Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context YMMV / FistOfTheNorthStar

Go To

1!!Franchise-wide
2* CompleteMonster: [[Monster/FistOfTheNorthStar Lots and lots.]]
3
4!!The Manga and its Adaptations:
5* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
6** Ryuken honoured a dying man's request to take his children (Toki and Raoh) and raise them. Rather than adopting them, he takes them as students, drops them off a cliff and opts to teach whoever can climb back up, explicitly saying "I ''do not'' need two sons." A TricksterMentor with an unorthodox way of teaching kids, or an asshole who took advantage of his friend's death to find students? He could also be considered a blend of the two, a man who tried to be a parent but didn't really know how and as he grew older learned to care for his adopted sons better.
7** The Colonel (more so his manga version) could be seen as a {{Foil}} to Raoh. He's a highly principled man thrown into a world gone mad who does his best to bring everything under control with an iron fist. He wants to raise an army of the strongest to bring order to the wasteland but lacks Raoh's principles and strength.
8** Rei's gesture of [[StayInTheKitchen attempting to dissuade Mamiya from taking part in the Fang Clan raid]] and then [[DefeatByModesty stripping her]] carries with it loads of {{Subtext}} to be interpreted. For many readers, its not nearly as demeaning and disrespectful of a gesture as it seems like on the surface, and serves more as an affirmation of Mamiya's womanhood, if a rather blunt one.
9* AccidentalInnuendo: One aspect of the 1984 anime's censorship included recoloring blood so that it instead looked like glowing white liquid (when the show didn't opt for BlackBlood); which was a common censorship practice in Anime throughout the 80's and 90's. Unfortunately, it just ended up looking like glow-in-the-dark semen instead, something that resulted in no shortage of jokes from fans. This is especially true for video game adaptations that keep the censorship, often omitting the glowing effects and making the blood look even lewder in the process.
10* AntiClimaxBoss: Bolge, the final villain of the manga, although cool, is nowhere near as memorable as Raoh or Kaioh.
11* ArcFatigue: The Shin Arc in the anime. In the manga, it was around ten chapters, which, without filler, would be about five or so episodes for an anime. In the anime, it was a season-long arc, with filler episodes and moving Ken and Bat's reunion with Lin, the God Army arc, and the Jackal Arc (all of which occurred after the battle with Shin) as sub-arcs during it all. The Mad Colonel and Jackal were also rewritten as minions of Shin to justify their placement in the story.
12* AssPull: Quite a few due to the fact that Buronson and Hara wrote the story as they went along. The most obvious being the "UD" mark on Mamiya's shoulder. How come nobody noticed it when she was undressed in front of everyone by Rei? Or how about Raoh and Toki coming to Japan along with an infant Kenshiro as refugees from Shura in ''Hokuto no Ken 2''. Didn't we see the ruins of Raoh and Toki's home village in the original series?
13* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Got its own [[AwesomeMusic/FistOfTheNorthStar page]]. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-POzIrRh0c YOU WA SHOCK!!]]''
14* AwesomeEgo: [[SmugSuper Raoh]], {{S|mugSnake}}outher, [[InsufferableGenius Amiba]], [[WalkingWasteland Kaioh]], [[ManchurianAgent Hyo]], and [[ManipulativeBastard Jagi]] all have this in spades. Despite the fact that each of them is a brutal sadist with a rather large InferioritySuperiorityComplex on the side, they all display enough badassery to make them some of the most popular characters in the series, with Raoh arguably being ''the'' most popular character in the series.
15* BaseBreakingCharacter:
16** Bat’s BrattyHalfPint antics are either welcome comic relief or a mood-breaker that disrupts the series’ melodrama.
17** Lin is either liked for being a brave little girl who has been through a lot for her age and thus deserves a hug or is hated for being a cute little girl in a series about manly macho men doing manly macho things.
18* BizarroEpisode: The second episode of the FillerArc before the fight with Shin has a supernatural element to it, which truly makes it stand out as strange.
19* BrokenBase:
20** The 1986 Movie. Some despise it for all the changes it makes (removing Toki, cutting down Shin's screen time, etc.) and feel that all the story from Parts 1-2 forced into a 110-minute production leaves the story rushed and uneven. Others feel it's a well done PragmaticAdaptation that manages to keep the spirit of the story along with its themes, and is helped immensely by excellent animation (granted the video quality on many copies is dubious). Then there's the dub. Some see it as a cringeworthy {{Dub Induced Plotline Change}}-filled translation that removes key information, changes the context of several scenes, and has the dub actors awkwardly mispronounce the characters' names. Others are more accepting of the changes, as the story is still coherent and the dub has a number of good actors putting in solid performances in an era when many such productions were usually characterized by a lack of polish or effort.
21** Daran Norris as Rei in the Manga Entertainment dub of the cartoon, was he a good fit? Some feel his voice was ill fitting for Rei being too nasally and deep for someone that young looking, while others are much more forgiving and feel his voice was a decent choice with later roles like [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Knock Out]] showing he's good at older pretty boys.
22** The (in)famous French dub is either seen as SoBadItsGood and a good source of comedy, or as completely ruining the seriousness of the original manga.
23* CatharsisFactor: While most of Kenshiro's enemies don't stand a chance against him, it is always satisfying to see him tear through the worst of humanity.
24* ContestedSequel: ''Fist of the North Star 2''. FirstInstallmentWins is definitely at play here with the first manga being much more well-known and much more liked; with its characters receiving the bulk of supplementary material. Though most agree that the post Shura chapters are a case of SeasonalRot, fans are divided on the Celestial Emperor and Land Of Asura arcs (which do comprise most of the sequel and the entirety of the animated adaptation of the sequel). Some were happy to see a continuation of the story and feel that there're a lot of good moments within these arcs and iconic characters in their own right (Ein, Falco, Shachi, Hyo, Jukei, etc.). Kaioh especially is considered to be a cool threatening villain that invokes Raoh but is different enough to stand out. Others feel that the addition is unnecessary and choose to believe it ended after Raoh's defeat. They tend to cite an unnecessary amount of retcons (Lin's secret twin-sister, Kenshiro Raoh and Toki being from Shura and having an even bigger family) and more {{Ass Pull}}s than normal; and view it as a PostScriptSeason that dips in quality.
