Street Fighter Alpha (1999) (V) Street Fighter Zero (original title)

Directors:

Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Joe Romersa

Writers:

Joe Romersa (English version)
Kirk Thornton (English version)
(more)

Release Date:

30 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A dark power threatens to consume famed fighter Ryu, who is visited by a long-lost little brother. Meanwhile, a mad scientist wishes to harness this power for himself.

Plot Keywords:

Supernatural Power | Kung Fu | 1990s | Villain | Chop Socky

Cast

Kane Kosugi	...	Ryû (voice)
Kazuya Ichijô	...	Ken Masters (voice)
Yumi Tôma	...	Chun-Li (voice)
Tomomichi Nishimura	...	Gouki (voice)
Ai Orikasa	...	Rose (voice)
Chiaki Ôsawa	...	Sakura Kasugano (voice)
Reiko Kiuchi	...	Shun (voice)
Bin Shimada	...	Wallace (voice)
Miki Nagasawa	...	Kei Chitose (voice)
Ken Yamaguchi	...	Gôken (voice)
Daiki Nakamura	...	Professor Sadler (voice)
Hisao Egawa	...	Rosanov (voice)
Kazuyuki Ishikawa	...	Balrog Fabio La Cerda / Dan Hibiki (voice)
Hidenari Ugaki	...	Zangief (voice)
Sadao Fuda	...	Buddhist Priest (voice)
Kokoro Shindô	...	Kid (voice)
Katsuhiro Harasawa	...	Rolento Schuberg / Man (voice)
Ryûzaburô Ôtomo	...	Birdie (voice)
Wataru Takagi	...	Adon (voice)
Masao Fuda	...	Sodom Shogun (voice)
Kumiko Yokohira	...	Boy (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mathew Austin	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Steve Blum	...	Ken Masters (voice) (as David Lucas)
Keith Burgess	...	Akuma (voice)
Richard Cansino	...	Vega (voice: English version) (as Richard Hayworth)
Casey Hart	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
R. Martin Klein	...	Adon / Street Thug (voice: English version) (as Bob Marx)
William Knight	...	Monk (voice: English version) (as William Frederick)
Lex Lang	...	Guard (voice: English version)
Ramona Lee	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Peter Lurie	...	Professor Sadler (voice: English version) (as Chuck Farley)
Sherry Lynn	...	Kei Chitosi (voice: English version) (as Katie Ashley)
Mona Marshall	...	Shun (voice: English version)
Michael McCarty	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Michael Devon)
Matthew Mercer	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Masamune Miller)
Kim Nguyen	...	Rose (voice: English version)
Bob Papenbrook	...	Dan Hibiki / Street Thug (voice: English version) (as John Smallberries)
Simon Prescott	...	Gouken (voice: English version) (as Simon Isaacson)
Joe Romersa	...	Birdy / Zangief (voice: English version)
Michelle Ruff	...	Sakura Kasugano (voice: English version) (as Georgette Rose)
Adam Sadler	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Lia Sargent	...	Chun-Lei (voice)
Adam Sholder	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Brianne Siddall	...	Little Boy (voice: English version) (as Ian Hawk)
Skip Stellrecht	...	Ryu (voice: English version) (as Henry Douglas Grey)
Dan Woren	...	Bar Thug (voice: English version) (as Jackson Daniels)
Tom Wyner	...	Rosanof / Street Thug (voice) (as Abe Lasser)

Directed by
Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Joe Romersa		(English version)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Joe Romersa		English version
Kirk Thornton		English version
Reiko Yoshida		script

Produced by
Marvin Gleicher	....	executive producer
Haruyo Kanesaku	....	producer
Yutaka Maseba	....	producer
Kaoru Mfaume	....	producer
Yoshiki Okamoto	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Kazushi Torigoe		(as Kazushi Torigoshi)

Art Department
Daichan	....	art

Sound Department
Les Claypool III	....	additional sound effects and final mix: English version
Michael McCarty	....	digital sound tracking: English version

Special Effects by
Kaoru Tanifuji	....	special effects

Animation Department
Yoshihiko Umakoshi	....	animation director

Editorial Department
C.P. Booth	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Matt Perrier	....	script advisor

Also Known As:

"Street Fighter Zero" - Japan (original title)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-18

Goofs:

Continuity: Ryu's eyes change from light gray to brown and back in several scenes.

