Street Fighter II V

Personally, I really liked the approach the staff did with this series by making Ken and Ryu teenagers. Putting them at that age gives better and more sensible opportunities for character development and sets things in a whole new perspective. OK, what I am going to say is a spoiler, but I need to mention it for multiple reasons, one of the reasons is to mention a negative and to inform those who are fans of those characters who want to see this series: T.Hawk, E. Honda, and Blanka are not in this series, and Akuma only has on screen cameos. So fans of those ... characters may find it disappointing. But I don’t see how they could fit at some points and it’s better to not have them, than have them and be useless which was a problem I had with Final Fantasy VII Advent Children which had many useless cast members. I also liked how the fights with Guile symbolized that Ken and Ryu only know what they have their training, and lack the reality combat experience Guile has on not just on the streets, but in the battlefield which defines that difference between them. And then, beomes a story of two young men trying to discover themselves goes on from there on how they must stop M. Bison, etc. But each thing is taken one step at a time to develop and connects very well. So because of the flow of the story and the liberties that was taken to open to new opportunities.

Some of the character design has been changed and is not what you’re used to. Ryu tends to look more like Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue except without his jacket, and his trademark bandana is not at all present. But it’s not the bandana that defines the man, it’s the man that defines the bandana, but in place of the bandana, Ryu wears a rosary given to him by a girl who worked with him at the island. Ken’s design is faithful to the game design. Guile’s haircut isn’t really that exaggerated. Chun Li is really cute, but doesn’t have her hair buns. But even if they are changed, they are still recognizable and I feel that this adds it’s own dose of originality. Afterall, this is Street Fighter II V, it doesn’t have to be the game to be great sometimes. The Animated Movie already served that purpose. However, my main beef with the art is of course is how the guys look like they’re on as much steroids as a pro wrestler.

The action is just superb. It’s nothing over the top by relying too much on the fireballs or other trademark moves, it’s pure raw martial arts high-octane action. Granted it’s not to the technical and dramatic level of the movie, but it does have it’s own sense of intensity and style that stands out. It’s really expressive in its own way and tells a story of what the fighters are fighting for, and how they’re struggling. The characters’ fighting styles are well represented in the series such as Guile’s experience, Ken and Ryu’s power and speed, and Chun Li’s agility. So fans will not be disappointed and those not familiar to Street Fighter will still be amazed regardless.

This anime can be viewable in both Japanese and English. The English cast is very good. Ryu is portrayed as someone that is young, but yet mature and serious. Ken is portrayed as a guy who likes to mess around at times, and Guile sounds like a seasoned veteran. So the actors play their roles in a way that you expect to play them in. And naturally, I will know more and tend to favor the Japanese cast if you are at all familiar with my reviews. The Japanese cast, like the English cast, do their roles the way you expect them to do it. For seiyuu buffs, Ryu is played by Tsujitani Kouji, the voice of Miroku in Inuyasha, Seabook Arno from Gundam F91, and Bernie Wiseman in Gundam 0080. Chun Li is played by Yokoyama Chisa who is also famous for Sasami in Tenchi, and Sakura in Sakura Taisen. And believe me, seiyuu buffs maybe don’t want to miss this one. Though you may like the Japanese voices better, the English voices, though not as big named as the Japanese cast, you have to give credit for doing their roles with accuracy to the personalities of their characters.

The music is also an awesome addicting trait this anime has. Unfortunately, the DVD set that I have released by Manga entertainment took out the Japanese themes which were in the subtitled VHS releases, but still keeps the weird Eastern esque techno songs which are pretty cool, but it also hurts what also defines anime by promoting great lyrical songs such as the opening theme Kaze Fuiteru, and Cry, the ending theme. Both songs are very energetic and inspirational and go along to those themes of the anime.

