Tekken: Bloodline | |
Genre | |
---|---|
Created by | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Original net animation | |
Directed by | Yoshikazu Miyao |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Gavin Hignight |
Music by | Rei Kondoh |
Studio | |
Licensed by | Netflix |
Released | August 18,2022 |
Runtime | 22–27 minutes |
Episodes | 6 |
Tekken:Bloodline is an action fantasy anime [1] television miniseries based on the video game series Tekken by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series loosely adapts the events of the 1997 video game Tekken 3 and follows the young fighter Jin Kazama in his quest to defeat Ogre,the creature that killed his mother Jun. Jin's quest leads to him being trained to track Ogre by his violent grandfather Heihachi Mishima,who is hosting a fighting tournament called the King of Iron Fist. The show premiered on Netflix on August 18,2022,for a total of six episodes.
The series was produced as a coming-of-age story of Jin,something that game series director Katsuhiro Harada wanted to emphasize,since Tekken 3 did not highlight Jin's past. It was directed by Yoshikazu Miyao,who wanted to properly show Jin's tragic story.
The series received mixed responses as a result of its short length,providing little screentime to most characters besides Jin and instead emphasizing fight scenes. The style and quality of the show's animation were also questioned.
Jin Kazama is a young martial artist living with his pacifist mother,Jun Kazama,on Yakushima Island. One day,the ancient demon Ogre attacks their home,ultimately leading to Jun's death. Following the instructions given in her last words,Jin meets with his grandfather,a businessman and martial artist named Heihachi Mishima. Heihachi takes an interest in Jin and trains him in the more violent Mishima style of martial arts in order to avenge Jun,instructing Jin to drop the pacifist methods of the Kazama Style. After four years of training,Heihachi begins the King of Iron Fist tournament where Jin will compete to draw out Ogre.
Following his arrival in Cusco for the tournament,Jin learns that his father is Kazuya Mishima,a martial artist with the power of Devil. Heihachi killed Kazuya in the previous tournament to stop him from ruining the world. Jin inherited the Devil Gene from his father,which attracted Ogre to his home. In the King of Iron Fist tournament,Jin becomes conflicted about his violent style after breaking one of his rivals' legs. For the next match,Jin abandons the Mishima values as he also befriends another fighter and fellow high school student,Ling Xiaoyu,who reminds him of his mother's methods,as well as earning a friendly rivalry with Hwoarang. He also befriends Julia Chang and the tournament veteran,Paul Phoenix. Now at peace,Jin wins the tournament. Angered by Jin's pacifism,Heihachi challenges Jin to prove he is the winner of the tournament,but their fight is interrupted by Ogre's reawakening. Jin manages to defeat Ogre with the help from Xiaoyu,Hwoarang,Paul and Julia,but he is killed by Heihachi in the aftermath as it is revealed that Heihachi feared that he would become like his father. Jin finds his mother on his road to the afterlife,but his Devil Gene awakens and revives him in a demonic form with black feathered wings. Jin easily subdues Heihachi and nearly kills him. As Xiaoyu and Hwoarang's pleas reach his ears,Jin flies away to an unknown point.
