Street Fighter II:  The Animated Movie (Uncut, Uncensored, Unleashed)

Reviewed By: Mario Aguilar

Manga Video

Not rated

What it’s (basically) all about: Bison, leader of the Shadowlaw international terror network, seeks to convert the world’s greatest street fighters into his private agents of terror.  His search leads him to Ryu, a lone wandering street fighter, and Ryu’s former training partner, Ken Masters.  Chun Li of Interpol and Major Guile of the U.S. Air Force team up to investigate and stop Bison before he can fulfill his evil plan and wreak havoc on the world.

Nitty Gritty:  The story itself was pretty basic:  Bison seeks great street fighters to convert to his agents to cause trouble.  Bison never actually says what he wants to do to the world though, which was very Dr. Evilesque.  There are a few other sub-plots in the film including Ken and Ryu’s relationship, and Chun Li and Guiles investigation of Shadowlaw.  In the end however, we are left with a paper thin plot patched together with a bunch of fights and fighter cameos.  However, if one remembers the storyline of the videogame, this is practically Shakespeare. The cameos, by the way, feature many street fighters up to those appearing in Street Fighter 2 Turbo such as Ryu, Ken, Blanca, Sagat, Bison, Vega, T. Hawk, Cammie, and some others.

This movie was originally released in Japan at about the same time the live action Street Fighter movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme was released in America.  The first American version of the animated feature was edited a lot from the Japanese version and caused quite a stir with American anime/Street Fighter fans.  Many of the battles between characters were taken out and a shower scene showing a completely nude Chun Li was also cut out. 

This version features all of the previously removed scenes including the Chun Li shower scene.  Immediately after the shower scene, Vega barges in on Chun Li’s pad and the audience gets to see Chun Li fight him wearing nothing more than her loose night gown and underwear.  There is also cursing that occurs sporadically with words such as crap, smart@$$, and @$$hole.

The DVD is double sided with an English version of the film on one side and the Japanese version on the other.  The English side special features include trailers from the UK and previews of Karas, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha Generations and Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 2^nd Gig.  The Japanese side features character bios and some fight clip scenes. 

Survey says:  There is swearing, non-stop fighting, and Chun Li’s shower scene.

If the sub-title on the DVD (uncut, uncensored and unleashed) was no indication, this film belongs in the adult collection. 

Personal Ad: When I first heard there was a Street Fighter anime, I thought that I would love it.  Holding the DVD in my hand reminded me of when I held my newly purchased copy of Street Fighter 2 years ago.  I remembered Bison’s tornado attack, Blanca’s electric attack, and it goes without saying that the Yoga flame was on my mind.  But after watching it I realized my love of the game did not transfer over to the movie.  The plot stunk, the fight scenes were cool, but aside from a tingling of nostalgia from my familiarity of the characters when they appeared on screen, I was sorely disappointed.