Street Fighter II Movie

Get your quarters ready, because the world's top fighters are about to go head to head in this explosive animated adaptation of the classic Street Fighter II arcade game! M. Bison's plan to crush those who would oppose his organization, Shadowloo, is simple: brainwash the strongest martial artists around with his dreaded psycho power, and turn them into living weapons! To stop him, Interpol agent Chun-Li must team up with Major Guile of the United States Air Force, but that's no small feat.

They'll have to put aside their differences and learn to work together, and fast. Bison is closing in on Ryu, a traveling vagabond said to be the best fighter in the world. Fortunately (or not), Ryu is a hard man to find, but the same can't be said of his eternal rival, Ken. And it might just be through Ken that Bison will get what he wants! Can the World Warriors beat Bison to the punch?

(Source: Discotek)

Ryuu Main

Shimizu, Koujirou Japanese

Chun-Li Main

Fujitani, Miki Japanese

Masters, Ken Main

Haga, Kenji Japanese

Vega Main

Kusaka, Takeshi Japanese

Guile Main

Tsukayama, Masane Japanese

White, Cammy Supporting

Sasaki, Youko Japanese

Balrog Supporting

Shiozawa, Kaneto Japanese

Sagat Supporting

Sasaoka, Shigezou Japanese

Zangief Supporting

Kanao, Tetsuo Japanese

Fei-Long Supporting

Nishimura, Hiroshi Assistant Producer

Sugii, Gisaburou Director, Storyboard, Screenplay

Mori, Takeshi Storyboard

Toukairin, Shinichi Storyboard

Reviews

Oct 12, 2008

jmoriarty84

Recommended

I think this is the ultimate anime in adapting video games. It just made something epic out of it. With the exemption of Akuma’s brief cameo, pretty much virtually every character has their own memorable placement even though some may not have any direct connection to the establishment or progressions of the main story. It is very true to the source material and even influenced the Street Fighter Alpha branch of the series. I do have some complaints such as the lack of use of Sagat after the intro. I was hoping Ryu and Sagat would fight one more time, but that didn’t happen ... and I think the staff had the right reasons why they couldn’t make it happen. But I have trouble over looking it being a Sagat fan and all.

Well, the character design is just fantastic. Very true to the games and makes them recognizable to newbies and veterans of the series alike. The art isn’t too stereotypical by relying on big eyes too much with the exemption of its female cast, but other than that, everything is just perfect and you couldn’t ask for more. No wait, you could. You can’t have Street Fighter without some kung fu fighting, which is the heart and soul of this movie. The staff wanted a more realistic and technical approach but yet still raw, which translated flawlessly into this movie. The action was coordinated by Ishii Kazuyoshi, the founder of the K-1 kickboxing promotion, and former K-1 champion, Andy Hug. Hug, god bless his soul, passed away nearly 10 years ago of Leukemia after winning a tournament, and Ishii is now in prison for tax evasion. Anyway, in addition to the realistic approach to the pacing, movement and techniques, it still balances out with the inclusion of the signature moves such as hadoukens and sonic booms. It can also get a little bloody at times. It’s extreme and keeps you on the edge of your seat, and doesn’t get old. And to me, nothing can top the extremities and technicalities of the art and animation.

The dub and Japanese voice acting are equally excellent in their own rights. My favorite performances were both that of Vega or Balrog, which name you are free to refer to him as was definitely breath taking. Both actors captured his character of being a sadistic narcissist in a way that exceeded your expectations of what that character could sound like. And for that example alone, I’ll leave it at that.

The music between both versions is of course a different manner of discussion. I think the selected American music with the likes of KMFDM, Silverchair, Alice in Chains, and Korn and the Jpop in the Japanese version were appropriately used in relation to capturing its target audience. And after watching the English version for 12 years, listening to the Japanese version the first time, totally threw me off. The difference in the music selected in each version really captures your attention and makes you view things in different ways. To me, watching the English version of lets say the fight between Chun Li and Vega made me feel an intensity that I was watching a pay per view fight, while watching it in Japanese, I felt like I was watching a fight to the death and I was able to feel the struggle of Chun Li more as if she was going to lose, while with the American music, you had that notion she was going to come out on top and finish it with nothing to lose. I’m not saying one is better than the other, it’s just it all depends on how you react to things in my perspective.

And one last thing, the main theme Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Tsuyosa to sung by Shinohara Ryoko, the song that plays when Ken and Ryu fight Bison, I’ll admit is catchy and I love it a whole lot and is still considered a huge hit in Japan, but really felt out of place in contrast to the action presented. Even though I think both Japanese and English are great, due to the uses of differences of music, I can’t say one is better than the other and you’re going to have to watch it in both languages to have a full appreciation of this movie.