Character | Japanese voice actor | English dubbing actor |
---|---|---|
Jin Kazama | Isshin Chiba [2] | Kaiji Tang [3] |
Jun Kazama | Mamiko Noto [2] | Vivian Lu [4] |
Heihachi Mishima | Taiten Kusunoki [2] | S. Hiroshi Watanabe [4] |
Kazuya Mishima | Masanori Shinohara [2] | Eliot [4] |
Hwoarang | Toshiyuki Morikawa [2] | Todd Haberkorn [4] |
Ling Xiaoyu | Maaya Sakamoto [2] | Faye Mata [4] |
Paul Phoenix | HōchūŌtsuka [2] | Jamieson Price [4] |
Julia Chang | Seiko Yoshida [2] | Jeannie Tirado [4] |
Nina Williams | Yumi Tōma [2] | Erika Harlacher [4] |
Ganryu | Hidenari Ugaki [2] | Earl Baylon [4] |
Leroy Smith | Yasuhiro Kikuchi [5] | Krizz Kaliko [4] |
King | Masayuki Hirai [5] | Leandro Cano [6] |
Ogre | – | Bill Butts [4] |
Dr. Bosconovitch | – | Jamieson Price [6] |
Akiko Miura | Mariya Ise [7] | Judy Alice Lee [8] |
On March 19,2022,Netflix announced that they would release the series on August 18,2022. [9] [10] The series was created as an homage to the third title in the Tekken franchise, Tekken 3 . The producers explained how the staff tried to be faithful to the original narrative of the franchise by having the characters perform several moves from the games and using audio snippets from the games. As the series is based on Tekken 3,the story focuses on the origins of Jin Kazama and his upbringing under his mother Jun,which is not explored in the original material due to the difficulty of storytelling through video games. As a result,the anime creates its own story which was not present in older installments of the franchise. [11] All episodes were written by Gavin Hignight,while the series' director was Yoshikazu Miyao. [12] [13]
Game designer Katsuhiro Harada was involved in the project and stated that he enjoyed the story of Jin's life. [14] Miyao claimed that some of the show's battles were difficult to animate due to the necessity of faithfulness to the original games. [15] He called Jin's story tragic,as the initially innocent character develops negatively over the series and ultimately is saddened at his transition to a devilish form. [16] As most of the episodes take place in Cusco,Peru,Gavin Hignight has said that the staff in charge of the series were capable of recapturing the feeling of such country,most importantly when Jin reaches it. [17]
The characters were designed by Heart alongside Satoshi Yuri. Jin's full body costume was an original creation not present in the game. A hood was added to the costume at Miyao's request. [18] The theme of the series involves Jin's growth,so character designers created a variety of differences between his two personas in order to generate a major visual contrast. [19] Heihachi's everyday clothing was also completely redesigned. [20] The music for the series was composed by Rei Kondoh,and an album of 27 tracks was released alongside the anime. [21]
Initial response to the trailers was positive according to the producers. [11] The series received positive responses from critics as the writer Gavin Hignight was satisfied with the review that the series received from Yahoo! ,as it was acclaimed by them as one of the best video game adaptations. [22] Similar responses were given Comic Book Resources and Meristation who found it as well-done and faithful adaptation of a video game. [23] [24] The narrative of Bloodline was praised by the media for how the narrative offers multiple points of view of Jin's morals,as he is trained by both his pacifist mother and his violent grandfather. Despite this praise,the series' heavy focus on Jin over the supporting cast was criticized. [25] [26] Decider said the depiction of Jin's training should have been more dynamic and stated,along with Meristation,that only the first episode was well-executed. [27] On the other hand,Espinof found the King of Iron Fist Tournament's episodes to be more exciting than Jin's training,as they adapted the video game's story more faithfully. However,Espinof lamented that some well-known characters get too little screentime when compared to Jin. [25] The Review Geek and Den of Geek also praised the adaptation for being faithful to Tekken 3 and stated that they would have liked a longer series to depict more fights and character development for Jin. [28] [29] Jin's characterization was compared with that of archetypal shōnen manga protagonists due to his personality and powers,and Jin's relationship with Hwoarang was comparable to typical rivalry from the same genre. [26] [30] [31] On a more negative view,Monique Thomas from Anime News Network listed the series as the worst Summer 2022 anime he watched for lacking the campy and over-the-top elements that the games are known for such its animal fighters,opining that the series came across as too serious. [32] Polygon criticized most of the cast for coming across as one-dimensional with the exception of Heihachi,and lamented that most campy fighters were barely shown. [33]
The animation was criticized for the heavy use of silhouettes of every character, [26] [24] and Polygon lamented the short fights and lack of realism in the fighters. [33] Decider called the animation "sluggish" and felt the character designs were unfaithful to the games. [27] Review Geek enjoyed the mix of 2D and 3D animation,especially in the designs of Jin,Xiaoyu,and King. [28] Despite finding issues with the series' CGI,Comic Book Resources found the animation generally acceptable. [23] Meristation was positive regarding the series' handling of fights,as they found the movements similar to the ones depicted in the video games. [24] Isshin Chiba's performance as Jin was acclaimed by the media as his best one in video games, [34] [35] [36] while Vivian Lu stood out in the English dub for her calm take on Jun according to Decider. [27] Newcomers Erika Harlacher (Nina) and Jeannie Tirado (Julia) were praised by GameRant for imitating their Japanese counterparts well. [37] Meristation also praised the original soundtrack,which comes across as having been inspired by the video game. [24]
Tekken is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.
