Fist of the North Star

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳, Hokuto no Ken^?, literally Fist of the Big Dipper) is a manga series that was originally serialized from 1983 to 1988 in the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump, created by Tetsuo Hara and Buronson. It was originally collected in 27 individual volumes (tankōbon) and later rerelased in 15 deluxe kazenban.

Set in a post apocalyptic world where the Earth is barren and the strong survive by preying on the weak, the series follows the journey of Kenshiro, the successor of Hokuto Shinken, a secret martial arts style that allows its practioner to destroy an opponent's body from within by striking into vital pressure points, often resulting in a violent and gruesome death (as the series was notorious for). Kenshiro uses his skills to protect the weak and innocent against the numerous villains that threaten their survival.

Fist of the North Star is often considered by many to be a precursor to various violent martial arts-themed manga series. Like many popular titles, it has inspired various animated adaptations, as well merchandises such as action figures and video games.

[edit] Publication history

[edit] Pilot version

The original pilot version of Hokuto no Ken, published in the April 1983 edition of Fresh Jump, was set in a contemporary setting and told the story of a teenager by the name of Kasumi Kenshirō (霞 拳四郎, Kasumi Kenshirō^?), the successor of the "Hokuto Shinken", a deadly martial arts style which kills or cripples opponents internally by striking pressure points. Kenshiro's main adversaries in this incanation of the story were a rival martial arts school known as the Taizanji Kenpo (泰山寺拳法, Mt. Tai Temple Martial Arts^?), which secretly controlled the Japanese government and were responsible for the death of Kenshiro's girlfriend, Yuki.

Hokuto no Ken was the most popular title in that issue according to the reader survey and Tetsuo Hara was commissioned to do a sequel. The second pilot, simply titled Hokuto no Ken II, was published in the June 1983 edition of Fresh Jump. Both pilots were reprinted in the second tankobon of Tetsuo Hara's short lived motorcross manga series, Tetsuo no Don Quixote

[edit] Serialization

When Hokuto no Ken was picked up to become a weekly series, manga writer Yoshiyuki Okamura (岡村善行, Okamura Yoshiyuki^?) (under the pen name of Buronson (武論尊, Buronson^?)) was assigned by the editors of Shonen Jump to work with Hara as a writer for the series. The storyline was completely revamped, with contemporary setting being discarded in favor of a Mad Max-like post apocalypse world. Taizanji Kenpo are no longer the main antagonists and Kenshiro, originally a young teenager, was now an adult with seven scars on his chest.

The first story arc of the series focused on Kenshiro's search for his missing fiancee, Yuria, who has been kidnapped by his former friend, Shin, a master of Nanto Seiken (南斗聖拳, Holy Fist of the South Dipper) and the man responsible for the seven scars of Kenshiro's chest. In the introductory chapter, he meets Bat, a young thief who becomes his travelling companion, and Lin, an orphaned girl who regains her ability to speak thanks to Kenshiro's healing skills. As Kenshiro continues his journey, he learns that Shin has formed a ruthless organization under the name of King. Kenshiro infiltrates Shin's city of Southern Cross as he defeats each of Shin's men before confronting Shin. He defeats Shin at the end, only to learn that Yuria committed suicide during her captivity.

Kenshiro continues to wander the wasteland with Bat and eventually is reunited with Lin, the girl he saves at the beginning. He continues his fight against injustice, as less prominent villains such as Golan army, Jackal and his gang, and the Fang Tribe are introduced. Eventually, we are introduced to the existence of Kenshiro's other brothers, Jagi, Toki and Raoh, all aspiring Hokuto Shinken successors, and the Nanto Rokuseiken (南斗六聖拳, Six Holy Fists of the South Dipper), the six strongest Nanto Seiken, whom the already deceased Shin was part of. Raoh, the oldest of Kenshiro's brothers, has become a conqueror under the name of Ken'O (拳王, lit. "King of Fists") and serves as the main antagonist for most of the series, eventually challing Kenshiro to a one-on-one duel.

The second half of the story begins several years after the defeat of Raoh with Bat and Lin, now young adults, forming the Hokuto Army in Kenshiro's absence against the oppressive Gento Kou Ken's (元斗皇拳, Emperor Fist of the Original Dipper) regime. Kenshiro comes back to aid his former sidekicks in their battle against the Gento fighters. Lin learns of her true heritage as the twin sister of the Gento Empress, only to be taken captive to the land of Shura. Kenshiro travels to Shura, learns of the origins of Hokuto Shinken, as well as the existence of another Hokuto fighting style known as Hokuto Ryuken (北斗琉拳, "Lapis Lazuli Fist of the North Dipper"). Kenshiro eventually faces off against Hokuto Ryuken masters Hyou (Kenshiro's own natural brother) and Kaioh (Raoh's long-lost brother) to save Lin.

