Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf

As children, Terry and Andy Bogard witnessed the death of their father at the hands of his rival, Geese Howard.  Ten years later, the brothers return to their fathers grave, swearing vengeance.  They get their chance when a mutual acquaintance, Joe Higurashi, invites the brothers to sign up for the King of Fighters Tournament, hosted by Geese himself.  If the trio are to prevail, they’ll have to take on an army of fighters from around the world, all under the sway of Geese.  But if Terry and Andy can master the ultimate technique of their Master Tug Fu Rue, then they might be able to settle the score for their father.

When it comes to fighting games, what are titles that instantly come to mind?  Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, heck Virtua Fighter rings a lot of bells.  Theyre so popular in fact that many forget that the King of Fighters series, aka Fatal Fury, even exists, save for several characters popping up in some of those aforementioned franchises as guest characters.  While it might not have broken into the mainstream of the US like Street Fighter, Fatal Fury is a pretty big deal in Japan, so much so that it netted itself three Anime features: two TV Specials and a feature film that I reviewed a few years back (you can check it out here: http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2020/08/fatal-fury-motion-picture.html#more).  Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture may be a flawed action film but it is one I grew up watching a lot when I was younger.  I was always aware of the other two OVAs but never found a way to check them out til now.  So how is Fatal Fury’s Anime debut: an instant KO or a rousing success?
 
Though it clocks in at about 45 minutes, Legend of the Hungry Wolf might feel rushed but not quite as rushed as say a Compilation Film, yet it leaves a lot to be desired.  Then again, this movie kind of knows what it wants to be, even if it lacks several elements that could elevate it to the levels of true legend.  This is an action film from start to finish and yet the action feel rather lacking.  There’s plenty of budget saving still frame animation used for the fight scenes and hey, this OVA isn’t the worst looking thing ever.  But I’ve been way too spoiled by 90s OVA that feature fluid and nicely rendered movements and motions that make the action feel real and awesome to look at.  Legend of the Hungry Wolf doesn’t really have any of that.  The action scenes are pretty spaced out and only last a couple of minutes tops, theyre over before you know it.  And the big fight of the film, I wont sugar coat it, the animation quality dips so terribly it’s hard to believe you’re not watching a parody of Fatal Fury.  It’s like the animators suddenly found themselves in a rush to get their project finished and didn’t bother to bring anything to polish or look even close to as good as the rest of the OVA. 
 
I hate to say it but when it comes to the main attraction aka the action, Legend of the Hungry Wolf kind of fails.  It’s more than sad too because there’s a fair amount to like about this movie and that mostly stems from the characters.  Terry is too cool for school and its easy to see why he’s such an icon in the fighting game genre even if his series isn’t nearly as recognized.  With his trademark hat and suave demeanor, you believe he can take on any challenge and walk away with that dashing smirk.  Terry even gets to show a bit of a softer side to his love interest Lily, who sadly is kind of underutilized but her romantic moments with Terry are cute.  Joe Higashi is just as likeable thanks to his easy going attitude that endears him quickly to Terry and I’m glad he had more of a role in the film even if this is Terry’s show.  Unfortunately, two big players aren’t nearly as memorable.  Andy, the other Bogard, is a total whinner from the moment he first appears until the end of the movie.  He’s so boastful and full of hot air that it’s easy to see why Terry is the star between them.  As for the villainous Geese, he’s a low quality M. Bison wannabe who never rises above his generic presentation and his threat level only grows dimmer the more he shows up on screen.
 
For Fatal Fury’s first Anime presentation, Legend of the Hungry Wolf sure leaves a lot to be desired.  The action isn’t the greatest and there so little of it.  The villain ends up being kind of a joke and the movie is over before you know it.  There’s so much potential for more stories involving Terry and Joe and the movie is a nice intro for both characters (Andy less so).  Even so, this is a rough beginning for Fatal Fury’s Anime legacy.  And lest we forget from my review linked above, Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture is a guilty pleasure nostalgia flick at best.  I can only hope that the sequel manages to outdo both but I’ll get to that in a few moments.
 
For now, Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf gets a 3/10
 
As I said though, there’s one more Fatal Fury tale to cover and I’m in a Double Feature kind of mood.  So be sure to check out my review of Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle, now up at the Gundam Anime Corner and let’s hope Round 2 goes better than Round 1.