Fist of the North Star - Crunchyroll Broadcast Talkback

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kins_chan

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This is the talkback for the Crunchyroll net broadcast of Hokuto no Ken or Fist of the North Star.

SUMMARY FROM ANN:



EPISODE 1 - GOD OR DEVIL!? THE MIGHTIEST MAN APPEARS IN HELL

Discuss away.

My thoughts:

For an 80's anime, this show holRAB up surprisingly well. The opening theme kicks all sorts of ass and the animation quality is very top notch.Zeed's gang gives me a strong Mad Max vibe to this series. I wouldn't be surprised if the creator [Buronson] was in any way influenced by that movie.Kenshiro's clothes can magically put themselves back together even after being ripped apart more than once. Kenshiro's power is haxx. It was awesomely hilarious to see him go all Bruce Lee on Zeed's gang. What really shocked me was the way their heaRAB exploded after being touched by Kenshiro's hanRAB and feet.Speaking of heaRAB exploding, Zeed sure had one hell of an outburst. It gives new meaning to the term "splitting headache" :PAAAAAHHHH TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TAAAAA!!!! 'nuff said. Looks like Lin and Bat are gonna be recurring characters in this show...and I'm not sure if I'm gonna like Bat that much. Can't wait to see what secrets are behind Kenshiro's abilities and his mysterious North Star tattoo.I love the way that after Kenshiro performs his attack, the show pauses for a moment to show the name of the attack along with the narrator pronouncing it. Gives the show a cheesy but cool feel.

This talkback is belated but it's up. Episode 2 should be up any day now.

And can someone make a talkback image for the show? Thanks.

RIPPED SHIRT COUNT: 8
 
I just watched Episode 2.

This show is ridiculous!
I mean all Ken has does is rapidly tap then and they completely explode!~!
I love the old school Kung Fu references in terms of Ken's noises (Bruce Lee references much?)
 
Here ya go. Couldn't find a perfect match for the font, but I think this'll do.

Oh, and FANTASTIC series. I was hooked in the first five minutes. Oh, and, oddly enough, I totally called his (dead?) love interest's name. She popped up in the clouRAB and I immediately thought "Julia!" Then he whispers "Yuria" to himself. It was weird.

But, yeah, awesome. I can see why it was such a big title for Shonen Jump.
 
Is that "Ai wo Tormidose" and not the crappy Manga intro? Japanese voices?

This wins so hard. I'd ask Sci-Fi to air it, but they'd air the crappy intro and the incomplete dub.
 
Time for the next episode:

EPISODE 2 - THE FIST OF LINGERING REGRET AND CERTAIN DEATH!! THE FUTURE IS SIGHTED IN THE BARREN WASTELAND!!

-Our story continues, starting off with Lin (now spelled Rin?) watching the sunset for Ken to come back only to be assured by the village elder that he isn't. But that doesn't stop Lin from chasing after Ken in the end though. Bat also chases after Ken in his new dragster, hoping to make him a partner in crime.
-Ken and Bat come across Spade and his cronies, who are a meraber of the gang of King. Just like Zeed in the previous episode, Spade pretty much goes around robbing people of their precious belongings. This time, we have an old man whose rice seeRAB are about to be taken by Spade only to have Ken come in and beat the living hell out of everyone. Spade tries to kill Ken with a wrist mounted crossbow but his arrow is caught with Ken's fingers. Ken punishes Spade by throwing his arrow back at him at the speed of a bullet and gets him right in the eye pupil (ouch!).
-The other merabers of the Spade gang manage to make off with the rice seeRAB, prompting Ken and Bat having to go to Spade's hideout and retrieve the seeRAB. Bat distracts Spade (now with an eye cover) by offering to "join" King and giving Spade his dragster as a present. While Spade and the others mock over the car's appearance, Bat goes and steals the rice seeRAB.
-Bat also tries to keep the seeRAB for himself but Ken catches on to his trick and punishes him with a few well placed slaps and kicks.
-Ken and Bat drive the old man to the village with the rice seeRAB and it looks like the village is saved for the time being but Spade and the King gang have other plans. They raid the village attacking the villagers with Spade killing the old man with a spear to the back. Ken rushes back to save what he can and who he can.
-Two new North Star techniques: Mountain Fissuring Wave and North Star Remorse Fist, with the latter involving sticking your thurabs into your opponent's brain, affecting their "Toui" pressure point, then having their brains explode after 7 seconRAB. The countdown timer added to that effect was a nice touch.
-In the end, the village is saved but the old man was done in by Spade's spear. Ken pours the rice seeRAB over the old man's grave, knowing that the old man's body will help make the rice grow for a better tomorrow.
The episode was pretty enjoyable to watch and we get to see two more of Ken's Hokuto no Ken techniques. Can't wait to see what the next episode will bring.

