Gonna burn some muscle!
Street Fighter II V note is an anime series based on Capcom's successful Street Fighter II games, which aired on Nippon Television in 1995. Produced by Group TAC and directed by Gisaburo Sugii, the same crew who worked on Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V centers around alternate interpretations of the iconic World Warriors, with younger versions of the duo Ryu and Ken serving as the central characters.
The story begins when filthy-rich heir Ken Masters, having grown bored with his lifestyle, calls his friend and former martial arts training partner Ryu to visit him in San Francisco. After an encounter with Sergeant Guile of the U.S. Air Force at a local dive that ends up badly for both of them, Ryu and Ken decide to travel the world to further improve their martial arts skills.
Manga Entertainment and Animaze produced the original English dub in 1996 with most of the same cast from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. Interestingly, ADV Films provided an alternate dub for the UK market in 1997. Unlike the former, which had DVD releases, the latter was only released to PAL VHS. As such, it is hard to track down the ADV version.
Not to be confused with Street Fighter IV or Street Fighter V, the fourth and fifth numbered installments in the fighting game series.
This anime features the following tropes:
- Action Girl: Chun-Li, it comes with the territory of being the daughter of Hong Kong's greatest police officer and kung fu teacher.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Ken has red hair instead of blond in this series, and Bison's outfit is blue instead of red.
- Adaptation Personality Change: This series has alternate versions of the main casts' personalities:
- Ryu is much more of a typical shonen hero, in stark contrast to his stoic persona in the games.
- Chun-Li is more innocent, cheerful, and outgoing, as she appears before her beloved father is murdered.
- Fei Long not only has Anime Hair but is far more Hot-Blooded and emotional than in the games, bordering sometimes on Tsundere.
- Bison and Shadaloo want to conquer the world so they can force humanity to stop abusing the environment and save the planet, almost making them well-intentioned extremists. In the games, Bison is just rapacious and power-hungry, and Shadaloo is merely his tool in world domination.
- Adaptational Badass:
- Guile is able to defeat Ryu, and then despite suffering from a hangover, defeats Ken the next day.
- Not a character, but the Hadoken gets a power upgrade for the anime, going from a fairly standard ranged attack to Ryu's ultimate move that finishes off the Big Bad.
- Cammy, who is not only older in this series, but is also an extremely competent and dignified assassin who bares a stern and cold personality. She's literally the only character in the series to come close to killing Dorai. The ADV dub takes this a step further, as she knew from the start that Balrog had planned to kill her.
- Adaptational Wimp: Balrog is reduced to being The Mole for Shadowlaw and the only action he gets is attempting to shoot Cammy after revealing he set her up to kill Dorai, only for Cammy easily overpower him minutes later. Fei Long notes this afterwards, mentioning that Balrog wasn't much of a fighter.
- Adapted Out: E. Honda, Blanka, T. Hawk, and Dee Jay are nowhere to be found in this series.
- Age Lift: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Fei Long, and Vega are all in their teens, despite their game counterparts being in their 20s.note Other characters like Guilenote and Sagatnote are also noticeably younger, while Cammy, on the other hand, was made older.
- Agonizing Stomach Wound: At one point Ryu is thrown in a Thai prison where he meets Sagat. The prison warden using whippings to keep the prisoners in line, and towards the end, threatens to the pair of fighters with a gun, contemplating aloud where he should shoot them, saying that being shot in the gut could take weeks to kill you.
- Alternate Continuity: Unlike Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, which attempted to be a faithful adaptation of the games up to Super Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II V has no qualms about taking as many liberties as they can with its depiction and characterization of the iconic World Warriors.
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: Instead of the original Japanese
openings, the Animaze/Manga dub of Street Fighter II V used an entirely different opening with an original theme song. Also counts as an example of American Kirby Is Hardcore. The Japanese openings were kept in the ADV dub. In Italy, the series is famous for the localized opening used. - Anti-Villain: Cammy. She’s hired and manipulated by Balrog into believing that Dorai was responsible for Hong Kong’s drug smuggling operation and has no problem attempting to eliminate Fei Long in the process, who she eventually collaborates with once she finally knows the truth.
