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W mandze przedstawiony jest świat po apokalipsie, w którym władzę sprawują genetycznie zmodyfikowane mutanty, natomiast ludzie są niewolnikami. W takim świecie rywalizację toczą dwie szkoły – Hokuto oraz Nanto. Głównym bohaterem jest Kenshiro – prawowity następca przywódcy szkoły Hokuto. Jego głównym antagonistą jest przywódca Nanto – Shin, który uprowadził także dziewczynę Kenshiro, Yurię.

(opis za Wikipedia)

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 19, 2013

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217 people want to read

About the author

Buronson

455 books83 followers
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.

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5 stars
311 (42%)
4 stars
291 (40%)
3 stars
108 (14%)
2 stars
14 (1%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,443 reviews288 followers
July 22, 2023
On some level, I do admire the zany art with characters who seem 10 feet tall looming over regular folk and buckets of blood splashing over every fight scene, but reading this is getting to be a chore, especially when the characters go all in on sexism shortly after the story introduced what was supposed to be a strong female lead.

The majority of this book is a tediously long hostage situation with increasingly ridiculous, over-the-top developments.

In theory the next volume may actually have an opponent who stands a slight chance against the invincible Kenshiro, but I highly doubt it. This goes on for another fifteen volumes? Not sure I have any more patience for it, but I might dip my toe in again just to admire that wacky art.
Profile Image for Geoff.
995 reviews130 followers
February 14, 2022
More incredibly over the top 80s style action, but you get some more depth to the main character, a more interesting supporting cast, a look at his past, and even more vile villainy. Worth reading for the post-apocalyptic escapism.

**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Paul Spence.
1,573 reviews72 followers
December 26, 2021
If you follow along with my previous Goodreads reviews of this seres, you’ll know I consider the first volume to be excellent, but it still clearly indicates a work in a formative state. Tetsuo Hara And Bronson were riding on the momentum of the concept, pulling together an identity. Some of what would become a distinct visual language and the series’ themes were still in their infancy.

Volume 2 led to the end of Shin Arc and creation of the series as we know it. This volume was the cornerstone – the quintessential “state of the world,” so to speak. All you can know now North Star Fist From Kenshiro’s looks to his supporting cast – it’s starting to take shape here.

Adding Rey to the core cast is a true dividing line for this series. As he appears in the previous volume, Volume 3 sees him joining the main lineup of Kenshiro allies. The tension between Rei and Kenshiro in their weak but powerful alliance is truly legendary. There is a conflict on the surface level for these practitioners of two inherently opposite fighting styles working toward a common goal. Then the extra layer of misunderstandings about the “man with the seven scars” and the hostage situation with Kiba adds to that pity that makes everything sing.

I hope this volume will appeal to you as well, and I have reason to believe that it will. Not only do we get Rei, whose arrival expands our knowledge and understanding of the Southern Star’s methods, but we also get a host of other important characters such as Zoidberg-as-biker Jagi, Kenshiro’s older brother, and the first hint of true passion at the core of the rest of the series. The cast, world, and intrigue are growing as the Hokuto Brothers drama begins to take centre stage, a precursor to one of the best performances in the shonen battle manga as far as I’m concerned.

There are more “usual” things to love, too. The battles are fierce. Men are huge. An arid land is arid. And we have pop culture cues littered all over the place, from the Mamiya village elder being Obi-Wan to the cosplayer sitting on Kiba’s Conan-esque throne. If you liked what came before, it is very likely that you will love what is presented here. Adding blunt, sharp irrigation finger pieces to the mix only increases the number of ridiculous deaths that can be seen on the nameless fools of trash, and I can’t help but laugh every time dozens of cups are perfectly cubed.

