Fist of the North Star
Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳, Hokuto no Ken) (often called Hokuto no Ken and shortend to FotNS or HnK) is a shonen manga written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara, and the main subject of this wiki project.
Profile
Fist of the North Star was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1983 to its completion 1988. The series is collected in a variety of formats ranging from standard Tankōbons to special edition volumes such as the hardcover Ultimate Editions, all of which contain the manga as it was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump differences such as art retouches and dialogue changes.
The manga has sold over 100 million copies, making it one of the best-selling manga series in history. It has been adapted into two anime television series produced by Toei Animation, which together aired on Fuji TV and its affiliates from 1984 through 1988, comprising a combined total of 152 episodes. It has since expanded into a media franchise, including several anime films, a live-action film, OVAs, video games, and a series of spin-offs centering on other characters from the original story. It also has a number of video games and pachinko machines produced by Sega Sammy.
Summary
A worldwide nuclear war sometime in the 1990s has resulted in the destruction of most of civilization, turning the world into a desert wasteland. The remnants of mankind fight over whatever supply of food and uncontaminated water still remaining as the strong prey on the weak. Kenshiro is the successor to Hokuto Shinken, an ancient martial art of assassination that trains its practitioners to kill from within an opponent's body through the use of hidden meridian points. Kenshiro wishes to live his life in peace, but after he is separated from his fiancée Yuria by a jealous rival, he begins his journey to become the savior of the post-apocalyptic world, defending the weak and innocent from the many gangs and organizations that threaten their survival. Along the way, Kenshiro meets a young thief named Bat and an orphaned girl named Lin, who join him as his traveling companions and bear witnesses to Ken's many battles.
Kenshiro's many rivals and allies include the six grandmasters of Nanto Seiken, a rival assassin's art that ended splitting into two factions after the nuclear war, as well as his own "Brothers of Hokuto" who trained alongside him for the succession of Hokuto Shinken. Kenshiro's ultimate nemesis ends up becoming his eldest brother-in-training Raoh, a warrior who broke the law of Hokuto Shinken by killing his master Ryuken and refusing to surrender the succession to Kenshiro. Raoh seeks to conquer the post-apocalyptic world as a warlord under the mantle of Ken-oh, the King of the Fist, by challenging every martial artist he sees as a threat. After a long series of battles, Kenshiro emerges victorious over Raoh and it seems peace has finally come to the post-apocalyptic world, concluding the first half of the story.
Main Characters
