"First of all, I'd just like to start off by saying how sorry I am that I have to give this DVD four stars instead of five. The reasons are the following:
- The animation and art quality of this series is kinda bad...although at times it will look great, most of the times the characters keep changing how they look- sometimes they look buff, other times they look thin and ugly, other times they look stupid... as if the artists were always taking turns drawing.
- At times, the DVD color will screw up a little. Though, not really a major problem after you get used to it, but in the beginning, it might become very annoying.
- The biggest flaw in the DVD- They took away the intro theme song(Kaze fuiteru- which, btw, is the best anime song I'v ever heard by far.) and video, and they also took out the ending theme. These were replaced by a techno like theme which is ok, but I'd much rather have Kaze Fuiteru instead.
- Even though the Japanese voices are the perfect choice for the characters, sometimes they're moving their lips and instead we will either listen to laughing(which wont match the lips) or nothing at all...But, now for the pluses of this wonderful series and DVD:
- The japanese voices are P E R F E C T for every single character, even the Director of Fei Long's movie. I specially like Chun- Li's voice, which is as cute as you can get.
- The english voices are OK...although at times I feel like Manga only casted these voices for their battle cries and yelling. Ken and Chun- Li's battle cries are pretty good, but their voices are awful, they dont match the characters at all.
Fei Long's voice is good, although his Bruce Lee like yelling during his fight with Ken was not Bruce Lee at all...more like a high pitched rip off of the american Fei Long voice in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.
Ryu and Guile's voice are excellent. If I'm not mistaken, they are the same voices from SFII, which is very pleasing, as I loved Guile's voice in the animated movie aswell.
In the american dub, they also change around alot of the things the japanese voices are saying, and sometimes they even add words where they shouldn't be. This doesn't bother me, though.
- The DVD has seven episodes. This is great, because the VHS only had three.
- It contains a trailer of various Manga Animes(which is pretty cool if you enjoy anime), including the trailer to the series.
- It contains a catalogue of Manga Anime.
- It has the intro theme song remix- I'd still prefer Kaze Fuiteru, or Cry.
- The character development is great. The characters are really unique, and you'll end up either loving them, or hating them.
- The fights are superb- specially Fei Long vs Ken and Ryu vs Guile. AWSOME FIGHTS.
- The music. The music which plays during the fights and such is really catchy and enjoyable.Overall, if you like Anime, Martial Arts, or Street Fighter, this DVD is for you!
I cant wait to recieve Volume 2, which I will order in a couple of days."
Street Fighter and martial arts fans will love this.
Matthew Jones | Minnesota, USA | 06/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are a martial arts, Street Fighter or anime fan, you should do yourself a favor and pick up Street Fighter II V. I am a fan of all three and my enjoyment with this DVD was very high. I like how they retold the Street Fighter mythos, instead of just rehashing the same story from the video games. I think Ryu and Ken are very interesting people and there adventures moved at such an exciting and fast pace, I couldn't stop watching until the entire DVD was over.
The first volume is my favorite. The first episode really gets you on Ryu and Ken's side and you can't wait to see how they will become world class street fighters.
The animation was great, especially the martial arts sequences. I really like how they drew all the Street Fighter guys and the original characters were also very well drawn.
The sound is great. I prefer the english dub over the japanese voices with subtitling, but thankfully both options are available with this DVD. The opening and closing theme music are great. Street Fighter II V is my favorite martial arts anime. Try to find the box set instead of buying each individual volume though, because you won't want to miss a single episode. This DVD is worth owning."
Great collectible series
Devolition D'Anime | Trinidad, West Indies | 06/04/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought all four volumes and was not disappointed. The story is great, action is frequent, many of the main characters are included (Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Bison, Vega, Zangief, Cammy, Balrog, Dhalsim, Sagat, Fei-Long, did I forget anybody??).I STRONGLY recommend that if you are getting this get all 4 volumes. You'll find yourself hungering for what happens next and the finale is worth it!!! :)The only reason I held back from giving this a full 5 star rating is because I got some glitches on a couple of the episodes. I wouldn't be surprised if it's because of how many episodes they crammed into each disc.Still, sans glitches this is a must for true anime fans and Street Fighter junkies."
Doesn't really fit into the regular story!
Devolition D'Anime | 02/28/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I remember watching the movies and the old show. I think this is new show. The main characters(Ryu and Ken)are younger then on the orginal show and on the movies and games. Even so, this is a great anime. The first dvd ends where Ryu learns about ki and blue flame. (Haduken anyone?) Not much fireballs like Haduken and tiger so far. But there did have Ken do his uppercut and Guile do his uppercut kick. The fighting scenes are great, I like how they do some affects like fatal fury, forexample when they get punched really hard they cough up blood. But most of the time you only see bruises on their faces. This is a great anime if you have money. There will be about 10 more dvds coming out. Great anime to watch!"
Actually quite good
Inspector Gadget | On the trail of Doctor Claw | 06/27/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought all 4 of these DVDs some time ago and only started to watch them now. I liked the Street Fighter II animated movie but I was put off watching this one as I wasn't too keen on Street Fighter Zero, even if this series is directed by Gisaburo Sugii who did Street Fighter II (as well as the brilliant Night on the Galactic Railroad). How is that for confusing?
What makes this better than the rather dour Street Fighter Zero is that it has a pretty good sense of humor, great fight scenes, interesting plots and the occasional moment of cartoonish goofiness. Each episode is made up of a brand new adventure as Ken and Ryu travel the world, getting into mischief. A simple formula, but it works.
Since the show is from the mid-nineties the animation isn't as smooth as more recent stuff, but you shouldn't let that ruin your enjoyment. The only thing I can complain about is the opening credit sequence, which just takes too long.
The DVD is in 1.33:1, as originally drawn with Dolby Stereo sound. Extras are limited to a few Manga trailers."