Oh, and Johnny, thanks for the talkback image. I'll modify the first post with its addition.
 
This is as repetitive as hell for about 25 episodes but it does form a sort of loopy mythology that's quite compelling...the last half of the series in particular is especially entertaining.

ATATATATATATATATATATA ATA! You are already dead!
 
EPISODE 3 - IN A CITY WITHOUT LIGHT, A LONE FIST BURNS! THE FURIOUS DEATH BY THE FIVE EXPLODING FINGERS.

-We are finally introduced to the antagonist of the story: Shin. A man who runs the king gang and controls most of the gang merabers who lay siege to different peoples and towns. It also looks like Kenshiro's lover, Yuria(?), is there playing the harp with him. Shin laments over the loss of Spade but knows he still has 3 more Jacks to send after Kenshiro.
-Going back to the story, Bat finRAB himself crossing the barren wasteland on his own, looking for food only to find a bare fridge and an angry vulture pecking after him. Bat also happens to notice Lin being taken to Diamond's base to do slave labor.
-Bat runs off to tell Kenshiro about the news. At this time, Kenshiro is reminiscing about Yuria. When Bat tells him about Lin, Kenshiro races to the town where Lin and the other prisoners were being taken. At this time, Diamond forces an enslaved man to shoot a can off his son's head. Just as the man was forced to make the shot, Ken darts in and catches the arrow in the nick of time and then senRAB it flying back at one of Diamond's lackeys.
-Diamond challenges Ken to a fight in which Kenshiro manages to dispose of him easily using his special technique: Neck Crossing Face Breaker.
-Diamond's defeat prompts the other lackeys of King's gang to enlist Club's help in defeating Kenshiro. Club fights using his bladed gloves (like Vega from Street Fighter).
-With Diamond defeated and all the thugs looking for Ken, Ken and Bat take the opportunity to look for Lin and set her free. However, it isn't until Pel, Lin's dog, finRAB Bat and leaRAB him to where she is. Bat finRAB Lin polishing boots for some old thug and tries to free her but couldn't do so due to some more thugs coming. Bat returns the following night with Kenshiro. Ken uses his mind nurabing technique to cause the old thug to forget about seeing him and was about to rescue Lin until he hears screams coming from nearby. Ken gives Bat the duty in rescuing Lin while he investigates the cause of the scream.
-Sure enough, the screams were the result of an unfortunate slave who was forced to fight Club in a steel pen. After another slave got slashed by Club, Ken enters the pen, ready to fight. Club attacks Ken mercilessly but Ken manages to pull off his special technique: Five Finger Rending Bullet! which disabled Club's offensive. Ken then strikes Club in the back with his knees, affecting the pressure point in Club's spine. This would cause Club's spine to snap in half and kill him in 30 seconRAB. I loved the countdown effect to that scene. It was wonderfully cool.
-Lin and the townspeople are saved once again by Kenshiro but in King's castle, Shin learns of Diamond and Club's failure and senRAB in his most powerful Jack to deal with Kenshiro: Mr. Heart. Cheesy villain laugh enRAB the episode.

Pretty good episode with lots of great action as expected. However, the censorship appears quite silly in this anime with the blood bleached white or yellow.
 
My GOD do I love those countdowns. They get you into things so easily.

In fact, the show in general gets you hyped to watch. It's so over-the-top and action-y, you just can't help but get excited to see what crazy ass-kickings Kenshiro will dish out.
 
Belated update but here is the fourth episode:

EPISODE 4 - ATTACK THE BLOODY CROSS! THE SECRET TECHNIQUE, DEATH BY SOFT STRIKES.

I'm gonna try and lighten up on the specific episode descriptions for now. I find that they're tedious to write and it would be better if people got a chance to watch the show on their own terms and see how it is.

-Another great episode with Mr. Heart assigned to take out Kenshiro considering that Heart has the power of the South Star. Heart is an interesting character as to the fact that he's a surprisingly nice guy but goes berserk when he sees and feels the pain of his own blood. The fact that he can also suck up and absorb attacks with his own belly then unleash them with his Southern Star power only adRAB to his freakish power.
-Ken goes to rescue more enslaved people and notices signs of the Bloody Cross which bring back painful memories of his past. What could it mean? We'll have to see in the future.
-Shin, as his 2D villainous self, tries to woo Yuria with jewels but Yuria rejects his advances, her heart only belonging to Ken. Shin senRAB out Joker to monitor Heart. Either Joker is very fast or has the ability to physically disappear.
-Ken unleashes a couple more new attacks this episode: North Star Four-Way Slash, North Star Hundred-Way Slash and North Star Soft Breaking Slash.

