Review of Fist Of The North Star (Vols. 1 To 12)

Introduction

This box set gathers together the first 36 TV episodes (out of a breathtaking 154) in the original animated `Fist of the North Star` series. Originally aired in Japan in the early 1980`s, this ultra-violent manga proved to be a runaway success.

`Fist` is an epic and sprawling tale set against a backdrop of post-nuclear devastation. The earth has been reduced to a pitifully barren landscape where humans struggle for survival against terrible odds. It`s a lawless and cruel world where vicious dictators, warlords, mutants and biker gangs terrorise the land. Pure Mad Max.

It`s a world where innocents are beheaded without reason and the weak are horribly abused.

But despite this bleak backdrop, there is a ray of hope in the form of a single man - Kenshiro. He`s a master of `Hokuto Shinken`, a martial art so complex and so powerful that only `Ken` can be entrusted with its power. He is known as the legendary `Fist of the North Star`, the man with `the seven scars`, souvenirs of a battle with Shin, the Fist of the South Star, his best friend who not only betrayed him, but who has turned to evil and the forces of darkness.

Ken is a man who combines the dexterity and power of Bruce Lee, who articulates in the half-whispered monosyllabic style of Clint Eastwood (in his Spaghetti Western period), and the physique of Schwarzenegger - on steroids!

Hokuto Shinken is a martial art supposedly based on the secret energy points of the human body that enable life. By striking them in various sequences, Ken can manipulate a person`s body in any way he chooses. He can press pressure points to cure disease, can strike a man with a single punch that will erase his memory and can hit a sequence of spots that will explode a mans head or break his spine after a specified number of seconds - usually just enough for his victims to contemplate the error of their ways before an agonising death.

Ken`s three older brothers all yearn for his power and the secrets that he will learn as part of his destiny. But greed has corrupted them and they plot to destroy him. When Ken learns that his brother Jagi has turned Shin against him, Ken swears revenge on his brothers once and for all.

So Ken sets out on an endless road-trip across the wasteland with a small group of companions, (including a humorous teenage side-kick and a small girl and her puppy) trying to track down his brothers and end the feud. He must explain that there can only ever be one true Fist of the North Star —and Ken is the chosen one.

The 36 episodes here take us on the first part of that adventure packed journey - across the best part of 17 hours.

Video

The animation here is reflective of the standards that were entirely acceptable in the home Japanese market of the early 1980`s. Since that time, manga transfers have become more sophisticated in their construction and outlook, with better use of movement, perspective and detail. That said, this is a first-class transfer with very little sign of wear or grain. Colour and contrast levels are good and detail is sharply represented.

Audio

Normally I take the purist view and recommend that an anime be watched with the original Japanese soundtrack and subtitles. In the case of `Fist of the North Star` I`d recommend that you make an exception. The original Japanese audio track is almost comical here with inappropriate musical accompaniment, and really cheesy voices and effects. Despite the drum and bass / metal hybrid soundtrack on the new English soundtrack, it`s fairly beefy and seems entirely in keeping with the action. Much attention and care has been paid to the choice of voices, and the spot effects throughout are nicely placed. Unlike the tinny Japanese track, the English Dolby 2.0 version is chunky enough to reflect the frenetic pace of the action. It`s a complete and total re-working too as I watched one episode twice and it was like two different programmes, the English version being infinitely preferable. Even the spot fx are different.

Features

There are some informative character bios, a next to pointless photo gallery, a `prologue`, the original Japanese credits, and some trailers for other anime available from Manga.
Considering that each of the six discs contains nearly three hours of material, as well as two soundtrack options, the feature set seems reasonable, though is repeated on each of the discs.

The packaging is a standard card keep-case with six standard plastic Amray cases contained therein. Within each of the discs is a fold out poster of Ken in action, which also doubles as an episode and chapter guide.

Conclusion

Fist of the North Star is a world apart from the sophisticated story lines that form the backbone of much popular anime today. It`s a one-plot series that`s like a never-ending post-apocalyptic road movie. But in its day it proved a really popular adaptation of a really popular manga. In fact, it even spawned a (misjudged) live action movie.

Twenty years on, presented here as cleaned up, re-worked prints, with new soundtrack and a re-edited title sequence, it doesn`t look bad at all. Sure, the animation is a little primitive, and the storyline is a little repetitive, but in general it`s a lot of mindless fun!

It`s actually a very moralistic tale, despite the relentless stream of ultra-violence - a magnificent battle of good over evil. Grotesque injustices, like a Father forced to play William Tell with his young son, are avenged by Ken who, using his incredible power, soon has whole armies of demented mutants exploding white blood over our screens. (Red was too `real` for the censors on its release).

It may feel a little dated to some, but even a hardened Ninja Scroll or Dragonball Z fan would have to raise a salute to it`s obvious influence on these later series.

The relentless violence, with exploding skulls and cracking spines, may not be to everyone`s tastes, but the almost formulaic repetition of bad behaviour instantly avenged could be seen as very therapeutic by some. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed this collection, and could easily envisage a repeat viewing before too long.

The set is nicely presented and, unlike so many anime discs, each disc is packed to the edges with content. Highly recommended to those who like their anime fast, furious and simple.