Fist of the North Star

AUTHOR: Buronson

ARTIST: Tetsuo Hara (illustrator)

PUBLISHER: Shueisha (Japanese); VIZ Media (English); Gutsoon! Entertainment (English)

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION:Hokuto no ken, 1983-1988 (partial English translation, 1989, 1995-1997)

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 1984-1989 (partial English translation, 1995-1997)

Publication History

Fist of the North Star (or Hokuto no ken, literally “fist of the big dipper”) was originally serialized in the Japanese comic magazine Weekly Shonen Jump, from 1983 to 1988. Fist of the North Star is the first major work by the writer-artist team of Buronson and Tetsuo Hara.

The series’ 245 chapters were originally collected in twenty-seven volumes by Shueisha; fifteen-volume hardcover and miniaturized editions were published during the 1990’s. In 2006, publisher Shogakukan released a fourteen-volume collector’s edition, featuring the original color pages from the series’ Weekly Shonen Jump run. The series has also been released in digital format, with downloads corresponding to the original twenty-seven-volume run.

There have been two attempts at an English translation, both unsuccessful. VIZ Media published the series as a monthly comic book in 1989, publishing enough content to produce a single collection. The series went on hiatus and was resumed in 1995, again as monthly issues, with enough content for three more volumes. Gutsoon! Entertainment revived the series from 2002 to 2004 as Fist of the North Star: Master Edition,which featured artwork colorized under the supervision of Hara and, beginning with Volume 4, an original cover by the artist. This version of the series lasted nine volumes before Gutsoon! Entertainment ended its involvement in the North American comics market. A complete translation of Fist of the North Star is not available in North America.

Plot

Fist of the North Star is a shonen adventure and melodrama series, inspired primarily by a mixture of martial-arts films and the Mad Max film series (1979, 1981, 1985). It follows Kenshiro, the master of the martial art Hokuto Shinken, as he wanders the world defending, and frequently avenging, the weak from less altruistic martial artists.

Though the exact date in which the series takes place is never given, nuclear war has devastated the planet, turning most cities into ruins and most of the land into barren desert. The remainder of humanity either ekes out a harsh existence trying to restore some semblance of civilization and agriculture or preys on the weak in roving gangs of marauders and slavers.

In this wasteland, Kenshiro collapses and is found by a group of villagers who imprison him until they can ascertain his motives. Kenshiro breaks free in time to rescue the village from the gang of the warlord Zeed. In the process, Kenshiro picks up two companions: the young thief Bat and the gentle child Lin.

Kenshiro is searching for Shin, a martial artist who practices Nanto Seiken. Shin was a friend of Kenshiro, but his secret and unrequited love for Kenshiro’s fiancé, Yuria, drove him mad. He attacked Kenshiro, leaving him with seven scars in the shape of the Big Dipper constellation, and kidnapped Yuria. Kenshiro discovers that Shin is now “King,” the leader of an army known as Southern Cross. The two former friends fight; Kenshiro emerges as the victor. Before he dies, Shin tells Kenshiro that Yuria committed suicide to escape the horrors he had perpetrated to build Southern Cross.

With his revenge taken and his reconciliation stolen, Kenshiro wanders aimlessly with the children, encountering and killing various brigands and monsters. He finds a new purpose when he meets Mamiya, a warrior woman who looks identical to Yuria, and Rei, a Nanto master who seeks revenge on “a man with seven scars on his chest,” The target of Rei’s revenge is actually Jagi, Kenshiro’s fellow Hokuto Shinken disciple, who has been framing Kenshiro for a slaving operation. Kenshiro kills Jagi, but not before Jagi reveals that the remaining two Hokuto “brothers” are still alive.

Kenshiro, Rei, and Mamiya search for the first of these brothers, Toki. They find him in the prison city of Cassandra, slowly dying of radiation poisoning but still a formidable martial artist. The final brother, Raoh, has reinvented himself as a powerful warlord, the Fist King. He tracks down Kenshiro and companions, defeating Toki, dealing Rei a terminal blow, and fighting Kenshiro to a standstill before departing.

