History Manga / FistOfTheNorthStar

* CrackingUp: Part and parcel of Kenshiro's BruceLeeClone nature.

* AbductionIsLove: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tptP9dGOKbM#t=3m0s "I can't carry them all. Hey, the rest of you will walk!"]] ...and ''they do''. Juza rules.

* TropeMaker[=/=]TropeCodifier: Quite simply, ''FOTNS'' is THE granddaddy of all Shonen fighting series, and pretty much every trope that applies to them was either created outright or codified by it. It's easier to mention which fighting series are NOT in any way influenced by it (answer: zero).

* AllThereInTheManual: Several ''Hokuto no Ken'' story guides haven been released, such as the two ''Kyukyoku Kaisetsu'' books and the ''Boku-tachi no Sukina Hokuto no Ken'' anime guide. The earliest and most prominent one is probably ''Hokuto no Ken Special: All About the Man'', a magazine-sized book published by Shueisha in 1986. The ''All About the Man'' publication was the first source to reveal the name of Shin's fighting style, ''Nanto Koshuken''.

''Fist of the North Star'', or ''Hokuto no Ken'' as it is titled in Japan, is the quintessential "[[BruceLeeClone guy who looks and sounds like Bruce Lee]] [[TheDrifter wandering]] the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]] [[MadeOfPlasticine makes people explode with his fists]] and cries lots of ManlyTears" manga. Essentially ''MadMax'' meets a BruceLee film, ''North Star'' became a classic of 80s {{shonen|Demographic}} manga, and subject to many parodies, seen in sources such as ''Manga/SetoNoHanayome'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', and ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' (but none so much so as ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo''). The manga lasted nearly six years in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' with 27 collected volumes.

* TropeMaker[=/=]TropeCodifier: Quite simply, ''FONTS'' is THE granddaddy of all Shonen fighting series, and pretty much every trope that applies to them was either created outright or codified by it. It's easier to mention which fighting series are NOT in any way influenced by it (answer: zero).

* WhatTheFuAreYouDoing: In one episode, a mook unsuccessfully tries to perform a Hokuto Zankai Ken. [[spoiler:He manages to make his own head explode.]]

''Fist of the North Star'', or ''Hokuto no Ken'' as it is titled in Japan, is the quintessential "[[BruceLeeClone guy who looks and sounds like Bruce Lee]] [[TheDrifter wandering]] the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]] [[MadeOfPlasticine makes people explode with his fists]] and cries lots of ManlyTears" manga. Essentially ''MadMax'' meets a ''BruceLee'' film, ''North Star'' became a classic of 80s {{shonen|Demographic}} manga, and subject to many parodies, seen in sources such as ''Manga/SetoNoHanayome'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', and ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' (but none so much so as ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo''). The manga lasted nearly six years in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' with 27 collected volumes.

In addition to the original manga, there have also been various anime films and [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVAs]].

* ''Fist of the North Star: The TV Series'' - Weekly anime adaptation by Toei that aired from 1984 to 1988. Like other anime adaptations that aired while their manga counterparts were still being serialized, {{filler}} episodes were added to prevent [[OvertookTheManga the main storyline from getting ahead of its source material]]. The anime was actually divided into two series in Japan: the original ''Hokuto no Ken'' (109 episodes) and ''Hokuto no Ken 2'' (43 episodes covering the post-TimeSkip arcs). In the late 90s, MangaEntertainment dubbed the first 36 and released them on home video. The remainder of the series is available subtitled-only on DVD via Discotek.

''Fist of the North Star'', or ''Hokuto no Ken'' as it is titled in Japan, is the quintessential "[[BruceLeeClone guy who looks and sounds like Bruce Lee]] [[TheDrifter wandering]] the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]] [[MadeOfPlasticine makes people explode with his fists]] and cries lots of ManlyTears" manga. Essentially ''MadMax'' meets a ''BruceLee'' film, ''North Star'' became a classic of 80s {{shonen|Demographic}} manga, and subject to many parodies, seen in sources such as ''Manga/SetoNoHanayome'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', and ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' (but none so much so as ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo''). The manga lasted nearly six years in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' with 27 collected volumes and two TV anime series (the second series taking place after the TimeSkip) spanning a total of 152 episodes.

The latter half of the manga (the portion which corresponds with the ''Hokuto no Ken 2'' anime series), [[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 now corrupt Tentei's army led by the corrupt Viceroy Jakoh. While Ken and his friends are successful in defeating Jakoh and his forces, not long afterward Lin is kidnapped and taken to the Kingdom of Shura, catapulting Ken into a war with the three warlords of Shura, who are all masters of Hokuto Ryuken (the "Great Bear Shining Stone Fist"), a martial art which branched off from the same clan that developed Hokuto Shinken.

