Fist of the North Star, Vol. 12

by Buronson, Tetsuo Hara (Illustrator)

In the original classic manga set in a postapocalyptic wasteland ruled by savage gangs, a hero appears to bring justice to the guilty. This warrior named Ken holds the deadly secrets of a mysterious martial art known as Hokuto Shinken—the Divine Fist of the North Star!

In a postapocalyptic world, humanity has risen from the ashes of all-out nuclear war to a nightmare of endless suffering. It is a time of chaos. Warlords and gangs of savage marauders rule the broken ruins of civilization, terrorizing and enslaving the survivors. Life has become a brutal struggle for existence and death the only release.

As the years have passed, peace has come to the wasteland. But it is an unjust peace, with the people now crushed under the boot of a powerful empire. Rin and Bat have become rebels, fighting for freedom and justice after reuniting with Kenshiro. Along with a bounty hunter named Ein, who once tried to bring Kenshiro in, the group faces new enemies—Falco, the Golden Wolf, and the brutal warlord Jako—who serve the mysterious Tentei. Falco and Jako have a whole army at their backs, but they’ve never come up against the likes of Kenshiro and Hokuto Shinken before…

Genres: Manga, Comics

304 pages, Hardcover

Published March 26, 2024

About the author

Okamura Yoshiyuki (岡村善行), also known as Buronson (武論尊) or Sho Fumimura (史村翔 Fumimura Shō), is a Japanese manga writer most known by his famous work Hokuto no Ken. known in English as Fist of the North Star.
He graduated from the Japanese Air Force Training School in 1967 and served as an Air Force radar mechanic. In 1969 he discharged from the Japanese Navy and was soon hired by Hiroshi Motomiya as a manga assistant. He started his manga writing career when he wrote the script of Pink Punch: Miyabi in 1972, drawn by Goro Sakai. In 1975 Buronson wrote his first big hit The Doberman Detective, drawn by Shinji Hiramatsu. The famous Hokuto no Ken made its debute as Buronson's greatest hit in 1983, drawn by Tetsuo Hara. In 1989 his story Ourou was released as a manga serialized in Animal Magazine, drawn by Kentarou Miura, and in 1990 a sequel entitled Ourou Den was released by the same manga artist. Buronson also collaborated with the manga artist Ryoichi Ikegami in many works as Strain (manga) , Human (manga) and the famous Sanctuary (manga). Among his other major works are The Phantom Gang, with art by Kaoru Shintani.

Buronson was mainly influenced by movies such as Bruce Lee's, and Mad Max.

The nickname Buronson is a tribute to the American actor Charles Bronson, whose way of growing the mustache was imitated by Yoshiyuki Okamura too.

Reviews

[Benjamin Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsure why there's no image for the Viz edition of this volume, nor why it hasn't been included in the main entry for the book here on Goodreads.

That said, another highly entertaining volume of Hokuto No Ken. We're firmly in what may be the most ludicrous section of the saga, with Buronson throwing out flashbacks like they're going out of style. Dolph Lundgren lookalike Falco ends up being a surprisingly formidable foe for Ken, while Jako may win the award for most irritating villain in the entire series. Hara's art, as always, is epic.

I thought I'd feel a bit tired of the series at this point. This section, and many of the upcoming chapters were adapted into Hokuto no Ken 2, which I was decidedly mixed on. While I still rolled my eyes at certain plot developments (Falco not killing Jako after being warned he should by Raoh got me to shake my head.), I found myself as per usual caught up in the larger-than-life characters and crazy fights. Still a must-read series if you enjoy martial arts and Shonen action madness.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second leg of Fist of the North Star continues to expand on some of the secondary cast, with Kenshiro's buddies Rin and Bat taking more of the focus, alongside Ein, a bounty hunter. New enemies are introduced here, with Falco and Jako serving as the two prominent rivals for Ken in this volume. Falco, also known as the Golden General and successor to the martial arts form Gento Kō Ken, seeks to root out rival martial arts schools in service to the Heavenly Emperor, Tentei. Falco, despite his propensity for violence and terrible Duke Nukem styled haircut, still shows some honor in his service to Tentei. Jako, on the other hand, is just a menace - annoying and cruel.

Fist of the North Star continues to be an overly melodramatic action romp, entertaining despite the repetitive structure. Tetsuo Hara's artwork is never slight or subdued, he goes for excess whenever possible. It's the crazy fight sequences that continue to make this a fun manga to follow along with, even if the story has long since lost the plot.

[Andy Cantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Falco and Ken finally fight, but instead of it being a one punch affair, the battle is actually competitive. I appreciate that Falco isn't just some typecaste, one-dimensional, megalomaniacal villain, but rather a twin of Ken.

We also finally find out that Rin holds much more significance than originally thought. If I'm being honest, that came out of nowhere, but I wouldn't expect anything less.

[Ruz El · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've said in my other reviews that this is basically a narrative treadmill of repetitive fights with little actual story, but god damn if it ain't insanely entertaining. This was another solid volume with the usual Ken facing an insurmountable force. I'm gonna have to finish this series.

[Kristina Mlinarić · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll never get tired of overly macho men and their tearful one-liners. :D

Dolph Lundgren from Rocky IV was the obvious inspiration for Falco so it was fun imagining him delivering the lines and fighting people in this volume.

[Reyne Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best volume by far. There was so much more impact in the fights and characters. I actually cared for another character besides kenshiro which is so rare and it ends in a way that I actually want to continue reading.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one, the beginning was a bit weird. I don’t know why but the style, visual and story, didn’t seem to match quite right. That did go back to normal after 25-30 pages. Nothing quite different from the rest of the series, at this point you know what you’re in for!

[Omar Villafane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess men gotta keep on moving forward and getting mentally stronger the harder life becomes. Die a legend only.

[Federico Lucifredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations. Incredibly violent, and needlessly so (but still less than Battle Angel Alita). A classic, written by the master himself, Buronson.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm having a hard time connecting with this second arc of the series.

[Al Capwned · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of the same but at least there are some actual stakes again and Kenshiro has a bit of a hard time.

[Egghead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuffed with long flashbacks
can't karate chop baby
have heavenly twins

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...