Quotes:

Gouki:A true warrior enters the battle with all his powers at the ready.

Movie Connections:

Version of Street Fighter (1994)

A step backwards, in more ways than one

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Street Fighter game franchise, Group TAC released "Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation" five years after the highly fan acclaimed "Street Fighter II: The Animated movie". Many reviews have criticized this movie based on what the reviewer thought SHOULD be in the movie. Some wanted a direct adaptation of the Street fighter Alpha game storyline, other reviewers dissed the show just because some characters were not featured. This will be a true review of the movie itself, not of what i expected to be in the movie.

True to its title, Street Fighter Alpha borrows the characters, setting and the "look" of the SF Alpha series while crafting a new story separate from the games.The focus is squarely on Ryu, a martial artists haunted by the death of his master and the presence of a dark power lurking within him. As the story begins, Ryu meets up with Ken to pay respects to their deceased master, but Ryu is having trouble controlling this dark power called the "Dark Hadou" and keeps having strange visions. They encounter a boy called Shun who claims to be Ryu's long lost brother. At first skeptical, Ryu soon embraces Shun as family and trains together with the boy, who also displays formidable fighting skills. Word of a new Street fighter Tournament reaches Ryu and Ken and they intend to sign up. But little do they know that the tournament is a front for an evil scheme concocted by Dr Sadler, a top scientist for the Shadowlaw organization.

Kudos to Group TAC for trying to make a more coherent narrative with a proper emotional center. While the previous Street Fighter II The Animated movie was a stylish gritty martial arts movie, SF Alpha plays out more like a character Drama about Ryu. While we do get some insight into Ryu's inner emotional turmoil, it really is nothing original. Ryu struggling with control over the dark hadou seems ripped straight from Star Wars' Luke Skywalker and his struggle with the Dark side of the force. Also, thanks to the strict focus on Ryu, the other iconic characters are at best reduced to mere stock characters with little to no development, or just cameo appearances that add nothing to the plot. Little side stories about Sakura's obsessive tailing of Ryu and Chun Li's Shadowlaw investigation are more an easter egg treat for long time fans than newcomers.

The biggest fault of Street fighter alpha: The Animation, is the animation itself which is merely on par with a typical anime TV series of that time. If one were to expect the gritty brutality and fluid choreography of Street fighter II: The Animated movie, one would be sorely disappointed. Street Fighter Alpha's fight scenes play out like something worse than Dragonball. Fighters flying and hovering through the air constantly was probably a way to cut costs by not animating the characters running, but for some reason all the fights seem to be done in slow motion. If it was intentional, it is a poor directing choice as it quite honestly makes every single bout a total bore. If not intentional, then it was a result of cutting corners again in the animation.

Artwork is also a hit and miss. While the art does a great job of replicating the designs used in the game, the characters go off-model quite often. The best example is Chun Li's eyes which keeps changing size and even shape in different scenes. The art constantly shifts from a dark and highly detailed style to a bright flat cartoony look, sometimes in stark contrast to the scene being presented, giving the entire production a very inconsistent feel.

It is a huge pity Street fighter Alpha: The Animation turned out the way it did. There were a couple of great ideas and a lot of room for a deeper story. Too bad all that potential got totally wasted on typical anime story clichés including an uber-powered robot and landscape-destroying fireballs. Like Akuma said, "a true warrior enters the arena with ALL his powers at the ready". Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation not only fails to bring all that its got to bear, but it figuratively pulls its punches and ends up with a mediocre final product. More effort seemed to be spent trying to cut corners in everything rather than going all out to deliver an experience as awesome as its predecessor or the games that inspired it.