Crunchyroll have today announced that the 1980’s anime adaptation of Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s manga series, Fist of the North Star, is now available to stream in Japanese (with English subtitles) on the Crunchyroll streaming platform.
The Fist of the North Star anime was produced by Toei Animation, and was adapted from the manga written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara, with the anime being split into two series. The first series, which consisted of 109 episodes, originally broadcast in Japan between October 1984 and March 1987. The second series, which was entitled Hokuto no Ken 2 in Japan, featured 43 episodes and was March 1987 and February 1988. Both series are available to stream on Crunchyroll under the Fist of the North Star branding.
Synopsis: In the year 199X, the Earth was consumed by the atomic flames, drying up seas and oceans to leave nothing but a vast desert where violence reigns supreme. In this world of death, blood, and tears lies humanity’s last hope. Wandering in this post-apocalyptic world, Kenshiro searches for his beloved, his chest adorned with seven scars. He will soon discover that no one can escape the destiny of Hokuto Shinken, the deadly martial art of which he is the ultimate heir. The legend of the long epic of the Savior of this end of the century is just beginning…
Interestingly while Crunchyroll have acquired the streaming rights to all 152 episodes it seems some episodes have not yet become accessible on the platform, as six episodes are currently missing from the line-up. At the time of writing Episode 52, Episode 64, Episode 117, Episode 123, Episode 136, and Episode 143, are not yet accessible on the Crunchyroll platform. It is possible that these may become accessible later in the day once servers have fully refreshed the catalog.
Fist of the North Star has had an interesting release in the UK, as the series was partially released in the UK many years ago and has not (really) had a release since. Naturally the addition of the series to Crunchyroll means that fans of older anime titles, or those looking to revisit a brutally classic title, can now do so. Of course, in order to watch these episodes a Crunchyroll subscription is required along with a valid internet connection and compatible device.
