Reviews for Hokuto no Ken (7.37) 1091e

Notice: This review covers the whole franchise and not just the main series.

Fist of the North Star is historically the first fighting shonen. There were shonen before it and there was fighting in a lot of them, but the formula was different as they were focused on mecha or sports. This one here was the first anime that was about fighting between humans without the use of robots or spaceships and without having to follow the rules of a game. This was achieved by having a post apocalyptic setting where technology and laws do not matter and it’s the strong who can do whatever they like. This very simple concept was excusing a lot of things that wouldn’t make much sense in an advanced and civilized society. Unlike most following shonen which are trying to be relatable by taking place in our society, Fist of the North Star keeps things simple and doesn’t constantly break your immersion by making you wonder what the hell is the police doing, or why isn’t the society reacting to these really horrible things that keep happening? The answer is simple. There is no police, there is no society, or high schools, or parents who are mysteriously missing all the time.

And this here is also the major issue most newer fans have when trying to watch it. It’s simple and it’s not relatable. By being a product of its time it doesn’t have a power system that feels like a videogame, it doesn’t have high schools and it doesn’t have retarded teenagers constantly yelling how they want to be the best in the world. Because it was made in the 80s, when all that stuff weren’t trending as much as Mad Max or Bruce Lee movies, or muscular action heroes, or the fear of a nuclear holocaust caused by the Cold War. That’s what was relatable to me when I was a kid, and that’s why I like all that so much. Younger people wouldn’t get it because they didn’t live it.

Anyways, the main appeal of the show is muscular men fighting each other to the death with some really violent martial arts that would make the Mortal Kombat characters to feel right at home. If the series wasn’t so violent, it wouldn’t be the same. Saint Seiya that came out a few years later was very tame in its violence and once you get used to what is going on here, you are not going to be easily impressed thereafter by anime which refuse to show some gore despite having powers that can blow up mountains. Fist of the North Star doesn’t rely on constantly blowing up the backgrounds for making you think the characters are strong. It shows it with gore. Also there are no aliens or monsters or robots. There is more gravity when a character kills a human being than a demon or a cyborg. Death is not an afterthought as it is in most shonen. When you die, you are already dead and there are no magical resurrections or instant healing as is the case in most shonen for making injuries and death to mean absolutely nothing.

By the way, injuries are still healed after a battle and Kenshiro apparently has an infinite amount of identical clothes with him, since he somehow finds a new shirt after shredding the previous one in a battle. But we don’t see all that and the show never addresses how they happen, so it’s easier to ignore them compared to when they openly show you there is this granny that kisses you and everything is back to normal. There is none of that shit here. There are no high schools, there are no first world problems, and there are no beta loser crybaby teenagers. It’s mankind fighting itself for survival and for finding an alpha male leader who can unite it once again. A very noble and manly objective for noble and manly viewers such as myself.

But I will also be critical about it and it the pacing is not the best and there are a lot of filler episodes. And the artwork, as detailed as it was for a hand drawn long running series, is now dated as shit. Those who got spoiled by Demon Slayer are not going to be motivated to watch a show that is 50% choppy animation and skipable content. But then again I would gladly watch 5 filler episodes that are full of action than 5 canon episodes that are just the characters fooling around in a school festival. Also, there is censorship. They don’t show the blood most of the times and they instead show sparkly water. They are still not hiding the gore, everything is still on screen, they just downplay it. The depiction of human bodies blowing up usually looks more like balloons popping, fireworks firing off or cardboards getting cut to pieces. It might look silly now, but back then we boomers were watching nothing more than mecha that blow up when you defeat them. Seeing the same happening to human bodies was like low tier body horror for its time. But yeah, once you watch enough ultra violent OVAs, the movie version of the series, or any violent live action series of recent times, it’s not shocking anymore. Now it’s more like a silly spectacle where you wait to see what someone does before he cuts people to pieces.

Another plus I like about the show is the plot, which once you get past the filler is actually pretty great. Although a done to death cliché nowadays, the amount of interconnecting plots amongst the various Hokuto and Nanto warriors is amazing. I mean, it’s mostly based on constantly retconing more events into Kenshiro’s past, but up to a point they are not contradicting anything, and they are making the show far more than a linear plot about muscular dudes punching each other.

With that said, the show is simple, which can make a lot of spoiled youngsters to get bored very fast. There aren’t hundreds of secondary characters, each one with his own super complex special ability that needs 10 pages to explain. There are no tensionless tournament arcs for videogame match ups where everyone has to play fair and wait for his turn. Even the setting is very simple. It’s just an endless wasteland with identical looking peasants who wear nothing but rags, and your occasional local warlord who wears a lot of spiky leather and usually looks like a gay clown. In this regard, I can say that the show is not meant to be binged and it doesn’t become bloated with needless characters that do nothing. It is simple, focused, and doesn’t waste its few elements.

With that said, yes the plot is simple and repetitive. It’s always about a cruel local warlord who is tormenting the local population and it’s always Kenshiro appearing to save the day by blowing the bad guys to bits with his hax skills. But, the Hokuto and Nanto warriors break this monotony because they are equally hax as Kenshiro, do things differently, and flesh out the backdrop stories with a lot of interconnected events. It’s where all the fun lies. It might be straightforward, but it works pretty damn well.

