Street Fighter Alpha, Vols. 1-2

Created by Masahiko Nakahira
Published by UDON Entertainment

Released for the first time in the US by the fine folks at UDON Entertainment, this two-volume manga retells stories from the original Street Fighter Alpha video game. Creator Masahiko Nakahira adds a few of his own twists and turns as well, some of which were subsequently integrated into the games’ canon story line.

The series follows Ryu, a young Japanese martial artist determined to become the best fighter he can, and his quest to control the Dark Hadou, a power within him that his martial arts skills have awakened. Unfortunately for Ryu, the awakening of the Dark Hadou has also brought him to the attention of the mysterious man named Bison, who seeks to capture and brainwash Ryu for his own purposes.

That’s actually the plot in a nutshell. It’s very shounen-y. Thankfully, unlike many shounen series, Street Fighter Alpha is only two volumes. This means that Nakahira can’t spend volumes on a single fight or half a volume on some minor villian’s backstory. The result is a fast-paced read with surprisingly little of the decompression that one often associates with manga. The focus rarely shifts away from Ryu, and when it does, the episodes tend to be brief and meant to contrast friends’ and rivals’ attitudes with his own. Of course it’s not all grim and gritty and kick ’splode; there are a few funny moments spread throughout the series. Whether using physical humor or humorous dialogue, Nakahira does a good job at keeping the story light and fun while not taking away from more serious aspects.

The only real downside is that there are a number of subplots that are never properly resolved. What does Bison intend for Cammy, for example? Will Ryu eventually have a showdown with Akuma, the man who killed his master? All of these are left hanging. There are a number of reasons Nakahira may have left these stories unfinished. He’s produced more Street Fighter manga, several of which will be published by UDON in the future, so it’s quite possible that he wraps up some of these story lines in those series. It’s also possible that Capcom wished him to leave some questions unanswered in the hopes of piquing readers’ interest in the game itself. Cammy’s story, for example, is heavily elaborated upon in the subsequent Alpha games.

Art-wise, Nakahira’s style leans towards the chunky side. The characters have a certain round, blockiness to them. I’m not sure if this is his normal style or if he tried to stick closely the Capcom design team’s style. If he was aiming for the later, then he definitely succeeded, as just about all the character designs are faithful to their original, in-game appearances. There’s a little variation here and there: Rose looks bit a more feminine here than in the games, Vega is sporting a Shadaloo uniform rather than his bullfighter’s leotard, etc. At any rate, it looks good and fits the tone of the story, allowing for some silly moments between the insane fights and occasional discussions about succumbing to the darkness within. Nakahira’s action sequences are fast-paced and over the top, featuring many of the signature special and super moves from the game series. He even manages to work in a few full page and double page spreads, all of which look great and add a nice sense of the dramatic to certain moments and reveals.

There’s no new ground being broken here, sure, but it’s still a fun, light, action-packed read that should probably appeal to action/shounen fans who want their adrenaline fix without getting sucked into another 40 volume epic.

Volumes one and two of Street Fighter Alpha are available now.