Virtua Fighter

Akira is on a journey so that he will once again be able to see the eight stars in the sky, a sign of someone who possesses true strength. At China Town, he meets Pai who is on the run from the Koenkan, the most powerful martial arts group in the world. Pai's father, Lau, is the founder of the Koenkan. He is hoping to pass leadership down to his disciple, Ryu, if he receives Pai's hand in marriage. However, Pai refuses to marry him by escaping.

Akira and Pai later meet Jacky and his sister Sarah. Shortly after, Sarah is kidnapped by the Koenkan. Jacky, Akira, and Pai find themselves up against Koenkan in their attempt to rescue Sarah.

For an anime based off a fighting game, Virtua Fighter turned out pretty good. This is partly due to the fact that the fights don't drag on and that it doesn't resort to repetitive tournament crap, either. The story isn't half bad and the pacing keeps things interesting even though a lot of the journey is their search for Sarah. The Koenkan are also constantly trying to kidnap Pai whenever they get the chance. I had a good time watching their adventure. As for the ending, it's decent, but I wish it gave the characters a few more minutes after it was all over.

The main characters are likeable and their interactions are as much fun to watch as the fight scenes are. Akira is lighthearted and somewhat silly. As overused as food jokes are in anime, I found Akira's obsession with food, as well as a lot of the other humor, quite funny. Pai is a spunky girl who can kick some butt when she needs to. It's obvious that Pai develops feelings for Akira, but unfortunately it doesn't develop into much. The entire cast from Virtua Fighter 2 play a role in the story without feeling like they're there just because they were in the game. Most of the antagonists are original and the show does a decent job handling them.

The show is fairly action packed and the fight scenes are quite good, just don't expect anything too amazing. The animation looks good, but it lacks the polish seen in more modern shows. The fights are plentiful, fast-paced, and simply fun to watch. There are lots of signature moves from the games. One of the moves in every episode receives an explanation afterwards which I don't mind at all because they're quick and informative.

Overall, I am fairly impressed with Virtua Fighter. It's an enjoyable series with likeable characters and decent fight scenes. I'm glad I didn't pass this one up as just another lame, game-based anime.

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Written by Marc Frost on Apr 05, 2014