‘The Man Who Carries Sorrow’ marks the end of ADV’s release of New Fist of the North Star. An all too brief OVA series revisiting the ultra-popular martial arts adventure that has enthralled over two generations of anime fans with it’s high octane action and epic storyline. With volume two ending on something of a sour note the pressure is on for this third and final instalment to deliver.

After vowing to bring escaped clansman Seiji to justice, Kenshiro is allowed to leave the Clifflander’s enclave with the precious serum needed to save Bista’s life. Upon returning to Last Land however, the unshakeable master of Hokuto Shinken is imprisoned by Tobi, whose thirst for power has twisted the once benevolent man into a violent authoritarian who will stop at nothing to avenge himself against Seiji. With Kenshiro trapped and Tobi waging a fruitless holy war on Last Land’s streets, Seiji orders his men to kill Bista and end the serf’s fanatical crusade once and for all.

Now this is more like it. Volume two may have seen the series take a dip in quality, but entry number three in the New Fist saga is good old-fashioned Fist of the North Star, complete with all the trimmings. Director, Takashi Watanabe wastes no time in setting up the final epic sweep, and as the armies clash on Last Land’s deserted streets an escalating sense of nihilism takes hold, more than making up for the absence of action in the previous instalment. The level of violence on display here is stomach churning to say the least, unwary soldiers get sliced, diced and exploded all in manner of eye popping detail, prompting many ‘I really didn’t need to see that’ type moments.

As well as the increase in action, Seiji finally manages to shake off his baddie of the week persona, emerging as quite a charismatic villain, his duel with Kenshiro that headlines this volume is the series’ undisputed highlight. The choreography takes a noticeably jump in quality, and is head and shoulders above anything else found in the rest of the series, each of the pugilist’s movements are silky smooth and the fight itself has a real kung-fu movie feel, lending the climactic showdown no small amount of cinematic swagger. Bruce Lee would have been proud.

Story wise this won’t be anything Fist fans haven’t see a thousand times before, but as the old adage goes, there’s comfort in familiarity…well something like that anyway. And the more nostalgic amongst us will get a real kick out of seeing just how faithful this retooling of Fist is to the original series (more so than the eighties feature film in fact). There wasn’t much wrong with Fist’s fiendishly simple set-up to begin with and by sticking to what made the series such a splash, OTT martial arts showdowns and showers of gore, the creators of this OVA have succeeded in updating Fist of the North Star for a new generation without sacrificing the old school fundamentals that made it so enjoyable in the first place.

When it comes down to it, Fist of the North Star has always been about super powered mountains of walking testosterone going toe to toe. And the face poking, viscera filled action on offer here continue the series’ infamous legacy with grisly aplomb. However, there’s always been a moral crusade at the heart of Kenshiro’s never-ending journey threading the gruesome acts of violence together, and New Fist of the North Star is no different. Lessons are learnt, sins atoned for and the writers even manage to wring a surprisingly emotional conclusion out of their simple story. It’s a pleasing, if not corny, ending and I can only hope this isn’t the last chapter in the Fist of The North Star series to grace our screens.

In Summary

It may not be big and it’s certainly not clever, but New Fist of the North Star’s triple helping of dumb, loud fun will satisfy purists as well as those looking for a shockingly gruesome action adventure. Mark my words, after watching this you’ll be stalking the streets, poking people and uttering the immortal line, ‘You’re already dead!’� for days.