Despite the franchise's popularity in Japan, the manga was only partially translated in English twice before both attempts were canceled (first by VizMedia during the 80s and 90s 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). The anime series itself only had a short-lived dub by MangaEntertainment during the 90s that lasted only the first 36 episodes. In 2008, the US division of Toei Animation began releasing officially subtitled episodes of the series via various paid download and video streaming services such as Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu among others. In 2010 {{Discotek}} began releasing the anime on Region 1 DVD.

In addition to the original manga and TV series, there have also been various anime films and [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVAs]].

** The major ofenders are Italy and France with their title change to ''Ken il guerriero'' (Ken The Warrior) and ''Ken le survivant'' (Ken The Survivor) respectively, these titles carried over to many non-English speaking coutries with a direct translation or a close variation of them; this makes the English title the actual closest translation of ''Hokuto no Ken''.
*** Even TheAngryVideoGameNerd is getting confused about the manga's English title in the NES adaptation (in his ChristmasEpisode) and thinks "What does that mean? [[IThoughtThatWas A fist coming out of a star?]] [[RhymesOnADime Gee, that's bizarre!]]"
** There is a bit of FridgeBrilliance with the English titles, though - the North Star and Southern Cross have, historically, been used as navigation aids. Considering that one of the themes of the series is who will lead the ruined Earth, it is fitting that the styles of the fighters in the series would be named after beacons of guidance.

* ContinuityDrift: The latter part of the manga revealed that Kenshiro, Toki, and Raoh were originally refuges from the Kingdom of Shura, where Raoh and Toki's mother was also buried. However, the first half of the manga already showed the ruins of Raoh and Toki's hometown, as well as the graves of both of Raoh and Toki's parents. Some adaptations choose to stick with the first origin story for Raoh and Toki, and others go with the Shura origin.

* DeathEqualsRedemption: Played with several villains, notably Shin, Souther and Raoh. There's also Kaioh whose atrocities include [[spoiler:murdering his sister, who doubles as his comrade's fiancée, and blaming it on Kenshiro -- then turning on said comrade behind his back while he's occupied with Kenshiro. Kenshiro defeats him with a coup de grâce out of pity for his sad destiny, as [[http://img07.nj.us.mangafox.com/store/manga/243/24-001.0/compressed/24c1pg19.jpg this]] pretty much says.]].

''Fist of the North Star'', or ''Hokuto no Ken'' as it is titled in Japan, is the quintessential "[[BruceLeeClone guy who looks and sounds like Bruce Lee]] [[TheDrifter wandering]] the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]] [[MadeOfPlasticine makes people explode with his fists]] and cries lots of ManlyTears" manga. Essentially ''MadMax'' meets a ''BruceLee'' film, ''North Star'' became a classic of 80s {{shonen|Demographic}} manga alongside ''RanmaOneHalf'', and subject to many parodies, seen in sources such as ''Manga/SetoNoHanayome'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', and ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' (but none so much so as ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo''). The manga lasted nearly six years in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' with 27 collected volumes and two TV anime series (the second series taking place after the TimeSkip) spanning a total of 152 episodes.

* {{Zeerust}}: The original manga was published during [=1980s=], at a time when most doomsday predictions placed the end of the world at the late [=1990s=]. The nuclear occurs in the [[ExtyYearsFromNow 199X]] and the term ''Seikimatsu'' ("end of the century") is used to refer to the era the story takes place. This becomes ZeerustCanon in all of the newer spin-offs published after 2000 and onward, which continued using the term ''Seikimatsu''.

* {{Zeerust}}: The original manga was published during [=1980s=], at a time when most doomsday predictions placed the end of the world at the late [=1990s=]. The term ''Seikimatsu'' ("end of the century") is used throughout the story as referance to the era it takes place. This becomes ZeerustCanon in all of the newer spin-offs published after 2000 and onward.

* {{Zeerust}}[=/=]ZeerustCanon: Since the original manga began serialization in 1983, the term ''seikimatsu'' ("end of the century") was used to refer to the story's post-apocalyptic setting (since at the time it was believed that the world was going to end by the end of the [=20th=] century). Despite the fact that no such holocaust occurred in real life, the term ''seikimatsu'' is still used in most of the later spin-offs and adaptations.