25* CreepyAwesome: The titular martial art itself, as aside from it's healing applications, which are completely benign in nature, it can do a ''wide'' variety of horrifying things to the human body and mind aside from the standard causing-people-to-violently-explode, as it's capable of taking away the senses of people, removing their memories, messing with natural biological processes such as breathing, and much more. Despite this, all of the users are bonafide badasses, and any time the harmful effects are used on innocent people in-story are always used to display how much of a scumbag the user is.
26* CrossesTheLineTwice: Many of the ways that Kenshiro kills minor villains are objectively frightening, even if they're meant to be darkly comedic, but because of them being irredeemable scumbags, they loop around all the way to being hilarious. The most notable example is the death of Patra, a villain from a filler episode. First of all, she gets two of the pearls she uses in her CombinationAttack with her husband, Dragon, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs in pain, and then gets set ablaze by a stray stream of fire that Dragon launched, causing her to stumble around in agony, still screaming, as she falls out of the castle she and Dragon operate out of into a body of water, where she likely drowned painfully with her body covered in fresh-hot burns and in several pieces if she didn't die on impact with [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou the water]]. It comes across less like a dramatic, cathartic death for an irredeemable villain and more like something out of WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends.
27* CultClassic:
28** Despite being a CashCowFranchise in Japan, it's very much this in America (although the series occasionally get some NewbieBoom(s) at times with the Modern Adaptations). The anime was never fully dubbed (and only received a subbed DVD release in TheNewTens), and the manga has never received a complete official translation (unless ''[[VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarKensRage Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2]]'' is counted), meaning that for a long time the only way for American audiences to experience the story was through bootleg translations, and the movie's subpar dubbing. Despite this comparative lack of mainstream exposure (until years later, albeit slowly) and the fact that American anime fans discovered the series long after it ended, it's had a pretty substantial and consistent following for years.
29** The unfinished English dub is this as well. The acting is surprisingly good, and the tongue-in-cheek approach taken by the cast is oddly appropriate. Some consider Lex Lang's performance as Ken being one of the best roles of his career, and the best English interpretation of the character. Peter Lurie's performance as Jagi is also quite well done. There are some criticisms, such as Daran Norris' take on Rei, but its supporters consider it a shame that the dub was left unfinished.
30* DracoInLeatherPants:
31** Shin was Kenshiro's closest friend and greatest rival, but he committed war crimes and other atrocities as an overlord trying to win Yuria's love. He's generally remembered fondly by Kenshiro and as a chivalrous RivalTurnedEvil by the audience, rather than a mass-murderer who branded people and let his lieutenants hunt them for sport.
32** Raoh. A lot of fans play up the "noble" aspect of this NobleDemon, conveniently ignoring all of the sympathetic and likable characters that he kills, some for no rational reason, as well as the fact that he employs a lot of bloodthirsty sadistic thugs in his army and doesn't seem to do much efforts to prevent them from abusing the inhabitants of the villages they conquer.
33** Thouzer is still thought to be an appealing character, [[EstrogenBrigade especially by women]], despite all the atrocities he has committed. Most famously Creator/YukoGoto, the voice of [[{{Moe}} Mikuru-chan]] from the ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' franchise (and the producer of ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarKensRage''). This also becomes a CastingGag when she ended up voicing [[Anime/QueensBlade Menace]], who uses many of Thouzer's moves in her repertory.
34** Jagi, a huge {{Jerkass}} and DirtyCoward who ruined the lives of Kenshiro, Yuria, Shin, Airi, and Rei, but [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys that isn't stopping anyone liking the only bad Hokuto brother]] and making a spin-off manga which sympathizes with him.
35** Though a somewhat {{Downplayed|Trope}} example, Ryuga still tends to be viewed as a neutral figure at worst, despite him fatally wounding Toki and killing many of the man's patients in order to get Ken to fight him.
36* EnsembleDarkhorse:
37** Despite only appearing in two chapters, Mr. Heart has has a place alongside major villains and heroes. He's appeared in the Arc System Works fighting game, the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 beat-em-up game, and the [[Film/FistOfTheNorthStar 1995 film]] thanks to his off-the-wall style, even by the show's standards: he's a Clinically "super obese" martial artist whose mighty gut keeps Kenshiro from hitting his pressure points, and the sight of his own blood makes him flip from from "effeminate man-glacier" to "rampaging murder machine." Due to his name, Mr. Heart has been quite popular for troll pics involving him replacing someone with a cutesy feel ({{Magical Girl}}s, cute girls, or someone with a Heart in their name (like VideoGame/{{Arcana Heart}}ino) to make a high-caliber LOL {{Squick}}. He is also a [=VTuber=] in Japan when Virtual YouTubers became a thing in late 2019 to early 2020's.
38** Rei is an exceptionally popular character. He was the first major Nanto Seiken good-guy who had a cool laid back style and a great dynamic with Kenshiro, being the first companion who was his equal. In the anime especially his debut heralded a major turning point from the repetitive fights by giving Kenshiro someone to play off of. Further, he's only in Part 2 of the first series, as his death is what ends that portion of the series, but in spite of this he got a few spinoffs and remains one of the series' most popular heroes.
39** Amiba, despite his relatively minor role in the overall scheme of things, he gets a bit of added exposure in the ''Gaiden'' spin-offs, particularly in the manga version of ''Raoh Gaiden'', as well as in ''Toki Gaiden'' and ''Rei Gaiden''. He even becomes Jagi's best buddy in the Dream Mode of ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarKensRage'', and gets his own comedy spinoff, entitled "Amiba Isekai".
40** Juza of the Clouds is the only Goshasei to get his own spinoff so far. The HumiliationConga he delivers to Raoh and repeatedly shaming the [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower thousands-year old martial arts schools]] with a [[GoodOldFisticuffs style he made up]] is just the tip of the iceberg.
41** Mamiya also has quite a fan following, if only for the fact that she's the only female character of the series actually able to ''do'' something useful. Added to that her being one of the most heroic women of the 80's animé scene.
