Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
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| Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie | |
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| Directed by | Gisaburo Sugii |
| Produced by | itsuhisa Hida Akio Sakai Takeshi Sekiguchi Megumi Sugiyama Kenzo Tsujimoto |
| Written by | Kenichi Imai Gisaburo Sugii |
| Starring | Kojiro Shimizu Kenji Haga Miki Fujitani Masane Tsukayama Masakatsu Funaki Ginzo Matsuo Shozo Iizuka Yoko Sasaki Daisuke Gōri Yukimasa Kishino Unshou Ishizuka Tetsuo Kanao Kaneto Shiozawa Shigezō Sasaoka Jouji Nakata Hiromi Tsuru Hideyo Amamoto Takeshi Kusaka |
| Music by | Tetsuya Komuro Yuji Toriyama |
| Distributed by | Columbia TriStar |
| Release date(s) | 1994 |
| Running time | 90 min. |
| Language | Japanese |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (Japanese title: ストリートファイターⅡ ザ・ムービー Street Fighter II: The Movie) is an animated movie directed by Gisaburo Sugii and features the characters from the Street Fighter II series such as the main character Ryu, along with several others such as Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, and the villain boss M. Bison (Vega in Japan) with his many subordinates. The movie, originally in Japanese, has been dubbed and subbed into a variety of different languages today by both fans and major anime production companies.
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[edit] English Cut Versions
Two versions of this movie were released direct-to-VHS in 1995: a tamer, PG-13 version and an unrated version which contains, among other things, a slightly more revealing shower scene featuring Chun-Li that is still censored from the original Japanese version. In addition, a slightly different version of this movie appears on both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the Street Fighter: The Anniversary Collection as a bonus feature accessible from Hyper Street Fighter II's option menu. It is more censored than the PG-13 version in terms of language, however, and contains some other minor edits not related to mature or vulgar content; it is considered by fans to be edited to the point of incoherence. All English VHS releases and the version in Street Fighter: The Anniversary Collection was pan&scan while the R1 DVD was non-anamorphic widescreen. These localized English versions replaced the original Japanese soundtrack consisting of J-Pop, orchestral, and Jazz with an American grunge and metal soundtrack (feat. Korn, KMFDM, and Alice in Chains), leading to mixed opinions on the localization. This movie is not to be confused with the live-action Street Fighter movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme, and is usually considered a much better adaptation by fans of the series. In addition, it is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the later produced anime series Street Fighter II V.
[edit] Uncut, Uncensored, Unleashed DVD
An Uncut, Uncensored, Unleashed DVD of the movie was released on July 18, 2006 and addresses the complaints made about the censored English versions of the movie in 1995. Unlike the previous unrated version released in the US which was still censored, this release is uncut from the original Japanese version and for the first time ever (for non-Japanese releases of this movie), it contains the original Japanese soundtrack in addition to the American soundtrack (both featuring a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix). It is a double-sided DVD, with one side containing the English dub with the American soundtrack and the other side containing the original Japanese dub with the original Japanese soundtrack with optional English subtitles. The video on the English and Japanese sides differ, though, with the Japanese side sporting what appears to be a new, higher quality transfer from the original Japanese master. Like the original Japanese release, the movie is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. Also, the addition of the infamous Chun Li shower scene makes the Japanese cut of the film longer by two minutes.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main
As voiced by the English cast:
- Ryu, voiced by Skip Stellrecht (as Hank Smith)
- Ken, voiced by Eddie Frierson (as Ted Richards)
- Chun-Li, voiced by Lia Sargent (as Mary Briscoe)
- Guile, voiced by Kirk Thornton (as Donald Lee)
- M. Bison, voiced by Tom Wyner (as Phil Matthews)
[edit] Secondary
As voiced by the English cast:
- Sagat, voiced by Peter Spellos (as David Conrad)
- Vega, voiced by Richard Cansino (as Steve Davis)
- Balrog, voiced by Joe Romersa (as Joe Michaels)
- E. Honda, voiced by Richard Epcar (as Patrick Gilbert)
- Dhalsim, voiced by Don Carey
- Cammy, voiced by Debbie Rogers (as S. J. Charvin)
- Fei Long, voiced by Philip Williams (as Phil Williams)
- Dee Jay, voiced by Beau Billingslea (as John Hammond)
- T. Hawk, voiced by Steve Blum (as Richard Cardona)
- Blanka, voiced by Tom Carlton
- Zangief, voiced by William Johnson
[edit] Plot
The movie begins with the main protagonist Ryu facing off against Muay Thai champion Sagat. With the thunder roaring in the background, the two fight an epic duel. However, despite his renowned strength and abilities, World Warrior Champion Sagat finds himself losing the battle. Channelling his chi, he unleashes his built-up internal energy at his challenger. Ryu evades the blow, and counter-attacks by unleashing his chi in the form of a Shouryuken, inflicting a severe wound on Sagat's chest, a wound that later becomes Sagat's trademark scar. Enraged, Sagat charges towards Ryu, determined not to lose. Ryu, seeking his inner calm, gathers his internal energy and unleashes it in the form of a Hadoken. The battle is over. However, unknown to the combatants, the fight was being recorded and analyzed by a monitor cyborg.
