TitanGoji and I explore the history of the iconic post-apocalyptic shōnen manga "Hokuto no Ken" (aka Fist of the North Star), its massive success in Japan, and its niche status in the West. Titangoji: / @titangoji
If there's a surprisingly thriving market for artisan shoulder pads in the post-apocalyptic world (as shown in the Lost Paradise game), a thriving clothing industry can exist.
Fist of the North Star was one of the biggest anime back in the '90s. Younger anime fans are only just now rediscovering it, but FotNS was already popular among older anime fans who were around in the '90s.
@@s.aalkhater9645: The version I have has the scenes in the following link but in HD... Also, there is an additional scene thats not in the link: th-cam.com/video/XmmLBcL-2Hs/w-d-xo.html
In Italy and other European countries it was big and famous since the 80's. In Italy it's largely part of pop culture, as it was broadcasted uncensored for many many years on local tv stations.
This manga Is still in my top 3. Souther is one of the most underrated villains I have ever come across. Also Rei is one of my favorite characters of all time.
I bet it wasn't as popular in America during the time of Gundam and DBZ because it wasn't played on Toonami. It seems people forget how influential Toonami actually was regarding introducing anime to American kids. At least I definitely would have been all about it!!!
It was popular among old people who where young adults in the west tho. Every old man I have met talks about how fists of the north star was being marketed at these old geek conventions back in the 80's. You'll find a lot of 50 year olds talking about this manga/anime xD
@@dreamcastdazia4753 Back then if you wanted this content you had to actively be on the lookout for it. The Fist of the North Star Animated movie had a viewing at one of the 'art theaters' over here (it was literally a room with maybe 20-30 fold out chairs and a projector). I found out about it and other anime/manga through comic book stores, some would import straight from Japan, others would sell bootleg VHS copies, and yes some comic book conventions. Full disclosure, i'll be 49 this year ;)
@@Kruegernator123The English dub was on either HBO or Showtime for a time but it was never completed. It had a drum and bass soundtrack instead of the original.
How’d it inspire Berserk? Not saying you’re incorrect, was that something Muira stated? I’ve read Berserk was inspired on many of things.. Hellraiser(GodHand), Conan, Mythology, and other historical events.. along with different religions. I can see this anime inspiring it somewhat.. now JoJo!? Yea I can definitely see that..
I'm Italian. This anime was HUGE in Italy in the 90s. And yes, I do still have a VHS with the uncensored version of the animated movie. HNK is my favorite anime of all time, part of my childhood, and I love it.
Minor cult status in the Western World???? The hell are you talking about? I think you meant minor cult status in the USA. Kenshiro was like the #1 cartoon in Italy from 1992-1995! He's more Italian than pizza! Haaaa!!
I'm kinda glad that it only had minor cult status in the USA, and already has a now obscure terrible live action movie, because nowadays it seems like we are currently going through an era of making live action anime adaptions and I don't want to see them attempt that with Hokuto. At least the previous live action movie was b-tier cinema when barely anybody in America knew of the property.
Everywhere is else except Japan and italy Fist of the North Star is really obscure, it's slightly more known in USA but the rest of Europe has almost no idea who he is.
@@ForwardSynthesis So true. The live action movie is epically bad, but I feel that if they remade it today it would just be plain bad. You never know though....
Actually Kenshiro = looks of Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky head and clothes, plus Stallone in Rocky III and Rambo III and City Cobra head and body (later on), muscles with Bruce Lee sounds and fighting moves. From the looks he does not look like Bruce Lee but like Mel Gibson (blue eyes in the Hnk manga covers) and Stallone. Google Kenshiro Stallone and see the results. The mangaka even copied Stallone movie poses and movie covers. Raoh and Glenn are Arnold look alike. Toki is Hokuto Jesus, especially when he had brown hair before. Falco is "Drago" Dolph Lundgren. Ryuga is David Bowie and many other personality lookalikes (Hul Hogan, Che Guevara, etc) in the series
@@iliveinsideyourhouse1367 they are more like action sports manga just like kinikuman eventhough they came out first. Also similar with captain tsubasa belong in sport genre
Fist of the North Star was one of the biggest anime back in the '90s. Younger anime fans are only just now rediscovering it, but FotNS was already popular among older anime fans who were around in the '90s.
I love this series so much! Kenshiro is one of the greatest male role models in Shonen manga and anime. Kenshiro is basically the embodiment of what a man should strive towards.
I never understood how FotNS never found a larger audience in the west. It is a series about a martial artist so powerful his punches cause people to explode. You would think Kenshiro would be as well known(if not better known) than Goku. Heart of Madness should also be an anthem that every anime fan knows.
How did I not see this video before? Very well documentary, it is true that Lost paradise is one of the best games of Fist of the North Star, it just feels like the series, even though it has a different story. Fist of the north star, is my favorite anime-manga, the absurd action, the gore, the characters, and that air of post-apocalyptic martial arts, I like it, even though the manga faltered with the second and third part (The saga of Kaioh and the one of the three brothers).