42** Jagi has a bit of a following of his own for being the only Hokuto brother who was a [[CompleteMonster total irredeemable bastard]], his AwesomeEgo, and his fighting style. His EnsembleDarkhorse status even extends beyond the fans as [[WordOfGod Buronson himself]] has said that Jagi is his favorite character. [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter Many felt that despite being one of Ken's brothers, he ultimately became an afterthought after his death.]]
43** Thouzer, too. Partially because of his DracoInLeatherPants JerkassWoobie appeal, partially because his story arc signalled a change of pace from the Raoh storyline. That and he's one of the toughest opponents Kenshiro has ever faced. He might have been a brutal tyrant, but boy did he ever give Kenshiro one hell of a fight (not to mention, he's the first opponent to give the more seasoned Part 3 Kenshiro a brutal defeat).
44** Joker, Shin's CanonForeigner [[TheDragon Dragon]], because of Creator/ShigeruChiba's creepy performance and being one of the few villains to not fear Ken, even [[spoiler: [[DefiantToTheEnd in his death]]]]. He was enough of a Darkhorse that Jakoh was created as a canon {{Expy}} of him.
45** Ein is easily one of the most popular characters from the contested second series. He's especially popular with Americans with his fabulously exaggerated stars and stripes design. Beyond that, he had an endearingly laid back personality, literally no martial art meaning he just uses his GoodOldFistcuffs to slug and punch through Mook's heads, and a strong love for his baby daughter making for an engaging companion for the Celestial Emperor arc.
46* EscapistCharacter: Kenshiro, seriously; this guy is almost certifiably the epitome of this trope: [[{{Hunk}} Handsome, muscular guy]] with lots of {{Shirtless Scene}}s? Check. Awesome fighting skills? Check. A major badass good guy that gets to [[OneManArmy mow down villains by the hundreds]] while still being considered a borderline {{messia|nicArchetype}}h? Check. Known to most of his enemies as "the Man with the Seven Scars", and mentioning this nickname is sometimes enough to make the mooks run in terror? Check. Widely praised as "the savior of the post-apocalyptic world" by many people without even ''trying'' to gain their respect? Check. Typically portrayed as utterly invincible? Check. Performs such feats include bending open prison bars, wielding a steel I-beam like a broomstick, stopping the charge of a 500 kg man with six fingers, and plugging a burst dam by carrying a huge chunk of a mountain to it twice over? Check. Always leaves the most powerful of bad guys cowering in terror? Check. [[ImplacableMan Can relentlessly, inexorably pursue all forms of evil and oppression without anything slowing him down]]? DOUBLE CHECK. Yes, you totally want to be him. And if not: YouAreAlreadyDead!
47* EvilIsCool: Since Kenshiro is a total badass, any villains that could somehow get Kenshiro on the ropes and make him put more efforts than usual CurbStompBattle earn the points of coolness in the eyes of fandom. Case in points include: Raoh, Kaioh, Jagi, Shin, Mr. Heart, Ryuga, Thouzer, Hyo, and Falco.
48* FanNickname: While technically "Sunagumo" (Sand Spider) was a derisive nickname Falco gave him, many fans refer to the Nameless Shura as such to differentiate him from the other nameless Shura warriors in the series.
49** The Jesus Beam, or, Jesus Rainbow Beam, for Toki's ''Hokuto Ujouhaganken" ("Merciful Face Break Fist"), due to his resemblance and similar nature to Jesus.
50** "KungFuJesus" for Toki himself, again, due to his resemblance and similiarity in role to Jesus.
51** Heart is often called Heart-Sama by the Japanese fanbase (transliterated as Mr. Heart in the western fanbase).
52** One of Raoh's preferred killing methods on unskilled opponents was to deliver a single, old fashioned big punch, presumably empowered by his touki aura, which makes it appear as a giant fist slamming the poor soul unfortunate enough to be a target for it; Raoh uses this to dispatch most of Souther's troops, as well as Huey of the Winds in a single punch. This move is never named at all, neither in the manga nor in the anime, but it earned the nickname "Truckpunch" in Youtube videos featuring it. It's even implied Kenshiro inherited this move after Raoh's death: when Ken appears to be losing against Kaioh, he wakes up his HeroicSecondWind with a single, massive punch to Kaioh's face while Kaioh sees Raoh's aura behind Kenshiro.
53* FanonDiscontinuity: Because of the enormous amount of contradictions and removing what would be an happy ending for Kenshiro and the entire world, most fans prefer to consider only the first part as canon, disgregarding anything post-Raoh. It helps that the story was meant to end there, and therefore reach a complete ending, and that other medias barely acnowledge anything regarding the second part, making it borderline CanonDiscontinuity as well.
54* FashionVictimVillain: Most of the bad guys dress like ''Conan the Barbarian'' characters, only more colourful and with brighter-colored AnimeHair. See any grunt who has twin ponytails... on an otherwise bald head.
55* FauxSymbolism:
56** The villain Yuda is named after Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus in the New Testament. Yuda's role is betraying the Six Stars of Nanto by siding with Raoh in a time of chaos, and all because he was jealous of Rei's elegance.
57** More recent adaptations only hammer the point home by romanizing his name as Juda (still pronounced "yuda" though).
58* FirstInstallmentWins:
59** More like "First TV Adaptation Wins". Many fans of Toei's adaptation considers Creator/ToeiAnimation's version to be superior than North Star Pictures' adaptation, on account of Toei's version being more emotionally driven and atmospheric, compared to North Star Pictures' more action-oriented angle.
60** The entirety of the Raoh Arc is the most well-known part of the Manga, while everything that comes afterward isn't regarded as highly. The Jako/Kaioh Arc was considered to be not as good as its predecessor, but still entertaining. The third arc, however, is criticized for being directionless until the Bolge chapters.
61* FriendlyFandoms:
62** As [[WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} Vinesauce Joel]] can attest, there's a heavy amount of overlap between ''Fist of the North Star'' fans and ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' fans, thanks to ''[=FotNS=]'' being a huge influence on ''[=JoJo=]'' throughout its run (most prominently in the ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'' and ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'' arcs).
63** With the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series as well, due to both being highly emotional melodramas packed with [[TragicHero Tragic Heroes]] and [[TragicVillain Villains]] while still being RatedMForManly.
