|
The wind howls over the wasteland and between the gutted, leaning skyscrapers that are all that remains of a modern city. Our leather-clad hero stands defiant, impossibly long legs planted firmly, strangely calm as he receives the attack of the hulking mutant who towers over him. He blocks the massive blows without disturbing one strand of his wavy hair, and then replies.
"A-TA-TA-TA-TA!!!!" Eyes blazing, with superhuman speed and strength his hands hammer the monster's body. The mutant reels, then collects himself.
"Ha ha ha! That didn't even tickle! Your puny blows are no match for the great Madara!!!" He gathers for another charge, but the hero has turned his back and is walking away.
"You're already dead."
Enraged, the mutant charges. What we know and he doesn't, however, is that his opponent is the heir to, and a wielder of the ancient and deadly arts of the North Star Holy Fist, and that his blows have focused on all the most lethal pressure-points in his body. His head bulges ominously, and his limbs contort. The next instant, we look on with satisfaction as his intestines burst from his body, his head explodes, his limbs detach, and with a garbled cry he collapses in a spectacular spray of blood.
"A-BE-SHI!"
Very few Japanese people (especially men) between the ages of 20 and 40 would fail to recognise this as a typical scene from Hokuto no Ken, one of the most popular Japanese comics of the 1980s. Written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara, the 27 volumes (!!) have sold millions of copies, as well as spawning an animated series for TV and a B-grade movie. Hokuto no Ken, along with my kotatsu, mandarins, and toast with super-crunchy peanut butter became an essential ingredient of evenings at home during my second winter in Japan.
It all started when I flipped open a copy of volume 1 that had been confiscated from a student and left on someone's desk in the staffroom at school. Being a sucker for post-nuclear apocalyptic sci-fi stories, and fascinated by the fantastically graphic violence, I was soon looking for volume 2, much to the entertainment of the all the teachers between the ages of 20 and 40.
Like I said, it's set in a post-apocalyptic future, in which water, food and petrol are the supreme commodities, and the strong oppress the weak with breathtaking cruelty. There are mutant warlords who command armies of burly minions dressed for S&M, and who control settlements and vast tracts of desert. There are the common people, who form communities and bravely eke out whatever living they can from the wasteland and the ruins, and try to withstand whatever savagery the warlords choose to subject them to.
Roaming this world is a handful of men (yes, men – more about that later) like our hero Kenshiro. They possess various "Arts of the Fist" which originated in China and have been handed down from one generation to the next for thousands of years. They are divided into the "North Star" and "South Star" schools, and their number includes those who use their powers for the cause of Good (like Kenshiro), and those who are so evil they make the above-mentioned warlords look like your Aunt Edith's Tuesday night bridge club. These superheroes all have a connection with a star or constellation which dictates their destinies; and its position relative to other stars influences their relationships with those represented by those stars.
The story begins with Kenshiro trying to remember who he is. Someone"s racked off with his sheila, burned seven holes in his chest and left him to die, and he's looking for answers. We follow him and the little sidekicks attracted by his gentle nature as he moves from one confrontation to another, helping the weak and dishing out aggro to their oppressors.
Kenshiro doesn't have much trouble with your bog-standard warlord, and we realise early on that the story will come to centre on the power-struggles between the various masters of the Fist Arts. Kenshiro must deal with his North Star "brothers", some of whom are angsty at his becoming the heir, find out what happened to his girlfriend, and fulfil his destiny by confronting his "brother" Rao, the self-styled "Fist Lord" who seeks to dominate, well, the universe. How will it all turn out? Read it yourself!