In the manga's final chapters, Kenshiro meets Raoh's young son, Ryu, and trains him to become the next Hokuto Shinken successor. The final story arc of the series was essentially a love triangle between Kenshiro, Lin and Bat. Kenshiro loses his memory during a thunderstorm, as well as his knowledge of Hokuto Shinken, a blind villain named Bolge comes looking for Kenshiro and Bat takes his place. Kenshiro regains his memory and goes off to rescue Bat from Bolge.

[edit] Later works

After the manga ended its run, Tetsuo Hara and Buronson wrote a novel based on the manga titled Cursed City (呪縛の街, Jubaku no Machi^?), published by Jump Books in Japan in 1996. It was adapted into a three-part OVA series titled New Fist of the North Star (新・北斗の拳, Shin Hokuto no Ken^?) in 2003. The story is set a few years after the conclusion of the manga, but only features Kenshiro as a returning character.

In 2001, Tetsuo Hara and Buronson began working on a Fist of the North Star prequel titled Fist of the Blue Sky (蒼天の拳, Souten no Ken^?), which is currently being serialized in Weekly Comics Bunch. Set during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1935, the story stars Hokuto Shinken predecessor and Kenshiro's namesake, Kenshiro Kasumi.

2006 saw the publication of a trio of manga side-stories based on Fist of the North Star, which were released in conjunction with the theatrical release of the movie Legend of Raoh: Chapter of Martyred Love (ラオウ伝 殉愛の書, Rao Den Jun'ai no Sho^?). Each focused on a major character from the series. These are as followed.

• Raoh's Side-Story: The Tyrant of the Heavens (ラオウ外伝 天の覇王 , Raō Gaiden - Ten no Haō^?) by Youkow Osada. An ongoing series currently serialized in Weekly Comics Bunch featuring characters from the Raoh Den film. Two tankobon has been collected as of November 2006.

• Yuria's Side Story: The Merciful Mother Star (ユリア外伝 慈母の星, Yuria Gaiden - Jibo no Sei^?) by Ayumi Kasai. A three-part series serialized at Big Comics Superior from March 10 to April 14, 2006. Big Comics Superior has announced plans to publish new chapters starting next Spring.

• Rei's Side-Story: The Magnificent Avenger (レイ外伝 華麗なる復讐者, Rei Gaiden - Kareinaru Fukushuusha^?), a one-shot story by Mie Nekoi, published in the March 22, 2006 issue of Comics Bunch Special. A sequel is currently scheduled to be published in the December 8th isssue.

• Ryuken's Side-Story: Judgement Day (リュウケン外伝－JUDGEMENT DAY－, Ryūken Gaiden JUDGEMENT DAY^?), a one shot story by Hiromoto Shin'ichi, current scheduled to be published in the December 8th issue of Comic Bunch.

[edit] English versions

[edit] Viz Comics

Viz Communications published the first 16 chapters (the King and Golan arcs) of the manga as an eight issue limited series. The publication coincided with the North American release of Hokuto no Ken 2 game (retitled simply Fist of the North Star) for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the game was promoted in these issues. Viz did not translate any further issues until 1995. Three more limited series (or parts as they were called) were published that covered the Jackal, Kiba Ichizoku and Jagi arcs. Viz then stopped publication of the series in 1997, at the end of the fourth series (ending the series in a cliffhanger).

Since this incarnation of the series was published before the right-to-left format was commonly accepted by publishers in North America, the pages were "flopped" to accommodate the standard left-to-right format and most artwork were redrawn. In addition, certain liberties were taken with the translation in an attempt to localize the storyline (i.e: Shin's martial arts is referred as "Fist of the Southern Cross" rather than "Fist of the Soth Dipper" or "South Star", and the Golan army was renamed The Provident). All four mini-series were collected in respective graphic novels (Fist of the North Star, Night of the Jackal, Southern Cross and Blood Brothers).

[edit] Raijin Comics

In 2003, Gutsoon Entertainment began publication of a "Master Edition" of the manga as a series of graphic novels, each corresponding to the original tankobons and made specifically for North American manga market. These Master Editions retains the original right-to-left ordering and sound effects, but features CGI coloring not present in the original manga and new covers drawn by Tetsuo Hara. The new translation is more direct, and retains original names of the martial arts styles and techniques used by the characters, with the English names given in footnotes.