64* GenreTurningPoint: This is widely regarded as the first significant long-form Shonen series that revolved around larger-than-life characters duking it out with SupernaturalMartialArts. In fact, it is ''the'' {{Trope Maker|s}} for ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' series as we know them today (''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' being the {{Trope Codifier}}s), and it was groundbreaking in its time... but [[TheEighties that was decades ago]], which leads to several of the tropes used seeming stale to modern audiences. But because ''Fist of the North Star'' also features a good deal of {{Unbuilt Trope}}s (there's no DeathIsCheap, DefeatMeansFriendship, ThouShaltNotKill, or TrainingFromHell etc. that became commonplace in the genre), making it feel fresh even today despite playing straight many tropes that have gotten discredited.
65* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The series is very popular among many Italian people who grew up during the 80's and early 90's. Many French people also have fond memories of it, in no small part thanks to the hilarious voice acting it got there.
66* HarsherInHindsight:
67** Jackal's made-up "Nanto Bakusatsu Ken" technique is later used by [[spoiler:Shiva]] to distract the Goons to allow Kenshiro to reach to Shu.
68** Just like how Gill outlives his brother Buzz in the manga, his real-life counterpart Animal outlived his partner Hawk (unless we're talking about the anime version).
69** Golan/God's Army is a militia composed of people who believe that they were chosen by God to create an independent nation in His name. They are incredibly brutal and easily suppress the people of a desert city. After the rise of numerous Islamist militias in the Middle East & Africa, most notably ISIS, these villains seem far more frightening than they've ever been.
70** Early into the PostScriptSeason portion of the manga's run, Kenshiro encounters Bask, a Wrestling/HulkHogan lookalike who makes an openly racist remark about Barona, a black henchman of his; the remark was censored in the anime adaptation and reprintings of the manga. Come 2015, and Hulk Hogan himself would be suspended from the WWE following the discovery that he uttered numerous anti-black statements and frequently used the n-word in a sex tape that leaked three years prior.
71** The warden of Cassandra, a HellholePrison, is named Uighur. China is currently in the process of exterminating the Uighur ethnic group via Nazi-inspired concentration camps.
72** Rei and Mamiya's tragic romance becomes this when their English voice actors in the anime, Creator/DaranNorris and Creator/MaryElizabethMcGlynn, who were married at the time of the dub, got divorced in 2012. However, this leads into...
73* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Shin dies accepting the cold, hard truth that Yuria doesn't love him. In 2018, their English voice actors for the anime, Creator/SteveBlum and Creator/MaryElizabethMcGlynn got engaged, so in some weird way, there exists a reality where Shin and Yuria have a genuine love for each other.
74* HilariousInHindsight: Raoh's ambition to do battle with God becomes somewhat ironic once you realize that his [[Creator/KenjiUtsumi Japanese voice actor]] went on to voice [[Franchise/DragonBall Shenron]], the ''servant'' of God. Even more, [[ManOfAThousandVoices his voice actor]] uses '''the exact same voice''' for both characters.
75** One of the frequent mondegreens of "You wa SHOCK!" becomes this, because in VideoGame/{{Maneater}}, "You wa SHARK!".
76** One of the filler villains was a hypnotist named Zaria who used a church tower's bell to turn his villagers into his AxCrazy zombie-like minions, who all used whatever they found as a weapon, ranging from farming tools like scythes and axes, to kitchenware like knives. Come VideoGame/ResidentEvil4, and Leon S. Kennedy would find himself fighting against the zombie-like Ganados, with the very first type he encounters being the residents of the local village in the region of Spain the game takes place in, who all wield improvised weaponry consisting of tools like sickles, handaxes, pitchforks, and even kitchenware as knives. The Ganados are also even controlled by a church tower's bell as well.
77* IAmNotShazam: On the music side: The opening theme "Ai o Torimodose" is sometimes referred as "You Wa Shock".
78* IronWoobie:
79** For starters, the main hero, Kenshiro. He bravely bears the sadness of the entire world on his broad shoulders '''alone''' so that ''nobody else'' ever has to cry again. As the big guy himself puts it:
80--> ''I refuse to build my own future on the blood and tears of others!!''
81** Rei's life is essentially a TraumaCongaLine. Hands down, his death is almost unanimously considered the most tragic and tear-inducing in the entire series, not just because the audience has had the chance to get to know him over multiple story arcs (unlike Ken's other allies, who die in the story arc they are introduced in), but also because as far as he knows, Mamiya is similarly doomed, having seen the Death Omen Star. He never learns that his act of selflessness by hunting down and killing Juda saved her from the same fate.
82** Toki and Shu, who held the distinction of pulling ''two'' {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s each.
83** Everyone, really. Bat and Lin are both orphans; Airi's parents were killed and she was sold into sex slavery by Jagi; Mamiya lost her parents to Yuda, her brother Kou to the Fang Clan, and Rei to Raoh. The whole cast has lost more loved ones than most Woobies in other series ever have.
84* JerkassWoobie:
85** Despite the entirety of his story arc hammering home what a truly awful person he was, Shin is utterly pitiful in his final moments, weeping for the fact that he was never able to win Yuria's love and implicitly reaching a DyingTruce with Kenshiro.
86** Watching him weep for his beloved master during the last seconds of his life, it's easy to forget that Thouzer is a genocidal child-murderer.
87* {{Macekre}}:
88** Due to not securing the ''FOTNS'' license for Western gamers, the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis game was retooled into a new game known as ''Last Battle''. The characters were all renamed (Kenshiro became "Aarzak", for instance) and most of them recolored, along with the blood being removed (except for boss battles, where it was recolored green or purple), but by and large, the plot is largely the same. The OpeningScroll even spoils most of it!
89** The UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem game had it even worse. It was retooled into a generic kung fu-based sidescroller known as ''Black Belt'', but {{Mooks}} still explode when hit with an attack.
