Fist of the North Star! I just finished the first Viz hardcover volume, and I have some thoughts.
But I'm not quite sure how to segue into an introduction for it. Does it need one? Is it still obscure enough to where readers of this blog might be unfamiliar? Or is it the classic many underground-anime aficionados say it is? I'm willing to bet most readers may not have a great understanding of what this legendary manga entails, simply due to geography. It's always interesting to see how pop-culture develops differently in each region. Fist of the North Star is a manga that has inspired shonen for decades, and is the source of the legendary "Omae wa mou, shinderu" meme. But despite that, it -- and many other older titles -- have stayed in semi obscurity in more mainstream western circles.
...Uh...
Oh, who am I kidding. All of you fuckin' know what this shit is. A bit of the teenage anime reviewer came back out of me, there, hunting for a way to introduce our subject. I can do better. I can do better! Don't let me get away with shit like this again!
Anywho -- Fist of the North Star is bonkers. It spares no expense, and instantly thrusts us into a nuclear post-apocalyptic, Mad Max-ian world where the strong survive and the weak are fodder for their whims. Kenshiro, our heroic protagonist, disagrees with this notion, and employs Hokuto Shinken (the manga's martial art/magic system) to mow down waves and waves of enemies.
First and foremost, and it needs to be said -- the art of Fist of the North Star is absolutely fantastic. Dated in just the perfect way, with amazing panel flow, brilliant framing -- every inch of the story is full to the brim with style. And since it's so old, it really feels... different from much of the mainstream manga of today. It feels more real. Like it came from one mind (even though it's an artist/writer duo) and is on a single path of narrative, which is a sort of feeling that many stories today lack. The hyperviolence just adds to it all, giving the action some truly magnificent... er, well, badassery. That's the only way to put it. Fist of the North Star is a manly man's manga, and oozes testosterone from every pore. The story also moves at a breakneck speed, mowing through the protagonist's supposed great nemesis as quickly as it does all the mooks and drones he takes out in each chapter too. It's like an epileptic fever dream, with fists and explosions and muscles galore.
Despite this, the manga is light on story, with almost no depth at all. What you see is what you get, at least as far as thirteen chapters go. This is perfectly acceptable entertainment, and I certainly cannot speak of how it develops as it goes. But in perfect honesty, halfway through the first volume I stopped and wrote in my notebook, almost verbatim:
"The novelty and action is enjoyable, but one volume is enough for me to have already gotten all I probably can. Each chapter is the same thing."
And I stand by that. The scope escalates and the art is insane, but the tendencies of the protagonist (to be a heroic, stoic badass that beats up badies for justice) and the general concept of the world ensures that these adventures will, in all likelihood, be repeating the same few notes over and over again.
However, I certainly do not regret picking up Fist of the North Star, and seeing where modern shonen -- and of course, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure -- have adapted some of their main ideas. Revisiting old media and art that has become a pillar for modern works is always a bit poignant, because it's a window into an era long gone, yet still continues to make ripples and waves. Influence is a fluid, everpresent thing. It's impossible to avoid it, as all things have taken from what already exists. A story like Fist of the North Star is timeless. And though it had many elements that didn't appeal to me, I think it's worthy of that timelessness.
Thanks for reading. I may not have said much of substance in this post, it was hard to stretch my ideas in to full paragraphs. Even so, read on, Book Club!
- Austin
