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The Mike Toole Show - A Fist Tale


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giseki



Joined: 19 Nov 2010
Posts: 54
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:19 pm Reply with quote
totally didn't get the second cameo...thought it was nausicaa for a second...xD
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herano



Joined: 28 Jul 2013
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:42 pm Reply with quote
The second cameo is from Arion, a pretty good but sadly not so well known anime based on Greek myth. I recommend it; at the very least it has the same composer as Nausicaa:3.
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vanfanel



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 1239
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:46 pm Reply with quote
Second cameo is Arion, from Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's movie of the same name. Never released in the US, to my knowledge.

I've had a number of Japanese people bring up FotNS over the years, and several times I've heard the same story: "I was a kid when that was on TV, and my mom wouldn't let me watch it."

I've heard that enough to make me wonder if a generation of Japanese moms helped secure the show's immortality by making it forbidden fruit, and therefore, more desirable -- especially once these kids got old enough for the nostalgia boom to hit.

One other place where FotNS has been really visible in Japan is pachinko parlors. I don't play, but a few years back there were Kenshiro posters outside of every pachinko place I walked past.
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Myaow



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 1068
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:59 pm Reply with quote
It's Arion! He's so pretty.

It's sooo hard to pick a favorite FoTNS character because even the awful tyrants and murderers have a tendency of becoming really noble and heartbreaking on their deathbeds. Sigh! I'll admit to having a special soft spot for Rei. The last part of his story arc really kicked my heart in the balls-- for 8 episodes straight! I'm a huge sucker for love stories, and the way that spoiler[Rei's devotion to Mamiya] brings out both the crippling vulnerability and the magnificent power in him is amazingly depicted! It had me sobbing hysterically for hours!!

(Before that, I mostly liked Rei because he shared my love of Mamiya. People do not give the lady characters in this show enough credit!)

Anyway, I've been on a big FoTNS kick lately so getting TWO big articles all about it in the same month is such a treat!
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herano



Joined: 28 Jul 2013
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 3:09 pm Reply with quote
vanfanel wrote:
Second cameo is Arion, from Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's movie of the same name. Never released in the US, to my knowledge.


Myaow wrote:
It's Arion! He's so pretty.


Getting offtopic, but Im just very happy that there are other people who know Arion:D! It had a release in France btw.
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Parvati-IV



Joined: 14 May 2007
Posts: 72
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 4:04 pm Reply with quote
Fav non-Kenshiro character: Rei, followed closely by Mamiya. I thought the show got 10x better when Kenshiro was wandering around with the two of them instead of Bat and Rin. When he appeared and helpfully handed the bad guy's arms back to him... I just might have squealed.
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GVman



Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 4:29 pm Reply with quote
I love Raoh; the end of his fight with Kenshiro always makes me cry.

I find it interesting that Raoh hasn't had a single constant color scheme since the manga began. In the original manga he was white with blonde hair, but they changed him to be all chocolatey with black hair in the anime. Recent video games have taken chocolate Raoh and dyed his hair (my personal favorite), while recent figures keep the manga's colors.

I'm also a bit curious as to why you didn't mention the gaiden manga. Oh well, they're not particularly good.

@Parvati-IV: I've always wanted to do that to some thug IRL. It'd probably land me in prison, but it'd be totally worth it.
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Msag



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:18 pm Reply with quote
First Jason Thompson, now you Razz I feel like ANN is determined to get its readers who haven't tried out the series (like me!) interested in this franchise already. Either that, or they're wallowing in a heck of a lot of nostalgia these days...
I'll definitely have to check it out now, and refer to this article for which sequels/OVAs to avoid. Enjoyed reading this Very Happy
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:55 pm Reply with quote
My two favorites are Rei and Toki for sure! I'm kinda "meh" on Bat and Lin.

So, are you ever going to talk about the hilarious Live action US movie for Fist of the North Star? It's a magnificent piece of garbage for sure, I was at a local con, and saw someone selling some of their random DVDs, and for $2, I determined I wasn't allowed to not get it. It features Malcolm McDowell as Kenshiro's father in his attempts to grace every terrible direct to video movie at the time, and a young Dante Basco (better known to us today as the voice of Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender) as Bat. Now, in this movie, spoiler[Bat dies] (presumably because Dante Basco was in Hook around this time?), and when I showed it to some people who were familiar with Fist of the North Star and were expecting to know the whole storyline, they were quite surprised at above spoiler and how Lin is now spoiler[a super psychic child who channels Malcolm McDowell for one scene], so yeah, that was weird. It features kick boxer Gary Daniels as some guy with 7 pepperoni glued to his chest and who does awkward stares into the camera on a regular basis. I think that's supposed to be Kenshiro honestly. Shin is the only villain, so I guess I could maybe credit it for not trying to bite off more villains than it could attempt to chew? Jarringly enough, the only asian actor appears to be Yuria/Julia. So it looks like this might be on hulu (for mature audiences only) if anyone wants an hilarious experience. I guess it's still better than Birdemic? But clearly has nothing on the awesome that is Sharknado

So for everyone who is afraid of the American Akira, between this and Dragon Ball Evolution, and how very much they fail, I'm behind everyone's worst fears if those two movies are the best they can do. Sadly, live action US Fist of the North Star is still better than The Last Airbender. Then again, so is a root canal.
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GVman



Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:18 pm Reply with quote
What about the Korean and Chinese live action movies? Those are a treat.
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CCharmanderK



Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Posts: 218
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:36 pm Reply with quote
classicalzawa wrote:
My two favorites are Rei and Toki for sure! I'm kinda "meh" on Bat and Lin.

