Every once in awhile I’ll find a movie that’s so silly and outrageous that’s even entertaining solely because of that. Tekken: The Motion Picture (aka the 90’s Tekken anime movie) is the last on my list, previously occupied by Fast and Furious for instance. Talk about a silly movie franchise, am I right? But I’m not discriminating though. I grew up watching silly movies, and you can probably say, I really have a soft spot for them. And you know what else I have a soft sport for? Tekken. The video game franchise. I love it.
Additionally, I’ve devoted plenty of articles here at IndieGala on the Tekken franchise, as I did devote plenty of time to the other Bandai Namco intellectual properties. I mean, I called my last post „I am Winning In Tekken 7 And Loving It“. I’ll share it again, so you can check it out (again). You’re welcome.
Tekken 7 Is The Inspiration For The Tekken Anime Movie Post
Ah yes. As you can probably tell, by the previous post, we currently have Tekken 7 available for purchase here at IndieGala. And on sale, I might add. So, if you’re a fan of the franchise, and especially of Tekken 7, then you should effeminately have a look. Oh, and if you’re also interested in the Ultimate Edition, then snoop around that as well. The Ultimate Edition also contains the second season pass which features Anna Williams’s character. The sale won’t last that much longer, so hurry up.
But back to the topic at hand. The Tekken anime movie I was going to explore.
Is The Tekken Anime Any Good?
The short answer to that question would be a categorical NO. But the long answer would require some analysis on my part. Oh, man. Where do I even begin? I had high hopes for this movie. Mostly because I’m a fan of the video games of course, and because of the presence of my two favorite fictional siblings. The Williams sisters. But don’t get your hopes up for them either.
Their presence in this movie is minuscule, borderline non-existent. However other characters have much worse fate than Nina and Ana, and it’s a crying shame. The Tekken characters like Yoshimitsu, Marshall Law, Paul Phoenix, King, Armor King get a blink and you’ll miss it cameo appearances. And near the end of the movie, they’ll get 5 additional seconds more screen-time. In the the entire movie. Therefore the entire plot of the Tekken anime is solely centered around Kazuya Mishima and Jun Kazama. But the fact that they were given the most ridiculous dialogue doesn’t help their cause.
Silly Dialogue And Under-Developed Characters
“Why are you so angry? Just because your dad threw you off a cliff“ Asks Jun in one particularly hilarious scene, and my thought was… Yeah girl. That would be a good reason to be angry. But aside of the terrible dialogue, there’s a potentially good story there. Two in fact. On the first basic side of the story, the movie is a classic revenge story. Kazuya’s ruthless father threw him off a cliff when he was a child, and by some miracle he survived the ordeal. Now, 16 years later, he’s on a revenge mission aimed at his father, so he enters the Tekken tournament to get even. Simple and clean. I mean Tarantino made a career out of that.
On the other hand, Kazuya’s friend Jun (who witnessed the whole incident) now works at Interpol. And she also signs up for the tournament, but because of a different motive. To find out the alleged illegal experiments on a remote and well-guarded island. AKA the place of the King of Iron Fist Tournament. So you have a revenge story-line on one hand and investigative story-line on the other. Two narratives that should add weight and complexity to the plot development. Except there isn’t any complexity nor plot development. Of both of them. Or any character development either for that matter. Most of the characters are one dimensional as they’re annoying, with a slight exception of Jack and the little girl. Which I thought is ironic, since he’s a non-human character, but I digress.
Too Many Ingredients Might Result In A Bad Final Recipe
And by many ingredients, I mean the many (and I do mean many) story elements that are taken from the first 3 Tekken video games. The abundance of games makes the movie to lack any structural and connective cohesion. And therefore to be boring at best. And disappointing, disrespectful of the franchise at worse. Not to mention, the fact that the Tekken anime movie is barely 60 minutes long seems like a blessing and a curse at the same time. Let me explain.
For what it is (one-hour movie), Tekken the anime is rather boring and severely underdeveloped. In almost every aspect, including the animation and direction even. The short nature allows you not to get too bored and annoyed with the lack of quality. However, if the movie was properly developed and at least 30 minutes longer, it would make much sense. If only.
Final Thoughts On The Tekken Anime Movie
Honestly, for a movie that’s based on a game that involves one on one fighting in most of the content, there’s very little of that here. Fighting I mean. Not to mention, there’s not a single mention of who actually won the tournament. Ever. The thing that everyone assembled and actually came for is forgotten fairly quickly. Instead, you get giant invisible dinosaurs. And one of them even devours one of my favorite characters. Anna Williams. Yup. It was Jurassic Park all over again.
But on the topic of the poor quality, even the English dubbing voices were not that good. And near the end inexplicably muffled by the generic RNB music. It’s a crying shame that the final product is a disappointment and a wasted opportunity. The Tekken anime movie deserved so much more because the basic structure of the source material is simple yet intriguing. All is left to do is go forward from that simple starting point, but I guess not everyone knows how.
Would Love To Know Your Impressions Too
Did you like the Tekken anime movie? If you did what did you loved the most? Tell us in the comment section. We’d love to know about your thoughts on the movie.
