Street Fighter (TV series)

Street Fighter (known fully as Street Fighter: The Animated Series) is an animated television series produced by InVision Entertainment[1] based on the video game franchise of the same name by Capcom. The series aired as part of the USA Network's Cartoon Express and Action Extreme Team lineups. It lasted two 13-episode seasons which aired from 1995 to 1997, for a total of 26 episodes.

For the Japanese anime television series based on the Street Fighter video games, see Street Fighter II V.
Street Fighter
From left to right: Chun-Li, Ken, Guile, Blanka, Ryu, and Cammy
GenreAction
Fantasy
Created byCapcom
Based onStreet Fighter II by Capcom
Developed byJulia Lewald (season 1)
Eric Lewald (season 1)
Michael Edens (season 1)
Roger Slifer (season 2)
Voices ofMichael Donovan
Donna Yamamoto
Scott McNeil
Richard Newman
Tong Lung
John Payne
Paul Dobson
Kathleen Barr
Lisa Ann Beley
ComposerAndrew Dimitroff
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producersJun Aida
Daniel S. Keltzky
Jim Graziano
Stephanie Graziano
ProducersMichael Hack
Billy CC Yang
Kenzo Tsujimoto
Masao Maruyama
Tatsuhiko Urahata
Yasuaki Iwase
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesCapcom
Graz Entertainment
(Season 1)
InVision Entertainment
(Season 2)
USA Studios
DistributorADV Films (former)
Discotek Media (2013–present)
Release
Original networkUSA Network
Original releaseOctober 21, 1995 (1995-10-21) –
May 14, 1997 (1997-05-14)

The show is closely based on the Street Fighter II series, but also borrows plot elements and characters from the live-action Street Fighter film and the first two Street Fighter Alpha games, as well as other Capcom games such as Saturday Night Slam Masters, Magic Sword, and Final Fight.[2]

Plot

Colonel William F. Guile is the leader of the "Street Fighters", an international undercover peacekeeping force composed of martial artists from around the world. They often face off against the ruthless General Bison and his Shadaloo criminal empire. They follow a code of honor involving the keywords "discipline", "justice" and "commitment".

All 17 fighters from Super Street Fighter II Turbo appeared in some form throughout the entire series, with Guile, Chun-Li, Blanka, Ryu, Ken and Cammy serving as the show's primary characters, while M. Bison, Sagat, Vega and Zangief serve as primary antagonists. Since the arcade version of Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams was only recently released when the show began airing, most of the new fighters that were introduced in that game only make a cameo in one episode ("The Medium is the Message") during the first season.

The second season (which aired after the release of Street Fighter Alpha 2) would feature the Alpha roster more prominently, with characters such as Rose (in "The Flame and the Rose") and Sakura (in "Second to None") being the focus of certain episodes.

