Fist of the North Star

This article is about the manga and anime. For other uses, see Fist of the North Star (disambiguation).
Fist of the North Star

Volume 1 of the Japanese Jump Comics edition of Hokuto no Ken, as published on March 9, 1984.
北斗の拳
(Hokuto no Ken)
Genre Martial arts, Post-apocalyptic
Manga
Written by Buronson
Illustrated by Tetsuo Hara
Published by Shueisha
English publisher
Viz Media (1989, 1995-1997),
Gutsoon! Entertainment (2003-2004)
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
Original run 1983 – 1988
Volumes 27
Anime television series
Directed by Toyoo Ashida
Music by Nozomi Aoki
Studio Toei Animation
Licensed by
Network Fuji TV
English network
Showtime Beyond
Original run October 4, 1984 – March 5, 1987
Episodes 109
Anime television series
Hokuto no Ken 2
Directed by Toyoo Ashida
Music by Nozomi Aoki
Studio Toei Animation
Licensed by
Network Fuji TV
Original run March 13, 1987 – February 18, 1988
Episodes 43
Related

Fist of the North Star, known in Japan as Hokuto no Ken (北斗の拳, "Fist of the Northern Ladle"),[1] is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1988, the 245 chapters were initially collected in 27 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Set in a post-apocalyptic world that has been destroyed by a nuclear war, the story centers on a warrior named Kenshiro, the successor of a deadly martial art style known as Hokuto Shinken, which gives him the ability to kill most adversaries from within through the use of the human body's secret vital points, often resulting in an exceptionally violent and gory death. Kenshiro dedicates his life to fighting against the various ravagers who threaten the lives of the weak and innocent, as well as rival martial artists, including his own "brothers" from the same clan.

Fist of the North Star was adapted into two anime TV series produced by Toei Animation, which together aired on Fuji TV affiliates from 1984 through 1988, comprising a combined total of 152 episodes. Several films, OVAs, and video games have been produced as well, including a series of spin-offs centering around other characters from the original story.

The original manga was published in English by Viz Communications as a monthly comic book, and later by Gutsoon! Entertainment as a series of colorized graphic novels, although neither translation was completed. English adaptations of other Fist of the North Star media have been licensed to other companies, including the TV series and the 1986 film.

Plot

In "199X," civilization was ruined as a result of a worldwide nuclear war and many creatures died out. In spite of these events, 30% of mankind survived and entered an age where the strong ruled over the weak, as the few survivors fought over whatever supply of food and uncontaminated water remained in the wasteland of the world.

Kenshiro, successor to the ancient assassination art of Hokuto Shinken (北斗神拳), wanders into a village in search of water when he is caught in a trap and imprisoned by the local defense force. In prison, he befriends a young orphaned girl named Rin who nursed him back to health. When the village is attacked by a biker gang and Rin is taken hostage by their leader, Ken breaks free from his cell and rescues Rin by defeating the leader with his deadly martial art technique. Kenshiro leaves the village and continues his journey, now accompanied by a young thief named Bat. He becomes involved against the King organization after witnessing the many atrocities they have committed. As he infiltrates the gang's stronghold in the city of Southern Cross, he finds out that the leader of King is his old nemesis, the Nanto Seiken master Shin, the man who engraved the seven scars on Kenshiro's chest and kidnapped his fiancee Yuria. Kenshiro emerges victorious in his rematch with Shin, only to find out that Yuria is no longer with Shin.

Kenshiro continues his journey and goes on to fight several more enemy organizations. After being reunited with Rin and meeting new allies such as the woman warrior Mamiya and the Nanto Suichōken successor Rei, Kenshiro learns that his three former brothers-in-training in the ways of Hokuto Shinken are still alive. The third brother, Jagi, a violent thug who sought to torment Kenshiro after losing the Hokuto Shinken succession to him, is quickly eliminated. Kenshiro goes on to search for the second brother, a gentle healer named Toki, and learns that he is being kept prisoner in the dungeon city of Cassandra. After rescuing Toki, Kenshiro learns that Raoh, the eldest of the four brothers, has become a ruthless warlord known as Ken-oh (拳王 "Fist King") and is now seeking to conquer the postwar world. Kenshiro goes on to challenge Raoh, but the long grueling battle ends in a stalemate and the two warriors are forced to settle their differences another day. Rei is fatally wounded as a result of a previous battle with Raoh and he spends the last few days of his life tracking down his nemesis Juda, the successor of Nanto Kōkakuken and the man who once tormented Mamiya in the past. After defeating Juda, Rei goes on to die, at peace with himself.