- Aroused by Their Voice: After getting of the phone with their new tour guide Chun-Li, Ken immediately assumes that she's a total babe while Ryu claims that there's no way of telling from her voice. This leads to Ryu betting 100 finger push-ups for whoever's wrong, and it's pretty obvious that he had to eat his own words.
- "Awkward Silence" Entrance: Happen to Ryu in a prison cafeteria. Silence greets him as he enters the cafeteria after recovering from a brutal torture session with the warden. Some chatter starts up about Ryu being the new guy and how he lasted through the warden's physical torture as he heads over to get some food.
- Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: During the "Hong Kong arc", Chun-Li wears a short blouse, exposing her belly button. The same goes for Cammy's standard outfit.
- Battle Discretion Shot: The latter half of Ken's fight with Guile is never revealed. After Guile turns the tables on Ken by tossing sand in his eyes, it cuts to later in the day, and Ken is stuck in bed nursing his injuries.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Ryu, normally an easygoing fellow, snaps pretty bad in the episode where he is sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit.
- Big Eater: As even Rinko points out, Ryu has a bottomless gut and will swiftly scarf down most foods he's given, further cementing his shounen personality shift in this series.
- Big Fancy House: Ken's family mansion.
- Brainwashed: Chun-Li, after Vega gives her a "love potion". This is creepy since Chun-Li is only fifteen in this particular continuity.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Bison brainwashes both Ryu and Chun-Li later in the series. Ken and Guile, respectively, have to defuse both kids.
- Bar Brawl: To celebrate Ryu and Ken's reunion, Ken bribes the boys way into a brawl which doesn't sit right with Ryu at first. Ken purposefully hits on one of the air force dudes' girls. They instantly surround Ken who effortless takes them out as Ryu proceeds to do the same. They both bite off more than they can chew when Guile enters the picture.Ken: Welcome to your first party in America, Ryu. Let's mingle!
- Break the Cutie:
- Poor, unfairly imprisoned, tortured Ryu. He doesn't come out any worse from the experience, however.
- Chun-Li suffers a near identical fate, engaging in a Hopeless Boss Fight against Bison, nearly being strangled to death, and then getting Brainwashed and Crazy along with Ryu.
- Canon Foreigner: Notable examples include Rinko, Tyler, Nucchi, Zoltar, Chief Barrack, and the entire Ashura syndicate.
- Casting Gag: Dorai, a member of Interpol and police inspector, was voiced by Rokurō Naya in the Japanese version, whose brother Gorō Naya voiced a near identical role in the form of Inspector Zenigata in Lupin III.
- Chainsaw Good: Zochi has a chainsaw hand in "Dark Omen".
- Chick Magnet: Vega is especially popular with his female fans. Ken also have has share of admirers, notably, the ladies at the bar in episode 1 and the two girls at the mall in episode 6. There's also Chun-Li and Ken's ambiguous relationship towards the end of Vega's arc, and Rinko's crush on Ryu.
- Clear My Name: Ken does this for Ryu after the latter is falsely accused of drug possession and sent to a prison in Thailand.
- Clip Show: The beginning half of "The Icy Light of Their Eyes", which features the events from "The Bloodthirsty Prince" and up to that point.
- Clothing Damage: This happens to Chun-Li when Bison rips her dress in "Shudder! The Despot's Commander".
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Ryu endures this at the hands of Nucchi, the cruel and sadistic warden of the Thai prison.
- Combat Pragmatist: During Ken and Guile's fight in "The King of the Air Force", Guile throws some sand in Ken's face. Ken calls Guile out for using a dirty trick, and Guile's response sums it up beautifully:"There ain't no rules in a street fight, kid!" (cue Violence Discretion Shot).
