Genre: Martial Arts
Parental Guidance Recommended
1993 Viz Videos and Capcom
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When German nobleman Wolfgang Krauser thrashes Terry 'Hungry Wolf' Bogard within an inch of his life, his pride suffers more then his body. Can Terry's brother Andy, modern Ninja girl Mai Shiranui, kickboxer Joe Higashi and a scrappy street punk named Tony help Terry prepare for a potentially fatal rematch?
Just the start of something cool... >>> by TypicalIdiotFan
As I said in my review of Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf, you have to see it for this OAV episode and the movie to follow, and if you've planned to stick with it and watch from here on, you're in for some real treats!
And no, I don't mean Mai's boobs.
I'm talking about a helluva story with believable characters struggling within themselves and with each other in a world where you live and die by the fist, even if it's merely a backdrop! Everybody in this OAV is more dynamic and insightful than in the first OAV, which tried to do too much in a short period of time. This one has a much more simplistic idea, with at least three characters already established, so they can get on to the story.
Our Big Three are back: Terry, Andy, and Joe. The former having decided to just disappear and wander around for a while after the first volume and improve his understanding of himself and his techniques. The latter two appear to have gone back to their roots, so to speak. Andy goes back to his trainer, running into a childhood friend, who just happens to have a pair of really big round beautiful...
Eyes... anyway... Joe is gallivanting around being Joe, and eventually they'll all get back together again for some fun.
The REAL highlight of the show, however, is Wolfgang Krauser. By a significant margin, Krauser becomes one of my all time favorite villains. An easy way to describe Krauser, is to compare him to someone like Vegeta in Dragonball Z. Both characters are extremely proud, strong characters who believe in their strength, and have a rather unfortunate series of events happen to them to mold and shape their characters, both past and present. In Krauser's case, his father's patriarchal brutality has led to him believing that the only thing he can rely on is his strength. As such, the Earl of Stroheim decides to test it against the man who defeated his half-brother, Geese Howard.
From there, we even get some insight into Geese. We get to see how Terry handles being nearly killed. We get to see Andy show the greatest restraint a man can ever show (I swear Andy's a eunuch or something, as a Frog in a blender once told me, "...no balls.") We get to see one young man's adoration of his hero turn a dire situation completely around. And we get to see lots and lots of Mai.
In the first volume, I said that those who play the game would appreciate the anime more. That's probably not as true for the second volume, which is really a solid story in itself. Although fans of the game will appreciate seeing Senbei cracker throwing Jubei and probably LOVE what personality they give him. Get to see Mr. Perfect Kim Kap Hwan the Tae Kwon Do master, and we get to see Lawrence Blood get the crap kicked out of him. Also, the pyrotechnics of the first show are upped quite a bit, and we get to see a lot more of those pretty nifty special attacks done in all their glory. Its great! The end!
-------(SPOILER ALERT!)--------------
Favorite Moment : When Axel Hawk punches Terry in the face, and the Lonely Wolf stands there, staring off into space, as if recalling a moment from childhood where he was abused or something. He has a chilling look on his face -- that incredibly cold familiar look, which less then a second later is replaced by Terry smacking the bejeezus out of his aggressor. A great moment!
Individual Rating: Art/Animation 8; Story 10; Characters 10; Sounds 9
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