''Fist of the North Star'', or ''Hokuto no Ken'' as it is titled in Japan, is the quintessential "[[BruceLeeClone guy who looks and sounds like Bruce Lee]] [[TheDrifter wandering]] the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]] [[MadeOfPlasticine makes people explode with his fists]] and cries lots of ManlyTears" manga. Essentially ''MadMax'' meets a ''BruceLee'' film, ''North Star'' became a classic of 80s {{shonen|Demographic}} manga alongside ''RanmaOneHalf'', and subject to many parodies, seen in sources such as ''SetoNoHanayome'', ''ExcelSaga'', and ''SchoolRumble'' (but none so much so as ''{{Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo}}''). The manga lasted nearly six years in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' with 27 collected volumes and two TV anime series (the second series taking place after the TimeSkip) spanning a total of 152 episodes.

* ''SoutenNoKen'' / ''FistOfTheBlueSky'' - 22-volume prequel series starring Kenshiro's uncle and namesake, Kenshiro Kasumi. Adapted into a short-lived anime series.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Devil's Rebirth was so fond of his mother, that Jackal used this fact to manipulate him, while Kaioh's hatred for Kenshiro was caused as a result of having his mother died to save an infant Kenshiro.
* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: Zaria, one of Shin's filler henchmen, uses a style known as ''Nanto Ansho Ken'' which hypnotizes the occupants of the village he rules over into zombies. Then again seeing how one of them were brought back to normal when Kenshiro pressed her pressure point, [[OurZombiesAreDifferent they're technically not zombies in a way....]]
* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: With the exception of Rei and Juda, it seems that the Hokuto brothers met each of the Nanto Rokuseiken (Shin, Shuh, Souther and Yuria) before the apocalypse. Likewise, Raoh was also acquainted with both, Juza and Fudoh, when he was a child.
* ExecutiveSuiteFight: Whereas the ''entire'' first season of Fist of the North Star takes place in a fallout-blannketed and crumbling post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, [[TheHero Kenshiro's]] final confrontation with his RivalTurnedEvil best-friend Shin takes place in a cleanly polished, cavernous throne-room of marble and gold.

* FinalFirstHug: When Raoh, broken-and-defeated by Kenshiro, holds the younger warrior's face for the first and final time [[GracefulLoser like a big brother]]:
--> '''Raoh:''' Come, let me see the face of the man who has defeated Raoh... You are magnificent, my little brother.
--> '''Kenshiro:''' [[TearJerker Big brother...]]
* FinishingMove: Practically everything the Hokuto Shinken users do is one of these, some of which go as far as involving an on-screen countdown until the victim dies a horrible death. The FightingGame made by Arc System Works made the more notable and flashy moves into instant kill moves or ''Fatal KO's''.

** In a flashback, Fudoh. He started out as a bandit who used his size and strength to terrorize and rob people, even [[spoiler: causing a younger [[BigBad Raoh]] to tremble with terror]]. But after a run-in with Yuria (plus holding a newborn puppy on his hand), he ultimately turns into a selfless hero who will stop at nothing to protect those he cares about, particularly the children he takes under his wing.

* HereWeGoAgain: The manga ending. As the "credits" is shown, Kenshiro is again wandering the wasteland and making the world a better place, one exploding head at a time.
* HeyItsThatVoice: KanetoShiozawa voiced a [[CanonForeigner side character of the week]] named Dr. Duran several episodes before the debut of his iconic role as Rei.
** And AkiraKamiya as Kenshiro, obviously.

* MsFanservice: Mamiya gets assigned for this postion in [[DynastyWarriors Hokuto Musou/Ken's Rage]], not only her early 3D render had a daring see-through skirt with a tong underneath, but her classic alternate outfit has extreme cloth damage, whereas for the guys is just desintegrated shirts, Mamiya's is large portions of the whole outfit, it ends when she's basically half-naked.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The ''Dream Mode'' of Ken's Rage is this in a nutshell.

** Souther, if he's not a JerkassWoobie.

** Sakuya from the ''Raoh Gaiden'' anime series, who is an expy of Demona from ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''. This was less so as time went on
though, and in any case was an expy of the look and sound -- they were nothing alike personality-wise or in mindset.

In addition to the original manga and TV series, there have also been various anime films and [[OriginaVideoAnimation OVAs]].