Overall it is a volume of intense action, gripping drama, and steadily building momentum.
Profile Image for Agnese Rosengren.
410 reviews2 followers
September 26, 2024
Rei si conferma il mio personaggio preferito, al momento seguito da Ken — tra l'altro, adoro il modo in cui è stato sviluppato il loro rapporto, per me sono troppo BROTP.
Mamiya è un bel personaggio femminile, spero che abbia modo di farsi ancora valere nel corso della serie.
In conclusione, continuo a essere molto felice di aver iniziato questo Manga.
Profile Image for Shazne.
170 reviews
September 16, 2023
Kenshiro is an incredibly written and drawn character. So much depth in silence. Loving every moment with this character. It's big and wild but there's some real warmth and heart underneath the scale. The mythology & rule of the world is expending, getting more exciting . The art's been consistently great but it's becoming more dynamic the deeper we get into the stories.
Profile Image for Collin Henderson.
Author 13 books18 followers
July 18, 2022
Volume fleshes out ken slightly, and introduces a potential future rival for him too. It’s extremely goofy but also gets uncomfortable in one spot
Profile Image for Random Readings.
18 reviews
October 6, 2022
Za nijansu slabiji volume od prethodnog,borba Kenšira i Reia sa bandom Kandže na trenutke zamara.Jedina pozitivna stvar su zadnjih par poglavlja koja otvaraju nove stranice Kenširove prošlosti gde polako ulazimo u neke bolje priče i gde generalno i serijal postaje bolji.
Profile Image for Enairolf.
2,463 reviews21 followers
January 23, 2023
J’ai enchaîné la lecture des trois tomes que j’avais à ma disposition sur mon après midi, j’aime bien pouvoir enchaîner plusieurs tomes comme ça. Mais là je dois avouer que je ne pourrais pas me faire des marathons lectures à tout va avec ce manga. Je suis bien contente d’avoir terminé ma lecture du troisième tome là. Ce n’est pas que je n’aime pas cette histoire ou qu’elle est nulle puisque ce n’est pas le cas, mais j’avoue que trop de cette histoire me tape un peu sur les nerfs. Après ce n’est que mon avis et forcément ça n’engage que moi mais j’ai parfois l’impression de lire toujours la même chose malgré les tomes qui passent.

Dans ce troisième tome, Lynn et Batt finissent par trouver un village prêt à accueillir les orphelins. Seul problème, la petite ville est prise pour cible par une bande de dangereux pillards… le clan des Crocs ! Kenshirô est alors engage? pour protéger la cite?, aux côtés de Rei, un pratiquant du Nanto Suicho Ken, qui lui révèle être à la recherche du kidnappeur de sa sœur : un homme avec sept cicatrices sur la poitrine…

Ce troisième tome suit la lignée des tomes précédents. C’est toujours aussi rythmé, toujours un tome rempli de combats à tout bout de champs. C’est sûr que l’on ne peut pas s’ennuyer pendant cette lecture. Mais en même temps, j’ai un peu l’impression que sur le fond, ça soit toujours un peu la même chose finalement. Je ne remet pas du tout en cause la qualité de l’oeuvre, de toute façon je ne me permettrais pas le moins du monde de faire ça, mais j’avoue que j’aimerais quelque chose de nouveau. Après j’ai peut être fait une surdose pour avoir enchaîner trois tomes à la suite, peut être que je ne l’ai pas lu au bout moment, allez savoir. Et puis, je dois avouer que ce n’est pas non plus une histoire qui me passionne au plus haut point. Mais j’ai tout de même hâte de découvrir ce que la suite de cette histoire nous réserve. Et puis, je suis toujours fan du personnage de Hokuto!

