'Fist of the Blue Sky' Reveals Trailer, Release Date

The 35th Anniversary of Buronson's Fist of the North Star hit in 2017, and to celebrate the occasion, its prequel series Fist of the Blue Sky will be getting a new anime adaptation.

The series, Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis, is based off the manga of the same name and is set to premiere April 2 at 12:30 AM on Amazon Prime Video Japan. It will then air on Tokyo MX April 9 at 12:30 AM.

Yoshio Kazumi (Ajin) is set to direct the anime series for Polygon Pictures with Satoshi Ozaki supervising and writing for the series. Hiromi Sato and Kazuma Teshigahara will be designing the characters, and the series released the first trailer for the project that showcases its animation and slick look.

The opening theme song, "Soten no Hate ni" (which loosely translates to "The Edge of the Blue Sky" will be performed by AK-69, and the ending theme "Inori no Hoshizora" ("Starry Night of Prayer") will be performed by Sumire Uesaka.

For those unfamiliar with Fist of the Blue Sky, the series was originally created by Buronson and Nobuhiko Horie with illustrations by Tetsuo Hara. Conceived as a prequel to the famous Fist of the North Star, the story is set in Shanghai in the 1930s and follows the 62nd successor of the Hokuto Shinken martial art, Kenshiro Kasumi, the predecessor to North Star's Kenshiro. The series originally ran from 2001 to 2010, and has been collected into 22 volumes overall. It was first adapted into an anime series that ran from 2006 to 2007 for 26 episodes. The manga from which the new anime series has been adapted, Fist of the Blue Sky: ReGenesis, is a continuation of the story that began in December 2017.

For those unfamiliar with Fist of the North Star, the series was created by Buronson with illustrations provided by Tetsuo Hara. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic world after a nuclear war. It follows Kenshiro, the successor of the martial art Hokuto Shinken, which allows him to defeat and brutally kill most enemies by striking their vital points. Deciding to use his skills to defend the weak from those who would attack them, Kenshiro wanders through the post-apocalyptic land fighting all who stand in his way.

The series ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from 1983 to 1988. Its 245 chapters were collected into 27 volumes, and was licensed for an English language release by Viz Communications and Gutsoon! Entertainment. The series was adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation that ran for 152 episodes from 1984 to 1988. The series has also been adapted into a video game from Sega. Developed by the Yakuza series team, Hokuto ga Gotoku will release on PlayStation 4 in 2018.