Fist of the North Star, New Volume 1: The Cursed City - Animesou
- Animesou
- Alpha
- 11/05/04
- click here
"New Fist of the North Star is something you got to see. It screams 'cool' all over."
Synopsis
Kenshiro, the grandmaster of the Fist of the North Star, returns in the first of four new adventures! As he travels a ruined world almost devoid of life, he finds yet another army of heartless rogues slaughtering the innocent, all under the employ of Sanga, the merciless lord of the city of Last Land. As our hero launches his own, personal war against the Cursed City, he will face overwhelming odds with only two weapons at his command. An absolute determination to seek justice, and the Fist of the North Star!
Review
The fist is back and it is badder than ever. I can remember the old memories. Boy were they sweet; guys with their heads exploding after punches and kicks by Kenshiro. This new Fist of the North Star does not lack any of the original formula, which makes it so damn cool. And now with the juiced up animation, it takes the violence to a whole new level! Brains, blood, and guts, all are included in this crazy title.
In this first volume, or first episode, a tyrant by the name of Sanga sought out to rule over anything that was within his reach. As if Last Land was not enough, he ordered troops to annihilate the Village of Freedom. This village was a village that opposed his rule. It was not just a plain case of razing. The main focus was the ?woman of miracles,? Sara, who like Kenshiro uses vital points in her skills. Her ability to cure the sick was just something Sanga can not pass up. With her god like healing art, Sanga sets out to keep the civilians under completely control with his ?god as arrived? lies.
What does our hero do? Exactly what he has been doing from the very beginning; blow up heads. I think I need a psychiatrist after viewing this show. I was laughing while brains were splattering all over the place. It gets quite interesting with the ways Kenshiro beats his enemies; a jaw breaker here and a point of a finger there. It is just great to see this style once again from Fist of the North Star and not a parody of a wacky series. What a classic.
The Pros:
The action man! Of course the action! This violent action refreshes my memories to the time when I first saw Fist of the North Star. Wow I miss it; this is not something you will see everyday even with the amount of anime that is being released nowadays. Also, fighting for justice, how cool is that? It is like being a lawyer with skills to kill. Now that my friends would be very interesting in a court room.
The Cons:
Okay, as much as I like Kenshiro?s character and Fist of the North Star, I cannot neglect the fact that the dude resembles Bruce Lee in a way. I do not know much about the history of Fist of the North Star, but if Kenshiro was suppose to resemble Bruce Lee then that is awesome. Kenshiro?s got that infamous Bruce Lee ?ooo chaa? sound when he fights hehe. Aside from the Bruce Lee issue, this new Fist of the North Star also lacks a constant interest grabber. I mean, the show displays a good fight, and then we go to a couple boring scenes, before having the fighting attitude again. Somehow the progress of this show at times reminds me of Dragon Ball Z; where Goku takes forever just to get to Namek to fight Freeza. It is something like that.
Genre: Action
Language: English/Japanese Dialogue with English Subtitles.
Extras: Behind the Scenes: Voice Actor Interviews &ADR, Interviews with: Relson Gracie (Jiu Jitsu Sensei), Phil Cardella, Press Conferences, Character Bios and ADV Previews.
Package: Nothing much to say about the cover, quite normal.
Likes: Heads exploding.
Dislikes: Killing innocent people.
Animation ?9- The animation in this show is astounding. It is very detailed, in a way to gross out the viewer. I had some chills, every time I saw someone getting killed.
Sound ?8- Gackt does the opening and closing themes. I am not a big fan of his, therefore I cannot comment much about him other than the songs were mediocre. Oh, he also is the voice for Seiji later on in volume two. He is very good for a beginner in voice acting a character.
Story ?8- The story is interesting. The negative about it is that it does not constantly keep the viewers in their seats. It will give you a good fight, and then go onto scenes in which are less entertaining. I think that is a result due to what we expect from Fist of the North Star. I mean, most people just want to see violence on the screen. When it goes to story development it seems that everything just slows down.
Recommend ?8.5- A revival of a classic. A good one at that. You have to see this thing to believe it :).
The Breakdown
New Fist of the North Star is something you got to see. It screams 'cool' all over. Also on another note, volume two review of New Fist of the North Star will be up soon, look forward to that.
Rating: 8.5
Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 (Archive on Sunday, December 05, 2004)