With Raoh still recovering from his wounds, another warlord, the Nanto Hōōken successor Souther (Thouzer in some translations), proclaims himself as the Holy Emperor (聖帝 Seitei). Kenshiro joins a resistance movement led by an old benefactor, the Nanto Hakuroken successor Shu. When Shu is captured and executed by Souther, Kenshiro confronts Souther and foils his ambitions. With Souther now gone, Raoh recovers from his wounds and goes on to resume his reign of conquest. Toki, who is on the verge of dying as a result of a terminal illness, challenges the newly revived Raoh, but is ultimately no match for him. Toki eventually passes away from his disease, leaving Kenshiro as the only man capable of stopping Raoh.

The Last General of Nanto appears and decides to side with Kenshiro in order to defeat Raoh, sending out her five guardians, the Goshasei, after Raoh. Kenshiro and Raoh both learn that the General's true identity is Yuria, Kenshiro's missing fiancee. After a series of numerous events and battles, Kenshiro emerges victorious over Raoh and he is finally reunited with Yuria. However, the victory is bittersweet, as Yuria has been affected by a terminal illness and had very little time left to live. However Raoh, feeling sympathy for her, manipulates one of Yuria's pressure points and extends her lifespan by several years. Kenshiro leaves his friends and spends the final few years of Yuria's life with her.

The peace that follows Raoh's downfall does not last long and the world returns to turmoil several years later. Kenshiro rejoins his former traveling companions, Bat and Rin, in their battle against an oppressive Empire, fighting under the banner of the Hokuto Army. The Hokuto Army rescues the rightful Empress Rui, who is also Rin's estranged twin sister, foiling the plot of the usurper Jako, who was blackmailing Rui's guardian, the Gento Kōken successor Falco, to do his evil bidding.

However, Rin is taken captive by the remnant of Jako's forces and is sent off to the mysterious Kingdom of Shura, a land of warriors ruled by three overlords who have all mastered the ways of Hokuto Ryūken, a martial art which branched off from the same clan alongside Hokuto Shinken. Kenshiro defeats Han, the third-ranking overlord, who reveals that the Kingdom of Shura was Kenshiro's birthplace. Moreover, Kenshiro also learns that Hyou, the second overlord, is his biological older brother. After a grueling battle, Hyou and Ken reconcile their differences and Kenshiro seeks out the highest-ranking and most powerful of the three overlords, Kaioh, who is Raoh's biological older brother. The final battle concludes with Kenshiro defeating Kaioh and Kaioh making his peace with Hyoh before both of them pass away.

Afterward, Kenshiro rescues Rin and leaves her under Bat's care as he goes on an adventure with Raoh's orphaned son Ryu. After his adventure with Ryu, Kenshiro is forced to help out Bat and Rin one last time when a villain from Kenshiro's past named Bolge threaten their happiness. Kenshiro defeats Bolge and leaves the two to live a life of happiness. The series ends as Kenshiro does what he does best: protecting the weak and the innocent.

Production

Tetsuo Hara has stated that he came up with the idea of Hokuto no Ken from his editor Nobuhiko Horie. According to Hara, Horie suggested to him that he should draw a manga about "a martial artist who destroys his opponents by striking their acupressure points" based on Hara's aspiration to draw a manga about martial arts and his knowledge of pressure points. At the time, Hara was having trouble breaking into the market, as his first series, the Iron Don Quixote, was cancelled ten weeks after its debut.[2] A prototype version of Hokuto no Ken was published as a one shot story in the April 1983 issue of Fresh Jump, which was followed by Hokuto no Ken II, a second one-shot published in the June 1983 issue. Both stories are collected in the second tankōbon volume of Tetsu no Don Quixote.