Several years later, and Ryu, the legendary "Wandering Warrior" now travels the Asian continent in search of battle. On the other side of the world, Ken, Ryu's old training partner, friend, and rival, finds himself dissatisfied with the lack of challenge. Eagerly desiring a rematch with Ryu, he reminisces over his childhood experiences. However, he finds himself defeated and abducted by a mysterious person going by the name of M. Bison after Bison finds similarities in the fighting abilities of Ken and Ryu. Rumours of an underground terrorist organization named Shadowlaw that has unleashed several attacks on worldwide governments attracts the interest of Interpol.
Chun-Li, an Interpol agent who possesses a personal link to Shadowlaw leader Bison, finds that Shadowlaw has been abducting Street Fighters around the world to use as assassins. Seeking the help of Guile, she enlists his help in locating Ryu. While gathering information on Ryu's known whereabouts, they also warn other Street Fighters, such as Dee Jay, to look out for Monitor Cyborgs in their general vicinity (Chun-Li even demonstates it to Dee Jay at the expense of a cyborg in disguise by kicking its head off). This attracts Bison's attention, and he subsequently dispatches Vega to New York to ambush Chun-Li. Both Vega and Chun-Li fight it out in her apartment with Chun-Li as the victor via Lightning Kick, but at a heavy cost. By the time Guile had caught up to her, she was already at the point of passing out due to the loss of blood from Vega's attacks. Due to the change in circumstances, Guile continues the investigation in place of Chun-Li, vowing revenge for what Bison did to the both of them. After receiving word of Ken's whereabouts, he heads over to Seattle, only to find that he's too late; Ken had already been captured. With no other choice, Guile heads to Southeast Asia in the hopes of getting to Ryu before Bison does. Out in Southeast Asia, Guile finds Ryu and warns him of the plot and the possibility that Ken may have been brainwashed. At that point, Ken steps out. Controlled by the psychic powers of Bison, Ken fights with an inhuman rage. Ryu, unwilling to hurt his friend, slowly loses the battle. Memories of the past wreak havoc on Ken's mind, and finally, through flashbacks of his childhood past with Ryu, Ken succeeds in breaking the psychic control. Aiding Ryu, the pair succeed in defeating Bison.
To make things better, Chun-Li awakens in the hospital right in front of Guile's eyes (Guile and Balrog were rescued by Honda), and Ryu and Ken say goodbye once more after eating at a resturaunt.
Ryu begins his journey anew. That is, until he sees a huge truck heading right for him with Bison in the driver's seat. The movie ends with Ryu preparing for a second battle with Bison.
[edit] Music
Music featured in the movie includes (American version):
1.Korn - "Blind"
2.Alice In Chains - "Them Bones"
3.Silverchair - "Israel's Son"
4.In The Nursery - "Hallucinations" (Dream World Mix)
5.Black/Note - "Evil Dancer"
6.KMFDM - "Ultra"
7.Smokin Suckaz Wit Logic - "Cuz I'm Like Dat"
8.Intermix - "Mantra"
Japanese version:
1. Alpha-Lyla - "Break!"
2. Big Life - "Cry"
3. Alpha-Lyla - "Kizu Tsuki Nagara Atsuku Nare"
4. Ryoko Shinohara - "Itoshisa To Setsunasa To Kokoro Tsuyosato"
5. Ryoko Shinohara - "Good Luck"
[edit] Trivia
- This movie prompted Capcom to create the Street Fighter Alpha series and flesh out the backstory of many of the characters. Many elements from this movie that ended up in the games include:
- A thicker, more muscular look for Bison, a contrast from the slender version seen in the Street Fighter II series.
- Ryu and Ken teaming up against Bison in a Dramatic Battle in Street Fighter Alpha.
- The transport jet that Bison used in the movie is seen in many endings in the Alpha series. It is also seen in Bison's stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2.
- The grass field where Ryu fights Sagat at the beginning of the movie is a stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2, complete with lightning in the background.
- Ryu's red headband comes from Ken as a gift.
- M. Bison's mad scientist servant, Senoh makes a cameo appearance in Bison's ending in Street Fighter Alpha 2.
- In fact, Bison's ending in Alpha 2 is meant to parallel Bison's capture and subsequent brainwashing of Ken in the film, but with Ryu in his place.
- Before the first round, Cammy will remove a red cloak similar to the one in the movie.
- Akuma makes a cameo appearance in the movie, sitting against a wall in Calcutta.
- In English version, Chun-Li shows an article to Guile written by The New York Times.
- The fight sequence between Chun-Li and Vega was hailed by anime critics and fans as one of the best action sequences ever in a Japanese animated movie.[citation needed]
- The second scene of the movie takes place in London, England, but in the English version, British ministers and politicians speak with American accents. Cammy who is a British assassin, also speaks with an American accent.
- During the English credits, Cammy's name was misspelled as "Cammie."
- The action sequences had a very realistic portrayal in comparison to other Street Fighter anime, and action anime in general, due to the assistance of K-1 founder and professional fighter, Kazuyoshi Ishii and Andy Hug.
- The cover of the American version of the DVD shows Ryu in a jump kick over Vega, Dee Jay and Zangief. Ironically, they were three of the main villains in the live action movie.
