Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as Street Fighter II Movie (ストリートファイター II MOVIE Sutorīto Faitā Tsū Mūbī) in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 anime film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting game written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 6, 1994, was released theatrically in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, and was adapted into English in dubbed and subtitled format by Animaze for Manga Entertainment. It was also distributed by 20th Century Fox in other countries. 
The film was a critical and commercial success. Group TAC later produced another loose adaptation of the Street Fighter II game, the anime series Street Fighter II V. Though unrelated to the film, a handful of Animaze voice actors reprised their roles for the series' English dub.
== Plot ==
In the prologue, a fight between Japanese martial artist Ryu and Muay Thai champion Sagat rages until Ryu severely scars Sagat across the chest with a Shoryuken. Sagat vows revenge against Ryu.
Years later, following the assassination of a Justice Minister by Cammy, a hypnotized MI6 Agent, Interpol agent Chun-Li suggests that they join forces with the United States Military to destroy the enigmatic crime syndicate known as Shadowlaw. Captain Guile, who is out for revenge against Shadowlaw's leader, M. Bison, for the death of his best friend, refuses, but eventually relents when Chun-Li tells him that Bison killed her father years ago and she herself wants revenge, but knows that her duty comes first. At the Shadowlaw base, Bison, along with his bodyguards Balrog, Vega, and Sagat, orders a worldwide manhunt for Ryu, determined to induct him into his organization, and sends out hundreds of monitor cyborgs to find more valuable martial artists for their cause. However, Ryu, who is traveling the world to seek out worthy challengers, such as Fei-Long, Dhalsim, and E. Honda, remains undetected due to suppressing his Ki.
Meanwhile, Ryu's American best friend and fighting rival, Ken Masters, has settled down with his girlfriend, Eliza, but still yearns for a good challenge and desires a rematch with Ryu. During a tussle with T. Hawk, who had sought out Ken to challenge him, Ken is seen by a monitor cyborg and the footage of the fight is sent to the Shadowlaw base. Bison sees the footage and learns of Ken's history with Ryu, and decides to hunt him down and hypnotize him in Ryu's stead. Along the way, Bison sees Chun-Li and Guile warning Dee Jay about the monitor cyborgs and destroying one in the process, and subsequently sends Vega to New York to kill Chun-Li. Vega ambushes Chun-Li in her apartment, but after a bloody fight, Chun-Li knocks Vega through the wall of the building and he falls to his death, yet she is badly wounded and falls into a coma. Guile arrives and rushes her to the hospital. He also learns of Ryu and Ken from Interpol, and after learning that Bison has captured Ken, Guile rushes to Thailand to warn Ryu, who is training in the mountains with E. Honda.
Bison, however, follows Guile and confronts them. He sets the hypnotized Ken on Ryu, who initially refuses to fight back. Honda battles Balrog while Guile faces Bison and is severely beaten, though Bison spares his life as a final insult. As Ryu prepares to retaliate against Ken, memories of their past wreak havoc on Ken's mind and he manages to break free of Bison's mind control. The enraged Bison unleashes his Psycho Power upon Ken and casts him afar before turning his attention to Ryu, who fights Bison with very little success. Ken uses his master's Ki teachings to mend his body and joins the fight. With their combined forces, Ryu and Ken eventually pummel Bison into submission and hurl a joint Hadouken at him, apparently destroying him. Honda defeats Balrog and rescues both Guile and Balrog.
The United States Military locate and destroy Bison's base. Chun-Li makes a full recovery and reunites with Guile in the hospital, informing him that their mission was a success. Elsewhere, Ryu and Ken part ways once again and Ryu begins his journey anew. However, he is ambushed from behind by a huge truck, with the driver revealed to be Bison, who survived the battle. The film closes as Ryu leaps towards the truck to fight Bison again.
A post-credits message promotes a Japan Spring 1995 release for the Street Fighter live-action film, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and the late Raul Julia.
== Voice cast ==
; Main
Character 	Japanese VA 	English VA
Ryu 	Kojiro Shimizu 	Skip Stellrecht (Hank Smith)
Ken 	Kenji Haga 	Eddie Frierson (Ted Richards)
Chun-Li 	Miki Fujitani 	Lia Sargent (Mary Briscoe)
Guile 	Masane Tsukayama	Kirk Thornton (Donald Lee)
M. Bison (Vega in Japan)	Takeshi Kusaka 	Tom Wyner (Phil Matthews)
; Secondary
Character 	Japanese VA 	English VA
Sagat 	Shigezo Sasaoka 	Peter Spellos (David Conrad)
Vega (Balrog in Japan) 	Kaneto Shiozawa 	Richard Cansino (Steve Davis)
Balrog (M. Bison in Japan)	Jōji Nakata 	Joe Romersa (Joe Michaels)
E. Honda 	Daisuke Gōri 	Richard Epcar (Patrick Gilbert)
Dhalsim 	Yukimasa Kishino	Michael Sorich (Don Carey)
Cammy 	Yōko Sasaki 	Debra Rogers (S. J. Charvin)
Fei Long 	Masakatsu Funaki	Bryan Cranston[2] (Phil Williams)
Dee Jay 	Ginzō Matsuo 	Beau Billingslea (John Hammond)
T. Hawk 	Shōzō Iizuka 	Steve Blum (Richard Cardona)
Blanka 	Unshō Ishizuka 	Kevin Seymour (Tom Carlton)
Zangief 	Tetsuo Kaneo 	Michael Sorich (William Johnson)
Eliza 	Hiromi Tsuru 	Wanda Nowick (Toni Burke)
Ryu and Ken's Sensei[a] 	Hideyo Amamoto 	Michael Forest (George Celik)
Senoh 	Chikao Ōtsuka 	Milton James (Murry Williams)
== Production ==
The movie was formally announced by Capcom Japan at a Street Fighter II Turbo tournament held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan on August 19, 1993.[3]Capcom produced the film on a budget of $6 million.[1] The fight sequences of the film were choreographed by K-1 founder Kazuyoshi Ishii and professional fighter Andy Hug.