There was also several volumes of Hokuto no Ken released in the early 2000s by defunct manga company, Raijin Comics. All in big graphic novel form and in color. Raijin comics even put out volumes of Fist of the Blue Sky and were getting ready to release Kenji, a manga Tetsuo Hara worked on, but the company went bankrupt. Sad, really because the company put out some amazing titles.
Without Hokuto no Ken, there wouldn't be many anime today. Stilll my favorite anime. "Omae wa mo shindeiru" "Nani!?........aaarrggghhhh!" (Blood and guts on the ground) HNK>DBZ
I read the manga once almost every year, tho often I give up right after Falco gets wrecked by that one nameless shura, because it's honestly my favorite work of fiction, even tho the retcons get aggressive and obnoxious by the end, the art, the world, the general storyline, the absolute depths of emotion and weirdly complex discourse of philosophy, particularly political philosophy, it's just perfect. The anime largely botched it, even at its best it still actively misses the general tone and overall vibe, but the music was absolutely perfect and the performances were incredible so I still love it way more than I should. i know no one cares but this is the best void to shout into about this shit. Just look out for that death omen star boys.
@KaijuDirector I agree the portion of the story with Raoh was the best place to stop, especially when they gradually bastardize his character in flashbacks after that point. If they did a sequel series now, they at least gave us a potential set-up with Ryu. It has to be a descendant of one of the Hokuto brothers because Kenshiro just got too strong by the end with Musou Tensei. Anryuu Tenha was able to counter it, but unless you have crazy enemies with demon auras, it feels like he's deliberately suppressing himself rather than just being really strong. The series always had Kenshiro as ridiculously overpowered, but it worked because his enemies styles felt very dangerous at the same time, Nanto Seiken being able to carve opponents up with ease, and with the other mooks it would rely on dark humor and a sort of inversion where Kenshiro felt like the hero equivalent of a slasher villain or the terminator. Musou Tensei was the logical endpoint of the series in terms of power, and it came at the logical endpoint in terms of narrative too (a cool thing about Musou Tensei is that it's a narrative based power). Doing something with descendants or ancestors is pretty good because you can reset a lot of the narrative threads and escalation. I think the Souten no Ken prequel was pretty decent (in the manga NOT the anime/s), so I know they can do it well, but they seem to want to keep rehashing and remaking old material.
Hokuto no Ken also inspired majority of Fighting Games as well. Aforementioned FGC Giant, Street Fighter has taken LOTS of elements inspired by Fist of the North Star, Tekken too with Harada even being a big HnK dork.
Fist of the North animes are awesome but the manga has beautiful artwork that the animes fail to capture completely but still they do the best they can with the animes.
This series also inspired Hirohiko Araki the creator of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Jonathan Joestar resembles Kenshiro & the attack Sunlight Yellow Overdrive is similar to Kenshiro's Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken)
This has been my favorite anime of all time since I was 4 years old and it has inspired me to workout since I was 10 and now I have a tattoo based off of it.
Thank you for this piece of history ! Its very much needed for those who really wanna get into the series and learn what its been thru ! I hope we see something from the main source soon after seeing Re: genesis im still waiting on whats next lol
I wish I could give you a 5 star review of this video. You covered a concise history of Hokuto no Ken and added the "newer" works at the time of the making of this video. I've seen other reviews and pretty much do a hack job for the clicks. Thank you so much! Even tho it's about 5 years later it still holds up in my view as a diehard fan.
Really hoping this video would blow up. This is possibly my favorite anime and it’s kinda exhausting to see it being labeled as a cheesy 80’s anime with no real depth.
Thanks for making this video! I began watching FOTNS in February last year and finished it a few months back.....at first I was intrigued and interested in what the show had to offer, but I never really thought much of it. Of course, that opinion of mine would change right after finishing the Shin arc, as the story changes pace but for the better. FOTNS ended up becoming my 2nd favorite anime of all time and I’m really upset that not many fans in the states have taken the time to watch it. Which is actually why I hope it gets an amazing reboot. The anime, while it is an amazing and unique watching experience, it’s so old! So I hope it gets a mind blowing reboot (preferably by Madhouse or WIT haha) I doubt it’ll happen any time soon, but I have hope.
Hei, don't mix-up the notions of "USA" and "West". In Italy plenty of animes and mangas were popular much before than in the US. Hokuto no Ken (Ken il Guerriero) was massively succesful in the 80s, and had a deep impact on that generation of childreb. So much so that I, as a child, was actively trying to replicate some preassure-point explosions on my... huh... classmates (yeah, sort of Amiba style: I was a genius, I know... though I never managed to get anyone seriously hurt, alas). Hokuto no Ken is still nowadays being referenced in Italian comicbooks, movies and pop music.
