Fist of the North Star

[Wally]

Hokuto Shin Ken is probably based on an existing martial art call "Dim Mak" or "Death Touch". It concentrates on striking major chi (energy) points on the body. Only, instead of releasing the energy like in acupuncture (spelling?), Dim Mak is the art of cutting off the energy flow. I've never seen it make anyone explode before (Damn!), but it can easily knock someone out with one blow, cause extreme pain, and yes, it can kill. Anatomically, it has been discovered that most of the chi points in the body are also major nerves to the brain and heart. A blow from Dim Mak one day can cause serious brain and heart trouble years later. It is not an art to take lightly and takes decades of practice to be made effective, and to ensure that the student is judicious in their use of Dim Mak. DON'T TRY THIS s**t AT HOME!!!

[Joe Stalin]

 I love this movie. The Exploding Heads And Cut Up Bodies style of Kung Fu totally rules. I'm opening up my own dojo.
Question- In a nuclear wasteland devoid of food and water, how the hell did all the guys get so big and ripped? I assume that the Fists and anybody else who practices E.H.A.C.U.B Kung Fu has some funky magic dealy going on, but what about all those biker punks? I await an answear while I practice E.H.A.C.U.B Kung Fu on that snot nosed little kid next door.

[Akarnai-kun]

Why don't I/do I like this series?  Four words: Muscle Control Spin Kick.  I laugh my ass off.  Your head go 'splody now!!  WAOGO!!  Worthwhile plot?  Who needs it?!  He makes people's heads explode by stepping on their toes!!  What?  You mean there's other animes I could be watching?  But I want bad dubs and stupid fight scenes!!  ...waitaminute...in that case, I'll go watch Dragonball Z.

If you're looking for a lot of gut-wrenching laughs, then by all means, watch this embarrassing series.  On the other hand, if you actually like it, do me a favor and let me rip off your moustache so you'll strangle yourself to death.

[KYLE]

Fist of the North Star rocks!! Luckily in my area Sactown, CA we get to see episodes on Showtime Beyond.Of course they are only the episodes that are english dubbed, but they were good enough to get me totally hooked!! Now I am on a mission to find all the episodes even if they aren't dubbed. It's a major challenge, but I am determined to see more heads pop, bodies vaporized,and lots of body parts flying!! If anyone knows where to find what I am looking for let me know! I leave this with one of my favorite quotes from Ken that he said to amoeba before he smoked him!"You don't practice martial arts, you emulate their effects" How cool is that?!!!!

[Shawn Bradley]

Man no contest, hands down, "Fist of the North Star" is the greatest feature EVER! A classic in all rights! I hope they release ALL the tv episodes here and translate it to English!

[Kasumii Kenshirou]

Please note that the English version movie you are reviewing is a disgrace to the original version of the movie.  The English version was butchered to say the least to the point where it's not even the same movie any more. Ken did not lose to Raou in the end, it was a draw.  Streamline cut the frames so Ken looked like he lost but he didn't.  I recommend anyone who's watched this English version and liked or disliked it to give the original a chance.  Plus check out the Comic and Anime Series for a better understanding of the deep story that was only shortly explored in the movie.

If you're a fan of Fist of the North Star or someone interested who wants to learn more then join the number one worldwide group for it right here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fistofthenorthstargames

[Gabe Kelly]

Yes, the voices are the ones from the movie, but the series is better developed. The story line is much more fluid, and character development (yes,CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!) is there. I am an old fan of anime and I am glad (abd saddened) at the treatment anime is getting. But, here's hoping for better development. Maybe you can cover live-action "anime-ish" shows too, like Ultraman?

[Pete]

Gmachine you can find the whole series here in japense, but with english subtitles.

http://www.discountanimedvd.com/dvd_detail.asp?dvdno=1634

[Leviathan]

Hello everybody.
First I like too say that I agree with all of you. Fist of the north star RULES. I saw it for the first time when i was 10 years old, and sice then i've been a huge fan of Fist of the north star. I got it on DVD about a year ago. Man it's hard too find. So i went too Ebay. There i found it and won the auction. Now i've got it on Whs and DVD.
Soon the series is coming too DVD. But there is only 8 volumes on Whs and just stops. Like the manga comics, there's only 4 volumes and it just stops. I really wish read the read the rest of the books, but no they are in Japnese,Italian and French only.
I really hope that Viz is gonna translate the rest in english. It must happen, Right????

And, have any of you read Souten no ken??? "Fist of the blue sky" Fist of the north star in Japan in the sixties. Before the nucklear war. Sounds fun.

[Luis Reyes]

Finally, an anime on this webpage! Although gory, Fist Of The North Star captures the spirit of the manga it was based on completly! Don't hold back, give us more anime!!!

[No Nukes]

This movie spawned a TV series and a bunch of really, really sucky video games. I'm sure you've been exposed to the Fist Of The North Star NES game at some point and I feel your pain. They were in such a rush to get the game over here that they forgot to translate it, so when you boot up the NES you're greeted by a screen full of kanji. Even worse, they kept the punchy-explode element of the story intact, which angered parents to no extent measurable by man. (the US version of the game, by the way, was the SEQUEL to the Famicom Disk System Fist Of The North Star game. I'm afraid to find out what THAT one looked like.) Take a look at this vile spinoff here:

http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/w20-10.htm

[octo]

This movie sucked as a kid... i watched it and instantly i could see it sucked especially the ending when two men fight to the death, they are both hurt immeasurably and then this little girl shouts out' stop...' and the action ends WHATS ALL THAT ABOUT??!! and ray... he was tops and he dies.
BUT later on i read alittle about the anime and its actually quite a good story despite the poor tv series. apparently the movie consisted of clippets of the full anime, so thats why when ppl watched it you are introduced to some wierd questions of why's and how's, later on you will discover the answers. The movie in my eyes now wasn't as bad as it seemed when i was young. the musical score was pretty good, the action was good and u have to understand the 2 difference types of art, the nerve exploding one and the cutting one...
You will c that all characters end up in the same place but in reality the movie has missed other powerful characters and the journeys of ken... the voice overs r better then the series and also better drawn!
Watch this movie, then read the anime, then watch the TV series and finally if u must watch the western movie (shrug).

[Stoegen]

I had seen "Fist of the North Star" last I was eight years old. Now (17) I had bought the Movie @ ebay! Last Sunday I watched "FotNS" on Television with all my friends. We had a good Time. There is no better "Anime" Movie! I can only recomand it to you!!!
FIVE DROPS

[Shaenharaz]

My email is seriously jacked right now, so I thought I'd try to post a question via this comment and see if anyone later posted an answer. If as a neophyte I'm violating the rules, I'm sorry; please elucidate me. But on the subject of "Fist of the Northstar," my question is:

Does anyone know the meaning of the kanji character "ra" in Raou's name? I know the second character means "king," but I don't know what "ra" means. It even appears in that other name of Ryuuken, "Ramon." But every site I go to is like, "Raou left the dojo and changed his name to 'Kenou' (Fist King) and blah, blah, blah..." I know what "Kenou" means, so how about "Raou"?

Any help in this matter will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[HokutoLover]

This is one of those animes that cannot be appreciated the first time you see it. The story of the hokuto brothers is a great tale. Too bad the movie version had to change a lot of things, including removing Toki, the fourth hokuto brother. But it is a good introduction nonetheless.

If you are interested in seeing the story as it was meant to be told, grab one of the TV series box sets from Ebay. I dare you to stop watching after episode 30, where the movie version leaves off, and the series really begins to shine.

Awesome, my favorite series next to Berserk !