Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation

"Enter a new dimension!"

—Ryu

Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, released in Japan as Street Fighter Zero: The Animation (ストリートファイターZERO, Sutorīto Faitā Zero^?, Street Fighter Zero) and also known as Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie on the home video packaging, is an original video animation (OVA) film released in 2000. This spin-off film is based on the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series. It was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, with character designs by Yoshihiko Umakoshi. An English dub was produced by Manga Entertainment and released in 2001.

StoryEdit

The movie begins as Ryu contemplates the death of his master, Gouken. As he's thinking about this, a shootout is taking place nearby. Chun-Li, an officer of Interpol, is engaged in combat with several thugs from the Shadaloo organization. The situation takes a turn for the worse when a small boy is taken hostage by one of the thugs. It is at that point that Ryu jumps in, gets the boy far from the area, and uses his fighting techniques on the criminals. Chun-Li and Sakura are in awe of his skill as they watch him fight with grace.

Ryu returns to the temple and goes to Gouken's grave to pay his respects, when he suddenly has a strange vision, in which Rose tells him that he must grow stronger in order to control his inner darkness. This vision is interrupted, however, when Ryu encounters his best friend, rival and former training partner, Ken Masters. As they place flowers on the tomb, and Ken leaves to get some water for them, Ryu is suddenly overcome by the energy of the Satsui no Hadō for a short time, with images of Akuma flashing through his mind. As Ken rushes back up to Ryu, he witnesses a large release of energy from his general area. He sees Ryu lying unconscious on the ground, and a young boy standing near him.

The boy reveals himself to be Shun, Ryu's younger brother, though both Ryu and Ken have doubts about him. Regardless, they let him train and live with them for a while. One night, though, the Satsui no Hadō swells within him again. After Ken calms him down, Ryu tells him to kill him if the Satsui no Hadō ever completely overtakes him. Later, an underground Street Fighter tournament is announced. Ken and Shun are both prepared to enter, but Ryu decides to stay out, for fear of the Satsui no Hadō taking him over.

While they seek out the location of the tournament, Ryu and Shun are attacked by a few rowdy street thugs. Shun displays his skill by beating the thugs senseless, but then he goes too far, almost strangling one to death unknowingly, until Ryu tells him to stop. They are located by Chun-Li, who requests Ryu's help in tracking down Shadaloo. As they finally enter the tournament building, they witness a rather brutal battle between Dan and Vega, in which Dan is almost killed.

Meanwhile, Ken runs into Sakura, who's being harassed by a gang of thugs in a bar. Ken easily takes them out, and Sakura asks if he knows Ryu. He takes her to the place where he left the brothers, only to find that they aren't there. They proceed into the tournament building, but Ken discovers that it's too late for him to sign up. Instead, he decides to go watch the fight already occurring. At this point, Shun is fighting Zangief. Shun holds his own for a while, displaying the same raw brutality that he did in the previous fight. However, when Zangief turns the tables on Shun and gives him a brutal beating, Ryu decides to intervene.

At that point, the power of the Satsui no Hadō begins to corrupt his spirit once again, and Ryu fires off a Metsu Hadoken, but not before Ken interrupts him and brings him back to his senses. As a result, the attack barely misses Zangief and insteads smashes through a wall, causing parts of the building to start collapsing. Zangief ends up falling through the crumbling floor, though he presumably survives. Dr. Sadler, the sponsor of the tournament, is impressed by Ryu's power, and plans to harness it.