90* MagnificentBastard:
91** [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Original manga]]:
92*** [[TheDreaded Raoh]] himself, [[Characters/FistOfTheNorthStarKenshiro Kenshiro]]'s eldest brother disciple in the Hokuto Shinken school, styles himself as [[TheConqueror Ken-Oh the Conqueror]], the King of the Fist. In a series of brilliant and ruthless campaigns, Raoh carves out his own empire in the wasteland while defeating any martial artists who challenge him and sending them to the prison Cassandra while stealing their scrolls for his own usage and advancement. While sometimes at the disadvantage thanks to Kenshiro or rival forces, Raoh is infamous for pushing back to be stronger than ever through sheer force of will and tenacity. Possessing a strong form of honor, Raoh does not hesitate to execute any in his army who terrorize or violate his citizens and when he faces the warrior Fudoh, Raoh orders his own men to kill him should he take a step back, a request he is furious they ignore. When he finally faces Kenshiro and loses, Raoh embraces his brother with true affection and uses the last of his energy to purge the radioactive toxins from the atmosphere, declaring that he [[IRegretNothing lived his life without regrets]] as he [[DiedStandingUp dies standing proud]].
93*** "Ryuga" Arc: [[AntiVillain Ryuga]], one of Raoh's chief generals, is a true believer of [[WellIntentionedExtremist unity through strength in the wasteland]]. Realizing the power of Kenshiro and his potential to surpass Raoh, Ryuga attempts to awaken Kenshiro's true potential and strength by kidnapping Kenshiro and Raoh's brother Toki, holding him as a "hostage" after killing his patients. Inspiring Kenshiro to pure rage so he may be killed in punishment for his deeds, Ryuga helps to unlock the true sorrow in Kenshiro's heart and Hokuto Shinken's ultimate technique so that Kenshiro is [[ThanatosGambit finally ready to face Raoh]].
94** The anime's "KING" arc to "South Cross" arc: [[DeathDealer Joker]] is [[ArcVillain Shin]]'s [[UndyingLoyalty most faithful]] and [[TheAce effective servant]]. Working to keep tabs on Kenshiro for his boss, Joker also lures Kenshiro into a series of traps to nearly kill him with Shin's forces. When Kenshiro manages to survive an onslaught from their forces Joker is the only to suspect his survival, returning to fight Kenshiro and [[DefiantToTheEnd dying defiantly]] while sending one final message to Shin, interested in the results of the two great fighters' battle.
95** 1986 anime film (English dub only): Raoh is the oldest and the strongest of Hokuto Brothers. Declaring himself to be the Fist Of The North Star, after witnessing Kenshiro being easily defeated by Shin, Raoh effortlessly kills his adoptive father Ryuken and begins gathering a massive army to conquer the world ravaged by nuclear war. Calling himself "King Raoh", Raoh quickly and effectively defeated many armies and martial artists, conquering and subjugating most of the world, until Kenshiro is the only one left as who can oppose him. Imprisoning Julia, Kenshiro's bride, to lure Kenshiro out, Raoh immediately realizes that Kenshiro's allies were inside his city when he sees Julia holding a flower in her cell. Forcing Rei to come out, Raoh easily counters his ultimate technique and kills him, then goads Kenshiro into battle and emerges victorious, only stopping himself from killing Kenshiro, out of respect for Lin's bravery, which reminded him of Ryuken's teachings and causes him to leave to visit his old master's grave and pay his respects.
96* MemeticBadass:
97** A lot of people consider Raoh more badass than Kenshiro... even though it was a plot point from his introductory flashback that he wasn't. TheFilmOfTheSeries went with "[[AscendedFanon Sure, Why Not?]]" and had Raoh win his duel with Kenshiro.[[note]]Changed to a stalemate in the Japanese home video ending[[/note]] This seems to be especially apparent in the final mission of his [[ForWantOfANail Dream Mode]] in ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarKensRage'', where he takes on every single character in the game except for those who, by that point, would be dead, [[OneManArmy and wins]]. Even Koku-oh, his ''horse'' is a memetic badass in and of itself.
98** Kenshiro himself is one too, especially in the Anime as his ways of dispatching the enemies can become a lot more over-the-top. The filler scene in which he destroys a tank with his punches and kicks is one of the most well-known memes of the series.
99* MemeticLoser: Jagi is often the subject of mockery in the fandom due to just how much he pales in comparison to Ken, Toki, and Raoh, as well as his fight against Ken essentially him getting punished by a '''''SUPREMELY''''' pissed off Ken due to the atrocities he's comitted, while he's unable to even fight back, even when he resorts to his typical CombatPragmatist antics. It doesn't help that Ken notes that Jagi's Nanto Seiken is nothing in comparison to Shin's, making Jagi appear even more pathetic in the eyes of fans, which is worsened by him often being left out of the "Hokuto Brothers" (Ken, Raoh, and Toki) in spite of being related to them in the first ''Ken's Rage'', as well as being the [[CharacterTiers lowest tier]] character in the [=PS2=] fighting game. Even official spin-off materials pick up on this, as he's the biggest ButtMonkey out of all the characters in Anime/DDFistOfTheNorthStar.
100* MemeticMutation: [[{{Memes/FistOfTheNorthStar}} Can be seen here.]]
101* MisaimedFandom: Some people seem to think Raoh is unambiguously heroic and admirable. He's a NobleDemon and an AntiVillain, but he also brutalises his subjects and kills a ''lot'' of sympathetic characters.
102* MoralEventHorizon:
103** Jackal attempting to drown/hang children after he'd gotten possession of their water source. His other KickTheDog moments (fixing dynamite to said children, manipulating Devil's Rebirth and leaving him to die) at least had a reason behind them if only to escape from Kenshiro. There was no real reason for killing the kids other than pettiness and sadism.
104** Jagi chaining a cinderblock to a child's leg and stranding him in the middle of the desert to both spite Kenshiro and amuse himself is something only a truly amoral, evil individual would do.
105** Thouzer sending poisoned rations to a starving bunker is the first sign that he's a real piece of work, but his excessively brutal torture and murder of Shuu is what solidifies him as an individual who is beyond redemption.
106** [[spoiler:Kaioh kills his sister Sayaka just so he could frame Kenshiro for her death and drive Hyoh insane.]]
107* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound:
108** Kenshiro's {{Kiai}}: "ATATATATATATATATA! OWATTA!"