I don't know who you are but you got my sub. I F...ING love this series!! It saved my spirit during a dark chapter. The challenges of life got to me and I felt the weight of the world. I used to be a Martial Art Teacher in my youth. I was just married and had my first apartment and going to college full time and then I hurt my back training one day The injury stopped from working for 18 months and I had to stop going to school and was going out of my mind. Watching this one guy take on the world was how I felt. Thank you for sharing. I wish you much success on TH-cam. FYI I'm happily married 15 yrs now and I have a son who I hope to share this anime with once his older. Remember your already dead 😸
Sometimes it's best to stop where you tried to end it, rather than caving in to demand and keeping it alive. Even in Hokuto no Ken you can definitely feel the steam running out and the plot struggling to hold its integrity after Raoh dies and Ken walks into the distance finally having reclaimed his lost love, Yuria and clearing up any disputes about the succession of Hokuto Shinken's lineage. Eventually you can't keep going without getting excessive about it once you escalated power levels to the max and cleared up all the plot threads.
Who would've thought that Fotns would not only bring me one of my favorite characters but end up leading to the creation to my other 2 favorites, Jonothan joestar and guts. Love how that comes around.
Extensive and very thorough. Very well done! 👏👏👏❣ Show of hands, who else would like to see the stories of Shuuken (the sacrifices and decisions he had to face...!) and Ryuken (from a young hero who survived WW2 to a guy who would Jaime Lannister a couple of kids off a cliff -- how'd THAT happen😮??) fleshed out into their own manga and animé series? I'd also love to see the story move forward from Ken since he did train a successor (Ryu, son of Raoh) and may have even had enough time with Yuria to have had children of his own (twins maybe?). Could be cool. Jus' sayin'.
Maybe a new story epic called "Fist of the Southern Cross" would prove a good direction to go. There were 108 schools of Nanto Seiken, after all. Natbe Souther had a secret son. Setting out to rediscover and redeem the most powerful school of the Nanto 108 would be an epic and entertaining quest for a young hero, I think.
Genius video ♥ here sir take my like, sub and respect I wish i could see Kenshiro more in this modern times, manly tears deserve more love ♥ p.s fun fact for over a decade of watching anime/ reading manga i only trully shed tear while reading Hokuto and Vinland Saga even tho i already had my fair share of that medium specially with battle manga.
I always knew of FOTNS by it's animated movie's VHS cover at my local video rental shop back in the late 90's. I never rented it, but did borrow a copy of the first manga in English from a roommate in college during my time at art school in 2003. Then somehow, in 2005, I ended up landing a full time job working at the Fist of the North Star manga studio (it's a long story which I posted a video about on my TH-cam channel). For nearly two years, I worked there day and night, as an assistant illustrator for the prequel series, Fist of the Blue Sky, and on special editions of the original. I still live in Japan, but no longer work in the manga industry. It was a wild experience.
Fist of The North Star is hard to export outside of Japan not due to the violence, but because the anime itself was not that well animated. It had some great drawn key frames and illustrations, but even compared to many other animes of the 1980's like Dragon Ball or Zeta Gundam, the animation was super limited. It would be nice if we saw a completely new anime that redoes the entire series though.
Synopsis: Fist of the North Star or Hokuto no Ken (北斗の拳) is about a middle aged man who can make people experience both pain and pleasure by touching them in their special places. Sometimes he uses only a single finger, sometimes he goes in with his entire fist.
Sega made a fist of the north star game for the genesis but when it came to the states it was heavily censored and renamed "last battle" so if you owned last battle it was actually hokuto no ken!
Even if that game is bullshit, I tried to give it a chance but it was bad, it was too simple, bosses that kill you with almost 1 hit or 2, etc., had many routes but they are all the same and if you want to go back for the same way you have to do the level again, the castles were confusing mazes etc.
I like more the game of master syste (the one called black belt) is simpler even that it becomes somewhat tedious. Actually I have Lost Paradise and it is definitely the best FONS game in my opinion, it is pure fun, and besides that it has the sega master system game (or sega Mark 3 whatever)
Hokutonoken is one of my first exposures to anime and manga and to this day remains my favorite. I wish they had done more with it. I love Dragon Ball and it's been fun to see that continue. I wish someone would do the same for fist of the Northstar.
I remember being a kid watching Dragon ball Z and my mom comes by watchs a few seconds and goes “i dont really like the animation”. And remember as a kid i was like NANI!? Sacrilege. Looking back now Z deff had some shotty animation scenes but i think it deff holds up. Salormoon and Dragon ball Z was what my mom would put on for me before school.
Blunova please make more Video about Anime please i Love this video because it mentions about Shounen anime next talk about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Gundam, Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, Dragon Ball, Pokemon, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece and More
i'm so confused about the movies and timelines if im correct in the first movie alotta stuff was kind of cut or left out and then i have seen legend of raoh how he became ken oh then i saw the movie of ken beating soutzer then i saw the movie of raoh fighting ken and dies but this part doesn't really add up anymore with the first movie now is it? i'm so confused anyway you could clear it a little up for me ? would really appreciate it thanks !
