Fist of the North Star (1986 film)

Fist of the North Star
Japanese film poster
Directed by	Toyoo Ashida
Produced by	Chiaki Imada
Written by	Susumu Takahisa
Based on	Fist of the North Star by Buronson Tetsuo Hara
Starring	Akira Kamiya Kenji Utsumi
Narrated by	Taro Ishida
Music by	Katsuhisa Hattori
Cinematography	Tamio Hosoda
Edited by	Masaaki Hanai
Production company	Toei Animation
Distributed by	Toei Company
Release date	8 March 1986 (1986-03-08)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥1,800,000,000 (US$18,000,000)

Fist of the North Star (Japanese: 北斗の拳, Hepburn: Hokuto no Ken^?) is a 1986 Japanese animated film adaptation of the manga series of the same name. It was produced by Toei Animation, the same studio who worked on the TV series that was airing at the time, with the same cast and crew working on both projects. The film adapts the storyline of the manga from the beginning of the series up until Kenshiro's first match with his rival and elder brother Raoh, with many liberties taken with the order of events and how the story unfolds (including the roles of several characters). However, the film retains the more violent content of the original manga, which the television series lacked.

After a global-scale nuclear war has turned most of the world into a contaminated wasteland, with Earth's survivors now fighting over the few uncontaminated food and water supplies still remaining. Kenshiro, a master of the deadly martial art Hokuto Shinken, is traveling with his fiancee Yuria when they are confronted by a gang led by Ken's former friend Shin, a master of the rival Nanto Seiken style. Shin proclaims that he has been in love with Yuria for a long time and with no law to intervene now, challenges Ken over her. After defeating Ken in combat, Shin engraves seven wounds on Ken's chest and leaves him for dead, taking Yuria with him. Ken's eldest brother-in-training Raoh, having witnessed the fight without intervening, returns to his dojo, where he finds his sensei Ryuken mediating. Raoh challenges Ryuken's decision to choose Ken as the Hokuto Shinken successor over him and kills him, proclaiming he will become the ruler of the new world.