Cast

Main cast

Additional cast

Episodes

Season 1 (1995–96)
No.TitleWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"The Adventure Begins"Michael Edens, Julia Lewald, Eric LewaldOctober 21, 1995 (1995-10-21)101
While working undercover for the Street Fighter operation, Guile gets contacted by Escher. Bison has just stolen a biological virus from Guile's old flame, Lucinda (or "Cindy"), that can kill an infected person within 24 hours of instant contact. Guile assembles a team consisting of Chun-Li, Ryu, Ken and Blanka and heads into the jungle to put an end to Bison's scheme. Unfortunately, both Ryu and Blanka come into contact with the virus and the group faces a race against time in order to get the antidote needed to save their friends.
2"The Strongest Woman in the World"Richard StanleyOctober 28, 1995 (1995-10-28)102
Bison takes control of a nuclear power plant in China, which is coincidentally situated near Chun-Li's own birthplace which Bison had destroyed years prior. Guile assembles Blanka and Chun-Li for the mission to stop Bison. However, Chun-Li is only focused on getting her revenge against Bison and doesn't care if the power plant gets destroyed. Eventually, Guile's scolding gets through to her and she lets Bison escape so that innocent people won't get harmed.
3"Getting to Guile"Mark OnspaughNovember 4, 1995 (1995-11-04)103
Dee Jay relays to Escher and Chun-Li that he and Guile were ambushed by Bison and Zangief and that Guile was captured. Bison hooks Guile into a mind-probing device to find his Achilles heel so that he can brainwash and reprogram Guile into destroying the rest of the Street Fighters. Chun-Li rallies Blanka, Dee Jay, Ryu and Ken to help rescue Guile and infiltrate Bison's stronghold. After battling many of Bison's mutant soldiers, the team saves Guile and reminds him of the Street Fighter code: Discipline, justice, and commitment.
4"No Way Out"Bruce Reid SchaeferNovember 11, 1995 (1995-11-11)104
Sagat uses his vast army to wage war on a U.S. embassy in Shadaloo, and a young boy named Kip is trapped in the building while it's being evacuated. Blanka, Chun-Li and Guile head the rescue operation, but Guile gets trapped inside the building along with Kip. Both Guile and Kip try to escape Sagat's patrolling forces and gain access to some secret computer files, which are very important.
5"Demon Island"Francis Moss, Ted PedersenNovember 18, 1995 (1995-11-18)105
Bison steals a top secret military plane that can turn invisible at the push of a button, so it's up to Guile, Dee Jay, Cammy and Blanka to get it back. They arrive on a mysterious island where Bison currently has set up shop and unfortunately, Zangief is patrolling the area in a hovercraft. Dee Jay blames Zangief for ruining his fighting career, and they begin to fight while Guile fends off Bison. The Street Fighters eventually steal the plane back just as the island explodes.
6"Desert Thunder"Jeremy CushnerDecember 2, 1995 (1995-12-02)106
Escher receives word that a new military laser has been stolen by the female cyborg, Satin Hammer, and her cohort, T. Hawk. While T. Hawk was originally supposed to be undercover in order to monitor Satin Hammer's activities, Escher fears that T. Hawk has gone rogue. He tasks Guile and Blanka with getting to the bottom of the situation. They eventually confront T. Hawk, who still maintains that he's on their side, even though it's clear he's sympathetic towards Satin Hammer's cause. Eventually however, T. Hawk throws himself into Satin Hammer's computer system and destroys it in an instant, though Satin Hammer manages to escape capture from him and the others.
7"Dark Heart"Matt EdensDecember 9, 1995 (1995-12-09)107
The Millennial Comet is on its scheduled 1000-year voyage in the skies over Earth, but Bison uses his magnetic chi powers to redirect the comet towards the planet and threatens to rip apart North America through the comet's impact unless he gets a huge sum of money. Guile, Blanka, Ryu and Ken go to the Himalayas to stop Bison, but the group gets separated by an avalanche. Blanka meets with Dhalsim while in the mountains and blames him for his monstrous appearance. With Dhalsim's help, Guile and Blanka manage to stop Bison's plan while saving Ryu and Ken in the process.
8"The Medium is the Message"Matthew MalachDecember 16, 1995 (1995-12-16)108
A Street Fighter tournament is being held in India and Escher sends Guile and the rest of the Street Fighters to compete in order to flush out any Shadaloo agents who might be participating. Bison is attending as well, and has a double threat of a plan; use his new mutant combatants to destroy the Street Fighters, and have Balrog create a fake video of the Street Fighters defiling a sacred Hindu temple. Both of Bison's plans fail when Guile saves a captured scientist and performs a Flash Kick on a time bomb.
9"Eye of the Beholder"Doug BoothDecember 30, 1995 (1995-12-30)109
Word comes in that a scientist in Hawaii is concocting a serum that could help Blanka revert to his human form. Vega also hears of this serum and wants to use it to make himself eternally young. Vega captures the scientist and holds him for ransom. Blanka is forced to give Vega the cure in exchange for the doctor's life, but Vega drops the vial of serum in the ensuing chaos, losing his chance at immortality.
10"The Hand That Feeds You"Steve CudenJanuary 6, 1996 (1996-01-06)110
Ryu's cousin, Sachi, goes missing in Hong Kong while the Street Fighters are investigating a local drug operation. Action star Fei Long says he'll show Guile the secrets of the city if Guile teaches him how to use Chi energy attacks. Eventually, Ryu and Ken get captured by the drug runners and it's up to Guile and Fei Long to save them.
11"Keeping the Peace"Matt EdensJanuary 20, 1996 (1996-01-20)111
A small city near Shadaloo is in chaos as rare diamonds have been found to be rich in the region. Sagat and many other warlords are lurking about as each faction wants a piece of the pie. Guile is asked by Escher to check out the situation on behalf of the Street Fighters. Meanwhile, Sawada has taken over Guile's former position in the Allied Nations (AN) and is currently in charge of the military presence. Hostilities run high as Guile manages to defuse several bombs in the area with the help of his Sonic Boom attack.
12"Chunnel Vision"Len WeinJanuary 27, 1996 (1996-01-27)112
Bison finally gets captured by Cammy's former British teammates, Delta Red. While the world thinks that Bison's capture is the first step towards Shadaloo's destruction, Bison's supporters randomly start blowing up locations in England and threaten that it will continue until Bison is released, along with a 2 billion pound payoff. Zangief places bombs in a specific tunnel that connects a train track between England and France, so it's up to Guile, Dee Jay, E. Honda and Cammy to prevent the tunnel's destruction.
13"Strange Bedfellows"Bruce Reid SchaeferFebruary 3, 1996 (1996-02-03)113
A mysterious warrior starts destroying both Bison's strongholds as well as those under Street Fighter jurisdiction. Both sides blame the other and it eventually comes down to Bison and Guile meeting on a volcanic island for a final showdown. However, clumsy clues were given to both warriors that lead them to the location of the battle by none other than Akuma himself. Akuma wants both Bison and Guile to fight each other to the death, where Akuma will then destroy the winner and steal their chi. Bison and Guile are forced to work together and eventually attack Akuma. Despite Bison and Guile's reluctant teamwork, Akuma is able to escape via teleportation and both Bison and Guile decide to postpone their own battle and head their separate ways, much to the shock and disbelief of their own teammates.