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The series has several instances, most notably:
- In the second episode, Ryu and Ken go to a bar near the Air Force base and pick a fight with Guile's squad, where they mop the floor with them. It ends on a cliffhanger just as the man, himself, arrives. Suffice to say, Guile wasn't happy with what he saw, as he proceeds to beat the crap out of Ryu. Ken tries to return the favor in the following episode, but gets his ass handed to him as well, due to Guile's combat pragmatism.
- When Ryu has had all he can take between Nucchi's torture and the abuse from Sagat's yes men, he quietly apologizes to Ken for disregarding his plea to avoid more trouble and proceeds to mop the floor with the two punks. It is definitely an awesome moment for Ryu.
- Dark Action Girl: Cammy, who is a freelance assassin in this series.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Guile, who previously utterly destroyed Ryu, is put on the ropes by Ken the following day due to a bad hangover. Guile still manages to come out on top in the end by tossing sand in Ken's eyes.
- Driven to Suicide: Zoltar makes a brainwashed test subject smash his head on the wall in "Compulsion Towards Vengeance".
- Dub Name Change: As with the games themselves, Boxer = Balrog, Claw = Vega, Dictator = Bison.
- Easter Egg: Akuma is hidden in one frame in several episodes.
- Even Evil Has Standards: After Bison kills Nash, he tells Zoltar to give his lifeless body a proper burial.
- Fashion-Shop Fashion Show: As a way to say thanks for putting up with them, Ken takes Chun-Li shopping in episode 6, showing her and several different outfits made by Chanel.
- Fat Bastard: One of Ryu's opponents in the underground tournament at Kowloon Palace. Also, Nucchi.
- Final Boss, New Dimension: The final battle with Bison takes place at the focal point of the universe.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Akuma's appearances are limited to single frames.
- Genki Girl: The younger, cheerful Chun-Li in this particular continuity.
- Gonk: Nucchi. He's just as ugly on the inside, too.
- Gratuitous English: Ken's "Welcome to Hong Kong" line in original Japanese release.
- Groin Attack: Chun-Li accidentally gives her opponent one during her match in "Appearance of the Secret Technique."
- Growling Gut: Sometimes, when Ryu is hungry.
- Headbutting Heroes: Ryu and Ken get a terrible first impression of Guile and vice versa, due to them first encountering each other while Ryu and Ken were in the process of beating up several of Guile's men in a bar, with Guile completely demolishing Ryu.
- Hellhole Prison: Ryu gets sent to a Thai prison after being framed for drug possession.
- Heroic BSoD: Fei Long suffers one when he learns that his mentor Dorai almost died. He ends up breaking down in tears. He recovers in time to fight the person who almost did Dorai in, Cammy, and makes her have a Heel–Face Turn.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Ryu and Ken's friendship dynamic in the series is fleshed out more in this series than in any other continuity. Much of the ending credits is filled with the two taking goofy pictures with each other, and they surprisingly have no problem with swimming in a pool naked with each other. Chun-Li even notes that they're just as inseparable as twins.
- High-Pressure Blood: Vega's claws have this effect on Ken when he impales his feet, toeing the line between horrifying and unintentionally funny.
- Hot-Blooded: Ryu and Fei Long. Even the episode title for the latter's debut appearance is called "Hot Blooded Fei Long".
- How Much More Can He Take?: Ken's fight with Vega has him bleeding profusely from multiple wounds and getting both his feet impaled and broken, but he still manages to defeat Vega.
- I Have Your Wife: Despite letting Ken travel the world with Ryu, Ken's father gets a rude awakening once Bison holds him for ransom, demanding one billion dollars to see him alive.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: After physical attacks seem to do absolutely no damage to Bison, Chun-Li manages to stab him in the gut with a broken metal pole. It does injure him and he goes completely berserk on her.
- Improvised Weapon: Chun-Li uses her bookbag, with a pretty long strap, to whack some dudes. She later weaponizes lighting equipment against Bison.
- Inconsistent Coloring: Vega is depicted as a dark-skinned blonde in his debut episode, but afterward his skin is a lighter tone while his hair is darker.