However, publication of the Master Edition series stopped after the release of Vol. 9, when Gutsoon filed for bankruptcy. The cover of Vol. 10 was released by distributors, but was never actually published.

[edit] Adaptations

[edit] First series

Like many popular manga titles in Japan, Fist of the North Star was adaptated in an ongoing animated series by Toei Animation. The original Hokuto no Ken series aired on Fuji Television from October 4, 1984 to March 5, 1987 and was given the foretitle of Seikimatsu Kyūseishu Densetsu (世紀末救世主伝説, Legend of the Century's End Savior). 109 episodes were produced.

The violence was toned down considerably from the original manga, with many of the bloodshed being whited out, and scenes where children die would be rewritten so that Kenshiro would save the child at the last minute. Like all manga-based anime series, filler material were added to prevent the series from getting ahead of the manga.

The series is divided into four major story arcs or chapters as they were called within the series. In some story arcs, the orders of events were changed for dramatic purposes. This is especially notable in the first story arc, in which the fight with Shin does not occur until after Kenshiro battles the GOLAN army and Jackal's gang (which were surbodinate organizations of Shin in the series).

• Chapter 1: The Bloody Cross (第一部 血の十字架編, Chi no Jūjika Hen) - Episodes 1-22
• Chapter 2: The Dragon & The Tiger, The Winds & The Clouds (第二部 風雲龍虎編, Fūun Ryūko Hen) - Episodes 23-57
• Chapter 3: The Order in a Chaotic Era (第三部 乱世覇道編, Ransei Hadō Hen) - Episodes 58-82
• Final Chapter (最終章, Saishūshō) - Episodes 83-109

The first 36 episodes were translated into English and released on VHS and DVD by Manga Entertainment, and featured a new opening and ending theme, as well as new background music. The subtitled versions retained the background music, but still had the changed opening and ending themes.

[edit] Second series

An anime series based the second part of the manga was produced, titled Hokuto no Ken 2. It aired on the same channel and time slot as the first series, airing from March 13, 1987 to February 18, 1988. Only 43 episodes were produced. The series can be divided into two sub-arcs, with the first thirteen episodes covering the "Holy Capital" arc, while the remaining 30 episodes covers the "Shura" arc.

Like in the first, producers took certain creatives with the original manga material, the most notable differences being the removal of Jakou's sons from the story, replaced by two new Gento Ko Ken fighters named Taiga and Boltz. The series ends with the death of Kaio. The subsequent chapters of the manga were not adapted in this series.

[edit] The Animated Movie

The Fist of the North Star animated film premiered in Japan on March 8, 1986, between the airings of episode #66 and #67 of the original series (during its third season), although the manga was already far ahead. The movie was intended to be a big-screen treatment of the manga, and avoid the watering-down of violence that came with the TV series. The English-dubbed version was released in North America by Streamline Pictures in 1991

In a notable deviation from the series, the film finds time to begin with a detailed peek at the Earth as it was before and during the fabled nuclear devastation. Starting with a calm, surreal look at various points of mother nature, a brief on-screen message then informs the audience of the imminent calamity, followed by unsettling scenes of human life consumed in flame.

The film draws heavily from the first two seasons of the original series, although certain liberties were taken to tell the story in a condensed form. Toki, the second of Kenshiro's older brothers, is never seen or mentioned. Out of the six Nanto Rokuseiken warriors, only Yuria, Shin and Rei are shown. Yuria's Nanto heritage is mentioned thorough the original Japan version (this was months before the Last Nanto Warrior arc was adapted in the series). Mamiya, Rei 's love interest in the manga, is never seen, partly because Yuria never commits suicide and thus, is the heroine in her place.

Raoh serves as the main antagonist, with Jagi and Shin as the other two major villains. Many other villains from the manga such as the Colonel and Jackal only make cameo appearances as minor henchmen with some of the notable fight scenes involving Zeed, Heart and Uighur. Only Kiba Daio appears as a rival warlord against Raoh.

There were two endings produced for the film. The original theatrical ending showed Raoh emerging victorious over Kenshiro, but sparing his life, leaving him to protect Lin (hinting her Gento origins). The other ending, which was used on home video versions, ends the fight in a draw. The former ending was used in the English dubbed version by Streamline.

