Street Fighter Alpha - The Movie (Animated) (Dubbed) (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	Excellent animation, Great storyline, Excellent atmosphere, the film flows from start to finish
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I'm a huge fan of Manga films, infact I collect them. I have loads of Manga films and I can tell you now, this is certainly one of the best I have ever seen.

For those of you who do not know what Manga is I will tell you. Its animation that was created by the Japanese. It has a certain style, many curves and points, sometimes huge eyes, sometimes small eyes with big eyebrows that you can see through the actual hair on the characters head. I reckon you either like it or you don't, just like a jar of marmite.

First I'll give you an overview of the film itself.

Storyline
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I bet many of you have been let down in the past by computer games that have been made into films, I know I have but that definately is not the case here.

Do you remember the old Street Fighter film starring Jean Claude Van Damme? Well, that film really was a pile of poop, usually I don't expect much from computer games turned to film but I gave Street Fighter Alpha The Movie a chance simply because the Japanese are excellent at creating Manga animations that shine.

Anyways, lets get down to the storyline itself. All your favourite characters are included: Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Birdie and more. The film stars Ryu and Ken. They are brought together by the death of their master. Unusual events start to occur including the introduction of Ryu's little brother, Shun. Ken, being the suspicious type has his doubts about Shun being Ryu's younger brother but Ryu doesn't seem to doubt it at all. The only proof being a photograph that Shun carries with him.

Ryu is overtaken by mysterious forces which he must overcome before he is consumed by them and ends up like Akuma, a slave to the Dark Hadou, a most powerful form of martial arts that can defeat any warrior. Ryu has other problems on his hands, Shun is captured by the Shadowlaw organisation. Ryu must learn to control the power that is threatening him if he is to save Shun. Ryu's confidence is shaken, will he have what it takes to confront Akuma.

The storyline sets the scene for a special film and a special film it is. The film flows from start to finish, nothing to difficult to understand but a little thinking involved so your not made to feel as if the creators think your an idiot.

The characters work together well, no one seems to be 'out of place'. You really feel as though the characters have strong friendships between each other as well as hate for their enemies. It almost feels real even though you know its only an animation.

Animation
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I have to dedicate a section to the animation that was used within the film. I have to say that this is one of the best examples of Manga animation I have ever seen. Fantastically animated characters with excellent fighting scenes using top quality animation. There hasn't been any slacking in any department if you ask me.

Every scene throughout the film is fully animated, there isn;t one single frame where you think "that looks a little tacky". If you look at the picture of the DVD box within this page you will see the quality of the animation. That is the quality throughout the film.

As well as highly detailed characters (and not to mention the many characters involved with the film) the backdrops also have high detail, more than you would usually expect. Although not the best backdrops I have seen in Manga animation they do rank high in my book of fantastic backdrops.

Hayato Matsuo who handles the music has done an excellent job of bringing more life to the animations and characters (designed by Yoshihiko Umakoshi) by integrating sounds effects that work in the situations that he chose the sound effects for.

Fight Scenes
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Being a Street Fighter movie you would expect there to be many fight scenes and this animation does not disappoint. From start to finish the film is jam packed with fully animated fight scenes. You will see your favourite characters pulling off your favourite moves such as Ken's Dragon Punch. Every fight scene has you on the edge of your seat and you just can't help wanting more, it really is a sight to see.

The Japanese really do like to build up moments within Manga animated films. Some of the bigger fight scenes really keep you waiting, sometimes for a long time but it never gets boring simply because of the quality of the animation and some excellent directing by Shigeyasu Yamauchi. The fight scenes flow together to create a masterpiece of animation which puts your heart in your mouth.

I could go on forever just describing the animation involved within the film just because I find it to be such a work of art.

Script
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Ever watched any Japanese martial arts films or other films dubbed in English? The scripts are usually poor, those films are all about the action. Fortunately Manga Entertainment have realised the problem and have tackled it to the best of their ability here.

The script is never cheesy, stupid or tacky. The script writer Reiko Yoshida has done a brilliant job in creating a script that allows you to understand the story and at the same time involves you in the film. The animation and script work together to create the perfect atmosphere, it feels like Street Fighter. It looks like Street Fighter and you even feel involved with the Street Fighters themselves.

It may sound as though I am going over the top here but I really do love Manga animations and this one really does deserve a few awards. The creators have managed to produce a masterpiece of animation and it is a film that many people will enjoy. There are many who won't give it a chance but should, you might just be missing out and in my opinion, you are.

Special Features
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The DVD isn't exactly overloaded with features but to be honest, I really don't care, the film is just too good to care.

Features include:

-Interviews - with the creators and voice overs for the film. Most of the interviews are subtitled as the people cannot speak English. Each interview consists of one person talking about their own character in the film and how they decided how to handle them. I found the interviews pretty interesting as I am a great fan of the film itself. The people being interviewed describe the part their character plays in the film. If your looking to be an actor you could pick up some tips from these interviews.

-The Making Of Street Fighter Alpha - where ideas came from, script and animation examples. Its like a story in itself. It shows you the creation of characters such as Ken from start to finish. It shows you examples of artwork and how the film was put together. You can see the orchestra creating the music for the film. Its a silent program, no one speaks, there is just music playing in the background which allows you to concentrate more on what is happening. It shows you the lengths that these people have to go through to create the film, the actors doing voice overs, the director keeping everything organised. It looks exciting to work within the team but also very tiresome. Its not a long extra, only about 5 minutes or so but there is a lot of information contained within those 5 minutes.

-Street Fighter Alpha Trailer - the trailer for the film. I've never seen a Manga trailer played on British TV so I was curious to how the Japanese handle their trailers. Handled with excellence, you just want to watch the film again because the trailer is so good.

-Web Link - these are just links to websites related to Street Fighter and the companies that have created this film. I checked them out and if your looking to go deeper into the film itself and other films made by Manga entertainment then these links are worth checking out.

Cast And Crew
----------------------

Director: Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Original Story: Capcom
Script: Reiko Yoshida
Character Design & Picture Supervisor: Yoshihiko Umakoshi
Art Supervisor: Hiroshi Katou
Filming Supervisor: Kazushi Torikoshi
Music: Hayato Matsuo
Animation: Group Tac, Plum
Production: Capcom, Polydor, Manga Entertainment
Supervisor: Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Summary
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It is a masterpiece of animation. The script and animation work so well that you actually feel as though your part of the story, the film flows from start to finish. High quality animation and obviously some excellent directing and script work is what makes this film brilliant.

I think that you should give this film a chance, if you don't like it then you don't like it but I'm sure that some of you will be pleasantly surprised!

[ Review taken from my dooyoo account ]