Fist of the North Star


"Isn't this a great time to live in? The strong can do what they want and take what they want." - Shin


release year: 1984
genre: animated martial arts/action TV series
viewing setting: home Bluray 3/29/25 - 4/29/26 (episodes 41-109) and 7/16 - 31/24 (episodes 23-40) and 1/13-19/23 (first 22 episodes) and home DVD 3/26-29/04 (first 7 episodes only)

synopsis: A post-apocalyptic wasteland is lorded over by thugs, who meet their ends thanks to an ultra-powerful hero on a mission of revenge.

impressions: This isn't just one movie or episode, but rather a very long series with over a hundred episodes. In 1986 an animated "movie" of this was released, but now I realize that it was just a mash-up of bits and pieces of something much, much larger and more complete. A previous iteration of this review covered episodes 1-22, at about 23 minutes apiece, in 2024 we watched a few dozen more (the second big mega-arc) and now in 2026 we finished the entire first series (109 episodes.) This was some of the earliest anime, and is probably still some of the most violent. Not more than a few minutes goes by without a fight and some messy, well-deserved deaths. Most of the bad guys have the same basic problem: they are too dumb to realize when they're picking a fight with someone more dangerous than themselves. Also, of note, most of the time the various villains are drawn to be huge, and they look like giants. Oh well.

This is a massive series with numerous larger and smaller story arcs. I need to note that as Series One progressed, the story got deeper, using flashbacks to gradually reveal past links between different characters. It's more complex than I ever imagined at first! Anyhow, it breaks down as follows:

PART 1:
  • King arc (episodes 1-5)
  • Golan arc (episodes 6-8)
  • Patra arc (episodes 9-10)
  • Warriors arc (episodes 11-13)
  • King's Disciples arc (episodes 14-16)
  • Southern Cross arc (episodes 17-22)

    • PART 2:
  • Fang Clan arc (episodes 23-29)
  • Jagi arc (episodes 30-32)
  • Amiba arc (episodes 33-36)
  • Cassandra arc (episodes 37-43)
  • Ken-Oh arc (episodes 44-49)
  • Medicine City arc (episodes 50-51)
  • Yuda arc (episodes 52-57)

    • PART 3:
  • Souther arc (episodes 58-68) *
  • Brothers arc (episodes 69-72)
  • Ryuga arc (episodes 73-77)

    • PART 4:
  • recaps arc (episodes 78-82)
  • Five Chariots arc (episodes 83-105)
  • Raoh arc (episodes 106-109)

    • * At some point around episode 65, I concluded that the children (Bat and Lin) are Barrys given that no matter what's happening, they always follow their irrational compulsion to head right for the most dangerous battle, not because they can help (they can't) but because they've got no sense.

    (Series One ran through episode 109, and then Series Two will be episodes 110-150; I'll continue to revise this review when we pick up with Series Two, late rin 2026 after a break to watch other things.)

    something this movie has that no other movie has: A guy who can touch you and cause you to explode. Hundreds if not thousands of deserving bad guys meet this fate over the course of the series. If this was a live-action movie, the special effects people would run out of fake blood!

    acting: Not really applicable. I would like to point out that in typical anime fashion, there is an annoying kid who seldom takes the overall situation seriously, and should not have survived this long.

    final word: On the surface, it's simple, bloody, and easily watchable. A deeper analysis reveals some interesting themes of martial arts, betrayal, revenge, and hope. My viewing of it falls somewhere between these two points.

    back to the main review page