[edit] The live-action movie

Arguably the black sheep of the franchise, this 1995 film created by American director Tony Randel and starring Gary Daniels has a mixed reception among fandom. Some are acceptant of it, while detracting voices cite poor production values, too many deviations in this original script co-written by Peter Atkins & Wynne McLaughlin, and an inherent inability to capture the narrative quality of the anime and manga versions. The Japanese version, renamed Hokuto no Ken: Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳～フィスト・オブ・ザ・ノーススター～), was released in VHS the same year by Toei Video. Two editions were available, a subtitled one (字幕) and another one (吹替) dubbed by the '80s TV series' original cast. A Behind the Scenes of Hokuto no Ken: Fist of the North Star (ビハインド・シーン・オブ北斗の拳～フィスト・オブ・ザ・ノーススター～ ) documentary VHS was released two weeks before the movie itself by Toei Japan. The Japanese DVD edition released in 2004 contains both English and Japanese audio tracks but not the documentary.

[edit] New Fist of the North Star OVAs (新・北斗の拳, Shin Hokuto no Ken)

From 2003 to 2004, an Original Video Animation series featuring Kenshirō and known as New Fist of the North Star was released. The OVA contained only three episodes based on the novel Jubaku no Machi by Buronson and Hara. The new series has received much positive feedback, though some diehard fans of Hokuto No Ken have been a little disappointed. The scenario has not been well elaborated and the new series relies much more on the animation.

In the post-apocalyptic world, water has become toxic except for a few safe and preserved reservoirs. A man named Sanga has constructed a fortified zone called The Last Land. While Sanga's men go out and seek water through violent means, they encounter Kenshiro who desires to end their reign of terror.

Another point of contention was with the recasting of Kenshiro. Akira Kamiya, who had voiced Kenshiro in all previous anime incarnations, was replaced by Takehito Koyasu for this new OVA series. Similar to the current trend of American animation, celebrity voices were also employed, including musician Gackt and wrestler Magnum Tokyo.

It was fully licensed by ADV Films, despite the fact that the original series only had 36 episodes released in the US, thus being an incomplete license. This has led to some speculation that Saint Seiya may get similar treatment in the near future, known as the "Fist of the North Star" theory. (For additional information involving the licensing issues at hand see Toei Animation)

[edit] Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu (真救世主伝説, True Saviour Legend)

Beginning in 2006, new movies and OVAs are scheduled to be released as a pentalogy titled True Saviour Legend. Preview trailers can be seen on the Official Japanese Hokuto no ken Site. The first part of it, "The Legend of Raoh: Martyred Love Arc" (ラオウ伝　殉愛の章, Raoh Den Jun-ai no Shō), debuted March 11th and also has a new version of Ai o Torimodose by Crystal King. New characters include:

• Reina (played by Kou Shibasaki): A childhood friend of Raoh who becomes a female general in his army. Her character design was done by Tsukasa Hojo.
• Sōga (played by Unshou Ishizuka): Reina's brother. He helped Raoh assemble an army.

Remaining Scheduled Works:

• The Legend of Yulia (ユリア伝, Yuria Den) in 2007 as an OVA
• The Legend of Raoh II: Fierce Fighting Arc (ラオウ伝Ⅱ 激闘の章, Raō Den II Gekitō no Shō) in 2007 as a movie
• The Legend of Toki (トキ伝, Toki Den) in 2007 as an OVA
• The Legend of Kenshirō (ケンシロウ伝, Kenshirō Den) in 2008 as a movie

[edit] Characters

See List of Fist of the North Star characters

• Narrator: Banjou Ginga→ Shigeru Chiba

[edit] Styles

see List of fighting styles in Fist of the North Star.

[edit] Goodies

Shitajiki

Yuria lighter

Metal slot lighter

Trading cards

Sammy owns the Japanese license for Hokuto no Ken and had released four pachislot machines (mix between a pachinko and a slot machine) with their derivative shitajiki, trading cards, zippo lighters, their scale model metal lighters and moneyboxes and the multiplatform million-seller simulator game ("Jissen PachiSlot Hisshou Hou!"). Sammy had also released Hokuto no Ken licensed pachinko machines and their video game counterpart ("Jissen Pachinko Hisshou Hou!"). Keshi series (including SDkeshi) were released in Japan by Bandai during the 1980s.

