Fist of the North Star

If you thought Akira was strange, violent and hard to understand, get a load of this animated feature, based on the comic available in translation from specialist shops. Like many Japanese manga, it's set in a barren, post-apocalyptic world where only men's muscles can grow. The plot is the usual fantasy rubbish about fraternal betrayal and maiden-rescuing; but what distinguishes it is the stylised visuals, the existentialist landscapes, and the quite exceptional levels of violence perpetrated by the martial arts supermen. Heads bulge and explode, arms fall to the ground, blood gushes skywards, torsos are severed, bodies are crushed to pulp. If Sam Peckinpah had murdered Walt Disney and disembowelled Bambi, the result would have been tame in comparison.