Product Details

• Actors: Akira Kamiya, Yuriko Yamamoto, Kenji Utsumi, Chikao Ôtsuka, Toshio Furukawa
• Directors: Toyoo Ashida
• Writers: Buronson, Susumu Takaku, Tetsuo Hara
• Producers: Shôji Kishimoto
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Orion / MGM
• VHS Release Date: January 19, 1999
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792898702
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,520 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of the first anime features, Fist of the North Star was based on a popular manga series set in the not-too-distant future, when Earth has been devastated by a nuclear holocaust. The scattered survivors huddle in ruined cities, awaiting an enlightened warrior-hero worthy of the title of "Fist of the North Star," who will start the planet on the path to recovery. That mythic hero arrives in the person O, who looks like a caricature of Sylvester Stallone drawn for an American Saturday morning cartoon show. The relatively simple story is burdened with many subplots involving evil brothers, betrayals, kidnappings, and murders, all needing endless expository scenes. Director Toyoa Ashida borrows shamelessly from the Rambo and Mad Max films, along with Frank Frazetta's illustrations. Fist of the North probably ranks as the most violent film in animation history, but after the fourth or fifth head explodes in gobbets of red paint, the effect becomes unintentionally comic. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blood splattering, eye popping (literally) chaos!, March 15, 2003

By 

Hoelo (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fist of the North Star: The Movie (DVD)

This is one of my favorite anime of all time. It is simply an over-the-top gorefest. I love the fact that it pulls no punch and simply gets the plot out of the way in the first few minutes..

I can sum this movie up as:

Good Guys: "Man builds really big bombs and is stupid and annihilates the whole planet. This was a bad thing, let's not do this in real life. Oh look, a flower survived. Now we have hope."

Bad Guys: "Hope?! We can't have hope! We love slaughtering everything in sight for no apparent reason. Die flower die!"

Good Guys: "That's it! You die now!"

(Insert 70 minutes of insane fighting).

As silly as that sounds, this movie is GREAT. Turn off your brain and enjoy it..

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Care For Reviews. Care For Your Own TASTE, January 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fist of the North Star: The Movie (DVD)

Well well well. First I would like to stress that these reviews are made in the opinions of the ones who have seen the film. Everyone has a different taste to movies. Well for me, The Fist Of The North Star is like the greatest, most wickest, amazing, animation I have ever seen. I really enjoyed the movie, laughed and cried too. The plot is amazing , the animation is so cool and the violence in this is even more intense than DRAGONBALL ! Others might say that is a stupid movie but I honestly enjoyed watching it and most of my friend enjoyed it too. There are scenes that are comical and tragedical at the same time and you don't know whether to laugh or cry. The scene that touched me most is the scene with Ken protecting the girl! . AMazing STORY. You really have to see it to choose.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Epic Assault On The Senses, November 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fist of the North Star: The Movie (DVD)

One of the first anime's I ever saw was Fist Of The North Star, unfortunately the standard it set was so high many other anime's seemed weak. Fist is most probably one of the best anime's ever, it's only competition in my eyes is the awesome Akira.

Fist is a pure blend of violence and gripping storyline. From the start you are drawn into the apocalyptic world of the future, and the forces at work within this world. Not a single swear word from anyone, a tiny piece of nudity and 100% pure fun. Heads expload, people are sliced and diced, characters go splat, belly buttons get larger and you can't help but love it.

Disregard any bad things you may hear, this is a classic and will always remain as my favourite animated feature of all time!