"Like the game? Buy the anime!" Too often have we seen this phrase, whether stated or implied. However, as most anime fans know, you cannot assume a show will be good by a license, even to the point of assuming a licensed title is presumed guilty of mediocrity until proven innocent. STREET FIGHTER ALPHA: THE MOVIE honestly surprised me, as I went in expecting the worst and found a show relatively worthy of redemption.

STREET FIGHTER ALPHA: THE MOVIE is in reality a two part OVA recently released in Japan. As Manga Entertainment apparently helped in the production costs, this series saw a quick turnover to North America after being spliced together into one "movie" with no apparent loss.

The story stars a select set of characters from the STREET FIGHTER ALPHA arcade game. To no one's surprise Ryu, an exceptionally skilled and powerful martial artist from Japan, is the primary protagonist as he struggles with his own inner demons and latent "evil" power. Ken, Ryu's close friend of similar power, and Chun-li, a Chinese Interpol agent and decent fighter in her own right, get swept along on Ryu's adventure. Sakura, Rose and Akuma/Gouki get a share of airtime, but other than brief glimpses of the other characters, the shows cast remains very focused—which is a good thing.

After the mysterious death of Ken and Ryu's master, Ryu finds himself slowly being consumed by the "Dark Hadou," an amazingly strong power that threatens to control him much as it did his father before. Then a young boy arrived named Shun arrives who introduces himself as Ryu's younger brother; a brother Ryu never knew he had from a mother he had never seen. Through events, we find out that Shun also has the "Dark Hadou," though he is unable to control it and, before Ryu can discover more, Shun is kidnapped by an "evil" organization called Shadowlaw. Ryu and friends are then forced to kick butt.

In actuality, STREET FIGHTER ALPHA does not contain as much combat as your standard fighting anime. Much of the time is spent upon Ryu in inner turmoil and the various character interactions. I found I enjoyed watching the various characters, though I felt that many of the scenes lacked proper editing and were placed in regardless of whether or not it added to the story. STREET FIGHTER ALPHA will not change my outlook on life, but the plot held the action together well, without being corny.

The animation quality is where STREET FIGHTER ALPHA really shines. The character design is crisp and consistent with an original style. The animation itself is very smooth, and the higher OVA production values are put to good use. The voice acting is very good on both the Japanese and English sides, and the music uses actual orchestral pieces.

Manga did another excellent job on this DVD, much as they did with CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO. The transfer is great, and the disk offers an English 5.1 surround as well as English and Japanese stereo tracks. The menus are rather stylish too.

What makes this DVD so special are extras Manga was able to get from the original Japanese DVD release. They included interviews with the majority of Japanese voice talent, the character designer and the director, plus a nicely edited "making of the animation" section. Both these sections are worth checking out, although be sure to watch then after viewing the video as there are major spoilers.

My overall opinion of this disk is positive. The high animation quality and style outweighed some of the lack of focus plot-wise. For all the fighting game animations I've seen (from FATAL FURY to TOSHINDEN), STREET FIGHTER ALPHA ranks among the top. I will admit that, overall, I find this genre often feels rushed and underdeveloped, relying too much on the strength of the license to sell. STREET FIGHTER ALPHA is certainly worth at least a rental to fighting anime buffs, and breaks away from many of the pitfalls that weakened the titles that came before it.