Rei sacrifices his life to take revenge on a slaver who had previously captured and branded Mamiya. Mamiya remains with her village and takes care of Bat and Lin. Kenshiro continues wandering, encountering Thouzer, the cruel Holy Emperor of Nanto, while Toki and Raoh watch from a distance to see if he is truly worthy of being the grandmaster of Hokuto Shinken. Kenshiro defeats Thouzer, but word reaches Raoh that the last of the Nanto have mobilized under the banner of the mysterious Last Nanto General. Raoh defeats the general’s lieutenants and discovers that the general is in fact Yuria, saved from suicide by her bodyguards and kept in hiding until they could consolidate power for her. The remainder of her army gets word to Kenshiro that Yuria is alive and waiting for him, but he is too late to prevent Raoh from taking her.

Raoh and Kenshiro decide to settle things at Hokuto’s sacred grounds. Both unleash the ultimate technique of Hokuto Shinken on each other: a form of enlightenment borne of loss. In Kenshiro’s case, it comes from the loss of his various companions throughout his travels. In Raoh’s case, it comes from the knowledge that Yuria has a terminal illness (a fact that he reveals upon being defeated); this injustice—that even if Kenshiro reunites with Yuria their time would be short—was the only thing to reach Raoh’s heart. Raoh entreats Kenshiro to make the most of his time with Yuria and dies on his feet. Kenshiro and Yuria depart to finally be at peace for whatever time is allowed them.

Years later, Lin and Bat have grown up and become the leaders of a rebel force, the Hokuto Army. The widower Kenshiro returns to aid his former charges, as they become embroiled in the political intrigue taking place among the Hokuto army’s enemy, the Imperial Army. Lin discovers that her long-lost sister Liu is the Celestial Empress of the army, and the conspirators involved in keeping her imprisoned are rooted out and killed. The last conspirator kidnaps Lin and escapes to the warrior nation of Asura; Kenshiro follows, discovering that Asura is ruled by his long-lost brother Hyou and Raoh’s estranged brother Kaioh. Kenshiro’s fight with Hyou restores the latter’s memory, and Hyou rescues Lin while Kenshiro stops Kaioh. The final chapters of the series feature Kenshiro adventuring with Raoh’s orphaned son, Ryu, before leaving the boy to continue his training.

Volumes

Because Fist of the North Star has not been translated into English in its entirety, the following is a list of the tankobon published in Japanese.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 1 (1984). Collects chapters 1-8. Kenshiro saves Bat and Lin’s village, and then journeys with them to Southern Cross to confront Shin.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 2 (1984). Collects chapters 9-17. Kenshiro and Shin conclude their battle. Kenshiro encounters the remains of the Green Berets.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 3 (1984). Collects chapters 18-26. Kenshiro fails to save Bat’s adopted mother from the bandit Jackal, but he is able to avenge her death despite Jackal’s alliance with Devil Rebirth.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 4 (1984). Collects chapters 27-35. Kenshiro and Rei are hired by Mamiya’s village to fight the marauding Fang Clan after they murder her brother. Mamiya and Rei’s sister Airi are used by the clan to force Kenshiro and Rei to fight to the death, but they deceive their captors and kill the entire clan.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 5 (1985). Collects chapters 36-44. Kenshiro realizes that the man Rei seeks is Jagi. Kenshiro confronts and kills Jagi, but not before the latter reveals that both Toki and Raoh are still live.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 6 (1985). Collects chapters 45-53. Kenshiro is shocked to discover that the previously benevolent Toki has been subjecting innocent victims to experiments. Rei reveals that “Toki” is in fact Amiba.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 7 (1985). Collects chapters 54-62. Kenshiro and Mamiya rescue Toki from the prison city of Cassandra, a death camp for martial artists. Mamiya and Toki both see a star that serves as an omen of death.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 8 (1985). Collects chapters 63-71. Rei attempts to defend Mamiya’s village from Raoh, but the Fist King easily defeats him, striking a blow that will kill Rei over the span of days. Toki, despite his illness, faces Raoh in order to show Kenshiro the extent of the Fist King’s power.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 9 (1986). Collects chapters 72-80. Toki is defeated, and Kenshiro breaks free of Toki’s paralyzing hold in order to fight Raoh. They fight to a draw that leaves both men profoundly wounded. Mamiya goes to a neighboring village to collect medicine and is captured by slavers. Rei rescues her, despite the terminal wound he received from Raoh.

