DD Fist of the North Star (2024)

DD Fist of the North Star (1)

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In 199X, the world had no nuclear wars or natural disasters, and all was truly at peace.

Opening Narration

DD Hokuto no Ken (DD Fist of the North Star, the "DD" stands for "Design Deformation") is a parody series based off of the original Fist of the North Star.

Imagine if the great nuclear wars of 199X never happened. Imagine if instead of surviving in a wasteland teeming with bloodthirsty outlaws, Kenshiro and the others lived in a completely peaceful, working, functional modern day Japan where violence never solved anything. Imagine if Ryuken was still alive, Lin was his daughter and they ran a convenience store named Ryuryuken. Imagine if Bat and Lin were older than Ken and worked at Ryuryuken. Imagine if Jagi lived just outside without even a proper bed to sleep on. Imagine if instead of fighting for the successorship of Hokuto Shinken, Ken, Toki and Raoh were competing for the last part time worker spot in Ryuryuken. Imagine if Bat and Lin were way taller and older than the three of them. Imagine if Shin always ran about naked, Rei always had a stocking on his head and Souther taught English.

Our formerly muscular hero Kenshiro is now a chibi wandering the streets of a clean, civilised, modern day Japan. He is hungry, has been fired from a previous job and is desperate for money until he gets the idea of pretending to be a cat. He is adopted by Lin, who had also happened to adopt Ken's older brothers, Raoh and Toki (Who pretended to be a dog and a rabbit respectively) who, after a happy reunion, find that their master, Ryuken, is alive and is in need of another part time worker, with Bat already having taken one spot. Since the store's short on money only one of the brothers can get the position. Cue the three brothers getting into various misadventures as they vie for the position whilst failing to understand basic societal norms.

There was a previous series with the same name that started out as a series of Flash-animated shorts aired in 2010. Though it had the same premise as this current series (no nuclear apocalypse, modern-day Japan), it was more slice of life and the character plots were largely different in that Ken and Raoh already had jobs (A computer expert and construction worker respectively) while Toki was sick and had to stay at home, Ryuken owned a fast food joint and Jagi was on the run from the law.

The second series ran in April 2013 and is currently available on streaming sites such as Crunchy Roll. Sentai Filmworks, who previously licensed and released Legends of the Dark King, has licensed the series for a U.S. release. It ended in June 25, 2013.

The second series and a currently ongoing manga proved popular enough for a third series to be produced. Titled DD Fist of the North Star 2, it began running in October 6, 2015. It's also currently ongoing. While the character design and humor are largely the same, the setting is completely different and it ignores the events of the two previous series.

''This series contains examples of:

