Ask John: Where’s the Rest of Fist of the North Star?

Question:
Why hasn’t the rest of Fist of the North Star been licensed yet? From the numbers of DVDs stores have placed out and from what I’ve heard, it seems to be fairly popular. The series looks pretty cool, plus it has tons of action, blood and fighting and violence. (which generally helps series do better in America, like Berserk and Hellsing). So all that being said, why hasn’t any company jumped at the opportunity of licensing Fist of the North Star yet?

Answer:
Contrary to what some consumers seem to believe, the Fist of the North Star television series has never been particularly successful in its domestic home video release. In Japan, the first Hokuto no Ken TV series lasted 109 episodes and was continued by the 43 episode long Hokuto no Ken 2 TV series. America’s Manga Entertainment licensed only the first 36 episodes, presumably on a trial basis to see if sales would warrant the acquisition of more. Unfortunately the 1998 American VHS release of the series sold so poorly that Manga didn’t even release all 36 episodes. It wasn’t until the 2003 DVD release that Manga actually released all 36 episodes it had distribution rights to.

While the Fist of the North Star anime motion picture has always been a fan favorite in America, the TV series may have suffered lackluster sales due to its age and the fact that the TV animation wasn’t as graphic as the gory movie. The TV series also failed to earn respect from fans because Manga Entertainment’s release replaced the original Japanese background music and opening/ending animation sequences, which ruined a lot of the show’s impact.

The current AD Vision release of the Shin Hokuto No Ken OAV series has revived some interest in the franchise, but the title has never been an unqualified hit among American fans. The anime movie is a fan favorite, but it’s been out of print on domestic DVD for years. Viz attempted to translate the manga, but eventually dropped the title, presumably due to poor sales. Raijin Comics later re-released the manga in a deluxe re-printing of the Japanese full color edition, yet even a highly faithful translation and full color weren’t enough to make the manga a sales success in America.

As yet another example of official distribution for Fist of the North Star anime in America that didn’t increase interest in the franchise among American consumers or anime fans, Raijin Comics delivered a very limited number of DVD copies of the first Shin Hokuto no Ken OAV to early Raijin Comics Magazine annual subscribers. But this advance look at the new Hokuto no Ken anime didn’t lead to greater awareness or increased demand for the show in America.

The Fist of the North Star TV series, at 152 episodes, is definitely one of Toei Animation’s premier titles, so although the series has never been particularly successful in America and demand for it seems to be relatively low among American consumers, the fact that Toei Animation of Japan has announced plans to begin releasing anime in America themselves, it’s probably not a stretch of the imagination to guess that Toei may attempt a re-release of the series domestically some time in the future.