• Fist of the North Star,Volume 10 (1986) Collects chapters 81-89. Killing Juda, Rei dies from a previous injury. Kenshiro leaves Mamiya’s village and encounters Shu, a blind Nanto master whom Kenshiro knew as a child, and Thouzer, the remorseless Nanto Emperor.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 11 (1986). Collects chapters 90-98. Thouzer murders Shu during the construction of a giant monument to Thouzer’s deceased master. Kenshiro and Thouzer face off on the stairs of the monument.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 12 (1986). Collects chapters 99-107. Thouzer relates the source of his cruelty after Kenshiro deals him a fatal blow. A warrior named Ryuuga fights and gravely wounds Toki.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 13 (1986). Collects chapters 108-116. Kenshiro avenges Toki by killing Ryuuga, who reveals he is Yuria’s brother. Raoh begins clashing with the five guardians protecting the Last Nanto General.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 14 (1987). Collects chapters 117-125. Fudoh contacts Kenshiro and reveals that the Last Nanto General is Yuria. Raoh faces a childhood fear of Fudoh by challenging him to a duel. Raoh and Kenshiro both race to be the first to Yuria.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 15 (1987). Collects chapters 126-134. Raoh reaches Yuria first and takes her to the sacred Hokuto grounds. Kenshiro and Raoh meet for their final battle, both having achieved “Unconscious Transmigration of Souls,” the Hokuto Shinken ultimate technique.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 16 (1987). Collects chapters 135-143. Kenshiro and Raoh conclude their battle, with Kenshiro victorious. Yuria and Kenshiro leave to live in temporary peace. Years later, Kenshiro returns to find Bat and Lin have become rebel leaders.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 17 (1987). Collects chapters 144-152. Kenshiro and his allies come into conflict with Falco.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 18 (1987). Collects chapters 153-161. Ein is killed in the process of restoring the Imperial Empress to her throne. Lin discovers the empress is her sister. The remaining conspirator absconds with Lin to the land of Asura.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 19 (1987). Collects chapters 162-170. Kenshiro journeys to Asura to rescue Lin. He encounters and defeats various Asura masters.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 20 (1988). Collects chapters 171-179. Kenshiro defeats Han, one of the three kings of Asura. He encounters the remnants of Raoh’s forces in Asura when he is mistaken for the Fist King.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 21 (1988). Collects chapters 180-188. Hyou, the second king of Asura and Kenshiro’s long-lost brother, mobilizes to avenge Han. Kenshiro fights the remnants of Raoh’s army.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 22 (1988). Collects chapters 189-197. Hyou and Kenshiro clash, restoring Hyou’s memory. Kaioh appears.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 23 (1988). Collects chapters 198-206. Kenshiro and Kaioh clash when Kaioh learns that Hyou and Kenshiro have been reunited. Kaioh also attempts to make Lin his bride.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 24 (1988). Collects chapters 207-215. The history of Hokuto Shinken is recounted. Kenshiro seeks out Raoh’s son Ryu as a possible successor.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 25 (1988). Collects chapters 216-225. Kenshiro and Ryu stop a former subordinate of Raoh’s from hoarding food at the expense of neighboring villages before becoming embroiled in a three-way power struggle between rival princes.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 26 (1989). Collects chapters 226-235. Kenshiro encounters and defeats Baran, a former general of Raoh’s, who has dedicated himself to carrying on Raoh’s legacy and has already conquered a kingdom.

• Fist of the North Star, Volume 27 (1989). Collects chapters 236-245. Learning how Raoh died, Baran repents and has himself executed for his crimes. A thug Kenshiro once blinded comes seeking revenge. Bat disguises himself as Kenshiro in the hopes that, if “Kenshiro” is killed, the actual Kenshiro can live in peace with Lin.

Characters

• Kenshiro, the protagonist, is a muscular Japanese man with short, shaggy hair and bushy eyebrows. He is sometimes called “the Man with Seven Scars” because of seven puncture-wound scars that cover most of his torso. He is the successor of the martial art of Hokuto Shinken, an assassin’s art. Despite this, Kenshiro was a gentle man until his fiancé, Yuria, was taken from him. On his quest to reunite with her, he becomes a force for justice in the wasteland.

• Yuria, Kenshiro’s fiancé, is a serene woman with flowing black and blue hair, widely regarded in the series as the most beautiful woman in the world. She cannot abide the suffering of others. After a long period during which she is presumed dead, she remerges as the Last Nanto General.