By the way, don’t watch anything besides the original series and its movie version. Despite having several sequels and prequels and reimaginings, none of them are as good. The animation and artwork might be better, but they are lifeless in of memorable events or worthwhile characters. Just like any other franchise that tries to continue past its perfectly fine ending, all following works feel like slapped on cashgrabs that fail to capture what was making the original that good. The notorious sequel is no exception. You can’t keep retconing shit without eventually making it hard to believe things were always supposed to be like that. The new characters who were introduced and which were always supposed to be there, don’t have the charm of the previous ones, and their storylines lead nowhere thus becoming needless. You also can’t maintain an interesting story when you kill all the cool characters and there is no way to bring them back.

At the end of the day Hokuto no Ken was never good as a perpetually ongoing shonen. It was a rule of cool series that was meant to be watched a couple of episodes at a time. It lacks the bullshit of later fighting shonen that make them addictive junk food. It’s also a show that belongs in an era that kids of today won’t find very appealing. It captured the things that were cool when I was a kid, but that’s as far as it goes. There is not much appreciation for muscular alpha males in today’s soyboy crybaby generation. But at least it is an undeniable classic and not some ephemeral fad that gets hyped while it airs and is then instantly discarded. And for that reason alone retro always wins.

SUGGESTION LIST
The movies starring Bruce Lee, the character Kenshiro was based upon.
The four Mad Max movies.
The first three arcs of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, which are a tribute to Jojo.

It is a known fact that Hokuto was inspired by Mad Max and Bruce Lee movies; However:

Hokuto No Ken is one of the most original shounen manga it has sured its era when the Manga was made!

Look for Hokuto No Ken Manga scans and you will notice the insane detail in the ART which was not seen in the 80s. Most of the Art nowadays is detail-less and bubbled.

Its one of the animes that started all the battle shounen anime as we now it right now!

Most of the Battle Shounen animes nowadays exist because of Hokuto No Ken

I will not spoil anything from the magnificent story in Hokuto but I have to say this.....If you have been watching Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Bleach till now.....Go kill your self! :baka:

When you watch Hokuto carefully and with appreciation you will learn the harsh reality that you have wasted a 4-5 years of your anime life.

These animes for some odd reason have many unique characteristics which are:

1. 1. Number of Good Guys = Number of Bad Guys
   2. "I will not kill you now, after all what you have done to the innocent ppl!" attitude rules.
   3. The Main Characters somehow keep losing the whole fight and then they power up all of the sudden and destroy the bad guy!
   4. The Main Characters refrain from using their full power when fighting unless they are cornered.
   5. The fights drags up to 12 episodes (with a sword piercing the character's chest) with a mini-series-long flash backs and flash backs in the flash backs.
   6. Villains, ing and Main Characters NEVER DIE NO MATTER WHAT!
   7. Most characters don't grow ruthless but they power up immensely.

If you DON'T WANT ANY OF THIS......watch Hokuto No Ken!

In Hokuto:

1. 1. One Guy vs All
   2. The Main Villain is THE MOST ORIGINAL AND TOUGHEST you will ever encounter in an Anime!
   3. Everyone in their universe follow the same line of thought (they are governed by the stars' movement)
   4. Kenshiro deals with Villains in the most appropriate way.....which is their logic...DEATH!
   5. Mercy is for the Weak!
   6. This anime had some tiny fillers but didn't master it like Naruto and Bleach
   7. The 1st intro of this anime is one of the first Rock based intros in the 80's, where most of the intros were calm. "Ai Wo Torimodose" is a must see!
   8. Characters here don't power up! They grow more RUTHLESS cuz they already mastered their techniques but they need to be heartless to win.
   9. Even Jii-san is buffed

The IRON LAW in this anime is "Even the slightest weakness could cost you your life!" and it is a quote from the series.

Sound:
The only thing you will from the series is the first intro because it stands out and some background themes but nothing is significant other than that!

The opening "Ai Wo Torimodose" is the equivalent of "Cruel Angel's Thesis" in its era.

In the end, its your choice to watch whatever you want.

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 ing 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 ing 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 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.

THIS IS SO INCERDIBLE

Animation- 7
so yeah, some backgrounds and stuff aren't that good, and some of the characters look kindda pdd, but overall it's pretty normal considering the year...
and note the castles and attacks and stuff are super duper awesome.

Sound- 10
man, the openning is a masterpiece, the ending kindda quiet in comparison, but still very nice to hear, even when you aren't watching the awesome clip used with it.
In series music is good, all the fighting music is especially good and I also really liked the main theme.

Story- 10
This story is chilche' and used alot, way way to much, not original at all.
oh wait, this created the cliche', it was original at the time and was actually so good to hook up and be used enough to be considered cliche' today, I call that a good story.
Also, major twists, esspecially near the end are very good.

Character- 10
Some of the ing characters aren't explored enough, but that's the only problem.
Main characters are incredible, get their past explored and fully explained, their motives are understandable etc.
very very well wrriten characters..

Value- 10
this is classic so you've gotta watch it, it's one of those things you have to watch to become a full Otaku.
Rewatch value is also high, you have to consider the past of all characters when watching what they do when you watch it a second time for better understanding.

Enjoyment- 10
I fully enjoyed Ken pwning ppl.