|
KenshiroNorth Star Holy Fist master. Has the right move for every situation. Could teach your shiatsu specialist a few things. Sickeningly Good and far too Nice. Sported an impressive mullet as a child. Bears what some suggest to be more than a coincidental resemblance to Mel Gibson. |
|
BattoAn urchin who latches onto Kenshiro in volume 1. Thinks of very little else besides food. Acts tough, but stains his daks when there's any action. Annoying little prat. Grows up to be another sickeningly good hero. |
|
RinAn orphan who latches onto Kenshiro when he heals her inability to talk. Small and cute but way tougher than Batto (doesn't talk as much, either). Grows up to be even foxier than Mamiya |
|
ReiMaster of the South Star Water Bird Fist, i.e. slices baddies apart with very cool hand moves and stylish kicks. Good, but with more attitude than Kenshiro. Reckons Mamiya's a bit of all right. Ranked 1st in an Internet Hokuto no Ken popularity poll. |
|
MamiyaYoung leader of a village since her parents were murdered before her eyes. Has a face from an '80s fashion mag, and is admirably endowed (see vol. 4 p.86 if you don't believe me). Legs are roughly three times the length of the rest of her. Reckons Kenshiro's a bit of all right, but he's fixated on Yuria. |
|
RaoNorth Star Holy Fist master. Kenshiro's adopted big brother. Very big, very scary, and can kill stuff using only his aura. Very cut up about not being chosen as heir. Rides a very big black horse called Gokuo. Bears what some suggest to be more than a coincidental resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger. |
|
TokiNorth Star Holy Fist master. Kenshiro's adopted big brother. Nothing like Rao i.e. not big, not scary, and uses his powers for healing instead of dominating the universe. Purportedly the most powerful master of the Fist Arts in existence, but supports Kenshiro's succession as heir. |
|
RyukenDeceased North Star Holy Fist master and heir previous to Kenshiro. Immensely powerful guru who adopted, raised and trained Rao, Toki and Kenshiro. Think he's cool, but disappointed to see him ranked 112th (well behind Gokuo) in Internet popularity poll mentioned above. |
"Look at the way it's drawn – you don't see that kind of quality in today's manga. The movie though, that wasn't a B-movie, it was more like a C or a D . . ."
"Rei rules!"
Satoshi Hashimoto
Junior High School art teacher
"The Japanese are especially fond of the concept of 勧善懲悪 (kanzenchoaku: "promote good, punish evil"). Hokuto no Ken epitomises this; the good and the bad are very clearly defined."
Masaaki Saura
Junior high school vice-principal
"Kenshiro is a great hero. Western comic book characters often have a dark side—take Batman for example—but there"s no darkness in Kenshiro."
"Also, Hokuto no Ken is obviously strongly influenced by Mad Max, which was huge in Japan. The parallels made it easier to understand."
Noriyuki Takeshima
Junior high school maths teacher
I'm not going to pretend that I understand 100% of what"s going on in Hokuto no Ken, and that leaves me up the creek when it comes time to write anything like a review. So allow me a little space just to write about what has kept me reading.
The story begins with a bang and progresses steadily. Ken faces a progression of baddies of increasing power and malignance, and defeats them with a progression of increasingly powerful techniques. They also get steadily more magical and far-fetched, and there are times when Buronson appears to outdo himself to think of ways for Kenshiro to win against seemingly invincible opponents. The story also follows for the most part a cycle: introduction of depraved baddy and atrocities thereof g arrival of Kenshiro g confrontation with baddy g gruesome death of baddy g departure of Kenshiro. Each time around there is just enough variation to keep it interesting, and new major characters are fed into the story at regular intervals. Buronson likes to keep you guessing for a while before filling in background information with frequent and detailed flashbacks. Tetsuo Hara's drawings really are amazing, and a strong reason to keep reading; I was always keen just to see what all the folks in the next volume would look like. Also, those familiar with Western pop-culture of the '80s will be surprised to see incarnations of Boy George, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T and others . . .
Each new volume I finished gave me more to discuss with usually reticent colleagues. Hokuto no Ken has been a brilliant conversation-opener, although a few too many of those conversations went something like this:
"So are you up to the bit where Yuria comes back?"
"She's ALIVE??!!"
"Oh . . . sorry."
As for all that violence, I'm so impressionable I got nightmares from watching The Wizard of Oz, but I can handle it. Why? Well, those baddies are BAD. They're malevolent. They're utterly deplorable. They brand villagers with hot irons, and fry those who refuse to submit on oversized barbecues. They mutilate them in front of their kin, and dismember them for sport. They torch the crippled with flame-throwers when they fail to get out of the way. They enslave armies of wide-eyed children. The revulsion builds, along with that very human desire for retribution, for justice. Kenshiro's really not a "turn the other cheek" kind of chap, and he gives us our satisfaction when he makes 'em suffer.
According to Hokuto no Ken, the future is even darker for women than it is for men. All characters with any power or authority are ostensibly male, and women are seldom anything more than something to steal along with the food and fuel. Granted, there are a few matriarchs about, such as Mamiya, but take another look. In spite of her apparent skill with those killer yo-yos, she"s pretty well defenceless and so has to rely on Kenshiro to rescue her. And let"s face it: those low-cut tops, miniskirts and stiletto boots are not the best fightin'-wear. And then there's Yuda, the South Star master who assembled a harem of beautiful "women worthy enough to love him", and had them all tattooed with his initials. I wish I'd thought o'" that . . .
In spite of all that, many mushy positive messages shine through: courage and self-sacrifice, the importance of pursuing freedom, and the sanctity of life and of living things (believe it or not). Which is obviously why everyone likes Hokuto no Ken.
ee ff