''Fist of the North Star'', or ''Hokuto no Ken'' as it is titled in Japan, is the quintessential "[[BruceLeeClone guy who looks and sounds like Bruce Lee]] [[TheDrifter wandering]] the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]] [[MadeOfPlasticine makes people explode with his fists]] and cries lots of ManlyTears" manga. Essentially ''MadMax'' meets a ''BruceLee'' film, ''North Star'' became a classic of 80s {{shonen}} manga alongside ''RanmaOneHalf'', and subject to many parodies, seen in sources such as ''SetoNoHanayome'', ''ExcelSaga'', and ''SchoolRumble'' (but none so much so as ''{{Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo}}''). The manga lasted nearly six years in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' with 27 collected volumes and two TV anime series (the second series taking place after the TimeSkip) spanning a total of 152 episodes.

The latter half of the manga (the portion which corresponds with the ''Hokuto no Ken 2'' anime series), [[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 now corrupt Tentei's army led by the corrupt Viceroy Jakoh. While Ken and his friends are successful in defeating Jakoh and his forces, not long afterward Lin is kidnapped and taken to the Kingdom of Shura, catapulting Ken into a war with the three warlords of Shura, who are all masters of Hokuto Ryuken (the "Great Bear Shining Stone Fist"), a martial art which branched off from the same clan that developed Hokuto Shinken.

In addition to the original manga and TV series, there have also been various anime films and {{OVA}}s.

* ''Fist of the North Star: TheMovie'' - A 1986 anime film by Toei that loosely follows the manga's storyline from Kenshiro's origin story on how he got his seven scars to his first battle with Raoh. Many English-speaking anime fans were first exposed to the franchise in the form of its English dub by [[{{Streamlined}} Streamline Pictures]] released during the early 90s.

There's also been {{spinoff}}s centering around certain popular side-characters from the original series.

* AGodAmI: The ''invariable'' mental illness that strikes martial-arts masters in this wasteland world who ''don't'' walk the path of righteousness.

* AllYourPowersCombined: Another one of the effects o Musou Tensei[[hottip:* :"Nil Thought Rebirth"]] is to commune with the souls of dead friends and allies and harness their strength and skills.

* AnimeThemeSong: ''Ai o Torimodose'', the theme song for the original anime series is one of the most well-known anime theme songs ever, and it is absolutely synonymous with the series. Any adaptation of the series in other media that uses ANY song from the anime '''''will''''' use ''Ai o Torimodose''. It is also considered by many to be one of the most [[HotBlooded hot blooded]] anime theme song ever, and apart from that if you go through the lyrics - you'll find yourself shedding ManlyTears.

* AWorldHalfFull: Even if the world is burnt by nuclear fire, it will only stay bad if you chose to let it stay bad: If you have the power and are willing to care, even a wasteland can be made a better place.

* BadAssNormal: Jackal. In a world of flesh-melting kung fu megapowers, he becomes an important villain by throwing dynamite and remembering where the prison is. Maybe Ein and the adult version of Bat.
* BareFistedMonk: Endemic amongst the main cast and villains, given all the superpowered martial arts going around. Anyone fighting with weapons is a {{mook}}, a RedShirt, or some other kind of minor speed-bump for their unarmed opponents.

*** That might be the same hand, poking the Trope Reinforcement [[PressurePoint pressure point]]. The two named examples are especially gratuitous since the reasons they're [[FreudianExcuse supposed to be sympathetic]] are so [[{{Narm}} arbitrary]]. [[hottip:* :In [[TheFightingNarcissist Yuda]]'s case, [[GreenEyedMonster admitting Rei is prettier]] counterbalances being a mass murderer with an [[WomenInRefrigerators unwilling harem of branded women]]. Mamiya is one of his escaped victims, but [[PutOnABus never mind her]].]] They even get [[DeathEqualsRedemption redeemed]] all the way up to [[PowerOfFriendship friendship status]] in the heroes' eyes.

* BlackBlood: Being made before the days when violent anime is screened during midnight, desaturated, black or white blood was the ''only'' way that ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' could air on television ''at all.''

** First of all, [[{{Ass Pull}} his improbable emigration]] from the Land of Shura.
** A chance encounter with [[Characters/FistOfTheNorthStar Juza]] in his childhood which gives him just the right {{Aesop}} that he uses to avoid a fatal ass-kicking.
** The second person who could stop him, his father Ryuken, suffers [[{{Diabolus Ex Machina}} a fatal heart attack]] right before he stopped Raoh from assuming the mantle of {{Big Bad}}.

* {{Bowdlerize}}: The violence from the manga was toned down considerably in the TV series, with many of the violent deaths and blood being rendered in black and white and scenes involving children's deaths (such as Bat's adoptive brother Taki or the kid who ate poisoned bread in Shuh's hideout) were rewritten to have Kenshiro save the child at the last minute. In spite of this, the show still attracted the negative attention of {{moral guardians}} ''in Japan''.