The two one-shots were well received in the reader's surveys of Fresh Jump and Tetsuo Hara was commissioned to turn Hokuto no Ken into a weekly series. Buronson was assigned to work with him as writer for the serialized version. The storyline was revamped, with the 1980s present-day setting in the original version replaced by a Mad Max-inspired post apocalyptic future world, and the protagonist Kenshiro, originally a high school student in Hara's earlier story, became an older and more stoic hero inspired by Bruce Lee.[3] Originally, Tetsuo Hara and Buronson were contracted to do Fist of the North Star for a three-year run, but due to its popularity and the publisher's demand, it was extended to a five-year run.[2]

Media

Manga

Hokuto no Ken premiered in Japan in Weekly Shōnen Jump in Issue 41 of 1983 and was serialized weekly until Issue 35 of 1988, lasting 245 chapters. The original collected volumes or tankōbon of Hokuto no Ken were originally published under Shueisha's Jump Comics imprint and spans 27 volumes.[4] During the 1990s, Shueisha reprinted Hokuto no Ken in 15 hardcover aizōban editions,[5] as well as 15 corresponding economy-sized bunko editions.[6] A 14-volume Kanzenban edition was published by Shogakukan in 2006 under the Big Comics Selection imprint, featuring the original water-colored artwork from the Weekly Shōnen Jump serialization.[7] It has also been released in 27 pay-to-download e-book editions.[8] To celebrate the series' 30th anniversary, Tokuma Shoten began publishing Hokuto no Ken in an "ultimate edition" in 2013. It will comprise 18 volumes, include the color pages, new cover art by Hara, and two new chapters set after the series.[9][10]

Viz Communications published the first sixteen chapters of Fist of the North Star in English as an eight-issue monthly comic in 1989, which were later reprinted in a single graphic novel collection in 1995. During the same year, Viz resumed publication of the series as a monthly comic until 1997, lasting eighteen issues (adapting chapters 17-44), which were subsequently republished in three additional graphic novel volumes. A second English adaptation was published by Gutsoon! Entertainment under the title of Fist of the North Star: Master Edition,which featured newly colorized artwork, but retained the original right-to-left orientation. Each volume from the fourth one and onward featured new cover illustrations by Tetsuo Hara that were made specifically for the Master Edition. The Master Edition was published from 2002 to 2003, lasting only nine volumes, due to Gutsoon!'s withdrawal from the North American market.

Spin-off works

In 2001, Tetsuo Hara began working on a Fist of the North Star prequel titled Fist of the Blue Sky (蒼天の拳 Sōten no Ken), which was serialized in Weekly Comic Bunch. Set during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1935, the story stars Hokuto Shinken predecessor and Kenshiro's namesake, Kenshiro Kasumi. An English adaptation of Fist of the Blue Sky was published in North America by Gutsoon! Entertainment in the now-defunct manga anthology Raijin Comics. Four collected volumes were published before the company went out of business.

A series of Fist of the North Star spinoffs began to be published in Weekly Comic Bunch and Big Comics Superior later. This lineup of titles has been dubbed the Hokuto Gaiden (北斗外伝) series, as each title focuses on a particular supporting character from the original manga. The following titles had been published so far:

Anime series

Hokuto no Ken was first adaptated into a weekly anime series by Toei Animation under the title Seikimatsu Kyūseishu Densetsu: Hokuto no Ken (世紀末救世主伝説 北斗の拳?, lit. Legend of the Century's End Messiah: Fist of the North Star) . The series aired on Fuji Television from October 4, 1984 to March 5, 1987, lasting 109 episodes.[17] It was immediately followed by a sequel series, titled Hokuto no Ken 2, which aired from March 13, 1987 to February 18, 1988, lasting for 43 additional episodes (a combined total of 152 episodes between both series). On July 24, 2002, a Super Premium Box consisting of all 152 episodes across 26 DVDs was released.[18]

The first 36 episodes of the first series were translated and dubbed by Manga Entertainment in 1999, although only the first 24 episodes were released on VHS. All 36 episodes of the dub version were aired on Showtime Beyond in the United States and on Sci-Fi Channel in the United Kingdom, and were later released on individual DVD volumes in 2003. In 2008, the US subsidiary of Toei Animation produced official subtitled-only translations of all 152 episodes, which were released on various paid download and video streaming websites available only for North American customers. Discotek Media announced on October 2, 2009 that they have licensed the entire Fist of the North Star TV series. They stated they would release all 152 episodes in a total of four boxsets sometime in 2010.[19] The first two boxsets were released in that year, and the latter two in 2011. The episodes used the 2008 Japanese remaster, produced for a 25th anniversary deluxe boxset. However, Discotek's releases did not contain any of the special features for the 2008 Japanese set. The first set featured the first 36 episodes along with Manga Entertainment's English dub, and a Japanese audio option with English subtitles; these subtitles were adjusted from the translation of Toei's streaming episodes. Discotek later released all discs from all four boxsets (a total of 21 discs) together in one set, "Fist of the North Star, The TV Series: The Complete Series Collection", on March 25, 2014.