== English versions ==
=== 1995 home video version ===
Two English dubbed versions were released directly to VHS and Laserdisc in 1995 by SMV Enterprises in North America: a tamer PG-13 version, and an unrated cut which contains, among other things, a slightly more revealing shower scene featuring Chun-Li that is still censored from the original Japanese version. The movie was released in Australia[citation needed] and the United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment UK under license from Capcom. Manga's UK release is censored in a similar way to the US version, yet profanity is retained and is rated 15 by the BBFC. Manga's Australian release is entirely uncut and is rated M by the ACB. In addition, a slightly different version of the movie appears in both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection as a bonus feature accessible from Hyper Street Fighter II's Gallery Mode. It is more censored than the PG-13 version in terms of language, and contains some other minor edits not related to mature or vulgar content. The American VHS releases and the version in the North American Street Fighter Anniversary Collection were pan and scan while the Region 1 DVD has non-anamorphic widescreen. The European VHS version is non-anamorphic widescreen. These localized English versions replaced the original Japanese soundtrack in favor of licensed, popular alternative, Western soundtracks from KMFDM, Korn, Alice in Chains, Silverchair, and other bands, as well an instrumental score.
=== 2006 DVD version ===
An Uncut, Uncensored, Unleashed DVD version of the movie was released in North America on July 18, 2006, and addresses the complaints made about the censored English versions of the film 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 (for non-Japanese releases of the movie), contains the original Japanese soundtrack in addition to the English 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 English soundtrack and the other side containing the original Japanese voices 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 and the UK release, the movie is presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. The addition of Chun-Li's shower scene and a longer credit roll also makes the Japanese cut of the film longer by three minutes. The dubbed US and UK versions are still slightly cut.[4] The English dubbed version has two words containing "fuck" from it, one with the scene with Dee Jay and the scene with Bison, Guile, E. Honda, Ryu, and Ken.
Prior to the 2016 Discotek release, the Australian release by Manga & Madman Entertainment was the only version of the movie to date on either DVD or Blu-ray that is completely uncut outside Japan. At the time Madman were not satisfied with the quality of any of the video masters available and instead created their own, using a transfer sourced from the original Japanese LaserDisc and applying both IVTC and DNR. The English dub on the disc is the original dub recorded by Manga Entertainment and Animaze, free from any editing of profanity and both English and Japanese dubs have been remixed into 5.1 audio. Easter eggs on the DVD contain three Japanese trailers for the movie as well as making available a version of the movie with the Japanese credits. The aspect ratio of the Australian release is an anamorphic 1.77:1.[5]
=== Netflix ===
As part of their 2008 deal with Starz Entertainment, Netflix made the film available for streaming. As of 2015, it is no longer available.[6]
=== Street Fighter Anniversary Collector's box ===
A Blu-ray release was included with the Street Fighter Anniversary Collector's box set, which was released on September 18, 2012.[7] However, the movie is presented in standard definition and contains no nudity.[8]
=== 2013 Kaze release ===
The film was released with a fresh 16:9 1080p transfer on Blu-ray and as a DVD/Blu combo set in 2013 by Kaze in France[9] with the standalone Blu-ray being distributed in the United Kingdom by Manga UK.[10] The release uses stereo audio tracks of the original Japanese track, a French one, and a heavily censored English dub based on the PG-13 cut.[11] (thus lacking the 5.1 mixes included with the 2006 release) but features the full uncut video including the Chun-Li shower scene intact. It has optional English and French subtitles and the aspect ratio is 1.85:1.[12]
=== 2016 Discotek release ===
In October 2016, Discotek released a new 16:9 1080p transfer on Blu-ray with fully uncut footage and various English and Japanese audio tracks, including an unrated English dub. It has optional newly translated English subtitles and the aspect ratio is 1.85:1.[13] An anamorphic DVD with similar features was also released by Discotek.
== Soundtrack ==
=== Japanese version ===
There were two CDs released in Japan of the soundtrack.