Un troisième tome toujours aussi intense, des combats qui nous en mettent plein la vue, des personnages haut en couleurs. Cette histoire sait nous tenir en haleine du début à la fin. J’aime l’univers de ce manga, ainsi que les différents personnages que l’on rencontre au fur et à mesure. Malgré le fait que je ne sois pas entièrement à fond dans l’histoire ni qu’elle me rende accro ou que sais je, je suis quand même très curieuse de découvrir la suite, peut être qu’à force d’avancer dans l’histoire, je serais plus à fond dedans!
59 reviews
April 9, 2022
The fist of the north star story continues! A new character is introduced - Rei - A martial artist from the southern star school of teaching called Nanto Seiken. He is pretty unlikable at first, but my hunch was right that he would become Kenshiro's friend and ally, after all by the end he owes a great deal to Ken, even going as far to say ' My life is yours if you will it', showing the friendship really grown over the course of the volume. Mamiya, who is looking like Ken's future love interest is another nice addition, although the writing in some parts is really silly, reminding me of sin city. I would have like to see that changed, but i suppose these issues were made in the 80s, so that type of typical portrayal of a female character would have been a lot more prominent. Although, some of the actions of the character's make more sense knowing the context behind them. That, along with the 'Fangs' - a type of wolf gang- going on a bit too long made the volume slightly less enjoyable. However, I did enjoy Kenshiro, Rei and Mamiya teaming up and these unique bad guy thugs. I gave it 4 stars because the latter half was as good as the beginning, bringing the score up, with the introduction of a new villain - Jagi. I won't include any spoilers, but it does seem to be looking like the next volume is gonna be really good. Lots of cool moments in this volume , onwards!
Profile Image for Matthew.
560 reviews6 followers
February 24, 2023
volume 3 covers the rest of the battle against the fang clan and the start of the jaggi arc.

The banter and camaraderie with rei made this the most entertaining volume yet, and the battle with the mountain king is well done with a lot of drama. The action flows smoothly due to the skillful paneling, keeping things simple and straightforward.

The style and ethos of fist of the North Star is something you no longer see much these days, if at all. A remnant of a more heroic age, when veterans of the Second World War called the shots and the people of Japan were intimately familiar with hardship. The author, Buronson, was born shortly after the war’s end, in 1947.

The events covered here are more powerfully depicted in the 1986 movie. By giving Ken a strong motivation and goal and arranging the various enemies as roadblocks on his path the story attains unity and momentum lacking in the manga. (In the case of the mountain king featured in this volume, he was actually used to establish the strength of the main antagonist of the film.)

Here, whenever Ken defeats a major enemy, the momentum deflates and the author has to come up with some new threat, only loosely tied to prior events, if at all. And ken’s motivation isn’t pressing or personal. The storytelling within each episode still does a good job of building suspense though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Michael Bertrand.
Author 1 book30 followers
January 21, 2024
This review is for Fist of the North Star volumes 1-3.

Fist of the North Star is what you get when you mix the Mad Max franchise with Bruce Lee martial arts films, and then add a heavy dash of ultra-violent gore.

Kenshiro, the main character, wanders aimlessly from town to town in a post-apocalyptic environment, rescuing widows and orphans using his mystical martial arts skills. Saving the women and kids usually involves defeating a villain from a rival martial arts school by exploding them. Seriously- Ken's claim to fame is that he can cause people to explode by striking their "channeling" points.

As far as I can tell, that's the whole plot. By volume three it was very repetitive.

The black and white art in these editions is excellent. I had very little trouble following the action, which has been a big issue with other mangas.

Fist of the North Star will be beloved by older tweens & younger teens. For everyone else, it's a three-star franchise at best.
Profile Image for Fidia .
354 reviews7 followers
July 6, 2023
Wah gila sih 😭
Ini masa ketika bahkan dalam berkeputusan harus memilih antara kesejahteraan orang banyak atau perasaan sendiri. Harus menelan bulat bulat demi hal yang lebih besar. Situasi pedih.

Ada bagian yang lagi² sebagai contoh kalau orang yang berbuat jahat sering tidak sadar dengan perilakunya sendiri. Ibarat, maling teriak maling. Logika yg aneh dari mereka. Selalu seolah menjadi korban satu satunya :')

Masa ketika perempuan bahkan dianggap benda. Adegan kakak-adik menjadi amat mengharukan karena suatu kelangkaan 🥲

Aku baru sadar seperti sedang baca komik Mahabharata. Bagaimana si antagonis digambarkan bertubuh besar, raksasa, serta wajah menyeramkan. Ketamakan dan keserakahannya jelas sekali dari tampangnya.