* {{Brown Note}}: Inversion: {{Complete Monster}} [[spoiler:Fudoh of the Mountains]] instantly experiences a {{Heel Face Turn}} after holding a warm puppy in his hands.

* CatchPhrase:

* TheChosenMany: Nanto Seiken, the rival school of Hokuto Shinken, has [[OneHundredAndEight 108]] branches.

* ColonelBadass: The Golan Colonel. [[TheKingOfFighters Heidern]] and [[FinalFight Rolento]] took notes from him.

* CrowningMomentofFunny: A [[{{Mook}} lesser characters]] [[{{VerbalTic}} verbal tic]] leads us to this rare moment of humor: http://www.mangafox.com/manga/fist_of_the_north_star/v20/c002/9.html

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: The Arcade Fighter by ArcSystemWorks is full of [[CallBack Call Backs]] to the original series, specific quotes with some match-ups and FATAL K.O are prone to this:

*** With Yuda, it imitates his final moment where he catches Rei's hands, admits he's the more beautiful one and commits [[SuicideByCop Suicide By Rei.]]

** Clone Zero in ''TheKingOfFighters 2000'', who is an expy of the Rasho Han, and has special moves named after ones used by Kaioh and Hyoh.
** Sakuya from the ''Raoh Gaiden'' anime series, who is an expy Demona from ''{{Gargoyles}}''. This was less so as time went on

** Goliath, a boss from CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia, is basically what you get if you cross Raoh with Frankenstein's monster. [[spoiler:His death animation replicates Raoh's own, right down to the white aura and fist raised to the sky]]. The only difference is that Goliath's body disintegrates.

* ExecutiveSuiteFight: Whereas the ''entire'' first season of FistOfTheNorthStar takes place in a fallout-blannketed and crumbling post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, [[TheHero Kenshiro's]] final confrontation with his RivalTurnedEvil best-friend Shin takes place in a cleanly polished, cavernous throne-room of marble and gold.

--> '''Kenshiro:''' [[{{Tearjerker}} Big brother...]]

** Averted when you watch the TV series in the order recommended by Daryl Surat of AnimeWorldOrder: 1-8; 11-13; 22-37; 39-108. [[RecapEpisode Recap Episodes]] are optional.

* FourIsDeath: Four words that will always lead to death: "''Omae wa mou shindeiru''"/"You are already dead."

** The insane motivations of many villains can be partly explained by the fact that the series take place [[AfterTheEnd After The Bomb]]: when you're already on the edge from the sheer, mind-blasting horror of nuclear apocalypse, even relatively minor things can push you over the brink and turn into all-consuming obsessions. This is especially the case when you've got a seemingly ''LOT'' of superpowered martial artists, and faced with the chaos AfterTheEnd.
* GagDub: Famous GagDub situation. While doing the official French language dub of the anime, all the French people working on the show were disgusted by the insane levels of violence - especially since they knew it had been bought for a morning cartoon show aimed at kids and would air alongside SailorMoon. As most of the dubbers didn't think much of [[TheNewRockAndRoll anime]] anyway, they demanded to be allowed to do whatever they wanted and therefore got to narm up the dialogues and add jokes. Basically, the French dub is an [[TheAbridgedSeries Abridged Series]], only not fan-made.
** Except AbridgedSeries are more AffectionateParody and less TakeThat.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The {{NES}} game (actually the second Famicom game) kept in the fairly gory exploding deaths of enemies when they die from being punched. Interestingly, the {{Genesis}} (which normally had much less heavy-handed censoring than the {{NES}}) port of the MegaDrive game removed this, substituting the "fly off the screen" death used for kicking.

* {{Gorn}}: Probably the most ridiculous example occurs in the fight against the Colonel, where Kenshiro uses a technique that makes his opponent's muscles ''eject the intact skeleton from the body''. To paraphrase SF Debris, the {{Gorn}} in this series is [[{{Nausea Fuel}} just sickening enough...]] [[{{Nightmare Retardant}} to be hilarious]].
* GracefulLoser: Raoh, and to a lesser extent Souther. Souther's death was changed in the movie ''Legend of Raoh: Chapter of Martyred Love'' (which retells the Souther arc from Raoh's perspective), in which Souther takes a page from Shin's book and decides that its BetterToDieThanBeKilled. In the original manga (including the events of ''Hokuto no Ken 2'') there's quite a few more.