109** From the 80's anime, whenever the effects of ''Hokuto Shinken'' kick in for the dumb bastard who crossed Kenshiro, it is accompanied by a distinct high-pitched electric crackling.
110** [[EvilSoundsDeep Thouzer's voice]], courtesy of seiyuu Creator/BanjoGinga. He's a completely unrepentant child murderer and sadist, but that baritone is ''seriously'' smooth.
111* NarmCharm:
112** Kenshiro's "ATATATATATA!" He spends most of the time barely speaking, and in an impressive, deep low voice when he does, while moving slowly and purposefully. Then he'll suddenly start hysterically flailing around while screaming in a high-pitched voice. But that it accompanies some of his most memorably badass moments, often [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown utterly brutalizing]] villain [[CatharsisFactor utterly deserving of such]], this ridiculousness has not stopped the moments from being well-received and seen as epic as intended.
113** The series is pretty good at avoiding DeusExMachina, but there's a huge one in the Thouzer arc where the blind Shuu - who completely destroyed his own eyes over a decade prior - has his sight miraculously restored by ''God Himself'' just in time to see Kenshiro before he dies. It comes completely out of nowhere to the point of ridiculousness, but after what Shuu has endured to save 100 children, it allows him to die with no regrets and makes heartwarming what is an otherwise tragic scene.
114** Toki being blantantly inspired by Jesus himself, to the point where he even looks like him and even heals with his bare hands manages to avoid coming across as an over-the-top indication of his good-heartedness due to how genuinely idealistic and merciful he's shown to be, to the point where his personalized version of the titular martial art is not only completely painless, but causes his enemies to feel pure bliss and happiness before they die.
115* NightmareFuel:
116** The opening sequence of the Toei's film of the series, with people being vaporized Manga/BarefootGen-style.
117** There are quite a few people who find the series' casual brutality and plentiful bloodshed disturbing and sickening.
118* NightmareRetardant: The over-the-top violence and gore can go from NightmareFuel to absolutely hilarious. In the manga, Kenshiro looks ''exactly'' like Mel Gibson in ''Mad Max 2: Road Warrior.'' In the anime, he resembles Bruce Lee (at least for the early episodes of the first series).
119* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames:
120** The [=3D action game=] that was published by Bandai for the [=PS1=] in 2000 was well made.
121** ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarTwinBlueStarsOfJudgment'' is a classic sprite fighter by Creator/ArcSystemWorks.
122** ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarKensRage'' and its sequel are enjoyable ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' games that either adapt the story to make it work better as a game (the first instalment) or faithfully retell the entire manga (the second instalment).
123** ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarLostParadise'' has gotten a lot of love for telling an original story in the vein of the ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'' games.
124* RefrainFromAssuming: The opening theme "Ai Wo Torimodose" is often shortened to its GratuitousEnglish phrase "You wa Shock."
125* RonTheDeathEater: Seiji, from ''New Fist Of The North Star'' gets no shortage of this. Many seem to consider him a Complete Monster, ignoring his sympathetic traits. To put it simply, Seiji's crimes are A.killing people, which every villain has done, B.Using a technique to force his evil, remorseless subordinate into a state of insanity, and one that will eventually kill him while promising to cure him when they've won, and C.Pinning Sera to his bed, ripping some of her clothes off, and trying to seduce her into giving into him, but [[EvenEvilHasStandards leaving her alone when she makes clear she wants no part of it.]] His backstory is thus: His father throws him out into the wasteland,(so he'd grow strong enough to kill him in battle and take over the empire, but that wasn't known until the end.) [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds He grows more bitter every day in the hellish land he was exiled to, becoming truly coldhearted after a wild dog attacked him to protect its pup, believing that wild animals care more for their young than his own father did. Eventually he finds a school where he trains in an offshoot of Kenshiro's art, gradually becoming the remorseless killer he is in present day.]] In the end, after his long-lost Aunt explained his father's motives, and seeing Sera protect him from Kenshiro despite her friend dying because of him, his treatment of her, is [[ManlyTears brought to tears]], finally remembering his long forgotten humanity, and feels such remorse over everything he did that he takes his own life.
126* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: There has been a fair share of rather mediocre ''Hokuto no Ken'' video games throughout the years, most notably the very first Famicom game, a ''Kung-Fu Master''-style side-scroller. Entering a door to proceed requires the player to press up and both buttons simultaneously, but anyone who doesn't know this will get stuck walking in an infinite loop on the very first level. It was also quite a difficult game, with knives and enemies flying into the screen all the time and no full life recovery between stages. Despite the fact that it was quite a rubbish game by any objective standard, it managed to sell quite a lot of copies in Japan due to its timing (it came out at the height of the manga's popularity and during the Famicom boom).
127* TheScrappy:
128** Of the major martial artists, [[CreepyCrossdresser Juda]] probably gets the least amount of love. Reasons for this include being a [[AgentPeacock vain]] [[CreepyCrossdresser cross-dressing]] [[EffeminateMisogynisticGuy serial]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapist]], having a pathetic FreudianExcuse (he was jealous of [[TheLancer Rei's]] martial art being more beautiful than is own), and lacking any personality traits like [[WellIntentionedExtremist Raoh]] and [[AntiVillain Ryuga's]] NobleDemon qualities, [[RivalTurnedEvil Shin]] and [[TroubledAbuser Thouzer's]] TragicVillain appeal, or [[ManipulativeBastard Jagi]] and [[MadDoctor Amiba's]] AwesomeEgo trappings. The fact that [[BlowYouAway his]] [[RazorWind martial art]] is one of the series' less realistic ones (which is really saying something) does not help his cause either.
129* SeasonalRot:
130** The third and final part of the manga, which Toei did not animate.
131** It is widely believed by the fandom that ''ALL'' material after Raoh's death, both in the manga and ''Hokuto no Ken 2'' anime series, is garbage and the story is ''NOTHING'' without Raoh. All other depictions have concluded their timelines with Raoh's death, though ''Kenshiro Den''[='=]s opening goes slightly further and essentially serves as an epilogue.
132** Though various video games and ''Hokuto Musou 2'' ''have'' had stories both during and beyond Part 2 of the series, it's just that most of the major adaptations/spinoffs have ignored Part II and beyond [[spoiler: except for Kenshiro, Toki, and Raoh's homeland being Asura/Shura.]]
