First Impression: Fist of the North Star: Hokuto no Ken

In the year 199X, the world had been mostly destroyed by nuclear war. Water, food, plants, and humanity have almost gone extinct. This leaves the remaining people to fend for themselves, piliging and murdering just to get basic sustenance. Everything seems to be a desolate wasteland with nothing but ruins and dust. Ken, a wandering fighter, is captured while looking for food. He ends up in prison with a young boy and befriends the jail guard, as well as a young girl who doesn’t speak. A gang of thieves on motorcycles arrives in the town looking for food, killing those who get in their way; Ken easily breaks through the bars—and a battle, if you could call it that, begins!

A classic has returned. Fist Of The North Star: HOKUTO NO KEN is a remake of the gory, original 1980s anime— that gruesome violence that hasn’t changed. I saw the original Fist Of The North Star on VHS when I was a kid at a friend’s house. It was a bit shocking to see so much gore when Ken kills an enemy, and this remake doesn’t hold back. But it’s all cell-shaded and 3D, so I didn’t like the animation very much. Especially in the beginning, you have to give it a while to hopefully get used to it. I would have preferred the typical anime style, though.  It moves a bit slowly for my taste, and I had to be careful watching it with my family around since the scenes are super graphic when Ken fights. Just know, you’ll be able to see how people look on the inside, which isn’t pleasant! This one isn’t for me. It wasn’t the violence that put me off, but the animation and lack of direction during the first two episodes. There’s no main plot point hinted at, but maybe that comes later. I still may watch a few more episodes, but am likely to drop this one. However, if you’ve never seen the original or read the manga, you may want to try it out to see what a big deal this series is. The first two episodes are available now, and two more drop next week.

Fist of the North Star: Hokuto no Ken is streaming on Prime Video.

Samuru
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