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Fist of the North Star

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Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳 Hokuto no Ken, literally Fist of the Big Dipper) is a Japanese animated series based on the manga written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara.

Synopsis

In the year 199X, human civilization has been all but destroyed by a nuclear holocaust. In an age where the strong rule over the weak, the survivors of the fallout struggle over the remaining food and water supply. Kenshiro, successor to an ancient, deadly martial artist known as Hokuto Shinken (Fist of the North Star), wanders the wasteland with seven scars in the shape of the Big Dipper on his chest. His infamous style uses the body's hidden 708 pressure points to destroy opponents from within and allows practitioners to unleash 100% of their humanly strength. Accompanied by a young thief and an orphan girl, this messiah brings justice to this lawless world with the strongest fist in the world.

Dubbing History[]

The show was first dubbed in 1999 by Animaze for Manga Entertainment. Manga released the dub on VHS before stopping after 8 tapes covering 24 episodes. The other 12 dubbed episodes would air on Showtime Beyond in the US, and released on DVD across 6 Volumes.

The dub goes no further than Episode 36. Why it wasn't completed is unclear, though it seems Manga only licensed 36 episodes as a starting point and the home video sales likely didn't justify the cost of licensing further episodes.

In 2009, an alternate dub of the series, infamously known as "Toei Animation Dub", was produced by William Winckler Productions in the form of six compilation films. The films consist of The Shin Saga, The Ray Saga, The Souther Saga, The Toki Saga, The Raul Saga, and The Kaio Saga. With the sixth film being edited from the final episodes of Fist of the North Star 2. This dub is said to be made specifically for Japanese audiences to learn English.

Cast[]

Image Character Seiyū Dub Actor
(Animaze Dub)
(eps. 1-36) 		Dub Actor
(Toei Animation Dub)
(Comp. Films)
Kenshiro Akira Kamiya Lex Lang William Winckler
Bart (Bat) Teiyū Ichiryūsai Gary Dubin Caleb Pearson
Lynn Tomiko Suzuki Sandy Fox Marieve Herington
Raoh Kenji Utsumi John Snyder G. Larry Butler
Norio Wakamoto
(ep. 32)
Toki Takaya Hashi Kirk Thornton Kyle Rea
Jagi Kōji Totani Peter Lurie N/A
Ryuken Junji Chiba Simon Prescott TBA
Shin Toshio Furukawa Steve Blum Kyle Rea
Rei Kaneto Shiozawa Daran Norris Jason Barker
Julia /
Yuria 		Yuriko Yamamoto Mary Elizabeth McGlynn Alison Lees-Taylor
Mamiya Toshiko Fujita Chase Masterson
Airi Arisa Andō Kim Mai Guest
(ep. 24-29) 		Alison Lees-Taylor
Christina Carlisi
(ep. 33)
Zeed Eiji Kanie Joe Romersa TBA
Spade Tesshō Genda Kirk Thornton TBA
Diamond Daisuke Gōri Peter Spellos TBA
Club Kōji Totani R. Martin Klein TBA
Heart Shōzō Iizuka Joe Romersa Robert Axelrod
Joker Shigeru Chiba Richard Cansino David Gerrold
General Balcom Seizō Katō Beau Billingslea G. Larry Butler
Mad Sarge Yasuo Tanaka Jamieson Price TBA
Colonel Kōji Yada Barry Stigler Donald Glut
Jackal Masayuki Katō Tom Wyner TBA
Fox Kōji Totani Michael Deak TBA
Boss Fang Takeshi Watabe Simon Prescott TBA
Amiba Takaya Hashi Kirk Thornton TBA
Narration Shigeru Chiba Jonathan David Cook
(eps 1-27) 		TBA
Tom Wyner
(eps 28-36)

Additional Voices[]

Animaze Dub


Toei Animation Dub

  • Robert Axelrod
  • Jason Baker-Avellino
  • G. Larry Butler
  • David Gerrold
  • Donald Glut
  • Marieve Herington
  • Bradford Hill
  • Nate Joyner
  • Alison Lees-Taylor
  • George Lindsay, Jr.
  • Chase Masterson
  • Paul Oberle
  • Caleb Pearson
  • Kyle Rea
  • Richard Rey
  • Laura Siegel
  • Shane Stern
  • Michelle Tousignant
  • Robert Tousignant
  • William Winckler