* HannibalLecture: Fudoh delivers one to Raoh so crushing that it [[{{Villain Decay}} destroys his confidence for the rest of the series]]. Also probably the only {{Hannibal Lecture}} that doubles as a {{Crowning Moment of Heartwarming}}. Blame Raoh for explicitly telling Fudoh beforehand that he was using Fudoh a tune-up fight so that Raoh could work the fear out of his system, vaccination-style. Like Fudoh ''wasn[='=]t'' going to take advantage of that overconfidence?

* {{Hope Spot}}: Played for dark comedy in the Jagi/Kenshiro face-off. Kenshiro usually lets the {{Mooks}} he's about to deliver a thrashing to get in a couple before cruelly crushing their hopes. A much more tragic version occurs in the [[spoiler:Jyuza / Raoh fight]], whereupon he gets no less than '''three''' of these.

* KamehameHadoken '''HOKUTO GOSHO HA!!!'''

* HighPressureBlood: One villain, the Mad Sarge, even has a fighting style based around this, as he throws narrow, hollow needles. Although in real life these shouldn't be all that efficient at removing blood (he makes no attempt to hit any major veins or arteries), it is accepted that the main danger of this attack is the resulting catastrophic blood loss rather than being stuck full of needles.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: strong characters with unique fighting styles are introduced, only to be killed off within the next volume or two. Think ''{{Bleach}}'', if people died.

* MadeOfPlasticine: On the other hand, if you're a {{mook}}, prepare to have your body remolded like play-doh.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Considering the kind of future mankind lives in, it's insane to think guys still hold on to the belief that]] RealMenDontCry.
* MartialArtsDoNotWorkThatWay: The martial arts featured are not exactly realistic, but they are certainly [[RuleOfCool cool]].

* MenDontCry: ''Completely'' and ''wonderfully'' averted in this franchise: violence and brutality be damned, ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' is frankly one of the most sensitive and warm-hearted anime franchises of the 1980's.

* MusclesAreMeaningless: Partially averted. Almost all serious martial artists are musclebound bruisers (and about half of them, including Kenshiro, are much taller and more massive than average inhabitants of the postnuclear desert), but, on the other hand, there are a lot of really superhumanly big people in this series (mutants? genetically engineered? it is never explained where all these five-meters tall humans came from), [[GiantMook but their giant size usually does not help them much]], even though some of them are accomplished martial artists in their own right. Buronson likes toying with this one. Hokuto's breathing techniques effectively embody this trope, but apparently most of those [[GiantMook giant mooks]] [[ArtisticLicence were about as tall as Toki]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Several times, especially Raoh with Yuria. Arguably Shin. Certainly Kaioh. Fortunately in Raoh's case it was "My God What [[spoiler:I Could Have]] Done."

** And in [[{{DynastyWarriors}} Hokuto Musou]], he's the narrator.

* PowerCreepPowerSeep: It happens in the numerous action and fighting oriented games for the franchise, lesser fighters like Jagi turns into capable [[CombatPragmatist Combat Pragmatists]] with strenght and weapons on par with the major combatants; Mamiya in particular gets the greater doses due being the only ActionGirl in these adaptations, she improves so much that it borders on NewPowersAsThePlotDemands.

* PsychopathicManChild: The Fang Bandits, which are an entire ''group'' of animal themed Psycopathic Man-Children.

* RapidFireFisticuffs: The ''Hokuto Hyakuretsuken'', one of the main character's signature moves. Oddly enough, ''Hokuto Ujoumoushouha'' is just that except ending with a "merciful" gut punch instead of YourHeadAsplode. That's averted in ''Hokuto Musou'' gameplay (where it's a series of spinning high kicks followed by a giant uppercut that sends out an energy wave), but is kept for the cutscene of Souther's defeat.

* SayMyName: Invoked (whether deliberate or not remains to be told) by DirtyCoward Jagi, whose CatchPhrase is actually "Say my name!" Shotgun pointing is optional. This was even made into a super move in the Atomiswave fighting game.

* {{Shonen}}: The archetypal example.

* {{Streamlined}}: The English dub of the movie by Streamline Pictures removed most of the backstory regarding the history of Hokuto and Nanto and how their styles worked, had some of the names anglicized or mispronounced (in particular, Raoh pronounces Ryuken's name as "Rye-ah-ken" instead of the proper "Ree-ooh-ken"), and even changed the cause of death of one character. On the plus side, it had James Avery ([[FreshPrinceOfBelAir Uncle Phil]]/[[TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Shredder]]) as the voice of the Fang King.

