Chegou a hora de Kenshiro enfrentar a derradeira batalha contra Souther. Mas para vencer um oponente tão poderoso, Ken terá de descobrir o segredo do corpo imortal dele. Já os irmãos Raoh e Toki terão de encarar o cruel destino que lhes foi predestinado: lutar até a morte para descobrir quem será o sucessor do Hokuto Shin-Ken.
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.
It has been some time since my last FOTNS. I'm glad to jump back in, because, like always, there was a ton of action, a good story and a 80s vibes that just made it really entertaining for me. There were also some more emotional moments in that one. Of course, going deeper into the series, we get more attach to some character and then, if something bad happen... it's more heartbreaking. Awesome one!
A lot of Hokuto no Ken can be described as "Buff Guys Crying and Talking About Their Feelings", and this volume was the epitome of that.
First, we had the quick but good closing of Souther's fight. As always, this was melodramatic on a way that it becomes even funny, but it really works for this.
Next, we have the Raoh vs Toki arc, and here is where the meat of the volume is - exploring their childhood, their brotherly links, and their destiny. This is a very good arc.
Lastly, we're presented to a new character - Yuria's brother - who wishes to measure how strong Ken is. This arc was not concluded on this volume, but feels like it'll be a quick one.
Great volume. Fist of the North Star is gaining more depth as the relationships and histories of the Hokuto brothers are explored in greater detail. And that gives the fights a lot more emotional weight.
The first few chapters cover the battle Ken vs Souther. This is a pretty lame fight tbh and lacks drama. Ken is never threatened, Souther’s big secret is actually a cool idea but ken discovers it easily and it never really amounts to anything. Souther reveals midway through the fight that his master Odai is entombed within the pyramid. It’s a bit odd as it in no way gives him any advantage. It does, however, allow him to have a poignant death scene, kneeling at Odai’s side one last time, and completing a redemption arc of sorts, where he shows that he does still have compassion after all.
After this fight Toki goes to challenge Raoh. Its not totally clear why, but there’s the belief that there can be only one successor to Hokuto so they are destined to fight. Also Toki and Ken believe Raoh is dangerous and should be stopped. The pacifist Toki reveals a new aspect to his character — a commitment to besting Raoh in combat. Similarly, Raoh again demonstrates that hes a big softie (he rescued Ken last volume), when he sheds tears of sorrow over Toki’s tragedy, in contrast to his normally ruthless and brutal demeanor. And we find out that the two are biological brothers, rather than just brothers in Hokuto, and that they have a long and tragic history. Great stuff which makes for a powerful and moving battle. And in the end, Raoh spares his little brother’s life.
We next get a couple short scenes of overconfident psychopaths getting their comeuppance, a FOTNS trademark, and are introduced to Ryuga, a powerful martial artist with a strange technique who represents the lone wolf star, Sirius. Ryuga, after meeting both Ken and Raoh, is not sure whom he should favor, and so sets out to test Ken’s mettle. In order to draw out Ken, Ryuga murders Toki, justifying the action by the belief that rage will unlock Ken’s true potential, and that he might then be able to defeat Raoh and become the savior of the land.
Art is incredible, consistently high level. A lot of nice background shots in this volume too.
FOTNS is an epic of mythic proportion — its characters like the ancient gods of Greece or the Northlands, striding amongst humans, shaking the earth with their titanic battles.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This volume sets up the culmination to Toki's story as he goes on to challenge Raoh himself. The story takes a significant detour via a flashback to Toki's childhood and his initiation into Hokotu Shinken, which is paralleled in the main narrative by demonstrating that two brothers on the same journey must inevitably clash ideologically. It's all very melodramatic stuff. Raoh's softness does come out in this volume which is a nice touch. We're then introduced to the new series antagonist Ryuga who promptly carries out some heinous crimes in Raoh's name so that the readers are aware that Ryuga is bad news. Ken really takes a backseat in this volume to develop backstory, and that's probably to the benefit of the overall plot.
Tetsuo Hara's artwork as always is brilliant. It's the sheer kinetic pacing set by the artwork that makes Fist of the North Star an enjoyable time. The action is always crisp and detailed, never lacking for subtlety or violence. It's just pure joy for fans of martial arts films/comics, even if does come at the expense of an overly melodramatic and trope-filled plot.
