Street Fighter: Akuma (Gouki), Gouken, and Ryu

Ever have some questions about their relationships?  Ever wonder what happened before Street Fighter 2?  Well, there's a pretty cool movie about it all.  As with any of the Street Fighter non-game media, you really have to take them at face value.  Even a lotta the game continuity is rather confusing, but it's a fighter, it's not meant for that.

Here's a preview:



Sadly, this movie has some weird stuff in it that I don't want to spoil for you, but lets just say that there's a character in it, an important character, that never appears before, again, or is mentioned...  To my knowledge.

Dan is still silly, Sakura is still a fan-girl of Ryu, while Akuma is still a demon, Chun Li is still a hearthrob, but Ryu is still emo and, thankfully, Ken still steals the show.  With his big ass feet.

It does explain 'The Dark Hadou" fairly well, but since this is Alpha (in between SF and SF2) it's not as prominent as we would like it to be...  It's worth the watch, though, so is Street Fighter Alpha Generations, which is all about Akuma vs. Gouken and Ryu vs. Akuma, simply put, it's a short OVA dedicated to some important stuff.

Thanks for reading,

Der Ninja.

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New Dragon Ball Kai Brings Remastered 'Director's Cut' of DBZ

Since Dragon Ball Z first became popular in the US around the late '90s, the series has been constantly teased for its numerous fights, drawn-out battle scenes, and endless filler episodes that did very little to contribute to the story. Toei Animation is changing all of this with an original cut edition called Dragon Ball Kai that more closely follows Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's original manga story. Due to both the DBZ manga and anime being serialized simultaneously in monthly versus weekly installments, the anime added additional story arcs and stretched out battles to follow the same schedule. Dragon Ball Kai will instead more closely follow the manga and feature a more succinct story pace.

Dragon Ball Kai will also feature a new HD remasterng from the original film source as well as renewed soundtracks, sound effects, and new dialogue recorded by the majority of the original Japanese voice actors. While FUNimation released a remastered version of DBZ on DVD, this will be the most definitive version of the series yet. There was a lot of filler that really bogged the series down, so this new edition should please plenty.

Both critics and fans alike should find a lot to like in DBK when it starts airing in Japan starting April 5. No word yet about US licensing for DVD distribution or TV airings.


Source: Anime News Network

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The Dragonball Movie Syndrome

With the American live-action film, Dragonball: Evolution only weeks away from its premiere, Anime News Nina creator Robin Sevakis provides her take on the situation.

I have to say, I almost want to see this happen for the "train-wreck" factor. If anybody can pull off a Hollywood version of Ash Ketchum, it's Shia Labeouf.


Source: Anime News Network

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First Early "Review" of Live Action Dragonball Movie

The release of Dragonball is still about five months away, but the hype and criticism continues to mount. After the promotional trailer was leaked, it was received with mixed reviews. The highly touted special effects have yet to be added to the trailer or movie, but it looks like they are already scheduling for additional filming. They have been scouting for males between the ages of 20-70 and fluent in Nepalese or Tibetan. The official trailer has been delayed to December 12th, 2008, possibly to coincide with The Day The Earth Stood Still. The movie is still slated to hit Japan on March 13, 2009 with a North American release soon to follow on April 10. The above footage shows a short teaser clip from a Japanese TV program called NHK, briefly displaying the dragonball and Goku's gi.

Ain't It Cool News reader Don reports having supposedly viewed an early release of the movie before special effects and score. His writing style and lack of sources doesn't lend him much credibility, but they are interesting looks into what the movie could turn out. You can click the link for the full story, but here are some interesting tidbits. Just as a warning, there is a bit of cursing present.

Action - I wasn't expecting the action scenes to be as awesome as they were. Simply put the best thing about this movie. The last action scene of Goku vs. Picollo are simply amazing and when picollo takes out his huge fucking ass sword with weird rectangle shape tablet attached it at the tip of sword and slamming it on goku was fucking awesome. Lot of blowing shit up, super cool flying scenes, awesome ki blasts. This fight scene was around 13-15 minutes long. There are other small action scenes that are fun and entertaining with slo mo but nowhere as good as the picollo vs. goku scene.

Justin Chatwin as Goku. This guy surprised me a lot. I really didn't like him when they casted him as goku but he did a damn good job in the acting department and he nailed the KAMEHAMEHA line.

