Fist Of The North Star: The Movie

3 Ratings: 2.7

Densetsu Hokuto no Ken?, Fist of the North Star the Movie: Legend of the Century's End Savior) is a 1986 Japanese animated film adaptation of the manga series of the same name

Fist of the North Star (劇場版世紀末救世主伝説北斗の拳, Gekijōban Seikimatsu Kyūseishu Densetsu Hokuto no Ken?, Fist of the North Star the Movie: Legend of the Century's End Savior) is a 1986 Japanese animated film adaptation of the manga series of the … see full wiki

Tags: Movies, Action Movies, Action, Anime, Animated Movies, Japan, see all

Genre: Animation

Release Date: March 8, 1986

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Some folks consider this one of the top 5 greats in anime. You don't listen to those folks.

Sep 23, 2011

by Madpenguin
posted in ASIANatomy

Rating:

The Earth is plundered and becomes an almost completely dead planet. As a result, clean water and food are scarce. Many bandits and would be kings engage in war to wipe out the other. Due to these events, innocent people are caught in the crossfire and they happen to fall victim to tyrants and would be kings.

Kenshiro, the master of a deadly art called "Hokuto No Ken" stands up for the weak. But, he too falls victim to a self proclaimed king when he's beaten in battle, and his woman named Yuria is taken. Now, Ken must recover from his wounds, and seek out the man who defeated him. While Ken seeks to reclaim his woman, his brother The Fist King is attempting to conquer all rival territories. -summary

Another case where the saying "so bad it's good" and the title "cult classic" are hurled around without mercy. However, those of us who know better understand nostalgia is the biggest reason this movie has such a solid fan base. Along with Vampire Hunter D, this is one of the very first anime titles many long time fans have seen and they take that under serious consideration. But in all honesty, these are not at all reasons for me to believe it's a good movie. Make no mistake, Fist of the North Star aka Hokuto No Ken is not even close to a good movie. For me, it's a bad one that gets worse but it redeems itself somewhat. It has a lot of use for those drunken group gatherings.

In defense of FOTNS, it really isn't the fault of the movie. I blame the writers for taking a 100+ episode series and packing it into a near two hour movie. The story and the post apocalyptic setting is rather interesting, to include, the fighting styles of the different tribes can pique ones interest. Now, where the series and the manga both do a good job fleshing out the story, the movie does not. The condensing was too extreme and FOTNS comes off as nothing more than a mere action filled and very mindless anime, which is jam packed with obsessive gore. Seriously, titles like these make the so called masterpieces look a lot better.

The biggest and only attributes FOTNS has going for it is the violence and gore. The death scenes in this movie make Ninja Scroll appear tame in comparison. Kenshiro's martial art causes his enemies heads to explode into pieces. Another character soon appears with an art just as deadly but very different. He adds a great deal of variety, and delivers some brutal action scenes. It took a very sick, and not a creative mind to conjure up something like this. However, the problem with these over-exaggerated deaths is after awhile, they begin to lose their shock value due to redundancy.

Animation is another issue. Fans of the constant reused cel style, which is disguised as the super fast fighting found in Dragonball Z, will be pleased with some of the battles for the most part. I'm not a fan of this style of fight choreography; I find it to be just another lazy short cut, and some action scenes have decent animation at best, as it delivers some very brutal looking death scenes. I'm not too crazy about the artwork at all. Too many characters are done with the same models, with only differences in hair style or color telling them apart, and it can be very inconsistent. One scene Ken appears to be about regular height, around 6 ft or so, then he'll appear to be like close to 8 ft. This also applies to various villains who wouldn't look so big at first until they fall down, appearing to be much larger than they originally were. The soundtrack has a decent score that at times fits well with the setting, but on other occasions, it's just insipid and cheesy 80's music. The voice acting and dialogue is cheese galore.

FOTNS does have its glaring problems, but two elements that it does get right, and are always over looked happens to be the setting and characterization. The world is hell and it shows through the devastation. The personalities of the characters reflect that, and are portrayed very well depicting this world. It's clearly a world where only the strong can survive. Traveling groups of people are ambushed and viciously murdered for their valuables.

I understand that FOTNS, like many titles has some influence on a genre. But I don't recall ever being the type to recommend anything because of its influence. If I don't think something is good, then I'm not recommending it to everyone. Only a select few, and if you love mindless and gory violence. This movie is definitely for you.

Also, this particular DVD is a new release. There are no extra scenes of any type. Instead, what it does have is a clearer picture and sound, to include, it's in full screen format. For the most part, all of the grain from the original release is cleaned up. The only problem that I noticed is for some of the early action scenes, the picture appears to fade a little and has a softer look. I only recommend this release to die hard fans who would love a clearer copy, or anyone who is curious on seeing it anyway.

Pros:
-Incredibly gory violence, new release has clean look, great for drunken parties

Cons:
-Weak plot, incoherent, not much variety in art work, gimmick over stays welcome

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RabidChihuahua September 24, 2011

You already know I'm not a fan of FOTNS, either. It's titles like this that really make me hate most of the anime fanbase. I say this because I think Eastern Star is picking up distribution rights to Fist of the North Star (and other older anime) yet there's much better older ones like Doomed Megalopolis that are still lingering in obscurity because of the fans calling FOTNS "classic" yet deeming DM as "misogynistic garbage." While I'm talking about FOTNS, I remember one scene where one of the female characters starts crying after she sees a flower, saying it was "so beautiful." I thought that seen dripped with the utmost syruppy sentimentality, even during my first and only viewing nine years ago.

Madpenguin September 24, 2011

In the case of anime like Fist of the Northstar, Vampire Hunter D, Guyver, Golgo 13, and 8 Man. It's not the true otakus who hold those titles in high, high, regards. I been in more than enough discussions on forums to know this. It's casual anime fans, you know, the ones who swear they know so much but don't know shit. Diehard anime fans spit on those titles on a regular basis. Here's a true fact, I spoke to someone about 3 years ago who argued with me that Vampire Hunter D, Fist of the Northstar, and Akira are in the top five greatest of all time, I didn't even bother to ask what the other two were. I asked him has he heard of Miyazaki or Kon. He said, "I never saw those two movies before". Those are the type of fans who are praising those titles.

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woopak_the_thrill September 24, 2011

Heh. Admittedly I would keep this running in the background when I am tired and bored, and not need to see anything more complex. This can be fun, greatest..no.

Madpenguin September 24, 2011

When I'm looking for something to turn off the brain I rather throw on Dragonball Z movies, at least they're shorter than this.

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woopak_the_thrill September 24, 2011

I just ordered the new editionsof DBZ KAI. I liked what I saw in CW12.

Madpenguin September 24, 2011

Kick out a review when you get done with it. But personally, I'm done with DBZ. It's just too damn long with too much filler.

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FM_ALEX September 24, 2011

Yeah cuz thinks this is one of the all time greats, as for that other you mention. You know I LOVE Vampire Hunter D.

Madpenguin September 24, 2011

Neither one of them are anything I consider special. However, atleast Vampire Hunter D has redeeming qualities and a decent storyline despite a major plot issue towards the end, plus it does a good job utilizing its horror element. This provokes laughs when it's trying not to.

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