All I can say is, whether or you’re not you’re a Street Fighter fan, this is worth a shot. The story is a bit generic, but I still call it short being cliché. I mean, this starts out as a story about having fun, facing reality, conquering your fear, discovering yourself, and saving the world. But even though I describe the nature with negative labels, I feel I can describe this in a positive way that it does flow one step at a time, and the characters, at least the good guys, have excellent development, though it’s what you expect in martial arts media in addition to great action.

Time again to look at a nostalgic "classic" of the past. Street Fighter 2: the anime, had everyone in the 1990s absolutely PSYCHED! After the laughably bad American movie and an even worse American cartoon adaptation on the USA channel, Street Fighter was finally going to get the masterful adaptation it deserved and bring our favorite characters to the small screen.

Unfortunately, Street Fighter 2V really dropped the ball in my opinion. I had already seen Street Fighter get two butchered adaptations, so I really wanted this version to actually stay true to the story of the games and the personality of the characters. It ... isn't like Street Fighter was a literary masterpiece, but if you want to change everything about the plot and characters, then why bother adapting Street Fighter? Why not just make your own series with your own characters? Ryu is always dead serious in the games and never smiles...not....once! In the anime they turned Ryu into a Goku clone who is absolutely giddy that he gets to fight the next strong opponent and beat him up. Bison was always portrayed as a military mastermind who was like a mix between Napoleon and a 3rd world dictator with super powers. Yet in the anime, he takes his orders from a magical statue! Bison don't take shit from anyone! They turned Street Fighter into the Jacky Chan cartoon! It only gets worse. Instead of Vega and Sagat being Bison's 2 henchmen, the anime copied the American movie and made Zangief Bison's main minion. Why is this a problem? EVERY LINE Gief says is Russia this and Russia that. He is a diehard patriot that even invites Gorbachev to his victory if you beat the game as him. Why would he work for Shadowloo, who is at war with Russia? Zangief is stupid as shit, but he is NOT supposed to be evil, let alone a traitor to his country! They completely murdered his character! They try to pass Guile off as a legit badass with no tongue in cheek or comments about "taking care of your family". What is worse, he doesn't do the sonic boom. Not once. That's like the ONLY move he has! Yet the anime wanted to create a bullshit rule in which only Ryu and Bison can use Ki attacks. What the fuck? At least they didn't make Balrog a computer hacker who types while wearing boxing gloves for no reason. I guess 2V is still slightly less silly than the American cartoon. However, in retrospect at least the US toon was so stupid it's funny. Street Fighter 2V is mostly just boring.

Animation: 3/10

So you think you know bad 90s anime art right? You've seen recycled animations, lazy use of still shots and key frames with a ridiculously low number of frames per second. You may not have seen animation quite as lazy as Street Fighter 2V. I mean this shit actually stands out as notably bad by even the low standards of 90s anime OVAs. At least the 2V movie looked awesome. It wasn't a good movie by any means, but the animation looked spectacular!

Overall: 5/10

If you grew up playing Street Fighter as a kid, or if you are younger and are simply curious about cheesy, old anime, you owe it to yourself to watch a few episodes of this show. At least you might get a few laughs. I'm still going to give it a fairly generous score because I REALLY liked the Street Fighter games and this was still amusing for me despite its...flaws. Street Fighter 2V gets a 5 out of 10.