• Bat, a young thief whom Kenshiro befriends at the beginning of the series, is a rambunctious young boy with a mop of hair that covers one eye and who wears a signature pair of goggles; he later grows into a muscular martial artist. He initially joins with Kenshiro, believing Kenshiro’s strength can be used for personal gain. He becomes more altruistic as the series progresses, eventually leading a rebel army alongside Lin to free the land from the tyrannical Imperial Army.

• Lin is a girl who was rendered mute until Kenshiro cures her. She has short hair and a tied headband, but she grows into a beauty that rivals Yuria’s. Her sincerity and innocence can stay the hand of fiercer characters. She eventually becomes the coleader of a rebel force with Bat.

• Shin, the first antagonist, is a muscular man with straight blond hair and bangs. Shin is a Nanto Seiken master who was once Kenshiro’s best friend and harbored a secret love for Yuria. Eventually, this love drove him mad. He beats Kenshiro in front of Yuria, giving Kenshiro his distinctive seven scars.

• Toki, a Hokuto Shinken practitioner, is a muscular man with sunken eyes, a thin beard, and long hair. He wears simple rags. He is one of four students of Hokuto Shinken (the others are Kenshiro, Jagi, and Raoh). While he is perhaps the most skilled of the four, he is only interested in using the pressure point techniques to heal afflictions. His health is ruined by radiation fallout, and he spends most of the series in an enervated state.

• Raoh, the primary antagonist for half the series, is a massive, muscular figure with piercing eyes and short cropped hair. He is a Hokuto Shinken student and Toki’s brother. His ambition was to be the strongest fighter in the world, and thus he was unable to accept the law that there could only be one practitioner of Hokuto Shinken at a time. As such, when it comes time for him to lose his Hokuto training, he kills Ryuuken, the previous Hokuto master. He reinvents himself as the Fist King, amassing a mighty army and becoming a major power in the world. His ambition is ended only by a final fight with Kenshiro.

• Hyou, Kenshiro’s long-lost brother and an antagonist in the later third of the series, has long hair and a scar on his forehead. He is one of the three rulers of Asura and is initially benevolent; the death of a loved one drives him temporarily mad. A battle with Kenshiro restores his memory and sense of self.

• Kaioh, the major antagonist of the last third of the series, is Raoh and Toki’s estranged older brother. He looks much like Raoh, only taller and darker, with a scarred face. He is a prodigious warrior with megalomaniacal delusions and a searing resentment of the Hokuto bloodline, represented by Kenshiro and Hyou.

Artistic Style

Fist of the North Star draws its aesthetic from the postapocalyptic cinema of the 1970’s and 1980’s and the martial arts cinema boom of the 1970’s. While it is not wholly inaccurate to describe the look of the series as “Bruce Lee as Mad Max,” Fist of the North Star’s visual style is one that has been frequently imitated and parodied.

The series’ character designs are its distinguishing Artistic features. Invariably, the characters are impossibly muscular, lantern-jawed supermen, whose eyes are either squinted with steely determination or utterly dead with cruelty. The hair styles (mullets and Mohawks abound) and the widespread use of leather, jumpsuits, and shoulder pads as the standard fashion of the day all mark the series as a product of 1980’s apocalyptic pop culture. Also aging the series is Hara’s figure work, which is frequently stiff; his depiction of martial arts relies less on fluidity of motion and more on speed lines and afterimages to depict the transition of a punch or kick.

Nonetheless, the stiffness of the characters seems to suit a series whose setting is a barren wasteland. It gives the series a texture of grit and heaviness that also suits the desert world and the martial arts melodrama contained within.

Whereas Hara’s figures are often stiff, his expressions are anything but. Not overly given to the exaggeration often attributed to Japanese artists, Hara is a master of the cruel sneer, the pitiless glare, and the mixture of unbreakable will and profound loss that many of the characters carry with them through their battles.

The series uses the Artistic convention of listing attack names; characters often shout the name of their techniques. Thus, when a technique is important enough that a character shouts its name, readers come to understand that it is a potentially fight-changing move.

Themes

Fist of the North Star is ultimately a meditation on loss. On a broad scale, the loss of civilization to atomic war forms the backdrop to the series and splits the cast into two ideologies. The heroic characters deal with the end of civilization by trying to restore, defend, and improve the lives of those around them. The villainous characters take advantage of the newly lawless age to pursue their own ambitions at the cost of their fellow man. To this end, all conflicts in the series come down to a heroic character defending the helpless from a villainous character, or punishing a villain for preying on those who cannot defend themselves.

