Animesou.com

Japanese kickstarters are somewhat rare.  We’ve seen stuff like Kick Heart (which premiered at last year’s Anime Expo) and Little Witch Academia 2 be wildly successful.  Smaller things like JH Kagaku’s Akiba Anime Art magazine and Lunatic Joker’s Moero Headphone reader 2013 (English version) have also popped up.  This time around we have WORLD END ECONOMiCA, a visual novel trilogy written by Isuna Hasekura and created by the group Spicy Tails.  Hasekura is most well known for his stories that both capture the heart with its characters and the mind with interspersed economic elements.  WORLD END ECONOMiCA is set in a world where the Earth has colonized the moon and follows a boy named Haru on his journey to go where no man has gone before.
(more…)

Can it be?! It’s about time!!! I bring you my review of the latest and greatest from Capcom. Check it out on Youtube. Yoshinori Ono pulls a Stan Lee in making a cameo appearance.

Synopsis

“…this thrilling, multi layered series will take the audience back to the formative years of the iconic characters, Ryu and Ken, as they live a traditional warrior’s life in secluded Japan. The boys are, unknowingly, the last practitioners of the ancient fighting style known as ‘Ansatsuken’ (Assassin’s Fist). The series follows them as they learn about the mysterious past of their Master, Goken, and the tragic and dark legacy of the Ansatsuken style. Can their destiny be changed…or will history repeat itself?” - from the official Press Release (http://www.streetfighteraf.com/)

Review

The web series is a prequel taking place prior to the video game Street Fighter 1. Heck it’s before even Street Fighter Alpha with scenes of childhood Ryu and Ken. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of training, discipline, and katas (forms) put in to the show to highlight martial arts. The story matches tradition against the thirst for power as the characters search to unlock the secrets of the hado. Goken reminds me of Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid. My favorite quote is Goken quoting Gen: “There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.”

Overall

Released on May 23, 2014, I didn’t know about it until June 6 when I was doing a random search on Youtube for Street Fighter. I wish there was more advertising for Assassin’s Fist. Perhaps I’ve been away from the industry for too long. It just seems to be one of those gems that you hear by word of mouth or that will spread like wildfire on Facebook.