  • Actor Allusion:
    • Akira Kamiya, the original voice of Kenshiro, plays Ryuken. There are several nods to him like a moment in the first season when DD!Kenshiro hits Ryuken's pressure point to make him "younger", his face transforms into the original Kenshiro's face design; there are other moments where Ryuken channels Ryo Saeba, as well.
      • He also briefly uses the screechy, high-pitched voice he uses for the titular character of Kinnikuman in the first episode of DD Fist of the North Star 2.
    • During season 2, when Toki is narrating his history as a merchant, we see him transforming into Whisper when advising his clients. He is also voiced by Tomokazu Seki.
  • Ascended Extra: Shin's minions are now regulars instead of one-shot villains.
  • Adaptational Heroism:
    • Raoh in this series is very different from his original counterpart, who is an Evil Overlord who's nonetheless an Anti-Villain with standards. While he is as arrogant as ever, completing with his brothers as a part-timer in Ryuken's store and wants to possess Yuria, he nonetheless does care for Kenshiro and Toki (barring Jagi of course) and take Bash Brothers in literal terms.
    • Speaking of Jagi, the Hokuto black sheep embodies this trope even more. Though he's still the weakest of the four brothers and largely abused and ignored for laughs, he possesses none of the malice or evil of his official counterpart. He even goes out of his way to protect Airi from stalkers and help out in the final episode's battle.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: This happens with Toki, who does have jerkass tendencies in comparison to his original counterpart who is Kung-Fu Jesus and a Nice Guy. DD has Toki attempting get a job as a part-timer in Ryuken's store, and will use any means to get the job, such as having Raoh arrested for murdering Jyuza.
  • Alliterative Name: Turns out that in episode 6, Souther's real name is revealed Masao Minami.
  • After the End: Very much played with. Sure it takes place after the end of the century...but there wasn't a nuclear apocalypse "end" to set it after.
  • Anime Theme Song: The opening song is a parody of the original "Ai Wo Torimodose"
    • Expository Theme Tune: The lyrics cover the entire premise of the show, including stating outright that "Fist of the North Star is tackling a gag comedy."
  • Bash Brothers: Literally with Ken, Raoh, and Toki.
  • Awesome by Analysis: Lin of all people, and it's due to watching the brothers using their Hokuto Shinken techniques.
  • Battle Strip: Parodied in episode 6 part 2. Kenshiro is willing to aura burst his clothes to shreds so he can change into swim trunks at the exact same time. Even the narrator wonders if he's getting silly with it.
  • Beach Episode: Part 2 of episode 6 is this. Naturally when the Ryuryuken workers go on holiday to Shonan beach, Shin and his lackeys are there too.
  • Born in the Wrong Century: Kenshiro is regularly referred to as the would be savior of humanity if only the century were more chaotic. As he is now, he's horribly unequipped for the modern world. This applies to most of the other martial artist characters to varying degrees as well.
  • Blatant Lies: In episode 3, some guys from the Fang Clan plan to kidnap Airi so that she can cheer up their dad, King Fang, who lost his beloved wife recently. They're lying of course. He just needs another worker for his cabaret club. Oh and Airi accepts the job anyway.
  • Blind Without 'Em: Airi is incredibly short sighted and wears glasses, yet they don't make a difference either since she still mistakes Jagi for Kenshiro.
  • Blood from the Mouth: Parodied with Toki. Literally any small ailment causes him to projectile vomit blood. From the eyes and ears too!
  • Butt-Monkey: Something painful always happens to poor Jagi. Rei has this happening to him too.
  • Calling Your Attacks: You guessed it, this gets mocked too. Liteally every goofy Hokuto or Nanto technique is followed up by the series' signature movename announcements. NORTH STAR STRAY CAT FIST! NORTH STAR SNUGGLE FIST!
  • The Cameo: The credits have cameos from the Golan Colonel, Fox, Amiba and Habu.
  • Casting Gag:
    • Crossing into Actor Allusion in the anime, Akira Kamiya, the original Kenshiro, voices Ryuken in this series.
    • Tomokazu Seki voices Toki, Club and Amiba. He had previously voiced Toki and Amiba in Hokuto Musou and Shin Hokuto Musou.
    • Ryōtarō Okiayu voices Shin. He also voiced Hyo in Shin Hokuto Musou.
    • Daisuke Namikawa voices Souther. He had previously voiced Bat in the Den movies.
    • Tsundere queen Rie Kugimiya voices Tou (Rihaku's daughter).
  • Character Catchphrase: Raoh's "I, Raoh, didn't think I had tears left!" whenever shedding comical Manly Tears as well as his referring to himself as the "(insert-anything-here) King". Also present is Jagi's "Say my name!" Obviously, that's mocked as well. He even asks Airi this very same question politely!

    Jagi: Say my name!

    Airi: Kenshiro.

    Jagi:...*turns to her stalkers* Say my name!

    Stalker 1: I don't even know you!

    Stalker 2: She called him Kenshiro so it must be Kenshiro!

    Later on...

    Jagi: A-Airi-chan![...]Say my name...please?

    Airi: Kenshiro. See you!

