History FistOfTheNorthStar / TropesIToP

* NamesTheSame: In-universe, [[KungFuJesus Toki]] and [[BattleAura Touki]].

** Hokuto Shin Ken uses ''Touki'' to strike opponent's pressure points with out contact.

** Hokuto Ryu Ken uses ''Matouki'' which is [[MagicByAnyOtherName flat-out magic]].

* TheNarrator: Creator/ShigeruChiba, who also voiced a few of the villains, pulls double duty here. He also gets gradually more excitable as the TV series goes on; as an episode of ''Series/TriviaNoIzumi'' pointed out, he starts off doing the next-episode previews in a rather stern voice, but by the final episode he's [[ChewingTheScenery screaming the narration at the top of his lungs]]. It originally started as an in-joke by Chiba; he apparently stopped ramping it up for a while for fear of giving himself an aneurysm, but began doing it again when fans asked him why he wasn't shouting anymore.

** There's also his famous "ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!" kiai, which he uses when he's busting out his ''Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken'' on some sorry bad guy

* ManlyTears: One of the most famous users of this trope. It should be noted however, that the men of this series sheds just as much, if not ''more'' TenderTears, contrary to popular belief.

* InfantImmortality: Although children and even infants often died in the manga (along with a few dogs), the TV anime often rewrote such scenes so that the child escapes from harm's way with Kenshiro's help (the most prominent examples being Taki, Bat's adopted little brother who gets shot by one of Jackal's men, and Ryo, the kid in Shew's hideout who ate bread poisoned by Thouzerand his men).

** Raoh's special technique Hokuto Gosho Ha allows him to fire a contrated blast of Touki (fighting spirit) at his opponent.

* KickTheDog: A constant, neverending stream of atrocities designed to make you feel that the villains deserve every last bit of righteous ultra-violence Ken can lavish upon them. One bad guy even ''literally'' kicks a dog -- a cute puppy to be precise.

** Not to mention Kenshiro himself in the ''Kensiro Den'' prequel film, right down to ressurecting from LITERALLY being crucified.

* NewOldWest: Right down to the "stranger walking out of the duststorm into the town" shots and the Morricone-esque mournful-saxophone music of Spaghetti Westerns in the more sad and thoughtful scenes.

* NiceHat: The helmets in ''North Star'' are legendary. One notable example is Uighur, who hides whips in his horned helmet (you pull them out by yanking on the horns).

* InfantImmortality: Although children and even infants often died in the manga (along with a few dogs), the TV anime often rewrote such scenes so that the child escapes from harm's way with Kenshiro's help (the most prominent examples being Taki, Bat's adopted little brother who gets shot by one of Jackal's men, and Ryo, the kid in Shuu's hideout who ate bread poisoned by Souther and his men).
* InformedAbility: There are villains who brag about their unstoppable fighting styles whose power we never see onscreen, though a good load of them do manage to show it off. The most ubiquitous example has to be Souther's Tensho Juuji Hou attack, which supposedly can cut through stainless steel, but only scratches Ken's shoulders a bit and got a ''lot'' of hype beforehand. [[JustifiedTrope Granted]], Ken's MadeOfIron, and once got hit in the head with a solid stone pillar as big as he is and remained completely unfazed (the pillar shattered to pieces). So it is easy to see how an attack that can cut stainless steel might be not a big deal to him.

** Souther in particular is an '''exceptionally''' vile example of this trope; he is shown throwing food away and punishing those who try to pick it up.
** Shisuka from ''Kenshiro Den'' is an even more literal example than Souther, since he resembles the TropeNamer.

* JapaneseSpirit: Kenshiro, like all masters of the North Star and South Star martial arts schools, has powers and abilities which make him extremely special and Talented. Further, the IncitingIncident which caused the entirety of the series (his first duel and loss to Shin) has Shin specifically state that Kenshiro lost to him because he lacked Resolve. The desire for both [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revenge]] and [[RoaringRampageOfRescue rescue]] are what push Ken to his peak. Even later, when Ken needs to unlock his ultimate technique, it turns out that he can only do it by embracing "the true nature of sorrow". Finally, Kenshiro at first glance appears to avert the Persistence side of the trope because he's [[InvincibleHero so invincible that he never needs to do any training or even struggle]]. However, it's revealed that all of the battles, lost friends and allies, and psychological trauma he's endured throughout the series has allowed him to perfect his abilities.