Tekken 4 (鉄拳4) is a fighting game developed and published by Namco as the fourth main and fifth installment in the Tekken series,following the release of the non-canon titled Tekken Tag Tournament in 1999. It was released on arcades in 2001,and on the PlayStation 2 in 2002.
Tekken 3 (鉄拳3) is a fighting game,the third entry in the Tekken series. It was released to the arcades in 1997,before being ported to the PlayStation in 1998. The arcade version of the game was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 as part of Tekken 5's Arcade History mode. The game was also re-released as part of Sony's PlayStation Classic.
Tekken Advance is a fighting game released for the Game Boy Advance. It uses sprites based on Tekken 3's 3D models for its characters but the overall menus,fonts and art-style are all modeled after Tekken Tag Tournament. It was the first Tekken game to be released on a Nintendo platform.
Tekken 5 (鉄拳5) is a fighting game developed and published by Namco for the arcades in 2004,and for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. It is the fifth main and sixth installment,in the Tekken series,marking the tenth anniversary of the series. The game is set shortly after the events of Tekken 4 showing a new person named Jinpachi taking over the zaibatsu special forces while a sidestory focuses on the protagonist Jin Kazama as he faces several enemies from the G Corporation. The home version also contains a collector's edition of sorts,as it includes the arcade versions of Tekken,Tekken 2,Tekken 3,and StarBlade.
Isshin Chiba is a Japanese voice actor who appeared in 35 films since he first started acting in 1990 and is best known for doing the voice of Jin Kazama from the Tekken series.
Julia Chang is a fictional character in the Tekken series of fighting games by Namco,she was introduced in Tekken 3 in 1997. She is the adopted daughter of part-Native American and part-Chinese fighter Michelle Chang,and her storyline typically involves saving her tribe's forest. An alternative version of the character is a masked female lucha libre wrestler known as Jaycee,or just J.C.,appearing incognito in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Jin Kazama is a character of the Tekken fighting game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment. He was introduced as the protagonist in the 1997 game Tekken 3 and has been the central character of the series from that game onwards. Trained by his grandfather Heihachi Mishima,Jin wishes to avenge the apparent death of his mother Jun Kazama by Ogre. Meanwhile Heihachi betrays Jin to awaken a genetic abnormality within his body known as the Devil Gene.
Heihachi Mishima is a fictional character in Tekken fighting game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment,serving as its main antagonist. Introduced as the boss character from the first Tekken video game from 1994,Heihachi appears as the CEO/leader of a military firm known as the Mishima Zaibatsu founded by his father Jinpachi Mishima. Heihachi was the protagonist of Tekken 2 and one of the two main characters of Tekken 7 along with his son Kazuya Mishima,furthermore Heihachi was a boss character in two additional main installments of the series. He is opposed by many of his relatives who wish for his death out of revenge and to take over the Mishima Zaibatsu. This happens across the series and one of the creators of Tekken Katsuhiro Harada has called it a "family feud". Heihachi wants to defeat his son and grandson,Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama respectively. Heihachi's backstory and motives are revealed in Tekken 7, in which he is killed by Kazuya and thus does not appear in Tekken 8. Heihachi has two known illegitimate children who are playable in the series,the first is the hero Lars Alexandersson,who debuted in Tekken 6;and the second is Reina,who was introduced in Tekken 8,uses some of his moves and has a similar personality,and is later revealed to be also a Devil Gene user as both Kazuya and Jin.