    • Naturally we also get parodies of Ken's ever famous catch phrase as well. And of course, Heart in episode 1 going "HIDEBU!" when he turns into his more recognizable fat self.
  • Comically Missing the Point: Raoh in Episode 4 completely misses the fact that Amiba is scamming him and desperately wants to make a very tiny old woman happy (she doesn't exist, by the by.)
  • The Comically Serious: Ryuken. He always gives a serious aura and look all the time. Even when he takes Lin to the movies.
  • Cool Bike: Inverted with Mr. Heart who initially rides on a silly little Segway in episode 1, before he gets fattened up by Ken.
  • Cool Horse: Kokuoh-Go keeps it real, of course. Also he's now capable of walking on his hind legs, stacking shelves and taking care of Airi's would-be stalkers and even catching up with a car!
  • Covert Pervert: After Souther cuts Kenshiro's clothes, Lin reacts as one normally would when someone's clothes are shreded. Except she keeps gaps of her fingers opened in two frames all the while blushing.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Parodying the anime's example of a Hokuto Shinken technique for everything, this series ramps that up to ludicrous extremes to the point when there's a Hokuto Shinken technique for kitty snuggling, turning people fat and even reversing their age.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: As incompetent as they are, the Hokuto Brothers are still the Hokuto Brothers, and the instances where they're allowed to showcase their martial arts skills are a sight to behold.
  • Demoted to Extra: Parodied with Jagi. In the original series he suffered from My Friends... and Zoidberg despite being a major villain, and so in this series his character is ignored by everyone else. Even the narrator, in the first episode, says they'll talk about him later.
  • Denser and Wackier: Than the original Toei Animation and North Star Pictures' adaptations of the original manga.
  • The Ditz: Lin full-stop.
  • Fanservice: Parodied in Episode 6 part 2. Toki sees a bikini-clad lady beachgoer putting on sunscreen who then explains in great detail the dangers of sunlight and the benefits of sunscreen, like of wrinkles, causing Toki to request some as well. Oh yes and the same Sexophone jingle that plays when the lady first shows up on screen? plays when Toki goes into the exact same pose and sunscreen-applying motion as well.
  • Fish out of Water: Most of the humour comes from Ken, Raoh and Toki acting as they would in the post-apocalyptic End of the Century...whilst living in a more strict and orderly modern day Japan. The very first episode starts with Ken getting fired from his previous job as a builder because he used Hokuto Shinken rapid punching techniques to try to build a house only to completely destroy the starting framework.
  • Freudian Trio: Ken, Toki and Raoh are closer to Alvin and the Chipmunks in this universe than anything, with Ken being the ego, Toki being the superego and Raoh being the id. Compared to most people however, all three of them are very irrational.
  • Gag Series
  • Gargle Blaster: Episode 4 introduces Koryu's "End of the Century Green Smoothies", a popular favourite amongst hoodlums. Claimed to perk up tired hoodlums, it actually proves to taste quite rancid for poor Toki.
  • Genre Shift: Going from the original's grim post-apocalyptic tale of survival in a harsh world to a comedy series about three dumb brothers vying for the part time worker position at s convenience store.
  • Gonk: Rei's face when he's wearing his stocking, as shown in episode 3 onward. It looks a lot better without it. Sadly as a result, Airi never recognizes him.
  • Gratuitous English: Episode 6 is all about Souther as an English teacher. As a result, he plays this trope straight.
  • Hypocrite: Souther in Episode 6 claims he'll never "pull back, flatter or apologize!" When confronted with a horde of angry mothers, he proceeds to do all three.
  • Idiot Hero: Ken, as well as Raoh and Toki, are quite stupid for Hokuto Shinken warriors, with the narrator calling them the "Idiot brothers" as well. Its to the point that in episode 3, he doesn't know what a stalker is!
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: One of the first things that happens in episode 6 is the Hokuto brothers seeing Jagi impaled through the head on Souther's throne. Don't worry, he's alright.
  • Incurable Cough of Death: Toki's former radiation sickness is parodied here. He almost seems to be just plain ordinarily sick with the common cold or other such harmless ailments (Episode 4 informs us that his hair has turned white from debt stress and poor living conditions) though he comically overreacts to it by coughing copious amounts of blood as well.
  • Japanese Ranguage: Invoked in Episode 6, in which the sign to Thouzer's "class room" actually has it written as "crass room", with the first "r" dashed out and an "l" written over it.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: For those who didn't like how Ken let Souther die mercifully and happily in the original series, its really satisfying to see Episode 6 Part 1 end with Souther getting the shit kicked out of him by all the angry mothers he fleeced with his messed up cram school.
  • Locked into Strangeness: Both Toki and Rei had their hairs changed to white through different means from the original. Toki has his due to poor living conditions rather than radiation poisoning and Rei has his due to being shocked by Mamiya being engaged to a Corrupt Corporate Executive rather than dying and Toki pressed a pressure point that caused his hair turn white.
  • Manly Tears: Mocked across the board as well. Raoh commonly cries these so much whilst claiming that "I, Raoh, didn't think I had any tears left!"
  • Master of Disguise: Shuu in episode 6 can disguise himself as an English speaking, happy and kindly gentleman taller than Shuu himself is.
  • Mooks: There's still mohawked outlaws running about. They're just not as big a threat to modern day Japan as they would be to End of the Century people.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse: Episode 5 has Yuda decide to throw Mamiya off a rooftop so she doesn't get in the way of him and Rei.
  • Mythology Gag: All over the place! Being a parody of Fist of the North Star after all. Everything from dialogue to situations like Yuda in love with Rei or Jyuza stealing Kokuoh-go are parodied without mercy. Oh, and Raoh's sleeping posture is his "I HAVE NO REGRETS!" pose from the original series! Amazing.
    • In episode 6, Souther's famous "Never stop! (Shikanu!) Never retreat! (Kobinu!) Never surrender! (Kaeriminu!") speech is present here, translated as "Never pull back, never flatter, never apologize!"
  • Naked People Are Funny: Anytime Shin appears on screen he's only ever wearing his cape and nothing else. Yep.
  • Negative Continuity: Second season has nothing to do with the first.
  • Nonstandard Character Design: Both Bat and Lin are drawn in a style entirely different from the other characters, taking on a more Puni Plush form rather than the Super-Deformed men and tall and angular women. Ryuken is also drawn is a style much closer to the original series than anyone else.
  • Nose Bleed: When Raoh catches a cold, he develops hallcinations, and the last person he sees was a naked "Yuria" (actually Shin) then says his famous line when he's done his signature pose. This resulted in a fever.
  • Older Than They Look: Episode 5 informs us that Mamiya's 50 years old despite looking like she's in her early twenties. Then its played with when her skin flakes off thanks to being carried at high speeds by Yuda, resulting in her looking really old. At least Ken uses a special Hokuto Shinken technique that reverses her aging back to 25.

