As we you all know, I am an enthusiast of modern Japanese pop culture, or in short, an otaku. Ask me anything about this field, and I’ll answer you with a 15 minute long monologue astounding you for the first few seconds and boring you to ashes after that.  This means anime, manga, horror movies, and video games, even those I haven’t played (god bless Wikipedia.) And when I say video games, I mean fighters. I love them all to bits- Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Dead or Alive, and Tekken. So I was thrilled when I found out Tekken: Blood Vengeance, a 3D animated film based on the series, was coming to theaters. I was dazzled by the teaser trailer, so I immediately bought tickets and rushed over. And contrary to others’ views of the film, what I saw did not disappoint.

This picture has been severely panned by several reviewers, saying that it was barely any better than the crappy 2010 live action film that this series spawned, but in my arrogant opinion, I beg to differ. Of course, this may be only because I am a die-hard Tekken fan and lover of anime, which nobody can say this film is not based on. But is there anything wrong with that? The creator of Tekken, who unlike the 2010 film oversaw this project, and the screenwriter, who also worked on the space noir anime Cowbow Bebop, wanted to make this a film appealing to an audience outside the following of the series, and in that they badly failed. However, that doesn’t matter, because just about everyone who came to see it was probably somewhat of a Tekken fan, and they loved it. I know because I was laughing and clapping alongside dozens of viewers.

The fight scenes and animation were amazing, and the story and artwork did well in staying true to the original game. And that’s all the fans really need. I’ll admit, there were plenty of flaws, but they were not large enough to kill our enjoyment. Sure, the dialogue was cheesy, but that’s what anime is like. Get over it. Some may have thought the story was not so good, but it succeeded on putting a spin on the original story that we would love. There were some shoujo anime elements despite the game being a fighter, but for us otakus, this simply means putting two good things together to make something even better. Sadly, there were some unforgiveable elements as well. For one thing, the voice acting was not in sync with the movement of the characters’ lips. Also, I disliked how the story was hard to follow for non-Tekken fans. The fact is, nobody else knows what the devil gene is or who Heihachi Mishima is, and when they are explained, it seems quite abrupt. Sure, fans liked it, but this is going too far. It’s as if the creators are begging for critical panning. But none of that matters, for overall Tekken: Blood Vengeance was successful in making us all burst with geeky happiness. Also, one critic said that although Western viewers cannot help but see it as cheesy, audiences in the east, where the game was created, may say something different. With this I completely agree. The Japanese are probably used to this kind of material, finding it very pleasant, so all American haters can eat their words once the film is released in Nipponese theaters this September.  Overall, as a movie, it failed somewhat, but as a member of the Tekken franchise, it rocked the house. On a scale of 10, I give it a 7.

After I saw this film, I was immediately reminded of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It was a CG animated movie based on a multi-million dollar franchise that overall got poor critical reception, just like this one. However, it still managed to spawn a TV series on Cartoon Network that got significantly higher ratings. Now, a Tekken TV series. Wouldn’t that be interesting? The overseer of the film said on Eurogamer he may consider a TV series if the film was successful enough. It would be a great idea, as long as they managed to right all of the wrongs in the picture, meaning making it more understandable for non-Tekken fans in the west, putting in some more fight scenes, possibly making it a little bit more Shounen action oriented and not a Shoujo Drama, and maybe even adding some more characters in and giving them notable roles and action scenes. The clip at the end of the credits, when the two heroines were signing up for the next tournament, suggested a possible sequel, and if the creators do this, they’ve got it made. I know I for one would watch it. I have great expectations of this film in the future, and I hope that they once again do not disappoint.