After Arcane, it is now time for another Netflix OVA based on a pre-existing and popular video game franchise. Let’s see if Tekken Bloodline can showcase the same level of quality in this review!
Tekken Bloodline Overview
Tekken Bloodline is the newest multimedia project from one of the biggest fighting game franchises of all time, Tekken. The original video animation (OVA) is being produced by Netflix and developed by Studio Hibari and Larx Entertainment. Yoshikazu Miyao, the mind behind several well-known anime projects such as Magi and Bunny Girl Senpai, alongside Wataru Arakawa of Fireball fame, serves as the director. The series is loosely based on the game’s plot and is also known as Tekken: Bloodline. Read our prior discussion on this series here!
– Tekken: Bloodline Review does not contain spoilers –
Tekken Bloodline Review- The Plot
“Jin Kazama learned the family self-defense arts, Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts, from his mother at an early age. Even so, he was powerless when a monstrous evil suddenly appeared, destroying everything dear to him, changing his life forever. Angry at himself for being unable to stop it, Jin vowed revenge and sought absolute power to exact it. His quest will lead to the ultimate battle on a global stage — The King of Iron Fist Tournament.”
If this plot of this new Netflix release seemed familiar to you, you are not alone. It is a similar “martial arts student vows revenge, trains under a strict master, enters a tournament” ploy, just one that is full of characters who made their first appearances in a video game based around this concept. As such, The King Of The Iron Fist Tournament fits this series like a glove. All that this show needed to be was a vehicle for that tournament, and it would have been a great watching experience. Alas, even the smoothest of rides can turn bumpy with faulty vision.
This was an extremely generic story that didn’t do much with the massive Tekken universe to make it a little more nuanced and give it its own flavour. The show was quite barebones with its worldbuilding, never moving beyond the three static locations it chose to feature. We learned a lot about the characters and their motivations, which is a good thing, but not knowing anything about a world as full of promise as this is still a bummer, to say the least.
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However, as far as paying homage to the video game it is based on, the series gets full points. It miraculously managed to fit in the distinct 2D look of the combat system used in the game while incorporating the same 3D effects that led the game to success with great effect. All the moves the characters did were straight from the combos you can actually perform with them in the games, alongside their relationship dynamics, which we’ll discuss more in the character section of this review.
The story of this show is also somewhat taken from the plot of Tekken 3, which features a similar situation with Jin and his mother, and Heihachi’s plan to bring down the Ogre using the tournament as bait. Tekken Bloodline also did a good job of explaining the events of the previous games to people who wouldn’t otherwise know the history of the Mishima family, alongside the conflict between the Devil and the Angel that was within Kazuya Mishima.
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However, there wasn’t much effort put into the series beyond ensuring it stays true to its roots. While that is still a great thought this side of the Halo live-action series, the weak writing managed to drop the sometimes great action scenes down a notch because there wasn’t any doubt about who was going to win each fight, something necessary in media based around battles. The plot twist at the end was also heavily predictable and tonally inconsistent with the rest of the show. As you can see, this was a mixed effort in the story department.
Tekken Bloodline Review- The Characters
The show has a lot to offer for fans of the Tekken franchise. All the characters that we have come to know and love from the games, from Heihachi to Anna Williams and from Xiaoyu to King, made an impact in this show. While Jun Kazama was the main character and the one whom the story was built around, he was also one of its weakest aspects due to his wooden and uncharismatic personality. He had a standard hero’s journey, one that is old school and didn’t work too well in Tekken Bloodline.
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The other characters, such as a cruel and dishonest Heihachi, were great to watch in long-form, although bringing Heihachi up leads us to one of the biggest issues with this show- but only if you watch the English dubbed version. The dialogue in that version (which Netflix marked as original, by the way) was terribly written and the lowest effort thing dub seen in quite a while by this writer. It was slow, predictable, and uninspiring, especially during the introduction of Heihachi to the show. Please do yourself a favour and watch it in Japanese, the better way to enjoy this.
The side characters and other tournament participants were oftentimes the best part of the limited series, proved by the best fight here being Xiaoyu vs Nina Williams and King being a sympathetic character that was sorely missing from the final scenes of the show. Paul Phoenix also had a decent showing, and the friendly rivalry between Hwoarang and Jun was perhaps the best thing about the protagonist. That and Xiaoyu, of course.
Tekken Bloodline Review- Animation and Music
Now the big question- how cool did the fight sequences look, seeing as they are the calling card for the franchise in general? Well, there is good news and bad news in that regard. Tekken Bloodline is slower than anticipated, which can be a matter of preference in how much you enjoy it. It allows for more fluid battles where you can watch and observe every move that goes down. However, the fast pace that the games featured have pretty much been abandoned in favour of more deliberate strikes, which makes more sense in this context. Overall, it is a matter of preference.
Tekken Bloodline has a lot of fights for you to enjoy, so many that you might get a little sick of them all looking the same and ending the same way by the end of the series. Oh well, at least you have a semi-decent soundtrack to make up for it that does its job well in hyping you up for the upcoming battles. The opening theme is great, and the various homages to the games make up for any of its flaws for fans of the game, who are the target audience that it wants to appeal to.
Verdict
Tekken Bloodline is a fun and inoffensive show that will entertain many with its smooth fighting scenes and homages to the game series it is based on. However, don’t go in expecting a well-written show, or a unique one at that.
Watch Tekken: Bloodline on Netflix!