    Mamiya Rinzo: Don't write that on the internet.

  • Only One Name: Parodied with Mamiya, which is both her given AND surname. Yes, that means her full name is a very Mario-esque Mamiya Mamiya.
  • Only Sane Man: Bat is the only character in the whole series that even thinks like a rational human being would.
  • Out of Focus: Kenshiro himself. While he's still one of the main characters, he's now distinctly part of a trio rather than the main star himself.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Amiba pretending to be Toki again in Episode 4. Raoh gets fooled even when he meets Amiba face to face and one can clearly see Amiba (black hair, no facial hair) looks nothing like Toki (Pale, white hair, beard)
  • Running Gag: The Hokuto brothers are often fooled by Yuria dolls. Shin's got one for every occasion!
    • In episode 4 part 2, everyone's helpful advice being stolen by and attributed to Koryu.
    • Raoh proclaiming himself the "King of (insert random inconsequential thing here)"
  • Sadist Teacher: In episode 6, Souther, doing his original series counterpart proud by forcing children to carry his throne around and painfully bite their lower lips to pronounce F sounds.
  • Spared By Adaptation: Every character who isn't Kenshiro, Bat, Lin, Mamiya, and Airi.
  • Spexico: In addition to imitating Toki, Amiba sprinkles random Mexican cliche terms into his dialogue, amigo.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In episode 5, Toki reckons that if Raoh used his Hokuto Shinken killing techniques to kill Jyuza and stop him taking the part time worker spot at Ryuryuken, the police would simply arrest Raoh since, you know, living in civilised modern Japan and not the nightmarish End of the Century.
  • There Can Be Only One: Forget only one Hokuto Shinken successor, there can only be one more part time worker at Ryuryuken!
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: Jagi finally has an episode dedicated to him. In which he saves Airi from her stalkers. She's the only person who's shown kindness to him in the episode while being mercilessly pummeled by his brothers and stalkers alike.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Toki's gotten a lot more crafty and a fair bit more dickish as well. He's not above screwing his brothers over to get what he wants. Hell, in episode 5 he would even let Raoh kill Jyuza just so Raoh would get arrested for it, thus making it easier for him to get the part time position!
  • Vague Age: It's hard to tell how old Ken, Raoh and Toki are. On the one hand, they don't go to school, have incredibly deep voices and Toki sports a mustache, while on the other they're generally treated like small children by Bat and are incredibly naive and immature.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: Not once does Raoh put a shirt on.
DD Fist of the North Star (2024)
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