Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳 Hokuto no Ken?) is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by
Tetsuo Hara that was serialized in Weekly Shō
nen Jump from 1983 to 1988, spanning
245 chapters, which were initially collected in a 27-volume tankōbon edition by
Shueisha. Set in a post-apocalyptic world that has been destroyed by a nuclear war, the story centers around a warrior named
Kenshiro, the successor of a deadly martial art style known as Hokuto
Shinken, which gives him the ability to kill most adversaries from within through the use of the human body's secret vital points, often resulting in an exceptionally violent and gory death. Kenshiro dedicates his life to fighting against the various ravagers who threaten the lives of the weak and innocent, as well as rival martial artists, including his own "brothers" from the same clan.
The manga was adapted into two anime TV series produced by Toei Animation which aired on
Fuji TV affiliates from 1984 through 1988, comprising a combined total of
152 episodes. Several films,
OVAs, and video games had been produced as well, including a series of spin-offs centering around other characters from the original story.
Hokuto
Shinken (officially translated as the "
God Fist of the North Star", among other names) is the primary fighting style in the series. A martial art which is 18 centuries old, Hokuto Shinken uses the body's 708 vital points to destroy or heal from within. The art can only be passed down from one master to a single student, and thus the dispute between
Kenshiro and his adoptive brothers becomes the central plot during the first half of the manga's run.