Season 2 (1996–97)
No.TitleWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
14"The Hammer Strikes"Jeremy Cushner, Will Meugniot (story)September 21, 1996 (1996-09-21)201
Needing the help of the Street Fighters, Dhalsim summons them to his remote mountain temple by causing Blanka considerable mental pain. It seems that Satin Hammer has returned and wants to steal an atomic bomb that Dhalsim currently has in his possession. Guile brings Blanka, T. Hawk and Sawada along with him for the mission, even though personal feelings still exist between T. Hawk and Satin Hammer. Eventually, the Street Fighters stop Satin Hammer's plot when Dhalsim deactivates the atomic bomb's countdown timer.
15"Cammy and the Bachelor"Len Wein, Will Meugniot (story)September 28, 1996 (1996-09-28)202
A crime wave has taken over London, and Bison is thought to be the one responsible for it, so Guile, Cammy and E. Honda join forces with Delta Red to take down Bison, Birdie and Sodom. During the fight, Bison seemingly takes over Cammy's mind, and she immediately switches allegiances. With a backup plan in full readiness, Bison and Cammy manage to escape.
16"New Kind of Evil"Bruce Reid Schaefer, Will Meugniot (story)October 5, 1996 (1996-10-05)203
Chun-Li is attacked by mysterious mutant assailants, and her TV crew is kidnapped. She calls for Guile and Blanka's help to track them down, which leads to a search in the sewers. They soon find out that a former scientist of Bison's criminal organization named Quinn is still continuing his mutant research and has mutated 3 thugs named Gunloc, Jumbo Flapjack and The Great Oni into half-man, half-eel/alligator/bat warriors. In the ensuing battle, Blanka receives a mega-dose of mutagen ooze, which makes him even more feral and dangerous.
17"The World's Greatest Warrior"Steve Englehart, Will Meugniot (story)October 12, 1996 (1996-10-12)204
While visiting their master, Gouken, Ryu and Ken are challenged by the evil Akuma, who claims to have stolen Gouken's chi and will do the same thing to them. Akuma gives Ryu and Ken time to train so they might stand a chance against him. During the course of their sparring sessions however, Ken injures Ryu's left arm, which leaves Ryu in a bad state. Akuma uses this advantage to easily defeat Ryu and steal his chi, only to get defeated himself by Ken's Flaming Dragon Punch (Shoryuken), freeing Gouken and Ryu's chi. Despite his apparent defeat, Akuma vows that he'll return and attempt to steal more chi.
18"So, You Want to be in Pictures"Marv Wolfman, Will Meugniot (story)November 5, 1996 (1996-11-05)205
Ryu and Ken are asked to help Fei Long with his latest movie project. Investors in the film however pull their funding out of the movie, which leaves Fei Long with no way to raise awareness about the evil crime boss, Wo Fat. Ken is forced to ask his father to re-invest in the film, so it can continue. Ken gets creative license for the script, and writes himself in as the star instead of Fei Long. Both men have a climactic showdown which results in the entire movie studio burning down.
19"Face of Fury"Steve Perry, Will Meugniot (story)November 15, 1996 (1996-11-15)206
Guile and Blanka take a trip to the Middle East to cool hostilities between the Arabs and the Israelis, but Blanka's temper gets the better of him, and he attacks men on both sides. Vega, watching this drama unfold on a prison TV set, swears revenge against Blanka for scarring his face. Vega easily escapes, and flies to Hawaii for a final battle while taking Mei Lei, Blanka's love interest, hostage. Blanka almost manages to kill Vega, but with the combined efforts of Mei Lei, Guile and Chun-Li, they are able to prevent Vega's death at the hands of Blanka.
20"Cammy Must Die!"Len Wein, Will Meugniot (story)November 23, 1996 (1996-11-23)207
Bison tasks Cammy and his cybernetic creation La Lupa to steal a priceless Kali statue for him. The statue has meditative powers that Bison hopes will help him heal his wounds from his previous battle with Guile. The Street Fighters team up with Delta Red to help get to the bottom of Cammy's switched allegiances and during the battle, Cammy gets hit on the head and apparently freed from Bison's mental control. Cammy then takes the Street Fighters and Delta Red to Bison's hideout, where she betrays them once more. Bison and Cammy are then able to escape.
21"The Flame and the Rose"Steve Englehart, Will Meugniot (story)December 9, 1996 (1996-12-09)208