Belum lagi bagaimana mereka menyiksa orang² yang seharusnya dilindungi. Aku jadi penasaran apa komik lama Jepang jg memiliki era komik seperti kita? Bahasan yang pekat dengan gambar yang realistis.
Profile Image for Alex.
721 reviews
May 14, 2022
This shit is so stupid, I'm such a big fan. This is NOT the post-apocalypse anyone would want to live in, unless you're 8ft tall and have a special martial-arts technique. This volume was kind of silly, almost half of it was devoted to a standoff situation that was only solved with hijinks, and then Ken finds a new best friend! That was nice, I wished they would kiss but whatever.

I like that the author really doesn't seem to know where he's going with this story. At first we were chasing our girlfriend, and then we fought card themed Bosses, then became Gamera: Defender of Children, and now we're going to fight our (not blood related) brothers. I'm sure this is going to get even goofier and I'm still here for it.
Profile Image for Rick Ray.
3,548 reviews38 followers
February 13, 2023
A much more enjoyable entry, largely due to the introduction of Rei, a character with great potential as a rival to Ken. Rei employs the use of Nanto Suichō Ken, a direct contrast to Ken's own Hokuto Shinken style. There's also some interesting developments with us learning a bit more about Ken's past in this entry.

There are still moments of eye-rolling dialogue, particularly with how invested individual characters are with denoting how good a person is based on their eyes. It's quite funny how often that trope is used in this volume, adding to the already saturated levels of action drama tropes in Fist of the North Star. But all in all, it's a fun and easy read with gorgeous artwork that'll definitely entice a re-read in the future.
554 reviews
March 4, 2022
Kenshiro, Bat, and Lin meet up at another village where they have plenty of water, and crops aplenty. Yet the bandits were not far from them. The bandits in question are the Fang Clan. They have fearsome reputation for more than just their animal skins and brutality. Their leader was a giant with the ability to turn his flesh steel. Another visitor was Rei out searching for sister. His hands can turn anybody into slices of ham. The woman, Mamiya, is the leader of the village. Beware her yo-yos though. So, Kenshiro’s got a problem. It’s up to him to figure it out. As any reader will know, he’s bad news to the bandits. Same goes for Rei. So, definitely recommended for this classic manga.
Profile Image for Ruz El.
865 reviews20 followers
March 21, 2022
Another solid volume considering the basic elements of this thing just keep repeating. This one wraps up the village story line that stared at the end of of Vol 2 with the last half of this being an epic confrontation before setting up yet another massive battle that will probably open Vol 4. I haven't read it yet.

Which is kind of the problem with manga like this. I'm tempted to hold off reading until the publishing is complete so I can run the series, but then with this series, it may get a little exhausting with the basic repetitive action and story beats. As it is, it's dumb fun with insane plots and battles. It's hard not to like.
Profile Image for Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson.
Author 21 books39 followers
November 13, 2022
3.9/5

More insane action scenes, more silly dialogue, and more over-the-top everything. Aside from a little added depth to Kenshiro and Rei, this is the same junk food as the first two volumes. A lot of this is in the 1986 movie with a few minor differences. Insanely violent, perhaps the goriest volume so far, with some nudity and a lot of suffering innocents! Artwork is still fantastic, the plot is fast and loose and repetitive, and Buronson's corny writing just keeps getting sillier.

These would be severe flaws in literally anything else, but because it's Fist of the North Star, I can't get enough of this wonky shit!
Profile Image for Greg D..
64 reviews3 followers
October 19, 2023
Has the same formula as the first two volumes: antagonists that are evil beyond reason followed by the main character, Ken, punching them to an early grave. I think what makes this volume work more than the first two is an interesting supporting cast, plus an antagonist introduced near the end that hints at a more personal connection with Ken.