I say fans and non-fans alike of either the Street Fighter games or anime in general should and must give this a shot. This was one of the animes that came out in 1995 during a time way before anime was cool and is still way cooler than a lot of animes today. Luckily, this came out when I was getting into anime and being a fan of Street Fighter, I just had to get this. And for me, this was the right anime at the right time. I was 11 when I first watch this and many elements amazed and shocked me, and it may have with a lot of people. One being the Chun Li shower scene and all video game animes that followed had to have this kind of scene including Fatal Fury, Battle Arena Toshiden, and the piece of shit Tekken anime. It was something different to me and I didn’t take the scene offensive and thought of this was something acceptable to Japanese people which is yes and no true. Eventually I got around to showing this movie to my friends and we could watch this movie all night over and over. Especially Chun Li vs Vega which anyone who has seen this movie cannot deny that is certainly one of the best anime fights of all time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Apr 1, 2015

Luquillo

Mixed Feelings

Based on the popular video game of the same name by Capcom. This movie contains each of the characters up until Super Street Fighter II. Therefore, fans of particular characters will at least get the opportunity to see their favorite do something. Although in some cases they won't get to see very much.

For those whom may not know; I hate video game to anime films. Mainly because in terms of quality anime almost none of them have cracked the ceiling of mediocrity. Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie somewhat fits into the category. Fortunately, for a video game to anime translation the movie isn't too ... bad because it gives something to the fans, and it's many notches above awful titles such as Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, and Devil May Cry. Street Fighter delivers well animated choreographed fights between some of the most popular characters in the SF universe.

SFII contains some of the best hand to hand action scenes in fighting anime. The animation is very fluid during the action scenes. The characters battle with real martial art moves for the most part, and I enjoy the attention to detail. Some of the characters actually perform the regular moves from the game and most of them are very cool to see.

The artwork is great also with the characters perfectly resembling their video game counterparts. The art style fits perfectly for this type of anime. I also enjoyed the soundtrack with standout songs being Them Bones by Alice in Chains and Blind by Korn. However, several times I can remember the BGM was quite boring, and has caused me to come quite close to dosing off. In other cases, it brought out the best during some fight scenes. The voice actors and seiyuu are pretty good to me. I don't have any complaints except the dialogue can be very cheesy at times. Plus, there's a bit of profanity thrown out there which can be a bother for some.

I have to give credit to the production team for bringing SF to the TV screen for fans. Now, speaking from a fans point of view. I really did enjoy seeing some of my favorite characters going at it, but that's where the major problem begins. As in all video game to anime I have seen; non fans of the game will come away feeling as if they wasted their time. Outside of the main characters it is highly unlikely a non fan will learn anything about the remaining cast. Character development is very low to non existent because so many characters were just squeezed in. Characters appear only to deliver a couple of moves and disappear as quick as they came.

The plot is very boring and I was rarely sucked into the story. Thankfully the pacing makes the movie less painful. The fights are well dispersed, and most of them make the wait well worth it. In truth, the action is the only reason to bother with this.

Street Fighter II is something that I can only recommend to fans of the franchise. However, if you're not a fan of the franchise but love action anime in any form; then this may be for you as well. It's definitely better than all of the fighting game to anime I have seen, and better than its so called sequels or side stories, but it's not a great anime by any stretch of the imagination. Non fans of the franchise and action films should skip it without hesitation.

Pros: Very good fight scenes, very good animation and artwork, pacing, good for fans....

Cons: ...bad for non fans, boring plot, too many character appearances

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Dec 13, 2023

Bensonas

Not Recommended

Ok so I was staying in a hotel through work, it was late, I wanted an easy film to watch so I picked this that had been on my list for ages. Setting the music to one side, this film is garbage.

Firstly, I watched the English dub version, which has songs like Them Bones and Ultra on it. I'm a big fan of AiC and KMFDM so anything that is in that vein for 90s related I'm a sucker for. I won't be saying it's the best I've ever heard, it's just a collection of songs I like put other anime. The music certainly does ... suite the action, especially the Chun Li Vs Vaga. But I can't really give it more than a 7/10 and I feel that's generous.

Animation wise I'm a little confused. Its really terrible. The excuse of it being a 90s anime can't be used here. Comparing to Akira for example, which is from 88, it looks terrible. Ghost in a Shell came out a year after this movie and it looks like it's from a different time. Considering how much Capcom was riding high from the success of SF2, SSF2, SF2 Champ Edition, you would have thought the animation was top notch. It has no business being this bad. The characters, look like the characters yes, but over than likeness, it's really poor. 3/10

Story, well, nothing to report here. Its boring, unexciting and turns into a bit of a slog to get through after about 10 mins. The only thing that kept me interested was wondering which great tune will appear next. There is no rewatching potential here. It barely has the potential for it to be consumed once, let alone multiple times. Story I would give it also a 4/10

This gives us an average of 4/10. Not recommended, I shall say no more.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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