133** ''Ken's Rage 2'' is one of the few, if only, adaptations to go the whole distance and include the entire story including Bolge, though even then, it ignores the arcs between Kaioh's defeat and Bolge.
134* SignatureScene:
135** [[TheHero Kenshiro's]] [[YourHeadAsplode explosive]] [[YouAreAlreadyDead killing]] [[RapidFireFisticuffs of]] [[StarterVillain Zeed]] in the first chapter/episode. "[[{{Kiai}} ATATATATATATATA]]! [[CharacterCatchphrase Omae wa mo]] [[YouAreAlreadyDead Shinderu]]."
136** Kenshiro and Shin's simultaneous [[AirJousting jump kicking]] (resulting in their legs seen as crossed) during their fated duel.
137** Kenshiro crying TearsOfJoy when he finds Yuria alive, even though Shin says she doesn't remember him. ''Manga/FistOfTheBlueSky'' has this same situation.
138** Raoh's death scene. "Waga shougai ni ippen no kui nashi!!" / "My life was one lived without a single regret!"
139** The ''Heart of Madness'' scene from TheMovie.
140* SoBadItsGood:
141** The English dub of the 1986 movie by Streamline Pictures is hilariously awful. It removed most of the backstory regarding the history of Hokuto and Nanto and how their styles worked, had some of the names anglicized or mispronounced (in particular, Raoh pronounces Ryuken's name as "Rye-ah-ken" instead of the proper "Ree-ooh-ken"), and even changed the cause of death of Shin, making it a half-assed anti-climactic CurbStompBattle.[[note]]In the Japanese version, Raoh mortally wounds Shin prior to Kenshiro's arrival to Southern Cross, an information omitted in the dubbed version, which makes Kenshiro look like an idiot who doesn't know his strength when he sees Shin suddenly combusts.[[/note]] On the plus side, it had James Avery ([[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir Uncle Phil]]/[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Shredder]]) as the voice of the Fang King.
142** The French dub by AB Productions from when the series was broadcast on ''Series/ClubDorothee'' is also (in)famous for being intentionally SoBadItsGood. It cracks so, so many bad puns... ''and manages to run with it''. ''Ken le Survivant'' is quite possibly the only foreign dub of an anime to '''get its own separate subs''' since it was pretty much a different show altogether.
143* {{Squick}}: This franchise is not for the weak of stomach.
144* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: ''"Kill the Fight"'' from ''Hokuto no Ken 2'' not only shares instrumentation with ''Rocky III's'' ''"Gonna Fly Now"'', but also takes its chords from ''"The Nightmare Begins"'' by the American [=AOR=] band ''Streets''.
145* ThatOneBoss: Despite his status as a relatively minor villain in the manga and anime, Alf is a notorious among players of the Mega Drive ''Hokuto no Ken'' as a sub-boss who can pin down Kenshiro with his ability to surround Ken from behind with a clone of himself.
146* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Whenever a piece of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' merchandise: video game, movie, OVA, whatever; uses a voice cast that is not the original voice cast (except for those that have already passed away) from the 80's anime, you can bet that a swath of angry fanboys on Website/NicoNicoDouga are going to complain about it. This is especially pronounced when it comes to ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarKensRage''.
147* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
148** "What's this? Mr. Heart is ''immune'' to Kenshiro's blows? This fight could be cool... Oh wait, he killed him by kicking him a whole lot in the stomach."
149** Shin has a lot of potential as a long-term villain or the possibility of pulling a HeelFaceTurn. It's not a coincidence that [[TheLancer Rei]], [[BigBad Raoh]],[[ArcVillain Thouzer]],and [[ManipulativeBastard Shachi]] all take a handful of cues from him. This carries over to flashbacks - while Shin's character is fleshed out through stories told by Jagi, Rei, and Fudoh, despite being Kenshiro's childhood rival and close friend prior to his FaceHeelTurn, he never appears in flashbacks where he logically should.
150** After his arc Jagi is almost completely dropped from the story and we go from the 4 Hokuto brothers to 3 (Later 5). Many lament the loss of him, being one of the comic's most despicable and yet also popular villains. Future flashbacks to Ken's childhood downplay his presence severely and we never see him interact with any of his other brothers in any meaningful capacity.
151** Ryuga is an AntiVillain hoping for peace in the post-apocalyptic world, TheDragon to Raoh, Yuria's older brother, and has an existing history with Toki. These ingredients would make for an interesting recurring character with a significant impact on the series' lore, but he's introduced and killed off in the space of five chapters.
152** Falco's stint as Kenshiro's ally was painfully short. After pulling a HeelFaceTurn, he [[spoiler: departs to save Lin and then immediately has [[DroppedABridgeOnHim a bridge dropped on him]] and dies 2 episodes in to the Shura arc.]] Even with the show trying to hand wave it with WorfHadTheFlu it was a waste of a potentially interesting ally especially seeing as previous characters like Rei, Shew, and even Ein had more screen time and things to do.
153* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: After defeating Raoh and becoming the SoleSurvivor of the Four Hokuto brothers, Kenshiro leaves Bat and Lin so that he can live peacefully with Yuria... rather than training them to be his successors, which would have opened up a lot of story potential for the second half of the manga.
154* TooCoolToLive: Rei, Toki, Shuh, Juda, Ryuga, Thouzer, Hyui, Shuren, Juza, Fudoh, Haz, Shoki, Solia, Ein, Shachi, Hyo, Kaioh, Kokuoh, and Falco. It's especially pronounced with Rei and Toki, who act as Kenshiro's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and BigBrotherMentor respectively for several story arcs, and with Falco, who is [[DroppedABridgeOnHim killed off immediately after undergoing his Heel-Face Turn.]]
155* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
156** Juda's dying moments were meant to give him some [[AlasPoorVillain sympathy]], but it's hard to feel sorry for him when he spent his arc acting like a vain sociopath, wanting to kill Rei over a petty grudge, and the heavy implications that he was a serial rapist.