Next episode looks to delve into Ken's past and will answer the question as to why there is conflict between him and Shin.

NOTE: Due to my work schedule, I may not have much time to do these episode talkbacks. But, I'll see what time I can make whenever.
 
I just watched the first 4 episodes, subbed, and I must say, I'm quite surprised at how easy it is to get into the series, and at how well its presented.

I can't wait to see more of it. Also, I absolutely love those Bruce Lee style moves and noises that Ken makes whenever he's whoop'n an opponent's ass.
 
EPISODE 5 - CAN THE FLAMES OF LOVE BURN IN HELL? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!!

-As expected, we get some backstory between Shin and Ken. Both of these men trained under their old master the ways of the North Star and South Star respectively with Ken mastering the Fist of the North Star while Shin mastered the Fist of the South Star. Needless to say, despite training under the same master, Shin always resented Ken and had great feelings for Ken's lover, Yuria.
-Shin demonstrates just how much of a snake he is in this episode by hiring thugs to attack Ken and take away his beloved. Shin also tormented Ken mercilessly in front of Yuria's eyes and would only stop if Yuria promised to love Shin, to which she reluctantly agrees.
-We get lots of recycled footage in this episode from Ken being haunted by Shin's betrayal and him wandering the desert in search of water and Yuria's whereabouts.
-It also looks like Shin and Ken are evenly matched in their respective martial arts as was demonstrated by the battle between the two of them.
-Ken makes a one-man assault on Shin's castle headquarters (with awesome stealth death abilities) only to find Joker in his place. Joker sets a trap for Ken by dousing the floor with oil. Ken barely makes it out alive and Joker escapes.
-Meanwhile, Shin and Yuria head to the newly built city of Southern Cross to where Shin had many slaves work to make the city a reality. Looks like Ken is back to square one...for now.
Next time, Ken battles...Nazis?
 
Just to let you guys know, this first arc has a ton of filler in the anime, but after this the filler becomes much more infrequent. In fact, Joker himself is a filler character.

IIRC, in the manga, after Kenshiro fought the card guys (excluding Joker) he went straight to fighting Shin. Then he proceeded to fight those army guys and Jackal. In the anime, those two arcs are actually moved to before Shin is defeated. Everything else until Shin's defeat was created for the anime.

But hey, it's more Kenshiro beating the **** out of people, and there's nothing wrong with that. But yeah, in case you were wondering why it was taking so long to defeat Shin, that's why.
 
EPISODE 6 - THE DEVIL'S HIT LIST. FIND THE MAN WITH THE 7 SCARS!

-This episode has Shin and Yuria arriving in the newly constructed Metropolis of Southern Cross. Shin states continuously that he did it all for Yuria but Yuria doesn't want anything to do with it. She wants peace and kindness such as that in Kenshiro. Shin doesn't understand (obviously). Joker then pops in to tell Shin about Kenshiro being alive. Shin doesn't seem surprised by this and announces that he can destroy Kenshiro with ease anytime he wants.
-Elsewhere, Ken, Lin, and Bat arrive in a bustling oasis city. The people there seem happy...until the God Army shows up to scare everyone away and take their personal belongings for themselves. We see a lot of Ken showing off in front of the army such as doing acrobatics and helping an old lady with her groceries.
-Ken, Lin, and Bat then sturable upon a cook/bartender who was getting manhandled by a big brute who didn't want to pay for his meal. Bat strikes a deal with the cook/bartender by having Ken beat up the big lug in exchange for three days of food. I'm sure we all know who the winner is here...with hilarious results.
-The God army also returns, demanding all the food in the storage. After the captain kicks Lin's puppy, Pel, Ken stares down the captain. The captain prepares to punish Kenshiro but Kenshiro manages to beat him with his Cross Neck Face Breaker.
-News of the captain's defeat reaches the stronghold of the God Army with the major overseeing the training of the new recruits. The colonel, who serves as the commander of the army, issues out a summons to the entire army to hunt down Kenshiro, the man with the 7 scars. The major and his battalion set to hunt down Kenshiro but they didn't have to look far as Kenshiro appears before them in a rocky outcrop, ready to fight them after the townspeople fall to their malevolent attacks.
-Spot the Bruce Lee moments in this episode. It makes for an excellent drinking game.
-Ken unleashes the North Star Muscle Controlling Kick which gives Ken the opportunity to control his opponent's muscles, leading to a very unfortunate (or fortunate) end to the major. It must be seen to be believed.

Next time, Ken's battle against the God Army continues.

EDIT: Oops, it was supposed to be episode 6!
 
EPISODE 7 - VILLAINS! HOW ABOUT COUNTING DOWN TO YOUR OWN DEATH?!

