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Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Fist of the North Star


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Lolack



Joined: 26 Aug 2012
Posts: 25
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 11:25 am Reply with quote
I love hokuto no ken
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Penguin_Factory



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 732
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 11:33 am Reply with quote
I only have two exposures to the Fist Of The North Star franchise; the first is that arcade game where you punch the target things, which was in a cinema I used to go to as a kid. I had no idea it was based on anything.

Later, I bought the first issue of Raijin comics and read the first issue of Fist Of The Blue Sky, which I thought was pretty fascinating because of the historical setting- at the time I had never heard of the Japanese occupation of Manchukuo, so reading about it was pretty interesting.

I don't think I'll ever read Fist Of The North Star since I can't stand that grimy biker-gang post apocalypse aesthetic. I know Fist was one of the places it originated in, but it's been run into the ground so often by now that I have a mental allergic reaction to it.
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Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4352
Location: New York
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:31 pm Reply with quote
Somehow we got both Hokuto Musou games over here.

Kenshiro is the archetypal badass. He's Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Mel Gibson put in a blender to create pure undiluted manliness. And that works great for video games and streaming media. The average NA manga fan seems to prefer their work a bit softer though.
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victor viper



Joined: 18 Jun 2011
Posts: 630
Location: The deep south
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:47 pm Reply with quote
Penguin_Factory wrote:
I only have two exposures to the Fist Of The North Star franchise; the first is that arcade game where you punch the target things, which was in a cinema I used to go to as a kid. I had no idea it was based on anything.


That's funny, because when I read the article I was thinking that how my first exposure to Fist of the North Star was the NES game that came out stateside in 1988 or so, although at the time I had no idea it was actually an established property. That's also how I was introduced to Golgo 13 (which by the way is possibly the edgiest NES game!).
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jojothepunisher



Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 799
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:57 pm Reply with quote
I think the Fist of Blue Sky is much funnier compared to Fist of North Star, becomes it makes a lot of references to historical events and the villains in Blue Sky are funnier than they are evil.
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GVman



Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:57 pm Reply with quote
Fist of the North Star is probably my favorite manga, period. I started out reading it just because I loved the crazy and violent post-apocalyptic setting, but Kenshiro's tears kept me coming back. I don't think any other manga has made me cry as much as spoiler[Raoh's death]. I suppose I love it so much because it reminds me of The Iliad, which really spoke to me. I love emotional tales of manly men.

I find it interesting you didn't mention the later bits, but I can't say I blame you. Even though it's my favorite manga I disown all the bits that come after the timeskip; they're just nowhere near as good as what came before.

Quote:
This being the '80s in Japan, girls are excluded.

Women in Fist of the North Star do do some pretty impressive things, though. There's Lin, who, when she's a little girl, spoiler[goes to burn herself alive as she sees no point living in a world ruled by a man like Raoh] before Rei comes in to save her. Then there's Yuria, who spoiler[stares down Raoh as he attempts to kill her in order to master Musou Tensei]. Of course, women are almost a hindrance to everyone after the timeskip; however, like I said, those bits are forgettable.

Quote:
Kenshiro is the archetypal badass. He's Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Mel Gibson put in a blender to create pure undiluted manliness. And that works great for video games and streaming media. The average NA manga fan seems to prefer their work a bit softer though.


I've always preferred characters who, deep down under a scary exterior crusted over with the blood of their foes, are truly kind, caring people. Of course, I also love the traditional shounen outcast underdog story, but you need something different every now and then.

If you ask me, it's because kids nowadays want more protagonists like Eren Jaeger and Light Yagami. I don't see much of a desire for softer leads.

Quote:
I don't think I'll ever read Fist Of The North Star since I can't stand that grimy biker-gang post apocalypse aesthetic. I know Fist was one of the places it originated in, but it's been run into the ground so often by now that I have a mental allergic reaction to it.


Have a lot of things used that beyond Violence Jack and Mad Max? Maybe I'm just underexposed, but I can't think of much else on the top of my head. Also, I'd say Fist has more similarities with things like The Iliad or Romance of the Three Kingdoms. What you said is there, but I feel like it's more of a coat of paint than anything.
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MrTerrorist



Joined: 20 Oct 2010
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 4:10 pm Reply with quote
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:20 pm Reply with quote
GVman wrote:
I suppose I love it so much because it reminds me of The Iliad, which really spoke to me. I love emotional tales of manly men.


Quote:
Also, I'd say Fist has more similarities with things like The Iliad or Romance of the Three Kingdoms. What you said is there, but I feel like it's more of a coat of paint than anything.


That's a really good point. You're right, it's actually much more like a classic war epic of Great Men, than it is a postapocalyptic story.
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GVman



Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:40 pm Reply with quote
Thanks! I think Japan, and Asia in general, has more of a taste for things of that nature. That would explain FotNS's continued popularity in Japan.
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NJ_



Joined: 31 Oct 2009
Posts: 2996
Location: Wallington, NJ
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:49 pm Reply with quote
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Pamachu



Joined: 17 Jun 2011
Posts: 24
Location: The Lonesome Crowded Midwest
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 7:46 pm Reply with quote
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j Talbain



Joined: 27 Oct 2010
Posts: 279
Location: Toronto, Ontario
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 8:53 pm Reply with quote
We got Both of the Ken's Rage games yet still do not have a manga release here?... If Sailor Moon got a release and sold as well as it did maybe after 11 years they need to try to release it again. B&W omnibus volumes...

A manga fan can dream.....
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mrsatan



Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 907
Location: Olympia, WA, USA
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 9:53 pm Reply with quote
I still feel that the series got bungled both times in the US. First by VIZ, who like the article said, dropped it just as it was getting to the good stuff. Also, their individual issues also had a confusing numbering scheme and their graphic novels at the time were very expensive.

But then Raijin comes along and makes their versions even more expensive. I mean, I'm a hardcore fan and even I was thinking twice about buying the Raijin Master Editions. (Of course I did end up buying them.) The colorization wasn't necessary and only ended up jacking the prices up. If they had kept the prices down and released them in B&W like the way Lone Wolf & Cub was done, it would have panned out better.
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clipeuh



Joined: 05 Nov 2010
Posts: 117
PostPosted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:15 am Reply with quote
Not sure if the merit belongs to Zac or Jason but nice pun in that description. Laughing
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NJ_



Joined: 31 Oct 2009
Posts: 2996
Location: Wallington, NJ
PostPosted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:54 am Reply with quote
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