MANGA REVIEW | "Fist of the North Star" - Volume Fourteen
Since its beginning, Fist of the North Star has kept Kenshiro’s origins a secret. Sure, it has showed him training and becoming the hero we know and love. But where exactly did he come from? In Volume Fourteen, we finally get that answer.
Kenshiro arrives in Asuras, with the legend of Raoh keeping the hopes of many alive. To them, he is a hero that brings about hope for a people with very little to lay claim to. Alas, with Kenshiro being the one to end Raoh’s legend, it would seem that any hope has been dashed. That is, until they witness Kenshiro’s strength.
It is here in Fist of the North Star where another tough guy with an evil aura appears: Rasho. Covered in intimidating armor, he kidnaps Rin, and tells her his plan: to end the Hokuto Shiken. As one can imagine, those with wicked thoughts will be silenced, albeit not in the easiest of ways. Nay, it’s a situation that finds Kenshiro using a plethora of strength to unleash a new level of might not yet seen in our hero.
Also here is the story of Raoh, Kenshiro, and Hyo. Hyo winds up being an important figure in Kenshiro’s life, on top of being the one knowing the location of the secret fist. However, with his memory erased, his former kind heart has instead been overtaken by Rasho’s ways. It takes his former teacher Jukei to slowly unlock these past memories, something the sensei regrets doing in the first place.
Per usual, the same level of wanton violence is on display in this volume of Fist of the North Star. From plucked eyes to exploding heads, every death is as delightfully gruesome as the last. No one is safe from this level of chaos, not even children and their fearful parents, who find themselves slaughtered mercilessly by a pair of nasty bandits. (In return, Kenshiro takes their heads and turned them into hamburger meat!)
However, it’s the back story here that brings about the most interest in this volume. Where Kenshiro came from, the importance of Raoh in this world, and even what may lead to the grand finale of the Hokuto line. Although the original story ended with Kenshiro’s reunion with Yuria, this one is aiming to conclude with these legendary fists being wiped out of existence. The question is, will it be for the good of humanity, or will evil find a way to triumph?
At any rate, the fourteenth volume of Fist of the North Star drops a bountiful of twists onto Kenshiro’s pathway. There’s also a ton of blood and meat chunks that used to be body parts splattered on said path. Even when you think you‘ve seen the most violent thing imaginable in Fist of the North Star, Buronson and Tetsuo Hara find another way to shock their audience. If that’s the case, imagine just how hardcore the final battle in this manga will be…
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