- Kamehame Hadoken: Ryu's signature Hadoken is present and accounted for. However, in this continuity, he first learns about the Hadou when he meets an old master named Yo Sen-ko, and Dhalsim helps him further in channeling the Hadou.
- Knight of Cerebus: Vega's introduction and battle with Ken marks a tonal shift in the series, which was comparatively lighthearted and episodic up to that point. Vega's battle with Ken is one of the most brutal in the series, if not the entire franchise, and their battle marks the first proper appearance of Bison, who proceeds to shape the series into becoming even darker from that point on. It also develops a Myth Arc that lasts for the remainder of the series.
- Last-Name Basis: Guile's doomed combat buddy is called Nash for most of the English dub rather than Charlie, only switching to his first name as Bison kills him.
- Laughing Mad: Bison does this when he finds out that two of the attendees at the masquerade ball are Chun-Li (Dorai's daughter) and Ken (a member of the Masters family) in "The Unveiled Ruler".
- Leg Focus: During the final arc, Chun-Li wears a skimpier version of her traditional outfit, without the tights.
- Leitmotif: Various versions of Ryu's theme from the games.
- Licking the Blade: Vega does this while he's looking in a mirror admiring himself.
- Lone Wolf Boss: Unlike the games, Vega is not part of Shadaloo and attacks the heroes for his own reasons.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Vega becomes obsessed with Chun-Li after seeing her in a crowd, and even sneaks into her bedroom to steal a kiss from her while she was sleeping. The kiss somehow drugs her, taking effect during Vega's match with Ken.
- The Man Behind the Man: Bison, though Shadowlaw, is this to the Ashura organization.
- Masquerade Ball: Subverted. Vega cordially invites Chun-Li and Ken to be his guests of honor for what they think will be a ballroom dance, not knowing Vega's true intentions. The alleged "ball" is actually a brutal cage match between Ken and Vega.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Just like in the live-action film, Zangief is a Nice Guy who just happens to be working for some very evil people.
- Modesty Towel: In "Special Orders to Iron Men", Cammy leaves the bathroom wrapped in a towel.
- The Mole:
- Balrog is a Interpol agent who is secretly a member of Shadowlaw.
- Police officer Soong is an informant from Ashura, explaining why the Thai police force had been having such a hard time with them.
- Mr. Fanservice:
- Both Ryu and Ken have some shirtless scenes and they also get naked in "Landing in Hong Kong".
- As in the games, Vega fights shirtless.
- Ms. Fanservice: Cammy is this for the series. For example:
- In "The Beautiful Assassin", she got a Toplessness from the Back scene.
- She has a Shower Scene in "Special Orders to Iron Men".
- Later, Cammy wears a very sexy leotard in two episodes.
- All of her outfits show a lot of cleavage.
- Mythology Gag:
- In the second Japanese opening, Balrog, known as M. Bison in Japan, is seen wearing his boxing gear, though he doesn't actually wear it in the series. Also, the ID he shows to Cammy states that he likes fighting and gambling.
- Fei Long's director is the same one from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, even sharing the same English voice actor.
- Cammy's photo during her time with MI6 has her looking like her appearance in the games, albeit without the scar.
- While under the influence of Bison's brainwashing, Chun-Li dresses just like she does in the games, albeit with several changes.note
- Named by the Adaptation:
- Chun-Li's otherwise unnamed father is given the name of Dorai in this series. While this was just one of many names given to him in various adaptations in Japan, it was later reused in UDON's comic book series.
- Vega is given the full name of "Vega Fabio La Cerda".
- Neck Lift: Bison does this to both Chun-Li and Nash at different points.
- Neck Snap:
- Guile and a brainwashed Chun-Li do this to a couple of Bison's guards in "Nightmare Reunion".
- Nash, Guile's war buddy, is (rather eerily) skilled at doing this.
- "On the Next Episode of..." Catch-Phrase:
- The English dub uses the phrase "Gonna burn some muscle!"