Nina Williams is a fictional character from Namco's Tekken fighting game series. A cold-blooded professional assassin,Nina made her first appearance in the original 1994 installment. She is one of three playable characters to appear in all main installments of the Tekken series,alongside Paul Phoenix and Yoshimitsu. She has also starred in her own spin-off game,Death by Degrees.
Kazuya Mishima is a character in Bandai Namco's Tekken fighting game series,who first featured as the protagonist in the original 1994 game and later became one of the main villains of the series since becoming the penultimate antagonist of Tekken 2. He later returns as the main co-protagonist of Tekken 7,before assuming his role as the main antagonist again in Tekken 8. The son of worldwide conglomerate Mishima Zaibatsu CEO Heihachi Mishima,Kazuya seeks revenge against his father for throwing him off a cliff years earlier. Kazuya becomes corrupted in later games,seeking to obtain more power and later eventually comes into conflict with his son Jin Kazama. Kazuya Mishima possesses the Devil Gene,a demonic mutation,which he inherited from his late mother,Kazumi Mishima,which can transform him into a demonic version of himself known as Devil Kazuya. Devil Kazuya has often appeared as a separate character in previous installments prior to becoming part of Kazuya's moveset in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and later games. Kazuya Mishima is also present in related series media and other games.
Tekken:The Motion Picture is an anime adaptation of the Tekken fighting video game series by Namco. Produced by ASCII Corporation and Sony Music Entertainment Japan and animated by Studio Deen,it was originally released in Japan as a two-episode OVA in 1998,and as a full-length feature for Western releases. It was one of the first OVAs to use digital ink and paint.
King is the name used by two fictional characters in the Tekken fighting game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The characters were inspired by Japanese pro wrestler Satoru Sayama,as well as Mexican wrestler Fray Tormenta,a Catholic priest who became a luchador in order to support an orphanage. The identity of King has been present in all the Tekken main installments to date,with King I being in original Tekken and Tekken 2,and King II debuting in Tekken 3 and returning for every subsequent game since. Reception of the character has been very positive since the beginning of the series,with King described as a "fan favorite" and considered one of the series' most iconic characters.
Mutsumi Inomata was a Japanese illustrator and animator.
Tekken is a 2009 American science fiction martial arts film directed by Dwight Little from a screenplay by Alan B. McElroy,loosely based on the video game series of the same name published by Namco Bandai Games. The film stars Jon Foo,Kelly Overton,Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa,Ian Anthony Dale,Cung Le,Darrin Dewitt Henson,Candice Hillebrand,and Luke Goss. The plot follows Jin Kazama in his attempts to enter the Iron Fist Tournament in order to avenge the loss of his mother,Jun Kazama,by confronting the forces of the city that are also holding the competition.
The following is a list of characters from the fighting game series Tekken. Characters are listed in alphabetical order.
Lars Alexandersson is a character from the Tekken fighting game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment. First introduced in the 2008 arcade game update Tekken 6:Bloodline Rebellion,he serves as the main protagonist of the Tekken 6 story mode.
Tekken:Blood Vengeance is a 2011 Japanese animated science fiction martial arts film directed by Yōichi Mōri from a screenplay by Dai Satō,based on the video game series Tekken published by Namco Bandai Games. The film places focus on the young martial artist Ling Xiaoyu,who investigates experiments involving a supernatural curse related with the Mishima family,while befriending a robot named Alisa Bosconovitch. The two meet the test subject Shin Kamiya,who is being sought by his former friend Jin Kazama and his father Kazuya Mishima,but is also being used by Heihachi Mishima to set a new family fight.
Tekken 7 is a fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the seventh main and ninth overall installment in the Tekken series,and is the first in that series to be released for PC. Tekken 7 was released to arcades in March 2015. An updated arcade version,Tekken 7:Fated Retribution,was released in July 2016,and features expanded content including new stages,costumes,items and characters. The home versions released for PlayStation 4,Windows,and Xbox One in June 2017 were based on Fated Retribution.
Yūsuke Kozaki is a Japanese manga artist and character designer.
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