Fist of the North Star

Do you want to be manly? Are you feeling tired of high school girls in miniskirts and pre-pubescent skinny high school boys that pander to every single weeaboo on both sides of the pacific? Tired of being spoonfed the same Isekai and moe shit year after year. Stop whatever you are doing, pull up your pants, close your hentai tabs, slide the chair back and stick around as Fist of the North Star teaches you the art of manliness! I watched this anime, no this MANime and a foot-long beard popped out of my glass chin, my max bench increased by 100lbs and my testicles doubled insheer size. Fear not as this is not caused by some kind of testicular cancer or overdose on protein shakes. The sheer amount of testosterone that oozes from this show is enough to turn any grandmother into Schwarzenegger. Fist of the north star is a glorious tale about Kenshiro fighting to survive in this cruel Mad-Max like universe and searching for his long lost love, Julia, who was kidnaped by douche-bags and their loser henchmen. It is impossible not to shed manly tears during this show. From exploding heads to Kenshiro single-handily beating up a tank until it explodes, truly a mans tale worth writing a few words about. I will not reveal much more about the story as it is something that one should experience uncorrupted and with purity. The artwork is majestic as fuck, never has the bombastic phrase "Every frame a painting" been more true. From the landscapes to the characters to the dynamic use of colors its as if Da vinci himself crawled out of the earth to produce these godlike frames. Now some people might disagree and tell you things like that its outdated or bland looking. Pay no attention as the complaint is more than likely uttered by a fucking creep with half naked lolicon posters in their room. The opening title ''You wa shock'', is responsible for the emergence of the Y chromosome and male pattern baldness. Its a perfect blend of classic rock, jazz and hard vocals. Its the the kind of song you put on before injecting yourself with fake synthol and proceed to beat up the neighborhood bully and his mother. Overall i feel like there is nothing more to be added or said. The show peaks in every category from story to animation to sound and so on. Now the choice is bestowed upon you. Will you watch this glorious tale and experience rebirth or will you rewatch Vampire knight for the 13th time like the pathetic loser you are.

[SPOILER WARNING] After the nuclear apocalypse of 199X, Kenshiro begins his quest to rid the world of evil & bring hope to humanity. Initially, North Star begins as a revenge tale where Kenshiro is searching for his fiancé Yuria whose been kidnapped by his rival Shin. Afterwards the story then focuses on Kenshiro's destiny to bring back peace to this "age of power" where humanity have become savage & desensitized to love & affection. Essentially, most humans are now primitive causing murders for the sake of resources such as food. Only those with power, ambition & a cold heart can survive this wasteland. As a saviorto the masses, Kenshiro battles many tyrannical martial artists with his assassination art of "Hokuto Shinken" causing his enemies to explode. Further in the series is where Kenshiro's battles his eldest brother Raoh giving a satisfying ending to the series. Kenshiro as a hero is almost one of a kind as he features a stoic yet kind attitude who faces tragedy on a constant basis. Bearing humanity's existence on his back, Kenshiro gives his all to protect the innocent & punish the guilty. When people think of "MANIME", this series started it all & owns up to its reputation. While the animation is obviously dated, there's no greater adaptation than this version as it portrays the sorrow & various "MANLY TEARS" moments with the greatest execution in voice acting & music. In North Star, it may not follow the typical shonen tropes of today & can be very slow at times (especially its 1st 22 eps) but manages to display character in a very tragic form. Expect to see many great men & heroes to sacrifice themselves for the sake of peace as their battles will take residence in your soul. Also it might make a MANLY MAN out of you. If you enjoy series like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure & Toriko, this is the show for you. This anime is my all time favorite but may not appeal to everyone. It certainly is a required taste to truly be appreciative of all its concepts on how masculinity & love for a woman play a part to make a society peaceful again. Expect some episodes to be slow & major fights to be done in 3-4 episodes as Fist is manliness in its purest form. Representing themes of 80's shonen, Fist Of The North Star still stands tall as a source of inspiration for all things MANLY.

I remember first watching Fist of the North Star in the action channel. I was but a little kid at the time and I really did not know what was going on. Unfortunately, the exploding heads and cussing was a deterrent at the time and I stopped watching it. Fast forward almost ten years later and I decide to watch it and honestly, I am glad that I did. The story is fairly simple. It takes place in a post apocalyptic world where the strong live and the weak die. Crime is at an all time high. Bandits and cut throats kill, pillage and rape to noend. Kenshiro is a man who was betrayed by his best friend, one who kidnapped his wife and nearly killed him, leaving him for dead. Kenshiro, who survived, is now out on a mission to find the man who betrayed him, kill him and save his wife. While the exploding heads are a neat treat, it is the characters that really shine. Don't expect any teenage heroes in this show. While I do like watching Belach and other Shonen that are chuck full of teenage heroes, this show has none. All the characters, from Kenshiro, Shin, Rei, Raoh, Toki, Shuu they are all memorable and likable in their own way. This heavy focus on adults is a breath of fresh air and is a nice distinction from all the teenage shonen that is out there. Kenshiro especially has to be one of the manliest protagonists out there and hearing him say "You are already dead." has you know that he is dead serious and is not willing to play games. The music is catchy, especially "We are Shock!" is a nice opening theme and flows nicely with the action scenes. If there is anything that takes away from this show is the art. This show was made in the early 80's and is heavily influenced by it. Everyone in the show has shoulder pads in one form or another and the bad guys all seem to have mohawks. Many scenes are used over and over again and there are times where the characters' look are somewhat inconsistent from episode to episode. Even so, this show is must watch for those who are into action packed, bloody fights without having to hear a bunch of whiny sermons. Overall, I had a blast watching this show, it was great through and through. Now if you excuse me, I am going to watch Kenshiro use some ATATATATA action against some unfortunate fool and see his head blow up!

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 commonpractice 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 supporting 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 supporting 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 terms 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.