DonZ wrote:I didn't watch Hokuto No Ken (FOTNS) but it deosn't look to me like it have adventures and comedy. Hokuto No Ken looks like a pure epic series, tell the tale about the hero Ken fighting against Evil, i don't think the series involved Adventures and Comedy, and magician world like DragonBall or One Piece, didn't it ? don't get me wrong, i know Hokuto played a big role in developing the Shonen genre, along with JoJo Bizarre Adventure and Saint Seiya. but i think the biggest influence goes to DB.
I've seen most of the anime and read the manga (and played Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage)...it's pure manly badassery, and makes me wish more modern series took from it. You saw series taking after it more common in the late 80s/early 90s. It's ultra violent, yet does revel in the humanity of major enemies, having Ken shed manly tears when he's forced to kill a fellow warrior who had some good to them, yet were forced to come against him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5eTfZ0hc4Y (from the newest game, but I rather like it as an adaptation)
Take this scene, for example. It's not often that a villain's death moves people enough, they'll hold a real funeral for him. But Japan did that for Raoh.
You can't find the manga complete in English officially, but some was released. Also, the whole anime was released on DVD. The anime suffers as do most Toei anime (rough animation at parts, filler hell to keep pace, sometimes messing up events, censorship en-masse...though, the voice acting and music is good, like most Toei anime tend to have).
Saint Seiya also carries that seriousness and love for battle, yet does so with a rather unique art style; detailed, yet many would argue Bishonen, despite the fact that the creator has done nothing but Battle Shonen since the mid 70s (and with some pretty manly characters in spirit, if not in design). While its popularity drop forced it to end early...you can see the difference between it and Dragon Ball (and Kurumada and Toriyama). Despite having started in 86, the series still goes on, now more numerous in series than ever (not as many readers due to being out of Shueisha, but more than enough to make Akita Shoten happy).
Kurumada's a lot like his characters; when he cares about something, he never stops fighting for it, no matter how many times he's knocked down. Toriyama was basically being paid to keep going when he was getting tired of it (or so that's the vibe I got at least), whereas Jump had to make Kurumada stop...and he still came back to it more than a decade later, eventually even doing a new manga when Toei screwed his plot plans for going movie only.
There were definitely influences from this series on many others (Bleach especially...the Soul Society arc is basically one homage/borderline rip off of the Sanctuary arc, both the most beloved of their respective series), and there may yet be still, given how he's not willing to stop despite his age/having to move to a new magazine.
The series has had the whole manga released here officially, the first 60 episodes of the anime, and recently, the first four movies (if they sell well, the company might release the whole series on DVD). We're also getting the newest game in the US on PSN only (with Namco-Bandai telling us that it's how they will be judging the size of the US fanbase).
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure was never as popular as the other series in your list...but it never dropped in popularity either, and became one of Jump's top 10 best selling series, having gone on since 1987, now 108 volumes in or so, and just early into its 8th Part (it's certainly got a cult following if nothing else, and has influenced a fair number of creators for its smaller readership).
It's a weird series, but weird in an amazing, "you can't stop reading until you realize you've just spent the last 2-3 weeks pouring through over a hundred volumes of manga" way. Each series has its own unique style and different cast of main and supporting characters (despite often continuing some story elements or having some connections), which probably lends itself to not having any major popularity drop to warrant ending. Though it's now monthly in Ultra Jump, it's otherwise just Araki's ongoing stories with names from musicians/albums/songs he loves.
It's third part, Stardust Crusaders, is probably most well known abroad, with the old OVAs released here, as well as the manga for that part (and that part alone), and the Capcom fighting game. You also will probably recognize "ZA WARUDO!" from assorted internet videos.
The recent anime also probably helped its popularity in the mainstream a bit (and I won't lie, it's easily the best anime I've seen in a decade...freaking loved it. Hope Funi or someone picks it up for dub).
We can argue DBZ has the majority impact on Shonen due to widespread viewing, long term popularity, and a number of creators having loved it...but of course, just drawing from one source eventually leads to a diseased, inbred industry that's repeating way too much material/style for its own good. Little more of an issue in Jump than in other places, but the 80s were when Jump was king both of Shonen, and diverse, yet amazing series'.
