To witness such influential work after so much time is a truly wondrous experience. Hokuto no Ken has set many standards -- as formulaic as they may be -- that are still used today. One would believe that it will be a vichyssoise of platitudes, but instead it presents itself in a more qualitative fashion than works of today which are based on same formula.

Hokuto no Ken tells story about ambitious and brave men in a world where compassion and love would seem pointless. It subtly indicates on necessary human values, which are easily missed underneath its excessive violence. There isn't one main plot which extends throughout the entire manga, but more like series of episodes which are all loosely tied together. Often will you feel that content was abruptly thrown in, rather than initially planned. This was due to obvious money milking reasons, which prevented possibility for fluid progression.

Artistic impression will remain memorable, especially in the later chapters when Tetsuo improves his meticulousness and utilizes wide panels as best as possible. From the very start and onward there's a steady improvement in his art, be it the post-apocalyptic scenery, facial expressions or motion from panel to panel. However, his sense for proportions is a bit distorted, maybe those grandiose anatomical features were done with goal of portraying magnificence or rather sheer force of certain characters, but even as such they remain off-putting at first and require getting used to them.

Side characters received excellent characterization and are easily relatable to. Even villains have more profound reasons behind their atrocious actions and leave you with bitter taste in your mouth after they are killed. However, some of revelations (motives) felt quite asinine, far fetched, and should have been avoided completely.

Kenshiro serves his purpose as allegory for God. Be it certain situations in which he's depicted, how other characters perceive him, or his very personality. You could say that he merely serves to keep things in motion, for it is very difficult to feel attached to his character. He is how he is throughout the entire manga, there are no surprises regarding him, and emotional response is mostly drawn from the way he affects other characters, never from him directly. This weird approach makes him devoid of usual -- intelligence insulting -- typicalities that main characters have, but in no way does it make him an ideal one.

Hokuto no Ken could easily be classed as masterpiece, but, I personally like to consider it as a far from perfect -- enveloped in a peculiar charm -- timeless classic.