Ryu asks Shun where he learned the power of the Satsui no Hadō. Shun explains that he learned it from his father, who possessed the power as well. Ryu suspects Shun's father to be Akuma, as he is the only one besides himself and Shun to possess the Satsui no Hadō, but is uncertain. Suddenly, the two are approached by Dr. Sadler's gigantic cyborg, Rosanov, who attacks Ryu. Ryu battles Rosanov, but is unable to harm him. Chun-Li jumps into the fight, but she is unable to stand against him, and is kicked to the side. Just as Rosanov is about to blast Ryu, Shun gets in the way and takes the shot for him. As he holds Shun tightly, the Satsui no Hadō overtakes Ryu in a burst of rage, and he destroys the cyborg with a Metsu Hadoken. Shun is then carried away by Shadaloo agents in a helicopter. Meanwhile, Ken carries Sakura, whose leg was broken by a piece of falling concrete, to the Tama Hospital in Tamagotchi Town. He later visits Sakura in the hospital, telling her only to continue fighting if she's ready for it, because it's also a road to pain.

Later, Ryu is seen being beaten to a pulp by a group of street thugs; he has completely lost the will to fight and is very depressed because he could not rescue Shun. Suddenly, Ryu has another vision from Rose, who tells him to save Shun from both Dr. Sadler and himself. Ryu eventually decides that he's going to rescue Shun, but first has to see somebody.

Ryu and Chun-Li venture out to a mountainous area, filled with what appears to hundreds of wooden dolls. Akuma's voice is heard, and he recognizes Ryu as a student of Gouken. It is apparent that Ryu has come here to test his self-control over the Satsui no Hadō as Akuma's energy is awakening Ryu's. He then asks Akuma if he has a son, referring to Shun. Akuma wanders off, telling him that where he walks and fights, he does so alone.

Ryu is later confronted by Ken, who wants to remind him that he can be strong without resorting to the Satsui no Hadō. They engage each other in a short, but brutal fight, which ends in a draw. As they both lie on the ground, breathing heavily, Ryu once again asks Ken to kill him if the Satsui no Hadō completely consumes him. Ken reluctantly nods.

Later, Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li decide to fly out to Sadler's laboratory, traveling along with Birdie, Adon, Guy, Rolento, Dhalsim and Dan. Upon their landing, they also run into Sodom.

The various fighters duke it out in Sadler's arena, while Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li investigate. Birdie, being the first winner after defeating Dan, is led to a room by Sadler's men, where he is gassed and imprisoned. Later, he's freed by Ken and Chun-Li. Ryu wanders off and finds a garden filled with children in white robes. Ryu sees a boy that looks like Shun, but the boy has freckles and blue eyes, and as he stares soullessly at Ryu, he suddenly crumbles to the ground and starts convulsing, apologizing to Sadler.

As Ken and Chun-Li carry away Birdie, they are attacked by what seems to be Rosanov, the same cyborg that Ryu destroyed during the earlier tournament. It makes quick work of Birdie and knocks him outside, and Ken tells Chun-Li to leave with Birdie while he fights off Rosanov. Rosanov fires a blast of energy at Ken, and then captures Birdie and tries to carry him off. Birdie wakes up and tries to sneak attack the cyborg, but he's quickly defeated and knocked out once again. Chun-Li tries to take him down too, but she's also defeated.

Ken returns and faces off against Rosanov, who wears him down, but Ken attempts to stand and continue the fight. Ryu arrives at the scene, only to realize that the cyborg they've been fighting is actually Shun, who is being controlled by Sadler. Rosanov tells Ryu that, if he doesn't use the Satsui no Hadō, Ken will die.

Ryu refuses and attempts to take Rosanov down with his own power, but as he does, the data from the fight is pumped into Sadler's body, making him more powerful. None of his attacks are particularly effective, and Shun continues to taunt him. Ryu becomes enraged as Rosanov proceeds to use a Hadoken on Ken, who has collapsed due to his injuries. Chun-Li re-enters the fight and tries to damage Rosanov, but is easily subdued and slammed into the ground. Meanwhile, Ken recovers and temporarily breaks his vows of not fighting to kill, deciding to kill Rosanov once and for all. He then unleashes a powerful Shoryuken on the cyborg, dislocating his jaw before collapsing once more, unable to continue fighting. However, Rosanov snaps his jaw back into place, and Ryu is the last fighter left standing.

