Street Fighter (TV series)

"Street Fighter" is an American animated series produced by InVision Entertainment [cite web |author = | year=| title=InVision Entertainment [us]
format= | work=IMDb | url=http://www.imdb.com/company/co0078030/ | accessdate=2008-04-14] based on the "Street Fighter" video game franchise. 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.

Overview

The plot of the series centers around the character Guile, who forms a "Justice League"-esque team composed of other "Street Fighter" characters, which includes Chun-Li, Blanka, Cammy, Ryu and Ken, among others, to fight against M. Bison and his terrorist organization, Shadaloo. The series combined plot elements of the "Street Fighter" video games and the contemporaneous live-action movie. While the characters were originally strictly from "Street Fighter II" games, characters from the "" sub-series were featured as well following the releases of the first two games. Captain Sawada from the live-action movie appears in a few episodes, as do other supporting characters from the games such as Gouken, Ryu's and Ken's master; Cammy's team, Delta Red; and the cast of "Final Fight", who are featured in an episode based on that game.

Characters

* Guile (voiced by Michael Donovan) - He is the lead character of the series and is depicted as the de-facto leader of the "Street Fighters", a fictional peacekeeping force composed of several main characters from the games. He retains his rank and full name from the live action movie (Colonel William F. Guile). Unlike in the video games, Guile is single and has no children. He has an on and off relationship with an ex-girlfriend named Lucinda (an original character), and has a mutual attraction with Cammy. He appears in all Season 1 episodes and in most of Season 2.
* M. Bison (v.b. Richard Newman) - Like in the games, he is the ruler of Shadowlaw. Serves as the primary antagonist of the series.
* Chun-Li (v.b. Donna Yamamoto) - Chun-Li serves as the lead female character in the series and appears in most episodes like Guile. Like in the games, she seeks to avenge her father's death, who was killed by Bison. Like her movie counterpart, she also works as a news reporter.
* Blanka (v.b. Scott McNeil) - Like in the movie, the Blanka of the TV series is Guile's combat buddy Charlie, who was turned into a mutant by Dr. Dhalsim. He reverts to his human form in "Eye of the Beholder", where he wears an outfit similar to the Charlie from the "Street Fighter Alpha" games, but with a green version of the same vest and still wears his shackles. He reverts to his mutated form by the end of the episode.
* Ken (v.b. Scott McNeil) - Ken is depicted as a traveling con-man who prefers to find ways to get rich rather than helping Guile and his team. He becomes a more prominent character during the second season and is the only character in the series to defeat Akuma in "World's Greatest Warrior".
* Ryu (v.b. Tony Lung) - He is portrayed as Ken's traveling partner and is depicted as the more mature of the duo. Like Ken, he becomes more prominent during the second season. His surname is "Hoshi" in the series and has a cousin who appears in "The Hand That Feeds You" (he has no relatives in the games).
* Cammy (v.b. Lisa Ann Beley) - Cammy is portrayed as an MI5 agent who harbors a mutual attraction with Guile. In "Chunnel Vision", she leaves her former unit, Delta Red, to become a member of Guile's team. However, she is brainwashed by Bison in "Cammy and the Bachelor", and appears thorough the remainder of the series as one of his agents, until her brainwashing wears off in the final episode "Cammy Tell Me True".
* E. Honda (v.b. Paul Dobson) - He is depicted as a computer whiz, who loves hacking government files.
* Dee Jay (v.b. Paul Dobson) - Unlike in the movie, he is one of the heroes. He serves as the team's computer expert and helicopter pilot.
* T. Hawk (v.b. Paul Dobson) - A powerful Native American warrior.
* Fei Long (v.b. Paul Dobson) - A martial arts movie actor.
* Dhalsim (v.b. Gary Chalk) - He is depicted as a former scientist who retreated to the Himalayan mountains to shun technology.
* Rose (v.b. Teryl Rothery) - Like the other "Alpha" characters, she has a non-speaking cameo in "Medium is the Message", but plays a major role in "The Flame and The Rose" as a psychic who enlist the help of Ken and Blanka.
* Sakura (v.b. Saffron Henderson) - She appears in "Second to None" as a young Japanese girl who got into martial arts after witnessing Ryu's fight with Sagat.
* Guy (v.b. Jim Byrnes) - Guy makes a non-speaking cameo as Blanka's opponent in "Medium is the Message", but plays a major role in "Final Fight", where he and Cody helps Ryu and Ken to fight off the Mad Gear Gang.
* Cody (v.b. Mark Hildreth) - He appears in the episode "Final Fight". Since the series predates the production of "Street Fighter Alpha 3", Cody is depicted in his original outfit from "Final Fight".
* Zangief (v.b. Michael Donovan) - Zangief is depicted as one of Bison's recurring lackeys in the series, despite not working for him in the games. He had a similar role in the live-action movie, as well as in the unrelated Japanese series "Street Fighter II V".
* Sagat (v.b. Robert O. Smith) - Bison's second-in-command.
* Vega (v.b. Mark Hildreth) - He appears in two episodes, "Eye of the Beholder" and "Face of Fury", both times as Blanka's rival.
* Balrog (v.b. Paul Dobson) - He makes a single appearance in "The Medium is the Message", where he appears as a computer specialist working for Bison.
*Adon Appears briefly in "The Medium is the Message" and has a non-speaking role as an un-named street fighter.
*Akuma (voice?) - The evil brother of Ryu and Ken's master. He forces Bison and Guile to fight him, and later fights Ryu and Ken.

Episodes

eason 1

eason 2

DVD releases

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.

References

External links

* [http://tenchionline.com/ragey/Cartoons/RandomActionHour-Main.htm Episode overviews]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219458/ IMDb entry]
* [http://www.retrojunk.com/details_tvshows/250-street-fighter-the-animated-series/ Retrojunk Streetfighter intro]