* LoveFreak: Shu, Yuria, to an extent. Lin also counts as well.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Recurring theme for several characters. Most notably Shin and Souther.

* MeaningfulName: Toki, who shares his grace with the ibis he was named after, and Souther, a slightly more convoluted example. The southerly winds. What birds fly on. Birds like the Nanto style is inspired by. Meaning he is at the root of all Nanto schools, as the emperor. Like that ''wouldn't'' get to his head... And then there's Kenshiro himself, whose name translates to something like "Fourth Son of the Fist."

* MonsterSobStory: Told by both Souther and Kaioh to Kenshiro ''right before'' their final battles, when there's no time left for the reader to watch them grow as characters or sympathise with them. Though the week-to-week short term plotting of the shounen manga industry is probably to blame here.
** Fortunately, we do get to learn more about Souther immediately after his first fight with Kenshiro, and before Shu challenges him. Just like Kenshiro, Souther was slated as the true successor to his fighting style, but lost his mentor through tragic circumstance.

** Souther's original traumatic backstory was omitted in the ''Shin Kyuuseishu Densetsu'' movies, leaving him as a [[ForTheEvulz one dimensional villain]].

** The elder in Mamiya's village bears a [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/fist_of_the_north_star/v04/c028/14.html suspicious resemblance]] to [[StarWars Obi-Wan Kenobi]].

* NotHyperbole: If Kenshiro tells that after he's through with you there will be not one hair left from you, he MEANS it! [[spoiler:Southern found out about it the hard way.]]

* OrganDodge: Souther is immune to Kenshiro's pressure-point attacks in their first battle because he was born with dextrocardia with ''situs inversus totalis'', which completely reverses the position of all his internal organs and pressure points. When Kenshiro learns Souther's secret during their final battle, Souther's doom is sealed.

* PaperCutting: Yuda vs Rei; Kenshiro vs Souther; Raoh vs Kenshiro; Kenshiro vs Sanga; Kenshiro vs Clifflanders, and other occasions.

** Raoh, meanwhile, is only able to learn Hokuto Shinken's ultimate technique, Musou Tensei, [[spoiler:through his love of Yuria and sorrow over her sad fate]]. Which was MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours by Kenshiro when [[spoiler:he revealed that not only does he have sorrow over Yuria too which gives him as much power as Raoh, he also has sorrow over losing his beloved big brother Raoh!]] The Power of Love is ''all over this story''. If Raoh and Kenshiro's case wasn't enough, see Kenshiro vs. Souther, which itself is also all about this.

%%* MightyGlacier: Mr. Heart practically defines this, in both the show and the PS2 fighter. Another large character, Fudou, does basically nothing but ride this trope.

* MonumentalDamage: Combined with SceneryGorn, the anime intro shows the ruins of the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel tower and Tower bridge.

* LoveMakesYouEvil: Recurring theme for several villains. Most notably Shin and Souther.

* MightyGlacier: Mr. Heart practically defines this, in both the show and the PS2 fighter. Another large character, Fudou, does basically nothing but ride this trope.

* IAmBigBoned: The Asura Gyoko.

