[STORY 5] I felt this TV series had a lot going for it. Where the other movies failed is that we already know that Ken and Ryu are good friends, but very little is emphasized on that aspect. Audiences are kind of robbed of the bond that they share and negates character development or a reason to care. I know that sounds like asking for much, but it's the best thing this series had going for it. Watching a sort of backstory on the friendship of Ken and Ryu reuniting for the first time since training as little squirts and reuniting as rascal teens was incredibly refreshing and fun, like a pre-Alpha alternate universe, with a cute-as-a-button 15 year old Chun Li, and teen action star Fei Long. No other fighting game adaptation pulled it off this well in the beginning. However, midway through the series, the plot an M. Bison-esque turn for the goofy. Maybe it's just me, but this villian doesn't fit in with Street Fighter. (What's the connection with the martial arts buddies in karate pajamas and the Megalomanic?) Lots of things make no sense, some characters are rewritten for what feels like no good reason, and it gets fairly boring about halfway through. Ryu is just learning the power of Hado, so you're subjected to watch him practice this skill, which takes about as long as Goku charging up the Spirit Bomb, and it's the same footage looped over and over. It gets tedious, and bogs the series down considerably.
[ART 7] The art is very good. I like the way some of the characters look, with the exception of Sagat and Cammy. First off, Sgat has two distinct features that signifies his appearance and he has NEITHER of them. Cammy just looks like a blonde assassin lady. I wasn't asking for a turtleneck thong ensemble (but I wouldn't be opposed), but she trots out in just boring black leather (yawn), she doesn't wear her hair in even remotely the same fashion, and she fights and kills with wires (remember her piano wire skill from Alpha 3? Me neither.) For a mid-to-late 90's anime, the action scenes are on par with Samurai Deeper Kyo or Outlaw Star in terms of animation. Lots of recycled footage gets noticable reather quickly and becomes grating. You'll find yourself saying, "she just did that kick!" a lot. Keep a close eye on Akuma cameos in the backgrounds.
[SOUND 7] I've only heard the Animaze dub, so I'll only judge the track off of that. The music is good, the voice acting is kind of cheesy, but cheesy-good. Nothing really spectacular about the score or the BGM, it gets the job done for the most part. Listening to Richard Cansino shriek as Vega was nails on a chalkboard for me.
[CHARACTER 4] While the central cast of Ryu, Ken, Guile, and Chun Li are represented alright enough (except for Ken proposing to a jail bait Chun Li), most of the cast from the game just show up to less than their console counterparts. Sagat is in prison, Balrog doesn't fight, Zangief is...well Zangief. Dhalsim seems to be the only other character that serves a direct purpose, a mentor character, but it becomes an afterthought rather quickly. And Vega probably has the best story arc in his battle with Ken. Other names aren't present, E. Honda, Blanka, etc.
Even without forced cameos from other members of the games, there was so much lost potential as to what to do with this cast. Guile is practically kicked out of the show until the final arc, where his beef with Bison is seemingly slapped together with the clumsy introduction to Charlie (Nash) who looks like Edward Norton crossed with James Lipton in this show. Cammy is wasted and disappears. Fei Long is useless anyways, but serves no real assistance in the fight against Shadowlaw. And M. Bison is just a pain to sit through. You're waiting to see this villian show up, but he really ruins everything, and has a completely classless scene with Chun Li that could've ended ten minutes sooner. I can only assume the author hates women.
[ENJOYMENT 4] This show starts on such a high note in the first nine episodes and then just cascades into boring really fast. Goofy subplots, cookie-cutter villians that don't belong in a Street Fighter storyline, underused characters, and a few throw-away episodes in the middle that could've been utilized better. The first couple of episodes are incredibly fun until the heroine cartel comes in and becomes a long-winded PSA about drug use. I'M NOT KIDDING.
[OVERALL 4] Street Fighter II V feels like the longest 29 episodes I've ever watched. It's not the worst I've seen, but there's so much lost potential, it's just deflating. I'm not sure why so many directors have failed with this sub-genre. It's just not satisfying, but it's not Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture.
Pros: Good fight scenes. Good voice acting.
Cons: Slow, not very interesting story. Poorly used cast.
