SUMMARY

Fist of the North Star heavily borrowed its setting and aesthetics of characters from 1980s’ Mad Max.
It replaced Mad Max’s car chases with brutal martial arts, while maintaining the grim wasteland setting.
Despite its western influences, the movie has became a cultural landmark of the 20th century.

Fist of the North Star stands as one of the most influential anime of the 20th century looking back, but when a keen-eyed viewer pays attention to the movie and checks up on its origins, they lead back up to an unexpected source, which is the Mad Max franchise, the first movie of which was released in 1979 itself. Fist of the North Star was an animated movie and manga series that came out in Japan in the late 1980s.

Fist Of The North Star | Credits: Toei Animation

While many fans may see it as a unique post-apocalyptic tale, its heavy inspiration and borrowing of tropes, settings, and even character styles from globally famous George Miller’s dystopian world of Mad Max is undeniable.

The anime’s grim wasteland setting, the leather-clad villains, and the chaotic atmosphere are a direct similarity that owes much to the Mad Max franchise; this borrowing makes it one of the clearest examples of Japanese anime taking inspiration from Western sources.

From Mad Max to the mayhem of the martial arts world

The story of Fist of the North Star follows the journey of Kenshiro, a wandering martial artist who uses his devastating techniques to battle brutal warlords in a desolate, post-nuclear world. This dystopian setting might not strike one initially, but once a connection is made, it reminds the audience more and more of the Mad Max desert wasteland setting.

Mad Max 2. (1981) | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

The setting in both the animated film and the movie Mad Max is defined by the barrenness of the landscapes, its ruined cities, and the roving gangs trying to create order in the chaos of the anarchic society. Fist of the North Star feels ripped straight from The Road Warrior, which is the second Mad Max film released in 1981.

In fact, the manga artist Tetsuo Hara admitted that his editor specifically directed him to watch The Road Warrior for inspiration while developing Fist of the North Star.

Cultural impact and legacy of Fist of the North Star

Yet, the designs of characters like Shin and Jagi, who have the 80’s punk hairstyles the trademark spiked armor while wearing menacing face masks, all of the settings and tropes feel like it has been directly lifted from Mad Max’s gang of marauders.

Riley Keough as Capable in “Mad Max: Fury Road” | Village Roadshow Pictures

The influence doesn’t stop at aesthetics or character designs in the anime; there are themes of survival, vengeance, and chaos in Fist of the North Star that mirror Mad Max, including the desolate, sun-burning visuals.

While Fist of the North Star leans more into heroism and morality in a world where all seems to be lost and hopeless, it still captures the lawlessness and despair that has come to be the intriguing point of Miller’s creation.

While Fist of the North Star undeniably borrowed its aesthetic from the Western influences in the 1980s, there is no doubt that it became a cultural phenomenon that left its own mark on anime, influencing many popular later works like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Attack on Titan.