of trend in anime where things happen that don't require explanation? Although there are a few shows that don't have such things. That's rare.

  Also a huge plus is the romantic component in the shōnen, romance without explicit scenes shown absolutely perfect and heartwarming, I do not understand why other mangaka who make shōnen do not take the genre of romance in their works, as for me the strongest genres that press on the emotions is drama and romance, here is both, and in other popular shōnen only drama. I would also like to know how old the characters are, I think it would be interesting to many people, it's certainly not a disadvantage of the series, but I think the developer could think about it, it's not that hard.

  I feel like in the first season Kenshiro is somewhere around 22-25 years old, Lin is 7-10 years old, Bart is somewhere around 14-15 years old, Rao is around 33-37, Toki is also 33-37, Mamiya, Rei and Yuria I think are around the same age as Kenshiro.

  Therefore, if we judge objectively, the score of 10 cannot be. But I put 10 because I hate most of new anime in which there is no soul, no music, or any seriousness, even if there is one, it is not perceived, and my eye cannot perceive the new terrible acidic drawing, the old one is much more cozy and pleasant despite the problems. I give a subjective rating of 10 to this show despite my nickname.

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