Legendary Manga Getting New Anime Series For 40th Anniversary

By Douglas Helm | Updated

Fist of the North Star

According to Anime News Network, we’ll soon be getting a new anime adaptation of Tetsuo Hara’s and Buronson’s seminal Fist of the North Star manga from Warner Bros Japan. The series announcement comes just in time for the 40th anniversary of the manga, which first ran in Shonen Jump from 1983 to 1988. There aren’t too many details about the project yet, but it will feature a brand new voice cast.

Fist of the North Star is one of the best-selling mangas of all time and is also considered one of the most influential.

Fist of the North Star follows Kenshiro, who takes it upon himself to protect the weak from violence in a post-apocalyptic world. Kenshiro is a master of a rare and dangerous martial art style and finds himself facing off against various other martial artists, including his brother, who has declared himself king of the destroyed world.

Even if you aren’t familiar with the manga, you’re probably at least familiar with the “You’re Already Dead” reaction meme pulled from the earlier anime adaptation of the series.

The first anime adaptation of Fist of the North Star came out back in 1984 and ran for 152 episodes before ending in 1988. Following the anime adaptation, the series also had various films, novels, video games, a live-action adaptation, and even a stage musical. It’s actually a little surprising that it has taken this long to get another version of this beloved manga.

As Fist of the North Star celebrates its 40th Anniversary, Warner Bros. Japan announces work on a new anime series adaptation.

Fist of the North Star is one of the best-selling mangas of all time and is also considered one of the most influential. It has inspired numerous mangas, films, and video games since its release. It’ll be interesting to see the series brought to life with modern animation.

For now, Warner Bros Japan is keeping the details for Fist of the North Star pretty light, but the company said that it would provide more details about the adaptation at a later date. In the meantime, there is plenty of content to keep fans of the franchise busy.

For instance, Viz Media recently began publishing new physical and digital editions of the manga in 2021, making it easier than ever to read the seminal manga for those who have missed out on it or those who haven’t revisited it in a while.

Fist Of The North Star Spin-Offs

In 2021, Hiroshi Kurao also launched a Fist of the North Star spin-off manga titled Hokuto no Ken Seikimatsu Drama Satsuei-hen (Fist of the North Star Apocalypse Drama Filming Arc). Of course, there’s alos the first spin-off of the original manga — the prequel titled Fist of the Blue Sky, which was written by Nobuhiko Horie and drawn by Hara with supervision by Buronson.

In 2014, Hara and Buronson also released a special two-part story for the manga’s 30th anniversary that focuses on Kenshiro’s steed Kokuoh during the timeline gap between Chapters 136 and 137 of the original manga.

Of course, you can always watch the 1980s anime adaptation of Fist of the North Star on Crunchyroll if you can’t wait for the new one to come out. In any case, we’ll keep you updated as Warner Bros Japan provides more details on the upcoming adatpation. Stay tuned for this and other anime news.