* [[StockShoutOuts Stock Shout Out]]: Hokuto Hyakuretsuken is one of the big ones in anime. Any SpamAttack accompanied by an "ATATATATATATA!" shout is giving a nod to Kenshiro.

* CombatPragmatist - Jagi made a career out of doing this. And him using a gun arguably isn't even the worse thing he did.
* TenderTears: Despite their appearance, men of the FistOfTheNorthStar series are actually very warm-hearted and do this a lot, maybe even more than ManlyTears. [[spoiler:Even Raoh does this to grieve for Toki and Yuria's suffering, and those are the only times he ''ever'' sheds tears]].
* TheDrifter: Ken and Toki. And Rei. And Juza. And...well, if you're not running a corrupt empire, you're wandering around looking for one to crush, basically.
* TheMessiah: Not Kenshiro, but Toki. Think of him as an ass-kicking Jesus. It isn't very hard. Actually, Yuria is just the big Messiah of the series.
* TheNarrator: ShigeruChiba, who also voiced a few of the villains, pulls double duty here. He also gets gradually more excitable as the TV series goes on; as an episode of ''TriviaNoIzumi'' pointed out, he starts off doing the next-episode previews in a rather stern voice, but by the final episode he's ''screaming'' the narration at the top of his lungs. It originally started as an in-joke by Chiba; he apparently stopped ramping it up for a while for fear of giving himself an aneurysm, but began doing it again when fans asked him why he wasn't shouting anymore.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: In his climactic battle against Raoh, Kenshiro reveals that he has the power of all his friends behind him. Subverted earlier when [[spoiler:Rei, attacking Raoh, tried to invoke it. ''Really'' bad timing, Rei.]]
* ThePowerOfLove: Raoh, meanwhile, is only able to learn Hokuto Shinken's ultimate technique, Musou Tensei, [[spoiler:through his love of Yuria and sorrow over her sad fate]]. Which was MyKungfuIsStrongerThanYours by Kenshiro when [[spoiler:he revealed that not only does he have sorrow over Yuria too which gives him as much power as Raoh, he also has sorrow over losing his beloved big brother Raoh!]] The Power of Love is ''all over this story''. If Raoh and Kenshiro's case wasn't enough, see Kenshiro vs. Souther, which itself is also all about this.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Shin delivers a magnificent, textbook speech to Ken during a flashback, right down to having him pinned down underfoot. The topic was obsession, and Ken took it to heart.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Once Kenshiro's brothers are introduced, it is revealed that the law of Hokuto Shinken states that only one student can inherit its teachings; the others are to be either disabled or euthanized. Ends up leading to the story's events -- Jagi's berserk moment came when Kenshiro was chosen, and Raoh's refusal to let himself be crippled led to the fight where Ryuken died.
* TheRival: Shin, at first, and later Raoh.
* ScarpiaUltimatum: What Shin gives to Yuria when he kidnaps her.
* TheSpartanWay: The Kingdom of Shura, where the law states one does not reach manhood until he has defeated a 100 men.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Toki. Yuria. Shuh. Fudoh. Ein. Countless hordes of innocent, well-meaning bystanders. The planet itself.

