A title that lives up to its classic status. Beautiful as it is brutal, this duo - writer Buronson and artist Tetsuro Hara - captures the desperation, suffering, and oppression done and inflicted upon many of its characters; desert punks torturing innocent citizens, Kenshiro - the iconic protagonist - pummeling aforementioned punks to either a disembodied mess or a bloody pulp and the world in its utterly vast former glory. The writing is tight and to the point with little to no expository fluff, just righteous carnage. As a result, making this simultaneously one of the most breezy - albeit bloody - and engaging reading experiences I have had in a while. Kenshiro is a more morally driven John Wick of sorts in this volume, driven to do what is right while holding a grudge against his enemy. It may be a bit morally corny for a machismo series, yet given how fraught the world of "Fist of the North Star" is, it is refreshing to see such humility displayed on a deadly beefcake like Kenshiro.

As a first-time reader aware of its legacy, significance, and memery (apologies for talking so high up to something relatively jokey), I can see why the work has retained such cultural stamina. Through this volume, I can see its lineages amongst many well-known titles, most notably Jojo's Bizarre Adventure given its heavy design aesthetic.

This is an entertaining must-read for shounen fans and even manga as an art form. It may be an older series with a distinct look, yet I cannot imagine what shounen would be like without it.

My husband got to this one before I did. His thoughts: it's a good, crisp reprinting. As a long time fan of the anime, he found all the content immediately familiar. It shows there's a reason why the series is a cultural touchstone. Excellent for fans of Mad Max and martial arts.

oh man, this was incredible. I am so excited to put this classic into my library. The color pages were awesome!

This is a not for me type of situation.

This is an old manga, so I can’t speak about the originality of the story. There are definite Mad Max comparisons, in terms of setting and characters, but I personally wasn’t a fan of the story. It’s very action packed, fight oriented, testosterone fuelled dystopian, but everything else felt surface level. I didn’t care for the characters, nor was the story gripping enough to keep me entertained.

I can see why people might like it. The setting is different and the martial arts fighting is well illustrated, and this could’ve been fresh and new when it was first released decades ago. I definitely heard of the title before reading it, and I think people would like it for the nostalgic factor. Even the character designs gave me JoJo vibes.

It’s not bad. It just wasn’t for me.