Fist of the North Star, New  Recommended
Publisher
ADV
Director
Takashi Watanabe
Production
New Fist of the North Star Production Committee, OB Planning
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
3 episodes
Year
2003
New Fist of the north Star vol 2: The Forbidden Fist
By John Huxley
18th Jun 05  Every so often, when a package drops through the front door stuffed full of DVD’s, I’ll waste no time tearing it open and rifling through the contents like a 10-year old on Christmas morning. Naturally, after a while I’ll become more relaxed about the whole thing and maybe make myself a cup of tea before I pick up the first disc. When my eyes caught sight of the second volume of New Fist of the North Star, however, I simply wasn’t satisfied until it was sat spinning inside my DVD player. Granted, only a rabid fan of Buronson’s cyberpunk epic would jump for joy at the sight of Kenshiro’s chiseled features, yet I honestly feel that there’s enough raw quality running throughout the first volume of New Fist of the North Star to warrant such a zealous reaction. Surely, especially considering the formulaic nature of the show, this second volume wouldn’t disappoint? Picking up where the first volume left off, this episode introduces us to new bad guy of the piece Seiji. Kenshiro has abandoned the recently liberated Last Land in order to acquire the rare ingredients needed to cure Bista, the young magician used as a pawn in Sanga’s reign of tyranny. With an exposed Last Land left to the mercy of Sanga’s successor, the silver-haired Seiji, Kenshiro must make his way back before there’s literarily nobody left to save... Whilst shamelessly generic, the storyline is constructed in such a way that it actually lends weight to the previous, self-contained episode. Much like Irvin Kershner’s The Empire Strikes Back, it builds on the elements introduced in the first episode and expands and improves upon them, creating a multi-layered storyline that really brings out the best of Fist of the North Star. Admittedly it’s still nothing to get too excited about - nobody watches Fist of the North Star for the engaging story, after all - yet it’s a noticeable improvement upon previous installments. And much like the acclaimed sci-fi, this episode also ends on a cliff-hanger that will have you desperate for the third and final episode. Sadly, where The Empire Strikes Back struck the perfect balance between sequel and prequel, this episode of Fist of the North Star fails dismally to leave the viewer suitably satisfied with the episode as a whole. Don’t get me wrong; what’s here is great, it simply ends in such a way that you’re left thinking ‘was that it?’. To lower the tone a little (who am I kidding? It doesn’t get any lower than this...), it’s a bit like watching an uncomplete porn film. There’s plenty of action but no climax. Thoroughly disappointing. Despite all this, there is something to be said for the quality of an animation that can leave you so utterly disappointed to see the credits role. The time passed so fast I couldn’t quite believe my eyes - it felt more like 30 minutes than 55. Love it or hate it, this is still the same old Fist of the North Star that stands out as a true classic of its kind even today, a franchise that sold millions of comic books worldwide and helped to popularise anime (for better or worse) in the west throughout the 90's. Add to this successful formula some much needed modern production values and you’ve got a sure-fire winner. For those of us lucky enough to be enamoured with Fist of the North Star the first time around, this is a must-buy title regardless. Pleasingly, Hokuto Nokumen expert Seiji is an imposing villain thanks to an utterly ruthless attitude that would make Sanga appear positively lightweight. He also benefits from a greater share of screen time that sees his background expanded through a series of suitably cheesy flashbacks, lending weight to his already laudable character. Unfortunately the soft tones of the Japanese voice actor cast to play Seiji (Gackt, the Japanese pop idol who incidently writes the theme toon, sings the theme toon) aren’t quite up to the task, although his US counterpart fares significantly better. Pending results from the final episode, he’d certainly rank highly in the illustrious Fist of the North Star villain’s hall of fame (in which Shin hogs top spot, obviously). The remainder of the cast from the first episode all get in on the action to a greater or lesser degree, although some fans may be saddened to learn of Kenshio’s diminished role for this particular outing. Obviously a requirement of the plot, he’s MIA for large portions of the episode as he drives across the barren desert in a rather nicely rendered military jeep. Not exactly the Kenshiro to which we’ve become accustomed to over the decades. Seiji and his cohorts do their best to fill his boots with a couple of decent action sequences, but we’re forced to wait until the latter portion of the episode before Kenshiro livens things up a little with his own unique brand of justice. Yet even this doesn’t really feel satisfactory when compared to the sheer brilliance of the previous episode. We all know New Fist of the North
Star is perfectly capable, it just appears to be holding back in preparation for an epic finale. Let’s hope it delivers. By all means pick this up - it’s still a fantastic slice of no-brainer entertainment - just make sure you get the third volume while you’re at it. Lucky for me it arrived in the same package...
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English 5.1 and Japanese 5.1 audio, English subtitles, interview with Gackt, interview with Michael Zang, behind the scenes ADR footage, character bios, ADV previews
Release information: UK: ADV, 20th June 2005
Notes: Making good use of a striking blood-red colour scheme and detailed artwork, this cover is marginally more successful than the first. However, the composition draws you towards Seiji’s ugly mug rather than the more visually interesting render of Kenshiro in full cyberpunk garb. The design continues to the inside of the box which features a repeat of the cover artwork beneath the DVD and a quick extra listing on the opposite side. Extras include a press interview with Gackt, some ADR footage of the US cast and an interview with Michael Zang. Apparently an expert in Taiwanese Jai Yen Yen, Michael Zang’s focus on self defence techniques is the polar opposite of the brutal Jiu Jitsu showcased the volume previous. Here, Zang takes us through several potential real-life situations and gives us some sound basic advice on how best to deal with attackers. He does cover the same ground a few times, but otherwise this is an entertaining featurette. The relatively lengthy interview with Gackt fairs better than the Japanese press event included in the last volume, with several questions receiving more straightforward answers from the seemingly camera-shy pop idol. Nothing more than US voice actors recording audio for the show, the ADR footage is sadly the least entertaining of the three extras but still a welcome addition all the same. All things considered, this is another great addition to ADV’s lineup.
-- John Huxley 18th Jun 05
Fist of the North Star, New Images           
|
