I B Anime based on popular fighting games have the problem of trying to string a series of fights into a coherent plot. Gisaburo Sugii, the director of gloriously beautiful, yet extremely slow-moving features like Night On The Galactic Railroad (1985), might not seem the obvious choice for the anime of CAPCOM's hit game, but his trademark has always been his ability to get inside his material and get the best out of it, whatever the genre. Setting up his scenario and characters without wasting a second, he plays to their strengths in a string of stunningly tense and atmospheric fights choreographed by live-action fight master Shinichi Shoji, exploiting to the full the fact that his actors would bruise and bleed only when necessary for the script. The fight between fan favourite Chun Li and dangerous pretty-boy Balrog is a masterpiece of high-tension editing worthy of Alfred Hitchcock, so well cut that only when it's over do you realize how little actual violence you saw. A TV series, live action film, and another video release followed, but none of them matched up to Sugii's object lesson in how to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Cesar Rodriguez Let me start off by saying that I have never enjoyed anime, ever since i was a kid I always thought that it was pretty lame. However, being a huge fan of the Street Fighter series I was aware of this film but I avoided it assuming it would be something along the lines of Pokemon or something to that respect, or worse yet being similar to the terrible live action film of the same title. I finally was able to watch this film with the recent release of the Street Fighter Anniversary, being a fan i picked up a copy of course and decided to finally give the film a chance, wow I cant believe I put this film off for so long.All 16 characters from the game are in the film, however the center stage is clearly on Ryu and Ken, leaving some characters to have little more than cameos which is a bit disappointing for Cammy, who is one of my favorite characters but in the film had very little screen time, sure seeing her take out several body guards and then assassinating a political figure was cool, but i was hoping for more. The film follows Ryu who is a traveling martial artist seeking other worthy fighters and he does get into many fights throughout the film, and his old friend Ken who is a wealthy man who trained with Ryu in Japan when they were younger, however it seems that money bores him and is eagerly awaiting Ryu's arrival. Chun Li and Guile fans would probably be very happy as well since they have very prominent roles in the film as well, however the hero's of the film would be nothing with out a villain. Bison is recruiting powerful fighters around the world for his own evil goals, and currently he has his eye on Ryu and Ken.Of course the plot isn't what the fans want to see, it was almost nonexistent in the games, no sir, its the fights! There are plenty and they all pack a punch(pun intended), the film begins with a fight between Ryu and Sagat done very stylishly in a grass field, it looks very low lit at first but its the roaring lightning that suddenly flashes and lights up the fight, it truly has to be seen. Apparently one of the most acclaimed fights in the film is the Chun Li vs Vega fight, which is absolutely brilliant. A helpless Chun Li in her PJ's is attacked in her apartment by the psychotic Vega, this fight is easily the bloodiest though it never gets to extreme, the finale of the fight is just fantastic and very satisfying. The last twenty or so minutes of the film is just non stop action, Ryu vs Ken then Ryu AND Ken vs Bison, i wont go into details to avoid spoiling anything but the film couldn't have ended any better. The best part is, thats not all, there are still about half a dozen more fights in the film, and I have to say i really enjoyed the flashback scenes showing Ryu and Kens training together that really adds more depth to their friendship.Visually the film is a wonder to behold, the animation is detailed and is very smooth and crisp, clearly a lot of time went into this. The film is also notorious for having the fight scenes professionally choreographed to give them a realistic feel and it shows since every movement really feels like the characters do put their entire bodies into it, there really is a sense of movement and power behind ever punch. The soundtrack is a mixed bag, when it is actual scored music it is great full of guitars and other instruments, i particularly like the recurring theme around the flashbacks, although i found that mixing in popular(at the time) grunge tracks just awful, they don't fit the tone of the film and are what keep the film having a timeless feel. Overall, if you are a fan of the game you will love this film, its very true to the source material and really adds layers to many of the characters, and its cool just to see your favorite fighters in animated form talking and doing their trademark moves in a different medium, this is a must see!

jaywolfenstien . . . for an anime based on a video game (a fighting game, no less.) So how does this anime succeed in sticking 16 (technically 17) characters into a single feature where its live action counterpart failed? Simple: most characters are no more than a backdrop participating in a fight in whatever location the film needs them in.This gives the main characters (mostly Ryu) more room for more development and lengthier, flashier fights. The character exploration of Ryu and Ken, their history together, proved a nice touch, and Capcom wisely choose not to pursue it too much; afterall, this anime is about Street Fights not Street Dramas. I've always liked Ryu and Ken's rivalry which does not interfere with their friendship that Capcom established, especially the link via Ryu's headband; the two won't hold back when battling one another, but at the same time there's a line neither will cross.Which brings me to the villain, M. Bison (or Vega, depending on where you live), and his posse. Somehow I liked Bison better in the original incarnation of Street Fighter 2 where he was just a guy (with pupils) before they started getting carried away with his 'Psycho Power' and, in the Zero series, the 'Psycho drive' (whee!). It's not enough to have a mean guy as the villain, nope, we absolutely must have the son of Satan. No matter how hard I try to suspend my disbelief, I'll always see Bison as a scrawny guy in a red suit (with pupils) who happens to have a few cool abilities . . . oh yeah, and Akuma can kick the crap out of him any day of the week.The arcade Street Fighter 2 and its numerous variants never really gives much glimpse into the character's personalities, and as a result we have to rely on their back stories (for those who care enough to read into them) and the snippets of between-bout dialogue for such traits. With that in mind, all of the characters are portrayed accurately (surprise surprise). Come to think of it, how did the live action film manage to screw them up when 95% of the personality is left up for interpretation of the gamer? I loved the fights in this anime, the fluid and flawless animation. It was actually one of the first anime's that I ever caught a glimpse of, and then years later revisited to find the battles still hold up against some of the more recent animations I've seen. The animators paid careful attention to weight, balance, centers of gravity, and momentum which I greatly appreciated. I've seen one too many animations with battles involving characters anchored to their place with arms and legs mechanically jabbing at their opponent in alternation with one another. Not to mention the camera follows some creative angles in narrating – in particular, one sequence follows Vega (Balrog) as Chun Li nearly knocks him to the ground, and it follows him as he straightens back up to come face to face with her.Though I'm not particularly a fan of anime, I did like and appreciate Capcom's efforts in Street Fighter 2: the animated movie. I feel anime definitely suits fighting games that originate from Japan (surprise, surprise), and I'm dismayed that none of the SNK fighting-game based animes (Art of Fighting, Samurai Showodown, Fatal Fury) really compare. Then again, Street Fighter was the leader, so I guess it's only appropriate that its anime would rank above its SNK competition.

knowledge Street fighter the animated movie is a well animated fight fest that serves as a superior companion piece to the revolutionary fighting game on which this anime is based .Its silly plot is full of holes and would make little sense to a non street fighter fan but not to worry, the story is merely an excuse for street fighter characters to dragon punch and shin kick the hell out of each other, and its in this department that the film delivers on a huge scale.The battles that these characters have are truly incredible to watch! Well thought out, well animated and just astounding to gawk at, they work just as well as the best live action fight sequences out there. The two stand out fights are a masterfully executed battle between Chun li and Vega that will make your jaw drop and the final climatic battle of the film which wraps everything up in an adrenalin pumping fashion .The animated fighting on display here more than makes up for the films faults like its annoyingly slow establishing shots that seem to go on forever.Street fighter the animated movie is first-rate animated action that does its source material justice and allows you to contemplate on how good that garbage live action version could have been.Knowledge gives this : 4 out of 5 (It makes me want to throw fireballs baby!)