Tekken: Bloodline
| Tekken: Bloodline | |
 Key visual | |
| Genre | Action, Martial Arts |
|---|---|
| Created by | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Original net animation | |
| Directed by | Yoshikazu Miyao |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Gavin Hignight |
| Music by | Rei Kondoh |
| Studio | Studio Hibari Larx Entertainment |
| Licensed by | Netflix |
| Released | August 18, 2022 |
| Runtime | 22–27 minutes |
| Episodes | 6 |
Tekken: Bloodline is an anime series based on Bandai Namco Entertainment's Tekken fighting game franchise. The series loosely adapts the events of Tekken 3 and follows the young fighter Jin Kazama on a quest to defeat Ogre, the creature that killed his mother, Jun. Jin's quest for power results in him being trained by his violent grandfather Heihachi Mishima who is hosting a fighting tournament, The King of Iron Fist, to track Ogre. 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 game director Katsuhiro Harada aimed to show since Tekken 3 did not show and gamers instead remain as information to read.
The series earned mixed responses as a result of the short length which reduced the screentime of most characters with Jin's exception while fights gathered also different opinions as a result of the animation employed. As a result, critics are divided whether or not Bloodline is a proper adaptation.
Synopsis[]
Jin Kazama is a young martial artist living alone with his mother, Jun Kazama, on Yakushima. When she is killed by the ancient demon Ogre, Jin begins training under his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, in order to become stronger. To draw out Ogre, Jin competes alongside many others in the King of Iron Fist tournament, hoping to kill the demon and avenge his mother's death.
Characters[]
- Jin Kazama
- Voiced by: Isshin Chiba[1] (Japanese); Kaiji Tang[2] (English)
- Jun Kazama
- Voiced by: Mamiko Noto[1] (Japanese); Vivian Lu (English)
- Heihachi Mishima
- Voiced by: Taiten Kusunoki[1] (Japanese); S. Hiroshi Watanabe (English)
- Kazuya Mishima
- Voiced by: Masanori Shinohara[1] (Japanese); Eliot (English)
- Hwoarang
- Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa[1] (Japanese); Todd Haberkorn (English)
- Ling Xiaoyu
- Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto[1] (Japanese); Faye Mata (English)
- Paul Phoenix
- Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka[1] (Japanese); Jamieson Price (English)
- Julia Chang
- Voiced by: Seiko Yoshida[1] (Japanese); Jeannie Tirado (English)
- Nina Williams
- Voiced by: Yumi Tōma[1] (Japanese); Erika Harlacher (English)
- Ganryu
- Voiced by: Hidenari Ugaki[1] (Japanese); Earl Baylon (English)
- Leroy Smith
- Voiced by: Yasuhiro Kikuchi[3] (Japanese); Krizz Kaliko (English)
- King
- Voiced by: Masayuki Hirai[3] (Japanese); Leandro Cano (English)
- Ogre
- Voiced by: TBA (Japanese); Bill Butts (English)
- Dr. Bosconovitch
- Voiced by: TBA (Japanese); Jamieson Price (English)
- Akiko Miura
- Voiced by: Mariya Ise[4] (Japanese); Judy Alice Lee (English)
Production and release[]
On March 19, 2022, Netflix announced that they would release the series on August 18, 2022.[5][6] The series was created as an homage to the third game in the franchise, Tekken 3. The producers explained how the staff tried being faithful to the original narrative and franchise by having the characters perform several moves from the games while also having the same audio. As a result of being based on Tekken 3, the story focuses on the origins of Jin Kazama as well as his upbringing under his mother Jun which is not explored in the games as a result the story in such media being limited when telling story. As a result, the anime creates their own storytelling which was not present for the older fans. Initial response to the trailers was positive according to the producers.[7] Katsuhiro Harada was involved in the project, revealing he enjoyed the story of Jin when living with Jun. Since this was the first time the story of the games was adapted into anime, he suggested diehard fans to check it.[8] The music was composed by Rei Kondoh. An album of twenty-seven tracks was released alongside the anime.[9]
While Isshin Chiba reprises his role for Tekken: Bloodline, Kaiji Tang voices Jin for the English dub. Chiba was glad that he kept voicing Jin after 25 years since his debut while Tang appreciated the shades of his personality.[10][11]
Episodes[]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Yoshikazu Miyao | Gavin Hignight | August 18, 2022 | |
| Jin Kazama lives peacefully with his mother and martial artist teacher Jun until the latter is killed by a creature known as Ogre. Before this tragic event, Jun has told Jin to seek help from his grandfather Heihachi Mishima whom he meets. | |||||