The mystical psychic known as Rose senses that many powers in the world are fluctuating wildly out of control. She blames Ken and Blanka for this sudden energy spike and believes that they are the catalysts to the end of the world. Rose kidnaps them both and forces them to fight against one another, only to realize that they are not evil at all. With their help, she tracks down Bison, who is the true manifestation of evil she had sensed. She then attacks Bison in the mental world just as Ken and Blanka destroy the Kali statue, which destroys Bison's entire castle. Mysteriously, everyone is uninjured, and Bison evades capture once more.
22"The Warrior King"Kat Likkel, Will Meugniot (story)January 4, 1997 (1997-01-04)209
The powerful Warrior King has defended his country from the evil Mages for years, but when his Orb of Power is flung into a vortex, he follows it as well. The orb lands in a nation close to Shadaloo, and Bison claims it as his own. The orb has the power to control all weather, and Bison threatens the world with its power. The Street Fighter team is assembled, and Chun-Li is the first to confront Bison. The Warrior King magically appears, and fights Bison's minions with Chun-Li's help. The two quickly fall in love until another vortex appears, and the Warrior King is forced to leave Chun-Li forever. This episode was part of a crossover storyline that spanned the other shows in USA Network's "Action Extreme Team" lineup (Savage Dragon, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and Wing Commander Academy).
23"The Beast Within"George BloomFebruary 18, 1997 (1997-02-18)210
Blanka searches the jungle for a mysterious healing plant that could revert him back to his normal form. Guile and Lucinda go to track him down, and hear the same story of the plant from the jungle natives. Blanka then encounters a wild jungle boy who swears revenge against the natives for killing his family. The boy is actually an alien who had crash-landed on Earth along with his family. Blanka befriends the boy, and along with Guile and Lucinda, they defeat the evil natives and the boy returns to his home planet.
24"Second to None"Kat Likkel, Will Meugniot (story)April 11, 1997 (1997-04-11)211
Ryu is a legend in Shadaloo and Sakura is his most adamant admirer, but when Sagat patrols the streets regularly making sure to burn down any buildings with posters of Ryu in them, Sakura leaps into action. She heads to New York to go see her idol, who has just been visiting Ken in the hospital after he swallowed some poisonous water bugs during a mission in Africa. Ryu meets Sakura, and she convinces him to let her come to Shadaloo along with Guile to help him defeat Sagat once more. Sagat welcomes the challenge, and he and Ryu have another epic confrontation.
25"Final Fight"Larry Parr, Will Meugniot (story)April 27, 1997 (1997-04-27)212
The new Mayor of Metro City, Mike Haggar, finds himself in a tough situation when his daughter Jessica is kidnapped by a ruthless street gang known as Mad Gear, so it's up to Ryu and Ken to save her, along with Jessica's boyfriend Cody and fellow friend Guy. Escher, Guile and Haggar devise a plan to put Ken and Ryu undercover to infiltrate the gang and discover the whereabouts of Jessica, but Cody takes exception to this as he constantly screams at everyone in protest, nearly jeopardizing the entire plan. The four fighters encounter the Mad Gear gang's leader, Belger, within the group's headquarters and an intense fight soon happens. Ryu and Ken, along with Cody and Guy, are able to fight against Belger and his minions and in the end, the quartet defeats Belger and saves Jessica from the imminent danger while Haggar himself enters into the situation at the very end by breaking a door down. The plot of this episode is based on the arcade game of the same name.
26"Cammy Tell Me True"Will MeugniotMay 14, 1997 (1997-05-14)213
Bison captures Delta Red in a brief battle and the British government are adamant about getting them back, as they know critical government secrets. Bison compiles doomsday codes, which are the launch protocols for every known nuclear bomb on Earth, and plans to not take over the world, but to destroy it. Guile and Chun-Li are given a package from Sagat, containing the secret of Cammy's past, as Sagat does not want the world to be destroyed by Bison. They infiltrate Bison's base and everyone, including a reformed Cammy, Sagat and Delta Red team up to stop Bison and destroy his computer console with one second left on the doomsday timer. Bison is seemingly killed when he is consumed by the computer. Afterwards, Cammy rejects Guile's offer to return to the team, opting to go down her own path.

