Tekken: The Motion Picture

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This article is about the Tekken anime film. For the live-action film, see Tekken (2009 film).
Tekken
Cover art of the DVD release by ADV films.
鉄拳 -TEKKEN-
(Tekken)
Original video animation
Directed byKunihisa Sugishima
Produced byAkira Saigoku
Yoshimasa Mori
Yumiko Masujima
Masahiro Toyozumi
Written byRyōta Yamaguchi
Music byKazuhiko Toyama
StudioStudio Deen
Licensed by
Released January 21, 1998 – February 21, 1998
Runtime
  • 30 minutes (individual OVAs)
  • 60 minutes (ADV release)
Episodes2

Tekken: The Motion Picture (鉄拳 -TEKKEN-) is an

1998, and as a full-length feature for Western releases. It was one of the first OVAs to use digital ink and paint
.

The film's story is loosely based on

Lei's investigation of the Zaibatsu's illegal activities, although it also incorporates some elements from Tekken 3
.

Plot

As a child,

Jun Kazama watches as Kazuya Mishima is thrown off a cliff by his ruthless father, Heihachi
, who deems him as weak and kind-hearted due to the kindness he was shown by his late mother. She attempts to locate him, but fails and Kazuya is presumed dead. Kazuya, however, only barely survives and swears revenge, selling his soul to the Devil in exchange for his own survival.

Sixteen years later, Jun works as an Interpol agent and is assigned a partner,

Bruce Irvin
along with his young companion, Jane. Jun sees Kazuya jump aboard the ship from a bridge and later confronts him in the gym about his past, and attempts to persuade him to stand down, but Kazuya refuses. Nina and Anna attack again but both Kazuya and Jun escape, only strengthening Kazuya's determination to kill both Heihachi and Lee, and threatens to kill Jun as well if she interferes again.

On the day of the tournament, Lei infiltrates the island's underground facility. He is ambushed by guards but saved by Jack, who seeks out the Zaibatsu's captive scientist

genetically-enhanced dinosaurs
into the field to kill Kazuya and the other competitors so that no one will win the tournament. One devours Anna while Nina escapes. Kazuya taps into his inner power and kills all but one of them before reaching the tower where Heihachi awaits him. After fighting his way past Lee, Kazuya confronts Heihachi and the two fight. In response, Lee activates the island's self-destruction sequence, intending to kill himself and take his family with him.

Heihachi takes the upper hand and severely beats Kazuya. Jun intervenes and demands to know why Heihachi threw him into the canyon, and Heihachi reveals that after viewing the corruption of civilization, he sought to instill the power of the Devil within Kazuya via tragedy so that he would become his successor and lead the Zaibatsu to conquer the world and bring it under Mishima rule. At Heihachi's goading, Kazuya succumbs to the Devil and overpowers Heihachi, viciously pummelling him as the island begins to fall apart. Before Kazuya can finish Heihachi by throwing him into a river of lava, Jun manages to reach into Kazuya's heart by returning him his mother's locket, reminding him of the kindness she showed him and enabling him to expel the Devil for good, reverting him to his original kind-hearted self. Enraged, Heihachi tries to kill both Kazuya and Jun, and the three of them fall from the cliff. As the island begins to crumble, Lei, Jack, Jane, and Bosconovitch flee the facility, but Jack sacrifices himself to hold the door open long enough for his friends to escape, asking Lei and Bosconovitch to take care of Jane for him. The remaining competitors escape from the burning forest as Kazuya emerges with the unconscious Jun. They escape the island while Heihachi flees in a jet as the island finally explodes.

In the epilogue, set a few years later, Jun is accosted by

something
is wrong, she dismisses Jin's concern and they walk home together.

Characters

Main
Character Japanese voice actor English dubbing actor
Devil
 Kazuhiro Yamaji Adam Dudley
Heihachi Mishima Daisuke Gōri John Paul Shepard
Jun Kazama
 Yumi Tōma Edi Patterson
Secondary
Character Japanese voice actor English dubbing actor
Lei Wulong
 Akio Nakamura Gray Haddock
Lee Chaolan
 Shin-ichiro Miki David Stokey
Nina Williams Minami Takayama Ellie McBride
Anna Williams
 Kaori Yamagata Claire Hamilton
Young Jun Eri Sendai Lucy Farris
Young Kazuya Minami Takayama Jacob Franchek
Michelle Chang Narumi Hidaka Jessica Robertson
Jack-2
Akio Ōtsuka
 Mark O'Brien
Jane
 Jessica Schwatz
Dr. Bosconovitch
 Tamio Ōki Ken Webster
Bruce Irvin
 Seiji Sasaki Peter Harrell Jr.
Jin Kazama Minami Takayama Jacob Franchek
Baek Doo San
 Kyousei Tsukui Lowell B. Bartholomee
Ganryu
 Takashi Nagasako Lowell B. Bartholomee
Tekken 1 cameos

Paul Phoenix and Yoshimitsu
.

Tekken 2 cameos

Prototype Jack
and Roger all have non-dialogue roles during the final battles, their screentime only shows them attacking the other Tekken Fighters.

Tekken 3 cameos

As

Forest Law and mainly Jin Kazama (at age 19). Gon
also appears as a non-speaking easteregg, Jin appears in the movie's epilogue, but as a child, teasing a sequel.

Release

The first OVA was released in Japan on VHS and LaserDisc on January 21, 1998, with the second part being released on February 21, courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Japan.[1] A Region 2 DVD release of the OVA was released by SME Visual Works on November 22, 2000.[2]

ADV Films announced they had licensed the OVA series in May 1998 at Project A-Kon 9.[3] ADV edited both episodes into a single film, featuring a new soundtrack with alternative rock, punk rock and sludge metal music consisting of "The Meaning of Life" by The Offspring, "Save Yourself" by Stabbing Westward, "Clean My Wounds" by Corrosion of Conformity, "Straight to Hell" by The Urge, and "Bonecrusher" by Soulhat.

Reception

Tekken: The Motion Picture was met with mixed reviews, and seen by many as an unsuccessful attempt to replicate the previous success of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. Entertainment Weekly called it "a punch-drunk, derivative Saturday-morning cartoon" that "saps every atom of magic from its source."[4] Anime News Network gave the anime a C+, calling it "oddly mediocre in a genre filled with utter crap."[5] Video game magazine Hyper gave it a score of 4/10, opining: "The action bears no resemblance to the games, and the animation is total garbage. The plot is also disturbingly similar to Enter the Dragon. This is one for all anime connoisseurs to avoid."[6] For the English dub, Adam Dudley's performance as Kazuya was also criticized.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "Tekken Anime". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 101. Ziff Davis. December 1997. p. 36.
  2. ^ "鉄拳･鉄拳 | Sony Music Shop･CD･DVD･ﾌﾞﾙｰﾚｲ･ｱｰﾃｨｽﾄｸﾞｯｽﾞ･書籍･雑誌の通販".
  3. ^ "Elevator Action Anyone?". ADV Films. 1998-06-02. Archived from the original on 1998-12-07. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  4. ^ Bernardin, Marc (1999-02-05). "Tekken: The Motion Picture". EW.com. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  5. ^ "Tekken: The Motion Picture DVD – Review". Animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  6. ^ Hyper 69, page 85.
  7. ^ "Tekken: The Motion Picture". T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  8. ^ "Tekken: The Motion Picture DVD". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.

External links

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