Fist of the North Star Classic Anime Now Streaming on Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll has added the original Fist of the North Star television anime to its library. All 152 episodes of the series and its sequel, Fist of the North Star 2, are now available to stream in Japanese with English subtitles.

Based on the landmark manga by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara, Fist of the North Star is set in a post apocalyptic world ravaged by nuclear war. The story follows Kenshiro, the master and successor of a deadly martial art, as he travels a desolate wasteland protecting the weak and innocent from violent gangs. Along the way he encounters other powerful martial artists and confronts figures from his own past, including his brother Raoh, who has declared himself king of the lawless new world.

The television anime ran for two seasons between 1984 and 1988. The original manga ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 1983 to 1988, and VIZ Media began releasing a new English edition both digitally and in print in June 2021.

A brand new anime adaptation titled Hokuto no Ken: Fist of the North Star is set to premiere in 2026. The project marks the series’ 40th anniversary, and the production team has described it as a CG based production that aims to be more faithful to the original manga.

My take: Having the classic Fist of the North Star anime finally on Crunchyroll is a big deal. It is one of those foundational series that shaped the look and feel of so much action anime that came after it, and if you have never seen it, now is a very easy time to start.