Hey everyone. As a fan of the Tekken games for years, I ask this question: why is it so hard to get a decent adaptation of the series in other mediums? A previous anime adaptation known as Tekken: The Motion Picture was mediocre at best; which I might look into reviewing in full. There was also the live-action film simply called Tekken; which cost a reported $35 million (cut from initial estimates of $50 million) to make and grossed back just under $1 million worldwide; not even getting a theatrical release in the US and only going straight to DVD.
Now, in the age of the surprise critical and box office success of Detective Pikachu and the Sonic movies (not to mention efforts such as Free Guy, arguably the best unofficial GTA Online movie one could hope for); a new anime adaptation is coming to Netflix this August, known as Tekken Bloodline.
The anime follows Jin Kazama (my favorite character incidentally enough) as he seeks to master his skills as a martial artist; harnessing the power of the Devil Gene to face off against Ogre and take part in the King of Iron Fist Tournament (the name Tekken literally translates to Iron Fist).
On paper, the concept doesn't seem like the worst: on a purely basic level, it's a martial arts tournament story with fantasy elements and a dash of revenge thriller for good measure. However, it's the execution I have concerns about.
I'm not saying that Netflix is incapable of making and/or distributing good video game adaptations. It's just that what I've seen so far from the promotion of Bloodline is a bit of a mixed bag.
Regarding said adaptations, I have been satisfied with their handling of Pokémon so far as the most recent English platform for the anime. Sonic Prime looks to be a fun entry to Sonic's numerous animated adaptations. Their Castlevania adaptation was a triumph, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming spinoff with Richter Belmont (big fan of the character and Dracula X: Rondo of Blood especially). Even the upcoming Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime looks promising as someone who likes the game, buggy launch be damned.
That said, their recent Resident Evil series has been lambasted as a biohazard (the showrunner wants to expand the material more in future seasons; but given the reception, I have my doubts about that happening). They bought the rights to the oft-delayed live-action Mega Man movie; so we'll have to see how that goes (as that's another IP that's had a film in development hell almost as long as the source material has existed). There was even talk of turning the much-loved Fantastic Mr. Star Fox sketch into a full series; but for whatever reason, the talks fell through.
With all this in mind, I honestly don't know what to expect; but I'm deliberately keeping my expectations low. The way they're handling the story and characters uses elements of the previous adaptations and the numerous video games; which creates an interesting approach to the tone. Given how this is the same series where one character ending features Jin taking over the Mishima Zaibatsu and another has Lee hiring Heihachi as his manservant under the threat of being blown up with an exploding bowtie; that's saying something. Of course, it's another CG anime; which, despite having some 2D moments, looks somehow less energetic than the video games. So, whatever happens; I don't plan on addressing this further until it streams this August at the earliest. On that note, I have my full review of Pokémon Legends Arceus ready to go, you will see it on the 28th. That's all for now.
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