Shin Hokuto no Ken

Throughout the years, when long time anime fans in my group would get together with intentions on discussing some of the most brutal, and violent anime titles to ever exist. Fist of the North Star aka Hokuto No Ken was one of the titles that would always come up. The series and movies were the very definition of gratuitous violence. The New Fist of the North Star continues to follow that bloody path packing a little more depth than the original movie. There is a small amount of substance to be found, and the subject it does hit on can be frightening.

The series does have ... a stable plot overall. At least one of the characters fill his role in pushing the story and delivering a very realistic plot twist. The main character Kenshiro, even though he's the hero of the story is kind of overshadowed. Kenshiro is mainly present to deliver final justice, by engaging in some uninspired hand to hand battles. However, he is still very easy to cheer for. Kenshiro appears to almost be an antihero with his merciless streak, but when looking at the crimes committed by the villains; their very gruesome and painful deaths are well deserved. He also delivers some pretty good lines before delivering execution. The second main character named Tobi proves to be the most interesting with his transition that I refuse to spoil.

This is a very violent series, this is a point that must be driven home for those whom shun these type of shows. For those that love it brace yourselves, because it maintains the brutal tone almost completely throughout. Fist of the North Star knows what it wants to be and the comedy is kept very low. The fight scenes are very well detailed with its gore. You practically get the whole nine yards: decapitations, bodies chopped in half, brains and guts exploding out of people left and right, brutal deaths by various weapons with lots of blood. I believe this series is a gore hounds wet dream. Plus you get quite a bit of fan service.

The original movie gave some detail but this series somewhat paints a better picture of the misery taking place in this world. The rulers are very evil and abusive to the weak. Plus, you see the negative effects taking place with the people and how it influences their behavior.

The apex of the series to me is the depiction of people's belief in a higher power. I believe this is the most over looked point of the series. The writers hit the mark to me by displaying the fanaticism in a higher power when people have lost all hope, and their only salvation is to believe in a god; the thing that helps this theme work better is the fact there is a god they can actually see, which helps give them the will to fight and die, because they believe they're going to end up in god's hands. This makes their fanatical ways all the more believable.

Animation and artwork is a mixed bag here. As the series went on I noticed a decline in both. The character designs are very good, especially with the women(but then again isn't it always?), but I did notice it wasn't consistent. Sometimes characters would appear bigger than what they really were, and there wasn't too much variety in generic characters. The animation was hurt badly with the use of CGI which ruined some of the backgrounds.

The characters also seemed too stiff and lacked some movement, especially during the fights. The animation didn't really flow well at all. There are also a large use of stills and some reused scenes. As always, music is subjective but I didn't find the rock soundtrack to be anything special.

The New Fist of the North Star could have been a very well above average series but several other things dragged it down; such as the ending and the female lead Sara. She served a small purpose, but I found her personality at the end to be too unrealistic. This also goes for Kenshiro as well. I will also mention that there is a non too graphic rape scene.

Overall, I don't find the series to be bad. It's good if you're looking for some gory fight scenes. As a matter of fact, along with fans of the franchise, those are the only people I would recommend this to.

Highs: Lots of action, plot twist, interesting and realistic theme

Lows: Gratuitous violence will put off some, weak ending, sub par animation, missed potential

*sigh*
I always want a hokuto no ken remake CAN YOU IMAGINE HOKUTO NO KEN FIGHTS WITH MODERN ANIMATION!!!!!??????
and the most close for this is Shin Hokuto no Ken
starting overview:
ART&SOUND:
The animations most of the time is good the battles are very good the soundtrack is not great like original but is good. good in this apart they care about the remake. is fun to watch .
STORY&CHARACTERS:
THE ORIGINAL HAS MORE THAN 60 EPISODES THIS ARE 3
yes, the passing is fast they only take important arcs of the original but this important arcs have a good time ... also you don't care about character like original the motivations developing etc. of the characters is incomplete but are not bad overall that the characters have are cool
CONCLUSION
6/10
DECENT
The original was a war, drama , deep, etc.
This version feels more like a rule of cool but is cool

If you're reading this before watching, skip the intro theme when you do watch it. There's pretty much no animation in it. Not worth the few minutes it takes.

The plot is the same as any of the plots used throughout Hokuto no Ken. Bad guys enslave innocent villagers, innocent villagers try to find peace and get slaughtered, Kenshiro avenges them by painting the walls with the innards of the baddies. I watched all the episodes in the original series, and it really was just that over and over again, just with a new, more powerful main villain to replace the last.

I think the only ... real reason people watch Hokuto no Ken is to see people get axed in the back, showered with arrows, slashed apart, and to see heads explode... And I suppose you'll find that here. Senseless, excessive violence with a weak plot.
I don't know exactly how long it's been since the world ended (or if it was mentioned, I forgot), but it's probably been at least 10 years judging by Lynn's age... Kenshiro's name spread across the lands and instilled fear in gangs everywhere. He defeated every great power. I really don't get why they'd still dare try to mess with peace when they're guaranteed certain death. Really, he defeated the baddest of bad in Hokuto no Ken 2. I suppose what these OVAs are saying is that the series will never have a true ending.

Well, it's kind of entertaining to watch. I suppose you'll have a hard time finding other anime with this kind of violence. Watch Hellsing Ultimate - it has better animation, story, more intense fight scenes, and more blood, but less guts.

In Russian.
Hokuto no Ken является одним из первых(если не первым) "пафосных" тайтлов, сюжет там был не важен, важны были персонажи, то как они себя ведут, и под какую музыку, они себя ведут. В итоге эмоции в конце одолевали больше чем какой-нибудь Kanon, или Elfen Lied. Что же мы видим тут:
• Сэю, главный сэю упущен, да они взяли хорошего сэю, но он вообще не подходит Кену.
• Сюжет, создатели абсолютно забили на все что мог Кенширо в конце второго сезона, да даже в середине первого.
• Музыка, какой то невнятный метал, который как бы ни идет Hokuto no Ken
• Плохое 3д, если не умели в него, так зачем пихать.
В итоге это хуже ... заурядного эпизода первого сезона, никому не рекомендую смотреть.

In English
Hokuto no Ken is one of the first (if not the first) "pretentious" titles, the plot there was not important, the characters were important, how they behave, and under what music, they behave. As a result, emotions at the end were more prevalent than any Kanon, or Elfen Lied. What do we see here:
• Sayu, the chief seya was missed, but they took a good seya, but he does not fit Ken at all.
• The plot, the creators absolutely scored on everything that Kenshiro could at the end of the second season, and even in the middle of the first.
• Music, some kind of indistinct metal, which no matter how it goes Hokuto no Ken
• Bad 3d, if you did not know how to do it, so why shove it.
In the end, this is worse than the ordinary episode of the first season, I do not recommend anyone to watch.

Keshiro is for me the Ares of that post-apocalyptic world. He is a self-righteous individual who plays the role of a vigilante that punishes those that are evil. Why do I compare him to a God? Because once you have challenged his fist and if you have angered him then your fate is sealed. And that fate can only be death. Aside from Kenshiro and his main enemies, the plot is not that interesting and although gore, violence, and bloodshed can be seen throughout these three episodes, nudity or sexual abuse was left out. Even the scene in which Sarah loses her virginity is left ... out due to no apparent reason other than the spectator has no wish to see other dirty facades of that reality. If you are going to build a realistic dystopia then do not leave out details that might reveal once more just how hopeless is the world in which Kenshiro resides.