is the first

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

of the 1980s

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially colle ...

'', performed by Japanese rock band , with the verses sung by Monsieur Yoshisaki and the chorus by

Masayuki Tanaka is a Japanese singer. He was born in Imari, Saga Prefecture. He is one of the two original vocalists of the band , known for their anime soundtracks such as where Tanaka provided the vocals in the chorus of its opening theme. After leaving Cryst ...

. The original B-side for the single was the first ending theme of ''Fist of the North Star'' titled . The song is known for the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

, which is sometimes used as an alternate title for the song. "Ai o Torimodose!!" is featured as an extra "special BGM" in the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

version of the multiplatform '' Jissen PachiSlot Hisshohou! Hokuto no Ken'' video game and is also used as the opening for the 2005 Sega-Sammy arcade game.

Mixed Martial Artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he competes in their Heavyweight division. Barnett p ...

used the song as an entrance theme in

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

. The song has been covered by multiple artists, including

Animetal was a Japanese heavy metal band who specialized in metal covers of theme songs from classic and modern Japanese anime and tokusatsu television series. They were composed of several luminaries of the Japanese metal scene, most notably vocalist ...

on ''

Animetal Marathon IV is the fourth full album by Japanese novelty heavy metal band Animetal, released through Cutting Edge Records on September 12, 2001. The album consists of a non-stop marathon of metal covers of anime themes from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. It al ...

'' and ''

Decade of Bravehearts ''Decade of Bravehearts'' is the eighth and final studio album by Japanese novelty heavy metal band Animetal, released through VAP on August 2, 2006. Commemorating the band's 10th anniversary, the album features full length covers of various anime ...

''. Most recently,

Hiromi Konno is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and narrator from Hokkaido.Doi, Hitoshi"Konno Hiromi" ''Seiyuu Database''. January 14, 2011. She graduated from Faculty of Economics at Sapporo University. After leaving Marcus and Aoni-juku sh ...

as Akira Kogami and

Minoru Shiraishi is a Japanese actor, voice actor, singer, songwriter and radio personality who was formerly affiliated with I'm Enterprise and Pro-Fit. He is the only "live-action" character (as he played "himself" in '' Lucky☆Star'') in the Newtype Anime magaz ...

as himself covered "Ai o Torimodose!!" under the name for the theme song of the ''

Lucky Star Lucky Star, The Lucky Star or Lucky Starr may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Anime and manga * ''Lucky Star'' (manga), a manga, anime, and video game series * "Lucky Star", one of the Angel Frames from the anime and manga series ''Galaxy ...

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

. In addition, both Yoshisaki (performing as Crystal King) and Tanaka have released self covers of "Ai o Torimodose!!". This began with Yoshisaki in 2004 on a single with the theme of ''

Lupin III , also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It follows the endeavors of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène ...

'' as the B-side and another single later in 2004 of remixes of "Ai o Torimodose!!" with "Yuria... Towa ni" as the B-side. He later released another version of the single in 2006 titled "Ai o Torimodose!! (Movie ver.)" (with a version of "Yuria... Towa ni" as the B-side) for the ''Legend of Raoh'' film. Tanaka's release of "Ai o Torimodose!! SPECIAL-EDITION" later in 2006 included "Yuria... Towa ni" as a B-side as well as the opening theme of ''Fist of the North Star 2'' "TOUGH BOY" performed by TOM. A heavy metal arrangement of the song is featured on the '' Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage'' soundtrack.

References

Anisong Database
Anime soundtracks Fist of the North Star Lucky Star (manga) 1984 songs {{1980s-single-stub