After the success of the Streetfighter II animated movie, the same minds came together for a television series which packs as much of a punch. Street Fighter II V is a 29 episode series which focuses on the younger years of the main characters of the franchise.
We meet Ryu (missing his red headband for some reason!) and Ken, both 17, having fun in America whilst Ryu is visiting. Full of themselves they hit up a local bar and get into a brawl with some Army guys, eventually leading to their sergeant, William Guile.
Guile gives Ryu an asskicking, and the two go home a little sore, only for Ken to arrive at the Army base the next day and challenge Guile.
After the two discuss their fights, they decide to hit the road and travel the world looking to fight as many skilled fighters as they can to improve their skills.
Meeting a young girl in Hong Kong named Chun Li, they travel and meet fighter after fighter whilst helping to prevent a group of criminals from harming her father, who is a high ranking law enforcer in Hong Kong. Before long both fighters attract the attention of Bison, the leader of Shadowlaw.
Meanwhile Ryu is practicing the ‘Hadou’ technique known as Hadou-ken, a type of mytical energy that he learned of whilst in Hong Kong. As he begins to gain some control over this power, he, Ken and Chun Li are kidnapped by Bison. From there they must escape with the help of Guile, who is hired by Ken’s father (a Billionaire) to rescue Ken.
This series of street fighter is packed with the same well animated and adrenaline charged action as the animated movie.
Just as similar is the fashion that the main characters bump into other characters from the video game franchise, with people like Balrog, Vega, Zangief, Fei Long, and Sagat being challenged by Ken or Ryu at some point, if not simply being a part of the story.
What is interesting is this seems to take place in the earlier years, with most of the characters being teenagers. This earlier setting makes it perfect as we learn of how Ryu & Ken develop their Hadouken, which is their signature move in the original video games.
This all sets up for some cool animated action as the projectile energy blasts and fantastical movements aren’t the main star of the fight scenes, at least not until the fight with Bison at the very end of the series.
Instead we get to see some traditional moves and stances animated into the fights quite nicely. With each fighter having thei own unique style and movements, it definitely has some decent martial arts cred in my book.
Beyond the action is an entertaining story unfolding, as we meet more and more characters and our heroes get caught up in some tough situations. Each episode leaves you waiting for the next!
Overall a decent series with some cool animated action, definitely a good one for Street Fighter fans! If you do watch it, keep an eye out for Akuma – he is hidden in just about every episode!
On DVD –
Region 1 (US & Canada)
Street Fighter II V: The Collection
