Fist of the North Star First Impressions: Kenshiro Might Be the Most Alpha Main Character in History

Just a few days ago, I watched Fist of the North Star for the very first time, and after the first three episodes I came away with a very good first impression. Watching Kenshiro work through these villains, my thought was that "this might be the most alpha main character in history," and I am excited to keep watching.

I came to it while wrapping up the X-Men anime from Madhouse. I put on some clips and was mesmerized by the levels of absolute alpha that Kenshiro is. I have seen clips over the years, and I may have seen one of the films way back when I was younger, but I had never actually watched the entirety of Fist of the North Star until now.

Fist of the North Star predates Dragon Ball as a shonen pioneer

Fist of the North Star, or Hokuto no Ken, is in many ways the forefather of shonen, even before Dragon Ball. A lot of people call Dragon Ball the godfather of shonen, and I get why they say that, because it is really impactful internationally. But Fist of the North Star does predate it. It was Toei's big hit before Dragon Ball, even though they had a few of those.

It is not the first shonen ever, but it is recognized as one of the early pioneers of martial arts shonen. If you have ever watched JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, you will see so much influence from Fist of the North Star that it is not even funny.

80s anime is not worse animation, just a different vibe

There is something about the show that I am not sure I can call warm, or nostalgic, but there is a certain flavor to 80s anime. If you are an anime fan who has only watched stuff from the 2000s, with that digital, glossy look from the late 2000s or 2010s, it is not that the animation itself is worse or better. A lot of people get this mixed up. Over the years I have seen plenty of people say animation is better now, and it really is not.

It is not the animation. It is the fact that things are done digitally now in high definition. Take something old, whether it is Fist of the North Star, Dragon Ball, or something even older like Snow White and Cinderella from Disney, give it a proper upscale or a proper remastering, and it is going to look incredible. Old animation shot on film rather than digital has much higher and deeper resolution than digital does, so old material actually looks better if it is properly taken care of. The problem is that not everything is.

Still, 80s and 70s anime has a vibe all its own. It has this rustic kind of look to it.

A post-apocalyptic world that feels like a western meets Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

This show feels like a combination of a western mixed with a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome type of thing. It is a post-apocalyptic world where big cities are no longer the same. There are a lot of smaller towns, lots of desert and lots of travel, which in some ways makes it feel like an RPG.

You can tell the world is missing something. There are all kinds of gangs everywhere that in many ways abuse people and take advantage of the weak. But I will tell you who is not weak, and that is Kenshiro.

Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken and the countdown to death

The literal name of the show, Hokuto no Ken, means Fist of the Big Dipper, the Big Dipper being a constellation in the sky. It was originally a manga by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. It is a legendary manga. I have never read it, but it is very well known. The Big Dipper is essentially on Kenshiro's chest: he has these marks that look like bullet holes, and they outline the constellation.

His power, or martial art, I guess you could call it, is Hokuto Shinken. He knows pressure points and death moves, a touch of death, so when he hits people with it, they die. He does not kill for the sake of killing, though. He kills people who are evil and irredeemable, at least from what I have seen so far in three episodes. He is not like Goku, who gives people a chance to redeem themselves, at least not yet. When Kenshiro sees somebody doing an evil act, like abusing a kid or an animal, it is game over, and it is so satisfying to see him do this.

One of the cool things about the show is what happens after the hit. "Even though it came out decades ago, it's so fresh." He will put his thumbs into a guy's forehead or crush his skull in, and tell him, "You have 7 seconds left to live. You're already dead." The guy will plead that he does not want to die, or insist Kenshiro is lying, and then a countdown clock appears on the screen. Little by little it counts down, and then the guy dies. It is incredible. I have never seen anything quite like it, and if anybody has done it since, it has got to be something inspired by Fist.

Early on, not much is known about Kenshiro. These first episodes have not revealed much of his backstory at all. They are just establishing him as a powerful assassin and martial artist who is very difficult to kill.

