Fist of the North Star

Do you like manly men ? Do you like manly quotes ? Do you like manly tears ? Do you like manly deaths ? Well you're in luck because this manga is the manliest one around (yes I've read Berserk) .It's the epitome of manliness .The 'man' in 'manga' has never been so fitting . Plot - 8 Well I obviously wasn't reading this for fan service so I can say that the story was pretty good .There's a difference between this and Berserk though .This story as a whole isn't as good because the story telling isn't as smooth .There are some cases of the notorious Deus Ex Machinamoments which come up in this manga .Obviously the MCs abilities can cover many areas in an understandable fashion but when you somehow have the ability to make someone tell the truth in one chapter but for the rest of the manga that power isn't called upon again the reader might feel slightly put-off .The last parts of it also felt a bit dragged out and unnecessary .The first part of it however was extremely...........manly . Art - 8 This art is sort of weird for me to judge .Sometimes its downright awesome but some other times (especially in the some fight scenes) it felt sort of lacking .The characters' martial arts also felt a bit bland to watch (head splitting aside) .I liked the art a lot but I'll cut down a mark since it's a bit inconsistent .The drawings of horses and machines are especially glorious if you ask me .The characters' design are also very...err........manly . Characters - 6 Ah yes ,this is the weakest point .No I didn't dislike them at all .It's just that some of them were so (and I hate to use the term) one-dimensional .Some villains were practically just badly written .Backstories for some of them also pop up out of nowhere sometimes as though it's just a convenient plot device .I feel like they could have been handled better to be honest .I also didn't really feel anything when some of them died apart from a loss of some.........manliness Enjoyment - 8.6 Not quite at Berserk's level if you ask me but great nonetheless .I can't give it a 9 on my list but I can say that it's a pretty strong 8 .More people should read this because it's pretty damn good .Manly deaths ,lines and characters were a great plus if you ask me and I could mostly ignore the things I didn't like because each time I was about to feel like it was dropping in quality Kenshiro just had to say "Omae wa mou shindeiru" .

Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) is a series primarily known in the west nowadays for over the top manliness, a few memes such as "Omae wa mou shindeiru" and it's anime movie being glorious, gory 80s action. Compared to it's peer in 80s Shonen Dragon Ball or the series it inspired, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Hokuto no Ken has become vastly underrated today, despite it easily being one of the best series to come out of the Shonen demograph. Note: I will only be reviewing the first 136 chapters of the manga. This is because whilst the 2nd part introduces quite a few newdetails, the numerous retcons, plot holes and overused tropes within Part 2 make it's entirety a disservice to the series when chapter 136 already gave the manga a solid, complete ending. The plot of the manga is somewhat simplistic, yet well executed. Whilst there is some escalation in scale of keeping the stakes high with each major enemy, it never reaches the point where past foes such as Shin ever lose their relevance due to the combat relying more on skillful techniques than raw power, making it a stark contrast to the typical Shonen. There is very little plot holes within the series as well, with the only ones standing out being the plot point of Raoh being shocked if he were to see how similar Mamiya looked to Yuria never happening and the Tenryu Kokyu Ho's effects seeming to have been retconned by the time of the Souther Arc. Leaving aside these smaller aspects, the story with it's grim post-apocalyptic setting, fusion of 80s and medieval aspects and a well executed hero's journey lead to quite an enjoyable story. The characters within the world are hard to judge as a whole. Though most are likeable for the sheer manliness aspect of the series, only Rei, Mamiya and maybe Raoh gained much development. However, all the main cast are fleshed out well enough and each one has a web of connections to other characters in the series to help make their interactions and goals quite interesting. For example, how Jagi links to Shin and Kenshiro as a manipulator of the plot's events, the differing goals of the Nanto Rokusei members or the conflict of the Hokuto brothers help make most of the cast engaging. The only character I found actively dislikeable was Lin having no use beyond being a plot device and damsel in distress, yet even she had her moments. Some of the elements of it's cast seem to be particularly outstanding in their class. For example, Kenshiro's somewhat anti-hero role of being clear he doesn't consider himself a saviour/hero or Raoh having quite a few layers to his character beyond being a mere bad guy help display it as a great influence for the story telling of Shonen manga in general. The rivalry between these two characters is second only to Rikishi and Joe's within Ashita no Joe in terms of Shonen rivalries, with a clear balance between hatred and respect for each other and both growing in various ways throughout the series. Furthermore, Mamiya is one of the most well realised female characters within the medium. Whilst never given enough prominence to seem to relevant, her past, determination and weakness helps her present the idea of a female doing what she can in a world in which her disadvantage is obvious, much akin to someone such as a less plot relevant Oscar from Rose of Versailles or Casca from Berserk. The art is easily the series' strongest point and helps make it such an entertaining work. The very realistic, well shaded and detailed artwork that just gets constantly better throughout the series is a feast for the eyes only surpassed by a handful of manga series that help make the series so well known. With it's distinct style of characters' eyes and faces to the general testosterone fuelling muscle mass, great gore and manly tears, there's nothing not to love about the art that helps keep any lover of 80s pop culture engaged. Overall, Hokuto no Ken is a series that whilst not the top tier in any of it's fields, performs good enough in all categories to be considered one of the best Shonen series out there, or manga series in general. Just stay away from the Part 2 material. Overall score - 7.5/10

Hidden meanings in works of fiction are only apparent if you look hard enough within stories. Amongst manga series, Fist of the North Star is a prime example. What appears to be a shonen battle series is actually less of a mindless slugfest than you think. Upon inspection, a deep examination of the human condition can be found. Why do we live, and what do we live for? The various characters of Fist of the North Star have different answers to these questions. Kenshiro has become an icon of Japanese pop culture, and is responsible for most if not all shonen protagonists who followed him, being notjust a fighter, but the best fighter around. Before Dragon Ball invented the tropes of shonen series, Kenshiro was around, ending evil wherever he found it. He is not, as many say, an antihero, as that becomes apparent when other members of the cast appear. The art is simply sublime from start to finish. There isn't a gradual rise in quality, it starts the way it means to go on. I don't think any other shonen series matches the quality of its artwork. If you want a shonen series with less focus on teenage protagonists are more focus on blood-and-guts (if you're squeamish, don't even go near this series) combat, this iis the one for you.

Fists of the North Star is one of the pioneers of action kung fu manga. It was released in the 1980s, amazingly, the art style doesn't look outdated even today. The characters are super detailed, the kung fu moves are beautifully drawn. The story itself is quite interesting as well. The second half of the manga is less interesting than the first half. There are a lot of deaths, the majority of the characters died, many in glorious ways. I read this manga as a kid, I remember reading this one in classes. Any manga that is interesting enough to make me skip class Iwould consider good. There is an ongoing re-release of this manga in hardcover collector edition. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes action manga.