41 today was a kid when they started I was hooked instantly was my favorite of all time over all else haven't watched it or anything for over twenty years or so thought I had seen it all now after this I'm not so sure
For an apocalyptic wasteland Ken seems to find plenty of shirts
So does Bruce Banner
There is actually one episode where in the begining he is sewing it together.
He must know Piccolo’s Clothes Beam technique, so he can create his own shirts.
The 1st technique every Hokuto Shin Ken practitioner is taught is the "Hokuto Tīshatsu no Fukkatsu"
If there's a surprisingly thriving market for artisan shoulder pads in the post-apocalyptic world (as shown in the Lost Paradise game), a thriving clothing industry can exist.
Fist of the North Star was one of the biggest anime back in the '90s. Younger anime fans are only just now rediscovering it, but FotNS was already popular among older anime fans who were around in the '90s.
I am 16 and i watched this with my dad
Bro this anime is from the 80’s
Basically it was big in half of Asia and Europe
Yep iam 45 I was watching these when I’m the 80’s really amazing series
Isn’t it one of the OG manga? I always thought manga and anime are different
The lost uncensored film is one of anime's greatest losses
I have the uncensored version...
@@Kryzmatic1 if thats true...please upload it to any platform.
@@s.aalkhater9645: The version I have has the scenes in the following link but in HD... Also, there is an additional scene thats not in the link: th-cam.com/video/XmmLBcL-2Hs/w-d-xo.html
that and the first part of jojo original movie
Fist of the North Star is the grand daddy of action shonen and seinen, such a shame it doesn't get as big a legacy worldwide as Dragonball does
And this anime fan era is filled with DS, Jojo and OPM..
Even berserk gets more hype,and i think fist of the north star should be number 1 then berserk at number 2 and dragonball number 3 in the spectrum
@@seanmullikin117 correct.
@@seanmullikin117 If fist of the north star gets a new reboot guarantee it'll be alot more popular in America
@@seanmullikin117 nope fist of the North Star then jojo then berserk
In Italy and other European countries it was big and famous since the 80's. In Italy it's largely part of pop culture, as it was broadcasted uncensored for many many years on local tv stations.
This manga Is still in my top 3. Souther is one of the most underrated villains I have ever come across. Also Rei is one of my favorite characters of all time.
Kenshiro in real life is basically bruce lee and sylvester Stallone fused lol
And of course Mel Gibson.
Really I thought kenshiro was a fusion of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris honestly
Real shxt I really always thought that lol
more like arnold swarzenegger and bruce lee fused
in Mad Max's clothes
I bet it wasn't as popular in America during the time of Gundam and DBZ because it wasn't played on Toonami. It seems people forget how influential Toonami actually was regarding introducing anime to American kids. At least I definitely would have been all about it!!!
It was popular among old people who where young adults in the west tho. Every old man I have met talks about how fists of the north star was being marketed at these old geek conventions back in the 80's. You'll find a lot of 50 year olds talking about this manga/anime xD
Maybe even some on TH-cam
@@dreamcastdazia4753 Back then if you wanted this content you had to actively be on the lookout for it. The Fist of the North Star Animated movie had a viewing at one of the 'art theaters' over here (it was literally a room with maybe 20-30 fold out chairs and a projector). I found out about it and other anime/manga through comic book stores, some would import straight from Japan, others would sell bootleg VHS copies, and yes some comic book conventions.
Full disclosure, i'll be 49 this year ;)
Fist of the North Star was also probably too violent to be shown on Toonami. They really should have put it on Adult Swim.
@@Kruegernator123The English dub was on either HBO or Showtime for a time but it was never completed. It had a drum and bass soundtrack instead of the original.
To me the manga is the only way to enjoy this series, with the animes and OVAs coming in second but they're no substitute for me
i agree, i like the anime but i LOVE the manga it's amazing
Fist of the North Stat not only inspired Berserk but also Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
Sono Chi No Sadame, Joooooooooooooojoooooooo
Damn right
How’d it inspire Berserk? Not saying you’re incorrect, was that something Muira stated?
I’ve read Berserk was inspired on many of things.. Hellraiser(GodHand), Conan, Mythology, and other historical events.. along with different religions. I can see this anime inspiring it somewhat.. now JoJo!? Yea I can definitely see that..
@@DarkSideOfTheBrightSide also rape of nanking and possibly Rwanda genocide
The fact Guts is really strong could be a homage to the fact of how strong Kenshiro is in Fist of the North Star.
@@jackaholic6050 Once it gets to Part 2 Battle Tendency that's where things change.
*Fist Of The North Star* is my all-time favorite animated series. I appreciate the manga and anime series so much! Great video!
@Diego Alejandro kiss-anime
Diego Alejandro You can go to Crunchyroll’s website too. All 6 seasons of the anime is on there! It’s really good! crunchyroll.com/series/G6752ZK3R?
I'm Italian. This anime was HUGE in Italy in the 90s. And yes, I do still have a VHS with the uncensored version of the animated movie. HNK is my favorite anime of all time, part of my childhood, and I love it.
Also probably the most popular slot/pachinko machine series ever.
