Street Fighter II: The Animated Series Episode 2: The King of the Air Force – An Explosion of Menacing Military Combat
Oshimeter
4 Ratings
EPISODE REVIEWS
Picking up where the last episode leaves off, Ryu and Ken illegally enter a bar and pick a fight with the local Airmen. They easily take them down and prematurely declare victory. However, Guile steps in and thinking it's another easy fight, Ryu steps up. Upon trying to throw him, Guile shows that Ryu has finally met his match by proceeding to beat the crap out of him after instantly escaping his clenches. Crushed by Ryu's defeat, Ken uses his family's influence to sneak onto the base to challenge Guile himself only to get his butt whipped as well. Despite being the second episode, the fights portrayed clearly show how the quality can nearly equal what was portrayed in the original animated movie. The fight is pure hand-to-hand and doesn't rely on gimmicks such as Hadoukens or Shoryukens...but the deciding move is a Flash Kick... If you want something with pure martial arts and fighting, something as real as it gets like you see in "Baki" of "Kengan Ashura," then this is for you. Granted, they both take a one-sided beating, the episode does an excellent job of showing they either have spirit, arrogance, or maybe both. No matter how badly Guile lays the smackdown on them, they still get back up to the point that Guile shows them some respect. Since the series portrays Ken and Ryu as teenagers who barely got their black belts, it gives narrative justification as to why they go around the world to become better fighters. They realize that despite winning tournaments and years of training, having pure battlefield experience, as Guile demonstrates, is something that they lacked. It teaches the audience the old saying that it doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up, in a very inspiring way. The performances in Japanese and English are equally good and as someone who tends to prefer watching it in Japanese, I also enjoy the dub. I feel Guile's performances in both versions (being gruff in Japanese and more gnarly in English) show that he doesn't have to be too loud to express his point and let his fists do all the talking. The guitar riffs played during the first part of Ryu and Guile's fight sucks you straight into the action and make you feel the intensity and desperation. I say if you love hardcore action, then this episode will get you pumped up for more!
This one had some good character moments, and I liked seeing more of Ryu and Ken’s personalities. Ken stood out to me in particular, and I enjoyed the way their different personalities played off each other. A good follow-up to the opener.
The plot was totally different to the '94 movie. I thought it was a continuation but I was wrong. Anyways, that fighting scene right off the bat was intense. Ryu's spirit was unbelievable in that aspect. Ken's backup idea was so hastily made and that resulted in the same fate as Ryu's. Doubting Ken's friendship was a bad influence for Ryu. The tone's ep was ambitious and hopeful.
10
