Fist Of The North Star is one of the most popular manga and anime franchises to come out of Japan, and it's been making an impact for decades. In 1986, the manga was adapted into a full-length feature film that was notorious for its amped-up ultra-violence and gore. In fact, it remains one of the most violent anime films ever made, to this day.
To commemorate this over-the-top, crazy martial arts bonanza, one only needs to look at the most brutal fights in the entire film. It's definitely not a movie for the squeamish, so be warned before picking up a copy, even out of curiosity.
10 Kenshiro vs. Shin: Shin Attacks And Gravely Wounds Kenshiro
The feature-length anime adaptation of Fist of the North Star didn't waste any time setting itself apart from the television series, specifically when it came to mass violence. The first act shows principal antagonist Kenshiro and his lover Julia accosted by former friend Shin of the Southern Cross, who decides to take him out and claim Julia for his own.
Kenshiro is rendered unable to fight back early in the fight, and Shin begins to torture him by pushing his fingers through his chest, giving him his famed seven wounds of the fist. It's a stomach-churning and torturous intro to the film, but it wasn't even close compared to what was still to come.
9 Rei vs. Nunchaku Thug: Rei Confronts A Nunchaku-Wielding Thug
Audiences were introduced to Rei early on in the first act when he stumbled across a thug armed with nunchakus. At first, it appeared as if Rei was a woman, as he was draped in a long flowing robe. When he was finally revealed, Rei confronted the thug and prepared for a showdown.
The two ran at each other like jousters in a tournament, only to turn and face each other. The nunchaku thug believed he had the upper hand, only to realized that he had in fact lost both his arms. Rei tossed them back at the screaming thug before agreeing to spare his life in exchange for information.
8 Kenshiro vs. Shin, Round 2: Kenshiro Delivers A Fatal Punch Against His Rival Shin
After suffering a horrific defeat at Shin's hands at the start of the film, Kenshiro refocuses and manages to quadruple his strength as the story progresses. He eventually makes his way back to confront Shin and reclaim his lover Yuria from his clutches, but the fight doesn't go as expected.
Kenshiro easily overpowers Shin and knocks him back, but little does he realize that Shin had recently fought Raoh, who inflicted a death touch on him. The deadly move takes time to move through his system, finally triggering after Kenshiro's punch. Shin dies violently from the wound in total regret for his actions.
7 Kenshiro vs. Zeed: Kenshiro Hits Zeed With A Deadly Punch To The Forehead
Zeed was a ruthless gang member who roamed the wasteland with his pack of bandits, murdering innocents and stealing their food and water supplies. They ended up picking the wrong fight when they infiltrated the village where Kenshiro was recuperating. Zeed grabbed Lin and threatened to break her in two unless the populace agreed to his demands.
Kenshiro confronted Zeed and his men, slaughtering several of them in brutal fashion before executing a series of deathblows on the ringleader. Zeed prepared to retaliate, but Kenshiro simply informed him that he was "already dead." Seconds later, Zeed's body erupted into a fountain of blood and guts.
6 Rei vs. Uighur: Uighur Confronts Rei, Not Realizing He's Already Dead
Rei decides to take matters into his own hand in the final act of the film by directly confronting Raoh in Kenshiro's place. He mistakenly believes that he can outmatch the powerful practitioner of the Fist, and it only serves up his own undoing. His overconfidence was his weakness, particularly due to his actions just prior to the fight.
Raoh's second-in-command Uighur tries to teach him a lesson about respect by uncoiling his dual whips, and attempts to slice Rei into ribbons. Rei responds by casually flipping over Uighur's back and striking at him. Uighur turns to face Rei once again, but his body comes apart at the seams in a bloody mess.
5 Kenshiro vs. Heart: Kenshiro Hits Heart With A Death Touch To The Stomach
Heart was one of the more cheery villains in Fist of the North Star, and not particularly aggressive. He preferred a good laugh over a good fight, but that doesn't mean he wasn't great at both. Kenshiro learned this the hard way when he attempted to get past Heart, and into Jagi's territory, proving that not every character was a pushover.
After Heart literally slapped him face-first into the ground, Kenshiro staggered to his feet and realized he needed a new strategy. He used a rapid-fire circular kick technique to soften the rolls of fat on Heart's stomach in order to get to the sensitive tissue underneath. A simple death touch later, and Heart's intestines bulged from his sides, until they erupted in a cascade of gore.
4 Kenshiro vs. Jagi: Kenshiro Finishes Off His Evil Brother Jagi Once And For All
Jagi serves as a manipulative third party in the rivalry not only between Kenshiro and Shin, but of Raoh as well. He goads Raoh into claiming the mantle of Fist of the North Star in a secret bid to get rid of Kenshiro, who had maimed him horribly years before. When Jagi takes revenge on Ken, he assumes it'll be the last time they meet.
Later in the film, Ken squares off against Jagi, who has been impersonating the Fist of the North Star and terrorizing the populace. This time, he puts his brother down for good by hitting him with the full might of his powers, causing his head to explode violently in the middle of a rant.
3 Kenshiro vs. Raoh: Kenshiro And Raoh Unleash Their Full Powers Against One Another
The final battle is the culmination of all the violent confrontations that came before. Kenshiro and Raoh square off one final time to put a stop to the latter's mad conquest for domination of the wasteland. It's also his opportunity to punish Raoh for abusing the power of the North Star for his own selfish deeds.
The battle is drawn out, over-the-top, and egregiously bloody. The grueling fight saps their stamina until both are lying on the ground. Raoh barely manages to overcome Kenshiro and prepares to kill him before he is interrupted by the little girl known as Lin, who softens his heart long enough for him to change his ways.
2 Raoh vs. Fang: Fang Turns His Body To Steel To Attack Raoh's Men
This particular fight takes the take, and it occurs late into the film after Raoh has amassed considerable power and an army of loyal followers. After conquering territory after territory, he decided to engage the local warlord known as Fang in battle. Raoh and Fang's troops battled to the death in grisly fashion before the latter decided to get in on the fun.
Fang turned his entire body to steel and began slicing Raoh's troops into bloody giblets. The level of explicit violence and gore in this scene is so over the top as to be dizzying. It all comes to a halt when Fang confronts Raoh directly, only to suffer the true extent of his North Star powers.
1 Rei vs. Fox's Gang: Rei Slices And Dices A Gang Of Thugs To Ribbons
Rei's fighting abilities were downright frightening, and those who crossed him were sure to rue the day. While searching for the Fist of the North Star, Rei came across a group of bandits claiming to work for him. Believing that the Fist was responsible for the kidnapping and abuse of his sister, he sought revenge.
In reality, Jagi had been impersonating the Fist all along, and sending his minions out to terrorize the populace. He sliced them to ribbons with his unique martial art that allowed his fingers to cut through flesh like hot butter, which culminated in one of the most shockingly gory scenes ever seen in an anime film.