Quick, do you own any of the original Fist of the North Star DVDs? Go grab one, look over the cover text, and find the lines "Wherever he goes, chaos follows," and "Never before have so many been killed so quickly by just one man."

Now, take those DVDs, put them toward the back of the shelf, and let them collect dust for awhile: New Fist of the North Star is more chaotic, more deadly, and, thanks to modern animation, much more fun.

New Fist of the North Star doesn't deviate much from the original story in the TV series: It's a post apocalyptic world and Kenshiro, the last master of a deadly martial arts, is the only one around willing to stick up for the little guy.

In this first 55-minute volume, The Cursed City!, Kenshiro comes across the near-complete massacre of water scouts from the Village of Freedom, a last bastion of hope in a land ruled by the evil lord Sanga. He keeps the humans of his sprawling city, Last Land, under thumb by controlling the area's clean underground water - the water the poor villagers were trying to harvest.

Sanga also manipulates the people by making them believe a mute boy with slight-of-hand tricks is a god. When Sara - a Village of Freedom leader and master of healing - is kidnapped by Sanga to be elevated to godhood, Kenshiro steps in to stop the madness.

Your first thought during the opening sequences of The Cursed City! is that someone behind the anime really liked Mad Max. You can't help it....all those motorcycles in a post-apocalyptic desert, all those shoulder pads with spikes, all that face paint. But nobody in New Fist of the North Star cares about gasoline; The real treasure is water.

It's a simple concept, and one put to great use in The Cursed City! plot. Sanga holds a vice-grip over thousands, merely because he's elevated water to a spiritual thing. Swear in me and you may drink. Don't, and you can die of thirst, godless heathen.

The story is a pleasant sidekick to the real reason we're watching: To see Kenshiro use his pressure point techniques.

Kenshiro kicks butt the standard way sometimes, with lots of flashing legs and pumping fists. But he's most deadly when he finds those small points that make your head explode or fall apart like a wax candle. What Ken does to his enemies makes Kill Bill's Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique look like a friendly massage from your girlfriend. It's far and away better gore than in the original, which can be attributed to two things: advancements in animation, and the fact New Fist of the North Star is an OVA, not a TV show. This has a 17-and-up rating for good reasons.

The script is OK, though the fight talk is as standard as you can get: "I know every move you're going to make." Most of the character conversations are quick and simple, and don't add much to the action. But hey, New Fist of the North Star isn't out to provoke insightful discussion on how humanity can survive after nuclear war. It's hear to show you what one good martial artist can do, and how bloody well he can do it.

And, for the most part, Kenshiro and New Fist of the North Star fight the good fight without relying on that good old standby in Japanese anime: mystical, special powers. He's just an unparalleled martial artist. Those flames jumping off him when he's really pissed are only symbolic....or at least that's what we like to believe.

Say it with me: Digital animation rocks. Clean as a whistle, New Fist of the North Star is a flawless looking DVD, with near-seamless CGI mixed in with traditional anime. Try all you want to find some error in the DVD transfer, you won't. Blow it up on your screen mutliple times, slow it down to 1/8th speed...you'll still find an awesome looking picture that you would be proud to use as your computer screensaver, if the boss would only let you. The depth, the colors, that shimmer you expect when lots of heat is nearby...this is the kind of quality people expect from ADV's DVDs.

Anime fans who insist on listening to their shows in Japanese are in for a treat. English AND Japanese 5.1 language are included in New Fist of the North Star. None of this 2.0 garbage. Both sound great, with really outstanding voice talents. The sound effects are lively, and come through great on surround sound.

While there's a somewhat interesting Q&A with four of the English voice actors, the real treats are the interviews with martial arts experts from Gracie Jiu Jitsu (Ultimate Fighting Championship fans know the Gracie name) and the press conference in Japan with Fist of the North Star creators Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. There's also character bios - but with a very helpful narrator voiceover - as well as ADV previews.

Any anime that makes you say "Damn!" out loud, more than once, is worth your time. When you can't help but say "Damn!" to the same scenes the second time around, it's a DVD worth buying. Highly recommended