here's the recommendations for you sir. similar sa Baki / kengan ashura / hajime no ippo
Fist of the northstar
The story is a bit of Mad Max combined with old school Martial Arts flicks. Kenshiro was obviously inspired visually by Bruce Lee. The story itself is one of survival in a world post apocalypse. Rule by the ruthless and the strong is the norm, and the weak are cast aside and exploited. Kenshiro is the main protagonist and the show follows him using his powerful martial arts "Hokuto no Ken" style to basically become a messianic figure of hope for the downtrodden. Kenshiro is also an interesting study in manliness, as he is able to shed tears freely when they are warranted, and while it isn't shown often, has a huge heart. He embodies the paladin in ways that many that carry the title can't quite live up to. Kenshiro runs solo by default, yet finds allies and antagonists along his journeys that are as memorable and amazing as he is. It's hard to discuss some of them without running into spoilers, but suffice it to say, the heroes and villains in this journey are memorable and iconic and have their own amazing stories.
The villains in the story that Kenshiro fights run from run of the mill Saturday morning cartoon villains to more complex men that have their own agendas that may be ruthless, but fall a bit more on the grey end of morality. For a few of the antagonists, a case could be made that given the state of the world, what they are doing, while not nice, would more or less be warranted. It is the nature of these early shounen shows that episodic simple villains or lesser lieutenants are sometimes overcome on the way towards somewhat longer battle arcs with a major antagonist.
While I realize that Fist of the North Star may not be for everyone, much like Bruce Lee advised us many years ago it should best be approached with a "don't think, feel" mindset. The show is distilled testosterone and manliness in its greatest form. It's the rise of and fall of powerful men who wish to impose their will on the world instead of just living in it. It's the manly tears that you feel when someone larger than life falls. It's the feeling of righteous justice that one feels when a horrible villain is given no quarter and, much to his inevitable shock and horror Kenshiro tells them that "Omae wa mou shindeiru" (you are already dead). There's something of the pure romanticism in this show behind the overpowered machismo that seems to be missing from modern action/adventure pieces in our postmodern age.
While this show is obviously dated nowadays and is going on 35 years old, and has a few issues due to its age and the general nature of shounen shows; It demands to be watched, if for no other reason than to get an understanding of how the shounen genre used to be and where it came from. Hokuto no Ken is a must watch for anime fans as it has had such a huge influence on the industry, to the point of bleeding into the pop culture of Japan.
This is also a great show to watch to cleanse the palate of all of the pretty boys and cute girls shows that saturate modern offerings and take yourself back to a time where protagonists were not someone that you could simply relate to in their slovenly, yet comforting mediocrity, where things are simply handed to him without anything being done to earn it. There was a time when the protagonist was someone that you could aspire and look up to, because they embody an ideal and a struggle against the odds. Then, after watching a few episodes, you use that manly energy to go build something, lift something, or conquer something.
Megalo box
I’m not into shounen anime. I’m not into many sports anime. Heck, I don’t even like boxing. However, Megalo Box managed to catch my attention. And boy, that was a fantastic ride.
Megalo Box is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Ashita no Joe, probably the first boxing manga/anime in history. However, this review won’t focus on that fact. I will focus on the values that make Megalo Box stand out by itself, ignoring all “fanservice” (read: tribute elements to impress old-school fans) that it could have.
Story: predictable and simple, but it works.
This is the classic underdog story. Joe, also known as Junk Dog, who literally lives on trash, is a boxer who makes money with rigged fights, but he’s unhappy with that lifestyle, he wishes to prove himself in a real fight. One day, he finds an opponent who he can’t beat even giving his best: Yuri, the champion of Megalonia, the biggest megaloboxing tournament. After that fight, he decides to join Megalonia to climb until he can rematch Yuri.
The story is simple, but it’s well done. It’s obviously not a strong point of this anime, but it isn’t either a weak point. Let’s say that the story is just there to allow the other elements to shine, so those elements are the ones that will decide if this anime is memorable or not.
Plot: focused on fights, with a simple yet effective message.
Oh, I haven’t mentioned what’s this “megaloboxing” about. Well, the story is situated on a future where boxing has evolved into a sport where all boxers are equipped with a gear which empowers the arm strength of its user. What’s the twist? Our protagonist, Joe, will fight without any gear. He wants to prove what is to be “authentic”. He wants to prove that you can win with only your own strength. And other characters eventually understand his message, and this may change their point of view on megaloboxing.
This anime is mainly focused on fights. Are they good? Some ones are, but some others are average. And by average I mean that, even when Joe was clearly losing, at the last moment he manages to one-hit KO his foe, which may seem as an artificial resolution to the fight. Luckily, this doesn’t happen in every fight, so it’s not a big deal. The rest of the fights, the good ones, are kind of predictable, but they’re still entertaining and manage to deliver some shivering moments.
On later stages of the series, the fights are still there, but some other conflicts appear, and those conflicts can’t be resolved through winning a fight, so it adds an unpredictable factor to the plot. And I find this to be really nice.
Characters: very well done, almost all of them experience good development.
Ironically, Joe is the only one to not get any significant development. He starts as a stray dog, and he ends as a stray dog. But that’s the point of his character. However, he serves as a medium to allow other characters to develop. The characters that are with him learn things from Joe and his motivations. Even the antagonists learn from Joe, and they get to have more screentime thanks to that. At first, this development is so small, but as the show progresses they face tougher situations and those are the decisive moments that will make them change.
Visuals: excellent 90s style and very good animation.
Oh boy. The artstyle in this show is excellent. It’s made on a 90s anime style, it may remind you of other well known anime from those years like Cowboy Bebop. But I’m not praising it for making an homage to that style. I’m praising it because it’s done good, and it demonstrated that this style is still enjoyable even in modern times. The character design is also so good, they perfectly reflect their personality and makes them look unique. The animation is great too, and keeping in mind that the show is mostly focused on fights, this is a very important factor.
I find funny that the point of most fights in this show is “classic technique can win over modern technology”, and the artists did exactly that with the visuals of this anime.
Sound: amazing soundtrack used perfectly.
The soundtrack of this show is on point. They use every track exactly at the moment where they should be. That allows some amazing moments and they produce a really good experience. The soundtrack has a certain theme for every important character, and that adds to the mood when they appear on screen. It also has some original rap songs which are catchy too. Overall, the soundtrack is absolutely amazing.
Final judgment: Is this show worth watching?
Definitely. Even if you’re not into shounen nor sports anime, it’s still highly recommended. This isn’t one of those deep shows which make you question your existence, it’s just a show to have fun and enjoy its quality and good design, but that’s totally fine, and it will let you satisfied once you finish it.
