Fist of the North Star

Fist of the North Star was one of the very few anime that I can say really changed the way that I approached life. The characters of Hokuto no Ken, especially Kenshiro inspire me even to this day, and when I'm unsure of the right course of action, I generally ask myself two very important questions:

1.) Is this something that Kenshiro would do.
2.) Is this something that would make Kenshiro go on a righteous rampage that would end with my head exploding and him telling me that "you're already dead".

One may be able to slide by if you can't answer question one in the affirmative, and one really doesn't want to fail question two, just in case Kenshiro finds out what you did.

I have on occasion looked at a heavy barbell that I'm about to deadlift, told the barbell that it was already dead, and proceeded to set a personal record.

I first watched this show many years ago, probably back in the early/mid nineties, long before the modern tropes and current memes of anime took hold. As I've rewatched it a couple times over the years, I can say that it is as fun and as good to watch as the first time, even though it's dated by today's standards.

With regards to the technicals, This is definitely an 80s anime in that it has the art style of the time and the familiar 80s style sound tracks. The voice acting is good for one of the early shows as well. I'm not exactly sure how Kamiya held those "AH-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA"s as long as he did, but the man deserves serious credit. Other major characters, especially Rei and Raoh have great voice actors as well. The theme "YOU WA SHOCK" is pure 80s power rock and sets the stage for what is to come. The ending theme speaks to the loss and tragedy that the world suffers through and the journey Kenshiro is on. For what at first glance is a cheesy martial arts anime (and let's face it, this is definitely a cheesy martial arts anime), there is surprising depth in emotion and feeling watching this show.

The story is a bit of Mad Max combined with old school Martial Arts flicks. Kenshiro was obviously inspired visually by Bruce Lee. The story itself is one of survival in a world post apocalypse. Rule by the ruthless and the strong is the norm, and the weak are cast aside and exploited. Kenshiro is the main protagonist and the show follows him using his powerful martial arts "Hokuto no Ken" style to basically become a messianic figure of hope for the downtrodden. Kenshiro is also an interesting study in manliness, as he is able to shed tears freely when they are warranted, and while it isn't shown often, has a huge heart. He embodies the paladin in ways that many that carry the title can't quite live up to. Kenshiro runs solo by default, yet finds allies and antagonists along his journeys that are as memorable and amazing as he is. It's hard to discuss some of them without running into spoilers, but suffice it to say, the heroes and villains in this journey are memorable and iconic and have their own amazing stories.

The villains in the story that Kenshiro fights run from run of the mill Saturday morning cartoon villains to more complex men that have their own agendas that may be ruthless, but fall a bit more on the grey end of morality. For a few of the antagonists, a case could be made that given the state of the world, what they are doing, while not nice, would more or less be warranted. It is the nature of these early shounen shows that episodic simple villains or lesser lieutenants are sometimes overcome on the way towards somewhat longer battle arcs with a major antagonist.

While I realize that Fist of the North Star may not be for everyone, much like Bruce Lee advised us many years ago it should best be approached with a "don't think, feel" mindset. The show is distilled testosterone and manliness in its greatest form. It's the rise of and fall of powerful men who wish to impose their will on the world instead of just living in it. It's the manly tears that you feel when someone larger than life falls. It's the feeling of righteous justice that one feels when a horrible villain is given no quarter and, much to his inevitable shock and horror Kenshiro tells them that "Omae wa mou shindeiru" (you are already dead). There's something of the pure romanticism in this show behind the overpowered machismo that seems to be missing from modern action/adventure pieces in our postmodern age.

While this show is obviously dated nowadays and is going on 35 years old, and has a few issues due to its age and the general nature of shounen shows; It demands to be watched, if for no other reason than to get an understanding of how the shounen genre used to be and where it came from. Hokuto no Ken is a must watch for anime fans as it has had such a huge influence on the industry, to the point of bleeding into the pop culture of Japan.

This is also a great show to watch to cleanse the palate of all of the pretty boys and cute girls shows that saturate modern offerings and take yourself back to a time where protagonists were not someone that you could simply relate to in their slovenly, yet comforting mediocrity, where things are simply handed to him without anything being done to earn it. There was a time when the protagonist was someone that you could aspire and look up to, because they embody an ideal and a struggle against the odds. Then, after watching a few episodes, you use that manly energy to go build something, lift something, or conquer something.

This show gets an unqualified recommendation.