Fist of the North Star, New Volume 1: The Cursed City - Ascully.Com
- Ascully.Com
- Mental
- 11/19/04
- click here
Cover Art, Menus & Extras:
Kenshiro, the legendary heir to the Hokuto Shinken, The Fist of the North Star, is back in 3 all new adventures in this OVA series released by ADV. He is joined by new friends and enemies as he crusades across the barren wasteland that is the post nuclear war Earth defending the innocent from those who would seize power through strength. Packed on the first DVD is the first installment The Cursed City, behind the scenes footage, interviews, a press conference, character bios, and previews for upcoming ADV releases. The menus are fairly straightforward and easy to navigate; mirroring the outside cover of the case.
The Movie:
He's mad as hell and heads are going to blow. Nuclear war ravaged humanity. The civilization is a thing of the past, few cities exist, and those that do are ruled with an iron fist. Fresh, clean water is a precious commodity. Tobi lives near the Village of Freedom, making his way in life by buying and selling information. On this particular day he is leading the villagers to a source of fresh water underground in the wasteland. The celebration of discovery is short lived, for they are ambushed by thugs from Last Land, a city built like a fortress. Everyone but Tobi is slaughtered, and it looks like he is next until a mysterious stranger, Kenshiro, shows up. The goons begin to attack and their heads begin to explode. After dispatching the thugs, he takes a very wounded Tobi to the Village of Freedom to see the doctor, Sara. When they arrive, they are met by jubilant villagers. Their rejoicing soon turns to sorrow upon learning of the massacre in the wasteland. Sara tends to Tobi's wounds, revealing a Hokuto technique of her own, a healing ability. Tobi alludes to his infatuation for her and expresses his desire to do whatever he for her.
Kenshiro and Tobi leave the village and return to Tobi's dwelling. Meanwhile, in Last Land, the dictator Sanga hears about Kenshiro's intervention and orders his goons to attack the Village of Freedom and bring him Sara. Sitting around a campfire, Kenshiro and Tobi talk. Kenshiro smells blood. They return to the village but are to late. They hear of Sara's abduction and set out to save her and stop Sanga for good.
Art, Audio & Voice Acting:
The film itself is crisp and clean. Bold colors and well defined lines mixed with detailed CGI and fluid cel animation make this OVA aesthetically pleasing to watch. There are numerous CGI elements woven into several scenes. These make some of the more technically complicated shots look great. (If anyone has seen Macross Zero, think about the dog fights). The voice acting of the main players is very good for the most part, but it is somewhat occluded by some of the minor characters that come off more like a 3rd grade school play than an anime. Overall the production for this looks and feels great, and breathes new life into the Fist of the North Star series.
Value:
If you are at all a fan of the Fist of the North Star series or if you like martial arts anime, then definitely check this one out. There are 3 volumes in total for this OVA series and each runs $29.99. For 55 minutes of animation, it's a little steep of a price, but that is the going rate for most anime these days so I can't complain. For a post-apocalyptic Mad Max with martial arts, this one does a pretty good job and I am looking forward to next week when I look at volume 2
Posted on Friday, November 19, 2004 (Archive on Sunday, December 19, 2004)