Hokuto no Ken 2

Title:Hokuto no Ken 2
Fist of the North Star 2
北斗の拳2
Overall:Watch
Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Toei
R1 License - Discotek
R1 License - Subtitled Only
Set several years after the original series, Kenshiro returns to the battlefield when his former travelling companions Bat and Lin, now leaders of the Hokuto Army, are at war with the corrupt Celestial Empire controlled by Jakoh. Kenshiro faces against the masters of Gento Koken, who are being coerced to do Jakoh's evil bidding. The setting later changes to the ancient Land of Shura, the birthplace of the Hokuto, Nanto and Gento styles, where Kenshiro must face agaisnt the masters of the Hokuto Ryuken style, a style derived from the same clan as Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken.
(Summary Courtesy of Anime News Network)


43-episode TV anime that premiered on March 13, 1987.
Animated by Toei Animation.
Licensed by Discotek.
[edit] The Fist of the North Star franchise:

Main Timeline Prequels Legends of the True Savior Film Series
  • (2006) _Raō Den: Jun'ai no Shō (movie, 105 minutes)
  • (2007) _Yuria Den (1 OVA episode, 65 minutes)
  • (2007) _Raō Den Gekitō no Shō (movie, 90 minutes)
  • (2008) _Toki Den (movie, 60 minutes)
  • (2008) _Zero Kenshirō Den (movie, 90 minutes)
Spinoffs
  • (1986) Hokuto no Ken (Movie) (movie spinoff to TV series, 110 minutes)
  • (2015) _Hokuto no Ken: Ichigo Aji (TV series, 12 episodes)
DD Fist of the North Star
  • (2011) _DD Hokuto no Ken (TV series, 12 episodes)
  • (2013) _DD Hokuto no Ken (2013) (remake, 13 TV episodes)
  • (2015) _DD Hokuto no Ken II (TV series sequel, 12 episodes)
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 6 5 6 5 5 6 Ggultra2764 [series:3392#1552]
This second Fist of the North Star series is meant to provide further fleshing out of Kenshiro and the Hokuto Shinken fighting style as it explores their origins as Kenshiro reunites with an older Lin and Bat to fend off a new enemy force, before having to rescue an abducted Lin from the Land of Shura, a country that encourages a brutal "survival of the fittest" mentality in raising male warriors.

On the one hand, this series runs at a more shorter length thus it avoids most of the major issues that plagued the first FotNS series with repetitious plot developments and having enough recap episodes. One of the series antagonists, Hyoh, also gets enough fleshing out early enough to make him a likeable character who is merciful and finds himself victim to his brother Kaioh's manipulations to oppose Kenshiro. Plus, being on the Land of Shura leads Kenshiro to take on more challenging foes compared to the original series, meaning he isn't as much of an unstoppable force as he was depicted throughout much of Fist of the North Star's first half.

However, FotNS 2's attempts to have the same amount of pathos as the first series with following Kenshiro's quest has a good number of issues. The biggest problem I have with this season is it felt like there was no reason for it to really exist. The first series, in spite of its flaws, had tied up all its loose ends rather well and there were no hints of things to come from the first series that would allude to this second anime's events. Sure, it was nice to see Kenshiro return again to continue offing scumbag baddies in messy ways. But in spite of the additional back story it provides, this could have been better explored if the series was some sort of prequel to FotNS as it didn't make any narrative sense to structure the series as a sequel in my personal opinion.

Overall, this second series for Fist of the North Star felt like somewhat of a step down from its first series. While improving on some of the first show's issues, it brings about a major one with the choice of story direction it provides since it didn't make much sense setting this series up as a sequel. Still if you're looking for more Fist of the North Star's bloody action, this series should continue to entertain you.

Last updated Wednesday, August 09 2017. Created Wednesday, August 09 2017.

Community Anime Reviews

anime mikomi org