In 2009, William Winckler Productions produced six all new English dubbed movie versions edited from the original TV series. Producer William Winckler, known for Tekkaman: The Space Knight, wrote, produced and directed the English films, which are seen on broadband in Japan. The Winckler dubbed films focus on story arcs of the main characters of Shin, Rei, Souther, Toki, Raoh, and Kaioh.[20] However these films are incredibly hard to find.

Anime films and original video animations

The first animated feature film based on the series, simply titled Fist of the North Star, was produced by Toei Animation, which premiered in Japan on March 8, 1986.[21] Produced by the same staff and cast who worked on the TV series, the movie adapts the storyline of the manga from the beginning and up to Kenshiro's first fight with Raoh, taking several liberties with the order of events and how the story unfolds. An English-dubbed version produced by Streamline Pictures was first released in 1991 in North America and in 1994 in Europe and Australia by Manga Entertainment.

In 2003, a three-episode original video animation (OVA) mini-series titled New Fist of the North Star was produced by OB Planning, based on a 1996 Hokuto no Ken novel, Jubaku no Machi. An English dub version was produced by ADV Films in 2004.

In 2005, North Stars Pictures and TMS Entertainment announced the development of a five-part film series titled Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior.[22] The series is composed of three theatrical films and two OVAs, which were released during a three-year period between 2006 throughout 2008, culminating with the 25th anniversary of the franchise.[23]

Novels

An original novel was written by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara titled Shōsetsu Hokuto no Ken: Jubaku no Machi (小説·北斗の拳 呪縛の街, Fist of the North Star the Novel: The Cursed City) which was published by Jump Novel in Japan on December 13, 1996.[24] The novel was the basis of the later three-episode OVA series New Fist of the North Star. A novelization of the movie Legend of Raoh: Chapter of Love in Death written by Eiichi Sakaki was published by Tokuma Novels on March 10, 2006.[25]

There has also been two cell phone novels released via the mobile site Hokuto no Ken DX. Raoh Gaiden (ラオウ外伝), a novelization of the manga of the same name, and Kenshiro Gaiden (ケンシロウ外伝), an original novel by Jotaro Higashi.

Live-action film

An American-produced live-action movie version of Fist of the North Star was released in 1995, directed by Tony Randel based on a script by Peter Atkins and Wynne McLaughlin. The movie, loosely based on the Shin storyline of the manga, stars Gary Daniels as Kenshiro, Costas Mandylor as Shin and Japanese actress Isako Washio as Yuria, with Malcolm McDowell as Ryuken and Chris Penn as "Jackal" (actually a renamed Jagi). It also featured a cameo by professional wrestler Big Van Vader as Goliath, and Kevin Arbouet as "Rao" (Raoh in the anime series). The movie was released straight-to-video in the US and Japan (though it did receive a premiere on HBO). The Japanese dubbed version used the original voice actors from the 1980s anime series.

Video games

The four Hokuto no Ken video games for the Famicom.

Numerous video game titles based on the Fist of the North Star have been produced since the 1986 release of Enix adventure game, simply titled Hokuto no Ken for the PC-88. The earlier games in the franchise were released by Sega for the Mark III and Mega Drive and by Toei Animation for the Nintendo's Famicom, Game Boy and Super Famicom. These titles included side-scrolling action games, role-playing video games and competitive-style fighting games. The two Sega titles were released overseas without the Hokuto no Ken license under the titles of Black Belt and Last Battle, while a couple of the Toei titles, namely Fist of the North Star for the NES and Fist of the North Star: 10 Big Brawls for the King of Universe for the Game Boy, had American releases with the license intact. Further games were released for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Arcade, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS among other platforms. In 2000, Konami released an arcade game based on the franchise titled Fighting Mania. Another arcade game, a 2D fighting game simply titled Fist of the North Star, was produced by Sega and Arc System Works in 2005. Both games saw international distributions, although the PS2 version of the fighting game was released exclusively in Japan. Tecmo Koei produced a Dynasty Warriors spinoff focusing on the events from the first half of the manga, titled Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage. It which was released in Japan on March 25, 2010, and later in North America on November 2, 2010,[26] and Europe on November 5, 2010. A sequel, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2, expanded on the first game and incorporated the events from the second half of the manga. It was released in Japan on December 20, 2012, and in North America on February 5, 2013.