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Yoshikazu Miyao | Gavin Hignight | August 18, 2022 | |
| Heihachi decides to train Jin with the ruthless Mishima Fighting Style in order to prepare him to kill Ogre. During this time, Jin meets Hwoarang and Ling Xiaoyu. Once Jin's training is finished, Heihachi announces the King of Iron Fist Tournament to wake up Ogre using his grandson's power, the Devil Gene. | |||||
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Yoshikazu Miyao | Gavin Hignight | August 18, 2022 | |
| Before the tournament, Jin meets other fighters and learns that his late father Kazuya Mishima was a threat to mankind until Heihachi killed him. | |||||
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Yoshikazu Miyao | Gavin Hignight | August 18, 2022 | |
| The tournament begins, and Jin becomes conflicted with his morals as a result of his two different trainings with Heihachi influencing his grandson to be ruthless in contrast to his pacifist mother. | |||||
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Yoshikazu Miyao | Gavin Hignight | August 18, 2022 | |
| After several battles, Jin defeats King and becomes the winner of the tournament. Heihachi then tests his Grandson in order to wake up Ogre which becomes a success. | |||||
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Yoshikazu Miyao | Gavin Hignight | August 18, 2022 | |
| Jin fights Ogre but he is no match for him. Once activating his Devil Gene, Jin obtains revenge. Afraid of the Devil Gene, Heihachi kills Jin to save the world but the gene causes Jin to revive and brutally beat up his grandfather in a devil-like form until escaping flying from the area. | |||||
Reception[]
The series received mixed responses from critics with Comic Book Resources calling it a well done adaptation of a video game, something the critic found hard to find.[12] The narrative of Bloodline resulted in praise from the media for how the narrative offers multiple point of views of Jin's morals as he is trained by both his pacifist mother and his violent grandfather but the heavy focus on him over the supporting cast was critcized.[13][14] Decider said the handling of Jin's training should be more dynamic and stated only the first episode was well executed.[15][16] On the other hand, Espioff found the King of Iron Fist Tournament's episodes to be more exciting that Jin's training as they adapted the video game's story properly. However, Espinoff lamented some famous characters get little screentime in favor of Jin.[13] The Review Geek and Den of Geek also praised the adaptation for being faithful to Tekken 3 in a similar vein to Netflix's Castlevania to the point of wishing a longer length to provide more fights and development on Jin.[17][18] Polygon criticized most of the cast for coming across as one-dimensional with Heihachi's exception and lamented how most campy fighters were barely shown.[19] Jin's characterization was compared to with those of archetypical shōnen manga protagonists due to his personality and powers.[14][20][21]
The animation was criticized for the heavy use of silhouttes in every character,[14][16] while Polygon lamented the short fights and lack of faithful to the fighters ' realism.[19] Decider called the animation "sluggish" and felt the designs were unfaithful to the games.[15] Review Geek enjoyed the mix between 2D animation and 3D, especially the designs of Jin, Xiaoyu, and King.[17] Despite finding issues with CGI, Comic Book Resources found the animation in general acceptable, comparing it to the famous Land of the Lustrous or Dorohedoro rather than Ex-Arm.[12] Meristation was more positive to the handling of fights as he found the movements similar to the ones of the video games.[16] Isshin Chiba's performance as Jin was acclaimed by 3DJuegos as his best one from video games.[22][23] Meristation also praised the original soundtrack which comes across as inspired by the video game.[16]
Monique Thomas from Anime News Network listed the series as the worst Summer 2022 anime he ever watched for lacking the campy and overthetop elements the games are known for and thus came across as too serious.[24]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j @NetflixJP_Anime (July 19, 2022). "Tekken: Bloodline JP Cast" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "TAll Tekken: Bloodline Characters and Voice Actors". Twinfinite. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Tekken: Bloodline (2022 TV Show) - Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved August 18, 2022. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Ise, Mariya [@Ma_ri_ya_i] (August 24, 2022). "Netflixにて 『TEKKEN -BLOOD LINE-』配信中です！ 三浦アキコ役で出演しております。 よろしくお願い致します