[edit] Games

Further information: List of Fist of the North Star video games

[edit] Trivia

• The Mad Max movies were the inspiration for the art design of Hokuto no Ken. Mel Gibson's character Max Rockatansky (Mad Max) was the inspiration for Kenshiro. The character Spade is almost identical to The Road Warrior's villain Wez. Spade first appeared in Tetsuo Hara's manga Mad Fighter. Virginia Hey's Woman Warrior character (The Road Warrior) is very similar to Mamiya, the both of them using a crossbow, having long red hair and wearing comparable clothes.
• Bruce Lee was also an inspiration for Kenshiro. Karate champion Chuck Norris, aka Bruce Lee's rival in Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon), was probably a strong inspiration for Shin—the physical similarities (moves, kicks, stature, haircut and profile) are striking in the motion captured Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 11 game. Also in the Mark III version, Shin's bouncy steps are those of Chuck Norris in the Colosseum when he tries to imitate Bruce Lee's footwork.
• In the mid-1980's Hokuto no Ken featured a remarkable number of characters with art designs plainly based on contemporary Western celebrities, including but not limited to Richard Gere, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, the Road Warriors Animal and Hawk, Dolph Lundgren, and Sylvester Stallone (Kenshiro himself, making him at this point a composite of Bruce Lee, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone; in the first Shura Island story arc, Ken is often seen in black leather and sunglasses, imitating Stallone in Cobra).
• Kenshiro's saying お前はもう死んでいる (omae wa mou shindeiru) means "You are already dead". Please note that "omae" is not a polite way to address someone.
• There was a legitimate public outcry with the violence of the series in Japan when the original full length movie was first released (since the series was marketed towards young boys).
• In the first series of 109 episodes the deaths and violence was not much above par for shonen anime at the time. However the overwhelming gratuitous violence of the movie forced the second anime version of the series to edit out most of the blood and violent deaths. In a similar vein, the Fighting Mania games only vagely show the death scenes of the anime and manga
• Shin Hokuto No Ken (New Fist of the North Star) is set after the end of the manga and anime series since Kenshiro made several refereences to Raoh's teenage son and that Lynn and Batt are nowhere to be seen (it is suggested that they ended up married).
• Hong Kong one time published a Chinese version of the weekly comic with the same name, however the quality was not up to par with the original and hence disappeared quickly in Hong Kong market.
• In France, the actors in charge of the dubbing were so offended by the series' violence that, after a few episodes, they agreed to continue the work only if they could actually turn it into a spoof : this resulted in a totally over-the-top French dubbing, complete with idiotic puns, grotesque one-liners, and extreme overacting by all performers. The French dubbed version has a cult following for that specific reason. The final ten episodes, which were not shown on French television but only got a DVD release, have a normal dubbing made by other actors. The French adaptation of the Hokuto No Ken manga did not suffer the same treatment as the anime, and was preserved in its authentic form.
• Fist of the North Star is one of the most parodized works in mangaka and doujin circles, for example:
  • In Abenobashi, Sasshi, the male protagonist, must fight against a kung-fu fighting alternate version of his best friend's French-obsessed dad, and is trained by a panda until his weakling frame grows so big and strong it's identical to Kenshiro's, complete with the torso scars and all. He ends up losing his hulking visage in a comedic way, of course.
  • In episode 8 of Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), Onizuka parodies Kenshiro by drawing seven stars on his chest and attacking a thug with Kenshiro's trademark "Hokuto Hyakku-Retsu Ken" (Or Hundred Crack fist of Hokuto) complete with trademark battle-cries.
  • The "Shinken" concept is regularly referenced/parodied in the comedy manga (also published in Weekly Jump) and anime (also made by Toei) Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, starting with Bo-bobo's style "Hanage Shinken" ("True Skill of the Nose Hair", since the first kanji has been changed from 神, which can be read as "shin" and stand for "God", and 真, also read as "shin" but stand for "True"). The concept of the manga in itself is a parody of Fist of the North Star, where a powerful warrior related to an even more powerful antagonist (in this case, siblings who are also masters of various "Hair Styles") wanders a post-apocalyptic wasteland to save the world with his Shinken.
  • In School Rumble, Harima Kenji is shown drawing a comic of himself as Kenshiro while he battles Karasuma (as Shin) for the Tenma's (as Yuria) love.
  • In the Game Boy Advance video game Double Dragon Advance, Billy and Jimmy Lee strike similar poses like Kenshiro during the cut-scenes.
  • In volume 7 of Eichirou Oda's One Piece, a chef's knife has the Japanese writing for "Hokuto no Ken" on it.
  • The game Final Fight Revenge contains an homage to Hokuto no Ken. In one of Cody's victory poses, he walks away from his defeated opponent and says, "You're already dead." His opponent is then struck by a series of attacks and falls down.
  • In the anime Gantz, Kato is telling Fist of the North star as a bedtime story for his little brother and imitates the famous atatatatata ta sound and quotes the お前はもう死んでいる (You're already dead) catchphrase.
  • In The Super Milk-chan Show the characters watch a show called "Police of the North Star" which has the catch phrase "you're already arrested."
  • The four Project A-Ko films feature a teenaged schoolgirl named Mari, who sports the same eyebrows and steely gaze as Kenshiro. She also utilizes the "Southern Cross Fist of the Okugi School" and informs people that they are about to die before using the technique. Like Kenshiro, her muscles bulge and rip her shirt when she becomes enraged.
  • Near the end of the Excel Saga anime, Excel parodies Kenshiro's attacks, but rather than killing thugs, she turns them into tiny Dejiko-like versions of their former selves.
• Both Taiwan and Korea have illegally produced live-action adaptations of Hokuto No Ken.
• Most grunts utter nonsensical words as they explode after being hit by Hokuto Shin Ken. One famous example, "hidebu" (ひでぶ), which Heart utters, became a famous catchphrase in Japan. Buronson explains that "hidebu" is originally intended to be "itebu" (いてぶ), which is an invented portmanteau of "ite" ("it hurts") and the sound of a fat man exploding, but was read as "hidebu" because of his bad writing.
• Japanese wrestler Jushin "Thunder" Liger invented the high-flying wrestling maneuver the shooting star press based on a move performed by Jagi in the manga.
• WWE wrestler John Cena stated on a segment of WWE's "5 Questions" that the 1986 movie compilation was his favorite animated feature film.
• In light of Rumiko Takahashi love for Hokuto No Ken and being a friend of Buronson and Hara,she managed to put Kenshiro in several anime episodes of Urusei Yatsura as a student known as Hokuto-kun (he looked the same as HNK but with a uniform,younger look and no 7 scars),he first appeared in episode 158 when he suddenly fought Kotatsu-neko using Hokuto and Nanto techniques,he was beaten,he also appeared in episode 170 as a civilian and in episode 178 as one of the students looking Lum present,it is implied that in his only voiced appearance (ep. 158) he was dubbed by Akira Kamiya,who also played Shuutaro Mendo in the series.
• UK rapper Jehst named one of his songs 'Fist of the North Star' in homage to the animated film.
• This series has been confirmed for the DS game, Jump Ultimate Stars, causing positive reactions from fans.