* InformedAbility: There are villains who brag about their unstoppable fighting styles whose power we never see onscreen, though a good load of them do manage to show it off. The most ubiquitous example has to be Souther's Tensho Juuji Hou attack, which supposedly can cut through stainless steel, but only scratches Ken's shoulders a bit and got a ''lot'' of hype beforehand. Granted Ken's MadeOfIron, but still. (It's like Musou Tensei in that he passes through Ken's attempted counterattacks, but no mention is made of why this doesn't work when he jumps right into Ken's successful Tenha Kassatsu.)
** Kenshiro once got hit in the head with a solid stone pillar as big as he is and remained completely unfazed (the pillar shattered to pieces). So it is easy to see how an attack that can cut stainless steel might be not a big deal to him.
* JapaneseSpirit: Kenshiro, like all masters of the North Star and South Star martial arts schools, has powers and abilities which make him extremely special and Talented. Further, the IncitingIncident which caused the entirety of the series (his first duel and loss to Shin) has Shin specifically state that Kenshiro lost to him because he lacked Resolve. The desire for both [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revenge]] and [[RoaringRampageOfRescue rescue]] are what push Ken to his peak. Even later, when Ken needs to unlock his ultimate technique, it turns out that he can only do it by embracing "the true nature of sorrow". Finally, Kenshiro at first glance appears to avert the Persistence side of the trope because he's [[InvincibleHero so invincible that he never needs to do any training or even struggle]]. However, it's revealed that all of the battles, lost friends and allies, and psychological trauma he's endured throughout the series has allowed him to perfect his abilities.
* IntangibleMan: One of the effects of Hokuto Shinken's ultimate technique ''Musou Tensei''[[note]]"Nil-Thought Rebirth"[[/note]].
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: The manga's final volume has Ken and Bat ''both'' trying out the IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy suit with Lin: earlier, Kaioh had pressed the pressure point Shikan Haku on Lin's back that would cause her to fall in love with the first man she saw upon waking -- expecting that it would be a scummy bandit or a lowly beggar, ''anyone'' but Ken; nevertheless when she wakes, it's just Ken and Bat (who'd learned of Shikan Haku -- important point there). Bat was aware of Lin's love for Ken, but Ken was sympathetic to her for all that she'd been through and instead wanted her to live peacefully, so he rode off to ensure that Lin would fall in love with Bat instead. Bat makes a show of going along, but at their wedding he's unable to fully commit -- feeling that it's not right for him to be getting the (sincere) love compelled onto her, so in an even more extreme case, he actually causes retrograde amnesia in her, then in an ''incredibly'' cockamimie plot actually attempts to "guide" the rebuilding of memories in an attempt to cause her to fall in love with Ken all over again instead... by the end though, [[spoiler:it fails when Ken and Lin both regain their memories, and in her case remembering her love for the now-dying Bat. While Ken promised to Bat that he would go off with Lin, he secretly pressed healing points on Bat before leaving without her... leaving her a welcome surprise]].
* JabbaTableManners: In a world where ''basic'' food and fresh water can ''literally'' cost you an arm and a leg, any character who eats gourmet food can automatically be labelled as a wasteful villain. Souther in particular is an '''exceptionally''' vile example of this trope. Shisuka from ''Kenshiro Den'' is an even more literal example than Souther, though the first arc of the manga (post-Kaioh) had Kouketsu.
* KamehameHadoken: '''HOKUTO GOSHO HA!!!'''
** '''TENSHO HONRETSU!!!'''
* {{Kiai}}: Kenshiro's battle cries mimic those of Bruce Lee. Not to mention that in the anime, he looks like him too (at least in the early episodes). In the manga though, his face, hair, and clothes all very closely resemble Mel Gibson's character, "Mad" Max Rockatansky in the Mad Max films -- then, when he went off to Shura, Sylvester Stallone.

* KiAttacks: Hokuto Shin Ken uses ''Touki'' to strike opponent's pressure points with out contact.

** Hokuto Ryu Ken uses ''Matouki'' which is [[MagicByAnyOtherName flat out magic]].

* KillEmAll: FistOfTheNorthStar is a long-running manga with a massive and diverse cast of characters... but if they aren't named Kenshiro, Lin, or Bat, don't expect them to stick around for long. Story arcs where ''everyone'' but our protagonist ends up dead in a heap are extremely common.