Fist Of The North Star Body Spray: *exists*
Me: I'll take your entire stock!
The GoatBoat my favorite scent is tatatatatatatata
So that's how Kenshiro and Raoh's auras are capable of disintegrating mooks...
Patrick Mike
Mine is the SHAAAOUUUUUU!!
for some reason I keep getting scratches every where on my body when I use it
You are already sold!
I'm a big fan of the anime early years. I watched all the fist of the north star VHS series.
Okay but the Fist of the North Star dub released in 2003 with redone music, was amazing. It's how I discovered the series.
Same here. The English dub's music introduced me to Drum and Bass.
Minor cult status in the Western World???? The hell are you talking about? I think you meant minor cult status in the USA. Kenshiro was like the #1 cartoon in Italy from 1992-1995! He's more Italian than pizza! Haaaa!!
Mike Billa interesting, I did not know this
I'm kinda glad that it only had minor cult status in the USA, and already has a now obscure terrible live action movie, because nowadays it seems like we are currently going through an era of making live action anime adaptions and I don't want to see them attempt that with Hokuto. At least the previous live action movie was b-tier cinema when barely anybody in America knew of the property.
Everywhere is else except Japan and italy Fist of the North Star is really obscure, it's slightly more known in USA but the rest of Europe has almost no idea who he is.
@@ForwardSynthesis So true. The live action movie is epically bad, but I feel that if they remade it today it would just be plain bad. You never know though....
It was also a massive success in France. The dialogues from the censored version were hilarious.
Bruce Lee + Max Rockatansky = Kenshiro
*It’s a no brainer, but he’s definitely the manliest.*
Actually Kenshiro = looks of Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky head and clothes, plus Stallone in Rocky III and Rambo III and City Cobra head and body (later on), muscles with Bruce Lee sounds and fighting moves. From the looks he does not look like Bruce Lee but like Mel Gibson (blue eyes in the Hnk manga covers) and Stallone. Google Kenshiro Stallone and see the results. The mangaka even copied Stallone movie poses and movie covers.
Raoh and Glenn are Arnold look alike.
Toki is Hokuto Jesus, especially when he had brown hair before.
Falco is "Drago" Dolph Lundgren.
Ryuga is David Bowie
and many other personality lookalikes (Hul Hogan, Che Guevara, etc) in the series
Hokuto no ken the granddaddy of martial arts manga/anime
And it's never been surpassed in my opinion, as much as I love everything that was born of it.
What about ashita no joe
@@iliveinsideyourhouse1367 they are more like action sports manga just like kinikuman eventhough they came out first. Also similar with captain tsubasa belong in sport genre
By no way was it a minor cult following. The movie was mentioned by Wu Tang
PLO Style- method man
And MF DOOM as Viktor Vaughn
Yeah, "I'm the true Fist of the North Star!" Lyric from Method Man on the song "P.L.O. Style" on his debut album "Tical"
Fist of the North Star was one of the biggest anime back in the '90s. Younger anime fans are only just now rediscovering it, but FotNS was already popular among older anime fans who were around in the '90s.
I love this series so much! Kenshiro is one of the greatest male role models in Shonen manga and anime. Kenshiro is basically the embodiment of what a man should strive towards.
I never understood how FotNS never found a larger audience in the west. It is a series about a martial artist so powerful his punches cause people to explode. You would think Kenshiro would be as well known(if not better known) than Goku. Heart of Madness should also be an anthem that every anime fan knows.
the most coolest fighting genre manga/anime ever made
Hokuto Shin Ken has a history of 2000 years! One video is not enough to capture the sheer magnificence it is! - Kenshiro
I love this series and the similar series Violence Jack, the sequel to Devilman.
My favorite anime’s are Dragonball Z, Fist of the North Star, Slam Dunk, One Piece, Lupin the Third, and Naruto. Kenshiro is my favorite hero!
Gaaay
@@diehard200 jojo=gay
@@brothersofwrath4785
Brothers of wrath = 7 year
lol
And yes this is a joke
@@diehard200 😂😂💀💀💀
my phone grew a beard hearing the name kenshiro now I can't charge my phone
I agree
It will never die... but you... you're already dead.
But you'll come back like Ken's shirts.
the bradanator your phones a Nokia now
How did I not see this video before? Very well documentary, it is true that Lost paradise is one of the best games of Fist of the North Star, it just feels like the series, even though it has a different story. Fist of the north star, is my favorite anime-manga, the absurd action, the gore, the characters, and that air of post-apocalyptic martial arts, I like it, even though the manga faltered with the second and third part (The saga of Kaioh and the one of the three brothers).
There was also several volumes of Hokuto no Ken released in the early 2000s by defunct manga company, Raijin Comics. All in big graphic novel form and in color. Raijin comics even put out volumes of Fist of the Blue Sky and were getting ready to release Kenji, a manga Tetsuo Hara worked on, but the company went bankrupt. Sad, really because the company put out some amazing titles.
Without Hokuto no Ken, there wouldn't be many anime today. Stilll my favorite anime.
