Tom Wyner knocks it out of the park as M.Bison. He just is so unabashedly evil and is relishing the role so much. While I love his work in other animes like Wolf's Rain, Gungrave, and Outlaw Star, here he really takes a center stage and runs with it. The script is definitely still a bit silly, but a great voice actor can make it work, and Wyner sells the hell out of lines like "Now, aren't you the big He-man?", "The stars are all gathered on stage. Take a bow!", or Guile threatening to rip out his heart and he's just so nonplussed, "I'm afraid I don't have one."
I think that's the real takeaway in that a lot of characters like Honda and Dee Jay and Dhalsim don't have a very big presence, yet their voice actors do a whole lot to make their brief appearances very memorable. Richard Epcar's Honda is probably the closest thing to a comic relief in the whole movie and all his lines are memorable. I always giggled how he tries to fight Bison, runs right through him, slams face-first into Balrog, and just goes "Hi, and you are?" And yet, despite that, it's still cool to see him throw down with both Dhalsim (that's a GREAT match-up of the game's thinnest and thickest fighters) and then to have a headbutting contest with Balrog (both of whom DO employ headbutts as special attacks in the game). You can tell they put a ton of thought into who fights who.
This, to me, is a huge strength of the anime (and of the Blu-Ray release). As good as the film is, you get two VASTLY different tones and moods set by the musical score. The Japanese choice of
"Cry" by Big Life is REALLY good for setting that sad, almost hopeless feeling. It's a sad, slow song and it makes the scene feel entirely hopeless for Chun-li, like no matter how hard she's gonna fight, it's a losing battle that gets worse and worse as she takes more hits and starts to bleed out. In the west, it starts off pretty similar, as I think
Chun-li's Theme is a really sad and quiet theme for her, while her new song choice of
"Hallucinations" by In the Nursery is a moody, eerie song as well. Up until the very moment Vega appears, the film is keeping it similar. But when Chun-li becomes aware she's not alone, the difference is night and day.
And that's what I love about it. It's like getting a great scene in two different yet equally delicious flavors. "Ultra" playing in the background fits the pacing of the fight itself so well it almost feels like the song was written just for the fight scene (every time the music slows down as Chun-li picks up the couch to throw in Vega's face or when the guitar soars while Chun-li runs up the walls gives me chills). It turns the scene into one of the best action scenes ever, focusing on the adrenaline and energy of the fight, while Big Life's "Cry" shifts the focus to the desperation and tension of the fight and the uncertainty of whether Chun-li will come out on top. It makes revisiting the scene in both languages absolutely worth it, which is a very rare thing for any anime.
Obviously I love talking about this scene in particular, but you're absolutely right. When I watched this with my best friend, she also made the keen observation that the only character from the games that's most likely killed in the entire film is Vega, as all the others are shown to survive, even Bison (we don't see if Zangief survived Blanka's electrocution, I guess). Vega could have survived, but it seems very unlikely, what with falling headfirst from the top of the apartment (and mirroring Chun-li's father's "accidental" death as well. Great call-back!), and that would give Chun-li the highest body count in the movie of all the fighters.
I've talked a bit already how the fight scene subverts many tropes, but Chun-li herself is a subversion of many of them as a direct contrast to the typical "All-American Hero" Guile (whom Americans just made THE main character in their adaptations). He's obviously a very strong and powerful fighter, but... he never lands a single hit. In fact, his second encounter with Chun-li has her humiliating him by just dancing around his attacks... and then giving him a verbal undressing just to boot. Of the two, it becomes quite clear that Chun-li is both the more mature and also more talented fighter, and her juxtaposition with him is actually some of the movie's few genuine character moments. Guile's self-righteous quest to get revenge on Bison for Charlie's death makes him think he has the high-road on Chun-li... right until she drops the bomb that Bison murdered her father yet is strong enough emotionally and mentally to not let that compromise her job or her decision making. The animators did a great job with Guile there as it sinks in that "oh... crap. She's got me" and it's clear afterwards just how quickly he bonds with her over their mutual goals. But, yet again, Chun-li is the agent of change, the one with the agency, and Guile is the reactionary one following HER lead.
And what has Capcom done since?...
I'm actually, genuinely surprised there wasn't a Cammy vs. Chun-li fight, and I'm curious if it was actually pitched since there's promo art for an encounter. But it may have just been that and nothing more.
Having her throw down exclusively with the big boys in the film is one of the best things about it.
Heh. Yeah. I just needed a quick and easy gif of fireball spamming and that was Google's first search result.
). Sorry for bumping up an old thread, but the OP itself is really well done and worth a read, if you haven't already. I haven't seen much anime (in fact, I don't think I've seen any), but I enjoyed this one and would be grateful for any further suggestions (both game related or not).