Crossover

Episode 22 (“The Warrior King") is part 1 of a 4-episode crossover with several other shows that aired as part of the US "Action Extreme Team" programming block:[3]

Home video release

ADV Films has released the complete series on Region 1 DVD. The first set, Street Fighter: Code of Honor, was released on April 13, 2003 and contains all the Season 1 episodes; while the second set, Street Fighter: Soul Powers, released on May 13, 2003, and contains all the Season 2 episodes. Both of the DVD sets are now out of print. Discotek Media re-released the TV series in 2015. A 25th Anniversary Collector's Set of games, which includes a Blu-ray Disc of the entire TV series, was released in North America on September 18, 2012.[4] In 2019, all of the Season 1 and Season 2 episodes were available on the japanese VideoMarket website in Japan.[5]

Reception

Despite lasting two seasons—the same amount as Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm and Darkstalkers combined—Street Fighter has suffered from predominantly negative reception. 411Mania included the series in a 2010 feature titled "The 8 Worst Street Fighter Franchise Failures" on the grounds that "the animation was sub-Captain Planet, the story was contrived, and the dialogue was wretched."[6] Nick Chester of Destructoid called the show "an abomination" and "spectacularly awful."[7] 1UP.com labeled the series "really crappy" and added, "[W]hile SF fans love to quote the Street Fighter movie ... they are usually less enthusiastic about the Saturday morning cartoon."[8] The site also included the show in their list of the "Top 5 Not-So-Classic Video Game Cartoons" on the basis of the plot. "Do you remember when Guile recruited every character in the game into a secret anti-terrorist paramilitary group? I don't either."[9] While Street Fighter was omitted from GamesRadar's 2010 list of "truly horrendous" video game cartoons, it was still mentioned as "a terrible abomination that would have made our list if Darkstalkers hadn’t knocked it off."[10]

Despite its negative reception, the show has become the source of numerous internet memes, most notably a scene in "The Medium is the Message" where M. Bison shouts "Yes! Yes!" as he watches Guile get beaten up by one of his mutant soldiers.

References
  1. "InVision Entertainment [us]". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 796. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. "Warrior King: The Forgotten Street Fighter / Mortal Kombat Crossover". Den of Geek. 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-05-23/street-fighter-25th-anniversary-set-previewed-in-video
  5. https://www.videomarket.jp/title/041965
  6. Boykin, Josh (April 29, 2010). "The 8 Worst Street Fighter Franchise Failures". 411Mania.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  7. Chester, Nick (March 9, 2009). "Remix of USA Street Fighter cartoon is awful...awfully funny!". Destructoid.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  8. "20 Things You Didn't Know about Street Fighter II". 1UP.com. 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  9. Sharkey, Scott. "Top 5 Not-So-Classic Video Game Cartoons". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  10. Winterhalter, Ryan (July 8, 2010). "Five truly horrendous TV shows based on videogames". GamesRadar. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
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