This one didn't slap as hard (or puncture fingers straight through some fool's chest as hard) for me as the others, but it's still solid.
Maybe it's the naming of all the styles and techniques. Who can keep track?
And it's getting into a little bit of what I call the Power Rangers problem:
In Power Rangers, the question is always: Why do you start out karate fighting a regular-size guy, then try to beat him with your individual robot mechs, THEN combine into the megazord and finish the job?
Why don't you just start with the megazord and go from there?
The answer, of course, is because we've got about 22 minutes to fill after commercials, and that ain't gonna cut it.
With Fist, though, I don't really see that as a concern.
Are fans of this series called Fisters? Is that what I should call myself? An Avid Fister?
This volume was jam-packed with unforgettable revealing moments. Ken and Souther finally duke it out, only to find that Souther is just a scared, sad boy seeking the lost love and approval of his former master/father (aren't we all?)
Toki and Kenoh. Two brothers by blood fated to fight to the bitter end. It was a satisfying battle, no doubt, but a tragic end for Toki. It's finally okay for them both to cry.
But just when you think the biggest fish is caught. A bigger fish emerges...RYUGA, which, for some reason, makes me think of the ahooga sound effect. Intentional? Maybe.
It seems like an ongoing theme in this entire series is sacrifice, and in that vein Toki sacrifices himself one last time, to the brother of Ken's lover!
After Southey’s defeat and death, Toki must duel with Raoh. Defeat of Raoh is an unlikely outcome. But try it, Toki must. At the place in the mountains, the two went about their deadliest bout. In the end, Toki could not continue due to his radiation sickness. Raoh would not kill him, so he left on his horse. The next player was Ryuga, the lone wolf, whose star was Sirius (Dog Star.) His Nanto technique was his ability to rip chunks of meat from his victims. He met up with Kenshiro to size him up for his future confrontation. The art work is still fantastic and compelling. The story is still running smooth. Recommended.
These things all bleed together, so I may have mixed up some things from Volume 7 and this volume, but apparently in 8 we conclude the battle with the emperor (according to him) and set up the next series of events, as Toki and his brother fight, then Kenshiro and his brother fight, and all the while, their brother Raoh and his huge fucking horse are just around.
These books continue to be a real blast, just big, dumb, middle school fun. I have 9 on deck, and then I'm out until they publish the last three, I'm not looking forward to running out...
Haciendo una pausa para comentar, a pesar de que los personajes secundarios duren muchas veces poco tiempo en pantalla tienen una marcadisimia personalidad y ese es el perfecto caso de Jyusa de la nube, personaje que se ganó mis respetos y amor en poco menos de un capítulo (aunq ya me pasó antes con Chuu )
Tak ada yg istimewa sebenarnya dalam pengembangan cerita. Berlanjut pada perkembangan hubungan Raoh dan Toki serta kejelasan arah langkah Ken. Namun setiap melihat artwork Buronson yg lawas, lengkap dengan sajian laga yg memukau (di zamannya hha) tetntu menjadi nilai plus
This series is basically a treadmill of escalating fights that never really resolve things other than to set up even bigger fights. I'm hooked. This one was great with some additional backstory to make it feel more important than it probably is.
pertarungan Toki melawan kakaknya, Ra'oh berujung tragis. kemunculan Ryuga si Serigala Iblis memancing kemarahan Kenshiro demi tujuan mendapatkan pohon kuat yang mengubah zaman!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Great illustrations. Incredibly violent, and needlessly so (but still less than Battle Angel Alita). A classic, written by the master himself, Buronson.
I think I continue to follow Fist of the North Star only because of the artwork. I can't remember enough of the plot between volumes for that to be a factor.
Final confrontation with Souther, and between Raoh and Toki, intro of Ryuga. The dudes playing hammer toss with humans and Raoh’s horse stepping on people are the best.
Muy buen volumen. Las peleas cada vez tienen más impacto debido al desarrollo de las relaciones entre personajes y las historias que hay tras cada uno de ellos.