The individual characters all find motives and origins relating in some way to the theme of loss. The loss of a loved one drives both Thouzer and Rei to cruelty; Rei is able to recover his humanity only by regaining that loved one. Jagi’s loss of face to Kenshiro drives his desire for revenge. Toki is defined by a terminal illness that destroys his potential. The prospective loss of his ability to use martial arts is what spurs Raoh to kill his master and set off on his path as the Fist King. The thought of not being strong enough to keep Yuria safe imbues Shin with the mad obsession that leads him to take Yuria from Kenshiro.

The theme of loss is more defined in Kenshiro’s experiences. The loss of his fiancé awakens in him a lethal sense of justice, which enables him to be a judge and executioner in the postapocalyptic wasteland. Most subsequent story arcs follow a formula of Kenshiro gaining, then losing, a companion. This companion is usually a fellow martial artist, whose death teaches Kenshiro some new technique or philosophy that then adds to his martial-arts prowess. Indeed, the final and most powerful technique of Hokuto Shinken is revealed to be a form of enlightenment derived from feeling true sorrow.

Impact

Fist of the North Star is considered to be a part of the Golden Age of Jump titles—one of the immensely popular, long-running series published during the 1985-1995 stretch in which Weekly Shonen Jump’s popularity and subscription numbers skyrocketed.

Fist of the North Star’s biggest impact is as a Japanese cultural reference point, elements of which are still a source of either homage or parody in modern anime and manga. The muscular, gravely serious character designs have become visual shorthand for sudden seriousness in more lighthearted series and in parody art of more cartoonish characters.

Kenshiro’s trademark attack, a series of punches thrown at such rapid speed that the afterimages imply a wave of fists coming at the target, has become a ubiquitous storytelling technique in “battle manga” to show flurries of blows. Kenshiro’s rapid kung-fu shouts while throwing these punches have also become a frequently used trope. While a rich mine for parody, Fist of the North Star is a seminal series when it comes to fighting comics. The series’ popularity has spawned numerous adaptations in animation and video games, multiple action figures and collectibles, a prequel by Hara, and a series of short side stories focusing on various supporting characters by new artists and writers.

Films

Fist of the North Star. Directed by Toyoo Ashida. Shueisha/Toei Animation Company, 1986. This film adaptation stars Akira Kamiya as Kenshiro and Kenji Utsumi as Raoh. The film significantly condenses the events leading to Kenshiro and Raoh’s first confrontation. The theatrical and home-video versions of the movie have different endings. The English-language adaptation by Streamline was poorly received and may have played a role in the series’ repeated failure to connect with North American audiences.

Fist of the North Star. Directed by Tony Randel. First Look International, 1995. This live-action film adaptation stars Gary Daniels as Kenshiro and Costas Mandylor as Shin. The film is a loose retelling of the Shin arc of the comic.

Television Series

Fist of the North Star. Directed by Toyoo Ashida and Ichiro Itano. Fuji Television Network/Toei Animation/Shueisha, 1984-1987. This program stars Kamiya as Kenshiro and ran for 104 episodes. The series takes several liberties with the stories, especially in the first season, in which many characters and events are shuffled and retooled. The other notable change is the removal of the rather graphic depictions of how Hokuto Shinken destroys a target’s body.

Fist of the North Star 2. Directed by Toyoo Ashida. Toei Animation, 1987-1988. This sequel to the original series features Kamiya returning to the role of Kenshiro and ran for forty-three episodes. Whereas the original series ended with the final confrontation between Kenshiro and Raoh, Fist of the North Star 2 begins after this event and concludes with the Asura arc.

Further Reading

Araki, Hirohiko. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (1987-1999).

Jodorowsky, Alejandro, and Juan Gimenez. The Meta-barons (1992-2003).

Miura, Kentaro. Berserk (1990- ).

Bibliography

“The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump.” Comi-Press, May 6, 2007. http://comipress.com/article//1923.

Yadao, Jason S. The Rough Guide to Manga. New York: Rough Guides, 2009.

Zaleski, Jeff. “Fist of the Northstar.” Review of Fist of the Northstar, by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. Publishers Weekly 250, no. 20 (May 19, 2003): 55.