Buronson and Tetsu Hara’s Fist of the North Star manga will celebrate its 40th anniversary this September. The series is getting its first-ever exhibit at Tokyo’s Mori Arts Center Gallery to commemorate the milestone. This Fist of the North Star exhibit will take place during the fall.
This mega Fist of the North Star exhibit will feature over 400 pieces of artwork, including new pieces by artist Tetsuo Hara drawn specifically for the occasion. It will also feature a series of figures and a diorama that captures iconic scenes from the manga. The exhibit will cover the manga’s story up to the Raoh arc and split into six different chapters. Each chapter will take on the concept of “love.”
Unusually for an art exhibit in Japan, visitors can take photos in every single area of Tokyo’s Mori Arts Center (except footage playing on the TV screens). There will also be plenty of spots set up to encourage people to post on social media. The exhibit organizers plan to launch a crowdfunding campaign soon. This will allow visitors to get directly involved in the exhibit. (“You are already participating!” That’s how Kenshiro’s iconic catchphrase goes, right?)
Fist of the North Star: 40 Years of Storytelling
Fist of the North Star is a manga and anime series created by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. In the post-apocalyptic world where civilization has been destroyed by a global nuclear war, Kenshiro, the main character, masterfully utilizes a martial art known as Hokuto Shinken, which enables him to strike vital points on his opponents’ bodies with his fists and cause them to explode.
Kenshiro is on a quest to find his lost love, Yuria, who has been kidnapped by his rival, Shin. Along the way, he encounters various factions and individuals who seek to control the wasteland for their own gain, and he uses his skills to defend the innocent and defeat those who would do harm.
Buronson and Tetsu Hara’s ran the original Fist of the North Star manga from 1983 to 1988 in Shueisha‘s Shonen Jump magazine. The series inspired a television anime, which ran for two seasons from 1984 to 1988 and had 152 episodes. The series also got a film in 1986 and an original video anime (OVA) in 2003. The franchise inspired a live-action film in 1995.
Currently, the Fist of the North Star manga is licensed through Viz Media. It is also available to stream on Crunchyroll.