I’ve stopped expecting anything deep in this series and just started enjoying the ride. It’s not as complex as Berserk, as moving as Vinland Saga, or as philosophical as Vagabond. It’s just a guy punching bad guys. I don’t think I’d consider it great, but for what it is, I had a great time.
Profile Image for Natilin Alpaca Saurio.
1,276 reviews3 followers
June 27, 2023
3.5
Al menos las mujeres no son TAAaan inútiles en esta obra, tipo Mamiya tiene los ovarios bien puestos, si Rei (o Ren, no se) le enseñara algunas tecnicas más "prefecionales" serie buenisimo verla en acción. Aunque igual estan con dale y dale que los hombres estan para preocuparse de esas cosas y etc etc. La cosa es que al menos tienen personalidad.
La actitud de Rei tiene un poco más de sentido, no quiere que nada la pase porque le recuerda a su hermana. Pero el resto es tipo ... Eran otros tiempos.
Igual, Mamiya in my heart. <3
Profile Image for Saurabh Modi.
346 reviews37 followers
August 25, 2025
There’s just something amazing about this manga - they just aren’t written like that anymore. The art work is obviously amazing, and while the story is simple, it has that sincere tone that wears its heart up its sleeve. And while there’s Mad Max like setup all around, the manga is coming into its own - and setting up memorable characters and a unique storyline. And the tone is just so dramatic all the time, reminds me of movies from 70s and 80s.
Profile Image for Nacho Pena.
48 reviews2 followers
January 13, 2026
Volumen centrado en la presentación de Rei y su trasfondo, así como en el debut de Jagi.

Ha estado bien, pero se evidencia que es aquí cuando Tetsuo Hara y Buronson tuvieron que rehacer sus planes a largo plazo ya que no contaban con el gran éxito que tendría la serie tras la muerte de Shin. El arco del Clan del Colmillo se siente algo alargado y "de relleno" hasta que en el próximo tomo se plantea por fin el gran leit motiv de la colección.
Profile Image for Craig Schorling.
2,465 reviews11 followers
January 4, 2022
This such a fun read. Pure action and chaos with a touch of story and emotion. This is vintage and classic for a reason. It won't be everyones cup of tea and I get that. This volume sees more over the top action and guys that seem badass until Ken shows up. We get a pretty sweet tag team moment and an ending that shows the promise of some serious fighting to come. Keep these coming!
Profile Image for Jack.
703 reviews3 followers
February 15, 2022
God, Ken is so cool. I love the inconsistent size of the bad guys. Sometimes they’re regular people and then two pages later they’re a ten-foot-tall monster. It just depends on how evil they’re supposed to be at any given time. Truly a great work of sequential art.
The weird little munchkin men are fun, too.
697 reviews
March 17, 2022
The interesting thing about this volume is the exploration of the relationship between Rei (a southern fist adherent) and Ken. They appear to be allies, rivals and possible enemies all at once.

The antagonists aren't all that interesting to me, being just another raiding/pirate gang with a gimmick.
22 reviews
February 14, 2023
This where I got to when I read the Viz comics editions a couple of decades ago. Still as engaged as I was back then, and it appears this time I'll be able to finish the story, as Viz looks to be following through with the rest of the hardcover editions.

Not for the squeamish, this is as brutal as manga gets.
Profile Image for Diogo Muller.
794 reviews9 followers
August 8, 2023
This keeps the quality at the same level, and the absurd fights are, as always, great, but...

The whole sexism in this volume makes this feels like it aged like milk. Yes, it's only a few scenes, but it kinda sours the whole experience quite a bit.

I just hope the next volumes concentrate on the fights and leave that whole other point behind.
Profile Image for wbforeman.
591 reviews3 followers
March 23, 2022
I started reading the series last year I’m really taken by Tetsuo Hara’s art. its heavy line work/ character design I can see how it’s been such an influence. I get excited for every new volume and it’s great to see that it’s found in the audience
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews

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