"Omae wa mo shindeiru"
"Nani!?........aaarrggghhhh!"
(Blood and guts on the ground)
HNK>DBZ
HI-DE-BUUUUUU!
dumbest comment ive seen in my life
That’s like, your opinion man
@@akiraeatsguitarpicks491 talking to me?
@@hitmanss59 nope I’m talking to op
My first exposure to Fist of the Northstar was the animated movie, and holy shit what an intro
Same
I read the manga once almost every year, tho often I give up right after Falco gets wrecked by that one nameless shura, because it's honestly my favorite work of fiction, even tho the retcons get aggressive and obnoxious by the end, the art, the world, the general storyline, the absolute depths of emotion and weirdly complex discourse of philosophy, particularly political philosophy, it's just perfect. The anime largely botched it, even at its best it still actively misses the general tone and overall vibe, but the music was absolutely perfect and the performances were incredible so I still love it way more than I should. i know no one cares but this is the best void to shout into about this shit. Just look out for that death omen star boys.
@KaijuDirector
I agree the portion of the story with Raoh was the best place to stop, especially when they gradually bastardize his character in flashbacks after that point.
If they did a sequel series now, they at least gave us a potential set-up with Ryu. It has to be a descendant of one of the Hokuto brothers because Kenshiro just got too strong by the end with Musou Tensei. Anryuu Tenha was able to counter it, but unless you have crazy enemies with demon auras, it feels like he's deliberately suppressing himself rather than just being really strong.
The series always had Kenshiro as ridiculously overpowered, but it worked because his enemies styles felt very dangerous at the same time, Nanto Seiken being able to carve opponents up with ease, and with the other mooks it would rely on dark humor and a sort of inversion where Kenshiro felt like the hero equivalent of a slasher villain or the terminator. Musou Tensei was the logical endpoint of the series in terms of power, and it came at the logical endpoint in terms of narrative too (a cool thing about Musou Tensei is that it's a narrative based power).
Doing something with descendants or ancestors is pretty good because you can reset a lot of the narrative threads and escalation. I think the Souten no Ken prequel was pretty decent (in the manga NOT the anime/s), so I know they can do it well, but they seem to want to keep rehashing and remaking old material.
It should have ended after Raoh's Death, after that Kenshiro's character doesn't have anywhere to go
May the star of life shine upon your void.
Hokuto no Ken also inspired majority of Fighting Games as well. Aforementioned FGC Giant, Street Fighter has taken LOTS of elements inspired by Fist of the North Star, Tekken too with Harada even being a big HnK dork.
And now, Street Fighter characters have finally crossed over with Fist of the North Star.
Coming soon: Kenshiro or Guts enter Mortal Kombat.
Fist of the North animes are awesome but the manga has beautiful artwork that the animes fail to capture completely but still they do the best they can with the animes.
Great video. Glad to see continued love for this series and reminded me I still need to finish part 2.
Loved this video. My dream is that david production gives this series the jojo treatment one day
as in a new adaption
THAT'D BE AWESOME
FOTNS:LP is a goddamn masterpiece, I love what RGG did. Who knew Kiryu's voice actor also fits for Kenshiro?
This series also inspired Hirohiko Araki the creator of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Jonathan Joestar resembles Kenshiro & the attack Sunlight Yellow Overdrive is similar to Kenshiro's Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken)
Great vid. Great series. Having "Tough Boy" playing in the background is a nice touch!
This has been my favorite anime of all time since I was 4 years old and it has inspired me to workout since I was 10 and now I have a tattoo based off of it.
Thank you for this piece of history ! Its very much needed for those who really wanna get into the series and learn what its been thru ! I hope we see something from the main source soon after seeing Re: genesis im still waiting on whats next lol
I was expecting Kenshiro's English voice actor to be more rugged like Mad Max Mel Gibson, not Delta Force Chuck Norris.
I wish I could give you a 5 star review of this video. You covered a concise history of Hokuto no Ken and added the "newer" works at the time of the making of this video. I've seen other reviews and pretty much do a hack job for the clicks. Thank you so much! Even tho it's about 5 years later it still holds up in my view as a diehard fan.
Really hoping this video would blow up. This is possibly my favorite anime and it’s kinda exhausting to see it being labeled as a cheesy 80’s anime with no real depth.
Thanks for the video
I learned Italian watching these episodes on Italia Uno channel, the best Japanese series, best story ever
I'm pretty sure it was on Italia 7. Italia Uno wouldn't show something this gritty.
@@Oct8pus yes you are right, the Sicilian channels, Italia uno they did the bim bum bam
@@xuereb2867 Yes! Bim Bum Bam was the more "family friendly" kids' hour
@@Oct8pus yes the holly e benji, mila e shiro etc
none ever got close to Kenshiro!
