Fist of the North Star: Hokuto no Ken – Everything we know so far

If you never picked Fist of the North Star because of the dated (yet amazing) animation, we have news! This year marks the 40th anniversary of Fist of the North Star and as a celebration, Warner Bros Japan has announced a brand new anime adaptation of the manga.

Fist of the North Star manga by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara made its debut in the Weekly Shonen Jump on September 13th, 1983. The manga was adapted into an anime a year later in 1984 by Toei Animations. With the announcement of the new anime adaptation, here’s everything we know about it so far. 

Fist of the North Star: What is it about?

Fist of the North Star is based in a post-apocalyptic world. The scarce resources bring out the worst in mankind, resulting in increased exploitation. The weak become the prey of the thugs. The successor of the Hokuto Shinken martial arts, Kenshiro is a skillful martial artist. He aspires to live a peaceful life up until his separation from his fiance. His rival Shin kidnaps his lover Julia. From there on his journey as the savior of the post-apocalyptic world begins. 

On this journey he fights the strong and the greedy with his deadly attacks, protecting the weak from exploitation. More challenges start to show up in Kenshiro’s path as his strength attracts greater enemies. 

Fist of the North Star: Hokuto no Ken – Everything we know so far

The announcement from Warner Bros. about the new anime was followed by statements from the author and snippets of information. The anime will be a brand-new adaptation with a new cast. It’ll be a remake, and with the statements from the creator, we can expect it to be closer to the source material as compared to the previous one. 

The creators, Buronson and Tetsuo Hara shared their views and excitement for the new anime project. They were elated that their work is still relevant even after 40 years and is also getting a second anime adaptation. Keeping in mind the technological advancement and the current trend to have faithful adaptation, Buronson is looking forward to how the new anime adaptation will turn out. On the other hand, Tetsuo Hara was happy to know that the voice actors were returning to the manga to get a gist of how the actors would sound. 

Additional Information

• The ‘omae wa mou shindeiru’ meme originated from Fist of the North Star.
• The manga inspired many Shounen anime like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures and even Dragon Ball to some extent. 
• The original anime left out the last few chapters of the manga, thus leading to an incomplete anime adaptation. 
• Besides the anime, an art exhibition, a game, and special goods are also parts of the 40th-anniversary celebration project. The theme of the project is ‘Take back the love’.

Conclusion

If you hear something trembling, that’s probably just the bones of the villains who know they will be beaten to a pulp with the return of Kenshiro. We can also expect a boost in the omae wa mou shindeiru memes following the anime announcement. The remake adaptation is a great way for younger fans to get in touch with where the buff masculine character designs were popularized.