Street Fighter's run in anime may have been a commercial success, mostly due more to Capcom's monsterous marketing as opposed to making any kind of sense whatsoever, but I feel cheated. I expected a lot more from an animated adaptation of the most popular fighting game ever made. SF: The Animated Movie, while it towers over the rest, isn't satisfying, and the Alpha movies are just wretched. So I thought I'd put a retrospective on what may be the most forgettable Street Fighter rendition since the U.S. Saturday morning cartoon, Street Fighter II V, from Manga Entertainment.
[STORY 5] I felt this TV series ... had a lot going for it. Where the other movies failed is that we already know that Ken and Ryu are good friends, but very little is emphasized on that aspect. Audiences are kind of robbed of the bond that they share and negates character development or a reason to care. I know that sounds like asking for much, but it's the best thing this series had going for it. Watching a sort of backstory on the friendship of Ken and Ryu reuniting for the first time since training as little squirts and reuniting as rascal teens was incredibly refreshing and fun, like a pre-Alpha alternate universe, with a cute-as-a-button 15 year old Chun Li, and teen action star Fei Long. No other fighting game adaptation pulled it off this well in the beginning. However, midway through the series, the plot an M. Bison-esque turn for the goofy. Maybe it's just me, but this villian doesn't fit in with Street Fighter. (What's the connection with the martial arts buddies in karate pajamas and the Megalomanic?) Lots of things make no sense, some characters are rewritten for what feels like no good reason, and it gets fairly boring about halfway through. Ryu is just learning the power of Hado, so you're subjected to watch him practice this skill, which takes about as long as Goku charging up the Spirit Bomb, and it's the same footage looped over and over. It gets tedious, and bogs the series down considerably.
[ART 7] The art is very good. I like the way some of the characters look, with the exception of Sagat and Cammy. First off, Sgat has two distinct features that signifies his appearance and he has NEITHER of them. Cammy just looks like a blonde assassin lady. I wasn't asking for a turtleneck thong ensemble (but I wouldn't be opposed), but she trots out in just boring black leather (yawn), she doesn't wear her hair in even remotely the same fashion, and she fights and kills with wires (remember her piano wire skill from Alpha 3? Me neither.) For a mid-to-late 90's anime, the action scenes are on par with Samurai Deeper Kyo or Outlaw Star in terms of animation. Lots of recycled footage gets noticable reather quickly and becomes grating. You'll find yourself saying, "she just did that kick!" a lot. Keep a close eye on Akuma cameos in the backgrounds.
[SOUND 7] I've only heard the Animaze dub, so I'll only judge the track off of that. The music is good, the voice acting is kind of cheesy, but cheesy-good. Nothing really spectacular about the score or the BGM, it gets the job done for the most part. Listening to Richard Cansino shriek as Vega was nails on a chalkboard for me.
[CHARACTER 4] While the central cast of Ryu, Ken, Guile, and Chun Li are represented alright enough (except for Ken proposing to a jail bait Chun Li), most of the cast from the game just show up to less than their console counterparts. Sagat is in prison, Balrog doesn't fight, Zangief is...well Zangief. Dhalsim seems to be the only other character that serves a direct purpose, a mentor character, but it becomes an afterthought rather quickly. And Vega probably has the best story arc in his battle with Ken. Other names aren't present, E. Honda, Blanka, etc.
Even without forced cameos from other members of the games, there was so much lost potential as to what to do with this cast. Guile is practically kicked out of the show until the final arc, where his beef with Bison is seemingly slapped together with the clumsy introduction to Charlie (Nash) who looks like Edward Norton crossed with James Lipton in this show. Cammy is wasted and disappears. Fei Long is useless anyways, but serves no real assistance in the fight against Shadowlaw. And M. Bison is just a pain to sit through. You're waiting to see this villian show up, but he really ruins everything, and has a completely classless scene with Chun Li that could've ended ten minutes sooner. I can only assume the author hates women.
[ENJOYMENT 4] This show starts on such a high note in the first nine episodes and then just cascades into boring really fast. Goofy subplots, cookie-cutter villians that don't belong in a Street Fighter storyline, underused characters, and a few throw-away episodes in the middle that could've been utilized better. The first couple of episodes are incredibly fun until the heroine cartel comes in and becomes a long-winded PSA about drug use. I'M NOT KIDDING.
[OVERALL 4] Street Fighter II V feels like the longest 29 episodes I've ever watched. It's not the worst I've seen, but there's so much lost potential, it's just deflating. I'm not sure why so many directors have failed with this sub-genre. It's just not satisfying, but it's not Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture.
Pros: Good fight scenes. Good voice acting.
Cons: Slow, not very interesting story. Poorly used cast.