Fist of the North Star is one of those legendary series that has created a deep mark in our hearts. The series takes the limelight every now and then as Kenshiro’s catchphrase, “Omae wa mou shindeiru”, is memefied. There are, however, some who might be familiar with the meme and may even know that it came from Fist of the North Star without reading the series. We don’t blame nor discriminate against them. After all, we’ve all been in that position and it’s an old series. However, VIZ Media gives those people an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the series with its official English release of the series.

Discussion Time

For those unfamiliar, Fist of the North Star is set in a post-apocalyptic world wherein food and water are scarce. Like most post-apocalyptic series, Fist of the North Star has a lot of hooligans using their strength to get their way. Kenshiro, the master of Hokuto Shinken, can’t look away as innocents’ lives were being toyed by those who had a bit of strength. As a master of the legendary assassination martial arts, he dives into danger and slaughter every evildoer his finger touches.

1. A Blast From the Past

Fist of the North Star was first published in Weekly Shounen Jump in 1983. Yes, it’s that old. It’s from the same era as Dragon Ball and has garnered, if not more, similar popularity with it as well. Seeing the series getting another chance at the limelight gives us a sense of youth. We’re reminded of those days when Kenshiro is deemed as the peak of manliness. It may sound a bit stupid now, but that’s the facts back then. Reading this series again also reminds us just how much the times have changed.

2. Original Face Slapping Action

During the era when Fist of the North Star was first published, stories are usually not that focused with long plots. It’s usually about beating the bad guy and whatnot. Fist of the North Star is of no exception. It follows the typical face slapping formula, which is introducing a hateful villain to elicit anger from the readers, then murder said villain to satisfy the readers. Even though the plot and characters may not develop much in these kinds of stories, this kind of series provides a different kind of elation.

1. Old Style Storytelling

If you haven’t caught our drift yet, this series is really old. That means that the art, plot, storytelling, and even characterization are from the olden age. With that said, the story is more about Kenshiro whooping one bad guy after another. It’s just that there’s a lot of blood and gore. Even though we kind of dig that kind of thing, we understand that there are others who are not into these kinds of stories.

Final Thoughts

Reading Fist of the North Star after all these years gives us a blast of nostalgia. We are kindly reminded of the good old days as everybody tries, albeit slightly afraid, of pressing the pressure points featured in the series. It’s those sweet memories that make reading old series like this a tad more delightful. Given that we’ve enjoyed it back in the day, we sure are happy to see it see the light of day again, and perhaps attract more younger readers.

Writer

Author: Christian Markle

I am a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. I love watching anime, reading manga, and writing my own stories. Watch out in the future as you may see one of my works one day. Manga and anime were big parts of my childhood. I grew up watching Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z. Those were probably one of the happiest and most carefree days of my life. In fact, most of my values are probably molded by manga. No, that's not an exaggeration.

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