Thanks for making this video! I began watching FOTNS in February last year and finished it a few months back.....at first I was intrigued and interested in what the show had to offer, but I never really thought much of it. Of course, that opinion of mine would change right after finishing the Shin arc, as the story changes pace but for the better. FOTNS ended up becoming my 2nd favorite anime of all time and I’m really upset that not many fans in the states have taken the time to watch it. Which is actually why I hope it gets an amazing reboot. The anime, while it is an amazing and unique watching experience, it’s so old! So I hope it gets a mind blowing reboot (preferably by Madhouse or WIT haha) I doubt it’ll happen any time soon, but I have hope.
Hei, don't mix-up the notions of "USA" and "West".
In Italy plenty of animes and mangas were popular much before than in the US.
Hokuto no Ken (Ken il Guerriero) was massively succesful in the 80s, and had a deep impact on that generation of childreb.
So much so that I, as a child, was actively trying to replicate some preassure-point explosions on my... huh... classmates (yeah, sort of Amiba style: I was a genius, I know... though I never managed to get anyone seriously hurt, alas).
Hokuto no Ken is still nowadays being referenced in Italian comicbooks, movies and pop music.
Great video!
nothing like the 80's man ❤️
thanks for the video
I don't know who you are but you got my sub. I F...ING love this series!! It saved my spirit during a dark chapter. The challenges of life got to me and I felt the weight of the world. I used to be a Martial Art Teacher in my youth. I was just married and had my first apartment and going to college full time and then I hurt my back training one day The injury stopped from working for 18 months and I had to stop going to school and was going out of my mind. Watching this one guy take on the world was how I felt. Thank you for sharing. I wish you much success on TH-cam. FYI I'm happily married 15 yrs now and I have a son who I hope to share this anime with once his older.
Remember your already dead 😸
*ONLY FIVE YEARS!* Hokuto No Ken manga was only 5 years?! How long has Dragonball been going? It's practically a zombie series!
And it stinks like one too
Sometimes it's best to stop where you tried to end it, rather than caving in to demand and keeping it alive. Even in Hokuto no Ken you can definitely feel the steam running out and the plot struggling to hold its integrity after Raoh dies and Ken walks into the distance finally having reclaimed his lost love, Yuria and clearing up any disputes about the succession of Hokuto Shinken's lineage. Eventually you can't keep going without getting excessive about it once you escalated power levels to the max and cleared up all the plot threads.
@@CirnoTheStrongest999 still love one piece...20 years..and still nice
Yeah I feel you. I used to be obsessed with dragon ball but ever since I discovered Hokuto no Ken earlier this summer, I havent looked back lol
@@CirnoTheStrongest999 Yes! Every great story has an end.
thanks
i couldnt keep up will all the techniques names, character names, etc, it helped
Who would've thought that Fotns would not only bring me one of my favorite characters but end up leading to the creation to my other 2 favorites, Jonothan joestar and guts. Love how that comes around.
Extensive and very thorough. Very well done! 👏👏👏❣
Show of hands, who else would like to see the stories of Shuuken (the sacrifices and decisions he had to face...!) and Ryuken (from a young hero who survived WW2 to a guy who would Jaime Lannister a couple of kids off a cliff -- how'd THAT happen😮??) fleshed out into their own manga and animé series? I'd also love to see the story move forward from Ken since he did train a successor (Ryu, son of Raoh) and may have even had enough time with Yuria to have had children of his own (twins maybe?). Could be cool. Jus' sayin'.
Maybe a new story epic called "Fist of the Southern Cross" would prove a good direction to go. There were 108 schools of Nanto Seiken, after all. Natbe Souther had a secret son. Setting out to rediscover and redeem the most powerful school of the Nanto 108 would be an epic and entertaining quest for a young hero, I think.
One of my favorite animations, great workout animation
Genius video ♥ here sir take my like, sub and respect
I wish i could see Kenshiro more in this modern times, manly tears deserve more love ♥
p.s fun fact for over a decade of watching anime/ reading manga i only trully shed tear while reading Hokuto and Vinland Saga
even tho i already had my fair share of that medium specially with battle manga.
Legend of the Dark King was awesome!!
This was the first manga anime I ever saw, been hooked on them ever since.
I always knew of FOTNS by it's animated movie's VHS cover at my local video rental shop back in the late 90's. I never rented it, but did borrow a copy of the first manga in English from a roommate in college during my time at art school in 2003. Then somehow, in 2005, I ended up landing a full time job working at the Fist of the North Star manga studio (it's a long story which I posted a video about on my TH-cam channel). For nearly two years, I worked there day and night, as an assistant illustrator for the prequel series, Fist of the Blue Sky, and on special editions of the original. I still live in Japan, but no longer work in the manga industry. It was a wild experience.
Make a Sakigake Otokojuku, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and City Hunter video!!!
Fist of The North Star is hard to export outside of Japan not due to the violence, but because the anime itself was not that well animated. It had some great drawn key frames and illustrations, but even compared to many other animes of the 1980's like Dragon Ball or Zeta Gundam, the animation was super limited. It would be nice if we saw a completely new anime that redoes the entire series though.
