Fist of the North Star (1986)

A practitioner of the deadly martial art "Hokuto Shinken" allies with two children and an expert in "Nanto Suicho-Ken" to fight against the rivals who kidnapped his lover and threaten the prosperity of mankind.

Director:

Toyoo Ashida

Writers:

Buronson (comic), Tetsuo Hara (comic)

Stars:

Akira Kamiya, Yuriko Yamamoto, Kenji Utsumi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akira Kamiya	...	Kenshiro (voice)
Yuriko Yamamoto	...	Yuria (voice)
Kenji Utsumi	...	Raoh (voice)
Chikao Ohtsuka	...	Jagi (voice)
Toshio Furukawa	...	Shin (voice)
Kaneto Shiozawa	...	Rei (voice)
Tomiko Suzuki	...	Lin (voice)
Teiyû Ichiryûsai	...	Bat (voice) (as Mie Suzuki)
Arisa Andô	...	Airi (voice)
Junji Chiba	...	Ryuken (voice)
Hidekatsu Shibata	...	Zeed (voice)
Junpei Takiguchi	...	Heart (voice)
Takeshi Aono	...	Fox (voice)
Hiroshi Ôtake	...	Jackal (voice)
Daisuke Gôri	...	Uyghur (voice)

Storyline

After a nuclear holocaust tears the world apart, mankind is forced to the harshness of not only the oppression of others who are much more powerful, but the dead earth which seems to be getting worse with every passing moment. But a savior has risen from the ashes, a man who will defeat those who would torment the weak and make the world a livable place once more. A man named Kenshiro.....

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Plot Keywords:

anger | antihero | blindness | blood on hand | fool | 

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Taglines:

The most violent and action packed animated film of all time! (Discotek Media re-release DVD)

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

27 September 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fist of the North Star

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shueisha, Toei Animation, Toei Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White (some footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the more graphic scenes of violence were edited and altered immediately after the original Japanese theatrical run; possibly even during it. Toei Animation received many complaints from concerned parents and media reviewers over scenes of violence that more closely represented the manga art it was based on, and so in response they added in screen filters and crop/zoom effects to partially blur and distort the animation that depicted exposed brain matter, intestines, and other close-ups of severe trauma to any characters body. Unfortunately, the Toei Animation warehouse had a massive fire in the 1980's, and the original unaltered reel was declared destroyed. The only reel that did survive was the final altered version that was being readied for future releases in another studio's office, and this is the only version that has been released to the home market. However, years later evidence of an uncut version ever existing came to light from an Italian VHS copy which is believed to have been created from a partially untouched reel. A few scenes clearly showed gore without any alterations, while a majority of the other scenes were still edited. Since not all of these scenes were completely unaltered, fans believe Italy prematurely received a partially edited reel before Japan made all of the edits to the final cut version. Whether that reel still exists, whether in Italy or if it was sent back to Japan, is unknown. Toei Animation has never commented about the movie or the edits to the public, but did deny US licensing company Diskotek Media the chance to release the Italian trailer with the unedited footage as a supplement on the US DVD in 2009.

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Goofs

At one point during his fight with Raoh, Kenshiro's arm bands are back on even though moments earlier they ripped off when he activates his Hokuto Shinken, a moment later they vanish again.

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Quotes

Kenshirô: Say your goodbyes lard-ass because you're already dead Aaahhhh

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Alternate Versions

Two endings were produced for the final fight between Kenshirô and Raô. In the Japanese theatrical cut of the film, Raô emerges victorious over Ken, but decides to spare him at Lin's request. An alternate ending was then featured in the Japanese home video (VHS and laserdisc) release which features Kenshirô and Raô ending the fight in a draw. All of the overseas dubs (including English Streamline Pictures dub) are based on the theatrical cut and thus, uses the "Raô wins" ending. Many foreign fans believe that the "Draw" ending is the original ending, but this is a common misconception since the "Raô wins" ending is not in any of the Japanese home video releases. The Korean DVD edition features "Raô wins" with its original Japanese soundtrack.

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Connections

Version of Fist of the North Star (1984)

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Soundtracks

Purple Eyes
Written by Tsuyoshi Ujiki
Performed by Kodomo Band

User Reviews

Yes Yes Yes

This movie rocks. I have seen a fair share of anime, but I'm not as hard core as some of the purists who don't like this movie. Regardless, this is the best anime film I've seen. The animated action is tremendous. I did see the dubbed version, and I'm sure it is better with subtitles. Nevertheless, there are some classic lines in this movie that had me rolling.

"Death is something to be savored like fine wine... but if you are so impatient I must kill you now, so be it" excuse the inexact quotation;

This movie is all about bad ass fighters. You see one character and you think, wow that dude can kick some ass... he is bad ass. Then a new character comes along... no wait a minute THIS guy is bad ass... then another character... my mistake, THIS guy is bad ass. The heirarchy of power in this movie seems to have no limit. I think this film is much more artistic and creative than much of the pure porno anime that makes up the genre. If I want to watch porn I prefer real life to animation. This movie explores the full potential of drawings in motion.

"You are already dead!"