After the Dark Hadou, a chi of incredible evil power, consumed Akuma, Ryu has feared that one day, he too might succumb to its power. Recently, he has felt its presence, but has been able to control it without letting it consume him. Upon his master's death, he reunites with Ken and they then meet up with a small boy named Shun, who claims to be Ryu's little brother. Ryu, though skeptical, feels a fondness for the boy, and they both accompany Ken into Kabuki Town for a Street Fighting competition. Chun Li is there as well, investigating on behalf of Interpol. While there, Shun confronts Zangief and during the battle, shows signs of the Dark Hadou; however, he's unable to control it, and quickly the battle turns to Zangief's favor. Ryu comes to his brother's aid and uses the Dark Hadou to save him from death. After the battle, however, Shadowlaw captures Shun. Ryu then must confront his fears about the Dark Hadou and save his brother before its too late.

I loved SFII:TAM and couldn't wait to see SFA. Its quite enjoyable, even for those who might've missed the SFII:V series, as I did. Quite a few characters make an appearance in SFA, such as Birdie, Rose, Sakura, Vega, Dhalism, and others. The animation is terrific as well. The only slight problem I had was that the first half of the movie was a bit lighthearted in tone compared to the relatively dark second half.

Picture:
Street Fighter Alpha is presented in 1.33:1 fullscreen. As stated before, I was really impressed with the animation; the colors are vibrant and the blacks are great. I didn't detect any flaws in the print either.

Sound:
Street Fighter Alpha is presented in the original Japanese Dolby Surround 2.0, an English Dubbed Dolby Surround 2.0, and an English Dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1. For review purposes, I listed to the 5.1 track and compared it to both 2.0 tracks during fight scenes. While both 2.0 tracks are a bit flat, the 5.1 track provides a richer and more full viewing experience. The 5.1 track is still mostly front based, though the music and some effects go to the rears. The dialogue is all three tracks is clean and easy to understand with no distortion that I could detect. And, surprisingly, the English dub was quite good.

Extras:
For extras, Street Fighter Alpha includes: eleven interviews with the principal Japanese voice actors and director; a "Making Of" featurette; the original Japanese credits; the film's trailer; the Manga Trailer featuring Perfect Blue, SFII:V, and Ninja Scroll; the Manga 2000 Trailer; the Manga Catalog, and weblinks.

The interviews range from 45 seconds to more than eight minutes, with most lasting between one and three minutes. These are mostly interesting and worth watching for fans, though some are a bit dry. I would've also preferred some interviews with the English voice actors, but no such luck this time.

The "Making Of" featurette was a bit disappointing, as its in black & white, wordless, and only five minutes long. They show some of the early animation and some of the animators hard at work, but really, that's about it.

Summary:
Fans of Street Fighter should definitely check out Street Fighter Alpha. Though it has trouble fitting in perfectly with SFII:TAM, I found it quite enjoyable on its own merits. Though a bit lacking in substantial extras, the interviews Manga has included are a nice treat for the fans. Highly Recommended!