~Story~
The story is simple, having its setting in a post-nuclear apocalyptic world in which humanity regressed, where slavery and struggle for survival is commonplace. Martial arts are the main foundation for defense, and in the midst of it are two powerful schools, Hokuto Shinken and Nanto Seiken. There is one man, Kenshiro, who seeks to retrieve his love Yuria from Shin, a powerful member of the Nanto Seiken school.
This seems very generic, yet its main strength lies in its presentation and narrative. At first the story is of episodic nature, introducing different martial arts styles and characters, however as it progresses, arcs are introduced with more interesting characters and fleshing the main ones out. The battles presented are varied and engaging, where characters death are meaningful, and remain dead, and brutally so. Dialogues are simple and held to a minimum, yet meaningful to the story. Some viewers may wonder how martial arts can be a viable way to protect themselves, being in a post apocalyptic world where fire weapons should be abundant. This issue is solved by making the use of guns to a minimum, and having those considered as non-existent and forgotten, due to technological limitations.
~Characters~
There is a great variety of characters in Hokuto no Ken, being the main ones the different martial artists presented throughout the anime, dominated mainly by very "manly" man. However, character are plain and simple, and lack depth. For example, Kenshiro, successor of the Hokuto Shinken, is one dimensional with the only objective of defeating his opponents, undergoing barely any character development besides of some background information of his past. He may seem as an emotionless character, yet viewers observe how he actually has emotions. Nevertheless, this an issue that may be overlooked, as they're very likable as well formidable fighting machines. After all, it is pretty amusing to hear Kenshiro announce to his opponents "You are already dead" or "You don't deserve to live - Die!", which adds to the overall awe of the characters.
The martial artists of importance have background stories attached to them that explains their behaviour and motives in a convincing way, different to the stereotypical, one dimensional villains prevalent in other anime. The supporting cast of is mainly composed of two parties, the oppressed and helpless people, and the gangs composed of bandits with a Mohican hairstyle - yes, a Mohican hairstyle, which is hilarious. There is however other thing to mention, being the two children that follow Kenshiro: these have no purpose in the story other than to create unnecessary and typical situations. Nevertheless, the focus upon these are lessened as story progresses, which I personally found a good thing, as it could get pretty annoying and inmersion-breaking.
~Animation and sound~
The animation quality is dated, but after all this anime is from the 80's. Combat scenes are well drawn, yet some parts are rehashed and at times are simple static images. There is an evolution in the art style, being clearer and with more attention to the characters detail. There are some small inconsistencies to be found to, such as the infinite supply of Kenshiro's clothing, but this is easily overlooked, as it adds to the characters overall awe. Backgrounds are however limited to bleak and colorless wastelands, which is a bit depressing to look at over the span of 109 episodes. Not to mention how people die in the most bizarre way.
The character's voice actors matched well with the characters personalities, easily transmitting their emotions, being probably Kenshiro's voice actor the most memorable with his constant "ATATATATATATA" when fighting. Soundtracks used are very 80's like, yet matched well the story, with some very memorable tracks.
~Enjoyment~
Hokuto no Ken was overall a very enjoyable experience, which main focus lay in martial arts and its different styles presented through the different characters. The story itself is plain and simple, yet its presentation is the strongest point. Some scenes were very predictable and fillers were to be found, yet were entertaining. Recommendable to anyone who likes action based anime without unnecessary fan service, sharing similarities to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series in its "manly" battles. Not suitable for anyone looking for a deep story.
Thank you for reading.
