Hokuto No Ken is one of the few examples of a product for entertainment that gets better and better as its story unfolds. Those of us who believed that, after Kenshiro's epic fight with Raoh at the end of the first series, this anime couldn't get any better, better think again.
The characters of Kenshiro, Rhiaku, Bat and Linn are the only grasp left to the viewer on what the past series was about; here and there we get some flashbacks about Raoh's plans of conquest in the Land of Shura and that's it for what we think we know.
The rest of the series unfolds as unpredictably as can be, with a lot of revelations coming to the surface that will spread light over some of the mysteries of the first series.
A whole lot of new characters enter the scene, like Falco, a Gento general seemingly unbeatable baddie turned to good, Ahin, Shachi and the three main demons of the land of Shura. I know some of the hardcore fans of the first series could get sentimental and would maybe like to see Rei, Toki, Salzer and all those great guys again but, hey, they're dead!! And the new characters fully make up for their absence (with the exception maybe of Ahin, a little too flashy and too prone to one-liners). But the villains in this 2nd series are absolutely amazing, far more scary than Raoh ever was!! Wait for Kaio to show up, if you don't believe me! Kenshiro will go through some reeeeal deep S@#t before he will get his deeds done.
The final battles against the demons of Shura are among the best fighting scenes ever drawn in a anime production; blood and gore are cheap and the level of violence is far higher than it was before. As a matter of fact, I would not recommend this anime, especially this series I'm reviewing, to little kids. But it's an amazing series of an amazing anime, nevertheless. Far better than the already brilliant first series, as I said before. Watch it if you have a chance!
A must-see for any anime-fanatic or martial arts lover!
My vote: 10\10
The characters of Kenshiro, Rhiaku, Bat and Linn are the only grasp left to the viewer on what the past series was about; here and there we get some flashbacks about Raoh's plans of conquest in the Land of Shura and that's it for what we think we know.
The rest of the series unfolds as unpredictably as can be, with a lot of revelations coming to the surface that will spread light over some of the mysteries of the first series.
A whole lot of new characters enter the scene, like Falco, a Gento general seemingly unbeatable baddie turned to good, Ahin, Shachi and the three main demons of the land of Shura. I know some of the hardcore fans of the first series could get sentimental and would maybe like to see Rei, Toki, Salzer and all those great guys again but, hey, they're dead!! And the new characters fully make up for their absence (with the exception maybe of Ahin, a little too flashy and too prone to one-liners). But the villains in this 2nd series are absolutely amazing, far more scary than Raoh ever was!! Wait for Kaio to show up, if you don't believe me! Kenshiro will go through some reeeeal deep S@#t before he will get his deeds done.
The final battles against the demons of Shura are among the best fighting scenes ever drawn in a anime production; blood and gore are cheap and the level of violence is far higher than it was before. As a matter of fact, I would not recommend this anime, especially this series I'm reviewing, to little kids. But it's an amazing series of an amazing anime, nevertheless. Far better than the already brilliant first series, as I said before. Watch it if you have a chance!
A must-see for any anime-fanatic or martial arts lover!
My vote: 10\10