- "The Brazilian dub caps off the next episode recaps with "Nós vamos ao encontro do mais forte!" ("We journey to meet the strongest!").
- Overly Long Gag: Bison spends a good 30 seconds laughing insanely in "The Unveiled Ruler."
- Parents in Distress: Chun-Li's dad Dorai is left comatose after Cammy's beatdown on him. When she returns to finish the job, however, Fei Long is the one who steps in Dorai's defense and defeats Cammy. He had previously claimed that Dorai was more important to him than even his own father.
- Psycho Electro: Bison often crackles with electricity when he's going into an extended Evil Laugh, or when he's about to use his Psycho Power. He also seems to be immune to electric shocks.
- Religious Bruiser: Cammy. Being a Roman Catholic, she wears a crucifix around her neck and asks God to forgive her after she attacks Dorai.
- Riddle for the Ages: The exact nature of the eagle-headed idol from which Bison draws his Psycho Power is never explained, as the series got cancelled shortly after its reveal.
- Shower Scene: Cammy has one in "Special Orders to Iron Men." No nudity is shown.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Chun-Li's father survives in the end, despite ending up in a coma.
- Spell My Name With An S: Rinko, Ryu's female friend in Japan, is erroneously referred to as "Linko" a few times in the Animaze dub.
- Stalker with a Crush: Vega towards Chun-Li. So much so that he gives her a "love potion" while she's asleep during the middle of the night.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In the games, Vega's claw acted as an extension of his fist and only gave him more range in his attacks. In this series, his claw enables him to wound, stab, and impale Ken until he's in danger of bleeding out.
- Teen Genius: Chun-Li is a tour guide who knows a great deal about Hong Kong, never mind her being a talented Action Girl already attending a university at age 15.
- To Be a Master: Ken and Ryu's goal. This is especially true concerning the latter.
- Tsundere: Rinko acts this way in her only appearance. She's shown to have feelings for Ryu but is more frustrated when he does nothing but think about food. She also offers great concern for him, fearing that he'll never return to Japan again once Ken invites him to California.
- Uncle Pennybags: Ken frequently uses his family's "over five billion-dollar"note fortune to get by during the series; usually to get whatever he wants in an instant from manipulating his and Ryu's way into a bar just so they can hold Ryu's "welcoming party" with some other guests, and paying a random guy what seems to be thousands of dollars in cash just to let him hijack the dude's motorcycle and catch up with Donu and Zochi in a moving limousine. However, he's not cheap and will go out of his way to support his friends and genuinely good people when they need it. He hooks him and Ryu up with a 5-star penthouse suite and buys their friend Chun-Li clothes and jewelry as a gift/payment for her serving as their tour guide and equally putting her in danger the previous night. Most shockingly of all, he single-handedly arranges for a massive donation and Red Cross assistance to a remote Indian charity hospital.
- Unstoppable Rage: Ryu, after being tortured and bullied at the Thai prison.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: What's Zoltar's response to Bison bursting into a 30 second long giggle fit upon learning who Ken and Chun-Li are while radiating Psycho Power everywhere?"You destroyed your chair, I'll get you another one."
- Villain with Good Publicity: Vega is a champion bullfighter from Spain who the crowd loves his performances. He's also a psychopath who lusts after Chun-Li and nearly kills Ken.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Thanks to the series being Cut Short, Vega is never seen after Bison recovers him following his defeat. Similarly, Dorai, despite surviving Cammy's assassination attempt, is never seen again after Fei Long and Cammy end their battle.
- World Tour: The main plot. Ryu and Ken go around the world to find other martial artists so they can defeat them.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
- This is done to Ashura's right-hand man Donu by Soong, the mole planted in the police by the organization.
- Balrog attempts to do this to Cammy when she finds out that he lied to her about Dorai being a rogue Interpol agent. Lucky for her, Fei Long distracted Balrog long enough for her to easily overpower him.
- You Got Guts: Guile's impression of Ryu after refusing to stay down during their bar fight.
- Younger and Hipper: Several characters are teenagers.