* KungFuJesus: Not Jesus Himself, but his lookalike Toki. Not to mention Kenshiro himself in the ''Kensiro Den'' prequel film, right down to ressurecting from LITERALLY being crucified.
* LighterAndSofter: Yes, LighterAndSofter. Fist of North Star was not the first post-apocalyptic manga. It would ''probably'' be ''Manga/ViolenceJack'' by Creator/GoNagai. Compared with THAT series - an utterly rotten CrapsackWorld where HumansAreBastards and [[FromBadToWorse things only ever get worse]], ''Hokuto no Ken'' is a pretty optimistic and hopeful story. At least Fist Of The North Star gives the message that you can still be good and noble and remain a human being even in the worst circumstances. ''Violence Jack''? Not so much.
* LimitedAnimation: Whenever Ken walks, more often than not the animators just take a static frame of him and wave it up and down. Leads to {{Narm}} in some cases, such as the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAYLxEG5X-Y HILARIOUSLY bad special effect in episode 23,]] where we see Ken from an exploding Mook's point of view, and it's painfully obvious that the animators just waved Ken's picture around in the background. There's also the episode in which Ken kills Devil's Rebirth: It just shows him from the back as he punches, while Devil's body goes past up. It's the funniest GreenScreen effect ever.
** Lends itself to unintentional NarmCharm at times. For instance, when Kenshiro confronts Amiba after the later [[EpicFail epically fails]] at [[WhatTheFuAreYouDoing copying Hokuto Shinken]], he is supposed to step up right into Amiba's face. However, the animation for this scene is simply a still frame of Kenshiro leaning forward being slid up next to a terrified Amiba, and it comes off as even more inappropriately humorous (possibly because the immediately preceding scene was already fairly BloodyHilarious).

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: strong characters with unique fighting styles are introduced, only to be killed off within the next volume or two. Think ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', if people died.
** Some of them are given bit more screen time in Toei's anime version, like Raiga and Fuga, Koryu, Hyui and Shuren, Shoki and Nagato to name a few.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Considering the kind of future mankind lives in, it's insane to think guys still hold on to the belief that]] MenDontCry.
* MartialMedic: Kenshiro can manipulate pressure points to heal as well as harm.

* MonumentalDamage / SceneryGorn: The anime intro shows the ruins of the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel tower and Tower bridge.
* MoodWhiplash: The over the top ways in which evil, evil people die insanely sometimes verges on black humor, partially from Narm and partially from their cowardly antics. Then there's the time Ken's cute sidekick gets splattered with gore in the middle of a brutal fistfight to the death by way of comic relief. However, this trope is here for one man: Jyuza. In the manga, his introduction, a digression from a hopeless war the established characters are fighting, takes its sweet time showing us a piece of his happy-go-lucky, adventurous life. Then he is called out to fight, and its back to the nightmare for the audience.

* MoralMyopia: Kiba Daioh, PlayedForLaughs.
* MotiveDecay: After his parents were murdered and his sister sold into slavery, Rei didn't bother with his role as the Star of Justice until after meeting Toki.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Several times, especially Raoh with Yuria. Arguably Shin. Certainly Kaioh. Fortunately in Raoh's case it was "My God, What [[spoiler:I Could Have]] Done."

* TheNarrator: Creator/ShigeruChiba, who also voiced a few of the villains, pulls double duty here. He also gets gradually more excitable as the TV series goes on; as an episode of ''TriviaNoIzumi'' pointed out, he starts off doing the next-episode previews in a rather stern voice, but by the final episode he's [[ChewingTheScenery screaming the narration at the top of his lungs]]. It originally started as an in-joke by Chiba; he apparently stopped ramping it up for a while for fear of giving himself an aneurysm, but began doing it again when fans asked him why he wasn't shouting anymore.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Toki looks and acts a ''hell'' of a lot like a certain Son of {{God}}. Not to mention a variety of "cameos," like Mr. T and Hulk Hogan lookalikes (Barona and Bask, respectively) teaming up together, or the Harn brothers who resemble the tag team Legion of Doom, or a Shura who looks like Sloth from ''Film/TheGoonies'', or Abida who strongly resembles Gene Simmons... the list goes on and on.