In addition to traditional video games, the franchise has inspired a series of typing software, an online MMORPG, and numerous pachinko and pachislot machines, mainly produced by Sega Sammy Holdings.

Reception

Fist of the North Star was one of Weekly Shōnen Jump's most popular titles during the 1980s. It is one of the best-selling manga series in history, having sold approximately 100 million copies.[27] In a poll conducted by TV Asahi in 2005, the Fist of the North Star anime series ranked 26 in a list of Top 100 Anime series.[28] In a second poll in 2006, it ranked 89.[29] In a celebrity version of the poll, it ranked 15.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Hokuto (北斗) literally means the "Northern Ladle", which is the Japanese name of the Big Dipper constellation.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Interview with Hara Tetsuo". Raijin Comics. Archived from the original on 2004-06-29. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Buronson". ADV Films Presents: New Fist of the North Star. Archived from the original on 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  4. ↑ 北斗の拳 全27巻・全巻セット (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  5. ↑ 北斗の拳/全15巻 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  6. ↑ 北斗の拳全15巻・全巻セット (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  7. ↑ 小学館: コミック (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  8. ↑ "北斗の拳 原哲夫 : コアミックス - 電子書籍はeBookJapan : マンガ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  9. ↑ "Fist of the North Star Manga Reprint to Add New Chapter". Anime News Network. 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  10. ↑ "Fist of the North Star Gets 2nd New Chapter in Comic Zenon". Anime News Network. 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  11. ↑ 週刊コミックバンチ★コアミックス: 連載作品・作家紹介: 天の覇王 北斗の拳 ラオウ外伝 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  12. ↑ "ADV Nation: ADV Films to distribute Sentai Filmworks new license: Ten no Haoh (Fist of the North Star spin-off)".
  13. ↑ "Amazon.com: 北斗の拳ユリア外伝慈母の星 (ビッグコミックススペシャル)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  14. ↑ 週刊コミックバンチ★コアミックス: 最新号情報と予告 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  15. ↑ 週刊コミックバンチ★コアミックス: 最新号情報と予告 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  16. ↑ "Fist of the North Star Spinoff Manga Series Kinyoku no Garuda Ends in Comic Zenon". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  17. ↑ "北斗の拳 (official Toei site)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  18. ↑ "Newtype" 18 (10). Kadokawa Shoten. June 2002. p. 128.
  19. ↑ "Discotek Media picks up Fist of the North Star".
  20. ↑ "Toei, William Winckler Prod., Rioloco Dub 23+ Features". Anime News Network.
  21. ↑ "Hokuto no ken (1986)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  22. ↑ "GAGA Communications, Inc./International Sales Catalogue".
  23. ↑ 劇場版映画"北斗の拳｢ラオウ外伝｣純愛編"を2006年春全国東宝系公開 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  24. ↑ 小説・北斗の拳 (in Japanese).
  25. ↑ 北斗の拳 — 徳間書店 (in Japanese).
  26. ↑ "Tecmo Koei America Announces North American Release Date for Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage". Tecmo Koei America. Retrieved 2010-11-09. Tecmo Koei America is pleased to announce the release date for Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, the new action-packed title based on the popular manga series Fist of the North Star. Currently set for release on November 2nd, 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms, players will soon unleash a whirlwind of martial arts fury torn from the pages of the seminal manga tale.
  27. ↑ "劇場アニメ「真救世主伝説 北斗の拳」DVD発売記念イベント" (in Japanese). AV Watch. 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  28. ↑ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  29. ↑ "Japan's Favorite TV Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2007-07-21.

Bibliography

External links

Official sites
Unofficial sites