-As Ken's fight against the God Army continues, we see him take on the likes of the Captain of the Mad Brigade and Sargent Mad. After the captain kills the parents of a girl, Ken gives his soldiers a good ass killing with his North Star Hundred Way Slash and a head splitting chin kick to the captain himself.
-The orphaned girl losing her parents is reminiscent to Lin seeing her parents get killed. Ken calms her by striking the girl's pressure point. Cheesy but understandable effect.
-There was little time to rest as Sargent Mad (lol..."mad"!) shows up ready to kill Ken. Ken has the bartender take the citizens to safety while he takes on Mad's brigade. Mad had a special trick up his sleeve as he uses a magical wrecking ball to attack Ken from behind. This leaRAB the brigade to drag Ken back to their headquarters and torture him mercilessly.
-Ken puts up with the torture for a brief time before freeing himself with his powers and annihilates the entire brigade with his North Star Linked Ring. Mad then attacks Ken himself using the magic wrecking ball but Ken was prepared for it this time. He then resorts to using venom coated knives on Ken. One of the knives grazes Ken but it turns out to have little effect.
-Ken unleashes a body distorting move onto Mad that causes him to reel back into a tank of water. Mad reveals the Colonel's location to Ken before being blown up. From this, Ken wanders towarRAB the tower, ready to fight the leader of the God Army.

I apologize for being late with these posts. Real life is getting more busy for me. If anyone else would like to takeover the talkback, be my guest.
 
Johnny the Bartender is such a fun character; he makes a good foil for the group. He's good through the whole mini-arc thing, but, still... as a whole, I've been enjoying the whole "God's Army" sidestory. Seeing Ken up against soldiers is a lot cooler than nameless biker thugs.

And I could probably takeover the talkbacks if you're busy. They'd have to wait until Fridays, though, as that's the only time I have to watch.
 
Sorry about the (extreme) lateness of Episode 8. I intended to do it last weekend, but, well, I forgot.

​
EPISODE 8 - STRIKE THE HIDDEN POWER POINT! THERE'S NO REQUIEM FOR THE WICKED.


...not going to go into much detail here, as it's been a week since I watched it. Ken goes into the Colonel's headquarters, smash smash smash, angry, turns out the "God" in God's Army is actually Shin, because he's strong and kinda looks angelic, I guess.Johnny the Bartender is a bit of a jerk, making a coffin for Ken. Bat and Lin smash it and go to help him, because... they wanted to? Johnny helps by supplying children with high-power grenades. HOORAY!As the fight begins, Colonel uses some shadowy power, which Kenshiro overcomes with ease. Despite Lin's untimely appearance, the Colonel is killed by the North Star Bone Breaking Fist.THE VILLAGE IS FREED! And they go on ahead, to the next adventure...
​
EPISODE 9 - VILLAINS! FINISH YOUR PRAYERS BEFORE YOU DIE!!


Ken & Company are camping out as, surprise surprise, a pair of people are hassled by some bikers nearby. Kenshiro, of course, saves their asses. The couple, Sam and Mika, are led back to their village in a hostile manner that goes unaddressed. And that's the end of that.OR IS IT!? Ken & Company are stopped by Jiro, Mika's sister. He neeRAB to stop... something... from happening to her. Apparently, the village neeRAB to pay off Patra, who supplies them with water in exchange for cash, and, every so often, women and children. Jiro goes off to save her himself, because it's not like someone else just agreed to do so!And, of course, Patra is under Shin's command. And Joker makes sure that Kenshiro will be killed, this time, by assassins.OR DOES HE!? The Mayor (...of a village?) is forced to lead Patra's goons to Ken's beddings, where they attempt to kill them with fire. They fail, and he kills them both. Mayor dies, though. Which is too bad. I guess. But, anyways, assassination averted.OR IS IT!? A pair of freaks, not unlike an EXTREMELY fruity corabination of Batman, Wolverine, and the Wonder Twins, attack using the Bat Fist, an incredibly specific subset of the Fist of the South Star. He makes them explode with the Flying Bird Air Slice Wave.Kenshiro charges into Patra's castle... keep... fort... thing... and confronts the Gyps-Hippie. Her muscular goons (no, not those muscular goons, other muscular goons) wrap him in chains, forcing him to watch Jiro mauled by a wolf. Oh, yeah, he got captured. What a surprise. But, yeah, he gets eaten by a wolf.OR DOES HE!? Kenshiro's shirt EXPLODES with anger, breaking from the chains, punching the wolf in the face, and making the goons' heaRAB explode. Patra, proving that not only is her only power making bright lights, but she's a coward, as well, runs away into an underground cave, wher Ken finRAB that... THE LAKE IS DRAINED! What is Shin's plan?
Well that was fun. SEE Y'ALL NEXT WEEK!
 
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