So, are you ever going to talk about the hilarious Live action US movie for Fist of the North Star? It's a magnificent piece of garbage for sure, I was at a local con, and saw someone selling some of their random DVDs, and for $2, I determined I wasn't allowed to not get it. It features Malcolm McDowell as Kenshiro's father in his attempts to grace every terrible direct to video movie at the time, and a young Dante Basco (better known to us today as the voice of Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender) as Bat. Now, in this movie, spoiler[Bat dies] (presumably because Dante Basco was in Hook around this time?), and when I showed it to some people who were familiar with Fist of the North Star and were expecting to know the whole storyline, they were quite surprised at above spoiler and how Lin is now spoiler[a super psychic child who channels Malcolm McDowell for one scene], so yeah, that was weird. It features kick boxer Gary Daniels as some guy with 7 pepperoni glued to his chest and who does awkward stares into the camera on a regular basis. I think that's supposed to be Kenshiro honestly. Shin is the only villain, so I guess I could maybe credit it for not trying to bite off more villains than it could attempt to chew? Jarringly enough, the only asian actor appears to be Yuria/Julia. So it looks like this might be on hulu (for mature audiences only) if anyone wants an hilarious experience. I guess it's still better than Birdemic? But clearly has nothing on the awesome that is Sharknado

So for everyone who is afraid of the American Akira, between this and Dragon Ball Evolution, and how very much they fail, I'm behind everyone's worst fears if those two movies are the best they can do. Sadly, live action US Fist of the North Star is still better than The Last Airbender. Then again, so is a root canal.


Honestly, I think the worst offense that the live-action Fist film did was remove all of Shin's sympathetic traits, basically turning him into another cruel, faceless mook. Shin's arc is widely considered to be one of the best Fist stories ever, largely because the rivalry between Shin and Kenshiro stems from their compassion and love for one woman, Yuria. In the live-action Fist film, Shin's just this soulless bastard intent on killing everything and ruling all with Yuria forced at his side (well, at least they got that last part right... kind of). Live-action Shin is basically an amalgam of the worst traits of Raoh and Jagi, with Shin's name and basic appearance. And that's really something I hated about the film. Took a great, three-dimensional character with (somewhat) understandable motivations and turned him into a one-note jerk to be Hidebu'd at the film's climax.
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Galap
Moderator


Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 2354
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:49 pm Reply with quote
herano wrote:
vanfanel wrote:
Second cameo is Arion, from Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's movie of the same name. Never released in the US, to my knowledge.


Myaow wrote:
It's Arion! He's so pretty.


Getting offtopic, but Im just very happy that there are other people who know Arion:D! It had a release in France btw.


Yeah, arion's pretty fun!

It had some wow animation moments, and I thought it was cool how Zeus' thunderbolts weren't really thunderbolts but light focusing cannons.
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j Talbain



Joined: 27 Oct 2010
Posts: 279
Location: Toronto, Ontario
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:32 pm Reply with quote
Maybe one day we'll get the Movies from a couple of years ago or a Manga Relaunch...

But I guess we can all have dreams :/
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JulieYBM



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 209
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:57 pm Reply with quote
I have not watched much of the series so it's hard to say anything of real substance. Kamiya Akira is absolutely perfect in the role of Kenshirou and it's a shame he has had so few opportunities to voice the character again.

I think my favorite non-Kenshirou character is a three-way tie between the Narrators, Shuuren, and Raou. The Narrators leave a great impression of me. Ginga Banjou is very stoic as the first Narrator, providing a sense of doom that aptly conveys just what this show is about. Conversely, Chiba Shigeru as the second narrator also perfectly captures watch Hokuto no Ken is about: crazy-as-all-Hell violence and gore! I must confess, my love for Shuuren and Raou is also steeped heavily in the performances given by their actors. Wakamoto Norio was still young and in his prime when he performed as Shuuren (and would later improve even further as Cell in Dragon Ball Z). The now late Utsumi Kenji was dignified as ever voice Raou, providing the series with a well-rounded cast of talented manly-men. There aren't many young manly-men actors in the voice acting industry in Japan, something I'm becoming fearful will be lost in another few years. Inada Tetsu, Sasaki Seiji, and Koyasu Takehito can't keep the League of Manly-Men going all by themselves!
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shamisen the great



Joined: 08 Jun 2010
Posts: 658
Location: Oregon, USA
PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 1:37 am Reply with quote
I really tried to like Fist of the North Star. I made it through all of the first series, but I just never got the appeal. I just found it boring, despite all the crazy elements. I've certainly enjoyed long running action shows that are just as guilty of being repetitive; but between Ken almost never being in any danger and the setting always being the same barren wasteland, it just didn't click with me.
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