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Fist of the North Star

Started by (tj), November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM

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(tj)

Sorry about my last comment, I was very p**sed when I wrote it! Fist of The North Star truly is an amazing piece of speculative fiction. Should it be re-released today I would start many petitions to ensure it wins an oscar for animation!
Again, I'm really sorry for my audacity!

DaveS

Uh, Dim Mak roughly translated means "horse s**t." I was reading some of the other comments and someone mentioned that this "ancient and deadly" martial art was the inspiration for Hokuto no Ken. While it may indeed have influenced the anime, I can't believe some people give credence to the idea that there was ever a martial art so deadly that one touch could kill. Give me a f**king break. It's a cool concept for an anime, but in the real world it's just wishful thinking.

marco

I love fist of the north star it is my favourite anime and movie in the world .Iam 16 and i saw this anime when i was 6 and i still watch it and its still the best and i never get sick of it and never will cause its f**king sweet.

Matthew Revert

I think it's great that you put Fist O' the North Star up on your site. Its certainly one of the best anime's I have ever seen. It probably gives Dead Alive a run for its money in the gore steaks.

gash

I have to agree this is one of those films that make you say what did I just see?!? The plot is a little convoluted, but the song before the final showdown is well worth it.

Squishy

Awful, true, but nothing compared to its live-action version--featuring Malcolm McDowell, Downtown Julie Brown, Clint Howard, and Chris Penn...as "Stalin." And NO on-screen exploding heads or guts. What the hell was it made for, the great storyline? Ewwwwwwwww.

Allen

I had both the Anime and the live action movie (directed by Tony Randal!). A friend of my daughter borrowed and lost both. Lesson learned, never lend your good movies out.  Good news! I found and bought the DVD live action movie at Fry's Electronics in California and just bought the DVD anime on Ebay!  It's out of print everywhere else.

Anyway, I'm having a "Fist Fest" this weekend!

Bill

"Boo dot com" here says "its one of the brst mangas!"  With 'brst' he/she/it could be meaning 'best', but I think perhaps 'burst' is a better typo correction.  I don't think even Frankenhooker had better exploding people, though the hookers blowing up WAS impressive.  It also provides some handy medical advice:  Next time you have a splitting headache, poke some holes in yourself with your finger, and you'll be right as rain (with a little tissue damage, perhaps).

Paul Gadaloff

  I saw this one a few years back, and two things stand out in my memory (other than all the points you've made in the review).  

(A)  I was TOTALLY WRONG all my life thinking that "Ken" ain't a particularly he-man name,  and

(B)  In the parched, poisoned, irradiated futuristic nightmare world, there's enough food around for men to be thirty feet tall, 8000 kilograms and mega-muscular....

 

  You couldn't want to change a thing about Fister of The North Star.

CONAN

FONS (Fist of the North Star) is the best anime ever made: Jet.  I have watched it over 3 dozen times, it never stops being funny.  If you dont like the movie there is something wrong with your BRAIN.  The only thing it is missing is the predominatly asian theme of school girls being penetrated by tentacles.

Kasumi Kenshirou

As an English Dub, this great movie was very misunderstood. It left out a lot of key elements that explained all the violence that so many have a problem with.  Read the Japanese Script translated to English to see what I mean, the movie should become much more clear:

http://www.geocities.com/denshousha/script.htm

Furthermore, there is a lot more to Fist of the North Star (originally called Hokuto No Ken) than just this Anime Movie.  There is an Anime TV Series of 152 Episodes, 36 of which were translated to English but hopefully more can come.  Most of the 152 episodes have been subtitled at least, and what Ken is all about really becomes clear. The Movie was made in Japan with the assumption that everyone watching has read the Manga already and knows most of what's going on even though there is some explanation if you look at the original script.  So in an English Dub, with all of the few explanations in the original taken out, it leaves the viewer to believe that nothing is going on at all.  Which is just not true.  Ken is out not only to save Yuria but to free the world of evil.  He knows Hokuto Shin Ken and that is basically a martial art that is focuses on pressure points to destroy the enemy from the inside and Ken is strong and skilled enough to strike them so his enemies will explode.  Raoh and Jagi knows this style, too obviously.  In the Movie, Rei and Shin are Nanto Seiken Masters. Their style is the opposite of Hokuto Shin Ken and destroys the body from the outside using slicing techniques.  By reading the script and looking more into what Hokuto No Ken really is, I hope any negative views you have for this Anime will change. It is truly the greatest Anime of all time.

Richard P.

I agree with Kasumi Kenshirou; the English dubbed version of the movie is very wrong. The Japanese original movie contains better dialouges and you understand the story more. Or even better: read the comics (Manga), and I hope you will see that Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken) is the best anime in the whole world!

DantesInferno

I remember seeing this movie for the first time at an Anime double-feature about 6 years ago in Las Vegas (the other movie was The Professional: Golgo 13, which is a sweet-ass movie).  I've been an HNK fan ever since.  This is a great movie, but I want to find a subbed version so I can seen it in its true form.

D

There is nothing better than 'Fist of the North Star'.  I can't wait for the rest of the books and the series to be translated into english.  My greatest regret is that the series and film were never released on DVD.  Shame.  
D.
PS. If you liked the film, I suggest you find a SNES emulator and download 'Hokuto-no-ken 7'.  
PPS.  If you can't get this, try 'Hokuto-no-ken 6', or get a Genesis emulator and download 'Fist of the North Star' game.
PPPS.  You wont be disappointed!

FroPower

As others have said, pick up the manga. It has so much that the movie did not have. I first saw the movie in 1992 (I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen at mega decibel volume... MY head almost exploded when Ken picked up Lynn's psychic scream), and I picked up the Viz mangas as soon as I was aware of their existance (last week).

The Fist of the North Star movie is to the manga as Dune was to the series of books. The manga features better character development all round, even for Ken's fist fodder. It KILLS me that only volumes 1 - 4 are available. I hope Viz plans on releasing the rest of the series soon.