First CD (release date 8/01/1994):
# Yuji Toriyama – Fighting Street
# Yuji Toriyama – "Plot"
# Big Life – "Cry"
# Yuji Toriyama – "Enter VEGA"
# Ryoko Shinohara w Tetsuya Komuro – "Itoshisa To Setsunasa To Kokoro Tsuyosato"
# Yuji Toriyama – "Battle-Blanka & Zangief"
# Alpha-Lyla – "Break!"
# Yuji Toriyama – "Mission"
# Alpha-Lyla – "Kitsusuki Nagara Atsukunare"
# Yuji Toriyama – "Assassination"
# Yuji Toriyama – "Farewell – Ryu & Ken"
# Ryoko Shinohara w Tetsuya Komuro – "GooD LucK"
# Syun Nishigaki – "A Riddle/Gouki Theme" (bonus track)
Second CD (Release date 11/21/1994):
The entire second CD consisted of the musical score pieces by Tetsuya Komuro that did not appear on the first CD.
# "Opening Fight - Ryu vs. Sagat"
# "Ryu's Training"
# "Ryu and Ken's Friendship"
# "Fei Long and Ryu's Battle"
# "Fei Long and Ryu's Quiet Friendship"
# "Honda and Dhalsim's Battle"
# "Chun Li"
# "Dee Jay"
# "Balrog's Eyes"
# "Balrog and Chun Li's Battle"
# "Vega Psycho Power"
# "Possessed Ken"
# "Ryu and Ken (Wake Up, Ken!)"
# "Life and Death Struggle"
# "Heated Friendship"
# "Chun Li's Sad News"
# Ryoko Shinohara w Tetsuya Komuro – "Itoshisa To Setsunasa To Kokoro Tsuyosa To (Q Sound Mixed Version)"
Both CDs were released in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
=== English version ===
The alternative/grunge-oriented musical score for the English version was composed by Cory Lerios and John D'Andrea. Songs featured in the movie include:
# Korn – "Blind"
# Alice in Chains – "Them Bones"
# Silverchair – "Israel's Son"
# In the Nursery – "Hallucinations" (Dream World Mix)
# Black/Note – "Evil Dancer"
# KMFDM – "Ultra"
# Smokin' Suckaz wit Logic – "Cuz I'm Like Dat"
# Intermix – "Mantra"
== Reception ==
At the Japanese box office, the film grossed more than $16 million, becoming one of 1994's top five highest-grossing films in Japan.[1] Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to $27 million in 2017.
In the United States, the home video release sold close to 500,000 copies of two versions, unrated and PG-13.[14] One of these versions sold 200,000 copies in the United States.[15]
== Related media ==
=== Video game ===
Capcom produced a video game adaptation of the film simply titled Street Fighter II MOVIE. The game was released exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation on December 15, 1995, and the Sega Saturn on March 15, 1996. Despite the similar title, it is unrelated to the arcade game Street Fighter: The Movie, nor with the home console game of the same name, both based on the live-action film. Although unreleased in America, the game was shown at the ‹Thetemplate Vgy is being considered for deletion.› 1995 Electronic Entertainment Expo under the title of Street Fighter II: The Interactive Movie. A version for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was also announced,[16] but never released.
The player takes control of a new type of cyborg that has been secretly developed by Shadaloo. The objective of the game is to develop the Cyborg's abilities by analyzing the fighting techniques of martial artists around the world in order to gain enough strength to challenge Ryu in combat. The gameplay consists of watching FMV clips from the actual movie itself (as well as scenes made specifically for the game itself) and analyzing them using the "search" command. For example, if the scene is shown which involves a character performing a kick technique, then the cyborg's kick abilities will increase by pointing and clicking on the character's kicks. On each stage, the player has a limited amount of time to analyze their surrounding as much as possible in order to gather the most data.
While the majority of the game is strictly a life simulation, the final battle between the Cyborg and Ryu is a one-on-one fighting segment that features the same game system as Super Street Fighter II Turbo (including the presence of the Super Combo gauge). All of the Cyborg's acquired abilities can be put to use in battle. The Cyborg's special moves are the same ones used by Ken in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, including his Shōryū Reppa Super Combo.
The player can keep track of their Cyborg's development via a save file or through a passcode and test their Cyborg's current abilities against a virtual hologram of Ryu. This practice segments can also be played with a second player. The game also includes a database featuring information on the characters from the film.
=== Manga ===
A manga adaptation of the film was authored by Takayuki Sakai and serialized in the monthly CoroCoro Comic in 1994, later republished in a single tankōboncollected edition. An English adaptation of this manga was published by Viz Communications as a six-issue comic book, released monthly from August 1995 to February 1996.
== Legacy ==
The movie served as the basis for Street Fighter Alpha. Many elements and character designs were integrated into future games of the series (the Street Fighter Alpha series in particular). The film's final battle is loosely adapted into Ryu's story in Street Fighter Alpha 3, where Ryu's sub-boss is a brainwashed Ken, whom he must defeat before facing Bison.
The film's success also led to the production of a television series, Street Fighter II V, and another animated film, Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation. While neither are set in the same continuity as the film, the Animaze English dubs featured a handful of actors reprising their roles from the film.
The movie's positive reception also led to the production of several anime adaptations of different fighting video game series, such as Tekken: The Motion Picture, Battle Arena Toshinden, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge and Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, though none reached the critical success of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.
==References==