Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth after a nuclear war, the story centers on a warrior named Kenshiro, the successor of a deadly martial art known as Hokuto Shinken, which gives him the ability to kill his opponents by striking their secret vital points, which often results in an exceptionally violent and gory death.

Kenshiro is the successor to Hokuto Shinken, an ancient martial art of assassination that trains its practitioners to kill from within an opponent's body through the use of hidden meridian points.

Kenshiro wishes to live his life in peace, but after he is separated from his fiancée Yuria by a jealous rival, he begins his journey to become the savior of the post-apocalyptic world, defending the weak and innocent from the many gangs and organizations that threaten their survival.

Raoh seeks to conquer the post-apocalyptic world as a warlord under the mantle of Ken-oh, the King of the Fist, by challenging every martial artist he sees as a threat.

Kenshiro uncovers the sealed testament of the Hokuto Shinken founder, Shuken, which holds the secret to overcoming Kaioh's ultimate technique.

During the final chapters, Kenshiro goes on a journey with Raoh's orphaned son Ryu, in order to lead him on the path to become the next Hokuto Shinken successor, encountering and battling various opponents along the way, before returning to Bat and Lin to protect them from a past enemy.

[7] Hara had previously pitched the idea of a martial arts manga with a protagonist that combined the appearances and character traits of the two actors to his editor Nobuhiko Horie.

[5] Now revisiting the martial arts theme, the two realized they needed a secret signature technique, but were at a loss for ideas until Horie browsed a used Chinese book store on Suzuran Street in Jinbōchō, Tokyo.

[8] He found an anecdote of a medical student in China, who, after overstimulating an acupressure point in order to help an eye issue, had instead made the condition worse.

[8] Horie believed that destroying bodies by attacking pressure points was perfect for a shōnen manga, as it allowed someone small to take out a much bigger opponent.

[8] He derived the manga's title and the name of the technique from a Chinese constellation myth that features two sages, Hokuto and Nanto, the gods of death and life respectively.

[5] It was chosen by readers as the best story in the magazine and featured many of the elements that would later appear in the serialized version, including Kenshiro's signature phrase; "You are already dead!".

[5] Buronson liked Hara's one-shot version, but insisted a modern-day setting would not work with a martial arts story, so they went with a futuristic one due to the then-popularity of the Mad Max film series.

This second run was subsequently republished in three additional graphic novel volumes titled Night of the Jackal, Southern Cross and Blood Brothers.

Entertainment under the title of Fist of the North Star: Master Edition, which retained the original right-to-left orientation but featured digitally colored artwork.

The title ran during the entirety of the magazine's run, initially as a regular feature and later as a semi-regular, until it ceased publication with issue #445 (dated September 10, 2010).

During this period various Fist of the North Star spinoffs by different authors were also serialized in the magazine (see Hokuto Gaiden), each focusing on a different character from the original manga.

Titled Hokuto no Ken: Last Piece, it is set during the timeline gap between Chapters 136 and 137 of the original manga and focuses on Kokuoh, Raoh's former steed who ends up becoming Kenshiro's.

Hokuto no Ken: Ichigo Aji written by Yūshi Kawata and illustrated by Yukito the Younger, began serialization in 2013 on Coamix's online manga anthology Web Comic Zenyon.

The full series was never released on VHS in Japan, although three-hour-long compilation movies were produced by Toei Video covering the first, second and fourth story arcs in that order.

On March 28, 2008, Avex released a 25th-anniversary edition box set featuring new video transfers of all 152 episodes remastered in high definition, once again spread across 26 discs.

[citation needed] In 2008, the US subsidiary of Toei Animation produced an official subtitle-only translation of all 152 episodes, which were released on various paid download and streaming websites available only for North American customers.

The movies cover major story arcs from the TV series, each one centering on a specific character (Shin, Rei, Toki, Souzer, Raoh, and Kaioh).

[45] Produced by the same staff and cast who worked on the TV series, the movie adapts the storyline of the manga from the beginning and up to Kenshiro's first fight with Raoh, taking several liberties with the order of events and how the story unfolds.

An American-produced live-action movie version of Fist of the North Star was released in 1995, directed by Tony Randel based on a script by Peter Atkins and Wynne McLaughlin.

It also featured a cameo by professional wrestler Big Van Vader as Goliath, and Kevin Arbouet as "Rao" (unrelated to the actual Raoh from the manga).

It features Yūsuke Ōnuki as Kenshiro, Ayaka Hirahara and May'n as Yuria, Takuya Uehara and Kandai Ueda as Shin, Kazuki Katō, Ryūnosuke Onoda, and Ryōsei Konishi as Toki, Shōichi Fukui and Masaru Nagai as Raoh, Tatsuya Kawaguchi and Hiroaki Miyakawa as Ryuken, Rena Yamazaki and Manaka Kuwabara as Rin, Ao Watanabe as Bat, Ryōsuke Miura as Rei, Kanata Irei and Rio Uehara alternating as Rei and Juza, and Miisha Shimizu as Mamiya.

[56][57] Tecmo Koei produced a Dynasty Warriors spin-off focusing on the events from the first half of the manga, titled Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage, for the PlayStation 3.

[66] In November 2014, readers of Da Vinci magazine voted Fist of the North Star as the eighth Weekly Shōnen Jump's greatest manga series of all time.

Politician Ségolène Royal was among its most prominent critics, lambasting its recidivist violence in her book Le Ras-le-Bol des Bébés Zappeurs (Fed Up of Baby Channel-Zappers).