Fist of the North Star The Movie [Blu-ray]

OVER THE TOP ANIME GOODNESS

Based on the phenomenal, long running, manga series, this popular movie version of Fist Of The North Star (1986) is a quintessential masterpiece of 1980's anime and one of my absolute favourites. Grim post apocalypse tale of masters of mystical schools of ancient, deadly martial arts, a messianic savior, betrayal, savage marauders preying on the innocent, battles between warlords, and revenge is one of the most philosophical, epic-even cosmic- operatic works of anime. An entertaining action packed mix of Mad Max and the classic TV series Kung Fu with a mind blowing (quite literally) amount blood and violence- this film is EXTREMELY VIOLENT- and that's part of its visual "charm" and gruesome fun, but also explores themes of love, hope, power, responsibility, and the burden of destiny. A cool tragic hero, great melodramatic story, good use of music, and concluding with a genuinely poetic ending that has haunted me since I first saw it many years ago. There is no need to be fully familiar with the complete mythology, this film works remarkably well as a stand alone story. Discotek Media's Blu Ray is great, looks fine and contains the now-classic Streamline Pictures English dub and titles as well as the original Japanese, they really went out of their way for nostalgia's sake. Also recommended: the masterpiece Akira (1988) an essential work, and Vampire Hunter D (1985), otaku will have a ton of classic anime titles that can be added here.

So Fist of the North Star: The Movie which was released in Japan in 1986 and then it was released it in North America by Streamline Pictures with the English dub in 1991 and the Italian VHS version of Fist of the North Star: The Movie with the Italian dub was uncensored where it shows blood except for the Japanese dub version and the English Dub version are censored in both America and in Japan and there is cameos in Fist of the North Star: The Movie such as D from Toyoo Ashida's 1985 OVA Film Vampire Hunter D and Arion from the 1986 Anime movie made by Sunrise that brought you Gundam franchise and InuYasha Arion and Michael McConnohie who voices D from Vampire Hunter D is also the voice as Shin in the Streamline Pictures' English Dub version of Fist of the North Star: The Movie and in the Original Japanese version of Fist of the North Star: The Movie Shin is voiced by Toshio Furukawa who is known for his anime work such as Dragon Ball Z One Piece and Urusei Yatsura and for Fist of the North Star: The Movie didn't feature other characters from the Fist of the North Star anime series such as Shuu, Toki, Mamiya. Souther, Lin's dog Pel or any characters from the Fist of the North Star anime series which they were gonna appear in the movie but it has the music such as Heart of Madness by Kodomo Band where we see Rei fighting with Raoh and at the end of the movie Purple Eyes by Kodomo Band is played in the original Japanese dub version except for the English Dub Version which is the Instrumental version of Purple Eyes by Kodomo Band which makes it an appeal to the Fist of the North Star series formula

The first time I saw this movie I was absolutely blown away by it. I remember looking through the anime rack, and there this movie was. It had a sticker on it saying, "not for kids." That grabbed my attention quick. The cover says the most violent movie ever, sweet!! I bought it, and was hooked, on just the opening sequence of the apocalypse. However, mind you, that this movie is a brief overview of the first 3 volumes of the TV series, and even this movie is not true to the TV series in places, such as with the Fang Clan fighting Raou's Clan.Ken wanders the land to bring peace to the violent world, as a chosen savior. In the beginning, Shin and Jagi (his best friend, and younger brother) betray Kenshiro, and leave him for dead. He is awoken from the depths of hell, and comes back stronger then ever, and not only brings peace to the lands he comes across, but brings honor back to his sacred martial arts style.Visually this movie is very impressive with lots of fighting, blood, and gore. Do not watch if you are meek. It is extremely violent. The music also compliments this movie, and is done very well.Unfortunately, the movie leaves you with more questions in the end, like what happened to Julia? If you want to know, you need to watch the complete TV series, and that includes Volume 4.Highly recommend this, to thumbs way up! I absolutely love this anime classic!

I picked this up on a whim and I was not disappointed. The Blu Ray version is a massive improvement over the already beautiful DVD remaster from 2009.Discotek was very generous with this release.It's in HD and has been remastered from Toei's source footage.There's 2 video streams. The original widescreen version, which is new to non-Japanese releases. And the fullscreen version from previous releases.There's 2 versions. The theatrical version and the home video version which was only released in Japan until this point.It's dual audio although the English dub is AC3 audio which means that it's lossy audio. The Japanese audio is lossless and sounds crisp and clear.Gave it a 4 for the following reasonsDoesn't have the original theatrical trailers when the DVD does.Isn't the Uncensored Version that everybody is looking for (long story just type in Fist of the North Star Uncensored Version).Home Video Version Ending is not remastered or dubbed. It seems like it was just spliced into the movie rather than found from the source itself. This version is also not dubbed because this version was never released outside of Japan until now.If you have any qualms about double dipping, don't it's worth it. If you have never bought this movie this is the best way to view it.