157** Thouzer's flashback is meant to humanize him and give him a tragic angle that he UsedToBeASweetKid and it was because he loved so much that [[FallenHero he fell hard from being a decent person.]] Since his response for that is being a supremely EvilOverlord that enslaves children and exploits their endless labor with no tinge of regret and murdering scads of people without batting an eye, many fans consider his flashback to be not be enough even for a FreudianExcuse.
158* ValuesDissonance:
159** Rei's StayInTheKitchen[=/=]DefeatByModesty moment with Mamiya has ''not'' aged well, and comes across as highly sexist to most modern viewers/readers, especially Americans.
160** Another source of dissonance for Western audiences can arise from Ken's [[EasilyForgiven forgiving of villains]] because of their {{Freudian Excuse}}s, even if they're mass murderers (Shin, Thouzer, Ryuga, Raoh, Falco), serial rapists (Yuda), or [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinist]] tyrants (Raoh, Shin, Kaioh, Baran) who have ''killed'' many of Ken's TrueCompanions (Raoh with Rei and Fudo, Thouzer with Shu, Ryuga with Toki, Kaioh with Shachi). In Japan, criminals who show remorse for their crimes are often treated less harshly, so Ken's forgiveness can seem less misguided if seen from that perspective. Although, it should be noted that said forgiveness comes after they've been inflicted with fatal wounds and/or doesn't stop Kenshiro from [[DeadlyEuphemism neutralizing]] their threat.
161* ValuesResonance: Despite being four decades old, the series has managed to stay fresh and relevant thanks to its universal moral of goodness and the portrayal of extremely masculine men which aren't just pure badasses but also possess a big heart and are very emotional, something that even today almost ''all'' battle shonen don't do.
162* ViewerGenderConfusion: Many Western fans erroneously think that the TV series' theme song "Ai o Torimodose!!" was sung by a male and female duo. In fact, it was two men. Also some Japanese fans mistakenly believe "Tough Boy" singer Tom to be male when she is female.
163* WatchItForTheMeme: Some of the would decide to watch the Anime just to hear that one (or two [[note]]"What?"[[/note]]) certain line(s).
164* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids:
165** This was made for preteen boys in Japan. In fact, it's the {{Trope Maker|s}} for most of the tropes used by ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'', ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', ''Manga/DragonBall'' (the TropeCodifier for most of them), and ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Not to mention it's a type of series where characters go around exploding heads, slicing them to pieces with their fingers, scooping out nerve clusters and bundles to leave them utterly numb, light them ablaze, cleave them into a clump of limbs via [[RazorWind]], Tear people apart with black magic, Delete their cells with light energy, crush resistance with bare hands, pour energy into people's foreheads, rip ribs and organs out without leaving evidence, so on and so forth. Oh, and an AntiVillain and his insane older brother with hugeass horses that literally curb-stomp random mooks, even the BigBad's corrupted henchmen.
166** The anime series caused a minor scandal in France back in the day. The ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' anime had recently started running on television, and proved extremely popular. This led to TV networks grabbing at more popular anime to run, with the false impression it was all the same kind of cartoons for small children. This led to ''Fist of the North Star'' being shown in the equivalent of Saturday morning cartoons time slot. You can imagine the fallout.
167* TheWoobie:
168** Yuria spends most of her time being kidnapped and dragged around the wasteland. And by the time Kenshiro catches up to her she's dying of radiation poisoning, although she does get a few years of happiness with him.
169** Airi. She has to watch her parents get killed before she's kidnapped by Jagi, raped, and sold into slavery, and that's ''just her backstory''.
170* {{Woolseyism}}: The TV dub of the anime couldn't adapt "YouAreAlreadyDead" to fit the mouth flaps, so removed it as a catchphrase and gave Kenshiro something different to say each time. Probably the best example is after he performs the Hundred Crack Fist on Zeed and tells him that he's "already a dead man."
171
172!!The 1995 film:
173* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: For how cheesy and dumb the movie is, the music at least tries its best to make scenes look more epic than they actually are.
174* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Shin cutting his finger, and it dripping blood that catches fire when it lands on a bit of paper. So Shin has the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Veronica virus now]]?
175* EnsembleDarkhorse: Bat, thanks to being played by Creator/DanteBasco. Being the only character aside from Kenshiro [[AdaptationalBadass who was allowed to be badass also helped]].
176* FightSceneFailure: There are multiple moments in the final fight where Kenshiro's kicks are inches away from Shin's face, yet they somehow manage to cause damage.
177* MagnificentBastard: This version of [[OldMaster Ryuken]] becomes a SpiritAdvisor to [[Characters/FistOfTheNorthStarKenshiro Kenshiro]] after being killed by [[BigBad Shin]]. Determined to bring back balance to the North and South Star martial arts, Ryuken forces Kenshiro to abandon all attachments to defeat Shin. Even going so far as to possess a little girl and send Kenshiro nightmares to make his pupil accept his destiny, Ryuken's plots finally see Shin's empire toppled and balance restored.
178* {{Narm}}: Kenshiro's skills doesn't always translate well to live-action. The lack of ThemeMusicPowerUp makes it even narmier.
179-->What are you trying to do, tickle me to death?
180** The way that [[RapidFireFisticuffs Hokuto]] [[YouAreAlreadyDead Hyakuretsu]] [[YourHeadAsplode Ken]] is portrayed is silly all by itself, since it looks less like Kenshiro going for the kill and more like a drunk guy playing drums on the guy's chest. The lack of Kenshiro's signature {{Kiai}} and the wooden cinematography just make it even lamer.
181** His version of "You are already dead" will cause you to giggle.
182** Kenshiro constantly being referred to as the "Fist of the North Star", which wouldn't be so bad if the script wasn't so awkward.
183* SoBadItsGood: Between the stiff cinematography and choreography, odd writing choices, and limited set design, the film quickly garnered a reputation as an anti-classic among fans of the original series, who find it entertaining as a result of how cheesy it all looks.
184* SpecialEffectFailure: The movie's attempts to have vast backgrounds in some scenes is undermined by the very poor use of matte paintings, which makes it even more obvious that the actors are on a small set.
185* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The movie cuts out a lot of the source material and combines or condenses other parts to tell the story in just over 100 minutes. Many fans felt that this was very much to the detriment of the story.

Top