* NotWorthKilling: Jagi when he was disfigured by Kenshiro. Kenshiro would later regret his decision, as it backfired a lot. (Jagi was the one whose conniving caused Shin to decide that Kenshiro didn't deserve Yuria, and Jagi's later ''raison d'etre'' was to drag Kenshiro's name through the mud.)

* OneHundredAndEight: The number of branches of Nanto Seiken.

* OneNameOnly: Everyone except Buzz and Gill Harn. In the pilot, Kenshiro had the full name of "Kasumi Kenshirō", which would later be used by [[FistOfTheBlueSky his uncle]].

* PapaWolf: Kenshiro to Bat and Lin; Fudoh to his various orphaned kids; and Ein to his daughter Asuka.

* PosthumousCharacter: Ryuken.

* ThePowerOfLove: Raoh, meanwhile, is only able to learn Hokuto Shinken's ultimate technique, Musou Tensei, [[spoiler:through his love of Yuria and sorrow over her sad fate]]. Which was MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours by Kenshiro when [[spoiler:he revealed that not only does he have sorrow over Yuria too which gives him as much power as Raoh, he also has sorrow over losing his beloved big brother Raoh!]] The Power of Love is ''all over this story''. If Raoh and Kenshiro's case wasn't enough, see Kenshiro vs. Souther, which itself is also all about this.

* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: The Colonel deploys several small, metal, razor-sharp boomerangs (perhaps a deliberate homage to The Road Warrior, which was very influential on the series), as part of his complex martial art. They are all on target, despite him plunging the battlefield into darkness (to make it hard to see the boomerangs!) Ultimately it's revealed he's psychically guiding them.
* PreMortemOneLiner: "You are already dead." But if that's true, is it ''[[MindScrew really]]'' pre-mortem?

* NotWorthKilling: Jagi when he was disfigured by Kenshiro. Kenshiro would later regret his decision, as it backfired a lot. (Jagi was the one whose conniving caused Shin to decide that Kenshiro didn't deserve Yuria, and Jagi's later ''modus operandi'' was to drag Kenshiro's name through the mud.)

* NorioWakamoto: Its a small appearance, but the man himself voices Raoh in his first silhouette scene, as well as Shuren. Somewhat altered in that Shuren was a heroic character.
** And in [[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors Hokuto Musou]], he's the narrator.

* JapaneseSpirit: Kenshiro, like all masters of the North Star and South Star martial arts schools, has powers and abilities which make him extremely special and Talented. FUrther, the IncitingIncident which caused the entirety of the series (his first duel and loss to Shin) has Shin specifically state that Kenshiro lost to him because he lacked Resolve. The desire for both [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revenge]] and [[RoaringRampageOfRescue rescue]] are what push Ken to his peak. Even later, when Ken needs to unlock his ultimate technique, it turns out that he can only do it by embracing "the true nature of sorrow". Finally, Kenshiro at first glance appears to avert the Persistence side of the trope because he's [[InvincibleHero so invincible that he never needs to do any training or even struggle]]. However, it's revealed that all of the battles, lost friends and allies, and psychological trauma he's endured throughout the series has allowed him to perfect his abilities.

* PillarsOfMoralCharacter: A constant plot point through much of the series. For example, much of Kenshiro's turmoil for facing against Toki stems from the fact that not only is Toki his (adopted) older brother (whom he is obligated to respect and revere), but Toki also saved his life when they were children. It pops up in other ways now and then, as well.

* LighterAndSofter: Yes, LighterAndSofter. Fist of North Star was not the first post-apocalyptic manga. It would ''probably'' be ''Manga/ViolenceJack'' by GoNagai. Compared with THAT series - an utterly rotten CrapsackWorld where HumansAreBastards and [[FromBadToWorse things only ever get worse]], Hokuto no Ken is a pretty optimistic and hopeful story. At least Fist Of The North Star gives the message that you can still be good and noble and remain a human being even in the worst circumstances. ViolenceJack? Not so much.