[edit] See also

• List of animated feature films

[edit] External links

• Hokuto no Ken official website Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - The franchise's mainsite
• Shin Hokuoto no Ken official Toei Video website Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the new OVA series
• Hokuto no Ken AtomisWave game official website (Sega 2005) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Sega's 2D fighting game running on a Sammy mainboard
• PachiSlot Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2003) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot machine
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou Portable Hokuto no Ken official website (Sega 2005) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for PSP
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou DS Hokuto no Ken official website (Sega 2005) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for NDS
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2004) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for PS2
• PachiSlot Hisshou Hou Hokuto no Ken Plus official website (Sammy 2004) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachislot game for PS2
• CR Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2004) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachinko machine
• CR Hokuto no Ken Denshou/Kyouteki official website (Sammy 2005) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachinko machine
• Pachinko Hisshou Hou CR Hokuto no Ken official website (Sammy 2005) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the pachinko game for PS2
• Punch Mania Hokuto no Ken official website (Konami 2000) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the arcade machine
• Punch Mania Hokuto no Ken 2 official website (Konami 2000) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the arcade machine
• Toei Anime Special Hokuto no Ken Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - BroadBand VOD service
• Hokuto no Ken mobile game official website (Square/Enix 2003) Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan - Dedicated to the mobile game
• 北斗練気闘座 世紀末拳法流派 (Hokuto Renkitouza Waza List) - Exhaustive moves list
• Gashapon Collection Reference - Fist of the North Star Page Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
• hokutonokentoy.com Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States - A site dedicated to all the great action figures the series has produced
• Fist of the North Star (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Hokuto Bloodline Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States - International Hokuto no Ken Community
• Anime Video Games reviews of the Hokuto no Ken Video Gameses:El Puño de la Estrella del Norte

fr:Hokuto no Ken hr:Hokuto no Ken it:Ken il guerriero ja:北斗の拳 pt:Hokuto no Ken zh:北斗神拳