Why I am not bored by an overpowered Kenshiro yet

I notice that a lot of younger people tend to get really excited over overpowered main characters, and I do not. I have said before that if a show's main character is overpowered, unless it is a comedy like Dr. Slump or a gag like One Punch Man, that takes away the drama. In Dragon Ball, for example, Goku pretty much beats up on any adult he wants for a little while in the early series. But when he runs into Roshi and later Tao, he starts to get challenged.

You can have your main character be strong and win fights, but eventually he has to go up against somebody who tests him, and lose. That is what creates the tension and the character arc: he has to lose to overcome an obstacle. That is just basic storytelling. If your hero has no obstacles to overcome, what is the point of watching? Arale in Dr. Slump is different because it is a gag manga, joke after joke. Arale is not really a fighter, even though there are parts where she fights, and even her Dragon Ball scenes are played for gags.

Kenshiro is a martial artist who knows Hokuto Shinken. I am going in blind and know nothing about where the story goes, but there is no question in my mind that he will eventually run into someone who either knows Hokuto Shinken or has some kind of counter, and he will have to use his brain and his will to overcome. That is storytelling. We have not reached that yet, so I am not bored by Kenshiro, though I think if it goes on too long it would get boring for me. I like stories where heroes have to overcome, and the Rocky movies are the great example. For now I have no problem with him displaying his skills, because when he eventually does lose, it is going to mean something.

Toei, Fuji TV and a very Western soundtrack

There are multiple anime series and movies, but the original anime was produced by Toei Animation and aired on Fuji TV, just like Dragon Ball. For the record, it is the 1984 series I am watching. Toei Animation did the visuals, and I really enjoyed the soundtrack. Apparently the composer died earlier this year, which is unfortunate.

It is a very unique, very different sound, and it is very Western. I would not go so far as to say it has Sergio Leone undertones like the Kikuchi score, although some of that is in there, but it does have a similar vibe of old school kung fu. I am comparing it to Dragon Ball a little because people have made the comparison and because I am known for talking about Dragon Ball. I am not saying one is better than the other.

Kenshiro is alpha, and alpha does not mean toxic

Seeing what Kenshiro does to these guys with his thumbs, and knowing that when he rips his shirt off it is over, is why I think he might be the most alpha main character in history. I have argued before that Goku is alpha and gone into what that actually means, including self-actualization and Abraham Maslow. It is a deeper concept than I think people realize. It gets mixed up a lot with toxic masculinity, and that is not what it is.

Kenshiro is brave. He is a stand-up person. He is confrontational, and he defends those weaker than him. Those are all alpha traits. He has a lot of self-confidence because he has learned the techniques, and he is very soft-spoken.

Akira Kamiya is Kenshiro

Kenshiro is voiced by the legendary Akira Kamiya. I know him from Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, which became Robotech in America, and Beast King GoLion, which became Voltron, two shows from way back that are just as legendary as Fist of the North Star. He was also in City Hunter, Detective Conan and Kinnikuman. He has been around, and he is very well respected as a voice actor.

If I remember correctly, he was also Professor Tomoe in Sailor Moon S. And as a bit of a deep cut, in the original Japanese version of Power Rangers Zeo he was Gunmajin, who became Auric the Conqueror, the little statue you put a key into before he comes alive and gets big. With that super deep voice and that alpha demeanor, he is Kenshiro. He is wonderful in the role.

Expecting filler, but excited to keep watching

I know I am still very early into the series, and since this is an old Toei anime, I am sure there will probably be some filler that is not in the manga, and I am sure it will be drawn out. Even so, I had a very good first impression and I am excited to continue.

I will still be doing tons of Dragon Ball, but I also plan to cover other anime. I am probably going to cover the new One Piece anime, and maybe even Godzilla, though I have not decided yet.

Do you agree that an overpowered hero like Kenshiro only works until he finally meets someone who can beat him?