Story - Dragonball fans will be dissapointed with some of the changes they have made with stories and characters etc. Krillin isn't in the movie, Tien isn't in the movie too. High school setting for the first 22-23 minutes was so not needed but ah well typical hollywood garbage of adding bullshit like that.

Chow Yun Fat as Master Roshi - I was dissapointed with this. I wanted the fucking perverted roshi who fucking grabs breasts and asses like in the anime but alas all of that is fucking gone. Also he acted like Mr. Kesuke Miyagi. You know what I mean. The lines he spoke were fine but I felt he was uncomfortable in the movie. Very dissapointed.

Full Review...

It's hard to discern if this review is authentic or not, as many of these points could be easily made up. It sounds like they're trying to keep the spirit of Dragonball while modernizing the story and keeping it relevant to Hollywood standards. A big focus seems to be on the action, so hopefully it will maintain that high energy while still feeling like a DB fight. Some of the things he points out sounds a bit superficial, but he does seem to be a Dragonball fan.

Overall, it's still too early to tell how the movie will turn out. It hasn't exactly been receiving positive press, but maybe this review is an indication that it won't be a complete disaster. The reception the film receives both Japan and North America should be very interesting to see.

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Early Live Action Dragonball Teaser Trailer Leaked

Before viewing the above leaked trailer, let me preface it with a few comments. This leaked trailer was created strictly for a brand licensing expo and potential Licensing & Merchandising partners, so it mostly just introduces the look, style, characters, and other elements of the movie way before special effects and CGI have been integrated. Things like music clearances and talent approvals have not been pursued yet, and you can immediately tell this leaked trailer was made for general, informative purposes. The official trailer will feature more action, energy, and visual effects that many have expected to help portray the feel of the Dragonball series. With that said, some of my previous comments about the movie seem to hold some weight while they take things in an interesting direction.

Goku is played by Justin Chatwin, mostly known for his role as Robbie in War of the Worlds.


This trailer doesn't answer many of the questions people have, but it is one of the first solid looks at the treatment and style outside of leaked set pictures. The questionable changes remain intact, like Goku's (Justin Chatwin) ethnicity, him starting out in high school, and the more serious atmosphere. One of the first things I gained from the trailer was the tone and attitude director James Wong was trying to achieve. While the original Dragonball series was lighthearted and had a distinct Asian style, the movie goes in the opposite direction. The trailer comes off as serious and very Americanized. I was hoping for something along the lines of producer Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle instead of a modern day version of the Jackie Chan/Jet Li team-up flick, Forbidden Kingdom. The setting doesn't sit well with me, especially with scenes that show a little too much of its modern day trappings. Perhaps the CGI effects can help with blending the ancient and futuristic environments, but the atmosphere doesn't feel quite right. Since Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) received a large spotlight, that helped show the changes made to the character. While his perverted nature may not sit well with families, he appears far too serious and a little too young for the role. The look of Lord Piccolo is an interesting take, but I will reserve judgment until there is a full image of him.

Lord Piccolo is played by James Marsters, who appeared as the evil Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

It is evident which audience they are trying to appeal to with this movie. Many DB fans will watch it regardless of its quality, but it will be a harder sell to non-fans. The Dragonball series has gained a somewhat poor reputation in the US for its drawn out storylines, long fight scenes, and at times, lack of substance. Many had generalized anime as being just like Dragonball Z. Although DB is more of a comedy/adventure and much different than its successor, it was probably wise for them to take a mainstream standpoint with the movie. The music score has been a controversial subject with DBZ's localization, but the film score is looking positive. Composer Brian Tyler (Rambo, Eagle Eye) is apparently a big fan of the series and looks to capture the sweeping, epic, fantasy feel of the original anime and of Wong's adaptation. The official teaser trailer was supposed to premiere alongside Max Payne on October 17th, but has since been pushed back to later this year to allow for more editing and special effects.

There are still a lot of unknown details, but dbthemovie.com is a great source for cast and crew information, news, and an informative FAQ. With the movie releasing in North America on April 10, 2009, there is still over six months to finalize and polish. The internet community has been very vocal in its opinion of the Dragonball movie, but perhaps they can pull out a few surprises in this first iteration of their planned trilogy.

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