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What's up guys, it's Kristen from Anime Collective
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So I'm really happy because it's Friday. I'm shooting this video on Friday
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but I'll probably put it up on Sunday. So I hope you guys had a really good weekend
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So every Friday I go out manga shopping and I hit up my local half-priced bookstores
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and my local manga shops. So hopefully I'll have some good finds for you guys
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to show you in next month's recent reads in manga haul. So anyway, with that said
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today's review is one of my most anticipated manga releases of the entire year
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Fista and North Star's first hardcover. Also, guys, I recently hit 1,000 subscribers, which I can't believe
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It has been so much more than I could have ever imagined. Your guys' support so far has been amazing
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I want to thank you guys so much for helping me get here. I also recently unlocked that community tab, so definitely check that out because I'll be posting all kinds of stuff
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as well as manga and anime I'm excited about, and so much more, including statue unboxings that are going to be on the way to the channel
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I don't want to waste any more of your guys' time, so let's get into the review. So Fist of the North Star was released with English translation in the past
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but the series was never fully released. It's really exciting that Viz are releasing these hardcovers
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which are adapted from the 2013 Ultimate Editions, so that we can finally get a complete release of the series after all this time
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First off, the look of these is incredible, and I really enjoy the design. I love the fact that they made these hardcover
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I'm a sucker for hardcover manga releases, and I'm more than happy with the quality of these
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The covers look great, but I also really enjoy the way these feel in hand with their matte finish
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The art of Kinshira on the front cover is bold like a sticker and I really like the purple and blue highlights that were added to the art This is my favorite color combination so this makes me really happy Also this is the same art we see on the first volume of the Ultimate Editions
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but the design choices here are different like the placing of the Fist of the North Star logo
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On the cover you also have these raised textured elements that make these look that much more amazing
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On the front you have a translucent pattern of the Big Dipper which you can see when you move the volume in the light
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as well as some blood splatter details. There's also blood splatter on the spine and the back of the volume as well
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The back features some of the manga panels from the first volume on it, so they look amazing all around
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When you open them up, there are some color pages. These look absolutely incredible and are printed on glossy paper
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The rest of the volume is in black and white, and these pages are printed on the type of paper we commonly see manga printed on that has that eggshell-like color and a non-glossy finish
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These also are larger than your typical manga volumes, which I like. To give you an idea as to what they are similar to in terms of size, they are the same size as the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure volumes, and their dimensions are around 5.75 by 1.25 by 8.25 inches
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These editions also have new translation. I'm not familiar with the original volumes, but I have seen some reviews that say they worded certain things differently
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I don't mind the way they've worded things in these editions, probably because I'm blissfully ignorant of the other translations, but everything sounded good to me and flowed nicely, and I didn't notice any grammatical errors while reading
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The sound effects are also translated in English, so there is no reference guide or anything in these volumes
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Also guys I seen some custom reviews on sites rating this volume really low with one star because they thought the book was printed backwards As a manga reader I must admit this was a fazepalm moment for me but if you are used to reading comic books I get why you be confused since this is something new
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I just wanted to let anyone who isn't aware know it's supposed to be printed this way. The Fist of the North Star hardcovers are printed in the original right-to-left reading format
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like the Japanese volumes are. I'm really happy they did this because it maintains the orientation of the original artwork
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Some of the chapters throughout kick off with these uniquely colored panels. I'm not quite sure what the proper term for these is, but they feature the black and white art, but they also have an orange-like tone or shading to them
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This is something I've seen in other works released during a similar time period, such as Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and from what I've read, Jojo's was actually inspired somewhat by Fist of the North Star, which is really cool
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I was a 90s kid, so I missed out on growing up with Fist of the North Star. but in my monthly recent Reads and Manga Hall video
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I talked about how while I didn't grow up with the series, I still grew up watching movies from the late 70s and into the 80s
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like Mad Max, The Warriors, and more because of my parents. They grew up with those movies, so they shared them with me while I was growing up
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and because of that, Fist of the North Star felt really familiar to me, and it was really comforting to read it
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I also love over-the-top violence fights and action thanks to those movies I grew up with, so it really connected with me on that level
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If you are new to Fist of the North Star like me, the story follows Kenshiro, or Ken for short
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who uses a martial art called Hokuto Shinken, the divine fist in the North Star
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which is basically this technique that allows him to attack an individual's vital points
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The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where there are no rules and all chaos has broken loose
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As a result bad people run rampant and do whatever they please Kenshiro however is fighting to bring justice back into this world and destroy those who hurt or take from others The premise is right up my alley and I really enjoyed the fights in this series
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I found his fighting style, which is very reminiscent of Bruce Lee's at times, to be interesting
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The way he vows to take on others and the violent way in which he fights is also really cool
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I just really like him as a character and I can't wait to see who he is going to take on next in Volume 2
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If you are like me and like over-the-top fights and violence, a character with a sense of justice, taking on the bad guys head on in a post-apocalyptic setting
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this is definitely one you want to check out. Price-wise, these have a cover price of $19.99 USD
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but Volume 1 is currently on Amazon for $17.99 and Write Stuff for $14.99 at the time of this video
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I've added those links in the description below in case you want to check them out. Compared to the Viz 6 series volumes like Dora Hey Dora, which have a cover price of $12.99
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these are priced a little higher, but considering how amazing they look and the fact that they are
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hardcover, these are incredibly well-priced for what you get, especially when you pick them up on
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sale. All in all, I couldn't be happier that Viz have made the decision to release Fist of the
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North Star in this hardcover format. The volumes are beautifully made, I really enjoy their design
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and I highly recommend picking them up. On top of all that, the series is one I highly recommend
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checking out. It's a really fun read, and the art has a really cool style. And there you guys have
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it, my full review and an inside look of the Fist of the North Star's first hardcover volume
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Hope you guys found this video helpful, and I can't wait to receive Volume 2 in September
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Up next on the channel is a video going over all of my anime figure pre-orders and a review
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of the Hellsing Deluxe editions, so stay tuned for those videos. Thanks so much for watching, as always, and see you guys next time
