Fist of the North Star Volume 1

Starring:Akira Kamiya, Yuriko Yamamoto, Kenji Utsumi, Chikao Ã”tsuka, Toshio Furukawa, Kaneto Shiozawa, Tomiko Suzuki, Mie Suzuki, Arisa AndÃ´, Junji Chiba, Hidekatsu Shibata, Junpei Takiguchi, Takeshi Aono, Hiroshi Ã”take, Daisuke GÃ´ri, Takeshi Watabe, JÃ´ji Yanami, KÃ´hei Miyauchi, YasurÃ´ Tanaka, KÃ´ji Yada
Director: Toyoo Ashida
Studio: Manga Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken, literally Ken the Great Bear Fist) which premiered on Japanese television in 1984, looks like a Saturday morning version of Mad Max starring a caricature of Sylvester Stallone. Searching for his lost love, Julia, Ken(shiro) wanders an Earth that was devastated by nuclear war. In each episode, he takes on a new sadistic motorcycle gang. (Food and water are scarce, but there's apparently plenty of gasoline.) In his travels, Ken acquires two sidekicks: Bart, a comic musician-thief, and Lynn, an adoring little girl. Ken is the last master of secret Chinese martial arts techniques: his specialty is making foes blow up from the inside. In every episode, several heads explode, actions that would be quite gory if they weren't so crudely animated. (Rated 13 and older, but more appropriate for 15 and older: considerable violence, profanity, grotesque imagery, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

Easily One of the Best Movies; Deep Themes, Love, & Kung-Fu.......2006-02-14

You have to get the original movie version, not the new or old series. This film kicks so much ass, it's an apocalyptic kung-fu movie about fighting for good instead of wasting what is left of the earth on oppression and power over others with brute force and fear. The sons of a martial arts master have all grown powerful beyond belief, and when an old friend of Ken, the youngest and noblest son, decides to demand Ken's woman out of jealousy, The Fist of the Northstar (Ken) is defeated and all of the brothers start seizing power in their own barren lands, and starts the twisted fate of the revitalisation of the Earth.

The anime series (both of them) and the original movie remake can't possibly compare at all with the greatness of the ORION japanimation movie, the whole movie has a point and uses kung-fu and love to make an interesting story about doing what's right in a new dark age of man, eventually giving hope for the fate of a better future.

What The Hell???.......2005-09-28

The reviews for this item are about the LIVE ACTION FILM and not Volume 5 of the TV series Fist Of The North Star derived from the serialized strip and manga of the same name. This review is ACTUALLY about Fist Of The North Star Volume 5 which contains episodes 29-36 in the 1984 Toei Animation series.

The 5th DVD in this collection follows the Fang Clan/Toki storyline of the series. Ken is the Heir Of Hokuto Shinken, the LONE practioner/possessor of the power of the School Of The Great Bear. This series is an offshoot of the manga. Those of you that saw the ANIME FILM FIRST WILL BE CONFUSED AS HELL BY THE SERIES!

The film came TWO YEARS AFTER THE TV SERIES WAS PRODUCED. In the film Julia/Yulia/Yuria lives. In the manga/series she dies. In the film Rei dies. In the manga/series he lives. Raoh DOES NOT MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN THE SERIES...HE IS SHOWN AND MENTIONED BUT IS NEVER ENCOUNTERED. Toki appears (sort of) in the series/manga BUT NOT IN THE MOVIE...HE IS NEVER EVEN MENTIONED!
Bart (or Bat as he's known in the manga) and Lynne are with Ken throughout the 36 episodes, as are a few friends that end up dead and finish with Mamiya, the warrior woman. At the end of the series, you realize that it was made so that ANOTHER 36 EPISODES WERE FORTHCOMING...IT NEVER HAPPENED. I'll fill you in on what comes next (hint: The New Fist Of The North Star and Movie explained it).

Ken hunts for Toki, he runs into Raoh's minions and beats them all with Mamiya, Rei, Bart and Lynne in tow. He never finds Toki. Mamiya dies. Rei dies. He fights Raoh and beats him. Raoh sees he was wrong and pays respect to Ryuken's grave. He comes back and Ken becomes his advisor/counselor. Raoh has a son. Ken agrees to teach Raoh's son since he is the only heir to Hokuto Shinken. Ken leaves AGAIN to find Toki....he ends up in The New Fist Of The North Star. Confused? Of course you are! If you're not a fan of the series and need closure on how the quest pans out then don't bother yourself. If you are then you better try looking on the internet for all of the Fist stories you can find. One.

Gore Galore.......2005-07-30

This without a doubt one of the best anime's ever. The story is great and the action scenes is some of the best I ever seen and I been watchin anime for years. But these prices is insane. This movie is not worth 80 bucks. I know websites to find this for at least 9.95 but if I wrote it down, then these price gougin' goofs would probably buy all the s*** up and sell'em for these wacked out prices. This movie is awesome but you can find it cheaper.
Well I go ahead and hopefully give a helpful review. Fist of the northstar takes place during post apocalyptic time on earth where food and water is scarce. There's armies fighting for the best land and survival. The main character Ken delivers final justice to those who oppress the weak. The fighting scenes are possibly the best you will ever see. I highly recommend this movie but not for the price these goofs is chargin'.

How are there only 5 left in stock (right now)...?.......2005-04-18

Fist of the North Star is so unbelievably retardation-inducing it's hilarious. In that sense, and that sense alone, it is entertaining. But...my God, I don't even know where to begin in critiquing that show. So I'll just say the first couple of things that enter my mind. That girl, Lynn, is the most absurdly high-pitched annoyance out of all the main female characters - everytime I hear her say "Ken!, my ears feel like Kenshiro himself has punctured them. She serves as a perpetual reminder of why I converted to manga in the first place (lack of painful audio). I swear, she and the other kid must have only been put in the series to mock other anime children. Julia is not beautiful, just annoying. It's as pathetically simplistic as an NES game, but without the nostalgic or warm feelings. The artwork is horrendous.

This anime makes the Mortal Kombat movies look like martial arts masterpieces and Ranma 1/2 look serious.

As for the rest of the critique, I think it would be best for me to simply transcribe the gorgeously non-cliched script:
You're already dead!
You're already dead!
YURIAAAAA (Julia) !
YURIAAAAA (Julia) !
YURIAAAAA (Julia) !
YURIAAAAA (Julia) !
HELL HELL HELL!
Pressure point attack!
Pressure point attack!
Pressure point attack!
Love me Julia, love me! LOVE ME!
Evil bad people disturb our village!
Evil bad people disturb out village!

Sorry for the spam, but I figured some would enjoy it, since some enjoy the show.

One of the best anime of all time!.......2005-01-20

The Fist of the North Star full feature film mst be one of the best anime films ever made. Along with Akira, this film endoctrinates Westerners to the immense creativity, the culture, and the twisted minds of the Japanese animators. For those of you who still haven't witnessed a Japanaimation flick, now is a good time to start.

This film is not entirely faithful to the 30 minute cartoons, it does capture the essence of the story line. A story in it of itself is deep and complicated, using universal themes that anyone can relate to. It melds together the fear of, and the reality of a nuclear holocaust, with the fantastic feats that were never possible with martial arts.

Check out this film. Don't think of it as just a cartoon. Anima, and Manga are an important part of the Japanese culture, and should be viewed with that in mind. And by the way, this film is definately not for kids!

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