Thank you to NetGalley and Viz for this ARC

I grew up on this series and love it, the illustrations have been brought back to life and it does not disappoint.
No spoilers! read for yourself you will not regret it!

Action packed in the style of a 1980s action movie stoic noble hero, but the excitement wears off with too much repetition. The art is clean and the action scenes are well rendered (and very violent) but at no point does the hero seem threatened (or even challenged) and each victory seems to follow roughly the same trajectory. The last story may end in an interesting direction, but the cliffhanger ending was one final annoyance.

Will likely read the next volume, but with low expectations.

Last month I read the first volume of this series, and while it was kinda cheesy, it was fun. A post-apocalyptic world with Mad Max vibes, with a ridiculously overpowered hero with an endless supply of finger-poking moves that can cause organs, bones, etc to explode, erase someone's memory, or make them tell their secrets. Kenshiro, our hero, travels through this world to rid it of bad guys, help the weak, and find his lost love Yuria, all while wearing the same stoic expression. In this volume, Ken comes to the aid of a small village whose residents left, leaving behind only the children and an old woman who cares for them. The old woman knows there is water to be found underground, and they're attempting to dig a well, but a layer of bedrock stands in their way. Of course, one punch from Ken busts through the bedrock, and huzzah! they have water...or do they? A band of outlaw bikers, led by Jackal, an escaped convict, blows into town to kill everyone and claim the well for their own. Much violence ensues, and the old woman is killed. Once the bandits leave, realizing they can't defeat Ken, he sets off after them. Jackal leads Ken to the prison Jackal broke out of, so he can release the Devil, the only person who might be able to defeat Ken.
We know who wins, it's just a matter of which of the endless techniques Ken uses will defeat the big bad guy. After this fight ends, another begins- a representative from a village being attacked by bandits who want to steal the village's water enlists Ken's help in exchange for taking in the orphans. Wash, rinse, repeat. The repetitive storylines get this volume one less star than the first volume, and though I'm hoping for more actual story in the next, I'm not holding my breath.

#FistoftheNorthStarVol2 #NetGalley

As someone who is a big fan of the dark fantasy manga Berserk, created by the late Kentaro Miura, who left this world too soon this year, it was interesting reading the manga that had the biggest impact on his work as Viz Media have been publishing hardcover editions of Fist of the North Star. This summer saw the publication of the first volume, where we are introduced to Kenshiro, who wanders a post-apocalyptic world, defending the weak and innocent from the many gangs and organizations that threaten their survival, with his ancient martial art known as Hokuto Shinken AKA the Fist of the North Star.

Opening with our hero fighting a villainous army of red berets, led by a colonel who wields the “Boomerang of Death” (literally one of the chapters of this volume), that’s when you detect how formulaic Fist of the North Star is. As always with most battle manga, the repetitive storytelling is very much Ken travels to one land to the next, fighting off men that are usually bigger and nastier and always underestimating Ken’s martial arts, which causes enemies’ organs to explode.

With its gut-exploding violence that is well-drawn by Tetsuo Hara, there is something comical about a lot of these situations. However, the post-apocalyptic setting – clearly owing to a debt to Mad Max – does not shy away from the idea that anyone, including women and children, can be harmed. When one of Ken’s young allies, Bat, is reunited with his fellow orphans raised by the elderly Toyo, who is trying to protect a water well, a vicious biker gang plans to take over, causing Ken to fight back. Whenever the fights have a more personal edge, there’s more emotional engagement with the storyline as there are some tragedies along the way, though the resolution is going to be Ken doing some ancient art technique.

In terms of the overall artwork, some of which are bafflingly colorized, Tetsuo Hara’s strength is less about the destructed environments and more about the human body, specifically the bulky physique of the male characters. Although these fights have the same outcome, Hara presents them like David versus Goliath, particularly the fight towards the end where Ken confronts someone that is inhumanely large.

I’ve said this before on my review of the previous volume that Fist of the North Star is dramatically inert compared to the future works that it inspired, but if you like ultra-violent super-powered martial arts set within a Mad Max-inspired wasteland, this influential manga will fill your cravings.

Fist of the North Star Volume Two continues Ken’s adventures, and it also provides some character development for Ken’s traveling companion, Bat.

