Imagine Fist of the North Star, but with tighter (yet less ambitious) draughtsmanship and a much stupider story. A very wacky series that disguises its humor under gruesome and gothic art of exceptional quality.

It has the common manga problem of its first part (the prison arc) being by far the sharpest and most memorable. The pacing starts to plod in the middle. By the end, you're just going "how are they going to top all this madness?" and the final answer is something really, really silly.

If you like invincible protagonists furiously sleepwalking through supernaturally gory fight scenes with horrific monstrous villains who often turn surprisingly sympathetic - you know, Fist of the North Star - you'll love Riki-Oh. I love Riki-Oh. With boundless energy it pushes the limits of violent martial arts, with almost a Shintaro Kago sort of fascination for human vivisection.

I consider Riki-Oh an all-time classic and a favorite manga because it does what it does superbly, with a special formula for squeezing your adrenaline used to home runs in its forte again and again and again. Of course, you have to like what it does to enjoy it. 10/10.

... Last updated on December 21st, 2021, 10:14pm

oh boi where to begin

This is the kind of series you have to shut your brain off. Any attempt to understand the story will simply backfire on you.

There are 5 main arcs in this series. Every arc feels like the last one. Everytime your like ok now this is the end. turns out there is a bigger bad waiting for you.

The story changes per arc. Mostly because the information isn't revealed then. At first its prison break. Than its underground fighting, than its something, than its something else. You think this series is crazy now? Wait till you read the next chapter. There is so much bullshit in this series im astounded that i thought for even a moment that this series can't get crazier.

The first 2 arcs of this series are a bit mundane but thats because the series doesn't accept itself for what it is. The series is very stupid with a lot of over the top bullshit. But it takes itself seriously. As such campy moments aren't that fun, and the emotional moments in the series have 0 impact. It kinda sucks it takes so long for the series to get together.

Though there are still crazy ass moments that are enjoyable there are just spread too thin in the first 2 arcs. Also the fact that there is supposed to be the emotional tone that doesn't really work.

I did enjoy the last 3 arcs. They weren't spectacular or anything. But it seems like the author accepted the fact that this is a stupid series and as such should go crazy. Though i do believe that he went absolute batshit in the last arc. I'd say it in more detail but that would be spoiling the ending.

As far as the action, its as crazy as you'd expect from the 80's. Its absurdly violent and there is so much blood you think everyone is holding a ketchup bottle. The main character Riki is absolutely ridiculous. He punches characters and the other side of there body explodes. The MC gets shot and is fine 5 seconds later because he missed all his vitals and only scratched his heart. His powers are also absolutely inconsistent. He can break steel and bend iron yet he can't handle a couple punches.

There is this Ki thing which is basically this manga's Ex-machina. Enemy too strong? Just use Ki. You need some sort of extremly specific power that won't be mentioned ever again? Use Ki to channel it. and so on, and so on. I mean at least it looks cool.

The story falls apart (Even more so than it already had) at the end but by then i don't care. Like who gives a shit about the story when you have a characters that chokes people by using his own intestines that he brought out from his own stomach in the heat of battle. This is one of the calmer scenes before it turns into dragon ball z.

If the art reminds you of the Fist of the North star thats because the artist was an assisstant for HARA Tetsuo. No doubt he picked up a few tricks

Despite the campy fun for the later half of the series. It just isn't good enough. I think they wasted too much time on exposition and other uncessary components for it to be enjoyable as a whole.

TLDR: 5/10

... Last updated on May 24th, 2021, 9:49am

Lol, that line never gets old. Well yeah there's gore, but it's not that bad because most of it's unrealistic and over-the-top (half of Riki-Oh's face could be bloody in one panel and the next it looks like he took a shower). Whole thing reminded me of....Baoh (which is a must-read if you want some campy fun) much more than Berserk. And of course it follows Fist of the North Star's format in the beginning (Later on...I can't really say the same, lol) And Riki-Oh's probably not an antihero; he's like...an emotional version of Kenshiro. Since I read a ton of manly stuff I see similarities everywhere....

... Last updated on September 12th, 2014, 1:48am

Its story is probably the most ridiculous part of the manga. By the end of it I was just thinking that the writer just wanted to add on to it, thus making up random s**t to throw at the reader.

Yep. I kinda agree with other people's reviews. Rikioh is totally... umm.... badass, as they had stated. However, there's a single point that was missed by people. It's too ridiculous!! I think I'll spoiler tag it to not ruin the surprise.

Sorry if my explanation doesn't illustrate clearly.
Read it if you must. You'll see.

Well, other than that, it's cool. Recommended as a fun read

this is great
i laugh alot when i read this...i dont think that was 100% intended but its just so EXTREME you cant help yourself
its like an extreme weird version of HnK and its obvious it got such a long life thanks to the popularity of HnK
it is a little strange that HnK is not listed under recommendations

the most hiliariously awesome manga ive ever read. The fighting is kinda bad, the stunts are like FotNS and the plot is shitty, but thats what makes this so god damn enjoyable.

Do not binge this manga or you'll start to hate it.

The main character is a total badass, even by manga standard. Just read the first chapter.
And somehow it's strangely entertaining...
However, he's so damn invincible that it becomes boring after a while.

... Last updated on May 20th, 2008, 6:51am

This manga gets the thumbs up from me! An awesome anti-hero with awesome power! Every opponent he fights pretty much blows up from how manly the protagonist is!

I have been a big fan of the movie Riki-Oh for years. It is nice to see it finally getting some translations so i can see the original. So far it is right on and awesome! Right up there with Mad Bull on Manly Power!