Notes[]

  • Even though many voice actors from the Streamline Pictures dub of the movie are present in this dub, none reprise their roles:
    • Tony Oliver who played Bat in the movie dub voices several incidental characters from episode 19 and onwards in the series.
    • Wally Burr who voiced Raoh previously appeared as a guest in Volume 7 (Episodes 19-21) playing Blackbird Army Captain Mahari and one of the KING commanders plotting with General Barcom to overthrow Shin.
    • Dave Mallow who voiced the Colonel and Mr. Heart in the movie instead voices the Captain of God's Army in the series along with some extras in the first six episodes.
    • Daniel Woren who played Jagi in the film voices the Patrol Leader of God's Army here.
    • Michael McConnohie, the movie voice of Shin, voices Gyūki and several extras towards the end of the series' dub.
    • Steve Bulen, the movie voices of Elder Ukoku and Galf, appears in the series as Baron, Wolf, and several extras.
    • Kirk Thornton became the voice of Toki (in flashbacks), Amiba, Spade, the Major of God's Army, Temujina, and several incidental characters in the series when he'd previously appeared in the movie's dub as a victim of Jagi's gang and one of Raoh's supporters.
    • Barbara Goodson played Mako, Kasim, and several incidentals later in the series' dub after having previously voiced Airi and an old beggar woman in the dub of the movie.
    • Michael Forest had previously voiced Zeed in the movie dub whereas in the series, he was moved to playing Elder Ukoku.
    • Tom Wyner voiced Fox in the movie but was recast as Fox's boss Jackal in the series' dub and handled the narration for episodes 28-36.
    • Doug Stone voiced Kubaru, a thug in Jagi's gang, in the movie and several incidentals before he would voice Farmer Smith in the dub of the series.
    • Catherine Battistone played an incidental (a grieving woman watching Jagi's gang torment and slaughter people) in the movie dub before becoming the voice of Toyo in the series.
    • Wendee Lee appeared in the movie dub as a woman being slaughtered by Zeed's gang and would also voice a prisoner in the fourth episode of the series, though she would not be credited for the latter role.
  • Tom Wyner took over as the series' narrator from Jonathan David Cook from episode 28 to the end of the dub.
  • Christina Carlisi replaced Kim Mai Guest as Airi in episode 33, which would be the character's final appearance in the episodes that were dubbed.
  • David Ellenstein voiced Johnny in episode 6 but in episodes 7-8 Jeff Nimoy replaced him.
  • Kevin Brief provided Aruna's voice in episode 18, but Joe Romersa replaced him in the role for episodes 19-20.
  • Christopher Lee Michael voiced Kemada in episodes 23-24, but Ty Webb provided the voice in episode 25. The same happened with Mamiya's brother Kō who was initially voiced by Bob Buchholz in the former-mentioned episodes, but was recast with Kirk Baily in the latter. The elder of Mamiya's village also had a change going from Paul Carr in episode 23 to William H. Bassett in episodes 25-26, and 30.
  • The Toei compilation films were edited from the following episodes.
    • The Shin Saga - eps. 16, 17, 19, 21, 22
    • The Ray Saga - eps. 47, 52, 54, 55, 56
    • The Souther Saga - eps. 60, 62, 66, 67, 68
    • The Toki Saga - eps. 48, 49, 70, 71, 72
    • The Raul Saga - eps. 100, 101, 106, 107, 108
    • The Kaio Saga - eps. 148, 149, 150, 151, 152 (Fist of the North Star 2; eps. 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
  • The William Winckler dub marks Robert Axelrod's final appearance in an anime dub.

Transmission[]

Date(s) Channel Country
2002 Showtime Beyond United States United States
2002 Sci-Fi Channel United Kingdom United Kingdom

Video Releases[]

Distributor Year Format Contents Region Country
Manga Entertainment 1999-2000 Episodes 1-24 NTSC United States United States
8 Volumes
2003 Episodes 1-36 1
NTSC
6 Volumes
Discotek Media 2010-2011 The Complete Series*
3 Volumes
2014 The Complete Series*
21 Discs
2017 The Complete Series* A
DVB-T
3 Discs

*Includes the undubbed episodes with subtitles.

See Also[]

External Links[]

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