* TropeMaker[=/=]TropeCodifier: Quite simply, ''FONTS'' is THE granddaddy of all Shonen fighting series, and pretty much every trope that applies to them was either created outright or codified by it. It's easier to mention which fighting series are NOT in any way influenced by it(answer: zero).
* {{Troperrific}}: Yes, it starts in the year [[ExtyYearsFromNow 199X]]. Yes, it features absurd villains with absurd haircuts. Yes, it features a martial arts style [[CrazyPrepared that seems to have a counter for everything]]. Yes, there's a lot of pans and people explaining what they just did. Yes, it features [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil a linear progression of threats to our heroes]]. Yes, it defined basically everything we know and make fun of as a "Shonen" show, and yes, it plays ''every single one'' of those tropes utterly, completely straight without irony. The show wouldn't ''possibly'' be as effective if it did otherwise, however. If the show made light of Kenshiro's abilities or had the villains act in any other way or any number of subversions that viewers are now perhaps used to, [[BoboboboBobobo it would be a fundamentally different show]]. [[UnbuiltTrope Of course, when it first came out, most of these tropes weren't solid enough to be subverted anyway]].
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Any time an instrumental version of [[ThemeSong Ai o Torimodose!]] cues up.
** In the finale of the anime, the vocal version is played when Kenshiro performs his final blow on Kaioh.
** In the Atomiswave fighting game, the theme is is played when a character performs a Fatal K.O.
** In '' Ken's Rage'', the player gets to enjoy this during boss fights.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: When Kenshiro growls this phrase at you, it goes without saying that you're pretty much screwed. Kenshiro goes one further after [[spoiler:Shu]]'s death: "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S_e7s7YV8Y#t=10m17s When I get done with you... There will be nothing left!!!]]"
* TooDumbToLive: A ''lot'' of glaring villain examples in the filler episodes, in particular a BadBoss who has just witnessed Kenshiro ''demolish his fifteen-feet tall henchman'' (whom he brainwashed as a slave since childhood) ''with ONE hand.'' When Kenshiro took pity on the giant and gave him a second chance to be a good person, said BadBoss just '''had''' to murder said-giant in cold-blood, '''then''' taunts the dying man for being a weakling complete with EvilLaugh in front of the horrified-and-angry STILL PRESENT Kenshiro. WhatAnIdiot. Fortunately averted by Souther's troops after his defeat, once Kenshiro's walked back down the pyramid stairs. There's obvious shame and regret over what they were fighting for, but in the first ''Raoh Den'' movie, the kids actually put ''themselves'' between the troops and Kenshiro. Had the troops in that one made a move, Kenshiro would have been ''right there''.

** There was another Visual Novel-style game released by Banpresto in 1995, simply titled ''[[RecycledTitle Hokuto no Ken]]''. It was released for the {{PlayStation}} and SegaSaturn and took place after the events of the manga. Lin gets kinapped (again) on the day of her wedding with Bat and another Hokuto school (Hokuto Mumyoken) is behind the events.
* {{Wasteland Elder}}: Kenshiro encounters quite a few elderly village leaders during the series.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: This was made for young boys in Japan. In fact, it's the TropeMaker for most of the tropes used by ''{{Naruto}}'', ''{{Bleach}}'', ''{{Dragonball}}'' (the TropeCodifier for most of them), and ''YuYuHakusho''.

* WhatMightHaveBeen: The ''Dream Mode'' of Ken's Rage is this in a nutshell.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: The villain Yuda is named after Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus in the New Testament. Yuda's role is betraying the Six Stars of Nanto by siding with Raoh in a time of chaos, and all because [[spoiler:he was jealous of Rei's elegance]].
** More recent adaptations only hammer the point home by romanizing his name as Juda (still pronounced "yuda" though).

* {{Yandere}}: In the manga, Shin is just a garden variety victim of {{Love Makes You Evil}}, but in the anime AdaptationExpansion he gets enough character development to be revealed as one of these types - complete with an {{Alas Poor Villain}} at the end.

'''[[MostWonderfulSound ATATATATATATATATATATA!]]'''

* ZeerustCanon: For the spin-offs and prequels published from 2000 and onwards, some which still use the term ''seikimatsu'' ("end of the century") to refer to the post-apocalyptic era.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: One kid gets magenta eyes while BrainwasheAndCrazy (thanks to Jagi shoving a finger into his brain).
* RefrainFromAssuming: The opening theme ''Ai o Torimodose'' is often shortened to its GratuitousEnglish phrase "You wa Shock".

* AnimeThemeSong: ''Ai o Torimodose'', the theme song for the original anime series is one of the most well-known anime theme songs ever, and it is absolutely synonymous with the series. Any adaptation of the series in other media that uses ANY song from the anime '''''will''''' use ''Ai Wo Torimodose''. It is also considered by many to be one of the most [[HotBlooded hot blooded]] anime theme song ever, and apart from that if you go through the lyrics - you'll find yourself shedding ManlyTears.

* GratuitousEnglish: The opening song. '''YOU wa SHOCK!!!''' This is probably because "you wa shock" sounds a lot like "you are shock". It's [[MemeticMutation become so prevalent]] that many don't even know that the song is actually called "Ai Wo Torimodose". The other opening themes count to, with Silent Fighter's "DO SURVIVE!" and Tough Boy's "Welcome to this crazy time!"

* RefrainFromAssuming: The opening theme ''Ai wo Torimodose'' is often shortened to its GratuitousEnglish phrase "You wa Shock".

** In the second Raoh Gaiden OVA, Fudoh attacks Kenshiro, but the latter does not attack Fudoh's pressure points. When asked, Kenshiro replies that Fudoh has "the face of a good man".

** Movie characters Reina and Souga are main characters in the ''Raoh Gaiden: Legends of the Dark King'' manga.