It really is amazing how Buddhist the series became by the start of the tv series. The one off anime movie really doesn’t do the series justice..
I really like your explanation
I had to watch this video two times because I was only paying attention to the openings in the background
the fist of the north star PS2 game was made by arc systems who also made guilty gear series and blazblue, i think sega just produced it
Italy here, can confirm that i have the 1986's movie on VHS, uncensored, published in 1993 by Granata Press. Masterpiece.
I watched the manga and anime since I was a kid, love it still. The most influential ever . .
i love how the animation was.
I love the manga, it was amazingly simple yet interesting.
Fist of the North Star & Fist of the Blue Sky are both currently playing on Crunchyroll, for anyone interested
I was lucky to be in Italy in the 80s so it was my favorite anime in italian
Synopsis:
Fist of the North Star or Hokuto no Ken (北斗の拳) is about a middle aged man who can make people experience both pain and pleasure by touching them in their special places.
Sometimes he uses only a single finger, sometimes he goes in with his entire fist.
Hm.
-Ken is barely in his 30’s at the end of the Borgos arc
-his form of hokuto shinken doesn’t give people pleasure, that’s Toki’s thing
@@akiraeatsguitarpicks491 This might be the biggest woooosh of the century.
@@Kalenz1234 Noo I got the joke, I’m just saying that it’s inaccurate
The fist of North Star anime reboot finally is in production by Warner Bros s japan
Sega made a fist of the north star game for the genesis but when it came to the states it was heavily censored and renamed "last battle" so if you owned last battle it was actually hokuto no ken!
I played that one, and Black Belt on the Master System which was also a Fist of the North Star game in Japan.
Even if that game is bullshit, I tried to give it a chance but it was bad, it was too simple, bosses that kill you with almost 1 hit or 2, etc., had many routes but they are all the same and if you want to go back for the same way you have to do the level again, the castles were confusing mazes etc.
I like more the game of master syste (the one called black belt) is simpler even that it becomes somewhat tedious. Actually I have Lost Paradise and it is definitely the best FONS game in my opinion, it is pure fun, and besides that it has the sega master system game (or sega Mark 3 whatever)
Awesome video! As you can tell from my name, my synthwave music project also took quite some inspiration from the big man!
Heart of Madness...
Need this to come out ..
Good video
Hokutonoken is one of my first exposures to anime and manga and to this day remains my favorite. I wish they had done more with it. I love Dragon Ball and it's been fun to see that continue. I wish someone would do the same for fist of the Northstar.
Fist of the North Star is the God-Father of Battle Shonen
I really hope they do the series justice.
Fist of the North Star is my 2nd favorite Anime behind vampire Hunter D
YYEEESSSS!!! My two all time favorites, as well!!
Ninja Scroll
FOTNS
Angel Cop
@@gr00vinRuben Ninja Scroll & HNK rule!
Violence jack and Kenshiro would be homies
Always wondered if fist of the North Star was the origin of the “I’ve lived my life with no regrets”
The whole pressure point thing is almost not needed for Kenshiro since he can also lift giant boulders by himself with ease.
Aside from Mad Max there's a big Dollars Trilogy influence in there as well, musically too.
We still live, living in the eighties, we still fight, fighting in the eighties
I remember being a kid watching Dragon ball Z and my mom comes by watchs a few seconds and goes “i dont really like the animation”. And remember as a kid i was like NANI!? Sacrilege. Looking back now Z deff had some shotty animation scenes but i think it deff holds up. Salormoon and Dragon ball Z was what my mom would put on for me before school.
Tetsuo Hara said Kenshiro was inspired by Bruce Lee, Mad Max and Yusaku Matsuda (Japanese actor who also inspired Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop).
-Hokuto Shinken (北斗神拳) actually means "Big Dipper God Fist/Divine Fist"
-Nanto Seiken (南斗聖拳) actually means "South Dipper Holy Fist"
My favorite Manga Series !!
If someone is wondering how can kKenshiro kill people from inside. His life force gets in his opponent and blows him up.
Blunova please make more Video about Anime please i Love this video because it mentions about Shounen anime next talk about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Gundam, Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, Dragon Ball, Pokemon, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece and More
0:45 I didn't know Akira came out before Fist NOR did it influence this great series
Cyber Blue and Hana no Keiji are also pretty dope
i'm so confused about the movies and timelines
if im correct in the first movie alotta stuff was kind of cut or left out
and then i have seen legend of raoh how he became ken oh
then i saw the movie of ken beating soutzer
then i saw the movie of raoh fighting ken and dies
but this part doesn't really add up anymore with the first movie now is it?
i'm so confused anyway you could clear it a little up for me ? would really appreciate it thanks !
theyre really just remakes and stuff. Just watch the og 1984 series
41 today was a kid when they started I was hooked instantly was my favorite of all time over all else haven't watched it or anything for over twenty years or so thought I had seen it all now after this I'm not so sure
There's is another FotNS theed music release, a grinding BDM EP with members of Pustulated and Brodequin: Copremesis - Demonstrating the Fist.