New Fist of the North Star

新・北斗の拳 (Shin Hokuto no Ken)
New Fist of the North Star
Cover artwork of ADV Films' box set edition.
Genre	Action, Martial arts
Serial novel
Fist of the North Star: The Cursed City
Written by	Buronson
Illustrated by	Tetsuo Hara
Published by	Shueisha
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Jump J Books
Magazine	Jump Novel
Published	December 18, 1996
Original video animation
Directed by	Takashi Watanabe
Written by	Hiroshi Toda Nobuhiko Horie
Music by	Yaiba Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio	A.C.G.T
Licensed by	^NA ADV Films
Released	July 24, 2003 – May 28, 2004
Runtime	50 minutes (each)
Episodes	3

New Fist of the North Star (Japanese: 新・北斗の拳, Hepburn: Shin Hokuto no Ken) is a three-episode anime OVA series based on the Fist of the North Star franchise, directed by Takashi Watanabe and produced by OB Planning. The story was adapted from Jubaku no Machi (-呪縛の街-, "The Cursed City"), a 1996 Hokuto no Ken novel written by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara set sometime after the conclusion of the original manga.^[1] An English dubbed version of the OVA was produced by ADV Films in 2004.

Plot

In the 21st century, a nuclear war turned most of the Earth's surface into a desert wasteland, which also resulted in the contamination of the Earth's water supply. A man named Sanga has built the fortified haven of the "Last Land", where he rules as its dictator by monopolizing the city's uncontaminated water supply. When he learns that the neighboring residents of Freedom Village are trying to dig up a well for their own, Sanga sends his underlings to sabotage their effort. Kenshiro, master of Hokuto Shinken, gets involved in the conflict between the two regions after saving Tobi, an informant hired by Freedom Village.

Characters

Further information: List of Fist of the North Star characters

Kenshiro (ケンシロウ, Kenshirō): Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese); Robert Kraft (English); The successor of the assassin's art of Hokuto Shinken. He gets involved in the conflict between Last Land and Freedom Village after saving Tobi.
Tobi (トビ): Voiced by: Akimitsu Takase (Japanese); Christopher Loveless (English); A wandering adventurer known for his intelligent service to the people, rescued by Kenshiro when the Sanga's scouting party ambushed him and other villagers searching for water. Tobi was searching his brother Bista while travelling town to town, has a secret crush on Sara. Later on he incited a religious Jihad in the Lastland using his brotherly connection with Bista, later on he fell corrupted with power that led to his downfall.
Bista (ビスタ, Bisuta), aka Doha (ドーハ, Dōha): Voiced by: Romi Park (Japanese); Korey Simeone (English); Tobi's little brother known for his illusion and parlour magic also was suffering from amnesia, he was taken by Sanga as a tool for fooling the common people in Lastland as a God. His amnesia was healed by Sara through acupressure, was remained seriously wounded throughout the OVA.
Sara (サーラ, Sāra): Voiced by: Yurika Hino (Japanese); Katie Gillette (English); A kind hearted female healer in Freedom Village where she heals people with a passed down knowledge of Hokumon no Ken through her parents. She uses a healing art which utilizes the body's keiraku hikō points to heal her patients. Her life was saved by Seiji in the past when attacked by a feral dog.
Sanga (サンガ): Voiced by: Unshou Ishizuka (Japanese); John Paul Shephard (English); The dictator of the city Last Land, known for being manipulative and ambitious. He was killed by Kenshiro towards the end of first episode. He was cruel and hard towards his own son Seiji, but later revealed that he did that because he loved Seiji and wanted him to become stronger in this harsh wasteland.
Seiji (セイジ): Voiced by: Gackt (Japanese); Adam Dudley (English); A dropout of the Hokumon temple, who has a love hate relationship with his father Sanga. He took over Lastland while Kenshiro was away to Hokumon temple get medicine for Bista. It was revealed that he learned all the secret of Hokumon No Ken in less than three years. Committed suicide by pressing a fatal point in his body after ridden with guilt over his past crime.
Toki (トキ): Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka; The second of Kenshiro's eldest brothers, who intended to use Hokuto Shinken as a healing art. Appears in a flashback during the first episode of the OVA.
Ryu (リュウ, Ryū): The orphaned son of Raoh, whom Kenshiro intends to train as his Hokuto Shinken successor. Appears in a flashback during the first episode.

Episodes

EP#	Title	Original release	English release
1	"The Cursed City" "Jubaku no Machi" (呪縛の街)	2003-07-04	2004-09-24
2	"The Forbidden Fist" "Kinjirareta Ken" (禁じられた拳)	2003-10-23	2004-11-02
3	"When a Man Carries Sorrow" "Otoko ga Kanashimi o Seou Toki" (男が悲しみを背負うとき)	2004-05-28	2004-12-24

Reception

The ADV Films' dub of the trilogy has garnered positive reviews from critics. Chris Wood of Toon Zone praised "Kenshiro is in fine form, and though the story may not blow you away, it’s plenty adequate to support the action"^[2] Mike Toole of Anime Jump says that New Fist is "flashy and a little cheap, but ultimately rewarding."^[3] Chris Beveridge of AnimeOnDVD.com was "very pleased with" the first episode,^[4] but felt that the second episode could have been "much better written"^[5] and that the third episode was unnecessary and that the trilogy "could have been a lot tighter with a bit more streamlining of the script".^[6]

References

↑ Buronson; Hara, Tetsuo (December 1996). Tobisha, ed. 北斗の拳 -呪縛の街- (Hokuto no Ken: Jubaku no Machi) (in Japanese). Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-703054-7.
↑ ""New Fist of the North Star": My Mind Is Already Blown (Review from Toon Zone)". Retrieved 2007-09-03.
↑ "Anime Jump review of New Fist of the North Star". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
↑ "AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> New Fist of the North Star Vol. #1 (also w/box)". Retrieved 2007-09-03.
↑ "AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> New Fist of the North Star Vol. #2". Retrieved 2007-09-03.
↑ "AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> New Fist of the North Star Vol. #3". Retrieved 2007-09-03.

External links

Shin Hokuto no Ken at OB Planning (Japanese)
New Fist of the North Star at ADV Films
- Archived index at the Wayback Machine.
New Fist of the North Star (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara

Media	Chapters Episodes Characters Kenshiro Raoh

Films and OVAs	1986 animated film 1995 live-action film New Fist of the North Star The Legends of the True Savior

Related works	Fist of the Blue Sky Hokuto Gaiden Legends of the Dark King DD Fist of the North Star Hokuto no Ken: Ichigo Aji "Ai o Torimodose!!"

Video games	Black Belt Fist of the North Star (NES) Last Battle Fighting Mania Fist of the North Star (arcade) Ken's Rage Ken's Rage 2 J-Stars Victory VS

Works by A.C.G.T

Television series	Seven of Seven (2002) Human Crossing (2003) Dear Boys (2003) Kino's Journey (2003) Koi Kaze (2004) Initial D Fourth Stage (2004–2006) Lime-iro Ryūkitan X (2005) Project Blue Earth SOS (2006) GR: Giant Robo (2007) Wangan Midnight (2007–2008) Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de (2008) Monochrome Factor (2008) Freezing (2011) Freezing Vibration (2013) Dai-Shogun - Great Revolution (2014) Minami Kamakura Kōkō Joshi Jitensha-Bu (2017)

OVAs/ONAs	New Fist of the North Star (2003–2004) Initial D Battle Stage 2 (2007) Initial D Extra Stage 2 (2008)

Films	Kino's Journey: Life Goes On (2005)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.