A combination of desperation, pity for Shun, and hatred for Sadler causes the Satsui no Hadō to take over Ryu once more. As he tries to maintain control, he is overcome, and fires a larger Metsu Hadoken at Rosanov, who fires back with a Hadoken of his own. Ryu proves to be more powerful and blasts through Rosanov's abdomen, finally defeating him, and freeing Shun from his body.

As a result of Ryu using the Satsui no Hadō to defeat Rosanov, Sadler becomes greatly empowered by the energy, becoming stronger and more insane. He then emerges from his lab, with his now-deformed body powered by the Satsui no Hadō, and attacks Ryu with a barrage of punches, kicks and headbutts. The Satsui no Hadō still drives Ryu. Meanwhile, Sadler prepare a Metsu Hadoken to finish off Ryu, who prepares a Metsu Hadoken of his own. Just as Ryu is about to attack, Rose appears, informing him that he "hasn't drawn the death card yet". Ryu's friends, as well as Shun, tell him not to give into the Satsui no Hadō's corrupting influence. Sadler then fires his Hadoken which overwhelms Ryu. However, Ryu suddenly returns to normal, the Satsui no Hadō gone from his Hadoken, which is soon replaced with a brilliant light. Now free of the Satsui no Hadō's grasp, Ryu fires an immensely powerful Shinku Hadoken at Sadler that destroys both of the mad doctor's arms. Sadler openly wonders how Ryu was able to surpass him before his body completely disintegrates into ashes.

With the battle finally over, a weakened Shun tells Ryu that the reason he lied was so he could get money for him and his mother to survive. Ryu tells Shun that it is all right, and that he'll never use the Satsui no Hadō again. After that, Shun finally succumbs to the injuries inflicted by Sadler's draining and dies. For a moment, Ryu almost gets emotional and angry. He puts Shun's corpse down, and is driven by a greater desire to never use the Satsui no Hadō again.

The movie ends with the fighters returning to their normal lives. Ryu, however, has sought out a sparring match between with Akuma to show that he is nothing like him. Ryu and Akuma jump at each other and Ryu releases a triumphant shout as he prepares for battle.

CastEdit

Original Japanese versionEdit

English dubEdit

CharactersEdit

HeroesEdit

Adon

Birdie

Chun-Li

Dan

Dhalsim

Gouken

Guy

Ken Masters

Rose

Ryu

Sakura

Shun

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VillainsEdit

Akuma

Evil Ryu

Rolento

Rosanov

Sadler

Sodom

Vega

Zangief

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TriviaEdit

• In the hospital, Sakura is playing the WonderSwan version of Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. In the game, Chun-Li is fighting Ibuki.
• M. Bison, Charlie, Gen, Sagat , R. Mika, Balrog, Cody, Cammy, E. Honda, Juli, Juni, and Karin are the characters from the Street Fighter Alpha series who are never seen in the movie. Bison's role as the main antagonist is taken up by Sadler and Rosanov, who were created exclusively for the film, while Sagat is mentioned by name only.
• Although she is wearing her Alpha outfit in the movie, Chun-Li's color scheme is different. Her outfit is red and yellow instead of blue and yellow.
• While the technique is used multiple times throughout the film, no character ever yells out "Hadoken".
• Although the events in the movie are non-canon, it's highly likely that, during the final battle between the Satsui no Hadō-empowered Sadler and Ryu, there was a glimpse of the Power of Nothingness, or at least a very early concept of it. In a split second, Ryu went from charging a Metsu Hadoken to charging a Shinku Hadoken instead. The type of damage done by the Shinku Hadoken to Sadler's Satsui no Hadō-empowered body (disintegrating into ashes) is also consistent with the Power of Nothingness' effects on those with evil ki.

External Links Edit

• Wikipedia article
• Capcom Database article
• Review of Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation at Street Fighter RPG Brazil (Portuguese-English-Spanish)
• Recap of Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation by Rage Quitter 87