Fist of the North Star Volume Two
Written by: Buronson
Publisher: Shueisha
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: September 21, 2021

The volume opens with Ken taking on the Golan, a gang that claims it has genetic superiority. Of course, there’s a lot of blood and violence, which is accentuated by the fact that the first chapter has some color in it… and the color that’s used is red. Considering the postapocalyptic world that Fist of the North Star is set in, this amount of violence and bloodshed is realistic. While Ken easily takes down the Golan, he still has to then take on the “final boss.” This adversary is nowhere near as easy for Ken to defeat, and in fact, there are times when this enemy can actually get some hits in on Ken. The stakes are upped when Rin rushes in and tries to get involved… but her interference ends up helping Ken get the upper hand.

Then most of the remainder of the volume focuses on the character development for Bat. This story also introduces the next antagonist. A young boy is rescued by Ken out in the desert, and he asks Ken to help his village. It turns out the boy, named Taki, comes from Bat’s village. The two of them, along with several other children, were taken in by a woman they call “Auntie Toyo” after their parents were either killed or left their village. Taki is looking for someone to help dig a well so the village can have water. Of course, Ken agrees to help. Jackal, the new antagonist, overhears what they’re saying and wants to get the water for himself.

Unfortunately, Taki causes more trouble when he goes to another village to steal water so Toyo can have something to drink. Taki is caught, but Ken and the others are too late. It’s tragic what happens to Taki, especially since he’s only seven years old. But this event makes Ken even more determined to dig through the bedrock and find the water that the village so desperately needs. While Ken succeeds in this mission, it also brings Jackal and his thugs to the village. Ken is able to make them flee, but after Ken and his traveling companions leave, Jackal comes back. Fortunately, Ken hasn’t gotten far, but there isn’t entirely a happy ending to this story. But by the end of this story, we see Bat really does care about Auntie Toyo, even though he was antagonistic toward her throughout most of this section of the story. As a reader, I appreciated getting to learn about where Bat came from and how it likely helped to shape him into the person Ken encounters in the first volume of the series.

However, this isn’t the end for Jackal, and Ken knows it. He leaves Bat and Rin behind for a little while, so he can take on this adversary. This section culminates into a battle between Ken and Jackal, with Jackal enlisting the help of an inmate that’s referred to as both a devil and a monster. Jackal tries to trick the inmate into attacking Ken, and it almost works. However, Jackal doesn’t take certain things into consideration about this devilish inmate, and it brings about his own end. The battle between Ken and this inmate is intense. In fact, I would say that it was the most intense battle in this entire volume, if not the entire series up to this point.

A third story gets underway in this volume as well. A new antagonist is introduced, and he is skilled in Nanto Seiken. It turns out he’s trying to find Ken (although he refers to him as the man with the seven scars on his chest). Meanwhile, Ken reunites with Bat and Rin, and they have found a village willing to take the other orphan children in… but there’s a catch. Ken has to serve as the village’s protector. Meanwhile, Ken encounters a woman named Mamiya, who has a strong resemblance to Ken’s dead lover, Yuria. The new antagonist comes to village and introduces himself, His name is Rei, and the villagers see him as another protector. Both Bat and Rin are suspicious of him, however. And they’re right to be concerned, because the reader sees he’s working for a group of bandits. The volume ends with Ken fighting with the bandits that Rei is supposed to be working for… along with Rei betraying the bandits. And the final panels sees the stage being set for something to happen between Ken and Rei.

As I’ve been reading through Fist of the North Star, I’ve been impressed by Ken. Yes, he’s a very strong guy who can usually beat anyone easily in battle. However, I also appreciate his kindness and his determination to use his powers to help others. As we see in Volume Two, these traits serve as his motivation to help Bat’s village with the well. Ken is also moved by tragedy, as was seen after the tragic event involving Taki. I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that I appreciate seeing that Ken still has his humanity intact, even though he’s so strong and powerful.

When I started into the first volume of Fist of the North Star, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. But now that I’ve read Volume Two of the series, I find that I’m genuinely interested in the story and in Ken as a character. I’m looking forward to having the possibility to read the third volume in order to find out what happens next.

This is another great addition to the series. The color pages are well done and really add to the drama taking place on the pages. You get to know Ken more and what drives him. The world building is pretty straight forward but it is nice to see all the little details. This volume leaves on a cliff hanger so be ready to read the next volume as soon as you can.