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[[caption-width-right:340:[[YouAreAlreadyDead It's too late for you. You're already dead.]]''[[note]]Omae wa mou shindeiru.[[/note]]'']]
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->''The year, 199X. The earth was engulfed in nuclear flames. The oceans have dried and the earth had split. It seemed as though all forms of life were annihilated. However, only humanity struggled to survive. The people waited for a savior who could bring light back to the desolate century's end.''
-->-- '''Opening Narration'''

''Fist of the North Star'' (北斗の拳; ''Hokuto no Ken'', literally the "Fist of the Big Dipper") is the quintessential "man who [[BruceLeeClone looks]] and [[FunnyBruceLeeNoises sounds]] like Creator/BruceLee, [[TheDrifter wandering]] the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]], [[MadeOfPlasticine making people explode with his fists]] and shedding loads of ManlyTears" manga. Essentially ''Film/MadMax'' and ''Manga/ViolenceJack'' meets a Creator/BruceLee film, ''Fist of the North Star'' became a classic of the 1980s {{Shonen|Demographic}} genre for Japanese manga, written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It lasted nearly six years in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' with 27 collected volumes, is unquestionably one of the most influential manga ever penned, and to this day, has been subjected to many parodies, seen in sources such as ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', and ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' (but none as much as ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo'').

The story is set in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic future]] after a nuclear war sometime [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture during the 1990s]], leveling human civilization. The world is now covered with [[TheApunkalypse bands of lawless thieves and mohawked ruffians]] who prey on the weak and innocent ForTheEvulz. Enter [[TheHero the muscular hero]] Kenshiro, who [[WalkingTheEarth wanders from town to town]] searching for his fiancee Yuria (who has been [[ItsPersonal kidnapped]] by [[TheRival his rival]] Shin) and [[WeHelpTheHelpless helping those who cannot help themselves]] [[TheDrifter as he drifts]]. Fortunately for Kenshiro, he is the successor to the ''Hokuto Shinken'' ("Big Dipper Divine Fist") school of martial arts, a legendary assassination art which utilizes the ''keiraku hiko'' {{pressure point}}s of the human body to [[YourHeadASplode literally make them explode from within]]. Following his bout and conclusion with Shin, ''Fist of the North Star'' gradually shifts its focus to Kenshiro's battle against Raoh, the eldest of his adoptive brothers, and a would-be world conqueror who was also trained in the ways of ''Hokuto Shinken'' by their mutual master. Since the law of ''Hokuto Shinken'' only allows the style to be passed on from [[MasterApprenticeChain one master to a single pupil]], it becomes Kenshiro's duty to stop Raoh from using the style to fulfill his own ambitions.

The latter half of the manga, [[TimeSkip set several years after Raoh's defeat]], has Kenshiro rejoining his former sidekicks Bat and Lin, now grown up and leader of the "[[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Hokuto Army]]", as they fight off the corrupt Army of the Celestial Emperor (''Tentei''). While Kenshiro and his friends are successful in defeating their foes, Lin is kidnapped not long afterwards and taken to the Land of Shura, catapulting the successor of ''Hokuto Shinken'' into another war with the three warlords of Shura, all masters of ''Hokuto Ryuken'' ("Big Dipper Gemstone Fist"), a martial art which branched off from the same clan that developed ''Hokuto Shinken''. While the AnimatedAdaptation ends with Kenshiro's final fight against Kaioh, the manga continues with a few additional story arcs involving Kenshiro's adventures into new frontiers with a young boy named Ryu.

Body counts are often in the dozens per chapter and any major fight is usually followed immediately by Kenshiro shedding ManlyTears and/or TenderTears for the fallen, having discovered his opponent was [[NobleDemon noble all along]] or [[AntiVillain just misguided]], even if he had been, for example, [[MoralEventHorizon kidnapping children and laboring them to death in order to build a giant pyramid]]. Even in the rare event tears aren't shed, DeathEqualsRedemption abounds, and there's often plenty of exposition and lore revealed that revolves around the many nobler opponents Kenshiro happens to encounter or best in battle.

Despite the manga's popularity in Japan, it was only partially translated in English twice before both attempts were canceled: first by Creator/VizMedia during the 1980s and 1990s in a series of monthly comics, and later by Coamix's short-lived American subsidiary of Gutsoon Entertainment in the early 2000s as a series of colorized graphic novels. Viz was able to reacquire the license as of October 2020, and started publishing the series again as of summer 2021.

On September 13th, 2023 it was announced that [[https://twitter.com/hokutonokeninfo/status/1701733693361172614 a new anime project]] is in production, as a way to celebrate the manga's 40th anniversary.
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!!''Fist of the North Star'' subpages:
[[index]]
* FistOfTheNorthStar/TropesAToH
* FistOfTheNorthStar/TropesIToP
* FistOfTheNorthStar/TropesQToZ
[[/index]]
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-> '''Kenshiro''': '''[[{{Kiai}} ATATATATATATATATATATA!]]''' '''[[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound OWATTA!]]''' [[CallingYourAttacks Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken!!]]
->'''Zeed''': What was that? Your fists are just like mosquito bites! IllKillYou
->'''Kenshiro''': [[YouAreAlreadyDead It's too late for you. You're already dead.]]
->'''Zeed''': [[BigWhat What!?]] ''(pressure point activation noise)'' [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe You gotta be kiddin' me!]] '''[[YourHeadASplode HIDEBU!!]] ''' ''[[GoryDiscretionShot (explodes)]]''
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