Ask John: Will the Upcoming Fist of the North Star DVD Release Succeed?

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Question:
Does “third time the charm” finally apply to Fist of the North Star? While the movie has had a cult following here, the show and the manga have had problems catching on in the U.S. Changed opening aside, Manga’s DVDs had higher episode counts than the norm for singles back then, and the series still bombed for the company! And yet, Discotek has pressed on with the goal of releasing the series in four chunks. While sales might be helped by Fist finally getting “mass” exposure in the U.S. via Crunchyroll, Zac at Anime News Network might have a point about how viewers might be more reluctant to pay for what they can currently get for free.

Nonetheless, the optimist in me thinks Fist TV is actually getting re-released at the right time. Not just because there’s a potential newer fan-base for the franchise, but because there’s a sort of zeitgeist appeal to his character which might not have existed 8-12 years ago. I’m hoping Discotek exploits it; outside of “Taken,” there’s definitely been a serious lack of a well-received “Death Wish”-like archetype consumers can embrace. And given the anger over the bank bail-outs and tepid economic recovery, Kenshiro satiates that public need for vindication which did not exist until now. Does that argument sound plausible?


Answer:
Via first and second hand associations I know of the work Discotek Media is putting into producing its domestic DVD release of the original Hokuto no Ken television series. I also know that the reason Discotek acquired distribution rights to the show in the first place is rooted largely in a personal affection for the show. Discotek’s release of the Fist of the North Star anime movie fared better than expected, probably largely due to the influence of nostalgia among consumers that remember the earlier American release from Streamline. However, I think that Discotek has moderate and realistic expectations for the sales potential of the TV series.

Discotek’s Fist of the North Star TV series is being sourced from remastered Japanese video and will be presented to American consumers unaltered and properly subtitled for the first time ever when the first DVD collection hits this June. The first DVD collection from Discotek will also tentatively include the English dub produced by Manga Entertainment. This should be an ideal release for long time fans that have patiently waited for an English friendly archival release of the original TV series. But we should also recognize that this show is now 26 years old, and it looks 26 years old. The animation quality that was fine for 1984 is rather primitive by today’s standards. American viewers most familiar with the motion picture may find the TV series’ censored violence less appealing. I have no doubt that this new release will secure some new, curious patrons. But it’s primarily going to attract only die-hard Fist fans and collectors with a penchant for vintage anime.

Particularly for that reason, free streaming distribution from Crunchyroll isn’t likely to have an appreciable dampening effect on sales of this particular title. The Hokuto no Ken television series has been around for nearly 30 years yet never gotten a faithful American packaged media release. The fans who have followed the series for years are bound to want to own this. For its loyal fans, Fist of the North Star isn’t a transient interest that can be satiated by streaming. If Fist was a watch-once-and-move-on show that could be satisfied with just free online streaming, it wouldn’t still be a viable home video release 26 years later. However, it really is only die-hard loyalists that are especially interested in it.

The theory that contemporary unsatisfied and disgruntled Americans may be attracted to a cathartic, vengeful anime is definitely an intriguing proposition. But if it carries any veracity, I think it applies only to modern productions. Even in a strong and positive economy, when American consumers had plenty of money to spend on luxury purchases, vintage anime was marginalized. Now that American consumers are purchasing drastically less anime in America, I expect them to be even more hesitant to purchase old shows. I think that this year’s DVD release of the Fist of the North Star television series will be a watershed moment in the regard that it finally signifies a respectable domestic release of this cult favorite. But the Fist of the North Star TV series is a cult favorite specifically because its only attractive to its established cult following. I simply can’t imagine any socio-economic atmosphere that would encourage American viewers to suddenly turn their attention, en mass, to a 26 year-old anime series that’s already been released in America several times before with little success.

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